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The Intertwining of Doctrine and Duty in Christian Faith

0:03 The following message was delivered on Sunday evening, June 5, 1994, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I urge you to turn with me in your Bibles to a portion of the Word of God that is frequently read at weddings, Ephesians chapter 5. This portion was read at the wedding conducted here on Friday night, at which time Claire DeHuana and Randy Brevard were joined in marriage, Ephesians chapter 5, and I shall read just verses 25 through 27. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the Church. And gave himself up for it or for her, it is a feminine pronoun agreeing in gender with the word church, which is feminine, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or...

1:29 There are any of such things, in the plural in the original, but that it or she should be holy and without blemish. Now the Christian faith has many things that are utterly amazing about it. And one of the most amazing features of the Christian faith is the way in which its most profound doctrines, are intertwined with statements of its most practical duties. The Christian faith is described by Paul in one of his letters as the truth which is according to godliness. In other words, there is a direct, vital link between the truth and practical godliness. In another setting, Paul commands the people of God to adorn, to dress themselves up in the doctrine of God in all things,

2:45 clearly implying that there is no doctrine that is not to be worn as part of the garb of a Christian's behavior. Now, because this is true, it should not surprise us to find some of the most intensely, doctrinal statements embedded in sections of the most patently practical focus. For example, one of the most marvelous statements of Christology, or the doctrine of Christ, is to be found in Philippians chapter 2, right on the heels of an exhortation to Christians, have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God. And then for the next several verses, we have a statement concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ that is one of the most profound doctrinal statements with respect to his person to be found anywhere in the scriptures. So with the text that we will look at in our communion, we are going to look at the text that we are going to look at in our meditation tonight.

4:08 Having directed all of God's people not to be drunk with wine, but to be ever filled with the Spirit, and having indicated the five conduits of activity by which a Spirit-filled life will be manifested, Paul mentions as the fifth conduit of the manifestation and outworking of a Spirit-filled life, Paul mentions as the fifth conduit of the manifestation and outworking of a Spirit-filled life, as one of subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. And therefore, he directs us to understand that people filled with the Spirit will manifest it, not by bragging about their experiences in the Holy Ghost, but by joyfully manifesting the Spirit of Christ who came not to be ministered, not by bragging about their experiences in the Holy Ghost, but by joyfully manifesting the Spirit of Christ who came not to be ministered, But to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. They will count it their joy to submit themselves to their brethren out of reverent regard to the Lord Jesus Christ.

5:20 Then having stated that one of the manifestations of a spirit-filled life is this general mutual submission, the Apostle then focuses upon some specific areas of specific submission that are warranted within certain specific relationships. And he mentions explicitly wives in verse 22 and the submission. They are to render to their husbands, chapter 6 and verse 1, children who are to obey their parents, and then in chapter 6 and verse 5, servants who are to be obedient unto their masters. Then in conjunction with giving these three specific areas of specific submission that are warranted by wives to their husbands, children, and to their parents, servants to the masters, the Apostle then gives a word to the one who is in authority. So having spoken to the wives and their submission that they owe to their husbands,

6:33 he then speaks to the husband who is in the place of authority. And then in chapter 6, he speaks to the parents, verse 4, ye fathers, and then also to the masters in verse 9. So there is a very definite, discernible, structural structure to this entire passage. And if ever we had a passage filled with practical directives, we have such a passage before us.

7:02 The general subject is the submission that the people of God owe to one another in general, and the specific submission that wives, children, and servants owe to those who are over them in the Lord. In the midst, in the midst of this intensely practical section, marking out specific duties of specific classes of Christians, we have one of those profound doctrinal statements. And when they come, as they do here, and in Philippians 2, and in many other passages, those statements could be extracted out of their context and set almost anywhere in the world. And so, and in many other passages, and in many other passages, and in many other passages, and in many other passages, and find their weight, if not diminished at all, very, very little diminished, because they are profound statements of truths concerning Christ, which, though they are given a particular application in the setting, are true even if totally extracted from that setting. And such a statement,

8:21 such a statement is the one we are given in verses 25b through 27 of Ephesians chapter 5.

The Simple Affirmation: Christ Loved the Church and Gave Himself Up for Her

8:33 Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it. That's a glorious truth. Whether or not there ever was a husband to love a wife or a wife to be subject to a husband, Christ loved the church. He loved the church and gave himself up for it in order that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Now, Paul goes on to make a practical and specific, use of that truth, even so. But the truth stands on its own two feet. And therefore, I am not twisting the scriptures nor handling them irresponsibly to simply focus upon these statements concerning Christ and his love and the purpose of that love to his own as we prepare our hearts to come to the table of the Lord.

9:50 Note with me, first of all, in verse 25b, a simple affirmation. Here is the simple affirmation. Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it. And then there follows, in verses 26 and 27, an expanded explanation in order that in order that in order that there are two major clauses of purpose telling us why he loved and gave himself for the church.

10:32 So then, in the time allotted for our meditation this evening, consider with me, first of all, the simple affirmation of verse 25b. Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it or for her. Note, first of all, under this heading of the simple affirmation, the object of what is affirmed. Everything in this simple affirmation pertains to this distinct object, the church.

11:07 That is, the people of God as marked out and given to Christ in sovereign, eternal, electing love. The people of God for whom the soul, the Savior, became surety and substitute. Whatever is said in this passage has a distinct and exclusive object. It is the church.

11:35 Christ also loved the church, gave himself up for her, in order that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her with the washing of water with the word, that he might preserve, and now he comes back to the noun again, the church, to himself, not having spot or wrinkle or any of such things, but that she, the church, should be holy and without blemish. Whatever is said in this simple affirmation, the object of what is affirmed is an exclusive object. It is the church, the people of God, marked out and loved by God, and given to Christ in eternity. The people of God, as they shall be gathered in, one by one, by the effectual call of God, this is an exclusive object, but thank God it is inclusive. It doesn't say he loved the most sanctified within the church, or the most mature within the church, the most consistently godly, though it is explicit, exclusively the church, it is inclusive of all of the church, in the full range of all who are found within his church.

13:05 But then notice the substance of what is affirmed. The object is the church. The substance of what is affirmed points first of all to the disposition of Christ towards the church, and then the action of Christ on behalf, of the church. Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for her.

13:32 Here the focus is not upon the abiding, eternal, unchanging, constant love of Christ for the church, but it speaks of his love in conjunction with the supreme manifestation of that love, which, which, which, which has time boundaries around it. And so it is not said that Christ loves His church, though that is a truth clearly taught in other portions of the Word of God, but Christ loved. There was an expression, a manifestation of His love that was temporally bound, and that is explained in terms of His action on behalf of the church. Christ also loved the church, and that particular time-bound expression of His love was found in that He gave Himself up for it. Now this verb, forgave Himself up, paraphytomy, is the word used with reference to the Father's action in conjunction with the Son. Romans 8.32,

14:54 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. And there is a real sense in which the Father delivered Him up for us. This text tells us that it is Christ who delivered up Himself on our deathbed. And it is in this sense that Paul uses it in a parallel passage in Galatians 2.20 where he makes it individual and personal. I have been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.

15:38 Notice the parallel. Who loved me, not who loves. Who loved me. Who loved me.

15:44 Who loved me. Who loved me. Who loved me. Who loved me.

15:44 Who loved me. Who loved me. Who loved me. Who loved me.

15:45 Who loved me. Who loved me. The time-bound, temporally expressed dimension of His love and His, our verb, gave Himself up for me. So in this simple affirmation, the object of what is affirmed is the church.

16:04 The substance of what is affirmed is that Christ's disposition to the church was one of intense love. And the action to which that love led was His once-for-all giving up of Himself on our behalf. And we don't have time to answer the question, to what did He give Himself up? Giving Himself up to the worst that men could do to Him.

16:39 Giving Himself up to rejection and spittle and scourge. Rejecting and mockery. Giving Himself up supremely to the outpoured fury of the wrath of His Father. And all that the scripture teaches of our Lord Jesus voluntarily bearing in His own body our sins up to the tree.

17:04 Swallowing up in His own soul all of the billows of divine wrath against the sins of His people. Suffice it. Suffice it to say that in this simple affirmation, Paul is taking us to the heart of that central truth of the gospel that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. The simple affirmation of verse 25b, Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for...

17:43 And it says, And if we are here tonight as the people of God with any felt sense of the confidence of sins forgiven and the knowledge of communion with the reconciled face of God, it's because of all of the realities embedded in this simple affirmation, Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for it. Or for her. But then we come secondly to an expanded explanation.

The Expanded Explanation: Christ's Intermediate Purpose – Sanctification

18:23 An expanded explanation. We have two main purpose clauses.

18:30 Look at your Bibles and you'll see that. Christ loved the church, gave Himself up for it, in order that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, in order that He might present the church to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. In this expanded explanation, an explanation of the purpose Christ had in view when He loved the church and gave Himself up for her, we have first the intermediate purpose and then the ultimate purpose. What was the intermediate purpose? Why did He love us and give Himself up for us? Well, we are told in the language of verse 26, in order that He might sanctify her, that is, the church, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word.

19:48 Now I might say, give you a detailed explanation of the various views of the interpretation of these words, but suffice it to say, this much is clear. The church for which Christ died, the church that he loved, was in itself defiled and unclean. Rather than being set apart unto God, it was enmeshed in defilement and sin. It was embedded with its taproots in the world, in the flesh, and under the control of the devil. It was unclean and needed cleansing. It was defiled and needed to be sanctified. And the intermediate purpose of the Lord Jesus in loving and giving himself up to the church was that he would be sanctified. And the intermediate purpose of the Lord Jesus in loving and giving himself up to the church was that he would be sanctified. The church might be set apart unto God. That's what the word sanctified means, that he might

20:52 sanctify it, that the church might be set apart unto God, having been cleansed from its natural defilement through the blessings held out in the word of the gospel and validated and illustrated in Christian baptism. In my judgment, the word of the gospel is the word of judgment that is the sense and the thrust of the apostles' words, and it has the weight of many responsible commentators. What was the intermediate purpose of Christ when that time-bound expression of his love drove him to give himself up to the death of the cross? It was in order that his church, though in itself natively defiled and polluted and unclean and under condemnation, might be set apart unto God as holy, set apart unto God for his service, having been cleansed by the marvelous provisions held out in the word and truth of the gospel and marvelousness

22:15 for the very Spirit's sake. In the same way, in the same way, the answer of this teaching was very, very simple and clear. The purpose of this teaching is partially to help us to understand the meaning of his words, and to understand the significance of his words in this time of burial, that it has been so for Christ and also for us to know his love for all that we know of Jesus. By assuming this understanding of the word, we have made clear the importance of the word as a center of the gospel of Christ. Yea, we have the words of the gospel as a center of the gospel.

22:46 died to provide the just basis for our sins to be cleansed, that we might be reconciled to God, that we might be set apart unto communion with God and the service of God. And therefore if the gospel has come to us in power, this is our present condition. We are a sanctified people. Christ loved the church, gave himself for it, in order that he might sanctify it.

23:23 And that sanctification occurs here and now in conjunction with the cleansing that comes to every believing sinner in the context of the preaching of the gospel to which he bears witness in his baptism. Therefore as you sit here tonight, if the gospel has come to you in power, you do not merely sit here rejoicing in sins forgiven. You rejoice that you've been sanctified, that is set apart unto God, that you have in the virtue of the cleansing of the blood of Christ and the renewing work of the Spirit of God, you have been fit for the service of God. You are sanctified in union with Christ Jesus, as Paul said to the Corinthians. Some of whom had been enmeshed in the vilest of sins, such were some of you. But you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God. You've experienced these blessings of the gospel

24:35 in conjunction with the revelation of God's mercy in the person and work of Christ and by the mighty operations of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if you are truly a part of that church for which Christ died, the proof is not that you have a head full of the facts of the gospel, that you have ascended to those facts, that you've given a good explanation of those facts before a group of elders or church leaders and have been welcomed into a company of God's people called the church. If you are a part of the church for which Christ died, then his name is Christ. His purpose has been realized in you. His intermediate purpose has been realized in you. You have been sanctified, having been cleansed with the washing of water with the word. And therefore, if you are not a sanctified man or woman, boy or girl, if you're a stranger to that fundamental, initial cleansing that occurs when through repentance and faith there is a divorce from the reign of God, then you have been sanctified.

25:45 And the volitional submission to the tyranny and to the lordship of sin and the fundamental commitment of yourself and of your members unto God to be set apart unto him, my friend, Christ did not die to have a church of people who claim to be cleansed and pardoned and forgiven, still wedded to their sins, wedded to self and wedded to the world. Christ did not die for any such thing. His purpose, according to this text, he loved the church, gave himself for it in order that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it with the washing of water by the word. And my Bible says he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. He will receive what he died for. And if that intermediate purpose is not realized in you, you have no biblical grounds to claim you're a Christian.

The Expanded Explanation: Christ's Ultimate Purpose – Glorious Presentation

26:47 But as blessed is that intermediate purpose. The intermediate purpose in its realization is, notice that our passage points us in verse 27 to the ultimate purpose. Look at the ultimate purpose. Christ also loved us, loved the church, and gave himself up for it.

27:08 Skip right over to the second clause of purpose. In order that he might present the church to himself. A glory. A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

27:30 The ultimate purpose is stated in terms of a general statement and then a specific amplification. What's the general statement? He loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might present the church to himself glorious. Or as Hendrickson renders it, brilliant in glory.

27:55 That he might present it to himself glorious. He loved the church. He gave himself for the church. Because in his eye by faith he saw that moment in time when as the heavenly bridegroom he himself would be as it were the father who gives away the bride.

28:17 He will present the bride to himself. He will present the bride to himself in a state that can only be described as glorious. Or as Hendrickson paraphrases it, brilliant in glory when he hung upon the cross bathed in the gore and shame of crucifixion he had in his eye that day when he would present his church to himself glorious. Brilliant.

28:50 Brilliant in purity. Resplendent with glory. That's the general statement. But now notice the specific amplification of that.

29:00 And it's given to us in a negative and a positive. In order that he might present the church to himself glorious. Not, here's the negative. Not having spot or wrinkle or any of such things.

29:19 Positive. Positively. But that she should be holy and without blemish. What will it mean for him to present his blood bought church to himself glorious?

29:35 It will mean negatively she will have no spot, no wrinkle or no such things. No such imperfections. And the linguist and the commentators differ. Do the words spot or wrinkle refer on the one hand to specks, flecks or stains upon the face and wrinkles to the garment or upon the skin?

30:04 What are the other such things? Well one thing is clear. Whether a bride appears before her bridegroom with her face spattered with mud. Or her bridal gown spattered with ink stains and ugly wrinkles.

30:24 There's very little difference. And I'm not going to waste your time giving what my opinion is. Because the matter in my judgment is not that clear. But one thing is clear.

30:36 When Christ realizes in his own experience that which he died to have. It will be glorious because in that church. For which he gave himself. There will be found no spot, no speck, no fleck, no stain, no wrinkle.

31:00 There will be no such things that are indicative of imperfection. One commentator wrote this way. Paul's picture is that of a bride. And he makes us think of one that is beautiful indeed.

31:17 But at first we see her with her bridal robe spotted here and there. With ugly stains and her lovely face marred by ugly wrinkles. What bride could appear like that on her wedding day? Why every eye would at once fasten on such blemishes of robe and face.

31:39 Feel the argumentative force in these terms so perfectly chosen. How the church must laud her. How the church must long to be all glorious. And we are his church.

Connecting Christ's Purpose to the Father's Electing Love

31:54 The ultimate purpose of Christ. In loving the church. In giving himself up for her. Was that he might present her to himself.

32:06 Having no spot. No wrinkle. No such things. Positively.

32:16 That she might be holy and without blemish. Now those two words. Holy and without blemish. With the exception of being plural in one case.

32:32 Singular in the other. Are the exact two words found in Ephesians chapter 1. Turn there for a moment as we bring our meditation to a close. Ephesians chapter 1.

32:45 Paul says. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

32:50 Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. In order that. Here was the purpose of his choice.

33:08 Here is the end he had in view. In order that we should be holy. And without blemish. Before him.

33:19 The purpose in the first motions of his heart toward his elect. Was that they whom he conceived. In his own mind and heart. In their native and fallen condition.

33:35 As unholy and defiled. Besmirched and befouled with sin. He chose them. That they should when he is done with the purposes of his elect.

33:48 Love and save and mercy. Be holy and without blemish. Now we come to Ephesians 5 and we read. That the very purpose of the father in electing love and choice.

34:03 Was the very ultimate purpose of the son in his dying life. He loved the church. And gave himself for it. To do what?

34:13 To accomplish the very purpose of the father. In electing love. But now it is not. Holy and without blemish.

34:24 Before him. The father. But it is holy. And without blemish.

34:30 Presented as the bride. To the loving bridegroom. The Lord Jesus. Holy.

34:40 And. Without blemish. That's the ultimate purpose. For which Christ loved the church.

A Word of Comfort and Consolation to Believers

34:48 And gave himself for it. And in the light of that truth. I want to bring. First a word of comfort and consolation.

34:59 To the people of God as we come to the table. Every true Christian. Whatever else he is weary of. Is weary of his sins.

35:11 Whatever tasks you may be called upon to bear. That make you physically weary. Whatever trials you are called upon to pass through. That make you emotionally weary.

35:22 Whatever relationships you must live with. That make you weary. To the very core of your appearing. There is nothing that wearies.

35:32 The true child of God. Like the horrible reality of his own remaining sin. Having known the intermediate purpose of Christ. Realized in his life.

35:44 He has been sanctified. Fundamentally and radically. Set apart from the world. And the dominion of the world.

35:52 And the dominion of sin. Untook God into his service. Having been cleansed. In the blessings held forth in the gospel.

36:01 Those things declared in the waters of baptism. He has died to sin. In union with Christ. And risen to newness of life.

36:10 He does not minimize those realities. But they have given to him. In a sense. The far greater problem he ever had.

36:18 When he was in the world. With a dull and a seared conscience. And blind spiritual eyes. He now has a heart sensitive.

36:27 To the voice of God. And to the will of God. And to communion with God. And its sin that mars and jars his inner being.

36:36 Child of God. Listen. Listen. Listen.

36:40 As you come. And you take of these elements. The bread broken. The cup.

36:47 The fruit of the vine poured forth. As surely as Christ died. A day is coming. When there will no longer be any weariness.

36:57 You shall be holy. And without blemish. The eye of Christ. That is the eye of the omniscience of God himself.

37:09 Will not be able to find a spot without or within. A wrinkle without or within. No such things without or within. His death will accomplish its goal in you.

37:24 And coming to the table tonight. You need to take fresh hope and courage. Lord Jesus. You loved your church.

37:35 You gave yourself for your church. Not only that you might sanctify it. Having cleansed it with the washing of water by the word. In this intermediate purpose.

37:47 But just as surely as that purpose has been realized. Lord you loved the church and gave yourself for it. In order that you might present it to yourself. Glorious.

38:00 Lord I'm not yet glorious. But I shall be. And that will mean nothing less. Without spot.

38:08 Without wrinkle. It will mean nothing less than holy. And without blemish. And your faith child of God.

38:19 In the certainty of the fruition of the death of Christ. Needs to be strengthened. As you come to the table. And there is nothing like the certain.

38:29 Ultimate. Total. Complete. Glorification of the saint.

38:34 Rooted in the virtue of the death of Christ. That will give us greater strength. In the ongoing battle with our remaining sin. Child of God.

38:45 Tears and shame and grief and remorse for sin. Will not be your companion forever. Holy. And without blemish.

A Word of Conviction to Formalists and Hypocrites

38:59 And he's going to make you just take comfort. Dear child of God. But then this text is a word of conviction to the formalist and the hypocrite. Some of you sit here saying.

39:15 Oh yes. I'm part of his church. Saved by his blood. Redeemed by his grace.

39:21 Are you? As your so called faith in the work of Christ. Resulted in you being part of a sanctified church. A company of people radically and fundamentally cut off.

39:36 From their willful deliberate loving attachment to the world. It's standards. It's perspectives. It's goals.

39:45 It's people. It's ways. Have you been set apart from the world. Onto the service of God.

39:52 So that you joyfully acknowledge you're not your own. In your person. In your appetites. In your capacities.

39:59 Abilities. Your purse. Your bank account. Your car.

40:03 Your home. Nothing is yours. You are his. He's not your posture if it isn't.

40:07 You're a self deceived hypocrite and a formalist if you claim to be part of Christ's true church. Because he secures the intermediate goal of his death. Before he ever brings anyone to the ultimate goal of his death. And some of you need to stop playing games with such sacred things.

40:30 With such sacred things as the blood of Christ. He did not die for sinners. To leave them wedded to their sins. Married to the world.

40:43 No. He loved the church. Gave himself up for it. That he might sanctify it.

40:53 Having cleansed it. Concurrent realities. He cleanses. That's the participial emphasis.

41:02 He cleanses. He cleanses in conjunction with that washing that comes in the context of the proclamation of the word and truth of the gospel. Thereby actually not only declaring us righteous in the court of heaven. But setting us apart unto himself.

An Invitation to Unbelievers: Get to Christ

41:23 Some of you need to take to heart the word preached by Pastor Hendricks a few weeks ago. And examine yourself whether you are indeed in the faith. And for you who are not Christians. What a marvelous word.

41:39 Christ loved the church. Gave himself up for it. That he might sanctify it. That he might present it.

41:50 You say, oh, if I only could know that I was a part of that church. My friend, there's only one way anyone knows it. That's by becoming attached to the living head of the church, the Lord Jesus. And the only way you get attached to him is to get detached from yourself.

42:07 Detached from your sin in the world and self. In true repentance. And united to him by faith. So that everything that is here said as certain of the church.

42:21 Because Christ died to procure such blessings. They are all in Christ. And if you get into Christ, they're yours. My friend, it's not complicated.

42:33 Get to Christ. And these things are yours in him. Miss him. And there's nothing outside of him but despair and darkness and death.

42:42 And damnation. May God grant that as you see the people of God take the bread and eat. And take the cup and drink. The spirit of God will open your eyes to see.

42:54 That's what faith is likened unto in the scriptures. It's an eating of Christ. It's a drinking of Christ. It's a taking of Christ.

43:02 And the virtue of his death for sinners to myself. And my friend, though we're a miserable bunch of sinners. Who if I may say it reverently have drained much from the ocean of virtue that is in the death of Christ. I want to tell you something.

43:20 We haven't drained it dry. It's still an ocean full. And you may know the same blessings in the same savior. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

43:32 Our Father, we thank you again for your holy word. We marvel at how the most practical duties do indeed shoot us as it were into the loftiest doctrines and glorious truths. We pray that the Holy Spirit will shine upon the face of Jesus. And upon the glory of the work that he has accomplished and will yet accomplish for his church.

44:08 Comfort and encourage every true Christian in this place tonight. Oh Lord. Convict and strip away the facade from the formalist and the hypocrite. And effectually and powerfully draw every needy, bleeding, helpless, hopeless sinner unto Christ.

44:28 Bless us now as we further meditate upon these glorious realities. And strengthen our faith as we take the emblems of bread and the fruit of the vine. That Christ himself will be more precious to our hearts. We ask in his worthy name.

44:44 Amen.