Christ and the Bride Part II
The Conquering Lamb • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW
INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW
The last time we were together in the book of Revelation, we were studying Chapter 21, verses 9-27.
We saw the incredible promises that are made to the Bride of Christ through the picture of the New Jerusalem.
We saw how:
The Bride of Christ is the people of God—as seen in the names of the 12 Apostles on the foundation of the city and the 12 gates with the names of the sons of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed upon them.
The Bride of Christ is perfected by God—coming down from above, presented without spot or wrinkle or blemish.
The Bride of Christ is reflecting the pure beauty of the God—with descriptions of glory and light and jewels and human language stretched to its limits.
The Bride of Christ is protected by God—with the thick walls and the open gates and the angels located at each gate.
And the Bride of Christ is in the presence of God—the whole city being a temple.
We continue tonight by seeing more symbolic imagery and more arrows pointing us to the wonderful eternity that is in store for God’s people who dwell on the New Earth.
Tonight, we will have three more observations regarding the Bride of Jesus, the New Jerusalem.
We will see that:
The Bride of Christ has the LIFE of God (v. 1-2).
The Bride of Christ has the LIBERATION of God (v. 3-5).
The Bride of Christ has the LIGHT of God (v. 5).
And throughout, we will see that those these are promises for the future, they also speak to spiritual realities in the here and now.
Graces that we know in part—and eventually, we will know in full.
And this should encourage us.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
THE LIFE OF GOD (v. 1-2)
THE LIFE OF GOD (v. 1-2)
The whole book of Revelation has been a book of camera angles.
We have had 7 cycles showing us 7 different camera angles of the way things have been, the way things are and the way they will ultimately be in the end.
Now, in the 7th cycle, we have one more camera angle of the Bride of the Christ and in it, we see two key elements:
The river of the water of life (v. 1)
The tree of life (v. 2)
As with many pictures and symbols in Revelation, there are a few places we can go in the Old Testament to see the biblical background of these symbols, but none is more important than Ezekiel 47.
EZEKIEL BACKGROUND
EZEKIEL BACKGROUND
Before we read Ezekiel 47, I would like to take a little more time than we did a couple of weeks ago, to look into what is going on in Ezekiel 40-48 and in Ezekiel in general.
Ezekiel was written by the prophet Ezekiel during the Babylonian Exile.
It is a book that both explains how the people ended up under the Lord’s discipline AND gives hope of a restoration that is to come in the future—hope that God’s people will not be in Exile forever.
In Ezekiel 10, Ezekiel sees God’s glory depart from the temple.
Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
In Ezekiel 16, you find out why:
“But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.
God’s people disobeyed Him and committed spiritual adultery with their idolatry.
And people wondered if all hope was lost:
“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’
But in Ezekiel 36, there is a glorious New Covenant promise of regeneration and spiritual life.
There is the promise of a new heart and new relationship with God.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
In the very next chapter, Ezekiel sees a vision of New Testament resurrection in the valley of dry bones:
Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
So that gets you to chapters 40-48, where there is this vision of a new temple and a restored city and nation.
In chapters 40-42, there are detailed measurements of this temple:
Ezekiel 40: The outer courts, the inner courts, the North and South gates, the priestly chambers and the vestibule are all measured
Ezekiel 41: The Most Holy Place is measured
Ezekiel 42: Various temple chambers are measured
Now there are many who believe this is a literal temple that has yet to be built.
They argue that it will be built before Jesus returns.
But as you read Ezekiel 43, I think the literal interpretation runs into a major wall and falls apart.
The glory of God fills the temple and there is an altar and there are sacrifices required.
You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.
Here is the problem with there being sacrifices required in a new, literal temple in the New Testament era—The New Testament itself says this will not happen.
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Why? Because we enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ending the sacrificial system.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
Therefore, what we are seeing in Ezekiel 43 is not a call to reinstitute a sacrificial system in a literal temple after Jesus has already offered the final sacrifice.
That makes no sense.
Instead, we are seeing symbolic language that is pointing us toward the final sacrifice of Christ, which opens the way for God’s people to be the temple of God forever.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible (Chapter 43)
We are not now to offer any atoning sacrifices, for by one offering Christ has perfected for ever those that are sanctified, Heb 10:14; but the sprinkling of his blood is needful in all our approaches to God the Father. Our best services can be accepted only as sprinkled with the blood which cleanses from all sin.
Matthew Henry
And we see this playing out in Ezekiel 44 where the east gate is shut and will remain shut, with only a Prince being able to go in.
And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.”
This is Jesus. Jesus is the only One who can enter and anyone who desires to be a part of this temple must go in by way of Him and the sacrifice He has made.
In chapters 45-46, the land is marked off for the temple and offerings and festivals are described.
And then there guidelines for how everyone must conduct themselves in worship.
In all of this symbolic language, Ezekiel is speaking in the language of the customs and times in which he wrote.
He is showing that God’s people who are in Exile will not be in Exile forever.
Far from it, they will be the very temple of God.
The many chambers of chapter 42 will be fulfilled in the Father’s house, where Jesus says there are many rooms.
The sacrifices of chapter 43 are fulfilled in the atoning work of the Son.
The Prince of chapter 44 reminds us there is only one way to fellowship with God and that is through the Son.
The feasts of chapter 45 remind us that Christ is our Passover Lamb and the entire Christian life that we live is like a worshipful feast kept in spirit and in truth.
The duties of worship in chapter 46 remind us of the daily worship that offer to God as priests in His Kingdom and of His temple.
These were mysteries of the Gospel, embedded in Ezekiel’s prophecy and revealed to us in the very New Covenant he wrote about in chapter 36.
All of this takes us to chapter 47 where we get the parallel to Revelation 22:1-2.
Let me read these passages side by side:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Now let’s consider Ezekiel 47:1-3
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.
And then Ezekiel 47:7-8
As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.
The parallels are undeniable.
Once again—we do not have Ezekiel telling us of a literal temple, but using prophetic language to give us a picture of the New Testament church and the life she has, both in this age and in the age to come.
1. The Bride of Christ has the life of God (v. 1-2).
1. The Bride of Christ has the life of God (v. 1-2).
RIVER OF LIFE (v. 1-2)
RIVER OF LIFE (v. 1-2)
Let’s take these images one at a time. We start with the “river of the water of life.”
In Ezekiel’s vision, he sees water flowing from the part of the temple that faces East.
As the angel measures the river’s depths, it goes from being ankle-deep, to deeper and deeper.
Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
And as it flowed into the Dead Sea, it turns the saltwater into freshwater, allowing fish and living creatures to thrive.
There is no river like this in Israel, which again, tells us this is figurative.
Here is Dennis Johnson explaining it:
The river’s unusual features show the figurative or symbolic form in which Ezekiel’s vision is given. From the presence of God in the last days, will flow life-giving water.
Dennis Johnson
And this vision from Ezekiel is coming to its ultimate fruition in Revelation 22.
The life of God flows from the throne of God and the Lamb to the people of God and will do so for all of eternity.
When an enemy besieges a city, they try to cut off its water supply.
They want to force the people inside to come out, where they will be laid to the sword or taken for prisoners.
However, with all of God’s enemies vanquished, there is no threat of this in the New Jerusalem.
His people will have the water of His eternal life forever.
In fact, the water doesn’t even come into the city from the outside.
It flows from the throne of God outward, nourishing every citizen within the walls.
Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”
All our fountains will be in the Lord our God, forever and ever.
THE TREE OF LIFE (v. 2)
THE TREE OF LIFE (v. 2)
The second image we get is the “tree of life,” in verse 2.
If the river of the water of life is a reference to Ezekiel 47:1-5, then the “tree of life” is a reference to Ezekiel 47:7-8.
But the imagery of Ezekiel 47 is actually a reference back to a place even further back—the Garden of Eden.
The tree of life was in the middle of the Garden.
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
After Adam and Eve sin, they are ousted from God’s paradise, keeping them from eating from that tree in their fallen state.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Eden was really the first temple on earth.
It was a paradise where God met with man.
In that paradise, he charged Adam to work and keep the Garden like a priest would work and keep the temple.
But Adam failed.
Notice the east gate is guarded so that Adam cannot enter in.
Compare this with Ezekiel 47 where the east gate is shut, BUT the Prince—the Lord Jesus Christ—is able to enter in.
Because unlike the first Adam, the second Adam did not break covenant with God.
And now, in Revelation 22, the gates of the city are open and those who have washed their robes in the righteous blood of the Second Adam are able to eat from the tree of life forever.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
The tree of life is depicted as producing twelve types of fruit, a harvest for each month.
But 12 is not just how many months there are in a calendar year.
We know it is also a number that represents God’s perfect people in Revelation.
The number 12 has been all over descriptions of the New Jerusalem and here it is again.
12 kinds of fruit, one for each month.
And what is implied is that there is enough for all of the people of God to eat forever.
Meaning, God’s life will be sufficient for His children for eternity.
It is exactly what was promised to the Ephesians back in chapter 2.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Verse 2 also says that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
This doesn’t mean that God’s people from all nations will still have sin wounds on the New Earth that will need healing.
Instead, its simply a way for the Lord to say that His grace and His abiding presence will supply every member of the Bride with full healing from sin and the blessing of every good thing forever.
Revelation 21:24-26 shows us what Joel Beeke calls a “cosmopolitan city.” It is a city filled with people from nation.
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
And they will all be healed forever in the presence of their Healer.
And as you see the tree of life, notice what you do not see.
You do not see the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
You also do not see a lying serpent or tempting fruit.
The symbol of our Fall and the God-hating serpent are gone—tossed into the Lake of Fire.
There is life, with no let up.
Healing with no hex.
Fruit with no fall.
LIFE NOW WITH ETERNAL LIFE AND THE SPIRIT
LIFE NOW WITH ETERNAL LIFE AND THE SPIRIT
But, there is a sense in which we experience these things in the here and now. First of all—eternal life is not just for the future.
Jesus said:
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
We are granted this abundant, forever life upon placing saving faith in the Lord Jesus.
This is what He told the woman at the well in John 4:13-14
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
His eternal life satisfies, now and always.
Secondly, there is a theological reality for the here and now having to do with the living Spirit of God.
In John 7, Jesus cries out at a feast and makes a promise about how the Holy Spirit will be living water for those who believe.
John 7:37-39 says:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
And just as in Ezekiel 47, the water flows downward and makes the saltwater fresh for all the creatures, the Holy Spirit’s witness flows out of the lives of believers in this age, making the dead come to life.
And more than just the power in our witness, the Spirit is the down payment of the eternal life that is to come:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
But one day, we will not just have the Spirit on the throne of our hearts and as the power in our witness—We will have life flowing directly to us from the throne of God and the Lamb on the New Earth.
What has been a down-payment will be an inheritance fully realized.
This is what Ezekiel 47 was prophesying and this is what Revelation 22 is describing to us.
The river of the water of the life of God, bright as crystal—pure and undefiled—will be ours forever.
For now, we experience abundant life with the taint of sin.
A bit of our impurity mixed in with His grace.
But it will not be that way in the world to come.
LIFE NOW IN THE TREE
LIFE NOW IN THE TREE
Similarly, we may not have access to the tree of life just yet, but we do have access to the tree of Christ.
We can come to the place of Golgotha again and again, confessing our sins, knowing that the blood of the Messiah will heal us, just as the leaves of the tree will bring healing to the nations.
We can come to the tree of Christ and eat of the fruit of His flesh and we will be given life and freed from death.
For as Thomas a Kempis said:
In the cross is health, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is heavenly sweetness, in the cross strength of mind, in the cross joy of the Spirit, in the cross the height of virtue, in the cross perfection of holiness. There is no health of the soul, no hope of eternal life, save in the cross.
Thomas à Kempis
We wait on life, but we have it now.
THE LIBERATION OF GOD (v. 3-4)
THE LIBERATION OF GOD (v. 3-4)
Let’s keep moving along. Looking at verses 3-4, we see more language that takes us back past Ezekiel’s vision of a figurative temple to the literal Garden of Eden.
John says that as he looks at the New Jerusalem, he sees a Bride-city that will not have anything accursed in it.
Instead of a curse, which drove Adam and Eve away from God, the Lord’s throne and the Lamb will be in the city and the servants of God will worship Him.
2. The Bride of Christ will have the liberation of God (v. 3-4).
2. The Bride of Christ will have the liberation of God (v. 3-4).
REVERSAL OF THE CURSE
REVERSAL OF THE CURSE
Adam’s sin uncorked a curse upon the world that has been searing and scarring humanity ever since.
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
But just before the announcement of the curse upon humanity, the Lord placed a curse upon the Serpent and a promise regarding the Serpent’s destruction.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
And what this shows is that key to reversing the curse was built in from the start.
A Serpent-Crusher would come from the line of Eve and He will stomp on the head of the Serpent, giving it a fatal blow.
In the curse, Adam’s children will experience pain as they go about worshipping God through work.
But in the undoing of the curse, His servants will worship Him with no mention of pain (v. 3).
They can work and keep the New Earth the way Adam was meant to work and keep the Garden from the start.
God’s original purpose for His people is being recovered.
Along these same lines, Adam’s children were separated from God—not born in the Garden in His presence, but born as castaways.
But now, as the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, it is clear she is born again—born from above.
And as a result, she will no longer be a castaway. She will be liberated from the curse.
And the true Israel of the New Jerusalem will see the face of the Maker (v. 4).
SEEING HIS FACE (v. 4)
SEEING HIS FACE (v. 4)
God’s people have been wanting this for as long as He has been God and they have been His people.
And yet, gracious as He is, in their fallenness, He has only been able to show them what the book of Job calls the “fringes.”
Moses was shielded from the full splendor of God’s glory by the cleft of the rock:
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Thick curtains covered the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and Temple and the high priest would not go in until mercy seat of the ark was shrouded in smoke from the altar of incense.
But on the New Earth, those days of shielding and shrouding will be over.
The Bride will see the face of the Bridegroom.
The people of God will look upon the countenance of God and be liberated to see His full glory.
REIGN FOREVER (v. 5)
REIGN FOREVER (v. 5)
But this is not all—not only will they be able to serve Him upon the New Earth as priests who see His face, they will serve Him upon the New Earth as a KINGDOM of priests who see His face.
Look at the end of verse 5— “They will reign forever and ever.”
This reality is reflected in the new song that was sung by the four living creatures and the 24 elders:
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Again, this is what Adam was supposed to do from the start.
On the 6th Day, God made Adam from the dust and gave him dominion over the creatures.
He was to rule the earth as God’s vice-regent, but he failed.
But like the priestly worship and the face-to-face relationship with God, the curse is being reversed and God’s people are reigning with Him on the Earth once more.
They are liberated to fully engage in God’s glorious and joyful purpose for humanity.
NAME ON FOREHEADS (v. 4)
NAME ON FOREHEADS (v. 4)
And it is crystal clear as to who gets the privilege of doing this. It is those who belong to God—made clear by His name being placed on their foreheads like a seal.
In Revelation 13, those who follow Satan’s beasts are marked on their right hand and their forehead.
But here in Revelation 22, the liberated Bride-city is sealed on their forehead, showing they are followers of Christ.
They are not people of the Beast, but of the Lamb who is like a Lion.
And so, just as it was promised to the Philadelphians in Revelation 3, God’s name is written on the citizens of the city:
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
No curse. No effects of the curse.
By the saving work of God in Son Jesus Christ, His people are liberated. Free.
LIBERATION NOW
LIBERATION NOW
But we must say that though we are talking about the future, just as with the LIFE of God, we are already experiencing the LIBERATION that God provides.
The Lord Jesus has come and died and resurrected.
He has ascended on high and received the name above every name.
He has won the day for His people.
And while we are still being sanctified and battling sin and living in a fallen world, we are indeed free.
As Paul wrote to the Galatians and urged them to not submit again to a yoke of slavery by believing a false gospel of works, he reminded them:
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
You have been set free.
You don’t have to sin.
Sin is no longer your master. Jesus is your Master.
When your flesh calls, you don’t have to answer. You are not enslaved to your sinful desires and impulses any more.
You can actually choose, in the power of Christ, to not gossip.
To not get drunk.
To not slander.
To not be bitterly unforgiving.
To not lie.
You are free to walk in righteousness to the glory of Christ’s name.
We may groan with creation for the full liberation and curse reversal that is to come, but understand that the Serpent has already been disarmed.
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
The Serpent-Crusher has won, even if we haven’t gotten to fully hold the trophy yet.
THE LIGHT OF GOD (v. 5)
THE LIGHT OF GOD (v. 5)
And then finally, in verse 5, we have a reprisal of what we saw in chapter 21.
The Bride-city has no need of the light of a lamp or even the sun itself because the Lord will be their light.
Just as He was the Light to creation before He spoke the sun into existence in Genesis 1, He is the Light to creation with no sun in Revelation 22.
3. The Bride of Christ has the Light of God (v. 5).
3. The Bride of Christ has the Light of God (v. 5).
There will be no night for the New Jerusalem, for we will have no enemies to threaten us and the light of the Lord will never go out.
We will have the glory of God (21:11)
It’s radiance like a most rare jewel.
And that glory will be out light.
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Jesus is the Light of the world and He will be ours forever.
From His throne will come a flood of Light by which we will see for ages and ages on the New Earth.
As the old hymn says:
When we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun; we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we’ve first begun.
LIGHT NOW
LIGHT NOW
But we should understand that just as we wait on Life and Liberation, but also have them now in part, we wait on light—another spiritual reality we already possess in part.
Paul says if people do not believe the Gospel, it is because they do not see the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
But for believers, God has spoken and said, “Let there be light,” and the light of knowledge has invaded our hearts.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We are the light of the world. A city that is to come, but also a city that already cannot be hidden.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The already, but not yet nature of this passage should encourage us tonight.
It is easy to focus on the winds and the waves of this world and start to sink, but we can’t get caught losing track of what is already ours in Christ.
It is true that the best of our works still have sin clinging to them and we need Christ to purify our offerings of service and worship.
It is true that with our faith, there is unbelief mixed in.
With our zealousness for Christ, there is some lukewarmness mixed in.
With our humility, there is still pride that is mixed in.
Thomas Watson said that like bad lungs with asthma, sin’s corruption has infected our hearts so that our graces breathe faintly.
And yet, old Watson reminds us:
Though grace cannot make sin not to be, yet it makes it not to reign; though grace cannot expel sin, it can repel it. And for our comfort, where grace makes a combat with sin, death shall make a conquest.
Thomas Watson
The day is coming when grace will fully win.
Life, liberation and light.
But these things are yours now.
Don’t be fooled into living below your spiritual income.
You are the Bride of Christ—walk in victory now, knowing it is coming later.