Address—C. Hendricks
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Thursday night we spoke on the person of Christ.
In certain aspects, and this afternoon I'd like to continue that.
Especially I would like to look at his humanity.
Let's turn to Genesis chapter 3.
Genesis chapter 3.
We know the account. I'll start with verse 9. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him.
Where art thou?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou is naked?
Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, the woman whom thou gave us to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
The Lord God said unto the serpent.
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman.
And between thy seed.
And her seed.
It that is the woman's seed shall bruise thy head.
And thou shalt bruise his heel.
Here we have the 1St.
Prediction in scripture as immediately upon sin coming in through the woman.
He was the one. She was the one that the serpent attacked.
And she listened to him and believed his lie.
And took of the fruit, and gave to her husband, and he took.
Of the fruit and sin entered into the world, though the woman was the leader in it, the scripture lays the blame on the man.
It puts the responsibility there by one man. Sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. It was Adam's responsibility to take the lead and to engage in any conversation, and he allowed his wife to do it. But the reason I've read this portion is what the Lord says to the serpent, verse 14.
Because thou hast done this.
Thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I don't believe the serpent crawled on his belly before this, and now he does.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, the very one that you deceived and used to to be the one that introduced sin. I will put enmity between thee and the woman.
And between thy seed, that's the serpent seed.
And her seed.
Which is Christ?
It the woman's seed shall bruise thy head, or crush thy head, and thou shalt bruise or crush his heel.
But that took place on the cross.
When the Lord Jesus came, his heel was crushed, bruised or crushed by the serpent.
He was put to death, an apparent victory, but actually the victory, the victor was the one who died because it was through death that he destroyed him that had the power of death and delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to *******.
By that apparent defeat.
The enemy that had introduced Sin was defeated.
It's interesting that Satan used the woman to introduce sin and the first, the first prediction from the Lord himself to the serpent is I'm going to use the woman to bring in the Redeemer. I'm going to use the woman to bring in the one that will crush your head and destroy your power.
The very one that you introduce sin through is the very one that I will use to bring about redemption.
And the putting away of sin.
First prediction in the Bible.
That the coming Redeemer would be, whatever that means, the seed of the woman. I turn to Isaiah.
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We will find out very quickly what it means.
Now everyone of us in this room is the seed of man.
Everyone of us is the seed of man.
Who could this be? That is called the seed of the woman?
Something unique and different.
Isaiah 7.
More verse 10. Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above.
But A has said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
And he said, Here ye now, O House of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men? But will you weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.
Behold, a virgin.
Shall conceive.
And bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. God with us. That's what that means. And here we have the doctrine of Christ. We were looking at that the other night in a little different way. Here we have the doctrine of Christ. The virgin conceives and bears a son. That's his humanity.
But his name is Emmanuel, God with us. It was God that came here.
And entered his own creation by this unique means.
Through the womb of the virgin.
Thou shalt call his name Emmanuel. If you read this verse in some of the modern translations, it doesn't say a virgin, it says a young woman. Now there's nothing extraordinary about a young woman conceiving, that happens all the time. But a virgin conceiving? That's never happened before.
And here we have the prophetic pronouncement that that would be the way that God would enter this scene.
Through a virgin conceiving and having a son, and his name would be called Emmanuel.
Now let's turn to Matthew's Gospel, Matthews Gospel chapter 1.
I'm going to read this genealogy and you'll notice one word that I read over and over and over again.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac.
And Isaac begat Jacob, And Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, And Judas begat Pharaohs, And Zerah of Famar, And Pharaohs begat Esram, And Esram begat Aram, And Aram begat Aminadab, And Aminadab begat Niasin, and begat Salman. And Salman begat Boaz of Recap. And Boaz begat obit of Ruth, and obit begat Jesse. And Jesse begat David the king.
And David the king, begat Solomon of her. That had been the wife of Urias.
And Solomon begat Roboham, and Reboam begat Abaya, and Abaya begat ASA, and ASA begat Josephat, and Josephat begat Joram, and Joram begat Osaias, and Osius begat Jotham, and Joatham begat Akaz, and Akaz begat Hezekiahs.
And Ezekiel begat Manassas, and Manassas begat Ammon, and Ammon begat Josiah.
And Josiah begat Jaconius and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begat Salathiol, and Salathiel begat Zerubbabel.
And Zerubbabel began Abayad, and Abayad began Eliakum, and Eliachim began Azor.
And Azar begat Zedek, and Sadak begat Achim, and Achim begat Elias, and Eliad begat Eliezer, And Eliezer begat Matthan, And Matthan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph.
The husband of Mary.
Whom was born Jesus?
Who is called Christ?
It did not say. It could not say Joseph begat Jesus could not say that.
Because then he wouldn't be the seed of the woman.
But Joseph is brought in. Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of whom was born Jesus, who was called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations.
And from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ, or 14 generations now.
The birth of Jesus Christ was on this.
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When as his mother, Mary was espoused to Joseph.
Now notice the precision of scripture and the guard the scripture always brings before us before they came together.
She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost.
Child of the Holy Ghost, not child of Joseph.
It was before they came together.
She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David.
Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in hers of the Holy Ghost.
I have a note on that word conceived in my Bible, and the margin correctly reads that which is begotten in her.
Is of the Holy Ghost.
In the normal.
Production of a child. The man the woman conceives.
Matthew's Gospel in the genealogy. And that's the reason I read it all.
That word begat appears over and over and over again.
But it does not say that Joseph begat Jesus.
It says Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.
And we will find as we look at scripture that he is called.
Her son never.
Joseph's son.
Because he was only that legally.
But he was Mary's.
That's how he became the Son of Man.
That's how he derived his humanity. It was through his mother.
Through Mary.
The seed of the woman.
Everyone of us in this room is the seed of man, the Lord Jesus, a true man. His humanity was every bit as true as Mary's sin apart, with that one exception.
There was number sin transmitted to that baby, and we'll see how that was accomplished as Scripture sets it before us.
This ought to read That which is begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost. The one who was the Begetter was the Holy Spirit.
Not Joseph.
Not a man.
He was not the seed of man, he was the seed of the woman.
The Virgin conceived.
And bear a son, and this is quoted, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus.
That word? Jesus.
Carries with it.
The doctrine of Christ.
Jehovah, the Savior. Jehovah is God, and the Savior is the one who became a man in order that he might save us.
He couldn't have saved us had he not come to where we were, had he not become one of us. Sin apart.
So in that very word, Jesus, we have the doctrine of Christ, if we understand the fullness of the word.
For he shall save his people from their sins.
The only way he could do that was to become a man.
And to die for our sins on the cross.
It was his death that we remembered this morning.
Wonderful, precious foundation of all blessing.
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child. Now that's a quote from Isaiah 7 where some translations render it a young woman. And I've looked the Hebrew word up and it's it's not the normal word for virgin.
It's a different word.
There's a question. Is that the right translation? Absolutely it is.
It was a sign, you know, as Isaiah 7, the sign that the Lord gave that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. And here you have it quoted in the New Testament from the Greek language, and the word doesn't bear. The word that's used here doesn't bear a double meaning. It means virgin.
And that's what it means in Isaiah 7 as well. Behold, a virgin or the virgin.
The article is there. I believe in Isaiah. The article is there. The virgin, there was one specific one that would bear the Messiah. She had to be on hand just at that precise time when he would come.
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Who came according to the time clock of God. In due time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law.
And so on.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord of the Lord, by the prophet saying, Behold, the virgins shall be with child.
And shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.
Which being interpreted is God.
With us.
That's the doctrine of Christ, God with us, God to become a man entering this scene as man, as a baby, through.
The womb of the Virgin Mary.
Begat by the Holy Ghost.
Matthew presents the Holy Spirit as the beginner.
Luke especially presents Mary as the conceiver.
As the conceiver.
Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. And notice, here's the guard again.
And he knew her not.
Until she had brought forth.
Her first born son.
And he called his name Jesus.
Now in verse.
Verse 18 it says when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
But she had a normal pregnancy.
The miracle was in the beginning.
The miracle was the one who begat that child, and it was the Holy Spirit.
Not Joseph.
But.
Time of.
Bearing the child until the child was born was normal.
And the birth was normal.
The miracle was not in the birth. The miracle was in the beginning.
Instead of a man begetting, it was the Holy Spirit. But it says in verse 25 S that there can be no question that Joseph had nothing whatsoever to do with that birth. He knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son. So when she bare her son.
She was a virgin.
Untouched by man.
A virgin.
And she bear the Christ Jesus, Jehovah, the Savior. He called his name Jesus.
Chapter 2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold.
There came wise men from the East to Jerusalem.
Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him.
When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled.
And all Jerusalem with him.
Isn't that striking?
The state of the whole city was such that to hear that the Christ had come.
Was troubling to them.
We can understand how it would be troubling to Herod.
Because that would be a challenge to his.
His authority?
But all of Jerusalem was troubled with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea.
For thus it is written by the prophet in thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not the least among the Princess of Judah.
For out of thee shall come a governor. Now that's his deity, the governor, the ruler of the universe.
That shall rule my people, Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. Now notice that expression.
He's always spoken of and singled out as the young child, the young child. This is the way the Spirit of God presents him to us in this account.
And they Herod says that go and search diligently for the young child, And when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship Him also.
He had no intent of doing that. He wanted to kill him.
He wanted to get rid of his rival.
When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them till it came, and stood over where the young child was.
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And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. There we have the young child once again.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother. They are always put together, the young child, Mary, his mother. She was his mother. She was the mother of his humanity.
But you never have. Joseph called his father.
They saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him.
And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
And when they were departed, behold, notice the language again. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise.
And take the young child and his mother.
And flee into Egypt.
He doesn't say take your wife and son.
Don't say that.
Take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt. Joseph is looked upon as apart from this young child and his mother. They're the ones that are together. They're the ones whom the Spirit of God identifies and connects together.
He was her son.
Not Joseph's son.
So Joseph is the legal father, and he just takes them where the Angel directs.
Arise and take the young child in his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
And when he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt.
And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying.
Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from 2 years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying in Rhema was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great morning Rachel weeping for her children.
And would not be comforted because they are not.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise.
And here we have it again. And take the young child and his mother.
And go into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
And he arose and took the young child and his mother.
And came into the land of Israel.
And when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, and the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither.
Notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called.
A Nazarene.
He should be called the Nazarene. It was. It was a term of.
Contempt and derision. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Was a city of bad reputation.
Our Lord Jesus.
Went there.
Dwelt in the city called Nazareth.
In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
And he tells them, Repent ye for the Kingdom of heaven.
Is at hand.
Verse 13.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
But John forbade him, saying I have a need to be baptized of thee and comest out to me.
And Jesus answering, said unto him, Suffered to be so now, for thus had becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.
And he suffered him.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.
And lo, the heavens were opened unto him.
And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him.
And lo, a voice from heaven saying this.
Is my beloved son.
In whom I am well pleased. Now here the sun.
Mary's son, yes.
But now his father calls him.
This is my beloved son.
The Catholics speak of Mary as the Mother of God.
As to his deity, he had no mother.
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Only a father.
As to his humanity.
He had no father, only a mother.
Mary was his mother, the mother of his humanity, not his deity. That's ridiculous. Absurd.
As to his deity, God was his father.
From all eternity the eternal Son we had that before us the other night never became Son. He was always the Son.
He became a man, yes.
And he got a human mother in so doing, yes.
But that's the way Scripture presents it.
Now let's turn to Luke's gospel.
We'll read a passage from.
The 3rd chapter to start with and then we'll back up a little.
Verse 19.
But Herod the Tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, added this. Yet above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.
And a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved son.
In thee I am well pleased.
Now Luke presents moral order in his gospel and here we have God the Father proclaiming thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. And then it immediately goes on to say in Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age being and here's the guard being as was supposed.
The son of Joseph he was not really that being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matt, that which was the son of Levi, and so on.
Now Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary, and Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph.
Well, you might you might wonder about that if Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary. How do you get it from that? It says Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph.
Which was the son of Heli.
Actually.
Eli was.
Mary's father.
Not Josephs.
So Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli, and it's often presented just this way, whether it's the sun or the son-in-law. And so here we have the genealogy of Mary.
And it begins with.
When they it begins with Joseph and it goes back, goes back all the way.
To Adam.
I'll read the last verse, which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth? Which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God?
So the Lord's humanity in Luke, and that's what we have in Luke, the Lord's humanity.
Especially is traced back to Adam.
Who is called the Son of God? Now, in what sense was Adam the Son of God? Well, he was the Son of God by distinct and direct creation.
God took of the dust of the ground and he formed a man, and then he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. So Adam came directly as a created being from the hand of God.
So he by creation was the Son of God.
There are some blasphemers that talk about the Lord Jesus as being created. Never the scripture ever speak in those terms about Him. His humanity is never even spoken of as being created.
His body was prepared, him, Hebrews 10 tells us.
Never says it was created. He is the creator.
He is the creator.
But he did come into the creature's place. He became a man.
But never uses the word creature and applies it to him in any way, even as to his humanity.
But.
The genealogy here is traced right back to Adam.
Who is called the Son of God? The angels are called sons of God by distinct creation, each one an individual creation from God. Angels don't have families. They don't bigot like the human race do.
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So God created the first pair.
Adam and Eve.
And then from then on, it's a begetting and a conceiving process all the way down to the end.
It's a family.
The human family. That's not true of angels. So angels are called.
Those sons of God by creation as well. We're sons of God by redemption.
We've been brought into a place of sonship by the One who is the eternal Son. Become a man.
And he's brought us into a place that is nearer than that of creation.
We were looking last night at Brother Dan's house and Revelation a little bit in four and mostly in five. And in four he's worshipped as the Creator in chapter 5 as the Redeemer.
As the Redeemer by redemption, you and I are sons of God.
That's very, very precious. But he only has one son.
That is the only begotten Son.
The one who is of the same essence and substance as himself Co equal with himself, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 3 persons.
One God. But the marvel is that one of those persons became a man.
Sometimes we make the mistake and it's just human infirmity. We address God the Father and thank Him for dying on the cross. He did not die on the cross.
The son died on the cross. The son became a man. The son shed his blood.
So we should be more careful.
When we.
Address divine persons.
We thank the father for sending his son. We don't thank the son for sending his son. That doesn't make sense.
The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
The son came as sent from the father.
And then they then the Son sent the Holy Spirit, and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us.
These are. This is the language of Scripture.
So here we have this genealogy and Luke traced back to Mary. It's her genealogy and in Matthew.
It's Joseph's.
He was the legal father, not the actual father, not the biological father.
The Holy Ghost functioned.
As the bigoter. Now let's turn back in Luke two, the first chapter.
We will pick up the story in verse.
24.
And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
And in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth.
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph.
Of the House of David, the Virgin's name was Mary.
And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail thou that art highly favored, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the Angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb. Now Luke talks about Mary conceiving. There's the right word. The word means conceived in Luke.
But in Matthew it means bigot. The Holy Ghost was the big.
Thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth the Son, and shall call his name Jesus.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. When she brought forth that Son, that's his. That's the his humanity born of the Virgin, and he shall be called Son of the Highest, that's his deity. Those two truths make up the doctrine of Christ as we were looking the other day.
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father David. As men he will occupy that throne.
And he shall reign over the House of Jacob Forever.
And of his Kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the Angel, How shall this be?
Seeing I know not a man. And now we have one of the most stupendous verses in all scripture.
Verse 35. We should all commit that to memory.
And the Angel answered, and said unto her, the Holy Ghost.
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Shall come upon thee.
And the power of the highest shall over shadow thee.
Therefore also that holy thing.
Which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Now let's look at that very carefully.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.
And the power of the highest shall over shadow thee.
It wasn't a man.
It wasn't Joseph, it was the power of the Holy Spirit.
That came upon Mary, the power of the highest.
And he preserved.
As holy.
That humanity.
That he was the begetter of.
That Mary conceived in her womb, yes, but none of the sin nature that she had was transmitted to that child by the power of the Highest.
God, the Holy Ghost preserved holy.
That birth.
The Roman Catholics have invented.
The Immaculate Conception idea that Mary was born without sin.
Because they saw the problem.
How could the Lord be without sin?
Mother wasn't without sin.
Well.
They just made another problem how it was Mary without sin. She had an earthly father and an earthly mother both.
Whereas the Lord Jesus only had an earthly mother.
So they've just made a much larger problem for themselves to explain her being born without sin, of course, which she was not.
He says My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. He was without sin. She wouldn't have needed a savior.
She was a Sinner, just like we are.
But the Holy Ghost came upon her and preserved that child that was begotten by him and conceived in her womb, preserved it wholly prevented any transmission of sin, the sin nature to him.
And so it says therefore that holy thing.
Why doesn't it say that, holy one?
Well, many times in scripture the demons cry out, Thou art the Holy One of God.
But here it says the holy thing because I believe it's referring to the human nature.
Of the.
The Son that was to be born, it was holy, It was holy.
There's a pamphlet that's written, it's a very good pamphlet, and it says could God Incarnate sin?
Just to ask the question is to answer it. Of course not.
But there is more to it than that. That was God manifest in the flesh. And when we think of that truth, of course, that that person couldn't sin.
Because it was God manifest in the flesh. But there's more to that. Here we have the human nature of Christ itself was holy.
When Adam was created in the garden, he was created in innocency.
Without sin, but capable of sinning.
And then he fell, and then he's transmitted A sinful nature to all of his descendants. And so we're all born in sin and shape and in iniquity.
Born in sin? Well, the Lord was neither born in sin nor was he born innocent. He was born holy, with a holy nature. That's the only difference.
Between his humanity and ours, the state of it was different. It was holy.
And we're going to partake of that when we get home to glory. The sin nature will be forever left behind and will be there in the new nature which is holy.
We're told in first John three that he that is born of God.
Cannot sin. That's the new nature. If the new nature in us cannot sin, of course he couldn't.
Because that's.
What he had.
That was himself.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing.
Which shall be born of thee.
Shall be called the Son of God.
Not shall become the Son of God. He never became the Son. He was always the Son, but he carried his sonship into time, it says. In Philippians 2 it says he emptied himself. Being in the form of God, he emptied himself.
We're not told what he emptied himself of. I believe he emptied himself of the outward form of Deity and took upon him the form of a servant.
He emptied himself of all that.
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That form of God that he had before he became a man, that's all that that's the only form he was in was the form of God. He emptied himself of that. He didn't empty himself of deity. He was still God. He could never cease to be God, but the form of it.
The glory of it.
And he took upon him the form of the servant.
And he carried his sonship into time. He didn't lay that aside. He didn't empty himself of his sonship. He didn't empty himself of His Holiness. He didn't empty himself of his compassion and love and goodness and all those moral features. They, they came with him.
And that perfect human life that he lived sinless.
Shows us what God's like.
We know what God is like.
Because we know him, we can read in the four Gospels. We can read that perfect, sinless holy life.
That was lived by that Blessed One for the glory of the Father.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee in the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
That little baby laid in a Manger, born in a stable laid in a Manger. That little baby, the Son of God.
No man would ever have thought of anything like this.
That God would enter this scene in that form.
That's the way he came.
And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age.
And this is the 6th month with her who was called Barren.
For with God, nothing should be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold, a handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me, according to thy word. And the Angel departed from her.
Beautiful to see how she submits.
She has been told that she is going to bear the Messiah.
And she said, so be it.
She accepted that.
She doesn't put up a lot of excuses and say I'm not worthy. She just accepts it. She submits to the divine plan.
She was to be that virgin. She was to be that one that would bear the seed of the woman.
Who would crush the Serpent's head? Destroy his power?
Beautiful to read.
We can read a little of it.
This account.
When it came to pass, verse 41, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, that was John the Baptist.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed.
That was true of Mary, she believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior, God my Savior.
She was a Sinner just like we are, but she was so favored to be the bearer of the Christ.
For He hath regarded the lowest state of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations you call Me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things, and wholly is His name, and His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He had showed strength with His arm. He had scattered the proud and the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He had filled a hungry with good things, and the rich he had sent empty away.
He had hope and His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed forever.
And Mary abode with her about 3 months and returned to her own house.
And then Elizabeth's full time came.
And she bore.
John the Baptist.
The forerunner of Christ.
Now let's turn to the second chapter. We don't have time to go through all of these verses.
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The second chapter.
Verse 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night, and lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them.
In the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Rhonda you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger. The sign of.
Humility, the sign of Lowliness, the sign of.
Not what you'd expect from a great king.
But just the opposite.
That was the sign that they were told.
You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger.
And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. And he came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven. The shepherd said, one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary.
And Joseph and the babe lying in a Manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. And when 8 days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the Angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem.
To present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord. Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.
And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord. A pair of turtledoves are two young pigeons. That shows how poor they were.
They were to offer a lamb, but if they didn't have enough for that, they were allowed this provision in the law. 2 turtle doves.
Are two young pigeons.
Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see his the death, see death, before he had seen the Lords Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him, after the custom of the law, then took him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
Which thou has prepared before the face of all people, thy salvation in the form of this little child.
A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel. And notice this and Joseph.
And his mother marveled.
At those things which were spoken of him.
Joseph and his mother.
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother.
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
She's called his mother, and she was indeed.
Joseph is set off by himself.
And then Anna is mentioned.
Verse 38. She, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth, and the child grew and waxed strong in spirit.
Filled with wisdom.
He had a human spirit.
He was just as human as you and I are. Spirit, soul and body, he says. My soul.
Is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
Peter says he bare our sins in his own body on the tree.
And here it was his spirit that waxed strong.
Filled with wisdom.
And the grace of God was upon him. Paul tells us that man, man is a spirit, a soul, and a body.
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And those that those that would deny.
His true humanity.
In fact, it came from a company of brethren, believe it or not.
That one man taught, and he was disciplined for it.
He taught that his deity was the spirit of his humanity.
That he didn't have a human spirit.
This verse says he waxed strong in spirit.
He grew in wisdom.
He rejoiced in spirit. We're told that a little later in Luke's gospel.
No, His deity was not the spirit of his humanity. His humanity was as complete as yours and mine. A spirit, a soul, and a body. Sinless, holy.
But all the compartments of man's being.
Were his.
Now verse 41. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.
And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem, after the custom of the feast and when they had fulfilled the days.
As they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem.
And here we have it again. Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey.
And they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
And it came to pass that after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.
And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
And when they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said unto him, She was a little bit irritated. You can tell it in her in what she says. Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
Behold thy father.
And I have sought thee sorrowing.
Now, I don't know how else you could have said it.
I don't think she would have said Joseph and I, but she says thy father and I, and he administers a very mild rebuke to her.
And he said unto them, How is it that she sought me?
Wish thee not that I must be about my father's business.
Thou wasn't Joseph.
That was God.
And here, the first time he uses that expression, my father is when he was a boy of 12.
And then it says they understood not.
The saying which he spake unto them.
You'd think that.
Mary would have understood.
She knew that the Lord Jesus had no human father. She knew it. Joseph knew it too.
But they didn't understand the glory of this person.
And how slow we are to grasp who he is.
When he says, wish ye not that I must be about my father's business.
And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them, And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth.
And was subject unto them.
But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart, and Jesus increased.
In wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, that's his humanity.
He grew, he increased. He learned more.
And yet as God, he.
Doesn't increase, doesn't learn more. He knows everything. Again, that's the mystery of his person.
Mystery of his person.
Well.
How beautiful.
To see how his humanity is guarded.
Joseph had nothing to do with it, and it is holy, not innocent, as Adams was.
Capable of sinning, but holy.
What is holiness? Holiness is delight in what is good and abhorrence of evil.
Holiness cannot sin. It abhors sin, it abhors evil.
And that was our Lord Jesus. The very suggestion to him that he sinned or do his own will and our act independently of the Father was painful.
Was abhorrent to him.
Get thee behind me, Satan, it is written again. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, if thou be the Son of God. Cast thyself down, and it is written as you will. Give his angels charge over thee to keep thee.
But he left out in all thy ways, and it wasn't one of the Lord's ways to act independently of the Father.
And so he says, it is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
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He never once he entered the path of subjection.
Dependence of subject man. He never got out of it. He was always the subject 1.
Always the subject 1.
There is much more.
But we don't have any more time.
May the Lord bless.
These few comments about our precious Lord Jesus. Let's close by singing.
2/19.
Lord, what is man?
He who died.
And all thy nature glorified.
Thy righteousness and grace displayed when he for sin atonement made, 219.
Lord, what is man Is he who died, and all thy name.
The Red Seas judgment flood is passed in him who bought us with his blood.
The Lord is risen. We stand beyond the doom of all our sins through Jesus, empty.
Let's turn to the book of Acts.
Chapter 1.
The former treatise Have I made O Theophilus.
Of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.
Until the day in which he was taken up.
After that he threw, the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen.
To whom also he showed himself alive.
After his passion, after his sufferings.
By many infallible proofs.
Being seen of them 40 days.
And Speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
And being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. Which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John, truly baptized with water.
But ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power.
After that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up.
And a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they look steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, 2 men stood by them.
In white apparel.
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey.
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room.
Where abode both Peter and James and John and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Altheus and Simon Zelotis, and Judas the brother of James.
These all continued with 1 accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus.
And with his brethren.
It's interesting that Luke, who wrote.
The Gospel of Luke and who wrote the book of Acts retains the same.
Expressions.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
But when he was, if you turn back to John 7 for a few minutes.
When he was here on earth.
His brethren didn't believe in him.
John 7. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him.
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Now the Jews Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brethren. That means his brothers after the flesh, his half brothers through his mother.
Therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
Now keep your place here and I just want to back you up to Matthew 13 and read a verse or two at the end of Matthew 13 about who these brothers are.
In Matthew 13.
Verse 54.
When he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue in so much that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom?
And these mighty works, is not this the carpenter's son?
Was he?
Well, that's what he was as far as the world was concerned. But we've just been noticing that he wasn't the son of Joseph. He was the son of Mary, but that was his reputation. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren? And here they're named James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. And two of those, James and Jude, wrote epistles.
The Epistle of James and the Epistle of Jude.
But he had four brothers, James and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas and his sisters. Are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? So we see that after the Lord was born, we can go back to Acts One now, after the Lord was born.
Mary and Joseph.
Lived a normal married life and had other children.
But not until the Lord was born.
So now we find them.
In verse 14 of Acts one, these all continued with 1 accord in prayer. These all being the apostles who are mentioned in verse 13.
And there were two of them that were named James. James.
Son of Zebedee, James and John, sons of Zebedee, and then James the son of Alpheus.
But there was also a James who was the Lord's half brother, and he was the one that was destined for a very important and prominent place in the early church.
He was not an apostle, but he was a chief man among the brethren, and we'll see him mentioned a number of times in the book of Acts, but it says in verse 14.
It says these all continue, that is the apostles with 1 accord in prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Now in John 7.
I didn't read that in John 7. Let's go back to John 7.
Skipped over it, thought I had read it. I started to read it.
Verse 3 of John 7 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
For there's no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.
And Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come, but your time is away ready. The world cannot hate you but me. It hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Go ye up under this feast. I go not yet up under this feast, for my time is not yet full. Come. When He had said these things, these words unto them He abode still in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone, up then went He up also unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret, and so on.
Well, his brethren didn't believe in him when he was here, below in the flesh.
There he was, the oldest, of course, in the family.
But now they've come to faith. What is it that has changed them?
His resurrection.
His resurrection.
Says in Acts One they were there.
And then it says in those days.
Peter stood up in the midst and said.
The number of the names together are about 120.
Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake.
Before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
For he was numbered with us and had part had obtained part in this ministry.
Now this man, Judas.
Purchased a field with the reward of iniquity.
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And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, and so much as that field is called in their proper tongue a Seldomah, that is to say.
The field of blood.
Judas had seen the Lord repeatedly deliver himself.
Judas Iscariot.
He had seen him do that.
And so he contracted with the.
Leaders of Israel that he would betray him with a kiss.
If for 30 pieces of silver.
And there he did it, and he thought the Lord would deliver himself, as he had often seen him do, but he didn't this time.
He allowed them to take him.
But in the process and in a way, he allowed them to take him. He showed them that they couldn't touch him unless he permitted it.
When he was in the garden, they came with lanterns and torches and weapons.
And he said, Whom seek ye?
They said Jesus of Nazareth.
And he said I am he, or literally I am.
Those majestic words. I am.
And they all fell backward and went to the ground.
I told you that I am he if.
You seek me, let these go their way and take me.
And he allowed them to take him.
He had said earlier in the Gospel of John, he said, no man taketh my life from me. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father.
That's so, that's so beautiful. Just as an aside comment. He speaks as though he has the power in himself, and he did, being who he was, but he didn't do it independently of obedience to the Father. He says this commandment have I received of my father. So he laid his life down in an act of obedience and devotedness to the will of the Father.
That's why he could say, therefore, doth my father love me because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. The father found a fresh motive of love in his heart for his beloved son, who laid his life down willingly, well knowing what it would cost him.
In order to have you and me in His presence for all eternity.
Well.
Saw him.
Taken.
And his own existence became intolerable to him.
He could no longer live with himself, having betrayed his master.
And he went out and hanged himself.
And that's what Peters referring to.
This man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity and falling headlong, and he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
The Lord said of that man, He said good word for that man that betrays me if he had never been born.
And I want to say to each one in the room this year, this afternoon, if you die without faith in Christ.
It were better for you that you've never been born.
Because you're going to spend eternity.
In Hell.
In the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death?
In the blackness of darkness forever.
If you die without Christ.
That need not be for anyone here. This is a gospel meeting.
It was so with Judas.
He had all the privileges and the favors of one of the 12. He saw all the miracles the Lord did. He even did them himself.
He was empowered to cast out demons, and he did it.
There was number difference between him and the others.
They didn't even know who it was, they said when he said one of you shall betray me, he said Is it I? They said, is it I?
John never said it is a die.
John says who is it?
He knew it wasn't he.
He's the one that lay on Jesus bosom.
He was intimate enough with the Lord to know that he was not the betrayer.
Some of the others didn't have that same confidence.
And they say this is it I.
But John says, who is it?
Who is it?
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He it is that dippeth his hand with me in the dish.
And it says in John 13, having done that, he went immediately out.
And it was night.
Not only a physical night, but night in that man's soul.
Satan entered into him.
He was not real. He's the one that had the bag, he was the treasurer, he's the one that kept the money.
He was the one that was specially privileged.
And yet.
He went to his own place.
What an awful place.
To be so near the Lord.
What an awful thing to be raised in a Christian assembly and in a Christian family and to have all the privileges that you have and being under the sound of the word of God and hearing it over and over and over again, and hearing your parents pray for you and read the Word to you and your brethren doing the same.
And to end up lost.
Awful. Terrible.
Is it possible that that can happen to you?
A latch between you and the Lord.
Your parents cannot save you. You can't walk in on their faith or on the faith of your brethren. You have to have it yourself. You have to reach out the hand of faith and lay hold upon what God has provided in Christ. You have to do that yourself.
It's a personal, individual transaction between your soul and God. No one else can do it for you. You have to get a loan between you and God.
And you have to make that transaction.
I'll never forget on the night of June 17th, 1947, as a young man, I knelt beside my bed.
I reached up the hand of faith.
I said Lord Jesus.
Accept thee.
As my Lord and Savior.
I've never doubted it since. Never doubted it.
I've failed him many times, yes, but I've never doubted that I was his.
He saved me that night.
Passed from death to life.
The power of Satan to God.
Has that happened in your soul?
It doesn't happen automatically. It doesn't happen because your parents are saved. It doesn't happen because you come to meeting every day, every week. It it has to be a personal transaction between you and God. Judas never had that.
He had all the outward privileges and favors.
Of the rest even more so.
He had the bag and bear what was put therein.
But there was number reality in his soul.
The reality?
Well, his brethren, the Lord's brethren, didn't believe in him when he was here below.
And they saw what happened to him, the cross.
The indescribable horror of the cross. The worst kind of death that man has devised to put another human being to death.
Impale him on a cross of ignominy and shame.
He cried with a loud voice.
It says in the Gospel of Matthew.
At the very end, and that's totally.
Contrary to what happens to someone that's crucified, because at the end they can't speak above a whisper, they can't draw enough air into their lungs to speak above a whisper. They die of suffocation.
Especially when their legs are broken, they don't have the legs to support them anymore, and they die of suffocation. The Lord cried with a loud voice. Finished. He said.
Finished.
Then he dismissed his spirit to the Father.
He died as a conqueror.
As a victor.
What a death.
What a death.
And then he rose.
He rose from the dead.
We read in the 1St chapter he was 40 days on earth, a risen man.
40 days.
After he rose, he didn't ascend right away. 40 days on Earth.
And by many infallible proofs he appeared to Peter.
To the.
To above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained. Paul said unto this present time at summer fallen asleep.
And then he appeared to James.
That was, that was.
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Lord's brother.
He appeared to James he was going to use him.
And then he appeared to.
To me, Paul says, the one born out of due time.
One born out of due time. He was saved before the nation.
The greatest persecutor of the Church.
And Paul was different from the others. They saw him a risen man on earth, but the Lord appeared to Paul from the glory.
The glory.
On the road to Damascus.
With letters from the chief priests to bind all that called on the name of Jesus. He had a hatred. His pharisaical spirit was out to snuff out the hated, despised name of Jesus. He was holding the clothes of those that stoned Stephen.
He heard Stephen. I see Jesus.
Standing on the right hand of God.
The Son of Man standing in the right hand of God.
And he heard Stephen cry. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And then he fell asleep.
Saul was there.
And on the road to Damascus.
This light from heaven appears, and this voice Saul saw. Why persecutest thou me?
It is hard for thee to kick against the ******. Who art thou, Lord?
He knew it was the Lord, but he didn't know his name.
And then he learns I am Jesus.
Whom thou persecutest?
I am Jesus.
The very one that Stephen saw, the very one that Saul of Tarsus heard. Pray, Lord, lay not this into their charge. He saw the first Christian martyr, and now he sees the one that Stephen went to be with.
The Lord in glory and that closed. He became blind for three days and it closed. Saul of Tarsus desires after anything here.
And the man was changed. He was turned inside out, if you will.
It was the most remarkable conversion.
Would to God that all the conversions would be like that, that we'd all be.
Change like saw was.
To be totally on fire for the Lord.
When I see the indifference, the casual lackadaisical attitude of Christians nowadays, not on fire for the Lord, not taking the the things of the Lord seriously, not putting the things of the Lord first and foremost and prominent in our lives, all these other things are going to pass away and they have no lasting meaning and significance.
We're going to spend eternity with Christ.
Eternity with him.
That's what matters. Only one life.
It will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last.
When was the last time you spoke to someone about their soul?
I don't want an answer you answer that between you and the Lord.
When was the last time you handed someone a gospel tract?
Or passed one out.
Why are we here?
Just to live comfortably.
No, we're here to be his witnesses.
That's what he says in this first chapter year. My witnesses.
His left is here to be a testimony.
To talk to people.
To tell them.
About the Lord Jesus.
You know, you young ones, you have those that you can talk to that we older ones can't talk to.
Those of your age group.
And we older ones have those we can talk to that the younger ones can't talk to.
Each one of us moves in a certain.
Group.
And we can speak to them.
Well.
We have the apostles in this book of Acts.
Witnessing.
To the resurrection, over and over again.
In Acts chapter 2, which was the day of Pentecost, let's look at it.
Peter is explaining what took place. The Holy Spirit had come. They had spoken in tongues.
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There was great power that had come upon them.
And in verse 29 Peter says men and brethren.
Let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us under this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, in knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He's seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul.
It was not left in hell or in Hades.
Neither his flesh did seek corruption.
This Jesus.
Hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted.
And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.
He hath shed forth this which he now see and hear.
He is explaining what had happened.
God had exalted his Son to his own right hand in heaven.
And from there he had received the Spirit and sent him down when he was here on earth. He received the Spirit the first time at the Jordan.
And the Spirit came upon him as a dove, and the Father's voice was heard from heaven. We read that this afternoon. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. But now he receives the Spirit as the glorified man to send him down to.
Indwell us and to baptize the believers into one body.
So he says, therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which he now see and hear.
In the 1St chapter he told them to remain at Jerusalem, for they would be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
And now it's taken place.
For David is not ascended into the heavens.
But he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Therefore, let all the House of Israel know assuredly.
That God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. What a message to these Jews that were guilty.
Whose the blood of their Messiah was dripping from their hands?
They crucified him.
God had taken him, raised him from the dead, and exalted him to his own right hand in heaven.
Made him both Lord and Christ.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.
And they said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent. Repentance is the door of escape from the awful judgment that lay upon them because of what they had done. Repent and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Repentance is a change of mind.
Repentance.
Is the word means an afterthought upon reflection.
Repentance is the judgment we form.
Of ourselves.
When the word of God comes to us.
And tells us what we are.
That were lost in sinners.
Where all is an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
Repent and soul says yes, that's true.
I'm guilty, I'm a Sinner, I'm vile.
And lost. I'm undone.
And all that God says I am.
And that's what they did. They repented of what they had done.
Lord Jesus.
And then they were identified with him by baptism.
They had his name named upon them, the name of the hated, despised Jesus.
Of Nazareth.
That showed the reality of their repentance.
And then they had the remission of sins.
And ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children.
And to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call you. Remember in the in the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate took a basin and he washed his hands before the multitude and he said, I'm innocent of the blood of this just person. See ye to it.
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And they said his blood beyond us and on our children. And now Peter says.
The promises unto you and to your children.
There was mercy. There was mercy to them and to their children.
Whom they had brought under the curse, if you will.
Because of what they had done to their Messiah.
And to all that are afar off.
Even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Others are going to be brought into this blessing as well.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying save yourselves.
From this untoward generation, disassociate yourselves from this wicked generation of Christ, rejecting Jews by being baptized to the name of Jesus, by repenting, by receiving Him.
Than they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day they were added unto them about 3000 souls.
That's striking that when the law was given.
3000 perished.
That's the effect of the law. The law kills. It's a ministry of death.
And condemnation, the first time the gospel was preached. 3000 were saved.
3000 were saved.
And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine.
And fellowship.
And in breaking of bread and in prayers, are you saved?
If you answer yes.
Are you continuing steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship?
In breaking of bread and in prayers, do you break bread?
Are you at the prayer meeting?
Are you at the ministry meeting where the apostles doctrine is explained? Do you enjoy the fellowship of the apostles? And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, John says. And the hour is the apostles. Do you have that fellowship?
Do we enjoy the fellowship of the Saints? All of these four things are when we come together.
And that's what they continued steadfastly in.
Once you're saved, your life ought to change. It ought to show a difference.
And if you answered no to that question.
You're not saved.
You don't have much longer to decide.
We may not get out that door this afternoon. The Lord the shout may come and we'll all be gone. Would you be left behind?
We don't know what a moment will bring forth.
My daughter Jan left two of her children at the Recreation Center. She drove down to the school just to pick up a book for Timmy on her way back.
She was in a very serious accident.
And Kayleen, who was sitting in the back seat, went home to be with the Lord instantly.
Things can change just like that, just like that.
Thankfully Kayleen's with the Lord and the young man that fell asleep at the wheel that hit the truck and the truck flipped the car back and hit Jan, he went home to be with the Lord too.
He'd been working long, long hours and he just fell asleep at the wheel.
But he was the Lord's young man of 20.
Rose. She was only 18.
She failed to stop at a stop sign and that was it.
Just like that.
She was taken home.