Applying the Gospel

Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

~

Our Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against you
in our actions, in our words, in our minds, in our very hearts.
We have believed lies about you.
We have resented your authority.
We have loved an illusion of our own righteousness.
We have lived as if we could run our lives better than you.
O God, be merciful to us and save us from ourselves.
Assure us of your forgiveness and your love for us in your Son.
Grant us true faith and repentance through your Holy Spirit.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

~

Holy Trinity, your love is eternal, faithful, and true.
You are love.
There is none like you.
We are not like you.
We have not loved you with all our heart, soul, mind, or strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We sin and fall short of your glory.
In the holiness of your love, forgive us.
Cleanse us, glorify us, fill us with your love.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A SERMON SERIES ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Exodus 20:1-2
“Your God Spoke These Words“
(on the Preface to the Ten Commandments)

Exodus 20:3
“Your Only God“
(on the First Commandment)

Exodus 20:4-6
“Your God, Revealed for Relationship“
(on the Second Commandment)

Exodus 20:7
“Taking Your God’s Name“
(on the Third Commandment)

Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15
“Remember the Sabbath“
(on the Fourth Commandment)

Exodus 20:12
“Humility“
(on the Fifth Commandment)

Exodus 20:13
“Life Is Love“
(on the Sixth Commandment)

Exodus 20:14
“I Am Not My Own“
(on the Seventh Commandment)

Exodus 20:15
“The Gift-Life“
(on the Eighth Commandment)

Exodus 20:16
“Speaking the Truth in Love“
(on the Ninth Commandment)

Exodus 20:17
“Jesus Is Enough“
(on the Tenth Commandment)

This is a sermon from Philippians 3:7-12, preached Thursday, October 10, 2024, during Worship at the Stated Meeting of the Pacific Northwest Presbytery of the PCA, at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Walla Walla, WA.

Sermon Audio (mp3)

Sermon Notes (pdf)

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
(Proverbs 9:10)

“She’s an old soul.” “He’s got his head on straight.” “You’re wise beyond your years.” “Whatever happened to common sense?” People tend to assume that they have a good working definition of wisdom, that they can recognize it when they see it. But it’s unlikely that our ideas about wisdom entirely align with what the Scriptures say about it. And the Scriptures say a lot about wisdom. In a sense, the whole Bible is about humanity getting wisdom. And it’s been a long, hard road.

Proverbs 8 has Wisdom Personified at the foundation of the world, now calling to humanity to listen and be blessed. “Whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from Yahweh, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36). The wise are often contrasted with the foolish, just like the righteous with the wicked, the rescued with the lost; one in each pair is in a relationship of life with the one true God, the other is not. Folly is linked to spiritual death; wisdom is linked to spiritual life.

Ironically, when the woman in the Garden of Eden saw that the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was “to be desired to make one wise,” and reached out to take “wisdom” in defiance of God, it was the greatest folly in the history of the universe… and it meant death (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-7). The glorious, eternal God was discarded for the intellectual pursuit of knowledge. If only (!) she had believed, with James, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). True wisdom comes as a gift to those who are in relationship with God, who humbly ask him for it.

Wisdom isn’t just about having a lot of information (knowledge). It isn’t just about being smart (intelligence). It isn’t just about life experience, or abstractly knowing right from wrong, or making good business decisions, or being able to teach. True wisdom is about a Godward life. “The fear of Yahweh is instruction in wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33; cf. Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 2:4-6; 9:10; Isaiah 11:2). Fearing God—relating properly to God—is the foundation and essence of wisdom, which is “a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27; cf. John 17:3).

True wisdom is living all of life in relationship to God. True wisdom sees the world, not pessimistically or cynically, but with hope that what is seen is the seed of as-yet-unseen resurrection glory. True wisdom engages the world, not in autonomous strength, but prayerfully. True wisdom is spiritual—that is, it comes from the Holy Spirit—and appears as folly to the natural person who cannot properly judge spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). And, honestly, true wisdom is well out of our reach, apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is himself “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). As the divine Son, he has always been Wisdom Personified. As the human, Jesus of Nazareth, he became Wisdom Incarnate. In himself he has made humanity humble, dependent, trusting, prayerful, hopeful, and spiritual. He doesn’t just have life with God, he is life with God (1 John 1:2). It is only through him that we may have a Godward life. He is the Lord. When we know him, we know life with God. When we fear him, we’ve finally got our heads on straight.

So it is in Christ, in relationship with God as our Father through him, vicariously, that we find true wisdom. We can walk with our eyes open to the way his kingdom works in the midst of this fallen world. We can see deep comedy where others see only meaningless tragedy. We can choose not to throw away our lives, wasting them on the passing pleasures of sin, but to spend them, pouring them out in Christlike service. We can cease being cold curmudgeons, and become joyful singers of redeeming love. We can know, despite appearances to the contrary, that we are not alone, that we will never be alone, that God is with us as our Father, that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us, that we have the Spirit as the guarantee of the promise of all the fullness of God… so we can be thankful in Christ, for Christ, because of Christ. And we can even begin to live in right relationships with each other, as we walk in wisdom in the fear of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do people tend to conceive of “wisdom”? What is the essence of that “wisdom”? How is it different from Biblical wisdom as it is portrayed here? Why does Biblical wisdom seem like folly to the “wise” of this world? If Adam and Eve were foolish to grasp for wisdom apart from God, why does the Scripture say “their eyes were opened” (Genesis 3:7) after they ate the forbidden fruit? Can you think of other times in the Scriptures when the eyes of God’s people are opened, and what it is that they are opened to see? How are they opened? What difference in your life do you think true wisdom might make? (Be specific.) Do you want this wisdom? How can you get this wisdom?

(Originally posted Oct. 18, 2015. Edited Jan. 18, 2024.)

Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

~

Righteous God, you alone are good.
There is something deeply wrong with us that we cannot make right.
When we look for life apart from you, we sin.
When we seek our own righteousness, we sin.
When we wish we could be good enough, we sin.
When we keep our distance from you by wallowing in guilt, we sin.
You alone are righteous,
and you declare us righteous through faith in Jesus.
Jesus, give us eternal and abundant life with God in your name. Amen.

Please feel free to use this in your personal or public Worship.

~

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father has given all judgment into your hands.
We can hardly bear to confess our sins to you,
but neither can we hide them from you.
O God, you know that we have sinned against you
from the depths of our souls, every day of our lives.
Judge of all the earth, our life is in your hands.
When you placed your life in our hands, it meant your death.
We entrust ourselves to your good judgment, and to yours alone.
In your mercy, be our judge. In your holiness, forgive us.
Assure us of your perfect love, and cast out all our fears. Amen.

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

Yahweh bless you and keep you;
Yahweh make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Yahweh lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

‘So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them’” (Numbers 6:22-27).

For long millennia, God has instructed those serving as his representatives to bless his people in his name, with the word of his grace, as is seen in this Aaronic blessing. The tradition goes back even further; centuries before Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests, the patriarchs blessed their sons, the coming generations of God’s people (Genesis 27; 49). And before that, Melchizedek, “priest of God Most High,” blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18-19).

The practice of priestly benediction ultimately stems from God’s fundamental attitude toward his people, which is one of blessing. In the beginning, after creating humanity in his image, the very first thing Yahweh did was bless them (Genesis 1:27-28). Priestly benediction not only reflects God’s attitude of gracious favor toward us, but it also reflects his desire to include human representatives in the blessing of his people.

The Aaronic blessing was already ancient by the time of Christ, who is God’s Ultimate Representative, our Great High Priest. It is likely that the risen Lord Jesus proclaimed this very blessing over his disciples when he ascended into heaven:

“Lifting up his hands he blessed them. And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51).

This final sight of Jesus would have been etched into the memories of the disciples. Imagine the “great joy” (v. 52) they had, hearing these words of blessing from the one who spoke on God’s behalf and now represented them in heaven. His words are absolutely, certainly definitive of all our reality. The Lord Jesus himself is the Word of God, the revelation of God, “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). In him, God has the first Word and the final Word in our relationship with him. His Word establishes and encompasses our life, and therefore our liturgy as it signifies our relationship with him. And, in Jesus Christ, we know his definitive Word to be “the word of his grace” (Acts 14:3; 20:32).

Just as the disciples went away worshiping and rejoicing because of the gracious words of Jesus, so the benediction is the last Word ringing in our ears. It is not primarily a commandment or even a prayer, but a blessing to be received with open hearts. In the benediction, the minister, acting as a representative, speaks on behalf of the God who is eternally speaking his word of grace to his people. His steadfast love endures forever, so we stand always under God’s blessing. We are sent forth, not without God, but with him and with his blessing.

There are blessings to be found throughout the Scriptures that can be proclaimed as benedictions (e.g., Deuteronomy 31:18; John 20:21; 2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 3; etc.). The disposition of the Triune God is well disclosed to us in what is known as the Apostolic Benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). And, at the close of the Scriptures, the final words of the Revelation of Jesus Christ are fitting here: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Rev. 22:21).

How do you receive the benediction at the end of corporate Worship? Do you believe that God’s fundamental attitude toward you is one of blessing, that this is the first and last word that defines your relationship with him in Christ? Why or why not? What difference would believing this make in your life? How might the disciples’ response to Jesus’ blessing upon his ascension inform your response to Jesus?

The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Jesus instituted the sacrament of Communion on the night of the Passover, the night he was betrayed. He gave it as a gift to his disciples, and intended that they partake of it regularly. It is not an awards ceremony for those who have great faith and who have mastered righteousness—it is given to sinners whose faith is small and weak, who hunger and thirst for Jesus as their Savior. It is a Means of Grace that assures us that God really does love us, that God really has made full provision for our hunger and thirst. Jesus is the true spiritual Food and Drink we need for eternal life with God, and he is truly given to us and for us.

Jesus gives us this meal to point us to his gift of himself. No one took his life from him, but he gave it freely. Ultimately, Jesus gave his life—his body and blood—at the cross as a substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. That perfect sacrifice was effective once and for all. Jesus has given us the Table as a regular reminder and proclamation of his sacrifice. You can know God’s love for you in Christ is true, as surely as you can taste the bread and wine.

But it is more than merely a memorial meal. It is also a real fellowship with God. It is “the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son’s communion with the Father” (J. B. Torrance). The crucified and risen Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven bodily, where he has glorious and everlasting communion with the Father as our representative. His body and blood do not descend to earth again, somehow, in the elements of bread and wine. Rather, he is present with us spiritually, that is, through his Spirit, as we are lifted up into his presence. Jesus shares his heavenly communion with the Father, with us. Even as he instituted that first Supper, beginning with the prayer of his own faithful thanksgiving (“eucharist”), Jesus feeds us out of his own life with God.

As we consume Jesus, spiritually, by faith, we take his life with God into ourselves, which becomes our strength for life with God in this world and the next. Jesus said:

“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (John 6:54-56)

Jesus will raise us with resurrection bodies like his own on the last day of this old world, and the New Heavens and New Earth will begin with a feast consummating the church’s union with her Bridegroom. We will see him face to face, and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will all live happily ever after, together. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, a picture and promise of our good future with God.

What facet(s) of the Lord’s Table seem especially important to you right now? Why is it significant that Jesus shared this meal, this intimate Communion, with his disciples just before being betrayed by one of them and abandoned by the rest? Why would someone want to receive the gift of participating in the life of someone who is going to his crucifixion? Why is this sacrament properly administered by an ordained pastor in the context of corporate Worship? Why do you think God gave us a simple ritual of food and drink as such an important Means of Grace for our corporate Worship? How might the sacrament inform the way we eat “regular” meals? Does the Lord’s Supper usually seem a somber or joyous occasion to you, and why? Biblically speaking, what practical aspects of the sacrament seem to be essential?