Let's turn our attention to the preaching of the Word of God. I'll do my best to keep my mind active. You do your best to keep your minds active, and we'll see what happens during this time. All right, let's ask the Lord to give us strength. Our Father, thank you for the privilege that we have of being your servants. Thank you for the men that you are raising up to serve as pastors to the next generation. We pray that we might see many men who are gifted, deeply gifted, but also full of grace, who show forth the love of the Lord Jesus in their lives. And now as we come to study your holy word, we ask you to give us insight Our minds are dull just because we've eaten a delicious meal and we're already tired from the day. We ask you to give us grace and give us strength and help us. In Jesus' name, amen. I've been assigned the topic, Christ's Invincible Church. It's a great theme and I'm very happy to address it. And as I've been thinking about this theme for the past month or so, it seemed that the first thing that I needed to do is try to define terms. If we don't understand the words we're using, especially as they relate to each other, we may encounter a problem. For example, there are several Bible texts that come immediately to mind, each of which might have served well in handling a subject like this. For example, the first time that we encounter the word church, as we read through the New Testament, is in Matthew 16, when Jesus and Peter are speaking. I'm sure you remember the words. Let me read them to you, just to remind you. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do you say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly charged his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Now, if we were to take this and set it in its context, it would be really amazing. Caesarea Philippi, located in the north of Israel, was the location of a great deal of religious activity. It had been an important Canaanite center of Baal worship, and after the Roman conquest, it was named after the great Roman god, the emperor Augustus Caesar. There was a great cave located there, out of which a rapidly flowing river emerged, and it was thought by the pagans that this was the site where Pan lived, the Greek god Pan, and there was a site of worship for him there. So this conversation in that location was intended to assert the Lordship of Christ against all others who demanded worship. Simon Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, was a powerful declaration of truth. And it is the rock upon which the church is built. Jesus takes his words and makes the famous statement, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus says that the confession about the lordship of Christ will serve as the foundation of his church. But that raises the question, what is his church? What does he mean when he says that? Another text that we might have chosen is 1 Timothy 3, 14 and 15. Once again, the words are familiar. Remember there, Paul says that he's writing to Timothy so that Timothy might know how he ought to believe in the church, which is the pillar and the buttress of the truth. He tells Timothy that this is why he has written the epistle, so that he will know how to live and to teach believers to live together as a church. Now put these two texts together. I will build my church. The church is the pillar and the buttress of the truth. The first is a profound promise about Christ's intentions for the church. Built on the confession of himself, the true Lord who has descended from heaven, not even the gates of hell will prevail against his body. and the congregation in Ephesus, which is where Timothy was serving when Paul wrote to him, is truly described in powerful words, the pillar and the buttress of the truth. That is, the church is the place where the truth finds a home in this world, the place where truth is proclaimed. Now, when you read these together, you might get the impression that the church in Ephesus And perhaps by extension, every other Christian congregation is an exact fulfillment of Jesus' words and Paul's description. But there is a problem. Not only has the church at Ephesus disappeared from the face of the earth, so also have all of the people who lived in that church. There is no church in Ephesus today. In fact, in a sense, we could say there's no Ephesus today, except for Taurus. I'd love to go there and see it. Similarly, even in the age when the apostles were alive and active on earth, there were churches that failed. Just read the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor as reported in chapters 2 and 3 of John's Revelation. The first one there is Ephesus, and that congregation is told that it has left its first love and it must repent of its sins or judgment will fall and it will be brought to an end. It seems that the gates of hell prevailed against Ephesus. Now, are Jesus' words true? Did Paul rightly describe the Ephesian church as a pillar and buttress of the truth? Of course they're true. Of course Paul was right. But how shall we understand what this is about? Well, I suggest to you that we must not think of any specific church when we read these words, but we ought to think of the church in another sense. The Greek word that is translated church in our Bibles has several different senses in the New Testament. It has a secular usage. For example, in Acts chapter 19, it's used by Luke to describe the riotous mob that the enemies of Paul sought to stir up and drive him out of the city. Remember, great is Diana of the Ephesians? Remember that tumult? It's also used in Acts chapter 19 to refer to the lawful political body of the city. Those who had the right to rule when they were called together were the church, they were the assembly, the ecclesia. Another way that it's used is in Stephen's sermon before the Sanhedrin, immediately prior to his martyrdom. He speaks of the church in the wilderness in Acts 7.38, and he uses this language to refer to Israel as a religious body. In fact, all that he is doing is using a familiar Old Testament phrase because that's the way that the Greek translation of the Old Testament refers to Israel when they were at worship. They were a church, a congregation called together. Most frequently in the New Testament, our term is used to speak of local assemblies. We read epistles that are addressed to the church at Philippi or the church of God in Corinth. These are the congregations like ours meeting in a specific geographic location with their own elders and deacons and saints, members who believe in Christ and who confess His Lordship. As we've seen already, assemblies like this are truly pillars and buttresses of the truth, even though their lifespan is limited. But there is another way that this term is used in the New Testament, and this is what I want you to consider with me today. Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12. Here in Hebrews 12, we'll see more of this chapter tomorrow, But towards the end of the chapter, there's a contrast that's drawn between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. From verses 18 through 21, we learn or we're told that we haven't come to Mount Sinai. And Mount Sinai is a place of fear and trembling. That's where Moses received the law. But rather, notice beginning in verse 22 what the Bible says. You have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the church, I changed the word from ESV, but that's the word, to the church of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Now look at what they're listening to in this sermon. The Hebrew Christians are reminded that they have come to something. They're already there. They've arrived at this destination. They have come. It is accomplished. It is certain. It's a heavenly thing. And it consists of all who have been born by the power of the Spirit of God, whose names are on the heavenly roll, and who live in the presence of God forever. It is what sometimes has been called the church triumphant. Though these Hebrew Christians at this time still live on this earth, and they endure all manner of difficulty, yet they, along with believers of all ages, have been brought to the heavenlies with Jesus. In a real sense, they belong to the heavenly realm. As Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1, they've been raised to the heavenlies with Christ. That's where they belong. That's where they are enrolled. And that's what this is about in Hebrews 12. This, my brothers and sisters, is Christ's invincible church. A church that lasts forever. Think about Samuel Stone's famous hymn. The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is his new creation by water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died. That's the basis. He's the foundation upon which it's built, Jesus Christ. elect from every nation, yet one or all the earth, her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth, one holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses with every grace endued." Picking up the language of Ephesians chapter 4. Though with a scornful wonder men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, how long? And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song. The Church shall never perish. Her dear Lord to defend, to guide, sustain, and cherish is with her to the end. Though there be those that hate her and false sons in her pale, against, or foe, or traitor, she ever shall prevail. mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blessed, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest." Now listen to the final stanza. Stone is still thinking of us on earth. Listen to what he says. Yet she on earth hath union with God, the three in one. A wonderful truth, isn't it? That we are united to God through Christ. Yet she on earth hath union with God, the three in one and mystic, sweet communion with those whose rest is one. Do you ever think about that fact? that in a real sense, the souls of those who are now in the presence of Jesus are one with us because they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we share that with them. The hymn ends, O happy ones and holy Lord, give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee. The invincible church. gather around the foot of the throne of the Lord God, worshiping him forever. Turn with me, just turn over a few pages to 1 Peter 1. I'll begin reading in verse 22, and I'm going to ignore the chapter division and read on into chapter two. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God, for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you. Do you see a theme developing from what was said this morning to what we have here? So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men, but in the sight of God, chosen and precious. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. for it stands in scripture. Behold, I'm laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. His steadfast love endures forever. Though we don't see the word church here in this text, let's not make the word concept fallacy and say, because the word isn't there, the concept isn't there. My brothers and sisters, church is everywhere in this passage. The congregation of God's people is central to Peter's thought. He describes believers and he does so as if they are a structure with a cornerstone. Does this language sound familiar? It ought to sound familiar from what we've already said. Peter uses fascinating metaphors. When you would seek to describe life and growth, what illustrations would come to your mind? A newborn baby? This time of year, you might think of a bird in a nest with little birdlings that are clamoring to be fed. Maybe a little bit later, the first vegetable that's picked from your garden. Those would be the kind of illustrations that you would use. Seldom, if ever, would someone describe life and growth by referring to molten iron or newly poured concrete or a well-formed steel girder. Yet the scriptures do use an unexpected picture to describe Christ and his church, his people. We are living stones. Think about that for a moment. Have you ever seen a stone walk or move by its own power? Have you ever talked with one or listened in on a conversation between two rocks? If you have, we might need to talk. Of course you haven't. There's no life in a stone. It's a collection of minerals that have been hardened into its form by outside forces like the wind and rain or water or pressure, but it has no life. It's dead. Still, Peter speaks of a living stone and living stones, bringing together two quite unexpected words intending to grasp our attention with this striking picture. Maybe we're so familiar with it that we miss how strange it is as it is written. We are living stones. Jesus is the living stone. and we like him are living stones. Just as a great temple must be built by a master craftsman on a solid foundation, every stone supporting the others. So believers are being built into a great eternal edifice, a church for the glory of God. Now let's think about the significance of the picture that's before us. Think with me in several ways. First, this passage, it's about the living stone who is Jesus. He's the heart and the center of Peter's presentation. Everything about this context, first and foremost, focuses on him. I'm especially thinking of what we read in chapter 2, verses 7 and 8, 11 and 19 through 21. Everything here is about Jesus. How is he described? Well, we see language that we're already familiar with from the Psalms that we've studied. He's chosen and precious to God. Do you remember how the psalmist speaks about Israel as chosen, as the elect of God, how he loves Jacob? Well, he loves Israel and he loves Jacob because he loves Christ, and they are united to Christ. Christ is chosen and precious to God, and Peter wants us to think of his relationship to God the Father and God the Spirit. He is precious. He's been selected and set apart by God for a special mission. In the eternal covenant of redemption, the Son was commissioned, the Son was sent. The scriptures record this for us. We said earlier today that this is what the Bible is about. He was prophesied in the Old Testament from Genesis 3.15, which if you think about it, we view Genesis 3.15 as a promise. It's called the first gospel, the Proto-Evangelium, Latin, first gospel. But really it's a curse. It's spoken not to Eve and to Adam, it's spoken to the serpent. It's a curse upon the serpent. that is a blessing to all of humanity, because it tells us that Christ is coming. And from that moment, from Genesis 3.15, all the way forward, the entirety of the Old Testament anticipates Him. When we come to the beginning of the New Testament, when the final preparatory events are recorded, the angel Gabriel appears to Joseph. Do you remember what he says? You will have a son. and his name, you shall call his name Jesus. He will save his people from their sins. And then Matthew launches into the birth narrative. Immediately after his birth, Luke tells us that his parents took him to the temple to present him on the eighth day, to be obedient to the commandment. And one of my favorite incidents takes place there, where an old man and an old woman get to see this baby. They are overwhelmed by what they see. You know what they saw? They saw a human baby, eight days old, 20, 21, 22 inches long, seven pounds, more or less. You know, I mean, that's average for a baby, right? That's what they saw. All of us have seen babies. From one perspective, they saw a human baby. But when Simeon said, now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace, for I've seen the salvation of Israel, he knows that this baby is someone unique, someone different. And he knows that salvation is going to come to Israel, to everyone who believes because of what will happen with this baby. It's fantastic when you think about it. That's the moment that all of the saints before had anticipated. And Simeon, an old man, and Anna, an old woman, had the privilege of being there that day and seeing their faith fulfilled in the person of a baby, a human baby, Jesus Christ the Lord. Throughout his life, the life of our Lord Jesus, who he is is obvious to everyone who believes. John says, he came to his own and his own did not receive him, but to those who did receive him, he says, we know that he was full of grace and truth. We were able to see, you know, if you didn't know who Jesus was and he walked by you, you would see a carpenter. That's what you would see. And I assume, I assume that if you shook hands with him, you know what you would feel? You would feel the calloused hand of a man who works with tools. Every time I shake a man's hand like that, who has those calluses, I think that's what Jesus' hand would have felt like if I had shook his hand. It would have been calloused because he spent his life learning how to be a carpenter, working with primitive tools. If you didn't know who he was and he walked by, you'd think a carpenter. But to those who had eyes to see, who had faith, they saw that this was the Son of God, the fulfillment of the prophecies of all of the ages in the Old Testament era. Peter wants us to think in those terms. Peter says that he was precious to God. Look at verse four. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious. This is the same word that we see in chapter one, verse 19, that we've been bought with the precious blood of Christ, not with silver and gold. And in chapter two, verse six, behold, I'm laying in Zion a cornerstone chosen and precious, something special. It means great value and great worth. It means he's of the greatest, the highest value to God. Of all the precious things in the world, of all of the creatures that God has made, in all of creation, there is no one and no thing like him. He is uniquely precious to the sovereign of the universe. We need to hear God speaking this word. Christ is precious. Christ is of the greatest value. And then Peter presents his doctrine based upon a series of Old Testament scriptures. If your Bible is printed the way that mine is, some of these quotations are set off so that we're able to see this. Verse six is a quotation from Isaiah, chapter 28, verse 16. I'm laying in Zion a stone. Zion was the temple mount in Jerusalem. In the book of Isaiah, in its context there, it refers to the promise of a future blessing to come that would belong to all of the believers in Israel, and it would come at the temple in Jerusalem through the Messiah. The word chosen is the same word as in verse 4, as is precious. Peter is showing that Jesus Christ fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah by bringing people to his temple. The cornerstone is the most important part of the foundation of a building. Just as a stone is part of a building, Christ is the most important part as the cornerstone. Verses seven and eight simply repeat this idea, this time from Psalm 118.22 and Isaiah 8.14. But Peter wants us to understand that this precious one to God has been rejected by men. He's chosen and he's precious, but he's rejected. The reason that he's rejected is that they don't see his worth, he's not precious in their eyes, and they stumble and fall because they're seeking something else. Generally speaking, they're seeking salvation from themselves, not from another. But the point is, they reject him because they cannot see who he really is. But there's another group in this text, and that is the living stones. Not only is Christ the living stone, but there are living stones in the plural. Notice their relationship to him. They believe and trust in him, verses six and seven. Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. The honor is for you who believe. They place their trust in him. They know that he is precious. They are overwhelmed by his worth. He is their great desire. And in this way, they're like God. When God says that Christ is precious in His sight, and people say Christ is precious in our sight, we're reflecting God. We're bearing the image of God. Because by faith we're able to see that He is chosen and set apart by the Lord. Now the privileges that belong to those who confess him can be noted in the building theme that is present in verse five. You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house. We are joined together with him so that we might offer worship. Christ is the cornerstone of this group. Let's call it what it is, it's the church. The one who must be preeminent and at the center of all attention. And the believers who come to faith in Christ are being drawn together and built up together so that Christ is their life and preeminent as the center of all of their affection. Verses 9 and 10 are again a series of Old Testament texts that are strung together to show that every fulfillment in Christ has come. Look at what they say. Peter here is picking up language from the Old Testament. You're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Christ was chosen, and you're a chosen race. Christ is the great priest-king, and you're a royal priesthood. You were Gentiles, but God, by faith, has grafted you into God's people so that you are now a holy nation, and you are His possession. You belong to Him now and forever. And we must see that these living stones were once unbelievers, because Peter makes that contrast very clear. You were in darkness. Now you're in light. You were no people. Now you are God's people. He's relying on Hosea chapter one there. These are not my people. These are my people. You had no mercy, but now you are the objects of God's mercy. And let me repeat it again. His steadfast love endures forever. And what is the purpose of all of this? Look at verse five. So you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. To live now as a church and forever with everyone who is described here to the honor and glory of God. Because you see, Peter is not simply describing the pilgrims on a journey in this world, the exiles who are looking forward to the city and who lived in the first century. He's not simply describing them. He's describing everyone who has ever by faith come to God through Jesus Christ. What he says about his first century readers, he's saying about us as well. We have come to the same place. We are the materials that have been taken by the great master builder and made to be part of his wonderful and holy house. So that both now and at the end, now in this life, now in the year 2021, everyone who sees the house will glorify God. And at the end, When all things are brought together to the glory of God, that house that is built from all of God's people of all of the ages, from every tribe and tongue and kindred and nation, that will glorify God eternally as His holy church. You see, Peter's words are not simply written for the sake of the elect exiles in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. But they're for everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ, every one of whom it may be said, Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Can that be said about you? Then this is a true text for you. And it says that something belongs to you now, and that what belongs to you now will belong to you forever and ever. You are part of Christ's invincible church. It will go on. Sometimes, I love some of the practices that we have in our churches. In our church, when we observe the Lord's Table, we recite the Nicene Creed. One of the things that I love to do when it comes to that moment is I imagine the millions of Christians through the last 15 plus centuries, 17 centuries, who have either in Latin or some other language recited the same words and confessed the same truths before the triune God. And it makes me realize that I'm part of something that's far greater than myself, than the church of which I'm a member. It's far greater than all of the churches gathered together in the world today. It's something that extends all the way into the past and includes every believer in every age. We will be what we will be because of Christ. And we are what we are because of Christ. And we share that in common. Jesus Christ is the living stone. He is alive and he is active in the world. And from the beginning, from that moment when a curse was pronounced upon the serpent, he has been calling people to himself. The Bible is a record of the coming of Christ and of those who believed in that promise and longed and waited for the day. His church has been growing day by day, year by year, century by century, millennium by millennium. He has been building his church. And even though enemies have arisen and opposed the church, it never fails, for Christ is its Lord. The gates of hell do not prevail against it. It is the pillar and the buttress of the truth. Do you remember Elijah? He thought he was alone. He thought he was the only one left. There wasn't anyone who trusted in God the way that he did. And he sat by himself under a tree, woe is me. But the Lord reminded him that there were 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. That was a small number compared to the entire population, but still there were 7,000 the Lord had reserved for himself. When Luke records to us Paul's visit to Corinth and he faced difficulties, do you remember what the Lord said to him? He came to Paul and he said, Paul, I have many people in this city. We live in a fallen world. We have powerful spiritual enemies, but brothers and sisters, we have Jesus Christ. When he ascended into heaven, do you remember what he said? All authority in heaven And on earth is given to me, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And lo, I am with you until tomorrow. Lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. That's his promise. That's the commitment that he has made to us. And throughout this age, he is gathering people to himself. He's been installed at the right hand of God as Lord and King. He is continually reaching out by his spirit to give life to stones, to dead stones. and he makes them part of this temple that he is building. We stand in a long line of believers, and they are the church triumphant. And we have come to them, in the words of Hebrews chapter 12. Their spirits are now surrounding the heavenly throne, worshiping God and waiting for the great resurrection day. And we will join them. But even when we gather together in our places of worship, we join them. because we sing the sweet praises of the God of heaven and earth. You see, the scripture reminds us to be strong in the Lord. Be strong in Him. And this is why we can speak of Christ's invincible church. Every one of us who belongs or who trusts in Jesus Christ belongs to that church. Just as the builders rejected the stone, yet God used it to become the chief cornerstone. So you, Once no people, living in darkness, strangers to mercy, have been called by the Lord to be living stones in His holy temple. See, our congregations here on earth are testimonies to this amazing reality. Through Christ, by His Spirit, our Father in heaven is constructing a building, an eternal building, and it will triumph. It is and it will be a place, to use Peter's language, it will be a place full of holy priests, a royal nation, a place of people who will offer their lives in worship to the Lord forever. Peter says that we are to live now in the way that we will live forever, as members of Christ's invincible church. Whatever congregation you belong to, remember that it is part of that great, eternal, invincible church. He will build his church. We are the pillar and the buttress of the truth. It is invincible, not because of our strength, because of the strength of the Lord. To God be the glory. Amen. Let's pray. Oh Lord, how we thank you for your eternal purpose that has been accomplished in Jesus Christ, but also your eternal purpose that has been accomplished in our lives by calling us from death to be living stones and to be part of a temple that will forever bring you glory and honor. Write these words on our hearts and help us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.