The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance in the SaintsWeek 10

Westminster Larger Catechism Q57-89

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe,…”(Eph 1:15-19)

Our theme for the next several weeks:

Question Topic Week  

57, 58 The benefits of redemption & how applied 1 10/13/2013

59, 60 Who are the recipients? 2 10/20/2013

  Justification and Sanctification: What’s the difference?Dr. David Van Drunen

  10/27/2013

61-63 The Visible Church 3 11/3/2013

64-65 The Invisible Church 4 11/10/2013

66-68 Union with Christ 5 11/17/2013

66-68 Effectual Call 6 11/24/2013

69-71 Communion in Grace with Christ – Justification 12/1/2013

72-73 Justifying Faith 7 12/8/2013

74 Communion in Grace with Christ – Adoption 8 12/15/2013

75-78 Communion in Grace with Christ – Sanctification 9 12/22/2013

79-81 Perseverance and Assurance of Believers 10 12/29/2013

82-83 Communion in Glory with Christ – in this life 11 1/5/2013

84-87 Communion in Glory with Christ – after death 12 1/12/2014

88-89 The Final Judgment 13 1/19/2013

Where are we going?

What is justifying faith?

Faith

(Object)TruthChrist

Assent Commitment

Is faith the one work that we do to be saved?

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God…. (Romans 4:1-3, ESV)

“… but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.” Q73

What is the connection between faith and works?

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith

but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ….? So

also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show

you my faith by my works. ….. For as the body apart

from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is

dead. (James 2:18-26, ESV)

Relationships – the Stuff of Life

Relationship (thinking of personal relationships)

1. The condition or fact of being related; connection or association.

2. Connection by blood or marriage; kinship.

3. A particular type of connection existing between people related to or having dealings with each other: has a close relationship with his siblings.

4. A romantic involvement.

Relationships – the Stuff of Life

• How are personal relationships formed or established?• What does the 5th commandment teach us about the

various relationships we are in?– “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long

upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

• What is the fundamental relationship that every person has with God? With each other?

• What obligations do each of those relationships have?– Love God– Love your neighbor

Christianity and Relationships

• Can we say that “Christianity is not a religion – it is a relationship?”– Why or why not?

• Can we say that salvation is “entering into a personal relationship with God (or with Christ)?”– Why or why not?

Q. 74. What is adoption?A. Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of his children, have his name put upon them, the Spirit of his Son given to them, are under his fatherly care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow heirs with Christ in glory.

The Richest Picture of God – “Father”• Is God the Father of all men?

– Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:43-44, ESV)

– among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3, ESV)

• Is God called “Father” in the OT? Where is God called “Father” first?– Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to

you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” (Exodus 4:22-23, ESV)

– Do you thus repay the Lord,you foolish and senseless people?Is not he your father, who created you,who made you and established you? (Deuteronomy 32:6, ESV)

– For you are our Father,though Abraham does not know us,and Israel does not acknowledge us;you, O Lord, are our Father,our Redeemer from of old is your name. (Isaiah 63:16, ESV)

The Essence of Christianity

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-13, ESV)

Adoption in the Sermon on the Mount: a Family Code

• But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. … You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:44-48, ESV)

• In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

• “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1, ESV)

Adoption in the Sermon on the Mount: Basis for Prayer

• Pray then like this:“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9, ESV)

Adoption in the Sermon on the Mount: Basis of Faith

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26, ESV)

Benefits of Adoption: Privileges of the Sons of God

• How does Paul portray our new adoptive relationship here?– I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from

a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:1-7, ESV)

• QUESTIONS?• COMMENTS?• OBJECTIONS?• MUSINGS?

Q. 75. What is sanctification?A. Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God hath, before the foundation of the world, chosen to be holy, are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life.

Q. 75. What is sanctification?

• a work of God’s grace, whereby• those whom He chose to be holy• are in time, made holy (renewed after the image of God)• by the Holy Spirit applying the death and resurrection of

Christ unto them– through implanting and stirring up the saving graces

(repentance, confession, etc.)

• enabling them to more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life (i.e., put off sin and put on Christ)

Q. 75. What is sanctification?

αγιασμος  hagiasmos hag-ee-as-mos’ 1) Consecration2) Sanctification: so strictly in (Ro 6:19,22 1Co 1:30; 1Th 4:3,7; 2Th 2:13; Heb

12:14; 1Pe 1:2) Elsewhere it perhaps inclines to the resultant state. (1Th 4:4; 1Ti 2:15)

From the ROOT word meaningTo make holy, consecrate, sanctify1) to dedicate, separate, set apart for God2) To purify, make conformable in character to such dedication

2a) Forensically, to free from guilt2b) Internally, by actual sanctification of life3) In the intermediate sense of ceremonial or levitical purification3a) Of things {#2Ti 2:21}3b) Of persons {#Heb 9:13}4) To treat as holy {#Mt 6:9 Lu 11:2 1Pe 3:15}

Are we holy or are we being made holy?

YES!• We are holy ones (i.e., ‘saints’)

– Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1 ESV)

– to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:12 ESV)

– To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2)

• We are to become holy– but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is

written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16, ESV)– Since we have these promises, beloved, jlet us cleanse ourselves from every

defilement of body1 and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Cor 7:1 ESV)

– For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:7, ESV)

– Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14, ESV)

So what does it really mean to be holy?

• How was holiness illustrated for us in the OT?– Tabernacle and all its utensils– The priesthood– Others?

• Do we ‘set apart’ things today?• What does it (should it) look like if WE are set apart unto,

dedicated to God?

How do we become more holy?

• Remember the part of the catechism answer:– by the Holy Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ

unto them• through implanting and stirring up the saving graces (repentance,

confession, etc.)– enabling them to more and more die unto sin, and rise unto

newness of life (i.e., put off sin and put on Christ)

• The saving graces…– Faith– Confession– Repentance

Q. 76. What is repentance unto life?A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, he so grieves for and hates his sins, as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavouring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.

So what do I DO?

• Confession: (to agree with, say the same thing as)– If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is

not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9, ESV)

– I acknowledged my sin to you,and I did not cover my iniquity;I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32:5, ESV)

– For I know my transgressions,and my sin is ever before me. (Psalm 51:3, ESV)

– Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. (Proverbs 28:13, ESV)

So what do I DO?• Repentance: (to turn away from sin and turn to God; do an ‘about face’)

– For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, ESV)

• Paul calls it ‘putting off’ and ‘putting on’– The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of

darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:12-14, ESV)

– They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:19-24, ESV)

What does that LOOK like?

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25-32, ESV)

What does that LOOK like?

• Put away lying speak the truth• Do not sin in anger resolve it quickly• Do not steal work and give• Stop corrupt speech build others up with words• Do not grieve the Holy Spirit ( please the HS!!)• Get rid of:

– bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander

Replace it with being:– kind, tenderhearted, forgiving

WHY?

Because Christ forgave you!!

Summarized by Michael Horton:

In spite of the fact that the Corinthian church had become filled with immorality, strife, division, and immaturity, Paul begins both letters to this body by addressing them as “saints” (holy ones) and reintroduces the wonder of the gospel. Precisely because their status as defined by the gospel’s indicatives, the apostle could recall them to repentance as the only legitimate response. Where most people think that the goal of religion is to get people to become something that they are not, the Scriptures call believers to become what they already are in Christ. Because they were definitley sanctified or set apart as holy to the Lord, the Corinthians must restablish proper relationships, order, and behavior in the church. Their practice must be brought in line with their identity.

Q. 77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?

Justification

• Imputed righteousness of Christ

• Sin pardoned• Equal in all believers• Perfect in this life

Sanctification

• Infused grace, enabling practice of righteousness

• Sin subdued• Not equal in all• Not perfect in this life –

but growing!

Q. 77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?A. Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification of his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued: the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation the other is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection.

Where does this sin come from in the believer?

If we are justified and made into ‘saints’ why do we still sin?• The remnant (habit) of sin remains…

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16-18, ESV)

Q. 78. Whence ariseth the imperfection of sanctification in believers?A. The imperfection of sanctification in believers ariseth from the remnants of sin abiding in every part of them, and the perpetual lustings of the flesh against the spirit; whereby they are often foiled with temptations, and fall into many sins, are hindered in all their spiritual services, and their best works are imperfect and defiled in the sight of God.