Revealing the Mystery

Take your Bibles if you would please and turn to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter six, verse 19 is where we are still at. And if you do not have a bulletin, I'd encourage you to raise your hand and Elder David will bring one to you because there are notes on the back that I've given you. And as we move quickly through the subject matter today, I wanted to give you the reference verses so that you would be able to see Christ and the one plan of God throughout the entire Bible through His promises. And this is a tremendous study and it would truly merit an individual sermon for each promise. But as the Apostle Paul has seen fit to mention the mystery here in Ephesians chapter six, verse 19, I thought we would dig into what this mystery really is. It is Christ and the fulfillment of Jews and Gentiles being able to come to Jesus and be saved. And this is a mysterious thing throughout all of the ages that is now fulfilled in Christ. And so you have who the promise was made to, and then the New Testament fulfillment, on the back of your bulletin. And we'll go there here in just a little bit.

First of all, let's read Ephesians 6:19 and do just a little bit of background work, and then we'll get to the promises. And the title for today is "Revealing the Mystery." Revealing the Mystery. In Ephesians chapter six, verse 19, it says, "And pray on my behalf, that the words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel."

And so as we reveal this mystery to further explain it, it needs to be said that Paul has already brought this up in Ephesians. Turn back to chapter three, verse four. Chapter three, verses four through six is another mentioning of this mystery. Chapter three and verse four: "About which, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ." And so if you're wondering what the mystery is, the answer is right there. It is Christ, and is further explained as we are going to see more illuminated truth from the Bible as to what this mystery is. Verse five: "Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men." So in prior generations — speaking of mostly Israel — they did not truly comprehend all of what this mystery entailed. So you have more insight looking back on these truths than they did looking forward. And it also says here in verse five, "As it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."

And if you circle or highlight in your Bible, I highly recommend "promise in Christ." Another word for promise in the Bible is a covenant, and so God's promises are revealed to us through His covenants, and we're going to take a look at those today. But as we see that this mystery is being revealed in Christ for both the Jews and the Gentiles — that's what this passage is saying in verse six — "that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body." This is in the body of Christ. This mystery is furthermore revealed to the Gentiles as heirs, as members, as partakers in the promises in Christ.

And so God is gradually revealing Himself and His one grand plan of redemption in Christ throughout the entire Bible. This story of redemption is biblical history. And so God has revealed Himself through making promises to certain people. And on the back of your bulletin you see Adam and Noah and Abram and Moses and David, and then culminating in Christ. The purposes of fulfilling these promises is revealing Himself — the one true God — as God and Savior, who is to be worshipped and glorified. And so God is revealing His eminence, His vast deity. It's simply unattainable in our state as we are right now because we're not holy. He is holy. We cannot obtain all of who He is. We can't comprehend all of God's complexity. In fact, in Ephesians chapter three, verse eight, Paul refers to this as the unfathomable riches of Christ. These are far beyond what we are able to truly comprehend. We can't even be in the presence of a holy God without being burned up. We can't comprehend all the love of God without our heart exploding. We can't ascertain all the knowledge of God without our mind being blown. And so God gradually reveals Himself to us. And this is illustrated through history.

And so you'll see what Adam knew as perhaps illuminatory towards Christ. And you'll see what Abram knew of Christ as a little bit brighter light. And then you'll see not only what Noah and Abraham and Moses and David knew — all leading to Christ, because the mystery is Christ — you'll see this as God revealing Himself and His one plan of redemption in Christ. And this is unfathomable to the generations prior to us. But now we're looking back, and Jesus is — wow, we can gradually understand this. And like I mentioned, each of these covenants or promises merits its own message or even series. But today we'll get there.

Now we can't handle the full presence of God, but we can handle the word of God rightly. And we can work on this and we can get this. And so God's gradual revelation to us as feeble mankind seems to be a mystery. It seems to be a mystery. But this mystery is to be understood and is not to be concealed. And so Paul needs prayer in Ephesians chapter six, verses 18 and 19, to have boldness to reveal this mystery. And you think to yourself, well, what does it require prayer and boldness to reveal this mystery for? Well, I'm glad you asked.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 8 and 9, he talks about how there are many adversaries in Ephesus. These adversaries are many. And so you have all kinds of different opposers. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses 8 and 9 clarify why Paul needed boldness while he was in Ephesus. He told the Corinthians that there were many adversaries. And now Paul needs boldness while yet he is in chains in Rome as he writes to the church in Ephesus. And so more than his needing boldness, his transparency in dealing with the adversaries in Ephesus makes the Ephesians — who are also still dealing with those lingering adversaries — emboldened. Because if Paul needed prayer, so do I. And if Paul needed to ask for boldness, so do I, because these adversaries are real and they're intimidating and they are causing us to fear and they're warning us to yield to their church tradition. They're saying, "Hey, I don't care what Paul said. I'm saying to you the traditions that we've always had — from keeping the law of Moses — that's what's right and true."

And Paul wrote an entire letter to the church in Galatia saying if you add anything to the gospel, such as keeping the law, then you've nullified the gospel. Why did Christ die? He died needlessly if you can obtain righteousness or a right standing before God without the cross of Christ. And so the ones who are adversaries — the Judaizers, the Pharisees, the law-abiding ones — would be vehemently against Christ and Christ alone. And so as Paul goes to clarify the mystery — that it is in Christ, from Adam, from Noah, from Abram, from David, and that all of these promises are leading up to Christ — it would cause them to grit their teeth, clench their fists, and say, "I don't like what you're saying because this is not what I know." And so this is controversial. It truly is. So Paul is also emboldening the Ephesians, too, because they are also dealing with these adversaries.

Now you think of the word mystery. If you like mystery movies like I do — I like Sherlock Holmes — but that kind of mystery movie is not the biblical definition of a mystery. A mystery refers to in the Bible the unveiling of God's hidden plan of redemption in Christ. So this single plan that God has had from before the foundation of the world is being unveiled. And it seems to be a mystery. And it's our job to comprehend this mystery. It is clear. Jesus called it a secret. In Matthew chapter 13, verse 11, Jesus called it a secret. He said the secrets of the kingdom. And then as well he called it a mustard seed — the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed — in Matthew chapter 13, verse 31. And that is simply to say that a small amount of this mustard seed-like truth over time will yield big results. And so if you comprehend what Adam comprehended, if you comprehend what Noah and Abram and Moses and David comprehended, it will grow inside of you and be a massive tree-like truth — a massive amount of truth.

And so it takes generations to unveil such a small amount of God. Ephesians 3:5 says, "In other generations it was not made known." So the prior generations of Jews tried to keep the law, and they were still trying to keep the law as Paul was writing back to Ephesus. There was a segment, a small number of those who were in Ephesus, that were still pursuing abiding by the law. And now Jesus had fulfilled the law. Now anyone in Christ has the righteousness of Christ and is no longer subject to the law and its stipulations. And so this clarification of Christ and Christians makes law-abiders — the Judaizers — adversaries of the gospel. They're hostiles. You're living in a war zone. You think, "Oh, I want church to be a peaceful place where everybody can just come by and get along." I do too. But I want to really have unity. That was Jesus's desire for the church — to be unified in Christ and have unity among one another. The perfect fellowship that is displayed in the Trinity is the perfect fellowship that is available for churches as well. But the fact is there is a devil. And the fact is he hates God and he hates Christians. And he's going to do everything that he possibly can to taint the one true gospel. And so there is an evil one.

And now Paul is installing in Timothy these pastoral, strengthening truths to be bold in the faith. In fact, in 2 Timothy, he tells Timothy not to be timid, not to be ashamed, but to uphold the standard of sound words and to guard the gospel like treasure and to be strong in the grace of Christ. He tells Timothy to suffer hardship with him as a good soldier of Christ. And so Timothy was to work hard at preaching and teaching and making this mystery known — like an athlete and like a farmer — and to depend upon the gradual insight of God revealing Himself to mankind through the proclamation of His word. And so he was to suffer for the clarification of Christ as a good soldier.

This is fascinating because as Paul is building into Timothy these truths, he then makes a little reference to this mystery. Please turn to 2 Timothy 2:8 as we look at this before we enter into the promises. 2 Timothy 2:8. This is so good, because you see that Timothy would have known what Paul is talking about. 2 Timothy chapter two, verse eight says, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel." Oh, that little phrase right there — "descendant of David" — is a little nugget. It's a little nuance of truth. It's kind of like the tip of an iceberg. It helps us to know there's a whole lot more below the surface.

And the case that I made two weeks ago — that Paul's brief mentioning of the mystery of the gospel merits our understanding that Paul spent two years with the Ephesian church and most definitely clarified for them what the mystery of the gospel is — he taught them from the Old Testament all the way to where they are now to understand this mystery. And I further put before you this urgency for us to understand that Timothy also knew what Paul was talking about with this small little phrase, "descendant of David." And this will become more clear as I continue to teach today.

And so I just say this to you: the Jewish opposition was very serious and Paul was in jail because of revealing this mystery. Paul was imprisoned because of clarifying Christ and Christ alone. The Jews hated that and they leveraged Rome and all of their authority against Paul — and Jesus, by the way. And then as well, Timothy as a young man faces this very same opposition. Why do I say you too face this very same opposition? You can talk about anything you want normally, but as soon as you clarify Christ and Christ alone, then that is where the rubber meets the road. That is when the sheep are separated from the goats. That's when right and wrong is divided and clarified, which the word of God does. And so Paul needed boldness continually. Timothy needed not to be timid, but also bold continually. And we do too.

And so turn to Genesis chapter one as we open up this massive subject of the mystery being revealed gradually in Christ. And Christ is revealed, first of all, in Adam — and this is by way of typology, what I spoke about two weeks ago. And so I'll briefly go over this creation covenant and how Christ is revealed in Adam, and then the fulfillment of it is found in Romans 5:15.

Adam, being the first man — in the beginning, God made man in His own image. And so in Genesis chapter one, verse 26, that's what it says: "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image.'" He's an image bearer. So Adam established humanity's initial relationship with God and unfortunately he disobeyed. Now turn to chapter three, verse six. Genesis 3:6 says this — I just want you to see the fact that he ate, okay? He sinned. Sin entered in. Yes, she took too, but he ate. He is the federal head of humanity. We need to know without a shadow of a doubt that Adam is our federal head, because in Adam all have sinned. Sin then from the beginning equals death.

In Genesis chapter two, verse 17 — go back to verse 17, Genesis 2:17 — "But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it" — what is the consequence of eating from the tree? Death. So God established the death penalty for rebelling against Him and His word. Satan said to Eve, "Oh, surely that's too steep. Surely that can't be." And connivingly led Eve astray and Adam followed Eve. Oh, the problem now is that Adam sinned, and in Adam we have all sinned because he is our federal head. Adam's sin equaled death for him, and this is the curse that has spread to all mankind.

Now let's turn to the New Testament to see this continued. The New Testament fulfillment is in Romans chapter five, verse 12. Romans 5:12 and following says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all have sinned." There's the problem. So in Adam we've all sinned. Sin has spread to all men. The solution, or the promise, is in Romans 5:15: "But if by the transgression of one man the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound to the many." And so in this one verse you see the reference of Adam and then also the promise of Jesus Christ. And so Adam and Eve disobeyed, and now we see that Christ is the perfect obedience for mankind. By Christ's obedience and the imputation of His righteousness to us, we can safely stand before God. We can come behind the veil and into His holy presence and commune with Him. Christ is revealed in Adam. Mystery revealed in Adam. This is great.

So God promised and provided His Son to perfectly obey where Adam disobeyed. We need to know that. This is gradually revealing Christ, and this mystery is being revealed. Praise the Lord.

Now let's turn to the next promise in Genesis chapter six, verse 18. Genesis chapter six, verse 18. Now we're talking about how Christ is revealed in Noah. This is the Noahic covenant. The problem is that evil was great in the land. Let's read Genesis 6:18. Genesis 6:18 says, "But I will establish My covenant with you and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you." And so this ark was built in about 75 years or so, and this is going to help us to see Christ. In Genesis 6:5 it says that evil was great in the land. In Genesis 6:18 it says, "I will establish My covenant with you and you shall enter the ark." Now look at chapter seven and verse one. "Then Yahweh said to Noah, 'Enter the ark, you and all of your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.'" So Noah had the righteousness of Christ. And then chapter seven, verse 17: "The flood came."

Now the ark was a symbol of safety from this flood, and this flood was simply God's wrath upon the sin of mankind. How did Noah and his family get in the ark? They entered through the door. This is a clear promise pointing to Jesus, because Jesus said, "I am the door." In John chapter 10, verse nine, Jesus said, "I am the door, and if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved." So Christ is revealed in and through the story of Noah — mystery revealed. And so now it's getting a little bit clearer, and as you look at world history and biblical history — the first man Adam and the illumination of Christ — being not as bright as it is now, in Noah. And so the flood is just simply a foretaste of God's wrath to come, and there's a whole lot more to these covenants than what could be said in a simple sermon today. But I just want you to know here with Noah that God promised and provided a door of salvation and escape from His wrath. And so we see Jesus through Noah.

Now, to skip all of these wonderful exegetical notes about Hebrew and the rainbow and the ark and such for another time — for the sake of time, let's move on now to Genesis chapter 12 and let's look at how Christ is revealed in Abraham.

In Genesis chapter 12 and verses one through three, you have a promise, and this is the Abrahamic covenant. God promised Abraham that through him all the nations would be blessed. Genesis chapter 12 and verses one through three: "And Yahweh said to Abram, 'Go forth from your land and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land which I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing.'" Abraham is going to be a blessing to all the nations of the world. This is an everlasting, perpetual, continuous blessing.

You think to yourself, how can this be? This everlasting — this is definitely going to be a covenant. Turn to Genesis chapter 17 and verse seven and you will see that through Abraham, through his seed, all the nations are going to be blessed. They're going to have an everlasting covenant between God and Abraham that extends through Abraham, which then — of Abraham's descendants — is capable of being a blessing to the entire world. In Genesis 17:7 it says, "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your seed after you."

Now it continues to talk about this seed for quite some time, but just for the sake of time — who do you think is capable of fulfilling and ratifying an everlasting covenant that is of Abraham's posterity? Which of his descendants? Well, in Matthew chapter one, the good Jewish man Matthew is really good at genealogies because he's Jewish. And they really value genealogies. They want to know where their heritage goes back to and which tribe they were a part of. They're all of Abraham, but they want to know which tribe as well, so they keep meticulous genealogical records. In Matthew chapter one you see that Abraham was the father of Isaac and Isaac was the father of Jacob, and all the way through that chapter down to verse 16 you'll see Abraham has descendants listed for fourteen generations. And then verse 16: "Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born." And so you see that Jesus is Abraham's seed. And so you see — how then would Abraham be a blessing to all of the nations in the world? Which of his descendants would be able to do that? Which seed? Genesis 17:7 — "Through your seed I'll be a blessing to the entire world, all the nations." It's Christ. And so Abraham's seed is Christ.

Now this is a very important theological point for you to be able to see — that truth is revealed further and further clarified through biblical truth over time. God gradually clarifies these truths. When you look at Genesis 17:7, you see that the covenant between Abraham and Himself will extend through his seed to future generations. And this promise is to all the nations of the world.

Turn to Galatians chapter three, verse 16, and you will see that this seed is specifically Christ. In Galatians chapter three and verse 16: "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham" — we just read back in Genesis about these promises, these promises to be a blessing to the entire world, to all the nations, this perpetual, covenantal, continuous, eternal promise to be a blessing. "Now these promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed." Circle the word "seed." "He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as referring to many, but rather to one, 'And to your seed,' that is" — this is clarified here — "Christ." Christ is the seed of Abraham who is a blessing to the entire world and all generations to come and to all the nations. And so now we see that through the seed of Abraham, Christ is revealed. Mystery revealed.

The mystery that Paul had already taught to the Ephesians was that through Abraham, Christ would be a blessing to all the nations. So Abraham's seed is Christ, and this is clarified in Galatians 3:16. God promised to provide Abraham with a seed that has blessed all the nations in the world. And so now you see, as time continues, how it gradually reveals Christ as Savior and Lord — the one plan of redemption that God has — now through Adam in Genesis, and then Noah and Abraham. So you see like a flashlight — the light is getting brighter and bigger as we go through time.

And now let's move from Abraham to Moses. Moses is another promise that God made — another covenant. Let's turn to Exodus chapter 19.

In Exodus chapter 19 and verse 20, we're going to see something here — that Yahweh gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai. And this is also known not only as the Mosaic covenant but also the Sinaitic covenant after Mount Sinai. And so Moses represents the law. In Exodus chapter 19 and verse 20: "And Yahweh descended on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up." And now as this chapter and the next chapter unfold, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments — the summation of the law. And so Moses represents the law.

And in this, it is supposed to be that people would see the law and how it reveals in them an inadequacy. And that they would have to look to another one who was adequate. They would see in themselves a merit that didn't measure up, and they would need to be pointed to one who had merit — perfect merit. As you look at the law and how it was given, it was not intended for them to make all of these awful minute sub-laws to try to fulfill their own righteousness and live up to these things, but to see that they need a Savior. And so we need to understand that Moses represents the law, but grace and truth — the grace of salvation, the truth of salvation — come through Christ. And so this New Testament fulfillment is spoken specifically in John chapter one, verse 17.

John chapter one, verse 17: "For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." And so this is definitely talking about what we just read back in Exodus. And the New Testament continuation of us gradually understanding and ascertaining Christ comes through this New Testament fulfillment. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. And so Christ then fulfilled all of the law. What Israel could not do, Christ did. Israel didn't keep Moses's law. None can keep this law. So Christ came and He fulfilled the law. Matthew chapter five, verse 17 says this: "Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." And so Matthew 5:17 is very clear that Jesus fulfilled the law. It must be fulfilled.

So Christ is revealed through Moses — mystery revealed even further. God is progressively revealing this mystery of Christ. Adam points to Christ. Noah points to Christ. Abraham points to Christ. And now Moses does too. And so where Israel was imperfect, Christ was perfect and Christ perfectly fulfilled this law. And so God promised and provided One — that being Jesus — to fulfill the law while we could not fulfill it ourselves. And do you see now how Christ is becoming brighter and brighter and brighter.

Now let's move on from Moses to David. Turn if you would to 2 Samuel chapter seven. 2 Samuel chapter seven. And we're going to see even further how this is clarified. Christ is revealed in David, and this is the Davidic covenant. And again, I confess to you that I'm simply extracting from these promises how we see Christ in them. I'm not fully explaining each covenant because it merits a standalone sermon in itself.

And so in 2 Samuel chapter seven and verses 12 through 14, you're going to see that God promised David that from his seed there will be one to come who will sit on his throne forever — and that's the important word here, the word "forever." Chapter seven, verses 12 through 14: "When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up one of your descendants after you who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."

So David was on the throne. Did he stay there forever? Nope. David died. He wasn't on the throne forever. But Christ — He's on the throne forever. In verse 16, "And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever. Your throne shall be established forever." This is a promise that God made to David. Who then can fulfill this kind of covenantal promise? Well, this is important to see — it is Christ and Christ alone. "Your throne will be established forever," 2 Samuel 7:16.

And just like we mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, in 2 Timothy 2:8 Paul said to Timothy, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David." And so this has a lot of backdrop when Paul says to Timothy "descendant of David." Timothy's thinking, "Yes, it is the eternal Christ who is sitting on the throne forever. He is King." Where David was an imperfect king, Christ is the perfect King.

Again, in the genealogy of Matthew chapter one, verse one, you see the genealogy of Jesus Christ — the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. And so David is of Abraham and Christ is of Abraham in their genealogy. In Revelation chapter 22, verse 16, Jesus said, "I am the root and the offspring of David." This is further clarified in Luke chapter one, verses 31 through 33. Listen to this: "The Lord will give Him the throne of His father David, forever and ever." That's Luke 1:31–33. And this passage is rather interesting because it echoes Isaiah 9:7, which says, "His government of peace is on the throne of David forever and ever." And so David was the imperfect king but points to the promise of an eternal, perfect King, and the only one who has established that or has the merit to establish that is Christ.

In Hebrews chapter one, verse three, it says, "Having accomplished the cleansing of sins" — what is that a reference to? It's a reference to Christ having fulfilled the obligations needed to provide salvation to those who repent and believe on the cross — "having accomplished the cleansing of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And so Christ is on the throne right now, ruling and reigning. Christ is revealed in David — mystery revealed. And we can continue to see Christ in this brighter way. So God promised and provided an eternal King to rule on the throne of David.

And now as we have seen Christ illuminated through all of these promises, in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 24, you have all of this building up to Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12:24, "Jesus the mediator of a new covenant." All of these covenants lead up now to this new covenant. And now it's all about Christ. It's all about Christ and Christ alone. In Hebrews 12:24, "And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel." You see, the blood of Abel cried out for vengeance — "Vengeance is mine, I need to make this right." But Christ is pleading mercy. This is better, because we don't live underneath God's hand of vengeance. It would be completely right for God to completely annihilate us because of our transgressions against Him now. God would be just in doing that. We've sinned, we've transgressed, we can't make it up. There's nothing we can do that would buy off God's wrath from our sin. We've sinned in awful, atrocious ways. And you see from the very beginning of the Bible that sin equals what? Death.

This is a better covenant because Christ is pleading mercy. And He's offering an agreement here for us that if we would repent and believe in Him, then we will not have to suffer eternal punishment in hell forever. The new covenant, again, merits its own standalone sermon. But if you want to be in Christ, if you want to be a new-covenant, re-created being with a new heart, then see what the Bible is saying — that this one plan of God, building up in Christ, displays Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. It's all about Him. It's all about the glory of Christ.

And so as we see this, and the truths that are gradually revealed to us, we see through Adam that Christ is our substitute on the cross. We see through Noah that Christ provides a door to salvation. We see through Abram that Christ is our eternal blessing. And we see through Moses that God fulfilled through Christ all of His law. And we see through David that Christ is King. He is Lord of our hearts. He's Lord of our lives.

And as we submit to Him, these are the take-home truths that are set before you.

Take-home truth number one: in Adam, we see Christ as substitute. He's the substitute. Christ is our substitute. He is our propitiation. That's just a theological word that says that God's just wrath upon sin was poured out on Christ and not you. Now you think of the worst crime that you have ever committed — right now, think about it. And you think of a crime that is not the worst crime that you've ever committed, like a little bitty lie. You set them side by side. Both of these things merit God's just wrath because you've broken His holy law. It nullifies good works as unto salvation. We see that God sent His only begotten Son — the innocent party — to stand in between His wrath and you, to take on the pain of salvation: the pain of rejection, the pain of suffering, the pain of punishment, the wrath. He — God — put Christ as a substitute in your place. We see that all the way back from Adam.

Take-home truth number two: Christ provides a door of salvation. This is a door for you to walk through and commit to. Let me tell you right now — you cannot treat this flippantly and live how you want to live. Christ has provided a door of salvation, and when you are saved it radically changes your life. The things of this world — Paul equated them to a rubbish pile, a pile of garbage, and some Greek experts would call it dung. And when you get Christ and you truly comprehend Him, the things of this world are futile, meaningless, nothing. The entire Bible is about Christ and Christ has died for you in your place. He's been your substitute, taking on the wrath, because the consequence of your sin is death. God's wrath killed Christ in your place, and now you see that He's provided a door of escape, a door for safety, a door to be saved through. And when you come through that door, it all changes.

Take-home truth number three: in Abram, Christ is our eternal blessing. And as you comprehend Christ, it doesn't mean that the Bible is your self-help book — as if you say to yourself, "I'm so glad that Christ died for me, now I get to go live my own life. I get to keep my money. I get to keep my time. I get to keep my energy. I get to do what I want when I want. I'm so glad Christ died for me." You don't treat all of this as if you are on your own throne and Christ is servant to you. You treat this for what it is. This is magnificent. I've been saved, wonderfully saved. And now my life is in Christ. The reason why I speak is because of Christ, and I want to lift up and glorify Christ. The reason why I live is because Christ died for me to live in Him. The reason why I work is to glorify Christ. The reason why I love my wife and children and lead them in the word of God is because of Christ.

And so now, not only do you see that He is this eternal blessing — and it goes beyond our life here — you now start to comprehend eternity, an eternal blessing. One of these days we're going to be able to be at the throne, worshipping Him eternally. This life is but a mist and it's soon going to pass. Don't focus all of your energy and your worries about mist. Seriously. This life is about Christ. And if you focus your life on anything but Christ, you're living a futile, deceived life. I beg and I plead for you to seek Christ and live for Christ and put the self aside, put the fears and anxieties of this world aside and live for Christ — because of this eternal gift and blessing that He has given you. And if you miss this, you shortchange your life in Christ. This life can be rich and beautiful and wonderful and meaningful for eternity, but if you miss Christ, it's just shallow. It's just a dead-end street. It's boredom. It's emptiness. It's nothingness. You'll be chasing the next thrill over and over and over and over again.

Take-home truth number four: through Moses, we see Christ as our fulfillment. He is our fulfillment. So many dead denominations want to trick you into keeping the law, but Christ has fulfilled the law. So many empty, dead religions want you to live up to a certain set of what they would deem as more important rules — keep the Sabbath, your diet, better not lie, don't work on Sunday. All of these laws that seem to put more emphasis on one than another. No — it's the law. It's the word of God. It is Christ. Christ fulfilled the law. He is your fulfillment. And when you comprehend that, guess what? You're no longer trying to work your way up, but you're resting in Christ. Your rest is in Christ. You're no longer trying to be legalistic about keeping one day a week aside for Christ. You rest in Christ 24-7. He is your peace. He is your righteousness. He is your rest. He is your rejuvenation. He is your fulfillment. He kept the law, and now you keep the law out of love for Him, love for Christ. You do your best not to murder somebody because the Bible says thou shalt not murder. And then when you get to know Christ a little bit better, you do your absolute best — out of love for Christ — not to kill someone in your mind and think about murdering somebody. We love Christ, and it brings us to a higher walk with Christ out of love, not out of a legalistic obligation, because He's already fulfilled it. This is truly wonderful. There's so much more to it.

Take-home truth number five: in David, Christ is our King. He's ruling and reigning now. There is nothing that happens that is outside of the will of Christ our King. And in everything and in every way there is a truth to be understood. And I'd like to take just a brief moment and ask you to turn to Ephesians chapter three, verse 13.

Is Christ ruling and is He King or is He not? Are there things that happen that are outside of His control right now? Ephesians 3:13 says, "Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my afflictions on your behalf, which are your glory."

These glorious afflictions that we participate in as Christians — Paul is asking the Ephesian church, "Don't lose heart in these things. Don't lose heart. There are afflictions. There are sufferings. It's promised to Christians. But Christ is King. There's nothing that happens outside of God's sovereign control." God really does work all things for our good — for those who love God and for His glory. He really does. You say to yourself, "Well, Charlie Kirk just got murdered." Believe that God works all things for the good. Romans 8:28, "For those who love Him" — did Charlie Kirk love God? Without a shadow of a doubt. So, chapter three, verse 13 — don't lose heart, don't lose heart. The Bible says to weep with those who weep. The godly sorrow that you perhaps feel over a good man being murdered is good. It's fellowship with Christ our King.

But don't lose heart. Christ is King and He is Lord. Has He not established a date for us all to die? Hebrews 9:27, "It is appointed for man to die once." This did not surprise God. May God through the fellowship of His Holy Spirit bless Charlie Kirk's wife and children and parents immensely. And as you see throughout the Bible, the depths of suffering are often matched by the heights of His glories in that person's life — here and now and in the days to come in eternity. I hate that that happened. It's tragic. It's gruesome. And the evil ones will get their just payment for what they did. God is just. But don't lose heart. Christ is King.

And just like the ones who have gone before us and proclaimed Christ boldly — like Charlie Kirk has very clearly proclaimed Christ, over and over and over again. If you've seen it, you know that what I'm saying is true. He was bold about his faith. And just like the ones who have been bold in their faith, who have gone before us and been persecuted and beaten and even martyred for their faith — you see throughout the biblical testimony and world history that God utilizes their death to do more for the kingdom of God and the gospel with them gone than they ever would have done alive.

And in God's mysterious but glorious plan, He's going to work this for good. We believe that to be true because we see Christ as King. He always has been. In John chapter one, verses one through three, you see that He was before the foundation of the world. In Colossians chapter one, verses 15 through 20, you see that Christ is the Creator. If you look at the verses there in Colossians chapter one, verses 15 through 20, you also see that He's head of the church and He's the sustainer of all things. He's King. He's Lord. All things — do not be weary. Do not be ones who would be given to losing heart on these things. Christ is King.

And so through all of these wonderful covenants and through all these promises and through this one mysterious plan of redemption, you see God is progressively revealing His Son as Savior and Lord. And so on the back of your bulletin you see one concluding statement: God's mysterious single plan of redemption is progressively revealed through promises that point to the glory of Christ as Lord and Savior.

And I pray that if you want to be in Christ, if you've seen this for what it truly is, then you would look at the futility of all other man-made religions. The false evolutionary theory that is out there — that everything has come from nothing — is futile and empty. Put it aside. See Christ. All of Buddhism. All of Muhammad. All of the false religions out there. You can see that, right? But do you see what's plaguing us in our own country? Do you see that selfism is the same as Buddhism? Do you see that selfism is the same as Confucianism? Do you see that selfism is the same as all of these false religions? When you put yourself in control of your own life and you are not submitting to Christ as King, God of all of the Bible, then you're missing Christ.

But I pray today that if you have truly seen that the Bible is speaking of Christ through and through, that you would repent and believe the gospel. Because that was Jesus' first words by way of preaching, by the way. Jesus' first words by way of preaching — in Matthew chapter four, verse 17, it says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And so if you believe that Christ is King and what He says, and you do not know Him as Lord and Savior, you've never come through that door. He is the door. No man comes to the Father except through Him. But if you have never been one who has seen your sin for what it is — and you hate your sin and you've felt sorrowful for your sin and you've set your sin aside, you've repented of it, you've turned from your wicked ways and clung to Christ — I pray that you would do that even now. Do not let another day go by before you cling to Christ. Do not let another hour, another moment, another minute pass — repent and believe the gospel. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again for your sin. And His substitutionary death is for those who repent and believe.

Let's pray together. Lord, I thank You and I pray that You would help us to continue to see Christ as King, Lord, Master, and Savior. I pray that if anyone here has never repented of their sin that they would say and cry out to You, "God, forgive me." Give them repentance. Give them the ability to confess. Lord, I pray, may they drop before You. And if they're not convinced, may they go home and relook at this text today to see that this mystery, gradually revealed over time, is now for both Jews and Gentiles to come to Christ and be saved. Oh, we love You, and it's in Jesus' name that we do pray. Amen.