The Wonder Of Salvation

Well, I invite you to take your Bibles and turn to the book of one Peter and we're going to read Peter's opening doxology in its entirety one last time as we finish this up this morning. One Peter chapter one verses three through 12. One Peter chapter one, verse three. Peter writes, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary, you've been distressed by various trials so that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And though you've not seen him, you love him and though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of glory obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Now for today's text as to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look. Father, this is indeed a stunning text and I pray that by your spirit, you would accomplish in us its intended result, which is to be caught up in wonder, love and praise of the Lord Jesus Christ and super grateful for our salvation. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Well, Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones served as the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years. He was affectionately known as the doctor. He was a well-known physician who became a preacher and he became the leading expositor in his day and some consider him to be the greatest preacher of the 20th century. He is one of my spiritual heroes who has influenced my life and ministry through both his sermons and his books, and anyone who spends any time listening to or reading Martin Lloyd Jones will come across a phrase that he used often in his preaching and his writing, and I first came across it when I was studying his commentary on Ephesian years ago when I was teaching through the book of Ephesians. It was the first book I taught through here at Lakeside, and ever since then I've heard it and I've seen it again and again in as many publications and it's the expression lost in wonder, love and praise, lost in wonder, love and praise.

Martin Lloyd Jones hoped that his preaching would not only help Christians grasp more clearly the truth of God's word, but ultimately to be gripped by a sense of wonder, love and praise, which in his mind should be the natural response to biblical preaching. He wanted that for himself, which is why he prayed this. Help me to believe what I preach, grip me with it and humble me with it and help me exalt in it until I am lost in wonder, love and praise. Sadly, I must confess that there are times when I study and I preach God's word without a sense of wonder, love and praise, and I think that pastors are most susceptible and most at risk of losing a sense of awe and wonder for the things of God. And that's why it's often referred to as a dangerous calling. Since we get to spend so much time with these things that they become common or familiar to us, even mundane, they become dull and boring.

The Bible becomes a tool to get our job done rather than a treasure that we enjoy reading and studying and meditating on. And if you're not careful as a preacher over time, you find yourself just cranking out sermons and never truly encountering God in a meaningful way through his word. I'm sure there are times when you read God's word and you listen to God's word and it doesn't result in you being lost in wonder, love and praise wonder, it's an interesting word. It can be defined as a feeling of being surprised, mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar or inexplicable. It's what happens to us when we are amazed by or marvel at or standing in awe of someone or something wonder fuels our faith in Christ. It makes it contagious and causes others to be intrigued by Christianity. But what are you all so excited about?

Well, perhaps you've lost your sense of wonder for the gospel and how it has radically changed your life. Perhaps you become so familiar with God and his word that spending time with him is no longer exhilarating to you and studying the scriptures is no longer fascinating to you. Perhaps you aren't as enthusiastic about coming to church as you used to be and maybe you're less excited about engaging with God's people like before perhaps singing the songs about who Christ is and what He has done for you no longer stirs your soul like they once did.

Perhaps your passion for Christ has diminished over time and the gospel no longer takes your breath away. All of these would be indications that we have lost the joy or the wonder of our salvation. Well, Peter's goal in these opening verses of this letter is to restore the joy of our salvation to help us get the wonder back in regards to the amazing grace that we have been shown in Christ. Some 30 years had passed since Peter had spent those three life-changing years with Jesus Christ, but his love for Christ had not diminished, but it had deepened and the seasoned saint seemed more excited than ever about all that he had heard and seen in those three years. He hadn't lost his sense of wonder, love and praise, and the proof of that is how he began this letter, just the mention of the name Jesus Christ in verse two that we have been called according to or chosen according to the foreknowledge of God and the Father by the sanctifying worker of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ.

Just the mention of the name Jesus caused him to burst forth in wonder, love and praise regarding God's plan of and two times as I pointed out already in this lengthy doxology, which is one long sentence in the Greek and that's why I keep reading it as one flow of thought. Here He used the phrase greatly rejoice, verse six. In this you greatly rejoice in what in this salvation that's ready to be revealed in the last time. And then in verse eight he says that you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls, that inexpressible joy, which no words can possibly describe, should mark the life of everyone who has been born again to a living hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And don't miss this as those living on this side of the cross, we should have more of a sense of wonder, love and praise than any other generation of God's people. In verses three through five, Peter pointed out to us our future inheritance in verses six through nine, he reminded us of the purpose of our present trials. We looked at that last week and now in verses 10 through 12, he directed us to the past in order to provide us a historical perspective on our salvation, and he used the word salvation again here, verse 10, as to this salvation. He seemed to use that word in each of these transitions between these three sections of this doxology as if he kept thinking of something new to say about salvation like by the way, oh, and another thing, oh yeah, don't forget.

And so this final section here is really the crescendo of Peter's praise and he wanted to show weary pilgrims as we are the majestic history of the salvation for which we are suffering. And so he reminded them, his readers, how God's plan of redemption through the person and work of Jesus Christ was revealed throughout the course of history, and he included those divine agents who were involved in delivering that revelation to us. And so by surveying the grand scheme or the spectacle of salvation and where we fit into it, Peter hoped to increase our appreciation for our salvation. And his point was simply that we are incredibly blessed, immensely privileged to be living in the age when so many of the predictions in the Old Testament have come to pass and to be experiencing the blessings that so many saints who came before us only could look forward to.

And if that was not enough, what's even more mind boggling and heart stirring for those of us who were saved is that we enjoy something the angels in heaven will never enjoy in the same way we do. In other words, we are the envy of the prophets and the angels, the prophets of old long to live in the time that we're living. And the holy angels can only look with fascination from afar at those of us who've been redeemed by the blood of Christ. And so let's look more closely how this section unfolds here. And again, Peter simply noted three divine agents who were involved in delivering the message of redemption to us. In other words, you wouldn't be sitting here today if it weren't for this passage, if it weren't for what was going on, the dynamic that he's describing in this passage, you would not have ever heard the gospel and embraced the gospel. These are the people who have played a role in bringing the gospel to us.

First of all, the spirit inspired prophets searched the spirit inspired prophets searched. Notice he says as to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries. He's referring to the Old Testament prophets who were God's spokesmen back then and God established the office of prophet with Moses at Mount Sinai when the Israelites were afraid of God's voice, and so they begged God to speak to them through Moses instead of directly. This is in Deuteronomy chapter 18. And so the role of the prophet was to proclaim divine revelation, to be a mouthpiece for God and also to predict the future, and their job was to simply pass on or to write down whatever they heard, whatever they saw. Even though a lot of times they didn't fully understand the revelation or the vision that God had given them and yet they were faithful to repeat it or to record it.

Daniel is probably one of the most well-known prophets of the Old Testament. Listen to what he says in his prophecy in Daniel chapter seven, verse 15. As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. I approached one of those who were standing by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things in chapter eight verse 27, then I, Daniel was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king's business, but I was astounded at the vision and there was none to explain it.

And then chapter 12, verse eight, as for me, I heard but could not understand. So I said, my Lord, what will be the outcome of these events? So Daniel is a good example here of what Peter meant when he said that the prophets made careful searches and inquiries. There were times that Daniel didn't have a clue what he just saw. He didn't have a clue what God had revealed to him, but that didn't, and it disturbed him, it concerned him, it made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to know what these things meant. And so he searched, he inquired, and those words there back in one Peter, both of these words were used for seeking God and also searching the scriptures. And so in order to better understand what God was saying to them and showing them the prophets would seek the Lord in prayer and they would study the scriptures and so they would analyze their own visions and their own sermons and they would pour over the scrolls of the prophets of old who had gone before them and they would even compare notes with their contemporaries.

Again, back in Daniel, Daniel chapter nine, Daniel chapter nine verse one. We see Daniel referencing the prophecy of Jeremiah, his contemporary in the first year of Darius, the son of aHUS of median descent who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans in the first year of the reign of his reign. I Daniel observed the books of the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolation of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. So he was studying Jeremiah and his prophecy and he realized, you know what Jeremiah said that we were only going to have to be in exile for 70 years. The time's almost up. I need to start praying that God would fulfill his promise to bring us out of exile back into the promised land. So I gave my attention verse three to the Lord, to seek him by prayer and supplications with fasting sackcloth and ashes. And if you remember in answer to his prayers, God gave him probably the most fascinating prophecy of the coming of Christ anywhere in the Old Testament, the 70 weeks vision that pinpointed exactly the day when Christ would come. We don't have time to get into it, but is there in Daniel chapter nine verses 24 through 27.

But despite receiving this prophecy that was so exact, Daniel was still left in the dark as to who this referred to and when it would actually play out and none of it made much sense until 600 years later. The Magi, remember those guys, the three wise guys who were the descendants I believe, of the wise men and magicians of Daniel's time. They studied Daniel's scroll and did the math and determined that the Messiah had been born based on analyzing Daniel chapter nine, and they did what Peter talked about here, verse 11, seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

This wasn't just Daniel's dilemma, by the way. This was all the prophets from Moses to Malachi. We're talking about Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, can you same with me. This is where we get lost in the minor prophets, right? Nahum, aba, Zephaniah, hagg, zacharia. They could never completely comprehend who the Messiah would be or when he would come, but they didn't just throw up their hands and go, well, I guess that's too bad and I'm going to go fishing, or whatever they did back then. No, that's simply served to spur them on. It piqued their interest all the more and their fascination with God's unfolding plan of salvation, throw them to do an intensive, exhaustive study of the scriptures in order to make sense of these future promises about the grace that God would demonstrate through the coming of Christ. Notice how Peter described the prophecy. It's a prophecy of the grace that would come to you.

What an interesting label or way to describe the Old Testament as it was pointing to Christ. Now it's not that people in the Old Testament never received or experienced grace. Genesis six, eight, Noah found what favor in the eyes of God, what is grace? It's God's undeserved kindness and favor. They knew him in the Old Testament to be a gracious savior, ready to forgive. That's how he revealed himself in Exodus 34 to Moses and the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and loving kindness who keeps loving kindness for thousands who forgives iniquity. Transgression is sin.

And I love Jonah Jonah four, two. He was whining about the fact that there had been a revival in Nineveh and he said to the Lord, please, Lord was not this what I said while I was still in my country. Therefore, in order to forstall this, I fled to Tarsus. The reason why I ran away, I ran in the opposite direction when you told me to go to Nineveh to preach the gospel, to preach the message of salvation to them. The reason why I ran in the other direction is I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant and loving kindness and one who relents concerning calamity talk about a schizophrenic profit. The reason why I didn't want to go because I knew you'd save him, he had some race issues. I think going on there. He had some bitterness and hardness in his heart towards the Ninevites.

I think we also need to say this, that Old Testament saints were saved in the same way that were saved by grace through faith. Genesis 15 six, Genesis 15, six talks about Abraham. Listen to what it says here, Genesis 15, six, then Abraham believed in the Lord and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. And then Habakkuk two four, the just shall live by what faith. So the faith of the Old Testament saints was in the sacrificial system that God ordained to atone for their sin, which simply foreshadowed who Christ and his work on the cross. So in their eyes, the shed blood of the lamb atone for their sin, but in God's eyes it was the shed blood of Christ that atone for their sin. In other words, he applied their sin to Christ so they were saved by grace through faith in the future work of Christ, we're saved by grace. We faith in the past work of Christ.

Notice also here that Peter said it was the spirit of Christ in them. Who is revealing these things to them? Who's the spirit of Christ? Well, I think it's obvious that Peter's referring to the Holy Spirit here, the spirit of Christ, and he provided a practical illustration here of the doctrine of inspiration, which he mentions in the second letter, if you turn over quickly to second Peter chapter one, verse 20 and 21, Peter said, but know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. Better, I think translated inspiration for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. It's that verse along with one Timothy chapter three, verse 16, excuse me, second Timothy chapter three, verse 16 that says, all scripture is inspired by God or God breathe. This is where we get the doctrine of inspiration.

And what that means is that the Old Testament prophets didn't just make up this stuff or record their own ideas or their own opinions. And the reason why we know that is because if they did write it on their own, they would've understood what they wrote, right? They wouldn't have to search and do inquiries because they wrote it, they understood it, but the fact that they didn't understand it is evidence that they were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who superintendent the process so that they wrote each and every word exactly the way God wanted it written.

And I think the reason why Peter called the Holy Spirit in this text, the spirit of Christ is because the spirit's role is to testify about Christ. John chapter 15, verse 26, Jesus said, when the helper comes whom I send you from the Father, that is the spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And then in chapter 16 of John verse 14, he will glorify me. So the spirit is not all about himself. The spirit's role is to exalt Christ. That's why it makes me real nervous when I go to a church and it is all about the spirit and what the spirit's all about and what he's doing, and let's give some glory and honor to the spirit and look at all the things He's he's. It's happening here because of the spirit. No, the spirit is there to exalt Christ and to help people focus on Christ. He doesn't want to draw attention away from Christ to himself.

So I think that's one of the biggest issues with the charismatic church today is they make it more about the spirit than they do about Christ. One commentator said it this way, Jesus is therefore not simply the one of whom the prophets speak. He is the one who speaks through the prophets. Not only does prophecy bear witness to Jesus, but Jesus bears witness through prophecy. The eternal logos is the source of the prophetic testimony. In other words, who wrote the Old Testament? The spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit to direct people to Christ. And so it should come as no surprise that the entire Bible points to Jesus, which Jesus himself explain in his post-resurrection conversations and encounters with his disciples.

Luke chapter 24, here we find the account of the conversation Jesus had with the two disciples on the Emmaus road, and he said this in verse 25, oh, foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory? Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures. And then later when he was with the disciples in the upper room, he said to them, these are my words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.

Why did he have to open up their minds? Because like the Old Testament prophets who came before them, they had a hard time making sense of who Jesus was and why he had come. In Luke chapter 18 verse 31, he took his 12 aside and said to them, behold, we're going up to Jerusalem and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of man will be accomplished for he'll be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scoured him, they will kill him and the third day he will rise again. Seems pretty clear to us, right what he's talking about. But the disciples understood none of these things and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them and they did not comprehend the things that were said. I mean, they just kind of glazed over when he started talking about the crucifixion. There was no place in their theology of the Messiah for crucifixion.

And this especially applied to Peter. You remember back in Matthew chapter 16, right after Peter was asked by Jesus, well, who do you say that I am? And he said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You're the Messiah, youm convinced of it. And Jesus said, you're right, Peter. And you didn't come up with that. The spirit of God revealed that to you. And it says, from that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up. On the third day, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. That's classic Peter. First gen Peter, we're studying second gen. Peter here. This is first gen Peter, and he's bold enough, rash enough to pull Jesus aside and chew him out. And he said, God forbid it, Lord, this shall never happen to you.

In other words, over my dead body, is anybody going to get past me to you? And he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan, you are a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind on God's interest but mans. And again, if you remember, when Jesus was arrested in the garden, Peter pulled the sword in order to defend Jesus from having to suffer, and he was just like all the other disciples and all the other Jews in that day. They expected the Messiah would come and defeat their enemies and establish his kingdom in Jerusalem and reign forever and fulfillment of the promise that God had made to King David to have someone sitting on his throne forever and ever. And somehow they all seemed to miss the prophecies about the Messiah having to suffer before he was exalted.

And that's why Peter now in hindsight, hindsight's 2020, right? He's looking back now probably a little embarrassed when he hears the gospel being read the gospel, being read in some of the knucklehead things he said and did, but he gets it now. He says that they were seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. So the Old Testament four told the sufferings that the Messiah would have to endure if we had time. We could look at Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Zachariah chapter 12, verse 10, all talking about how the Messiah would suffer, but it also foretold the glories of the Messiah and the glories that he would enjoy Psalm two, how God would exalt above everyone. In Isaiah chapter nine, he would be given these names, wonderful counselor, prince of Peace.

Daniel chapter seven talks about how he will reign forever and ever. And there's even times in the Old Testament when these two concepts of suffering and glory blur together in a single verse or a passage, which made it even more difficult as if it wasn't complicated enough to kind of put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Sometimes it was in the same verse, and so no one could have imagined that there were two comings of Christ all they thought they were talking about this coming of the Messiah and it all kind of blurred together. And it does sort of when you get into the minor prophets especially, is what's going on here is this talking about Christ first coming or second coming? That wasn't even a question they asked themselves. We ask ourselves that question because we're looking back on it and we know better.

We know that we are part of this thing called the church age, which Paul referred to as a mystery in Ephesians chapter three, that God had called him, raised him up to explain or reveal Ephesians chapter three, verse two, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace, which is given to me for you, that by revelation it was made known to me. The mystery as I wrote before in brief by referring to this when you read, can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit. To be specific, what am I talking about? That the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel of which I'm a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which is given to me according to the working of his power to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery, which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things.

Well, this eventually became clear to Peter and I guess it helped after seeing Christ crucified, raised a lot to life and then Z back to heaven, having promised I'll be back shortly, I'm going to prepare a place for you, I'm coming back. So now he's kind of putting it all together and it's starting to make sense now. And when he got to preach in the Book of Acts right off the bat, he boldly proclaimed about the first and second coming of Christ Acts chapter three, verses 11 through 21. He talks about, Hey, by the way, Jesus came, your Messiah came, you killed him, but that's okay. Well, it's not okay, but if you repent and acknowledge that you pierced the one who came to save you, you're going to pave the way for his return. He'll forgive you, he'll come back to get you and take you to be with him in heaven. So he's preaching these kinds of sermons in the Book of Acts.

I think it's also helpful to note here that like Jesus, we must endure suffering here on this earth before we enter into glory. We can't just expect to not have to suffer. Romans chapter eight makes that clear. He says, if we are children, heirs of God and fellows of Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. And so as one commentator said this, he said, the patterns seen in the life of Christ that the sufferings and glories paradigm here, it's the pattern of our lives, our suffering. Our suffering is not a sign that Christ has betrayed us or that he's no longer concerned about us or that he's abdicated as throne. Our suffering is a sign of our fellowship with the resurrected Christ who suffered for us. Suffering becomes a sign of the glory that is to follow in our lives when we enter the presence of Christ in heaven.

And so notice again they're back in one Peter. He says they were seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within him was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Verse 12, it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. Now, that doesn't mean that what they saw and what they said didn't apply to their own generation because it did, but they also understood that their prophecies weren't completely fulfilled in their day and in their age, and that there had to be some fuller or deeper meaning to their prophecies, which applied to future generations of God's people.

And so they continued to forge ahead and endure all that they endured without every seeing with their own eyes. The things about which they prophesied, like what the writer of Hebrews said. And you can turn just a couple pages to the left. There we're right in the same neighborhood there next door to one Peter is Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13. All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth, I, and then look at verse 32, and what more shall I say for time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barrick, Sampson, Jeff dove, David and Samuel and the prophets who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions quenched the power of fire escaped the edge of the sword from weakness were made strong became mighty, and war put foreign armies to flight.

Women received back their dead by resurrection and others were tortured, not accepting their release so that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others experienced mockings and surgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were saw in two, they were tempted. They were put to death with a sword they went about in sheepskins. And goatskins being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground and all these having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised because God had provided something better for us so that apart from us, they would not be made perfect.

Another way to look at that is to say, guess what? They did all that for us. All the things that we just read about, those horrific s, they endured those so that we could receive the gospel. This was all part of the gospel being passed down. The message of grace in Christ passed down throughout the generations so that we could receive it, so that we could have it. So the prophets served and they suffered for us even though they had a veil over their eyes the entire time. And this should be stunning to consider that you and I have a clear understanding of God's plan of salvation than anyone in the Old Testament ever did.

Let me say it this way, the newest, most immature believer in this room this morning has a better grasp of the gospel than the greatest prophets who ever lived more than Jeremiah, more than Isaiah, more than Daniel. Luke chapter 10, verse 23, Jesus says to his disciples, blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings wish to see the things which you see and did see them, and they hear the things which you hear and did not hear them. In other words, they didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle. Guess what we do?

The question is what are you doing? Would the puzzle box now that we have God's full and finished revelation, how much more carefully and diligently should we study the Bible to gain a better understanding of the doctrine of salvation? We should go to school on the prophets who weren't just passive instruments of revelation through whom the spirit delivered his message. They were greatly moved by and deeply interested in the little bit of revelation that they received and they wanted to understand as much of it as they possibly could. And guess what? You have the whole thing.

And so the question is, are you similarly moved and interested to study God's word or do you simply take God's word for granted and let it just sit there and collect dust between Sundays? I would also ask, do you long for Christ to come back in your lifetime as much as they long for Christ to come in their lifetime? These are some convicting implications, aren't they? So we have the spirit inspired prophets who searched, and then Peter mentions next the Spirit and powered apostles who preached the spirit empowered apostles who preached, he says, which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

So this is pretty cool to think about. If you ever wondered why there's such a cohesion and continuity between the old and New Testaments and why the writers of the New Testament are always quoting the writers of the Old Testament is because it's the same in spirit who inspired the Old Testament prophets to prophesy about Christ, also empowered the New Testament apostles to preach about Christ. It's the spirit of God who is managing this whole thing, orchestrating this whole thing, causing it to fit together perfectly. Notice it says there that this gospel has been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples on the day of Pentecost, right? Acts chapter two, Peter got up right away and boldly preached a sermon in which he quoted key passages from the Old Testament in order to prove that Jesus was the Messiah who suffered death by crucifixion and was raised from the dead exactly as the prophets had foretold. By the way, this is the gospel, the good news of salvation, how God saved sinners through the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. Peter's going to get into that later in his letter in chapter two, verse 24, talking about Christ who himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by his wounds. You are healed. Chapter three, verse 18, for Christ also died for sins once for all, just for the unjust so that he might bring us to God.

So Peter, along with all the other apostles, had the glorious privilege of proclaiming that the prophecies of the Old Testament had come to pass and were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. What an awesome honor they had. What an awesome honor we have. Do you consider it a glorious privilege to get to share the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit? See, we stand in a long line of faithful preachers who heralded forth the gospel. Men like Peter and James and John and Paul and Barnabas and Timothy and Athanasius and Chris Osto and Luther and Calvin and Spurgeon and Wesley and Whitfield and moody, DL Moody, Billy Graham RC Sproul. We are in that same line. That's the flow of the gospel to us.

The question is, are you faithfully sharing the gospel so others can come to know Christ like you did through preachers like these? How will they hear if they don't have a preacher? You're that preacher, I'm that preacher. And then finally we have this little phrase sort of tacked on at the end that that is the phrase that drew me into this text, probably more than anything else, wanting to understand what does this mean, the things into which angels long to look. And so we have finally here, the spirit created angels who watched. And the reason why I called it spirit created angels because the Bible indicates the Holy Spirit was the agent of creation. Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning, God created the heavens of the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Job 26 13, by his spirit, he ordained the heavens, or excuse me, adorned the heavens. Job 33, 4, the spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Psalm 1 0 4, verse 30, you send forth your spirit and they are created talking about all the created beings. And so God created the angels. You say, well, when did he create the angels? I don't see them listed there in the six days of creation. Well, I think we can safely conclude that he created the angels before time began because they're not mentioned anywhere in the order of creation. And so we also can assume that Satan, who was the most beautiful angel that God created, rebelled against God along with a third of the angels, and they were cast out of heaven somewhere in the white space between Genesis two and three, because up to that point everything was good, God said, and it was good. But then Genesis three, it got bad really quick. So somewhere in between, I think we find the fall of Satan.

And when Adam and Eve followed Satan in his rebellion and sinned against God, God banished them from the garden of Eden. And he stationed angels with flaming swords to guard the entrance so they couldn't get back into paradise. And ever since that tragic day when man lost access to God's presence, the angels have been following with great interest, the unfolding drama of redemption as God restore sinners to himself and will one day recreate the heavens and the earth to be the perfect paradise that it was meant to be in the beginning. I think that's part of what Peter meant when he said things into which angels long to look. That word therefore look literally means to bend over and stoop down, get a better look of what's going on. It's the same word that was used in the gospel of John to describe how John had stooped down to look into the empty tomb, to see that Jesus really wasn't there anymore.

So it's as if the angels are peering over the edge of heaven on their tippy toes to get a better view of what's happening down here on earth. They have front row seats to the spectacle of salvation. One Corinthians four, nine, Paul said, God has exhibited us as apostles because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. And again, if we conclude that angels were created in eternity past, that means that they've been watching God's wisdom put on display through the mysterious work of salvation from the very beginning when he elected those who would be his son's bride.

Paul mentions this in Ephesians three at the end of his talk about the mystery that he was called to reveal by God so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the church, to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places, IE the angels. I dunno if you ever thought about this, but angels don't know everything. They're created beings. And so their knowledge is limited. They don't know everything. In fact, Jesus said that Matthew 24, verse three six, but of that day when he was going to return the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven.

So this is all still mysterious to them. They're just kind of watching this thing unfold and they're like us. They don't know exactly when they might have a better indication because they're up there right in the presence of Christ, right? They're privy to what's going down in the throne room of God as the Trinity talks together and communes together about this ongoing plan of redemption. But they don't know when Christ is going to return. But I think it's also good to note here that they're not just spectators. It's not like they're just sitting around watching up in the stands, eating popcorn, eating a hot dog or whatever. No, God has given them the opportunity to participate in the outworking of his plan. And we know that angels were active all over the Old Testament, interacting with God's people and sometimes even killing their enemies. The death angel came into Egypt, wiped 'em all out in the New Testament. The angels announced the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and also they announced the birth of Christ. They ministered to Christ after Satan tempted him in the wilderness. They strengthened him in the garden of Gethsemane. They were standing ready to defend him if he summoned them. When he was arrested, remember he said to Peter, Hey Peter, put away you're sore, man. If I needed your help, I got angels waiting like this wing squadron ready to swoop down and destroy everything and everyone to protect me.

They never got summoned. They were there when the stone was rolled away. They actually rolled the stone away from Jesus's tomb. They announced to his disciples that he had risen from the dead. They attended his ascension to heaven. They were the ones that said, Hey guys, why you look? Come at heaven. You got work to do. He's coming back in the same way He left. He'll come back upon Christ returned to heaven. They subjected themselves to him according to one Peter chapter three, verse 22. And now they minister to all those who were saved. Hebrews chapter one, verse 14, angels are ministering saints. It says, ministering spirits send out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. That's you. That's me.

And of course, they will accompany Jesus when he returns, talks about Jesus coming back with fire and with the glory of his holy angels flanking him. But even though they've been actively involved in God's plan of salvation, they will never personally experience salvation. Fallen angels can't get saved. They've been doomed for the moment they rebelled against God. The elect angels don't need to be saved because they didn't join in Satan's rebellion. And so as sinless creatures, these holy angels will only and always be spectators of salvation. Hebrews chapter two, verse 16, for assuredly, he does not give help to angels, but he gives help to the descendants of Abraham. In other words, Jesus didn't come to help angels, he came to help us.

And yet be that as it may they rejoice. Angels rejoice. Even though they'll be saved, they rejoice when someone else gets saved. Luke chapter 15, verse 10, there's a joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. So it's not like they're over there pouting in the corner. Wow, why should I be excited for that? I don't get to, no, they're pumped. They're like, this is awesome. They're cheering it on from heaven. This is amazing. Every time someone gets saved, heaven just erupts with this roar of praise and rejoicing. And as I mentioned at the beginning of the service, when you thought I was maybe smoking something, talking about welcome and the angels here, the Bible makes it clear that angels are assigned to guard believers. You can look it up. Psalm 91, Matthew 18, 10 talks about the little ones and their angel that is before the face of God goes in and out of the presence of God.

And so if that's true, then I think we can assume that they accompany us wherever we go, including church and perhaps especially church like it's their favorite place that they get to go with us every week. We get to go to church. It's Sunday morning. Maybe they're more excited, right to get here than we are. One Corinthians 11, 10 interesting verse. Back in the first century, women wore head coverings as a sign of their submission. And so Paul instructed women to wear a head covering at church because of angels. Why would it matter what you do in church, how you dress in church? Well, apparently the angels are there observing and you need to wear that head covering again, a cultural thing there back in the church in Corinth again, I think this is just further evidence that whenever God's people gather together to worship God, there are angels hovering around us with a holy curiosity about the church. And they look on with wonder and awe as hell deserving sinners who've been redeemed by the precious blood of the lambs celebrate the work of the gospel in our lives. That's all we get together, that's all we gather to celebrate the gospel.

How odd it must be for angels to observe people yawning in church I or mumbling the words of songs or nodding off during the sermon. Again, the implications are profound. Are you as mesmerized by the gospel as the angels are? Should not those who've experienced salvation from sin, death and hell be the ones who are the most enthralled, the most enthused of all? Well, if you're feeling convicted this morning, let me encourage you by reminding you that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Old Testament prophets and empower the New Testament apostle dwells within you to illumine you and empower you and produc in you the fruit of what? Love, joy. Joy, that inexpressible joy and even revive it when it wanes.

It is this great gospel that was administrated by the prophets and apostles. It's admired by the angels that should cause us to be lost in wonder, love, and praise. Someday we're going to join with the angels in heaven, aren't we? And while they haven't personally experienced salvation, they've witnessed God save countless souls over the centuries and they will be praising and honoring and glorifying him alongside us for all eternity. And there's a little well, and we need to practice doing that this morning. So why don't, Chris, you come up with the band and we're going to close by joining with the angels. This is a little preview for heaven. I've read this before. Revelation chapter five, where that song he is worthy comes from. Is there anyone who's worthy to open the scroll? Jesus steps forth. And next thing you know the angels, you erupt in praise.

But listen to this song that was written back in the 18 hundreds. It's a precious little song, little hymn. Holy, holy is what the angels sing. There is singing up in heaven, such as we have never known, where the angels sing the praises of the lamb upon the throne. Their sweet harps are ever tuneful. And their voice is always clear. Oh, that we might be more like him while we serve the master Here. Listen to the chorus. Holy, holy is what the angels sing. And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring. But when I sing of redemption story, they will fold their wings for angels. Never felt the joys that our salvation brings. A profound thought. Why don't we stand and close by singing? Is he worthy.