Grand Rapids Conference: 1992, Paul's Doctrine and (16:25)
Gospel—G.H. Hayhoe
Could we turn first of all to the Epistle to the Romans in the last chapter, Romans chapter 16 and verse 25. Now to Him that is a power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began. But now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment. Of the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith to God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. And then in two Timothy chapter 3, in verse 10, Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 10. But thou hast fully known my doctrine. Manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured. But out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yeah, and all they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Oh, with the Lord's help, tonight I'd like to speak of what Scripture speaks of as Paul's doctrine. Paul's gospel because there were certain things that were revealed to the Apostle Paul for the good of his people. And I believe the Spirit of God would have us to be in the enjoyment of what has now been revealed consequent upon the work of Christ and the coming down of the Holy Spirit of God into this world. Because in the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came down as a divine person. He worked in the Old Testament. The scriptures were inspired by the. Spirit of God, it says holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But the Lord Jesus Speaking of the day of Pentecost said he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. And it speaks of this in Peter's epistle. It says the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. You also remember that the Lord Jesus before he went away. Said that the Holy Spirit would not come unless he went away. And that if you did what you did, did, when he had accomplished redemption, then he said he would send the Spirit of God. And he said He will lead you into all truth. There's another interesting thing to remember, and that is when the Lord Jesus said that in the 16th chapter of John, He said that He would lead us into all truth. Then he added, He shall glorify me, for He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. And what is often made the comment that we can make a simple test of any doctrine that is presented to us by just asking that one question. Does this line of teaching that's being presented brings some glory to man, or does it bring glory to Christ? And you'll find your friends, that the truth of God always puts man in his true place and puts the Lord Jesus, the one who in all things must have the preeminence, puts him in his rightful place. A very common teaching that is known in Christendom is that believers can be saved and lost. But if we trace that to its source, we find that it's giving some glory to man because you would say, well, the Lord saved me by his grace, but I had to do my part or I would never get to heaven. So you see, it wouldn't be all the glory to the Lord Jesus. Partly it would be to yourself because you had kept saved after he saved you. You say, well, there's some difficult scriptures, but the scripture says that when he leads us into. Truth, that he shall glorify me. And I say again, if it's the truth of God, it glorifies Christ. And so when you think of eternal security, it rests entirely upon the work of Christ and upon the saving. The one who saves us, carrying us all the way home, tells us, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand, some people say. Well, you could pluck yourself out, but you notice there are two clauses in that verse. They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So there are two things mentioned. Suppose you could pluck yourself out of the Lord's hand. I don't believe you can, But supposing you could, the other part of it says they shall never perish, because the Lord Jesus, having saved us, is the captain of our salvation.
Pledging himself to complete the work that he has begun. And so I say again, let's say that baptism is part of salvation. Then the work of Christ was not enough. Unless some man put you under the water and said certain words over you, he wouldn't be fit for heaven. So it would not depend only on the work of Christ. It would depend partly on something that a man could do in order to make you fit for heaven. But, dear friends, the truth of God. God always honors and exalts the Lord Jesus, and I trust that what is said here tonight will give us to realize this. There's another verse in First Corinthians that says if a man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know it. And the reason I believe it says that is because if learning the truth of God doesn't humble me, I haven't learned it in the right way. Because when I learn the truth of God, it puts me in my. Place and put God in his right place, and so you can learn things that make you proud, that make you feel you've made attainments. But in the things of God, what we learn always makes nothing of ourselves, and makes everything of Christ, that in all things he might have the preeminence. And I believe this is so important for us in acquiring the knowledge of the truth of God in our souls. I'll say a little more about this, what Paul calls my gospel and my doctrine. After Paul was saved, the Lord said to him that he would use him for what he had seen, and in the things that he would appear unto him. And Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven, and certain revelations were given to him, revelations that are not found in other than Paul's ministry. And Paul speaks of it as my gospel and. Those things lead us into the full blessedness of Christianity, because God has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. He's called us friends, and He wants us to be in the good and in the enjoyment of all that He has purposed for us. If you have a friend and you really are close to that friend, you like to bring them into your counsels. If you're planning to do something, you like to be able to tell them what. Plan to do and feel that they can share in it. And you know, if you're a believer, you're part of the bride of Christ when he takes his rightful place, his church will be his glorious bride to share with him the place that he will occupy as the head of whole, the whole new creation scene. And so he wants us by the Spirit to enter into and enjoy these things. And so I just want to say this because you'll notice very. Often the words, but now because those things were not revealed until redemption was accomplished and until the Holy Spirit had been sent down to earth to lead us into all truth. We touched on one of them last night in Acts 13, and I just like to start with this one in Acts chapter 13 and verse 38. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you, the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which she could not be justified by the law of Moses. Here it speaks of the truth of justification. This is something that we find in Paul's ministry, going beyond forgiveness. As we were saying last night, it's a wonderful thing to be forgiven, but just to be forgiven doesn't really set you at ease. You might forgive me for having stolen from you, but that wouldn't make me thoroughly at ease in your presence. You might look on me as a forgiven thief, but if you could look at me as though I had never done the deed, as though if you can look at me as being in all the favor and acceptance of your own dearest friend, then you would set me at ease. Some have said that justified. It could be just said quickly, just as if I'd never sinned. But dear friends, it's more than that. Because if God placed you in the position just as if you'd never sinned, you'd be in the position of unfallen Adam. He hadn't sinned, but he did sin and he forfeited what he had received. But God does more than that. He speaks of it, as we noticed last night, as justification of life. And so it's more than just as if you'd never sinned. It's to be made the righteousness of God in Christ. Do you know that you will not have a different new life in heaven than you already possess? If you belong to Christ, you will already possess eternal life. And Christ is our life. It says when Christ who is our life, because you have.
Anything more than that. Anything more than the life of Christ for your life. So it says, when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. Now of course, in this world we have two things we won't have in heaven. We have another tenet in our bodies. We have that fallen nature with which we are born, that nature that loves sin, that never improves. God himself doesn't attempt to improve it, He condemns it. God sending his own Son in the likeness of. Sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh condemned it. What do you do with rotten lumber? You don't try to improve it, you condemn it, and that's what God has done. And the beloved apostle Paul could say in May, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. You would think, well, a great apostle like that, surely he wouldn't have that wretched fallen nature still in him. Yes, it was still there. It was still there, but in God's account. It came to an end at the cross. In that and we're told to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So your body is like a house with two tenants if you're a believer. Before God, the first one, you're told to reckon dead and to see yourself as God sees you in an entirely new life, an entirely new standing before God, which you never had before, justified from all things, justification of life. What a wonderful thing it is to know that, to be in the good of it, you say. Well, evil thoughts come into my mind. I didn't think I'd have them after I had been saved. God doesn't tell you the old man is going to improve, He tells you to keep it in the place of death. Don't let it take control of your body. Just like if you have two tenants in the house and you say now one of these is the lawful tenant, the other one has no right to control this house. And that's what God says. He says reckon the old man dead and let that new man take control in your life. But don't be surprised when you find the old man popping up every once in a while. And you are to reckon yourself dead if you allow him to act. You need restoration, not to your position before God, but to fellowship with God. Your fellowship remains. There's a beautiful verse in John's epistle that says. It says, as He is, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. Isn't that a wonderful verse? That we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is so are we when we get there No in this world justified from all things. Oh what a liberty it is to rejoice in this. This is something that was revealed to the apostle Paul from Christ in glory. He spoke with a little last night justification of life and that's the starting point of your Christian life. Your sins all forgive them God places. You in a new position before him, a new life, a new standing before him, holy and without blame, before him, in love, having given you the very life that you'll have in heaven. And as I say, when we get the glory, we'll not have that fallen nature, that old man inside that second, that old tenant that likes to do what's wrong. And then also we'll not have these bodies of humiliation because we'll see that God is going to give us bodies of glory fashioned like unto Christ, glorious body. But I'd like first of all to impress this on everyone here because. Because many dear Christians are troubled, they think when they're saved, they're not going to want to do wrong things anymore. And when they discover that this old man is still there, they think there's something wrong with their Christian experience. Friends, it'll always be there. I say again, the apostle Paul said in me that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. This. Fallen nature will never improve. Don't expect it to improve. Let the Spirit of God. Through the new life, occupy you with Christ, bring you into the joy and rejoicing of your standing in Christ, and you'll have a fruitful, happy Christian life. So that's the first thing that God wants the believer to know and that he's not only forgiven, he's justified from all things, from the which he could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Now press it could turn to another one in Ephesians 3, verse one for this 'cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me, to you word how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words, whereof would ye read? Ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of man. As it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel. Whereof I was made a minister according to the grace of God-given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me, who am less than the least of All Saints. Is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ? In the Old Testament God picked out especially favored nation, the nation of Israel. And I might say that in a coming day. Israel are going to be blessed on the earth. They're going to be the center of the whole earthly glory when the Lord Jesus sets up his Kingdom here. But we who are Christians now are not looking for that Kingdom while we are here. We're waiting for God's Son from heaven, tells us in Peter's epistle the hope which is laid up for us in heaven. And it says to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not. Away reserved in heaven for you. The hope of the Christian is not to see this world improved and made a better place. Judgment is going to precede the coming in of the blessing of Israel. God is now letting them go back to their land in unbelief, but it isn't until their Messiah comes in power and glory that they will be blessed and made. The center of the earthly glory. But now God has. Another secret that has been made known and what is it? It was revealed to the Apostle Paul and that is that God has broken down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile and that everyone who believes now, as it says in Acts chapter 2, the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Speaks in. It speaks in Hebrews chapter 12 of the Church of the first born which are written in heaven says by 1 spirit we are all baptized into one body. Tells us in Ephesians that Christ is head over all things to the church which is his body. Now this wasn't true before the day of Pentecost but when the Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost. The Church of God. God on earth was formed previous to that, individual believers were brought to know the Lord belonged to him. But the church was formed just like the Lord Jesus said in the 16th chapter of Matthew. On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Who? Often when people are saved, they're told to join the Church of your choice. I want to tell you right now that you don't. Join the church. The Lord adds you to the church. You may be concerned and should be concerned about the Christians you should fellowship with, but that isn't how you become part of the church, it's by. Believing in the Lord Jesus, you are made a member of the body of Christ. A living stone in that building that God is building. And by that way the Lord adds you to the church, and your name is written in the Church of the first born, which are written in heaven. This was something that was not revealed until it was revealed to the Apostle Paul. And many dear Christians don't realize. They think of the church as an organization or they think of it as a building that they can see. They call it, they might call this building a church. It's not a church. A dear friend of mine was going down to remember the Lord 1 Lord's Day morning.
And it picked up a friend in his car and this lady's. He said to him, What church do you go to, Mr. Devlin? And he paused a minute and he said, well, where I go, the church goes to the building. Well, that's true. If you're saved, you're part of the church. The building is only a convenient meeting place. And so the church is every believer in the city of Gresham. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior is part of the Church of God. He doesn't have to join it. We'll learn that God has a way that he would have his own together and we seek to follow the scriptural pattern, but that isn't how we become part of the church. And this was revealed to the apostle, turned to the first chapter of Ephesians. And you'll see this brought out verse 18. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of this calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward usward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. And he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named. Not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, that put all the things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all. Well, here we see that the church is formed by the Lord Jesus, and He is the head of the body. The Church Bible never speaks of churches except in a province, because God always looks upon the church as being one in any given city. There are many, many in Jerusalem, perhaps 5000 believers, who were part of the church at Jerusalem. But God never says the church is in Jerusalem, He says the church in Jerusalem. The church at Ephesus, the church at Pergamos. So we find when he's talking about a province, then he mentions the churches. Because God always views the church on earth as that which is composed of all believers and the local expression of it as being one in any given city. Well, how important it is to learn the truth, not from man's ideas, but from the precious living. Word of God. So it tells us here the head of the overall things to the church, which is his body. Now I'd like to turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 10, verse 15. I speak as to wise man. Judge ye what I say, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread and one body, For we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh. Are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? Here he's talking about the Lord's Table. Perhaps I should read the 21St verse. She cannot drink. The cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. He cannot be partaker of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Here he's giving to us the expression of the one body, and this is what is called in the Bible the Lord's Table. I might say that in a Corinth there were three forms of worship, and there was the Christian believers who worshipped and remembered the Lord. At the Lord's Table. There was the Jewish worship and there was the heathen worship. And he said the act of partaking was the expression of fellowship. So if a Jew went and partook of the sacrifices in Judaism, he was a partaker with what that altar stood for. If he partook of the sacrifices in a heathen temple, he was partaker with heathen them, because he partook of the sacrifices. And now he said, he would have the Christians to know. He says, I speak as to wise men, Judge ye what I say. He said, I want you to break bread as members of the body of Christ. Rather than that's so important that we break bread as members of the body of Christ.
How could that be in the confusion of Christendom? Well, there is a way that God has given to us in which He would have His own to meet, to remember him. And this is the only place in the New Testament where the Spirit of God uses the expression the Lord's table. And I don't believe according to the Word of God, that anything can be called the Lord's table unless it's the expression of the one body of Christ. I believe that's very clear from this passage. I'd like you to notice here. We'll look at a moment at the next chapter and you'll see he talks about the Lord's Supper in the next chapter. But here he talks about the Lord's Table. And you'll notice something different about the 10th chapter and the 11TH chapter that in the 10th chapter he first mentions the cup. According to the 11TH chapter, he first mentions the he first mentions the loaf. And in the 10th chapter he says that the loaf is the expression of the one body. We being many are one bred one body. And in the 11TH chapter he says the loaf at the Lord's Supper is the expression of the physical body of Christ, in which he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. We say, Why does it come first the cup? Why does it come first here in the 10th chapter? Let me put it something like this. Supposing you were invited to the table of the president. Wouldn't you think of whether you were dressed in a suitable way to be at his table? But if He himself provided you with a suit of clothes so you could be there, then you would know that it was acceptable because it had been provided by the President himself. And So what is it that makes us fit to come into the Lord's presence and to sit at his table? There's nothing else but the precious blood of Christ. I don't come there because I have a better Christian than somebody else. I come there in the one title as it says in Hebrews 10, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. And So what a wonderful title I precious name is always show our only passport Lord and full assurance. Now we know confiding in thy word. So it's the blood and that's why the cup is mentioned first because. The thought of what has fitted me to be. In his presence at his table is that I am cleansed in the precious blood of Christ, like it says in Hebrews 10. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Oh, what a wonderful thing to know that he has given us such a place. And then I say again, the loaf comes in here and it's one loaf, because in that loaf we see represented every member of the body of Christ. We being many are one bread, one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. So the Lord's table is the expression of the one body of Christ. And when some of us gather, as we seek to do on Lord's Day, we put one loaf on the table, and we see in that one loaf every member of the body of Christ, whether they're here or not. They're represented in that one loaf, because that one loaf is the symbol not of different groups, but of the one body of Christ. What a blessed thing that is. What may we value such a privilege to be gathered as members of the body of Christ? Remember a dear Christian man that I knew and. It was very precious to him to be gathered on the ground of the one body, to be gathered as a member of the body of Christ. And one Monday morning, he met another Christian in the community, and he said to him, I saw you at the Lord's Table yesterday morning. Oh no, he said, not me. I went to my own church. Oh, no, he said. I, I'm, I saw you there. Oh, he said. Not me, because I went to my own church. It must have been a mistake, he said. I saw you in that one loft. Wasn't that a wonderful thing, brethren? That that love symbolizes every member of the body of Christ. Every member may not be there. Sometimes used an illustration like this. Supposing a father was dying and he said to his children, Now when I'm gone, I'd like you to Remember Me as your father. And I'd also like you to remember and give expression to the fact that there are 10 children in our family.
And he said it just for the sake of illustration, he said, I'd like you to put one loaf on the table. And that loaf will remind you of me, but it will also be a representative of the fact that there's one family of 10 children. Well, they respond to what their father asked them to do, and they meet there, and they put that one loaf and they remember their father as he's asked them to do. Supposing the time comes, then five of them say we're not going to come anymore. We're going to go off in another group and call ourselves by another name. Most those children give up doing what their father asked them to do because five are absent. I don't believe so. Their father didn't say they all had to be there, but he said that he wanted them to always see that one wolf as representing every member of that family. And so I believe that there's only five of them there. They could fulfill their father's request and wouldn't be proud or bigoted. They'll they would simply say we're fulfilling what our father asked us to do. He asked us to remember him. And he asked us never to forget, but to express in our remembrance that there is one family with ten children. Well, brethren, I believe that's what the one loaf on the table is to me. I trust you see the preciousness of being gathered. Supposing part of the family calls themselves by another name, wouldn't that make their father feel badly? That's why the Lord Jesus said, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. And So what a privilege it is to be gathered not as members of some man made group, not considering ourselves to be better, but just meeting in fulfillment of the Lord's desire as members of the one body of Christ. I believe it's very precious. I trust it always will be precious to our hearts. Another little thing I'd like to say too. And perhaps it'll add to your enjoyment of the privilege if you think of it like this. Then we sit at the Lord's table, not merely as forgiven sinners, although we are forgiven sinners, but we sit there in the enjoyment of this wonderful place of dearness that we have been brought into as members of the body of Christ. And I've often used an illustration like this. We all remember the story of the. Of rehab, the harlot and how she hung the scarlet line in her window. And she was. And as she was sheltered from the judgment that fell upon that land, but according to the story that God has recorded in his words, she married into the royal line. You'll find it in Matthew that she actually was in the royal line of Christ. And I've often thought afterwards, supposing when she sat down at the table with her new husband, she looked across the table and she said to him, well, it's wonderful to be sitting down at the table with you as a forgiven harlot. What do you think he'd say? I don't think he'd. I don't think he'd want her to feel that. I think he would want her to know that she was far more than forgiven. I can just hear him say you're the bride of my choice. I love you. In brazen, you'll never enjoy the Lord's Table unless you realize how near you are to Christ a member of His body. And as you sit there to think that he's, he's there in the midst, and he's saying, Thou art all fair, my love, there's no spot in thee. What a privilege, The Lord's Table, the expression of the one body. Breaking bread as members of the body of Christ. What a place he's provided for us. That's First Corinthians 10. So the cup comes first because our title is his precious blood, and the loath comes next because it's an expression of this blessed truth revealed to the apostle Paul, that there is one body, and we break bread as members of the body of Christ. I would just make a brief remark on the on the next chapter, the 11TH chapter. The loaf comes first, and it speaks of it in the 11TH chapter. As it says, this is my body which is broken for you. So the Lord Jesus bore my sins and His own body on the tree. I think of that awful judgment that He bore. When that fire of God's judgments fell up, judgment fell upon Him in my place.
And so the loaf comes first, because the Lord Jesus first bore all the. Judgment before his blood was shed and her blood that flowed from his dead side was the proof that the work was finished. Did you ever think that all the sacrifices of Judaism, the blood was always shed before the animal was put on the on the fire? And more than that, the animal was never alive. It never felt the fire. But the Lord Jesus, Lord, it says from above, he sent fire and had entered into my bones. The Lord Jesus bore the fire of God's judgment in your place and mine. And then he cried, It is finished. He bore it all. And then that blood that flowed forth spoke of a finished work. And so that's why we break the bread first. We remember his body given his bloodshed. Oh how beautiful that is. And so we first know our place at his table. We know how we break bread as members of His body. And then we remember what it cost him to bring us there. Oh how sweet that is. Makes the remembrance so much sweeter when you understand what the Lords Table is. And then comes the Lords Supper, the remembrance of the cost to himself. I'll just say one more thing and it's very interesting. That in the 11TH chapter we have that a man examine himself and so let him eat. We have the practical side of it in the 11TH chapter. And you'll pardon me for using an illustration. I borrowed it from another brother, but I thought it helped me to understand it, he said, supposing that I was going to the president's place, I have a letter from him that tells me I'm invited. I have the clothes he's provided. And on the way I stumbled and I fall, and I get my clothes all dirty. But I say I've got a letter from him, I've got the suit of clothes on that he told me to wear. Boldly I go to the go to the door. I present the letter. I say this is the suit of clause he provided. And the person at the door says, well, that's the right letter and you have the right suit of clothes, but there's a suitability to being in the presence of the president. Now the Scripture shows us there's a suitability you're standing in. Christ will never change. While sin aloud in our lives will break communion with the Lord, they call down the discipline of the assembly, but it'll never change our standing. But it may mean that we may not be able to enjoy that privilege because we have allowed something in our life that hasn't changed our standing, but has changed our enjoyment of the place that grace has brought us into. So how beautiful, how perfect is the Word of God. The words table, the Lord's Supper. How? It is, brethren. Well then I'd like to turn over to. First Corinthians, or rather. First Corinthians chapter 10. Yes, I'm sorry. Second Corinthians chapter 5. Second Corinthians chapter 5. The fourth verse. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the self same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident. Knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. This is a wonderful scripture. This was something too, that was given to the apostle Paul, the revelation of what death is. If you read in the Old Testament, they never had this wonderful knowledge of what death was. They had confidence in God. They died in faith. But if you had been able to talk to an Old Testament St. and say what is death? He wouldn't say absent from the body present with the Lord. You just have to say, well, I trust God. He knew about resurrection, but the interval between death and resurrection was not revealed in the Old Testament. That may help you to realize that there are scriptures that sound uncertain in the Old Testament because the interval between death and resurrection was not revealed, but now every believer is entitled to know exactly what happens at death. The first man in the Bible that knew this for himself was the thief on the cross.
And the Lord said he he spoke about the resurrection. He said, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom. That was Old Testament knowledge. The Lord said, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And now through the Spirit of God, through Paul's ministry, through Paul's gospel, we find out what death is. Isn't that a wonderful comfort that we have in Christianity? A loved one who knows the Lord Jesus as his Savior? What is death absent from the body present with the Lord? And tells us. We either in this Tabernacle, you groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Remember a little incident my father was telling me, a man said to him, Well, if it's so wonderful to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord, he said, how is it when Christians get sick they call to the doctor? Isn't it so wonderful to be absent from the body and present with the Lord? Well, I thought the Lord gave him a very good answer right from this scripture if you notice what it says in this fourth verse. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, he said. Yes, we have burdens, sickness. Bible doesn't assure us that we're going to escape sickness. It says we which have the first fruits of the Spirit grown within ourselves. But he says not that we would be unclothed, he said. The Bible never teaches me to look for death as a whole. The Bible teaches me to look for the Lord's coming. It's that which is given to us. With all assurance, Paul speaks of it in Philippians. He said to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. So isn't that blessed? That's something we know. There are many Christians that aren't in the enjoyment of this, aren't happy when the moment comes for them to leave this world. They wonder what the interval is and what's connected with it. But we know. Absent from the body, present with the Lord, with Christ, which is far better. Oh, what a wonderful thing, these things that are given to us, revealed to the apostle Paul. Another thing in First Corinthians 15. 35th verse That some man will say, How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come? Fool, that which thou sawest is not quickened, except it die. That which thou sawest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat, or of some other grain. A God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him. 42nd verse So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption, it is sown in dishonor, It is raised in glory, It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. 48th verse As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. In other words, I won't turn to it for time's sake. But it's in Philippians chapter 3 in the last verse it says, Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. So God has not only told us about. The resurrection. But he's revealed to us now what kind of a body we'll have. You'll have a body of glory fashioned like Christ, glorious body. We'll have an incorruptible body, the Lord Jesus when he rose from the dead. So that was a death hath no more dominion over him. And in that glorious scene above, it says there's no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. For the former things are passed away. If you've lost a loved one, maybe that loved one went through some sickness or suffering. Maybe they're old. And with wrinkles, when you see them again, they won't be like that. There'll be recognition, but they'll have bodies of glory fashioned like Christ's glorious body. God has made these things known to us. They were not revealed in the Old Testament. They knew there was a resurrection, but they didn't know that they would have bodies of glory like Christ. That's part of what was given to the Apostle Paul. He called it my gospel.
Oh, how wonderful to be in the good of what God has revealed to us in His precious word. And I love when you attend the funeral of a believer to think of two things. First of all, that when we see that loved one who may have suffered in this world, we're going to see them again in a body of glory, never to pass through death again, but with a body of glory fashioned like Christ. Glorious body, he'd borne the image of the earthy. He's also going to. Bear the image of the heavenly light. Another thing I like to think too, we'll turn to that. And that is how we're standing there in the cemetery. The Lord Jesus might come. And if the Lord Jesus should come at that moment, that body would never be covered in earth. That body would rise and be changed into the image and likeness of Christ. So God not only tells us that we're going to have bodies of glory, but he tells us how it's going to take place and when it's going to take place. Let's turn to 1St Corinthians, First Thessalonians, chapter 4. First Thessalonians, chapter 4. Verse 15 For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Here we find something. That has been revealed to the Apostle Paul and that is what's going to take place. When the Lord Jesus comes, it's going to descend from heaven with a shout. We're waiting for that, we who are believers. Now I love to think of this. Some of our loved ones were waiting for the Lord's coming all through their lifetime. And you might say, well, it wasn't a disappointment that the Lord didn't come in their lifetime. Well, not according to the Word of God, because the dead in Christ shall rise first. He'll be the first ones to respond to that shout when the Lord Jesus comes. And so while he looked for and rightly looked for his coming in their lifetime, it was always held out as a present hope to Christians at all times. But if they go through death, as many have, they'll rise first. And be caught up together with the believers who are. Trusting in the Lord Jesus to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord? It's not a blessed hope, brethren. That's what that's what we're waiting for. The Lord is coming. We know that he hasn't given us any date or any time, but there is a scripture that says about seeing the day approaching just as in the physical day. Why? You may not know the very moment that the sun is going to arise, but when you see the horizon lighten up, that you know the day is getting nearer and you know there are many events in this world that we see taking place. Like Israel back in their land. Like all the nations of Europe. Coming together and many other things that are assigned to us that the Lord's coming is drawing near. Are we waiting and watching? That's our blessed hope as believers. I like to think of these. Just give a little thought about this. Expression. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. Know the Lord Jesus is waiting more anxiously than we are for the time when He has His own with Him. That's why that verse says the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patient waiting. If you have a margin in your Bible, it says the patience of the Christ. He's longing to have His bride with Him. I'm glad He waited for me. If you're a Christian, I'm sure you say the same. I'm glad He waited for me. The reason he hasn't come is because He hasn't completed His work in grace, but He's going to come. It'll be a moment of supreme joy to Him as well as to us. And so it's the patience of the Christ as we wait. And I like to think of it, when he descends from heaven with a shout, it's a shout of joy that he's going to at last have the fruit of the travel of his soul with himself. And then it says the voice of the Archangel Bible says the angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them, who shall be heirs of salvation. We are Christians proved angelic care in our lives because angels take care of us as believers. Another thing about that verse, notice it doesn't say them who are heirs, but who shall be heirs of salvation.
Maybe before you were saved you had a close call. You almost lost your life, but you didn't. Why? The angels were taking care of you because God was going to bring you to Himself. His eye was upon you and He preserved you even before you were saved. Them who shall be heirs of salvation. And so we won't need the angelic protection anymore. The Lord himself is going to take us up. It says, I will come again and receive you unto myself. And then it says the trump of God. The Bible speaks in the 10th chapter of Numbers as the trumpets were. The first use of the trumpets were for the calling together of the assembly and the journeying of the camps. It breaks our hearts to see God's people scattered and divided today, meeting under all kinds of different names. In divisions and so on. But when the Lord Jesus comes, every St. will be gathered to Christ. Brethren, it's a privilege to be gathered to him now, for two or three are gathered together in my name. Do we need some other name than his? Surely not. We have a privilege of being gathered in his name now, but when he comes, all his own will be gathered. Who too? A church name no be gathered to him. Isn't that lovely? It's all the Lord's waiting for that day. He'll he'll get a shout of joy, he'll joy over thee was singing. He'll rest in his love. It'll be the calling together of all his own. It'll be the end of the angelic protection we need down here. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. And just one more thing before I close in First Corinthians 11, the 23rd verse For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. And if you pass on to the 26th verse, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death. Till he come. I like to think of that, Paul says. I've received it of the Lord. And I like to think of it something like this brethren, that when Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven, the Lord Jesus said to Paul, I want you to tell my own that. I want them to keep remembering me till I come. The night that he instituted the feast in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, he asked them to remember him, but he didn't say till I come. And they might have thought, well, we've been so unfaithful and everything's in such a broken condition, does he really want us to continue? Some Christians get discouraged and say everything's in such confusion, they just sort of give up. But the Lord has asked U.S. President to remember him until he comes. Let's not get discouraged. There's a lot of problems. The enemy is seeking to scatter the sheep, but the Lord has asked us to remember him till he comes. Paul received that especially from the Lord, as though. Lord said I don't want my people to get discouraged by all the problems that come in and all the divisions. I want them to still keep on remembering me until I come. What a privilege is ours, what a revelation has been given. I believe, brethren, this is Paul's gospel. He said my gospel. He said, Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, charity. Doesn't it give you a purpose in life as you think of all these things that you know and enjoy, that you can share with other Christians, as you go on waiting for that glorious moment when all will be completed? According to his purposes, for his people and the church will be presented A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Don't get discouraged, brethren. This is what's ahead of us. You're already in a perfect standing. You're already accepted in the Beloved. You're already part of the church. But these are things that God wants us to know, to enjoy, to share with others. To wait that moment when we'll see him, surely his coming must be near. And our hearts surely say Even so, come Lord Jesus.