Christ our Prophet
By Pastor Matt Black
14
January 2007
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 2:17
Open your Bibles to Ephesians 2, and let’s read verses 17-18. The title of this morning’s message is “Christ our Prophet”.
We will be looking specifically at Ephesians 2:14-22, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Introduction: We see in our text in verse 17 that “came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh”. Christ Himself comes by the power of the Spirit and He Himself preaches to us. So as we begin, I want you not to listen to me, but I want you to listen to the voice of the Lord.
The Father wants us to hear the voice of the Son of God this morning. At the transfiguration, in the presence of the two greatest prophets, God says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5).
That is my message to you this morning! Listen to the voice of Christ! He has come to this earth and substituted Himself on our behalf. He has drunk from the winepress of the wrath of God for you. All of you here this morning, Listen to His voice!
Christ, by the power of the Spirit of God preaches to you. Through Him by one Spirit we have access unto the Father! (verse 17). We have access by Christ into the very Presence of God! As we lift up the Word of God this morning, we are lifting up the voice of Christ. And Christ’s message is PEACE—RECONCILIATION!
I. The Miracle of hearing Christ’s voice (removing the enmity)
It’s a miracle that any one of us can hear God’s voice! Do you take your salvation for granted today? Are you filled with joy and awe and wonder that you are on your way to heaven? It’s amazing that any one of us can “hear the voice of the Son of God”. Our church is a testimony to the fact that “the dead hear the voice of the Son of God and live” (John 5:25).
A. The Enmity. We are put off by other people. There is hostility between us and other people.
1. Human Hostility. It’s not just our human conflicts. Oh, we have plenty of those. Remember we have learned that there is a middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles. We took a journey to the Temple of Christ’s day. The Gentiles were separated from the Jews, the priests were separated from the common people, and the men were separated from the woman. There was a real hostility between Jew and Gentile, but the greatest wall was not any of these physical or even cultural walls.
And we have all our divisions. There so much envy and strife, jealously and pride, hurt feelings and bitterness and even rage. When we have a conflict we think of it on an earthly level like the hostility between the Jews and Gentiles with walls of separation and partition outside of the Temple.
2. Divine Hostility. God is put off by us.
But the conflict of Jews and Gentiles was not primarily on an earthly level! The sins of Jews and Gentiles separated them from God. The Jews and Gentiles were all outside of where the mercy seat was in the holy of holies. They may have been separated from one another, but their biggest problem is that the vast majority of them were separated from God!
The one thing that ought to concern us, indeed, that ought to terrorize us is not that we as men have hostility against God, but that a righteous and a holy and good God is hostile to us. His wrath abides on all sinners who remain unreconciled to Him. And the fact of the matter is that God is put off by us. We all in Adam are a stench in His nostrils. Isaiah says that our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). It is not like there is a neutral wall between us and God. The wall is God’s wrath. John 3:36 tells us that God is enraged against us. His wrath abides on us. The only reason He has permitted any lost sinner to live another moment on this earth, is because God is patiently waiting for that sinner to fill up the cup of His wrath, and then at the moment and in the manner chosen by God, that sinner will be cast into the Lake of Fire and will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Our imaginations cannot bear to think on the truths we have just spoken of. We cannot imagine that anyone could be that sinful that God would think of a person in that way. Friend, if you think you are worthy of the wrath of God based on just what you did today, then I can tell you, as long as you think that way, you will never be saved. There is no hope for you until you understand the hostility between you and God.
B. The Covenant. Verse 18 says that we have “access by one Spirit unto the Father”. Wow! How did this access come to be? There was a covenant! The Scripture here says that Christ reconciles us “in His flesh” and “by the cross”. We must understand that the only reason any one of us could hear His voice is because of the Covenant that the Son made with the Father before the foundation of the world. This is holy ground. Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He has loved us with an everlasting love. How is it possible for Christ to love sinners?
Perhaps you say, it’s not hard to love me, I’m a good person! No you’re not! You are a lying, thieving, adulterous, blaspheming, rebellious, idol worshipper in your heart! If you don’t understand that, you’ll never come to Christ! The Law that tells us not to lie and steal is the Law the converts the soul. It is the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ!
Illustration: You and I are so bad, that we are worse than devils. Do you think this morning that God is drawing any of the devils to Himself? No God is drawing sinful men, and we are worse than devils! The Spirit of God can only draw people on the basis of the blood atonement. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world!” “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” (Rev. 5:13).
II. The Message that comes from Christ’s voice.
A. The Past. We are learning this morning that Christ is the long expected Prophet. Those who heard His voice on this earth, heard the voice of God. We read in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken”. Christ is the prophet that Moses spoke of that would come into the world.
Peter and John spoke of this in Acts 3:19-23, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”
Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son”. I believe this is Paul writing, and he goes on to say that Christ is “the brightness of [the Father’s] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”.
B. He Himself is our Peace: He is our propitiation (satisfies the wrath of God). He is our reconciliation! Christ satisfies the anger of God for our sins. Our text reveals Christ’s purpose:verse 16 “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.
C. Christ Himself is the Proclamation. (Message) ! Verse 17, “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.”
Christ is the “Word”, and being so, speaks as God. Most prophets say “Thus said the Lord.” Christ said , “ye have heard of old… but I say unto you”. How could Christ speak with such authority?
Because He is the Logos, the Word, the very message of God. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
The One who speaks to you this morning is the One who made all things! All things were made by Him! Listen to His voice! The One who spoke everything into existence is the One who speaks to your heart through His Word today! The Word is the same one that said “Let their be light” (Genesis 1:2), and the world came into existence out of nothing!
Friends, we do not simply preach to you facts and stories. I am not asking you to become more educated in Bible knowledge this morning. I am not even asking you to engage yourself today so that you can become a better person. I am asking you this morning to consider a Person! Listen to the voice of Christ! Christ preaches to you today, and He says, “Look what I have done!” All the wrath that God has stored up for you was put upon Me”.
III. The Magnitude of Christ’s voice. Verse 17 tells us again that Christ, “came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” The Gospel is gone into all of the world!
Why did my family and I go to Spain? For amenities? No, to preach the Gospel! We go into all the world because Jesus can save any body! He can save the Jew, the Gentile! He can save a murderer, a liar! If you’ve committed adultery, God can save you. If you have stolen things, the government may not forgive you, but God can forgive you! God can reconcile any body!
The fallacy of the Jews was that they thought there was something in them that appealed to God. That was so far from the truth. The Jews were a stench in God’s nostrils just as much as the Gentiles. God’s wrath is on the heathen—those who do not bow the knee to Christ), that is true, but much more is God’s wrath upon the hypocrites. God’s anger seethes against those who affirm Christ with their mouth, but in their heart they deny Him. But do you know something? God can save the heathen, and He can also save hypocrites! Amen? There are some here at our church who were members for years without knowing Christ. You lived the life of a hypocrite for years—singing the hymns, saying the right words, doing the right activities—all the while washing the outside without yielding to Christ to wash the inside. But one day you bowed your knee. Church membership did not bring you near to Christ. Christ preached to you and brought you near to Him! Christ Himself did a work in your heart!
Conclusion: As we conclude, I want to tell you again of the miracle of hearing Christ’s voice. I want to extend this miracle to hypocrites this morning. You who say everything right when you come to this place and you do everything that your wicked heart wants to do when you are outside of this place. God can reconcile even you! May God grant that today! May you sense His conviction and His love and break your hardened heart. May God draw you with chords of love to Himself!
Every one of you is redeemable. God can save anybody. Do you believe that? God can transform murderers and liars and adulterers into saints! God can save anyone! I don’t care what you’ve committed; I don’t care what you’ve done—the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse you from all sin! All sin! There is no reason you should leave this building today under the weight of even one sin—no matter how little or how big. Be fully reconciled to God! If you cannot turn your heart to God, pray that God will turn your heart to Him. Even now, pray! If you are not certain even now that if you were to die, you would be in the glorious presence of Jesus with you so happy to see Him, and Him so happy to see you—if you are not sure of this, make sure today. Don’t leave this place unreconciled.
Now I speak to Christians. Don’t be a hypocrite. Don’t say that you know reconciliation with Jesus Christ if you are not reconciled to your brother, or your friend, or to your spouse or even to your enemy. You may need to reconcile with a church member. Don’t make excuses. You ought to be at peace with all men.
So Christian and unbeliever, I say to you today—Be reconciled to God! Hear the voice of Christ and follow Him! Listen to the voice of Christ speaking to you as your Prophet! Listen to Him preaching to your soul—hear His voice and follow Him!!
Closing Hymn: 134 And Can it Be?