A Picture of Sanctification
Notes
Transcript
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Lord, you have always been and always will be. You have always been a dwelling place for Your people throughout all generations. Before mountains were formed, or anything had form, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
A thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. Man returns to the dust. But, You, oh God, are God forever and always.
Teach us to number our days that we may gain wisdom. May we find satisfaction with Your steadfast love. Your steadfast love enables us to rejoice and be glad all our days.
Let us see Your work in our midst. Let us marvel at Your glorious power working in Your children. Let Your favor be upon us. Establish the work of our hands so that You might be praised.
It is to You we come with our requests and our praises. It is in Your shadow that we find refuge. It is in You, oh Lord, that we find refuge. Oh God, we trust in You.
This morning, we ask, that You make Your word fresh and sweet to our hearts. We ask that You stir our hearts to love and good works. You have commanded that we assemble. You have ordained that fellowship and community is how we bless each other and are blessed.
Knit our hearts to gether in the bonds of Christ. And in the name of Jesus, all of God’s people say, Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
Verse 4 is the continuance of longing for the pure spiritual milk, God’s Word, that is able to grow you up into salvation.
And, since you have tasted the sweetness of God’s work in your life through the power of the HS using God’s Word, you will long to taste more of the Lord’s transforming you from one degree of glory to another.
And, so…
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
#1 – What is the big deal about reading your Bible?
#1 – What is the big deal about reading your Bible?
V.2 says Like newborn babes long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation
V.4 says As you come to Him…V.5 you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up...
So we have this equivalent statement that adds greater detail and imagery to v.2…right?
Long for God’s Word that gives you the spiritual nutrition to grow spiritually...
Which is leading you into the fullness of Salvation.
V.4 Reading your Bible is more than reading words...
It is taking you to Christ.
16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
The weapon of God is His Word because God’s Word is His self revelation.
It is God disclosing Himself, inerrantly & infallibly, to the readers.
This is why Paul’s prayers in His epistles are repeatedly...
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
The Bible is God’s means of revealing Himself, His will, His salvation in Christ, His plan for eternity...
So, that we may know & grow in His likeness...
And glorify Him in our obedience.
So, when we come to the Word of God we are coming to Christ.
I think there’s a qualifier…a descriptive that teaches us the kind of Bible reading that takes us to Christ...
And, that is in v.2 when there is a longing for the spiritual growth and nutrition that only comes from Christ.
So, when we have this longing heart to read God’s Word, in order to know Him deeper...
We are brought to Him…the Word of God acts as a conduit to bring us into His presence.
So, when we speak as if we long to be in the presence of Christ...
When we say that we cannot wait for the consummation...
To be in the presence of our Lord...
But, if we, at the same time, are not going to Him through His Word...
Than we are at a state of misunderstanding...
Or we are at odds with ourselves.
And, listen…this happens to all of us…in different seasons of our Christian pilgrimage...
But, it is the very reason we need this reminder from the Apostle Peter...
So, we can snap out of it, right?
God’s grace and Christ’s blood covers our seasons of indifference…
But, at the same time, God’s persistence in His Word calls us out of such indifference...
He commands us out of such behavior through wooing us, again with our gospel inheritance.
Which is exactly what we see next...
#2 – We don’t just come to Him and hang out, unchanged.
#2 – We don’t just come to Him and hang out, unchanged.
As we continually come to Christ, in His Word, something is happening to us…
When we spend time in God’s Word and the Word is taking us to Christ...
By increasing our knowledge of Him, His ways, His will...
And, we’re doing so to know Him more deeply...
And, obey Him more fully...
We do not and cannot leave that time with Christ, unchanged.
It’s not like dropping by a buddies house and shooting the breeze for an hour.
Something significant is happening to us...
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
We are being renewed, through knowledge, into the image of our Creator...
And, this renewal, this transformation, has a function...
There’s purpose to our transformation.
It is not just an individual function in our being transformed...
But, our individual transformation/sanctification has a purpose that is bigger than the individual...
And, it is meant for a more corporate setting…as being a part of a Church...
And, the Church, local, is to function together for this purpose...
Now, what is the purpose?
Verse 5…read
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
I believe that v.5 is giving us a mental picture of what growing up into salvation.
And, that mental picture allows for us to see the function of our sanctification.
you yourselves like living stones
What does Peter mean like living stones?
Well, what has he already said...
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
Jesus, a living stone … we like living stones
This is a picture of image and imitation
We are being transformed into the image of Christ.
So, this is the intention of our sanctification...
That in and through our sanctification...
We would represent Christ to others in this life.
We are, the Bible says, ambassadors of Christ.
We are to represent Him, the living stone, by being like Him…like living stones.
And, that representation to others is to be in the manner that He desires/commands.
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
we are being built up as a spiritual house
The word house can mean dwelling place, house, temple, sanctuary.
I think the best word to describe the context is temple since Peter continues with words like priesthood & sacrifices.
Perhaps, Peter chose this word because the Temple was no longer necessary.
Christ was the fulfillment of the OT temple.
And, in the NT churches were the meeting places for the people of God.
But, the imagery we have here is helped by defining it as the temple of God.
We are being built up into a spiritual temple.
What was the purpose of the temple?
The temple signified God dwelling with His people.
The temple signified the presence of God in the land.
So, the people of God gather together and unite in doctrine as the Church.
We are His people identifying with one another as the people of the Lord...
And, the Lord is present with us.
Where two or more are gathered in my name, Christ is there, also.
So, the people of God are being built up as a spiritual temple for this purpose...
We are to, individually & corporately, manifest the presence & working of God to the world.
Let me use Scripture to explain this in greater detail...
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
What in the world could Paul be saying here?
What in the world could be lacking in Christ’s afflictions?
There’s only one way…His physical presence.
Christ is not physically walking the earth...
But, we are & we are to represent Him to the world through our living out His will for us.
So, we image Christ as statues image those they represent.
We are reminders of God through our convictions, behavior and words.
Every time we speak, or act it is to be a reminder that God is real, and God is present, and God is working...
Even today…And it is not too late to take part in the Kingdom of God.
Another purpose of our sanctification or our growing up into salvation is seen in v.5…read
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are to be a holy priesthood
Priests had the responsibility of attending to the things of God...
In particular, they were responsible for preserving the Word of God...
And, especially, teaching the Word of God.
They served the people in ways that aided them in obeying God.
Now, in the NT, all believers are priests unto God.
We are responsible to preserve the Word of God.
We are responsible to know the Word of God.
We are responsible to teach the Word of God to those who are not priests.
Which, in the case of the NT, those who are not priests unto God are unbelievers.
This carries with it, the very idea of evangelism.
We, as Christians and priests unto God, make it our goal to go out into the world and help people to know God and His will.
As we do this is is manifesting another expression and purpose of our sanctification...
We are, as priests unto God & children of obedience...
To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God
This equals obedience to God … holy living...
And, we’re told that this is spiritual worship.
So, priestly living is obedience to God...
And offering spiritual sacrifices is another way of saying living obediently to God...
Because worship is never real in the context of disobedience.
Worship is always in the context of heartfelt obedience to God.
And, here’s the bad news of it...
We are never able to worship God fully because of sin...
But the good news of it is this...
Our worship is worship and acceptable to God...
Because of our faith in JC who DID obey God perfectly on our behalf.
So, our flawed & tainted obedience is acceptable through our faith in JC.
Our flawed & tainted worship is acceptable though our faith in JC.
Here, again, as we saw in...
17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
We are working…performing obedient deeds...
The deeds are not perfect...
They are not accepted because of the perfection of our deeds...
They are accepted because they are done with faith in JC.
As Christians, our minds and hearts are sold out to this fact...
There is nothing we can do to earn or keep God’s love and approval...
But, by accepting the love and approval of God through Christ and His work...
We are able to obey and worship God freely without fear of being judged...
Based on the perfection or imperfection of our obedience...
But, our judgment is based on the finished work of Christ.
And, because of that our worship of God is made acceptable through Jesus Christ.
Isn’t that encouraging news.
Isn’t that a wonderful, glorious truth to behold and cling to and never let go.
So, the change that occurs as we come to God’s Word to know more of Christ is:
We are being built up…growing up into salvation…to manifest the presence and working of God to the world.
We are acting as Priests unto God in that:
We are doing His will and representing Him to the world
We are obeying His commands and showing the joys, pleasures, and peace that come through obedience to God to the world.
So, that they may see our good works and glorify God in heaven.
We are living lives that pursue obedience to God, which is spiritual worship.
And, we can do so with confidence because the flawed & tainted obedience that we perform is made acceptable by our faith in Christ and through His person and finished work.
#3 – What should we think about our sanctification?
#3 – What should we think about our sanctification?
I want to close with this...
I know that when it comes to our thinking about our own sanctification...
We often think that it is just not happening.
Or it just doesn’t seem to be happening much at all.
All of the distractions of the world. All the busyness of our current culture. All the bad news out there to bring us down.
Am I truly being transformed into the image of Christ?
I want you to rejoice in this truth...
We may be changed slightly at a time...
It may seem so slight that you deem it insignificant...
But, even the slightest change is significant change.
Because any progression towards godliness is a manifestation of the work of the HS in our life...
And, that is a fruit of being a child of God.
Don’t despise the day of small things in your life, folks.
Sometimes sanctification can be gruesomely slow...
But, if sanctification is occuring…As slow as it may be…REJOICE
You are being molded by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...
To bear His image to the world to manifest His presence and working in the world...
And to show the world that the worship of God was never designed to make our pleasures less.
The revealing by God of how to worship God was given to heighten our pleasures...
And, we as priests unto God have the privilege to show this to the world.
Let’s do it well.
Announcements
Announcements
Offerings can be dropped into the basket in the back.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
