Progress of Redemption #05 — David Shirley

Abraham, the Church, and God’s Redemptive Plan

Father we thank you for your divine plan that you said in your word that you would make great nation of Abraham and you did and that you would build your church and that you are. We thank you for the privilege of being your children drawn by you as our king who loves us so much that you would actually die for the subjects of your kingdom.

Truly lord there's none like you. We praise you and we thank you for the gift of faith for your holy spirit for being such a great judge who is the loving and drawing savior of all men. As we continue today to look at your plan we ask that you would just open our eyes but also let us enjoy you and see you and just how great you are for your glory.

We pray in jesus name amen. In genesis chapter 12 and verse 2 the lord says to abraham i will make you a great nation. And then when jesus came we saw last week the messiah who fulfilled everything that was predicted of him and he said i will build my church in matthew 16 18.

Israel as a Kingdom of Priests

And as we look through the old testament in exodus 19 6 god has said you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and the holy nation my own possession among all the peoples. Of course if they obeyed him and they followed his laws and his ways.

But god has wanted them to be to me he says a kingdom of priests and the holy nation. That's been his desire. When we get to the new testament in first peter chapter 2 and verse 9 we read the same thing that we are a holy nation.

We're a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for god's own possession. And so god hasn't changed in what he's desired from the old to the new testament he's wanted this people to be a kingdom of priests at least that he has chosen a holy nation to him a people for god's own possession among all the people.

So in god's plan i will make you a great nation. The old testament it was so that they might provide the messiah. And in god's plan in the new testament i will build my church. It was so that we might proclaim the excellencies of him to proclaim the messiah.

The Transition from the Temple to the Church

And so we want to look today at the transition that's made between the time that christ was here and the beginning of the building of his church. Christ ascended into heaven and then the holy spirit was sent descended.

And you'll notice in history that it wasn't too long after the descent of the holy spirit that in ad 70 a roman general named titus came into jerusalem and he destroyed the temple. Actually jesus had said when he was there on the temple mount one time look at these stones not one stone will be left upon another.

And they must have thought wow i mean these are tremendous stones and there's no way this is going to be destroyed. But when they caught the temple on fire and the gold that was in the dome melted down between the rocks.

They actually did take the stones apart in order to get the gold. And so as he said not one stone will be left upon another. And it's interesting that the temple was destroyed in ad 70. It actually in many ways fit well with god's plan because god is beginning to transition from the old to the new and he has sent the holy spirit to form the church and the natural temple where they had worshiped before as a nation is now destroyed.

Christ’s Ascension and the Continuing Work of Jesus

Now if you're turning your bible to luke 24 we will see the closing scene of the gospel. And then we will look in acts and see the opening scene of that which continues the gospels. And luke 24 beginning in verse 49 through 51.

And behold i am sending forth the promise of my father upon you. But you're to stay in the city that is jerusalem until you're clothed with power from on high. And he led them out as far as bethany and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

And it came about that while he was blessing them he parted from them. The gospels close with jesus christ ascending up into heaven. And then in acts chapter 1 verses 9 through 11 we read. And after he had said these things he was lifted up while they were looking on and the cloud received him out of their sight.

And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was departing behold two men in white clothing stood beside them and they said men of galilee why do you stand looking into the sky. This jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven.

And luke makes it very clear in the first verse of chapter one of the book of acts that he's writing about all that jesus began to do and teach until the day that he was taken up. But jesus says he wasn't taken up until after he had by the holy spirit given orders to the apostles whom he'd chosen.

And so all that jesus began to do he continues to do as the gospels introduced us to jesus christ the messiah. The book of acts now will continue the progress of christianity into the world up through the first century it's about words and about deeds.

And so the same jesus who worked and taught on earth is now still working and teaching. He's still doing what he was doing and building his church. But he's just doing it from heaven. Since he's ascended and given his spirit he continues to do by his spirit the same work and through his people.

The Significance of the Ascension

And if you'll turn to ephesians chapter 4 verses 8 through 13 you'll see paul's interpretation of the significance of the ascension of jesus christ. You've seen that jesus came incarnate the word became flesh lived among us and that he died for the world he was buried and he rose again as the third day.

And then jesus ascended into heaven is at the right hand of god the father almighty. And he sent his holy spirit at pentecost to baptize and to form the church as his witness as his ambassadors to the world.

And paul's interpretation of the significance of this ascension which ties the gospel with the progress of the church in the book of acts is found beginning in ephesians chapter 4 and verse 8. Therefore he says when he ascended on high he led captive a host of captives and gave gifts to men.

Now this expression he ascended what does it mean. Except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things.

And you can hebrews 2 and psalm 8 for further commentary on that. That is he did it verse 11. And he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of christ.

So jesus ascended into heaven. He gave gifts to men. And these gifts were actually men themselves the uh word gift here being doria people gifts not the charismatic so much as the people that god would work through to build his church.

God gave these people to equip the saints for the work of service to the building up of the jesus christ is the head of his body. His body is in the process of being formed. The church is progressing the church is growing.

We live during the greatest time between the two resurrections the resurrection of jesus christ and then the rapture of the church. In the first resurrection we call it and we have the opportunity as christ is forming and building his church to do the work of service.

And we're to do it. He says in verse 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of god to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of christ until the complete body of christ is formed.

And it has been being formed for 2 000 years. Some right now are even what we call dead in christ though the dead in christ will rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them and so shall we ever be with the lord.

The lord is forming his body. And so this ascension of jesus christ ties together what he did personally. He already said that it's to your advantage that i go away so that i might send the spirit because he dwelleth with you but he shall be in you.

And so christ leaving and ascended into heaven was not so much a sunset in many ways as it was a sunrise. It was the beginning of something new. Now jesus begins to build the church from the seeds of israel.

The Gospel’s Expansion from Jerusalem to Rome

And as you read through the book of acts the first seven chapters take place in the city of jerusalem and the man who's being used is mostly peter. But then in chapter 8 through chapter 12 we notice that there's a shift from jerusalem to another city and the city that begins to be important is the city of antioch.

And you have both peter and barnabas and also paul beginning to be involved in this work. But then in chapter 13 of acts through the end to chapter 28 the focus is now moving towards the city of rome the world city.

And finally paul is the man that is so greatly used to take the gospel all the way to this world city of rome. And we'll notice as we go through acts reading that he would pioneer the gospel by going to great seaport cities to the most popular traveled routes.

And actually it was the lord's strategy not paul's since acts 13 when the holy spirit called him out and led him to go and set up elders in the different cities and then to teach and to write about being in christ paul was living today.

There's no doubt he probably would be using the most popular traveled routes of communication including the internet and all that was available to him. But let's get back to the transition between the gospels and the acts.

New Wine and the Coming Transition

And if you'll turn in your bibles to matthew chapter 9 verses 14 through 17 jesus said that the disciples of john came to him saying why do we and the pharisees fast. But your disciples do not fast. Jesus said to them the attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them.

Can they. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment for the patch pulls away from the garment and a worse tear results.

Nor do men put new wine into old wine skins. Otherwise the wineskins burst and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins and both are preserved. Sometimes we get so hung up on these things that we forget to see the big thing.

And the big thing jesus is saying is that there are days coming things are going to change. Yes what's going on right now is not always going to be what's happening. There's going to be something new going on in the future.

And he's letting them know because when it does happen he wants them to know that they're not supposed to try to take an old patch and put it on the new thing. And they're not supposed to put new wine into old wineskins.

And he wants them to know that there is a new thing coming and they need to be prepared that it's coming now. In matthew 16 verses 13 through 19 we have peter's great confession of christ. Now when jesus came into the district accessory of philippi he began asking his disciples saying why or who do people say that the son of man is.

And they said well some say john the baptist some elijah others jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them but who do you say that i am simon. Peter answered and said thou art the christ the son of the living god.

And jesus answered and said to him blessed are you simon barjona. Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father who is in heaven. And i also say to you that you are peter. And upon this rock i will build my church.

And the gates of hades shall not overpower it or prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be have been bound in heaven and whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

And then he warned his disciples they should tell no one that he was the christ at that point. But jesus is letting them know that this new thing that's coming this transition is taking place is going to be built upon that statement that peter made christ will build his church on the fact that there will be revelation from the father from heaven that i am the christ that jesus christ is the very son of the living god.

The Rejected Vineyard and the New Nation

Now in matthew 21 verses 33 to 43 jesus instructs them a little more on it. He tells a parable of the landowner. He says listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and rented it out to vine growers and went on a journey.

When the harvest time approached he sent his slaves to the vine growers to receive his produce. The vine growers took his slaves beat one killed another stoned a third. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first and they did same thing to them.

But afterward he sent his son to them saying they'll respect my son. But when the vine growers saw the son they said among themselves this is the heir come let's kill him and seize his inheritance. And they took him cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes what will he do to those vine growers. Well they said to him he'll bring those wretches to a wretched end and will rent out the vineyard to other vine growers who will pay him the proceeds of the proper season.

Jesus said to them did you never read in the scriptures. And he quotes from psalm 118. The stone which the builders rejected. This became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the lord and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Therefore i say to you the kingdom of god will be taken away from you and be given to a producing the fruit of it. So jesus is letting them know again there's a change coming. We're in transition and the kingdom is going to be taken from them and given to a nation that will produce the fruit which must have sounded extremely strange to them because god has been building this nation since the book of genesis.

So you're telling me he's going to turn to another nation. And yet we know that it was not another nation such as turn into syria or turn into egypt or to lebanon or something but that this was the nation that isaiah and others spoke of.

This was the church the the holy nation that god is beginning to build. And then in matthew 28 beginning in verse 16 after fighting that tremendous battle at golgotha most important battle that was ever fought on planet earth where we were justified and sanctified and glorified at the cross.

But jesus won a complete victory. There it is finished. And here in his love that evidence is to us the love of god not that we loved him but that he loved us and gave himself to be the propitiation for our sins and not for us only but for the sins of the whole world.

And the righteousness of god is revealed in it. In this gospel romans 118 says. And god has purchased unto himself a people for his own possession. He's done so by the lamb the foundation stone of the new jerusalem the object of worship forever and ever and ever the blessed lamb of god.

The Great Commission to All Nations

And here he is jesus risen from the dead ready to show and demonstrate publicly the victory that he has conquered death that he is bodily risen. And i wish we had time to turn to first corinthians 15 and read more of the resurrection but just to think that here is jesus christ in a new resurrected glorified body and that he'll remain a man eternally.

And that even now there is a man sitting at the right hand of god the father almighty a man who understands everything about us and has proven that matter is capable of transfiguration. And what a hope we have in christ.

The hope of glory the hope of the new heaven the hope of the new earth. But christ comes in his resurrected glorified body. And it says in verse 16. But the 11 disciples proceeded to galilee to the mountain that jesus had designated.

And when they saw it they worshiped him. I imagine so. But some were doubtful. And jesus came up and spoke to them saying all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and to make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit teaching them to observe all that i commanded you and lo i'm with you always even to the end of the age.

And so after the resurrection jesus reveals a little more of this change in this transition that's taken place because now they're to make disciples of all the nations not one not two not a dozen but all of the nations.

And so as the father had sent jesus jesus says that i will send you. Now there's a new channel through which god is going to proclaim salvation to the world. He's going to give his holy spirit to testify of his resurrection because the holy spirit is the spirit that raised jesus christ from the dead.

And with this authority he's going to work through this new group of people. Now there's still a transition going on because we see in acts chapter one and verse six they come and they ask jesus a question will you at this time restore the kingdom to israel.

And jesus answered the simple it's not for you to know. In other words i'll take care of that at the proper time right now. There's something else going on. You have a job to do and we need to focus on that.

But of course jesus will take care of it at the proper time. He said it's not for you to know the times or ethics which the father is fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses.

That's what you are to be both in jerusalem and all judea and samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth be my witnesses. And so the old channel israel is set aside and god begins working through his new channel the church.

Israel and the Universal Church

And if you can read romans 9 through 11 it deals with this issue of god rejecting israel for a time but not forever until the fullness of the gentiles comes in. But the church right now is much more suited for carrying out this commission to all the nations.

It's much more suited for the who so ever will for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The church is suited to proclaim this message because there's a difference between a nation and the church though they're alike in many ways.

A nation is exclusive but the church is universal. The nation is national. It's just jewish. But the church is international people from every tribe and tongue and people in nation. The nation was in one particular location but the church can be anywhere.

The indigenous local church is in every community where two or three gather together in his name. The nation is so political but the church is non-political. It's about faith and obtaining the outcome of our faith the salvation of our souls.

And and it's to this salvation the prophets prophesied of the grace of christ the sufferings and the glories that were to follow. It's a non-political thing and we can go into any country. But if the nation israel tried to go into another country to take the hidden news that would be seen as an invasion and god dwelt in a temple building.

But now god dwells in us in believers. And so we're much like what god did in building the nation because you have to have a people with a language. And we are people with a language. We speak the language of jesus christ.

We speak the language of the spirit. We pray in the spirit and we sing the spirit. We walk in the spirit. We live by the spirit. Everything we do is in the spirit. And we are a people. We have a language and we have leadership the most versatile and all the wise leadership that's ever been.

The spirit of god leads us directs us. He's the administrator of the church. He's the shepherd of the flock. And as he said in first corinthians 12 there's different administrations but it's the same spirit.

So we have a tremendous leadership. The law of the spirit of life in christ. Jesus is ours and we have a homeland. Yes i mean obviously yes we set our affection on things above and those verses go through our mind and we look forward to the new jerusalem.

But but i mean as a church we have a homeland right now just like they had a homeland. We have a homeland and it's the world. The earth is the lord's and the fullness thereof the whole world is ours. He said go into all the world.

The world has become our homeland. As numbers 14 21 says it as truly as i live says the lord all the earth shall be filled with my glory the glory of the lord. And back at 214 as the knowledge of the glory of the lord will fill you know the earth it'll be like the waters covering the sea.

And so we we have a homeland as well. But god is setting aside this whole channel. Now we need to remember that as peter was preaching in acts chapter 2 and verses 24 through 32 he made it real clear that jesus had their right to the messianic davidic throne he says.

For david says of him i was always beholding the lord in my presence for he's at my right hand. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exalted. Moreover my flesh also will abide in hope because thou will not abandon my soul to hades nor will allow thy holy one to undergo decay.

Thou has made known to me the ways of life. Thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence. Brethren i may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch david that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day.

And so because he was a prophet and knew that god had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne he looked ahead. He spoke of the resurrection of the christ that he was neither abandoned to hades nor did his flesh suffer decay.

This jesus god raised up again to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of god and having received from the promise of the holy spirit he has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

For it was not david who ascended into heaven but he himself that is david himself says the lord said to my lord set at my right hand until i make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet. Therefore let all the house of this will know for certain that god has made him both lord and christ.

This jesus whom you crucified. And it is the same jesus who ascended into heaven who will return again in like manner. But the old channel has been set aside and now the new redemptive instrument is the church.

The Church as Temple, Body, and Flock

And the bible uses several figures for the church. Three favorite ones of mine is that we're like a temple for god to dwell in and we're like a body for christ to be the head of to direct. We're like a flock for the shepherd for the spirit to guide.

We are definitely a new thing. And yet as a church we still must exist within another society or else we would perish. And yet we're not political. And in church history whenever the church moves into politics it always loses its ministry.

We should be witnessing now the good confession that jesus christ confessed that paul talks about in first timothy chapter 6 and verse 13 when he says i charge you in the presence of god who gives life to all things.

And of christ jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate. And we know that christ only spoke three times in john 18 36 jesus said to Pilate my kingdom is not of this world. And if it was of course my servants would be fighting but my servants are not fighting because my kingdom's not of this world.

It's not really a political kingdom. And then in john 18 37 jesus spoke a second time and said those who are of the truth will hear my voice. He said i have really come to bear witness to the truth. And um those that are of the truth will hear my voice.

And that's why it's so neat to go out and share the good news of jesus christ with people to me. Because my job is just to share the good news of jesus. And it's the holy spirit who will work in people's hearts and lives.

And if they're of the truth they receive him. Then the spirit will do that work. I don't have to do it i just have to tell the good news. And it's it's just such a privilege to go out and speak of the truth.

And then jesus spoke a third time he said there's no power but of god. Pilate was making a point that he himself had power to let jesus live or to crucify jesus. And jesus said no not really if you have any power it's been given to you by god and you could have no power at all against me except it was given the from above.

He i guess was kind of summing up what we learned in the book of daniel that there's el elyon the possessor of heaven and earth who is above all and has all power. And so that's really the good confession that we should be witnessing today as a church that the kingdom's not of this world that it's those that are of truth that will hear they'll be saved.

And there's really no power but of god. Because jesus told them in luke 23 69 he says soon hereafter he says you're going to see the son of man and he'll be you know sitting at the right hand of the power of god coming with all of his holy angels.

And it's awesome. And so that's our testimony between the two resurrections that this kingdom's not of this world. It's not that political and it's about truth and all that of the truth will hear his voice and there's no power but of god.

And so with the political element removed we as the lord's people can go to any nation and be ambassadors for christ. We are ambassadors for christ as though god were entreating through us. We beg you on behalf of christ be reconciled to god.

We speak for christ as though god were working by his spirit through us and treating people. And we beg them on the behalf of christ who came and died and rose and ascended and is coming again for them and loves them then be reconciled to god.

The Spirit’s Presence and the Church’s Witness

It's just so great to have this relationship with the holy spirit that he's with us. He is there before we get there. If we go to heaven he's there. If we descend to lowest parts of the earth he's there.

And there's just nowhere we can go where he's not there. And he's in us living dwelling both willing within us and causing us to desire to do the will of god. And he comes upon us with power to do the will of god.

He causes us to be overflowing with the love of god. And so we are ambassadors. Not just something that we do but it's something that we are because of our relationship to christ through his spirit. Now watch jesus begin to build his church from the seeds in israel.

Who was there in the upper room. Who was there on the day of pentecost. Well there were the seeds of israel men like peter john james philip and later we see paul. And people often ask were they christians before pentecost.

In a sense. Well yes they were following the lord. They were disciples. But they were constituted the church the body of christ by the descent and spirit baptism at pentecost. Pentecost was such a tremendous change in the life of peter and all of these guys before pentecost even after the resurrection even after the transfiguration peter was still able to be sifted and to to deny the lord.

But after pentecost was such boldness on peter's part he had a power to witness and he would stand up and say this is that which joel 2 talked about and boldly proclaim that christ is risen and that it was not possible that he should be held in death.

And so there was a tremendous change that took place after pentecost. Pentecost is christ sending his spirit to empower the church for the new work. And what's the new work. You shall be my witnesses.

But the believers still wanted to continue in the temple at jerusalem. And the first seven chapters of the book of acts are pretty much what takes place in jerusalem. They continued there however god had to move them out into the world.

If the church was to be established in every culture it must move out into other lands. But while they were in there in jerusalem there's this rapid growth taking place in the church. It almost reminds you of how they became a nation in exodus multiplying.

And there were 120 people devoted to prayer there in acts one and then in acts two there's three thousand people added that day to the church. In acts four there are five thousand men who heard and believed.

In acts five it says more believers were added. In act six it says the disciples increased. And act 610 says that even the synagogue leaders were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which stephen spoke.

God has empowered them by his spirit. I mean listen to the progress that's made just in jerusalem. In acts 241 it says there were added that day about 3 000 souls. And verse 46 is day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house.

They were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart praising god and having favor with all the people. The lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

It's god's work he's doing it. Jesus is building. In acts 3 1 we see peter and john are going up to the temple at the ninth hour the hour of prayer. And that's what they met belaine beggar. And they healed him and they explained to him.

You know men of this world why do you marvel at this. Why do you you know gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him the god of abraham isaac and jacob the god of our fathers has glorified his servant jesus.

And they were so faithful in proclaiming jesus that in chapter 4 peter and john were arrested. It says that as they were speaking to the people the priests the captain of the temple guard and the sadducees all came upon them being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed and the number of the men came to be about 5 000. They were so excited and the spirit was working so strongly among them that even when you get to chapter 5 that ananias and sapphira who lied and kept back some of the price for themselves uh were exposed by the holy spirit because jesus is lord of all or he's not lord at all.

And so they were judged and they they breathed their last they were buried beside each other and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard about these things. But it says that they were all with one accord in solomon's portico and none of the rest dared to associate with them i guess so however the people held them in high esteem and all the more believers in the lord.