Immanuel Baptist Church

1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the evening service on September 13, 2009.

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Ephesians 4:7-10

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on Sunday, September 13, 2009.

By this point in Ephesians it should be clear to us that unity is important to Paul. He wants Christians to demonstrate the love of God toward one another, showing to the world a unity of purpose and affection that can only come when God has changed the hearts of men. The unified body is called the church, the body of all believers, all who have received Jesus Christ by faith. The church is to visibly carry out the work of God and display the character of God to the world.

But Paul is not just concerned with the whole body, he is also concerned with the parts. The church is the church because it is made up of individuals. Individuals do not lose their identity when they become part of the church. In our passage today, Ephesians 4:7-10, Paul continues to discuss the unity of the body but now his focus shifts to the individual.

A body is made of many parts, a point Paul draws out in 1 Corinthians 12 when discussing the diversity of spiritual gifts. These parts do not all function in the same way but each has a distinct purpose and ability. Your hand is not able to do what your nose can do, and aren’t you glad your tongue does not do the work of the hand? In the body of Christ we continue to have distinct talents, abilities, interests, and personalities. Distinctions are not erased between people when we become part of the church.

Part of our identity is found in our different gifts and abilities. In Ephesians Paul shows us that we do not generate our own gifts, they are gifts from God. Specifically, they are gifts from Jesus Christ, the one who conquered our foes and reigns supreme over all things.

Ephesians 4:7-10

There are two parts to this passage. In the first part, verses 7-8, Paul begins a discussion about grace and gifts from God. In the second part, verses 8-10, we learn more about the giver of gifts.

When Paul speaks in verse 7 of grace being given according to the measure of Christ’s gift he is talking about sustaining, enabling grace. This is the grace that enables the people of God to accomplish his purpose. Everyone who is saved has received the same measure of saving grace – no one is only partly saved. But not everyone is given the same gift or ability within the church. This does not mean some are greater than others, but Christians receive different gifts, different tasks to carry out in the church.

These gifts come from Christ. We cannot generate enabling grace any more than we can generate saving grace. Likewise, we cannot earn this grace. God gives gifts to men solely on the basis of his will. This is what Paul means by the measure of Christ’s gift. Christ, not you, determines what gifts the believer receives from the Lord. The gifts are given to serve the church and there are many kinds of gifts. When Paul discusses spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 he names many things coming from God but even his list there is not comprehensive. Later in Ephesians 4 Paul will focus on some specific gifts that become instrumental in the church to lead believers to better serve Christ and guide unbelievers to the cross.

God has not saved Christians and filled his church with clones. We display a vast array of God’s creative power. Men and women from all across the earth with a host of languages and nations and personalities and abilities and interests and likes and dislikes. Unity in the church is not found by conformity to a certain mold but by conformity to the image of Christ. Too often churches divide because of differences either superficial or given by God for the good of his church. We cripple ourselves by pushing out those not like us. One example is race. In our nation’s history we see churches that have mutilated themselves by refusing to admit to full and joyful fellowship brothers and sisters that look different. May this never be at Immanuel Baptist Church. Diversity is God’s idea. We also see division in more subtle ways. Bible translations. Music styles. Multi-generational fellowship. The mood and order of worship. We are frightened by diversity but such fear does not come from God. God created individuals with a host of differences between us and when he brought us into one body he did not erase those differences but uses them for the display of his glory.

In the midst of our physical differences God adds spiritual differences by giving people different spiritual gifts. All of these gifts are for the good of the church but some are more visible than others. The source of these gifts is the same: Jesus Christ, through the Spirit of God. This means there is no cause for boasting of any sort. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:7, What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? The church grows by the gifts God has given to the church on the basis of his will not your merit. Do not boast in your abilities, but be sure your abilities are used for the good of the kingdom of God.

Paul goes on in verses 8-10 to describe the source of our gifts. He begins in verse 8 with a quote from the Old Testament: Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” There are a few difficulties in this passage. First, the Greek is slightly ambiguous so the middle part of the verse has been translated several ways: “he led a host of captives” or “led captives in his train” or “took prisoners captive” or even “took captivity captive”. The last is the closest to the Greek though each of these catches the meaning of the text. Jesus has defeated the oppressor and has taken him captive. The one who caused captivity is now a captive himself.

The quote comes from Psalm 68:18 which describes God victorious over his enemies, chaining them together, and dragging them behind him as he leads a victory parade. He has conquered the enemy! Celebrate, you saints of the Lord! In this case the enemy is sin, death, Satan, and his demons. They held us in captivity but now they have been taken captive by Jesus Christ through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. The one who gives us gifts of grace is the one who has defeated all our enemies.

The bigger difficulty with verse 8 is its difference from Psalm 68:18. Verse 8 ends with: and he gave gifts to men while Psalm 68:18 says that God was receiving gifts among men. Some accuse Paul of forgetting the text and quoting it wrong. Other say he took liberties with the text, changing it to say what he wanted it to mean. But the change is due to the nature of the Hebrew expression in Psalms. As we saw, the context in Psalms is that God has conquered his foes and has taken tribute from them. A ruler would always share tribute with his army. Psalm 68:12 tells us that the women at home divide the spoil so evidently the spoil, the tribute, the captured goods has been spread among the people of God. While Paul does not follow the wording of Psalms, his meaning remains the same. Once Jesus has conquered his foes and taken back from them what they have, he then shares his goods among his people.

Who is this that has conquered such terrible enemies as sin, death, and Satan and has given gifts to men? It is none other than he who ascended on high. Who ascended? The one who first descended. Paul tells us in verses 9-10, In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended…

This puzzled me for a while. Why is it necessary that the one who ascended first descended? If you walk up a set of stairs there is no reason to assume you first walked down the stairs. Why does Paul say it is necessary that the ascender was first the descender? Here again the context of Psalm 68 is helpful. The subject of Psalm 68 is God who in Isaiah 33:5 is said to dwell on high and in several passages, such as Acts 7:48, is described as the Most High. Almighty God dwells above all other things. Nothing is above him, there is nowhere for him to ascend. For God to ascend he must first descend. When have we ever heard of God descending to dwell among us? Only once, in the person of Jesus Christ who by his incarnation left his throne above and came down to live among men. The one who gives gifts to men is the one who descended from Heaven, Jesus Christ.

But where did he descend to? There has been a lot of discussion about the end of verse 9 where Paul says that Jesus descended into the lower regions, the earth. An old interpretation says that Jesus descended into Hell but the text makes no mention of Hell. Paul simply means that God the Son descended down low to earth where men dwell. Heaven is high above, above all other regions. Earth is the region far below God. When the Son came down he came a long, long way. Not a spatial, physical distance but a vast spiritual gulf from the holiness of God’s throne to the wickedness of earth.

But Jesus did not remain behind, he did not stay on the earth. Having accomplished his work he returned to his Heavenly throne. He conquered sin and death and broke the power of Satan. Having rescued men and established his church he ascended back to his throne above. Paul says in verse 10 that he ascended far above all the heavens. The heavens is a reference to creation – the skies above, the heavens that declare the glory of God. As vast as the universe seems when we look up, Jesus ascended high above all of that. He stands above everything made and he reigns on high.

This one who reigns is now able to fill all things. We have seen this filling earlier in Ephesians. In 1:22-23 Paul says that God put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Then in 3:19 Paul prays for believers to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We noted back in chapter 1 that the church is one aspect of God’s fullness. That is, Jesus is using the church to spread his presence throughout the earth. By his victory at the cross Jesus won a people for himself, a people whose purpose is now defined by Ephesians 2:6-7: …[he] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. The church is the body of Christ, his instrument to carry out his work on earth. That work is to shine forth the glory and goodness and kindness of God. He who fills all things is filling the earth with his church.

Having accomplished so much, God is not going to hand this work to us and leave it for us to work out the best way to spread his glory. Jesus continues to be present with believers in accomplishing the work he has called us to do. One way Jesus guides his church is by providing the necessary provision. He knows what we need and he provides those needs for us. One need of the church is for believers who are equipped with various gifts as explained in 1 Corinthians 12. Among those equipped believers are those specifically equipped to guide the church. We will wait until next time to examine this in verses 11-16.

Having defeated sin and death and Satan at the cross, having called a people to himself, having given gifts to his church, and continuing to sustain his people, there are four things Christ would have us be: humble, grateful, encouraged, and active. First, humble because God is the source of all our good. What do we have that we did not receive? How then can we boast in anything as though we ourselves have done something of significance? It is God at work in us. Second, grateful because God has called us and gifted us even though we deserve only his wrath. What marvelous grace! Third, encouraged because the one who sustains us and equips us is the one who reigns far above any other power or authority. He is the sovereign God of all the universe. He is able to sustain you and he will lead his church – including you – to victory. And fourth, active, because our gifts were not given for our own service. God has equipped us to serve his church. Do not hold your talents close to your chest and do not shun God’s people. Be active to serve God through his body the church and in the process let what you have – not simply possessions, but your talents and abilities – be a blessing to God’s people. Christian, be humble, grateful, encouraged, and active.

In 1875 a man named Philip Paul Bliss wrote an amazing hymn of praise and confession. Listed in our hymnbook as Hallelujah, What a Savior!, the hymn is based on Isaiah 53 and contains a reflection on the humble condition of the incarnate Son of God, the rebellious, fallen condition of man, the love of Christ to rescue sinners, the complete success of Jesus’ death to bring salvation, the promise of his return, and the hope of eternity spent worshiping out glorious King. In case you have forgotten it, here are the words:

Hallelujah! The song sends electric shocks up and down my spine as I am reminded of the overwhelming mercy of God and his infinite goodness toward us. Every person on this planet deserves the eternal condemnation of the just and righteous God. No one deserves anything good. No one deserves mercy and grace. It is astounding that God would send his Son to die for rebels such as we but that is exactly what he did. Does this move you to praise and pray and rejoice and spread his name wherever you go? I hope the motivation of your life is the love of Christ, his delight in us, and your delight in him.

The following is our menu for the Wednesday evening fellowship meal on September 16th.

Roast beef with rice
Green lima beans
Corn
Roll
Dessert

The meal will begin at 5:30 in the fellowship hall. Those unable to attend can still come at 6:15 for the prayer time and Bible study.

Cost for meals is $5.00 per adult or $3.00 per child.

Our September luncheon meeting was held this past Tuesday with 26 in attendance. It was a beautiful day with a little early fall feeling and we all enjoyed the fellowship together.

Bob’s Bible Study was taken from the 1st chapter of Colossians. These are Paul’s writings to the faithful in Colossians. His prayer for them was that they would live a life worthy of the Lord, bear much fruit, and grow in the knowledge of God. This is the same challenge to us today. We will continue this study of Colossians at our next luncheon meeting.

Our guest for our program was Kim Houser, Director of the Advance Planning from Wilson Funeral Home. Her information was very helpful and very well presented. This pre-need planning helps provide peace of mind at a very difficult time for families.

Be involved!

Martha

Ruth; Esther

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the evening service on September 06, 2009.

The following resources are also available from this service:
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Presentation notes

Matthew 3:11-12

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on Sunday, September 06, 2009.

As we have had the privilege of celebrating this baptism it is worthwhile for us to break from Ephesians to take a look at the meaning of baptism. We sometimes forget or just don’t know the full significance of this event. There are three questions I want to answer this morning. First, why does baptism merit celebration? Second, what is the actual significance of baptism? And third, what does baptism bring about in the life of a believer?

To answer these questions we will start with a look at a man whose ministry was so identified by his baptizing work, he was given the surname baptizer. We know him as John the Baptist but he is more properly John the baptizer.

John came as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, making straight the path to God. He was the forerunner of Christ, Elijah, preparing people to receive their Messiah. His was a ministry of teaching and baptism as he called for people to repent. Jesus himself went to John for baptism, an event we will look at another time.

In Matthew 3:11-12 John says a few words about baptism, contrasting his work with the coming work of Jesus Christ.

In this passage John presents a contrast between the baptism he administers and the baptism to come through Jesus Christ. I think we can see three dimensions to the baptizing work of John. All he tells us here is that he baptized with water for repentance. That baptism shows three things: a confession of need, a profession of hope, and a picture of cleansing.

It presents a confession of need for the one who was baptized was confessing his sins and turning to walk in faithfulness. He recognized that he was a sinner in need of a savior. John’s baptism was also a profession of hope in that Messiah had not yet made himself apparent. Jesus was in the world but only a few knew who he really was. Those who received John’s baptism were professing their hope, their trust, their faith that God would send a savior into the world, someone who would be able to deal with their sin. Third, John’s baptism presents a picture of cleansing. The immersion of the body into the waters is a picture of being washed clean, it shows what Messiah would do. The person being baptized confessed his sin, put his hope in God, and in the waters offered a picture of the cleansing work of the coming Messiah.

But John’s baptism was not adequate to actually accomplish redemption and cleansing. What he offered was just baptism and what he gave came from someone who was just a man. The very character and nature of John was far inferior to that of the coming Messiah, the one who was sinless, faultless, very God and very man. So John says he is not even worthy to carry or untie the sandals of Jesus. He would say, “I am so far beneath him I’m not even worthy to touch his sandals! Those filthy sandals covered with dust and sweat and dung and who knows what else. They have also touched the feet of the Messiah! I’m not worthy to lay a finger on those sandals! “His work is far superior to my own. Everything I’m doing here is not to build a ministry for myself but to prepare the way for him. Don’t look at me, look at him.” Thus John says in John 3:30, He must increase, I must decrease.

What a picture this gives of what our lives should be. We live to take the spotlight off of ourselves and put it on Christ. Even when people around us are zealous for us and try to lift us up, we stop them and put their attention on Christ. I am nothing, but we labor to point people to someone really worth getting excited about.

John’s baptism could make a person wet. In itself it accomplished nothing. It was a picture, a symbol of what God would do. So with Jesus comes the baptism that really matters.

John says that Jesus would come baptizing with the Spirit and with fire. Jesus does not do away with water baptism, he himself calls for it. It is part of his great commission in Matthew 28:19 that we go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But the baptism with water in the name of the triune God is much greater than the baptism of John. It is the formal initiation into the kingdom of God, a public proclamation of union into the covenant community of believers, and a picture of the saving work God has done in an individual’s life.

But this baptism with water comes second. There is another baptism of Jesus that happens first and it does not involve water. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit of God and with fire. In this baptism we are born again by the Spirit of God. The flesh is crucified with Christ and we are made new. But what is this fire John mentions? It is not the flames of punishment we see at the end of this passage but is the purifying fire of a refiner’s furnace. It is the fire that burns away impurities and imperfections, leaving a solid, pure bar of gold. God will put us through the fires of sanctification, sometimes using trials and tribulations to refine us and make us holy.

Having seen all of this we come back to our three questions: Why does baptism merit celebration? What is the actual significance of baptism? And what does baptism bring about in the life of a believer?

Baptisms such as the one we have seen today are events of celebration because they point to something greater that has already taken place in the individual’s life. The one today baptized with water has already been baptized by the Spirit of God. The saving work of Jesus Christ has taken place in her life and what we saw today was a new creation, a born again child of the Creator. We rejoice that God has brought another child to himself.

Baptism is also an occasion for celebration as it reminds us that God’s work in the world continues. He has not stopped saving people. When we look around we see so much destruction and despair, unholiness, injustice, people rejoicing in evil and persecuting those who love the truth. Can God possibly want to have anything more to do with us? Surely he has washed his hands of humanity! But here today we see testimony to the fact that God is still at work in the world. Salvation is still extended to fallen humanity. If you are here today and you are not a child of God and feel he would never have you, I have good news. He would have you for himself. Give yourself into his hands. He is still saving people and he can save you and wash you and make you pure.

So what is the significance of baptism? What does this act of immersion mean? There are two ways churches usually baptize people. Some churches emphasize the baptism of infants by sprinkling water on the head or pouring it on the head of adults who are baptized. Others, such as us, emphasize the baptism of Christians, believers, by immersing them into pools of water. The first group point to baptism as a sign of entry into the covenant community, that a child born of believing parents is received among the people of God. That child still needs to be saved, but he is part of the community of Christians. I agree with this view that baptism is a sign of entrance into the covenant community, we will see more about that in a moment, but where they say it happens at physical birth, I believe it happens at the new birth. Physical babies are not part of the body of Christ, spiritual babies are.

So baptism even for Baptists serves as an image that this person is now part of our community. 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us as much where Paul says, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… At the new birth, the baptism of the Spirit of God, a new believer is joined with Christ and becomes part of the community of those who are in the new covenant. We echo that unity with the waters of baptism.

The second significance is that it proclaims that the work of Christ has taken place in the individual’s life. The one baptized is not saved by coming up out of the waters but coming up out of the waters illustrates their salvation. Paul puts this together in Romans 6:3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. The lowering into the waters as an image of death. Submerged in the waters as an image of burial. Raised from the waters as an image of resurrection. We don’t have time this morning to go much farther with this but the implications for the Christian life are huge. Go back and read Colossians 2:20-3:17 sometime. Paul says we have died to self, our flesh nailed to the cross with Christ. We were buried. And we were raised with Christ. This life we live is not our own, it belongs to God. And as God’s life we must live in obedience to him.

Finally, what happens in the baptized life? Does the act of water baptism do anything for the one baptized? Yes and no. No, in that this act does not save a person. The one baptized is already saved, already part of the community of God. Yes, in that this act is a public proclamation. It is saying, Now I belong to Jesus. And it is an act of obedience. Jesus himself shows that we need to be baptized. To ignore baptism is to live in disobedience. This early proclamation of salvation is also an early act of obedience, setting a pattern for the rest of life that I will do whatever my Savior asks of me.

In closing, let me quickly mention four points of application. First, let each baptism remind you of your own profession. Most of us here are believers, most of us have been through the waters of baptism and have made this proclamation. Remember who you are and remember whose you are.

Second, and along with the first, baptism is not a symbol of a momentary event but of a life transformation. Do you continue to be transformed into the image of Christ? Are you still living for him? Or was your confession of Christ dropped the moment the service was over? That is not salvation or sanctification. As baptism proclaims the righteousness of Christ covering over our sins, let’s live in obedience to God, carrying out his righteous acts.

Third, we are reminded of Christ’s command to go into the world, baptizing and making disciples. What are you doing to keep this baptistry full? I have been here almost a year and this is our first baptism and it comes from someone outside the church. We are not promised results when we share the gospel, but a year of no baptisms should certainly get our attention and make us ask if there is something we are failing to do. Get out there and make disciples! Bring people in by the dozens, ready for the waters of baptism.

Finally, baptism is a call for unbelievers to repent, a call that you must die to your self, let your flesh be crucified with Christ, and put your hope in God. Unbeliever, be saved.

Our next meeting will be this coming Tuesday, September 8th. Our guest will be Kim Houser from Wilson’s Funeral Home. She will be here to talk about pre-need advanced planning.

I hope you will make plans to be there. Remember to bring your Bible and a covered dish.

We need to stay involved with all that is going on at Immanuel. See you this Sunday.

Martha

The following is our menu for the Wednesday evening fellowship meal on September 9th.

Country fried steak
Mashed potatoes
Carrots
Baked apples
Roll
Dessert

The meal will begin at 5:30 in the fellowship hall. Those unable to attend can still come at 6:15 for the prayer time and Bible study.

Cost for meals is $5.00 per adult or $3.00 per child.