Please take your Bibles this morning and turn to the last few verses of 2 Corinthians chapter 13. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. It's been quite a journey. But after some 11 months, we've gone from chapter 1, verse 1 to today, the final few verses of 2 Corinthians. Would you stand with me, please, as we read how Paul concludes this letter? Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration. Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Let's pray. Our Father, how privileged we are today to be together as a family of faith in this place, joined together around the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary's cross. joined together by the hope of His resurrection and of His soon return. And we come eager to hear from Your Word something today that will feed our souls, that will help us as we seek to live and walk in holiness and in obedience to our Lord and Savior, in step with the Holy Spirit, and to the glory of God the Father. And so, our Father, we pray that you would visit us mightily, that we would experience and know your presence in this place this morning in power. In a power that does not divide and push us apart, but a power that pulls us together. And as we are pulled together, we pray that the gospel is manifested gloriously. And even those within our midst this morning who don't know Jesus will be convicted by the Holy Spirit, will be drawn to a place of repentance and confession and faith in Christ. Lord, thank you for the bonds that unite us and help us as we work our way through this text this morning to be strengthened in those bonds. And we pray it in Jesus name. Amen. Well, the title of this morning's message. is what's with a holy kiss and I don't always draw attention to my titles but I did this morning because I gave it to you because I wanted you to be thinking about this thing because it's in more than one passage in the New Testament where Paul urges believers to greet one another with a holy kiss. Well, I'm going to tell you right off this morning, right off the bat, what's with a holy kiss. What's with a holy kiss is the same thing that is at the heart of this closing cluster of verses here at the end of 2 Corinthians. When you look at these verses as we just read them, you'll see that these verses consist of a personal address and six commands, a promise and a benediction, a pronouncement of peace. And each one of these elements puts attention on a central theme, a central item of importance that Paul wants to put upon the hearts of the Corinthians as he closes out this letter. And this theme is found in one word, unity. These elements put attention on the matter of Christian unity. The importance of unity in the church is one of the main things that has to do with a holy kiss. The importance of unity in the church cannot be overstated. Psalm 133 says, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It's like precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountain of Zion, for there the Lord has commanded the blessing life forevermore. Dwelling in unity is a pleasant thing for those who are together in the body of a local church, and it's glorifying to God. According to this psalm, it's soothing and it's joy-inducing. It's pleasant. It's like dew. It's like being anointed on your head with oil. So this important aspect of life together as the body of Christ, we need to make the most of our connection in Christ. We need to protect it and we need to cultivate it. how to do it and why to do it becomes abundantly clear as we make our way through this text this morning. So first of all I want you to see this morning as you look just almost phrase by phrase through these final words of Paul's letter. I want you to see first the foundation of unity and I'm going to apologize off the bat I left my memory stick with all the PowerPoints and everything on the kitchen table this morning, and of all times I was standing down in my bedroom getting ready thinking to myself how I don't forget this kind of thing anymore. This thought came to my mind, you're not going to forget your slides this morning because it's such a routine for you, and then I come and sit down and Karen looks over at me and kitchen table well now it's too late and I got nine points so I'm going to try to make sure you get the main points this morning all right so the first one is this the foundation of unity we need to recognize that foundation that is part of what draws us together Paul begins the conclusion of the letter with these words finally brothers He has been on this extended argument in this epistle to defend his apostleship and to address the Corinthians as to their sins. And one of the problems in Corinth was division. I mean he addressed that back in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. And the items that Paul has been addressing throughout this book and throughout these letters and throughout this final chapter are the kinds of things that could easily result in more division. Remember he's been addressing their sin. He's been addressing the situation there with their resistance towards him. You could easily see the Corinthians starting to point their fingers at each other and push each other further apart. So Paul at the very beginning of these final words wants to remind the Corinthians of the foundation of their unity with him and their unity with each other. And so he addresses them as brothers. They are his brothers and they are brothers to one another. Brotherhood is the foundation for Christian unity. Think about it. Those who are in the faith share much, much more than there is in any other human connection. Sitting in this room, we who are in the faith of Jesus Christ have more depth and width and breadth and height in common with one another than any other connection of human existence. because of the things that we share as believers. We are one because we share in the blood of Jesus Christ. He shed his blood for the flock. He shed his blood for his bride, the church. We share in common experience also a conversion experience of coming from death to life. We who are in the faith know what it used to be for us when we were without hope and without God in the world. We know how hard-hearted we used to be to the truth. We know how we used to respond when someone would hand us a tract or someone would speak to us about Jesus and we would say to them, get away from me, I don't want to hear, why are you preaching to me? Why are you bothering me? But there came that day when all that they had tried to give to us, all they had tried to instruct us, all they had lovingly just tried to reach out and tell us that we needed to know in order to be right with God, it all suddenly clicked and the veil came off and our hearts exploded with love for God and the truth and we could not keep ourselves from the Bible anymore. We wanted it and we share in our experience, the reality of the change that God has brought upon us through our conversion because of Christ's shed blood, a common experience. We are also brothers and sisters by a common hope that when Jesus Christ parts the sky, we're going to meet him together in the air and forever we're going to be with him. Not only that, but we also share a common mission. This commission that Jesus has given to the church, together we are to go to all nations and make disciples. We share also in a common fight. We're in an everyday battle with the devil and with the flesh and with the world. And each of us, as we go out, we do battle with these forces, these spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. We need to be able to come back together with each other and rejuvenate through the power God gives as we are one. So we share in all these things. And we share in a common body. A body in which each of us has an important role to play in ministering to the whole. Men who are in a fraternity call each other brothers. Men who have spent time in foxholes together, in war, form a brotherhood. Ladies and gentlemen who compete on athletic teams grow between themselves in such bonds that they look upon each other as sisters and brothers. When tragedy strikes a community and people from all backgrounds pull together to help one another in a time of crisis, there is a brotherly community. But none of these can touch the brotherhood of the disciples of Jesus Christ and who behold in Him what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called the children of God. And that's what we are if we're in the faith. We share a common connection in the present and we share a common eternal bond from which we will never be separated. Those who follow Jesus Christ are more than blood kin. We are eternal kin. Our bonds have been put together by God Himself. It's not the work of a man, but the work of God. This is the foundation of unity in the body of Christ. We need to recognize it. We need to protect it. We need to cultivate it. And everything Paul says in this text is designed to promote just this. Protect and promote the unity in the body that exists because we are one with another. We are brothers. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. That's the foundation of unity. Now the second thing we see Paul bringing up here in this text is the celebration of unity. We have a foundation. It's our brotherhood. It's our relationship together by virtue of Christ's shed blood for us. But we also, and out of that growing, have a reason for celebration as a unity. And that is to rejoice. We should rejoice as brothers and sisters. Paul writes, finally, brothers, rejoice. Now, to rejoice is when you take delight in something. And it's so deep and so real and so powerful that it is so much more than simply the happy mood that someone may walk around in for five minutes and then immediately lose it because something terrible happened. something unexpected happened. That is not joy. That is a mood of happiness. Joy and rejoicing is much, much deeper than this. It is a delight that overshadows even experiences of deep pain and hardship. We can delight, we can rejoice even when we're hurting and even when we have sorrow. Because at its root, we rejoice in the Lord. But our rejoicing in Him comes to include also what He has done in other people and making us one. And so we come together to rejoice. In the context of unity, rejoicing is the expression of what the Lord has done in bringing together a family of faith. Rejoicing celebrates the unity of men and women in Christ. It celebrates the joy of forgiveness. It celebrates the grace poured out on us. It celebrates the serving that goes on between members. It celebrates the progress of growing in holiness. It celebrates the Savior who bought us and made us His own. It celebrates the glory of the God who owns us and calls us to Himself. The family of believers has so much in which to rejoice whenever God's people get together. There should be great expressions of rejoicing that we can't even hold back. I can't think of a more fitting activity when God's people get together than singing. I mean everybody singing and making melody to the Lord because we are so full of joy and especially as we all come together as brothers and sisters. I think the song that we sang last week is such a sweet expression. of the joy that we should experience to a great extent when we come together as the people of God. It says, Oh, how good it is when the family of God dwells together in spirit and faith and unity where the bonds of peace, of acceptance and love are the fruit of His presence here among us. So with one voice we'll sing to the Lord and with one heart we'll live out His word till the whole earth sees the Redeemer has come for He dwells in the presence of His people. So when the music started up last week for the second time for us to sing, I just, yes! It is so enriching and it is so delightful for God's people to be together. That is what we are. So the celebration of unity is to rejoice and we should be vigorous then in this joy. March Madness is here. in full swing. And there's going to be many shining moments and buzzer beaters and slam dunks and so forth. Many celebrations until at last one team is celebrating and all the others are going home. If ever there were to be a people, however, who celebrate, it ought to be us. rejoicing in what God has done and in who He is and in the joy of being one family in Him. And I think today, when you've got the palm branches out, a reminder to us of, we call it Palm Sunday, a reminder of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem as He came on a colt. And all of these people lined the streets, waving their palm branches, they were filled with joy, they were saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. They were welcoming the Messiah, the One who had come to free them and rescue them. They were rescuing Him into Jerusalem. Victory of victories. This is better than an NCAA basketball championship. This is better than March Madness. Because God has come to redeem His people. That's rejoicing. Now it's quickly turned to the other extreme. But it is a reflection of what ought to be with us. When you see these, look at these palms and you've got these palms, you take them and you think about it today. Those, they represent rejoicing and victory in the work of Christ. And they reiterate the fact to us that the celebration of unity is rejoicing. And we ought to do plenty of that. So we need to celebrate the unity with rejoicing, but Paul also points us to the display of unity. How is unity displayed in a people who claim to be followers and obeyers and disciples of Jesus? It's in this word, restoration. Paul tells the Corinthians, aim at restoration. Other translations say be complete or be perfect. The idea of the Greek word here is significant. John MacArthur says that it has the sense here not of adding something that is lacking not completeness that is there because something is missing, but of putting things in order, of adjusting things that are out of place. It is used, for example, to speak of fishermen who are mending their nets. We might say this is the practice of spiritual chiropractic. Because it's putting things in order. It's bringing things that are out of adjustment into adjustment. That's the idea of aim at restoration. Aim for things being in their proper place. That is the display of unity. Paul had just said in verse 9 above, your restoration is what we pray for. And when things get out of place, unity displays itself by bringing them back together. When people live together in community, various predators threaten our oneness. Personal sin that we commit in our own life, we threaten others by the sins that we commit in our own life. We threaten the unity by our pride and our self-centeredness. We threaten unity by offenses that we commit against others and harm we do to them directly. Some of our preferences also get on each other's nerves and we test and try one another. We need to guard against drifting apart. We need to guard against pushing apart from each other. And what does that but restoration? When things began to be pushed apart, it pulls them back together. I'm certain that Paul is thinking of the fact that many of the Corinthians who had been against him and against one another and involved in other sins have like wandered away and they want to be at an arm's length from the body because they don't feel comfortable there because of the guilt that they have because of their sins. Right? But Paul says, look, we need to aim at restoration. In other words, on the part of the one who is putting their arms out and saying, I'm not ready, they need to put them down and come on in and be restored. And those who are still there wanting them to come back need to keep their arms out and keep their love out and keep their concern out and pull them in together because we are one. Yes, there will be times when some wonder. And yes, there will be times when some hurt us. But unity and the love that produces this kind of unity aims at restoration, bringing us back together. We need to aim not at disintegration, but restoration, forgiving one another, bearing with one another, rescuing one another, being reconciled to one another. That is what restoration is all about. Paul knew they would need it in Corinth and so he says it here when he's winding down. Aim for restoration. And next we come to the application of unity. What is the application of unity? Applying it. How do we apply unity? I'm going to give you the key word here. It's admonition. Admonition. The ESV translation that I'm talking about here says, be comforted. But there's a missing element in that translation. The intent of the Greek word there seems to be more along the lines of openness to be comforted, openness to be exhorted, openness to be admonished. This is a willing listening heart who is ready and willing to accept it when a brother issues a corrective in their direction. That's the application of unity. I apply unity when I'm willing to be addressed by a brother in such a way that issues a corrective to me. And I'm willing to take it. Not pump up my chest and say, how dare you look at the plank in your eye and quit looking at the speck in mine. Or that I just say, what are you talking about? Don't talk to me. Be willing to be admonished. That's the application of unity. See, Paul has been exhorting and admonishing the Corinthians himself. And he wants them to be willing to hear what he said. Be humble enough to accept it and respond accordingly. We all have the tendency to resist when we're corrected and to defend ourselves. That's a tendency that arises from the flesh and sets itself against unity. We need to put that to death and be willing to be admonished. Did you realize that an inherent part of preaching involves admonition? That it is inherent in my responsibility of standing up before you and explaining to you the Bible to also issue to you correctives and rebukes? When Paul instructed Timothy to preach the word, listen to the things that he said after that command that helped flesh out what he was wanting Timothy to do. Timothy, preach the word. Reprove. Rebuke. and exhort with great patience and teaching. So when the Bible defines what is the nature of preaching, the Bible says at least two words that say preaching involves reproving and rebuking people, correcting them and admonishing them. So if you have been here very long and you do not feel that you have been admonished, then I am not doing my job. But how do you respond when it occurs? I hope you don't puff out your chest in resistance or become angry. I mean that's a spirit that promotes disunity. I hope rather that you accept the admonition and that you accept them not as the rantings of some out of control narcissist who wants to tell everybody what to do because he's better than everybody. Because I want you to know when I stand up here and preach the Bible that's what I'm doing. And I'm preaching to myself as well as you. I'm admonishing me as well as you. It's not really my joy to be pointing directions, but that's what God's Word says preaching is. And so to be faithful to God, that's what I'll do. And to be faithful to you as a brother, sometimes I will need to admonish you and you will need to admonish me. And it goes both ways, that we need to be open to hearing the correctives that God will issue to us through one another. Spirit that looks at that and welcomes that and accepts that is a spirit that applies unity, the application of unity, receiving admonition. Well, Paul also points us to the establishment of unity. The establishment of unity here, I see as reflected in that phrase, agree with one another. That is what brings people together at a fundamental level is agreement. So the establishment of unity is agreement. Agree with one another, Paul says. He wants the believers to have the same mind, the same thoughts at the foundational level that will create a unity that can't be destroyed. A unity that will hold up and it will persevere through storms and through difficulties and reflect. the kind of spirit and bonds that we've been talking about here. But to think the same way and thus to be established in unity. Have you ever wondered why churches, including Grace Community Church, why we have a confession of faith as a church? These are beliefs we hold fundamental and foundationally to be true. Why do we have that? Well, for one thing, we want to define and defend the truth as taught by the Bible. We take it seriously. The Bible says the church is the pillar and support of the truth. We have got to guard it and protect it and hold it high. But there's another reason why we also confess it. Why we confess it. Because it, our faith, is the establishment of our unity. It is where we are saying we are of one mind. We are convinced of the same fundamental truths. And that is what establishes unity in this place. So we hold up a confession of faith. If you don't agree with that confession of faith, then this is probably not the place for you. unless you're converted and come to agree with it and support it because this is what we stand for and we will stand for it. Thus we seek solidly to establish the foundation of fellowship in the church. If you do not agree then you can't really have fellowship. So we reflect particular doctrinal convictions. We refer to ourselves as a reformed church in order to express a core of beliefs that we agree on. This is intended to establish and protect the unity of the body as well as the truth. So this is something we need to strive together for and guard and protect. That's why we don't ever give up learning more and being more solidly established in the Word so we will think alike. Because see until The reason why we got all these problems and all the differences in relationships and movements is because we aren't all equally anchored in the Word. The more we get on the same page of the Word, the more we're together. Paul knew that. be of agreement, he says to the Corinthians. Well, you know, we need to strive for that not only inside this body, but also with those outside this body with whom we may disagree on some finer points. You know, it really is, it's something for me to marvel at when I see some people that seem to have a hostile, hateful attitude, almost like I want to be in your face with what I believe in such a way that I am ready, and in fact, I'm almost trying to drive you crazy. I'm almost determined to offend you with what I believe. There are people that call themselves Christians, and I think they are. They got some roughness around the edges, but they come at you in this way, and we don't have to be that way. But we do have to be of like mind to be in agreement. We shouldn't be hard to get along with outside of this place. Now there's some people that we just can't fellowship with. And fellowship in the sense of heart to heart Christian fellowship. Those people that deny the gospel, refuse the gospel, reject the gospel. We're not of the same mind. And we can't. And we shouldn't bend the truth in order to become of the same mind. But we don't have to be hateful and we don't have to be obstinate about it either. Let's keep those things in mind. That leads us to the reflection of unity. What does it look like? How does it shine forth from us? One word. Peace. Paul says. Live in peace. If we agree. If we have one mind regarding the gospel, then we should be determined to cultivate relational peace, coexisting in our relationships with one another on a peaceful amicable, affectionate level. The Corinthians had failed pretty badly at that. I mean, they were always, it seems, at each other's throats. They were dividing lines in which they were categorizing one another, and they had drawn sides and they were ready to battle, quick to clash and separate. The things that caused troubles in the midst of relationships were running rampant there. The fact is, We don't always see everything the same way. Christians don't always see everything the same way. Relationally, things that just kind of make relationships more challenging are there because we don't always see things the same way. We will not always have the same opinion of how to fix a situation. Ideas about strategy will differ. Like, how do you get from point A to point B? Well, in Milwaukee, there's about 50 million ways to get from point A to point B. Up, down, over, up, down, or just go straight. Or go to the lake and then come back. One goes this way because it's less stressful. And another takes another route because it's quicker. And another takes a third way because of the view. Which is right! Do we need to fight over this? Do we need to make an issue out of it? Do we need to think we're better because we like one of those better than the other two? Those are the kind of things that run through our hearts, that are the kind of things that when they emerge, they just put the sandpaper, they put the roughness on relational tranquility. Paul says, live at peace. Live at peace by promoting yourself. Live at peace through understanding and acceptance and bearing with each other. Well, with the pursuit of unity comes the next point that Paul brings us to, which is the experience of unity. The experience of unity is the presence of God. That's what people experience when they're unified. That's what Paul says in this passage. The God of love and peace will be with you. The Lord is repelled by an absence of peace. The Lord is repelled when people are arrogant and fight. The Lord is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And I'll tell you, where there is peace, there is humility. And there is therefore the grace of God, both undergirding that humility, fueling it and feeding it, as well as rewarding it with the experience of His own presence. When God's children, George Guthrie writes this about this, when God's children live at peace with one another. They manifest the Father's character and are given the blessing of the Father's presence. People go to church and go to meetings at church buildings for all kinds of reasons. Melissa was telling me, you know, just all kinds of reasons. She's a school teacher. She's here and there. She's hearing kids talk about going to church. I think lots of kids are going to church next Sunday for some Easter egg hunt or something. Lots of reasons why people come to church. I don't know why you're here this morning. Hopefully, you came for more than just checking off a box to say, God, I did it one more week. Hopefully, you're here because you want something and you want to give something. What do we want? What should the Church of Jesus Christ want, desire, and pursue in being together? There may be more than one answer that you can give, but if in that cluster of answers you don't say the presence of God, then I think you're off base. Because God is all about being in the midst of His people and having His people earnestly yearn for and long for His presence. To know Him and to experience Him in His glory, in His beauty, and in His greatness and in His personableness. That He is a person who relates. And that's one reason why Paul's statement here about the peace and love of God or that the God of love and peace will be with you. That's the assurance that Paul has to give in the midst of these commands that he's given to the Corinthians. Recognize the foundation of unity, celebrate the unity by rejoicing, display unity, apply it, establish it, and reflect it, and the God of love and peace will be with you. That's what living is all about, being in the midst of God. Isn't that our hope? Heaven, what is heaven if God's not there? The whole thing, what the definition of heaven is the presence of God. He is there in fullness and abundance and richness. Israel as a company of God's people camped in such a way that the tribes pitched their tents around the tabernacle. It's the presence of God manifested in their midst. Jesus came to be among us as Immanuel, God with us. And He has gone to prepare a place for us so that one day He will come back and where He is there we will be with Him. Also, a peaceful church, a peaceful body, a unified body driven by peace experiences the peace of God and the presence of God in power. This is a glorious promise. Seek peace and you will experience God Himself in His love and peace. If you are a body that fights and quarrels, you can depend on God not showing up in the same magnitude and glory. Corinthians understand this, Paul is saying. Grace Community Church, let us understand this too. Pursue peace. Pursue God and His presence and His power. And at last, finally, we come to this matter of a holy kiss. It is the expression of unity. How do we express unity? How do we demonstrate it? How do we reflect it to one another? with a holy kiss. Paul tells the Corinthians to greet one another with a holy kiss. That was entirely appropriate in the culture of the day. There was a greeting, a kiss greeting. Just a normal way to greet. That's the way they do it in France. At least they did when I last visited there and everybody was wanting to, you know, touch cheeks and... I'm not so sure about this. And so you read, Paul, you know, this is not, we read it in Romans earlier this morning, right? This is not the only place in the Bible where Paul says greet one another with a holy kiss. This is more important, I think, than what we want to, oh, it's cultural, let's just go on. Well, it's cultural in part, yes. But there is an underlying point to be made by Paul here that we need not to miss. The kiss in the day was a physical expression of the ties that bound hearts together in mutual sharing, the love and affection and the expression. So to kiss someone in this way was to say, you're important to me. I acknowledge you. I love you. You mean a lot to me. Now it was not by nature sexual in any way. It was pure and sincere. Paul says a holy kiss. But Paul's emphasis on holy means more than just a kiss of a certain kind. It really means a greeting of a certain kind. Whereas stress is on the purity. upon the authenticity, upon a genuineness and a bona fide expression of joy in one another. In such a way that a holy kiss says, we're family. A holy kiss says we share deeply and richly. We value one another. We are happy to see each other because we are part of the same family and we don't forget it. And when we see each other it is a reminder of what we share and we want to communicate it one to another. We love you. We affirm you. We are grateful to God for you and we love being a part with you. So Paul is not so concerned about the mode of expression as he is the underlying reality of a holy expression of greeting. Notice in this context he also says all the saints greet you. So they are not there to give you a holy kiss but in this letter these guys that are surrounding me while we are writing this letter to you want you to know they love you. They want to say hi to you because we share something in common. We are on the same team, in the same family, have the same destination, value the same Lord. It is He is our life. And so it is a joy for us to fellowship. So a greeting is an expression in this case of a fellowship that is rich and vibrant and vigorous. And Paul is saying, do this with one another, greet one another in such a way. You see, if you are trying to cultivate unity, all the things that threaten unity also kind of threaten expressions of that unity that come in the form of a hug. of putting your arm on someone's back and squeezing them. You know, if you got something between y'all guys, that's not going to be a very affectionate expression. If it is at all. One of the things that we need to do in our relationships is to be vigorous in our expressions and then if there's something that impedes that, then we know that's something with which we need to deal and work at restoration and get things back into order. Because we value one another in truth and we want to demolish everything that gets in its way and cultivate it as well. So Paul is calling for such a greeting that celebrates what the body shares and one that's actively dealing with threats to unity. It is to be holy and not pretend, not a hollow, it's good to see you, let's get out of here. How should believers washed in the blood of the Lamb, who are going to spend eternity together, how should they react when they encounter each other, if they really share that hope? It's the same thing that brings fuel to the fire when we're in this room on a Sunday morning, and the band starts to play, and the voices start to sing, and the Word starts to be read, and we are drawn together. because we're part of one another. I was sitting across from Don Hayes this week. Encouraging him and the Lord and his promises, even though there he sits in the hospice on the on the brink of going to meet the Lord. You know. And. And concerned about the pain that he might feel and the problems that he's dealing with in on that journey. And as I was encouraging him and the Lord, he was thanking me and expressing gratitude. And I said, Don, we are brothers. What you and I have in common with each other is deeper than blood and lasts forever. Forever we, you and I, we will be with the Lord together. It is my pleasure to be with you in moments like these. How do you greet your fellow brothers and sisters? It ought to be with enthusiasm, with affection, with joy to let them know they are important to you. And that ought to be the genuine reflection of what we share in our hearts together because we are family in the truest, truest sense of the word. I'm not saying we ought to institute the kiss in our ranks. But I do exhort you to ponder over what we share as believers and celebrate and express it to one another. It promotes and expresses the unity that we have in Christ. Finally, Paul puts before us this, and this is the great place to end for him. He puts before us the personification of unity. The person who is the preeminent expression and in fact the preeminent essence. of unity. The personification of unity is God himself in his tri-unity. You see how Paul concludes this? The final statement of his letter is perhaps the most powerful greeting found in all the New Testament. Here one of the worst churches gets one of the most profound closing greetings. They needed it. This is what they needed. They needed to see God They need to be focused on Him and the reflection of unity that He is in three persons. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. That is what's going to keep this body together, Paul knows. The unity that you are to seek is beheld first and foremost in the person and being of God. These three persons who are God demonstrate unity most beautifully. The son exhibits the grace of God by humbling himself to dwell on earth. He created which has become cursed by sin. He did so in obedience to the father. I just want to give you a couple of things that Jesus said to reiterate this. You want to know unity of heart and soul. Consider what Jesus as the son said about the father. I and the father are one. Whoever believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me. And whoever sees Me, sees Him who sent Me. I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me has Himself given Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak. I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Why did Jesus go to the cross? Why did He come? Why did He plod through a life of hardship and angst and agony? Because He loves the Father. And did the father love the son? Well, what does the father say when the son is baptized? The heavens open up and the spirit in the form of a dove comes and lights upon him. And the father says this. is my Beloved Son. And then again at the transfiguration when the glory of Jesus shines through, this is my Beloved Son. And what does the Spirit do? He is sent and He comes to bring to the world the truths and the realities of Jesus. These three work in complete harmony. They are in unity. The Father from eternity past has chosen a people to be His own. And the Son comes to die and pay the price so that those people can belong. And the Spirit comes to work in the hearts of those, to draw them, to bring them in to the oneness of God who is three persons. There is no greater expression of unity than the persons who exhibit grace and love and fellowship as one. And so we behold truest unity in God, the God of peace, love and fellowship who came to save human beings and draw us into that fellowship. By the cross of Christ, the price of sin has been paid by the choice of God. We've been called to be conformed to the image of the Son for the glory of the Father. 1 John 1 says that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. The blood of Jesus covers us from all sins. And we have this hope that where He is, one day we will be too. Forever. What a glorious God. What a glorious God He is. And this glorious God calls men and women into fellowship with Him right now. He calls you to repent of your sin and trust in Christ and become part of His family. To a part of the unity. to be justified, declared righteous, and to be reconciled with Him and to become one. That's how glorious and amazing He is. And this God calls His people to express His oneness by being a body of people who dwell together in unity. If there ever was something to drive us to our knees in praise, together as one. It's this sense. We, we have been bought with a price. We, we're going to share in a supper, the marriage supper of the lamb. And those who are not part of the family are going to be left on the outside where there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. We don't say that because we delight in what's going on outside, but we say it now because if you're on the outside right now, we don't want you to be there. We want you to be on the inside, sitting around the table rejoicing in the presence of God. And the only way to be assured of that then is to be sure right now that you have no hope of right standing with God apart from Jesus Christ. apart from His death and resurrection, apart from a price He paid and an issue that He gives you right now to turn and follow Him and become His disciple. That means forsaking all, you follow Him. You trust in Him. You rest in Him. If you're one of those that needs to do that this morning, I pray that you will. I pray that you'll do it right now, just in your heart. Turn to Him. Cry out to Him and trust in Him. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you so much for the unity that does exist in this place. And we pray for an expansion and an exponential increase of that unity in our love and affection for one another and the display of the glory of God and the expression, the powerful expression to the world of your presence with us so that that world will be convicted, but that world also will be brought to a place of repentance and faith as we seek to obey the commission that you have given us to go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, make disciples of all nations. Help us, God, for your sake. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.