Server Outage Notice: TheSeed.info is transfering to a new Server on Tuesday April 13th
| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. Mark Chen > Displaying the Glory of Jesus | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) TH 3 - Give to Our God Eternal Praise Psalter 238 - The Church Universal TH 348 - Jesus, with Thy Church Abide |
Displaying the Glory of Jesus
1 Timothy 3:14-16
What are your thoughts about the Church of Christ? Do you love her? Do you value her? She’s been purchased by Christ’s blood. But because Christ isn’t loved by the world, the church is also not loved by the world. She’s always experienced external attacks. Satan tried to destroy her by tempting Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel. Pharaoh tried to kill the Israelites; Jezebel killed the prophets; Haman attempted genocide; and Herod tried to kill Jesus. But the church has also encountered internal problems - the Israelites built the golden calf, Korah rose up against Moses, they did whatever they wanted in the time of the judges, wicked kings like Manasseh ruled over the people, the disciples fought to be first, Judas betrayed Christ, Peter denied Christ, Paul and Barnabas disagreed.
Sometimes God’s kingdom is weak and small, other times glorious and strong. As our confession of faith says (Belgic Confession Article 27) - “…This church has existed from the beginning of the world and will be to the end, for Christ is an eternal King who cannot be without subjects. This holy church is preserved by God against the fury of the whole world, although for a while it may look very small and as extinct in the eyes of man…” Despite such troubles, the kingdom of God is still around. What does he see in her? And what do we see in her?
Unbelievers see the church as irrelevant - Christians are out of touch with reality - talking about sin and holiness all the time. And churches can fall prey to that kind of thinking leading to sacrifices in our worship, doctrine, and practices. Others see the church as being only therapeutic - to meet emotional needs. But what does Christ think of her? He thinks of her as a glorious institution - despite her warts and weaknesses. There are 2 truths in today’s message. Firstly, Jesus displays the glory of God. Secondly, the church displays the glory of Jesus.
Firstly, Jesus displays the glory of God. In this passage, Paul told Timothy that he wanted to visit the Ephesian church one day - but if he was delayed, at least they had this letter to instruct them how to conduct themselves; how to behave as the church of God. And one of the key functions of the church was to be the pillar and ground of God’s truth. The pillar’s job in a building is to prop up the building; and the ground or foundation was meant to stabilize it. So the church’s job was to display and support the truth of the gospel and the truth of who Christ was. And verse 16 tells us that truth - Without controversy or question, this is the great mystery of our faith - God was born in a human body, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, and taken up to heaven in glory.
The church exists to proclaim Jesus Christ. That he was born, crucified, rose from the dead, seen of angels, believed by people, and ascended to heaven. That’s our calling. We’re all about Christ. Just as Christ existed to glorify God, we exist to glorify Christ. But how did Christ glorify God?
He was God who came down to be born in a human body. It’s a mystery - than an awesome God would do that! To be one of his creatures. But that’s what John says - “In the beginning was the Word (the reason for all things), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But it also says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” It’s like a king who leaves his palace and takes off his robes, to be one of his poorest citizens. Why? So that his subjects can see their king living and walking among them. And this weakness is glorious. That’s the glory of God - that a great God would condescend to be a man and live with man. That a holy God came to live with the very sinners who sinned against him.
Furthermore, Jesus never sinned. That’s why he was vindicated by the Spirit. Christ died for sinners - in their place. But he didn’t deserve to die - he was sinless. So the Spirit resurrected him from the dead. This was his glorious reward for coming in weakness and meekness. When Christ came, everything showed weakness not strength, in the eyes of the world. His pregnant mother was not married. He was born in a stable, placed in an animal’s feeding trough. When Herod tried to have him killed, his family escaped. He grew up for 30 years with no fanfare or accomplishments. He was a carpenter. His own family rejected his ministry. His hometown friends tried to kill him. He was poor - he had no property. His followers were fishermen, country bumpkins, and social rejects. He told his followers not to fight. He was mocked. The people preferred to have a dangerous criminal released instead of him! He was crucified between 2 criminals. And the only followers at the cross was the teenage boy John, and a bunch of old women! All his followers deserted him. But that did’t matter. In his life, the Spirit that came down from heaven as a dove to endorse him - at his baptism. And after he died at the cross, the Spirit endorsed him by raising him from the dead because he lived this humble and cruel life for sinners.
Also, Jesus displayed God’s glory because he was seen of angels. Now, despite suffering for sinners, mocked, crucified, Jesus was still highly honored in his life. The angels took an interest while most everyone dismissed him. Gabriel was there to announce Christ’s conception to Mary. He identified himself as an angel that stands in the presence of God. But he came before her. They announced his birth. Luke 2 tells us that there was a multitude of heavenly host praising God. They appeared before shepherds. After he was tempted by Satan, they ministered to him in the wilderness. When he suffered at Gethsemane, an angel strengthened him. When he resurrected, there were angels at his empty tomb - at the foot and head of where his body had laid. This is the glory of God revealed in Christ. Just like the Ark of the Covenant - on which the glory of God rested, there were 2 golden angels on the mercy seat - on either end. And in heaven, in Isaiah’s vision - the angels served him day and night.
And Jesus showed God’s glory because when his name was preached to the world, people believed. They who knew not God, believed in God. The very thief that was next to him, the very centurion that pierced him - they believed. Paul, one of the greatest persecutors of Christians, became one of the greatest preachers of Christ. Christianity did not conquer the world by the sword. Its believers died for the message of Christ. They displayed meekness and weakness by forgiveness. And this is why people believed. And this glorifies God - that the message of the cross saves. And who would’ve come up with such a silly message. Believe in a man who was crucified like a common criminal, and you will be saved from your sins. But people did. Lives changed.
And how Jesus showed God’s glory was that he was taken bodily into heaven. After he was resurrected, he was seen by over 500 witnesses. One of the proofs of Christianity was eye-witness testimony. Jesus died, and he resurrected. The disciples who would’ve fallen to pieces after Jesus died, were willing to die (not kill) for him, because he was alive. They were willing to endure persecution - not for a lie, but because he was God. Now, he’s in heaven. These truths the church upholds and supports.
How? How does the church display the glory of Christ? That’s the second point. Verse 15 - “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” We learn here that there is a way to conduct ourselves as the church. If Christ has come for us, died for us, then we are to show forth his glory. We’re the body of Christ, his bride, the people of God. We’re the visible expression of Christ to the world - to show forth Christ’s glory. So there’s a way to conduct ourselves. We see this through 3 phrases that describe how we display or showcase Jesus’ glory.
Paul called the church the house of God. House of God here does not refer to a building. Rather it’s speaking about the household of God. Another word is family. But we’re such an unlikely family. We’d be natural enemies of one another. We are so different from one another. We’re different ethnicities, dialects, social status, tastes, intelligence, achievements. But we’re family because we have things in common - we have the same Father. We admit we’re sinners. We’ve been forgiven. We’ve been made family. Faith is not merely a personal thing - it’s corporate. I can’t call myself a Christian and be by myself. I need the family of God because Christ makes me a part of that family. But if that’s not our attitude toward the church then our view of church is skewed.
You know, when we don’t like our job, or it doesn’t meet our needs, we leave. Gone are the days, like in Japan, where people stay with the same company until retirement. So many treat the church that way. Like a job or a club. When we’re happy with its programs, we stay. When we’re not, and it doesn’t meet our needs, we find another club. But when it’s a family, it’s different. How do we conduct ourselves in the family of God?
A tourist once asked an islander which was the best way to get to a destination; and he meant the shortest way. But the local said - we have many best ways. If you go by the forest, you can visit the village. If you by the beach, you’ll meet my grandmother. By the road, you can see people from everywhere. Which way would you like to go? The tourist meant - best way as in the most efficient way. But the islander’s definition had to do with people. And with people - it’s never efficient. And if the glory of Christ is seen in God coming to save sinners, that’s the way of God’s family. Reaching out is difficult; patience and forbearance are difficult; loving the unlovable is hard. We don’t uphold the glory when we fight as enemies.
Furthermore, the church is also called the church of the living God. It’s not a church, but the church. It is not a vague group of people - but the very people God called. God said this about Israel. Leviticus 26:12 says, “And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” In 2 Corinthians 6:16 he said the same about believers - “for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” And Paul says that it’s the church of the living God. This is where God dwells and works. While the household of God describes our relationship with one another, the church of the living God describes God’s relationship with us. We must each have a relationship with Jesus. We can’t be a church unless we know Christ. There must be living faith. Each of us must be responsible in our walk with the Lord. It’s one thing to desire fulfilling and easy sermons from the pulpit; but it’s another to pursue after God.
AW Tozer described the church like an orchestra. If you throw one hundred instruments together and you ask them to tune themselves to each other, it’d be a terrible sound. They couldn’t play anything. But if you tune them all to the same tuning fork; or just to one instrument - then they’d be automatically tuned to one another. They’re tuned to one standard, with a conductor leading them. So likewise, one hundred worshipers, each looking to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other. And that shows the glory of Christ. Do we look to Christ, or feel disappointed with each other because we look at each other? The glory of Christ is shown when we serve one another. The problem often is we want everyone else to tune to us. We want people to sing to our tune. That’s no glory at all. We can’t be tunnel visioned, but Christ visioned, to change to be more like him.
But Paul also calls the church the pillar and ground of the truth. Why go to church? For family, yes. For God, of course - God dwells in her. But we go to hear again and again the truth of Jesus - how he left heavens glory to become a man, to die, to be resurrected, to ascend. Jesus said - Sanctify them with thy truth, thy word is truth. As a church, we display the truths of the Scriptures. We proclaim that God is creator, judge, merciful savior of sinners. We teach the Scriptures. There are truths that we confess to be taught in the Scriptures and that’s why we teach our creeds and confessions in this church.
Now, we don’t merely have a simple statement of faith and a church doctrine or practice that changes depending on who the next pastor or elders are. We support and display the truths we confess - truths handed down to us. There are certainly minor issues that we disagree on, even in the church - what’s the timing of Christ’s return, whether we hold to a three office view of church government or the 2 1/2 office view; or supralapsarianism or infralapsarianism; or whether the word providence, benevolence, or common grace is a more appropriate way to refer to God’s attitude to the wicked. These things are not unimportant - precision is good and important. But the most important truths are the ones clearly seen. And the church is to be a foundation or stabilizer or protector of that truth given to us by God. But we’re also to be a pillar - to display and show for the purpose of propagating it. And the way is not just to teach it, but to live it. Our doctrines on marriage may be right, but what’s the use if we’re always fighting with our spouse? Our doctrine and practice of church government may be biblical, but what’s the point if there’s no care and oversight by officers or mutual submission by members? Truth is not just doctrine, but doctrine lived out.
Why is the church precious? Because God has called us to show forth Christ’s glory - even as Christ revealed God’s glory. As God’s family, as his church, and as the pillar and ground of truth, we show Christ to the world. And that’s an awesome responsibility. Our Lord died, was raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven; he left us an important work - to display his glory. To do so, we commit ourselves to family, to a relationship with Christ, and to his truth.
How then do we apply these truths today? To those of you who are members and new members - we’re a spiritual family. Family loves. Family forgives. Family supports. Family defends each other. This requires us to consider how we can love one another, to spend time encouraging one another, to admonish one another to live holy lives. To fight the feelings of dissatisfaction against one another. And this gives us pause to think about our relationship with God. A person who grows in his relationship with Christ will be peaceable, wise, loving. If we’re in tune with him, we’ll love the things he loves. There’ll be excitement over worship, scripture, service. We’ll serve, give, encourage. This requires us to know him. Study, debate if need be, understand what the Scriptures say, but know which hills to die on. On those hills which are right to die on, let us die. On those which are not, let us love. But before this world, we show forth our united trust in the gospel.
- Christ Displays the Glory of God
- A glorious God descended to be man
- Jesus was gloriously rewarded for his work
- Jesus was served by glorious angels
- Jesus ascended gloriously to God
- The Church Displays the Glory of Jesus
- We are related to one another as family
- We each relate to the living Christ
- We corporately respond to the truth of Christ
Conversation for Change:
- How is weakness and meekness a mark of glory? And how, in doing that, does the church manifest the glory of Christ?
- Who is responsible for my spiritual life? Me or the church or both? How am I responsible for the spiritual life of others?
- Why do we often take our eyes of Christ when it comes to the church?
|
TH 3 - Give to Our God Eternal Praise Psalter 238 - The Church Universal TH 348 - Jesus, with Thy Church Abide |
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2021, Rev. Mark Chen
Please direct any comments to the Webmaster
