The Mystery of Christ — Stephen Kaung

The Mystery of God and Christ’s Headship

Will you please turn to Romans. Romans chapter 11 verse 36. Romans chapter 11 verse 36. For of him that is of our Lord Jesus and through him and for him all things To him Be glory forever. Amen. Let's have a word of prayer.

Dear Lord, we want to thank thee For gathering us together this morning Thou has been good to us and we believe that it is thy intention That thou will continue to speak to our hearts. Thou knowest our need and thou are preparing us for Thy imminent return.

For this we are grateful. We commit this time into your hand and Trust thy Holy Spirit to do the work Because he alone Can do it. Lord Speak thy servants heareth. We ask in thy name. Amen, we thank the Lord For bringing us again together.

Before his presence we believe that he has a plan For each and every one of us and it is only by his Holy Spirit that his plan Will be fulfilled. So as we are gathering this morning we just Commit ourselves to the Lord Praying that our time together Will be profitable and will really Prepare us for his imminent return.

My assignment Is the mystery of God and the church we mentioned yesterday That God is the greatest mystery in the universe. Nobody Knows him not even by searching, but we thank God That he is the God who reveals himself and Whatever he has revealed of himself.

That's for us. It is for us to believe. And it is for us to respond. God has a mystery. He is the one who is able to keep His mystery Even before the foundation of the world according to the pleasure of his will he has conceived a Mystery and to us today Thank God.

This is an open mystery. Because God, but God has hidden that mystery over many centuries. He has done lots of things. But he has not told anyone. Why and what? He's aiming at but as the Apostle Paul tells us The Ephesians chapter 3 That now God has revealed that mystery to the Apostles and the prophets of the New Testament.

So to us today It is an open mystery. And it is a mystery that concerns each one of us most deeply because it will be our life and It will be our testimony. We mentioned yesterday that a mystery of God That he has hidden for centuries is that he wants His own beloved son to head up all things as We tried to explain yesterday the meaning of Christ heading up all things.

It is illustrated by another place in the scripture. In Romans 13 we are told That there are many commandments, but all these commandments can be sub in one. And that is to love your neighbor as yourself.

So love is the sum of all things. Likewise we find that God has done many things. But all these things are centered upon his beloved son. He wants his son to head up all things. In other words That in everything especially in our lives that Christ Will be all and in all and not only that.

But thank God He commit this ministry to his own children. That we are not only to submit ourselves to Christ in all things That in all things Christ may be manifested in us. But he has also commissioned us to bring all things to the feet of our Lord Jesus.

This is our life and this is our work. So that's what we have been trying to share together yesterday. But for the purpose of God to be fulfilled God knows there will be many Hindrances. In the first place we find how Lucifer the Archangel because of his beauty and of his talents He began to be proud of himself.

And he began to have the ambition to be equal with God. In other words to take the place of God's only beloved son. And that is something God will never allow. So this Archangel Lucifer Was dispelled from heaven and And The domain that God has put unto him, under him, all went into ruin and Emptiness.

It is as if God's plan has been frustrated, but God never fails. He knows what to do. As we say yesterday it is for him to be Pretty easy, very easy, extremely easy to put Lucifer to death. But that will not bring glory to God.

So in God's plan He put that work to man made a little lower than the angels and Yet He's going to Do God's work. So that's what we have mentioned yesterday. Now this morning We would like to concentrate on how the Lord bringing his redemption we find that In Genesis chapter 1 in verse 2 the earth Was void Ruined and empty.

Redemption and the Restoration of the Earth

But then God in his mercy Began to restore the earth to be habitable. So from Genesis chapter 1 verse 2 onward It is not a beginning of creation it is the beginning of The Restoration of the earth. God used six days to restore the earth to be habitable and on the sixth day He made man.

We all know that man is made a little lower than the angels. The angels are spirits. But man Has a spirit a soul and a body. God created man. And he put man in garden of Eden. He restored that garden To be a beautiful garden plenty of fruit trees for the food of man he puts man into that garden and he gave them a command and the command was to the ground God The God.

God does not want man to be at leisure with nothing to do. He knows better That if we are Have nothing to do We tend to do something that will bring shame to God. So God in the very beginning wants man to work to be occupied to improve What God has already done To kill the ground make it more fruitful.

And on the other hand God's command was to guard the garden. We know the garden of Eden Is a beautiful garden But he has no wall. Why? Because God wants man to be that wall. So God said you guard it. God knows the enemy is outside the garden and He is trying he was trying to get him to tempt man.

So God gave this responsibility To man to guard the garden Not only to enjoy the garden But also to guard the garden against the entry of the enemy. Unfortunately Man did not guard the garden as he should.

The Fall of Man and the Failure to Guard Eden

Because of this failure the enemy sleeping and I believe we all know the story How he tempted Eve To eat the forbidden tree and after Eve had eaten the forbidden tree She gave it to her husband Adam and Adam ate it.

You know the words God created man to defeat God's enemy that is the purpose of God. But instead Man fell Into the hands of the enemy. God Created man to be his ally as it were To be used of him to defeat his enemy and bring glory to God but instead Man fell into the hands of the enemy Became an enemy to God Instead of an ally to God and man was thrown out of the garden of Eden.

And we know that because of the fall of our forefathers We who have been born out of Adam and Eve We were tainted with sin and that was our condition now brothers and sisters God Having made his plan his purpose He will never forsake it.

Christ’s Humiliation and Emptying of Himself

So we thank God that he began to work. And this is a story of Our Lord Jesus as we find in Philippines. Chapter 2. We find that our Lord Jesus Before he came into this world He was equal with God. He was God's only begotten Son and that is nothing to be Strived at that is to say that is his right.

Because He was the only begotten Son of God all that God is all the fullness of God dwells in him bodily. He and God are one. That was his position. He was in the place of being worshipped and yet brothers and sisters for the love of God and for the response of His beloved son he who was equal with God yet He emptied Himself brothers and sisters.

For us to empty ourselves There was nothing and even more than nothing. Because If we empty ourselves What are to be emptied. Nothing but our sins and our transgressions, but for the Son of God Who is one with God yet for the love of his Father and the love for us He is willing to empty Himself.

Of course He cannot empty himself of his deity. Because that is what he is. Even when he was on earth He was still God, but he could empty himself of all the glory and the honor the position the right of His being equal with God that is emptying himself.

Dear brothers and sisters Whenever we think Of what our Lord Jesus has emptied of himself In order to come into this world He should really draw from us Worship and Adoration and not only that. But after he emptied himself he took up another form.

And the form there Doesn't mean an outward form. It means an inward image. He took the form The image The character of A born slave. He was to come to be a born slave of God That is to say a Slave That had no right of his own.

A slave That belonged to his master. A slave to serve his master without pay and That is the form That our Lord Jesus took as he Come came into this world. As a matter of fact That is the original idea of God.

Concerning man, you know man was supposed To be also a born slave to God. Now everybody today fights for his or her right. We think we have this right and that right. And we do not want to be intruded but dear brothers and sisters The very thought of God concerning man Is that we be born slave to God.

We have no right whatsoever Except To follow the instruction of our master. And that's the inward image the inward sense of Our Lord Jesus when he came into this world. Outwardly he took the fashion of a man.

Dear brothers and sisters When our Lord Jesus came into this world He was as any other man in the world. But inwardly there was a difference. He had the spirit as it were of a born slave and That is the reason when you read the full Gospels.

Christ’s Dependence on the Father’s Will

When you read the story of our Lord Jesus You will find that he again and again declared That he can do nothing by himself. Of course When we think of him he can do everything if he will. But he never wills to do anything Outside from his father's Permission he say I can't do nothing by myself.

What I have seen the father doing I do. He also said that he can say nothing by himself. Even though we know that our Lord Jesus could say many things Many more things than we can say and yet He say I can't say nothing.

What the father has said I said it. Not only that He say my time is not my own, you know during the festival of Penn's His brothers went to Jerusalem. And they said if you want to get famous Don't hide in Galilee Go to Jerusalem show yourself That the people may know you.

And our Lord Jesus said your time is always ready. But my time has not yet come in other words. Even in his movement He was guided By his father's will that was the life of our Lord Jesus. You know brothers and sisters when we read the full Gospels Probably our attention Will be attracted by the miracles the power of works by our Lord Jesus.

How he healed the sick Opened the eyes of the blind He will make the dead alive. How he made five loaves and two fishes Good for the one meal of a little boy To feed the five thousand men women and children not counted.

Brothers and sisters He could do everything and yet he said I could do nothing throughout his life. He was tempted by the enemy to do things as God as the Son of God. You'll remember that after he was baptized He was led by the Spirit to the wilderness and he fasted 40 days and 40 nights and He got hungry.

So the tempter came and said if you are the Son of God Command the stones to become bread. That you can feel Your hunger that shows the Lord can do it. But he will not do it. He said man does not live by bread alone but every word Commits from the mouth of God.

Gethsemane, Calvary, and the Willing Sacrifice of Christ

Brothers and sisters you remember the story of Gethsemane. It is such a holy scene. It is beyond really words. Even his disciples did not understand What's going to happen? But the Lord Jesus was clear He was going to be the sin-bearer.

He who knows no sin was to become sin itself. That was a terrible thing, you know if you are a very clean person And suppose another person Came and stay with you. And he was undisciplined Unclean throwing things around.

Never in order. Now, how do you feel about it? Probably you will kick him out as quickly as possible. But our Lord Jesus who knows no sin Absolutely Knows no sin was to be made sin for us. Just think of that It is beyond our understanding and that very thing disturbed him deeply.

His disciples did not understand. He asked his three beloved disciple To stay awake with him To pray with him, but they went to sleep. And here he alone in the garden of Eden Struggled over this matter Whether he will accept sin To be His life.

He who was sinless so clean He was going to be the dirtiest the sinful person most sinful person in the world. Because all the sins of the world was to be his. Brothers and sisters We cannot imagine What our Lord Jesus went through in the garden of Gethsemane.

We only knew How he prayed even he prayed Father it may be possible Let this pass from me. But immediately he said not my will but thy will be done. And in the garden of Gethsemane He accepted the Father's will.

He went to Calvary To be crucified on the cross. Awkwardly he was the Roman government that crucified him. Awkwardly he was The Pharisees the scribes the God governing body of the Jewish Assembly he was The Jewish nation that rejected him the Gentile nation Crucified him and yet brothers and sisters Actually, he accepted the Father's will To become a singing offering For the world and that's Calvary brothers and sisters.

Today we are here this morning. It is because of What he has done Not only in the garden of Gethsemane but also at Calvary's cross. We glory in the cross of Jesus Christ. Thank God that By believing in him our sins Were all remitted Forgiven we are closed with him as our righteousness before God and that is the beginning of our salvation.

Salvation as the Beginning of God’s Eternal Purpose

But brothers and sisters We have to remember one thing that to have our sins forgiven and to have the promise of Paradise that is the beginning not the end of Of our salvation. How often After we believe in the Lord Jesus And are saved we think that's About all but we need to know that this is the just the beginning of Salvation.

God has something far more Glorious and important and linked with his eternal purpose in our life. Nobody as we are Yet God has a commission Upon all of us in other words. He wants us to be a specimen and Also his instrument in his head for his eternal purpose.

So brothers and sisters We who are saved or not just take it as all as some people say as my two feet Can be within the gates of heaven. I'm satisfied But maybe you are satisfied God is not satisfied because this is not why God Created man in the first place.

He created us with a glorious purpose He wants not only to save us and by saving us is to bring all things to the feet of Jesus, you know brothers and sisters What is meant by being saved? When you are saved Not only your sins are forgiven Though your sins be as red as scarlet They shall be white as snow.

I believe we all experience that I Can recall very clearly Back in 1915. I was born. I Was born in a Christian family my father loved the Lord. We have family altar every night. I Was brought up in Christian schools.

I Was considered as a good Christian and yet When the Spirit of God touched me I Know I'm the chief of sinners. You may wonder how can a boy of 15 years old Sometimes will sit by himself and wept Because of his sins, but thank God in his mercy He has saved me.

Brothers and sisters, there's the way that the Lord Has given grace to each and every one of us. And do you think that is all. No. That is the beginning if we take this as our all Not only we will suffer for it, but how God will suffer Because we have not accomplished His eternal purpose.

The air brothers and sisters You are connected with the eternal purpose of God you are to be a recipient as well as a worker For the eternal purpose of God Concerning his beloved son. So that's how our Christian life and our ministry will begin.

You know, we all have a Christian life to live. And this Christian life is related also to our Christian work. When we Are saved what happened? In our lives. Not only our sins are forgiven, but God has done something much more.

The New Birth and the Indwelling Holy Spirit

Before that our spirit Was dead in sin and transgressions and because of that We have no communication with God Because God is a spirit. I Always remember when the cosmonaut the Russian cosmonaut first went to outer space He came back and declared There is no God.

Why. Because he said I have been to outer space. I look around I do not see God at all therefore There is no God. But brothers sisters, this is a foolish thing because God is spirit and You can only contact him by spirit.

And if your spirit was dead in sins and transgressions How can you contact God? By your soul by thought by mind by emotion or By your physical body you cannot contact God that way. You have to contact him with your spirit.

So brothers and sisters When we are saved The first positive things is our spirit Became alive. And it becomes a new spirit. That is a spirit that is cleansed by the precious blood as a spirit Within us that can communicate with God.

So you can cry out to God. Abba Father that's the first thing that happened in our spirit. We can communicate with God. And I believe we all have that experience. But more than that We know that Christ Jesus Came into our spirit and Became the life of our spirit more than that God gave the Holy Spirit.

To come into our spirit and dwell there now we want to ask the question Why does God give us the indwelled Holy Spirit. Every brother and sister Has the indwelt Holy Spirit. Now why God puts the Holy Spirit into us there is one reason and that is by the indwelt Holy Spirit.

We are to bring all things In us to the feet of our Lord Jesus and that is Christian life. You know Christian life is not something external. Many Christians today Live their Christian life Only in an external way in Richmond where I live on the Lord's Day where we Drive to the meeting place.

Because we live in Huguenot Road. On that road there are many so-called Christian churches. You have Catholic you have Protestant and you even have Jewish and I always when we drive through I would look at these different buildings and See how many cars Were there in each of these places.

That represents how many people were in the building to so-called worship God. But brothers and sisters Many people serve God only externally. That is to say to keep some rules and revelation Regulations given by the church authority that on Sunday You have to go to church.

That's your duty and you have to read your Bible. You have to pray. You have to share Christ with other people. And if you do all these things you are a good Christian. Brothers and sisters Christian life is more than that.

The Holy Spirit’s Inner Work in the Believer

Christian life is an inward way. That is to say how inwardly You will grow in the life of Christ within you and that is the reason why We have the indwelt Holy Spirit brothers and sisters. Have you experienced?

The working of the indwelt Holy Spirit in your Christian life. I believe Immediately after you are saved the Holy Spirit in you Begins to work. The work of the indwelt Holy Spirit is to bring everything in you to the feet of Jesus that he may head up all things in your life and the Holy Spirit Works very gently.

He knows our situation and in the beginning Probably he only works something that concerns your outward behavior. Suppose you are a person who like to boast. And whenever you boast you feel fine, so you become the center of any Gathering but after you believe in the Lord Jesus Something happened when you begin to boast to say something which is untrue.

In order to attract attention. What comes? Instead of feeling great You feel down something someone is telling you. You have said too much Stop and our experience is usually in the beginning. We did not listen to the still small voice.

We continue to speak. But the result is instead of feeling fine glorious uplifted. You feel downward. You feel grieved you feel you have done something wrong. And your contact with God was stopped you have to confess your sin and Asked the forgiveness of the Lord and to have your communication with God restored.

And Brothers and sisters. I believe this has happened to you and sometimes positively. You lost something and you just pray and ask the Lord To open your eyes to find that which was lost and do you have such experience?

That after you prayed the loss was found or you usually go to certain places and After you believe in the Lord Jesus The Spirit of God within you tell you you as a Christian Should not go to such place.

But you harden your neck. You continue to go. But your feeling afterwards was entirely different. To illustrate Myself, I was a pastor's son, but strangely I love movie. The first thing I look at newspaper Is the movie news and it so happened.

I have a friend Who have whose family owns a movie house? So I can go with him to see movie without pain and as a pastor, sir, I Dare not go to see movie on Sunday Because I think Sunday is a holiday.

But on Saturday, I usually be in a movie house and after I was saved I still go to movie house but somehow People began to tell me You are a Christian. You shouldn't Go to movie house to see movies and I usually argue with him.

I Say I only see good movies. Religious movies. What's wrong with that? But brothers and sisters The Holy Spirit within me will not let me go. He was very gentle But he was very persistent. He continued to speak to me outwardly, I argue with people Why?

Should I not go to movie house? But inwardly I'm getting weaker and weaker. Until finally I decided I said All right. I Will not go to a movie house. But I did not tell anybody. Why. Because I'm afraid That I may not be able to keep my promise.

And sure enough after a few months people Gave my family some tickets to go to a movie house to see a religious movie. I still can remember vividly It was Noah's Ark. Now I argued with it myself What's wrong to see a religious movie.

I could not Resist the temptation. So I went to that movie house. And look at that picture. But brothers and sisters during the two hours. Outwardly, I was looking at the movie. Inwardly, I was fighting all the time.

But strangely, I hope the movie will go over quickly and yet I did not leave the movie house Until it is finished. But dear brothers and sisters, thank God. As I walk out of that movie house That was the end of it.

So brothers and sisters The Lord would deal with us awkwardly our manner of life. Even our clothing. The Lord would deal with us. Is it proper for a Christian? To be dressed. Like this it is as if the Lord is taking care of every detail of our life.

Brothers and sisters We should thank God For the indolent Holy Spirit. That no matter how much we have sinned against him He is still willing To bring us back to Christ. That it is it may be all of Christ and none of ourselves.

Surrendering Emotion, Mind, and Will to Christ

And usually begin with small things with outward things. But gradually you'll find the Holy Spirit will begin to work deeper. He will work with our not only with our emotion. He will work with our mind and he will work with our will.

For instance You remember your Matthew chapter 10 our Lord Jesus sent the twelve disciples. Send them out to be apostles To preach the gospel and the Lord told them many things. And one of the exhortations was we knew in the Old Testament time We were given the commandment honor love your parents, but strangely There in Matthew chapter 10 the Lord said If you love your father and mother more than me.

You cannot be my disciple if you love your brothers and sisters. Your wife and even your own life. You cannot be my disciples. He that loves his life that his soul life cannot be my disciples brothers and sisters.

You know the Lord Begins to deal with our emotion. Are we emotionally? Completely yielded to the Lord and allowed him To take charge of our emotional life. I believe In my life. I was challenged by that the Spirit of God within me began to ask me this question.

And actually if I tell you the story You know when I was a baby I Was baptized with a few sprinkling on my head. I didn't know anything about it. Maybe I cry after that. I don't know. But I was baptized.

So after I was saved People began to talk to me that I should be baptized by immersion. And I over argued with them. I Say no, I have been baptized. You give it is only a sprinkling of a few waters on my head.

And yet I Was baptized in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. I Honor his name. I Cannot dishonor the name of the Lord. That's my argument. The again gain people talk to me about baptism.

I always argue it against them. But brother sister as I was reading the Bible I began to see that Immersion is the only way of baptism because it tells us of death burial and resurrection. I remember the last time I Argued about this thing a friend of mine Argued with me and I argued back with him.

And he gave me up. He thought I was hopeless And he went to sleep. And I alone said there Pray. I said Lord. You know, I will be baptized by immersion. But this is not the time Because I was still a minor I Love my father.

My father was a pastor. I Love my father. I did not want to worry him. I Told the Lord After I became independent Then I will be baptized by immersion, but suddenly a voice came to me He that loves his father and mother more than me Cannot be my disciple.

This Broke me down. I often want to be the disciple of Our Lord Jesus, so I told the Lord If this is your way I'll do it. I went downstairs from my friend's apartment and Knocked the door of the next door where brother Watchman Lee lived.

He came down and opened the door. He knew me and he said what do you want? I Say I want to be baptized. He said did your father know it? Because he knew my father I said no. But I felt the Lord told me to do.

Brothers and sisters I believe you have Experiences such as this the Lord will begin with your life in bringing your emotion to the feet of Jesus is your emotion at the feet of Jesus not only our emotion But also our mind.

You remember the story In Matthew chapter 16 After Peter Acknowledged Jesus as the Christ the son of the Living God God said you are Simon. You are Peter. I Will build my church upon this rock and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

You know how Peter was elated. But then afterwards the Lord began to tell them How he will go to Jerusalem How he will Be killed but on the third day he will rise up again. And you know what Peter did?

Peter lay hold of the Lord. Yeah, you can see the picture in your mind he took hold of the Lord and shook him up. Lord never do that. You don't do it that way. And you remember the Lord turned around and said Satan get thee behind.

Because you're not mindful of the things of God. But you're mindful of your things. Brothers and sisters our mind Needs to be dealt with To bring in all our thoughts to the feet of Jesus not only our mind but even our will.

God has created us with a will An independent will but he wants that will To be surrendered to him. You know the scene in Luke When our Lord Jesus was in Garden of Gethsemane. How he prayed if it is possible But not by will.

Thy will be done. Brothers and sisters Is your will? Being brought to the feet of Jesus or do you still have your own independent will. When God began to show you what his will is, but you will not because You have your own will.

Bringing Every Aspect of Life to Christ’s Feet

So dear brothers and sisters Christian life is very real in our daily living. The indwell Holy Spirit is bringing us back to the Lord Jesus. Our whole being Will gradually be brought to the feet of Jesus and this is bringing all things to the feet of Christ and This is our work.

So brothers and sisters do not think only of the world outside work. But there is a inward work more important than outside work whether we every one of us Will bring all things in our life into the feet of Jesus.

That God's eternal purpose may be fulfilled in us. So dear brothers and sisters just this little things and Yet, it was so important. So may the Lord help us to really in our life be in tune with the eternal purpose of God.

Prayer for Surrender to God’s Eternal Purpose

Concerning man. Let us pray dear Lord as we share these simple things. And yet they are so necessary and important in your eyes. Lord pray that we may not neglect Our inner life do not allow us to be so involved in outward works.

Then we forget there is a inward work. That our spirit is working in each one of us. So Lord we commit ourselves to thee. And say Lord by thy spirit guide and lead us. That we may be able to bring all things in our life to the feet of Jesus that I eternal purpose May be fulfilled.

We ask in thy precious name Amen.