I. INTRODUCTION
A. Texts:
1. We must be "in Christ" (2 Cor. 12:2),
a. we must be "approved in Christ." (Rom. 16:10)
b. every spiritual blessing is "in Christ." (Eph. 1:3)
c. we are led by God in triumph, "in Christ." (2 Cor. 2:14)
d. Those who have died "in Christ" shall rise first. (1 Thess. 4:16)
e. The faith in Christ (Acts 24:24) involves hearing the gospel, repenting of our sins, having faith (or believing) in Christ as the Son of God, confessing His name before men, being baptized into his name for the remission of our sins, and living an obedient life in His service.
2. Reconciliation to God comes through (or "in") Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:18,19)
B. To show that man is indeed redeemed in Christ, we will examine three ways that Christ brings man back into a right relationship with God:
1. Man is restored to God by Christ.
2. Man can truly know God only through Christ.
3. Man can be made like God in Christ.
C. The Holy Spirit has made the will of God available to all mankind through the inspired Word.
1. If a man refuses to seek after God will, he will remain outside the sphere of salvation.
2. If a man hears the word and rejects it, he too, will not attain remission of sins.
3. Only after being convicted of our sins by the word of truth and responding to the gospel call of obedience can we obtain regeneration and rise to walk in newness of life, (Rom. 6:1-4).
II. DISCUSSION
A. Man is Restored to God by Christ. Remember how man distanced himself from God in the first place: by his sin. Also recall, that when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He signified and accepted Christ as the One Who was Perfect and able to represent all mankind as a propitiation for our sins. When man becomes joined to Christ through regeneration, he is at once restored to God.
1. Man is justified by Christ. Sin demands punishment and repayment. Christ suffered and died for our sins, so that we would not have to pay the penalty for them. (Rom. 3:26)
2. Not only are we restored to man's original potential by obedience in Christ, but we now have access to the power of God, through Christ, (Phil. 4:13). This power is made available through prayer and church membership, (Col. 1:24 2:9).
3. The new man's life must be regulated by the government of God, His will for us, (Phil. 2:12,13).
B. Man Can Truly Know God Only Through Christ. If man is truly restored to God ( to be sanctified), then it is necessary for him to have a knowledge of God. This knowledge can only be attained through Christ, (Jn. 14:8,9; 1:18). He is our only link to the Father. But how was this link to be perpetuated after His ascension? (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:13,14) By the Holy Spirit. Revealing Christ, is the essential work of the Spirit. He reveals Christ to us today through the inspired Word.
1. Initially the Spirit revealed Christ to individuals preparing them to mark down a written record. The Spirit commenced His work on the Day of Pentecost when He baptized the company of Apostles into a new knowledge of and union with Jesus Christ. The Acts of the Apostles traces the Spirit's work among these men as they spread the gospel. Upon the completion of the scriptures the Spirit now works in us through that revealed word, as our Comforter and Mediator between ourselves and God.
2. As we study the revealed word, to show ourselves approved before God, the Spirit is working in us to realign our spirit with that of Christ's and ultimately that of the Father's. The Spirit has the power in our lives to lead us to that knowledge of Christ of which we are the most needful or deficient.
3. Once man is "born again" his search for God does not end, it is actually just beginning. As a follower of Christ he is now obligated to seek after the "meat" of the word, (Heb. 5:12-14). In Christ, man is restored to the knowledge of God by a continual enlightening of his intelligence by the Holy Spirit, through the Word, in such amounts as he is able to receive and capable of understanding.
C. Man Can Be Made Like God in Christ. God has a specific purpose for every one of his creations. Angels were created as servants of God, (Ps. 103:20, Heb. 1:14). Animals and vegetables were created for food, clothing, and companionship. Woman was created as a help-mate to man. But what was the purpose for creating mankind? Man was created in the Divine image of God for the express purpose of allowing God to express Himself to His other creations more perfectly. The fall of man made this work impossible, while the redemption of man through Christ allows this work to resume. Our days here on earth are like our days in school, simply to prepare us for the work days to come. Yet we cannot devalue our earthly "school days," because they will by and large determine our ultimate place of work. What will we be like in those "work days" of eternity, we cannot exactly say, but as John the Apostle put it, "we will be like Him." (1 Jn. 3:2,3)
1. Man will become like God in his realization of the character and conduct of Jesus Christ. "Conduct is always an expression of character, and character is therefore the cause of conduct. As man becomes Christlike, he will necessarily become Godlike. When Zacharias prophesied concerning the purpose of the coming of the Messiah he said, "that we . . . might serve Him . . . in holiness and righteousness. . ." (Luke 1:75). Holiness encompasses character while righteousness encompasses conduct. Are we Holy? Are we Righteous? To be Christlike and therefore Godlike, we must be!
2. Man will become like God in his realization of himself. Upon becoming released from the shackles of sin a man's intelligence is now able to set things in there true perspective and view things in their right proportion. While we cannot realize the measure or degree of god's intelligence, we can apprehend and put into practice his method and direction. Upon having our emotions released from Satan's grasp, affections can now be set on things above. The object of our emotions then become the highest good of the loved one. Finally, the will is realigned with God's will, electing to act under His compulsion instead of our own.
3. When man becomes like God, he becomes a revelation of God. Our individual relationship with God cannot be disconnected from our relationships to our fellow men. God expects us to reflect Jesus in our lives to such an extent that others will follow because of our example. As the hymn states, "We are the world's Bible..." Furthermore our individual relationship with God as a Christian cannot be disconnected from our relationships with fellow Christians, (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:13). While our ultimate glorification will come to us as a reward in heaven, glory on this earth must directed towards Jesus through the church, (Eph. 3:21). To be a revelation of God, we must work for His cause in and out of the church, among unbelievers and among our brethren, (Rev. 1:5,6).
III. CONCLUSION
A. When we began this study we set forth the following purpose: To look carefully at seven great events in the life of Christ and relate them to the accomplishment of His divine work. It is only through these seven crises that the entire story of the redemption of man can be properly told. Each of the events began a new order of things in the work of Christ, brought a perfect end to the past crisis and set the stage for the crisis yet to come.
B. We then proceeded to examine man's fall and his need for a Savior. By examining the seven crises we came to an understanding of how Jesus met the requirements of the Messiah.
C. Finally, we have shown that even though: Sin separates man from God, causes man to be ignorant of God and causes man to be unlike God; through Jesus, Man: is restored to God, can truly know God and, can be made like God.
[END OF FOURTEENTH SERMON]