John 14, our focus this morning will be verses 28 to 31. We saw in this last section in John 14, the emphasis on the gifts given by Christ in verses 25 to 27. And now the emphasis is upon his departure. in verses 28 to 31, but I want to back up and read beginning in verse 12. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words, and the word which you hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father, for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this Lord's Day. We thank you for the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. We pray that you would bless our time now as we consider Holy Scripture. We pray for the ministry, the aid of the Holy Spirit, who reminds us, who teaches us, who leads us. We thank you that you've not left us as orphans in this world. but have supplied the indwelling Spirit who abides with us forever. Forgive us for all sin and transgression and everything that darkens our minds and help us to appreciate the glory of the one living and true God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, as I said, we are in the upper room discourse, the last discourse of our Lord with his disciples prior to his death on the cross and his ascension back into heaven. And one of the emphases in this upper room discourse is on the nature of God. The Lord Jesus wants to prepare the disciples for mission, for ministry, to go out to make disciples, to plant churches, to take the gospel to the then known world. The way that he does that, primarily, is by setting forth truth concerning God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So as we consider the end of chapter 14, last week we saw the gifts given by Christ, specifically the Holy Spirit in verse 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. So the benefit or the provision of the Holy Spirit for the people of God. But as well, he then gives or promises the gift of peace in verse 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. We see in that bequest of peace upon the people of God that Jesus desires stability amongst his people. It is from the vantage point of stability that we enter into the mission that he has given to us. In other words, if we're erratic, if we are paralyzed with fear, if we are filled with troubled hearts, We're not going to be mobile. We're not going to go and do what the Lord has committed to us. So he says or promises that he'll give this peace. And then the implication at the end of verse 27 is, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. There is that tendency amongst the people of God to have heart trouble or to have fear. The Lord, of course, understands this and knows this and says the provision of peace is to try and keep that from happening so that you may do what is entrusted to you. And then that brings us to this final section in chapter 14 on the departure of Christ. And there's three things to notice. First, the exhortation to the disciples in verse 28. Secondly, the confirmation of the divine plan in verse 29, and then thirdly, the expectation of triumph in verses 30 and 31. So let's look first at the exhortation to the disciples in verse 28. He reiterates what he said on many occasions prior to this particular time. Notice in verse 28, you have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. He has mentioned this previously. We saw it in John 3.14 when Jesus uses the analogy of the serpent lifted up in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up. He describes his going away to the Jews in chapter 7 at verses 33 and 34. And then he emphasizes this specifically with the apostles in this upper room discourse. Go back to chapter 13. Notice at verse 33, little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come. So now I say to you. Chapter 14, verses one to four, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." And then as well, we see that emphasis recurringly throughout Jesus' discourse with the apostles. So in chapter 14 at verse 28, you have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. There's previous references and now a present encouragement by reminding them of this particular eventuality. And on the heels of that, he then gives this exhortation specifically in verse 28. Notice, if you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the father for my father is greater than I. Now, I want to slow down a bit here, because if you were to walk across the highway, not the highway, but over to Yale Road there, and you found the Jehovah's Witnesses, and they were out there testifying of their faith, and you got into a debate with them concerning Trinitarianism, they would most likely cite John 14, verse 28. In fact, if you meet anti-Trinitarians, those who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, John 14, 28 is a missile in their silo that they will point at you very particularly. Because Jesus says, the Father is greater than I. How can you maintain Trinitarianism when it comes to a statement like that? So as I said, I want to slow down a little bit as we investigate this so that we understand what Jesus is doing here. But first, in terms of the exhortation, he says, if you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father for my Father is greater than I. In terms of the immediate context, this isn't the first place he has hit upon the necessity for the disciples to obey him. Notice back in chapter 15. I'm sorry, 14 at verse 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. And then at verse 21, he who has my commandments and keeps them. And then again in verse 23, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word. So when it comes to this particular statement, it's not the first time that he has said something similar. So in verse 28, if you love me, you would rejoice. Now remember the theology involved in this statement and in verses 15, 21, and 23. The idea isn't go out there dead sinner and start to love Jesus and then you will be saved. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. that we cannot do anything pleasing to God, that we have no desire for the Son of God, no desire for the Lord of Glory. As far as we are concerned, He's a curse word, He's a blasphemous word, He is something that is irrelevant to us, so there is no love in our hearts by nature. So the Bible is not teaching, go out and love Jesus and then you'll be saved. No, the theology of the Bible is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The emphasis throughout the Bible is on justification by faith alone. And the reality is, is that when those who are justified by faith, that faith is alone, but it doesn't remain alone, but it's always accompanied by all other saving graces. So that when we're justified by faith, the reflex response is love to Jesus, obedience to Jesus. So those who believe the gospel are those who love Christ. Those who believe the gospel are those who want to do what Christ says. He says that in verse 15, keep my commandments." Again, it's the reflex, it's the response with reference to God's grace. So he's not teaching, love me and you'll be saved. Rather, you've been saved freely by grace, so therefore love me and express that in keeping my commandments. So we need to make sure we're clear in terms of theology. Now, notice the specific emphasis. He says in verse 28, I am going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said. He wants them to rejoice at his departure. Now, brethren, it shouldn't take a bit or too much time to sort of put this in the context. They're probably not anxious for him to leave. They've grown quite fond of the Lord of glory. They have been in his constant companionship with him. They have been with him in terms of ministry, in terms of hearing his doctrine, seeing his miracles, seeing his power, seeing his love, seeing his kindness, seeing his affection. He's announced to them that he's going to depart. And certainly that would, by all accounts, mean it would be a time of grief and a time of sorrow. But Jesus doesn't want that. Jesus says, I want you to rejoice at this announcement of my departure. Klink says that he just exhorted his disciples to trust him in relation to their worldly circumstances. Again, notice in verse 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. So he says, he just exhorted his disciples to trust him in relation to their worldly circumstances. Now he exhorts them to trust him in regard to his circumstances. In other words, don't fret, don't be sorrowful, don't be downcast, don't look like your dog just died, don't look like your wife just left you, don't look like you've just gone bankrupt, but rather rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father. Now, with reference to the nature of his departure, we know what that means. It means his death on the cross. It means the shame associated with crucifixion. It means all that is bound up or wound up in that most heinous form of execution in the then known world in the first century. Remember that the Romans would not execute, by crucifixion, a Roman citizen, except by special permission from the emperor. In other words, the garden variety Roman empire, Roman citizen, who engaged in even a capital offense, could be executed for his crimes, but they would not execute him via crucifixion. It was too bad. It was too horrific. It was too wretched. So when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, that's specifically what they cry out. They're given the option, Barabbas or Jesus. They want Barabbas. They side with an insurrectionist. They side with a terrorist. They side with a man who was a murderer, a man who fomented rebellion. They sided with the godless, wretched, reprobate, and as far as Jesus was concerned, away with him, away with him, crucify him. So when Jesus says, I'm going to depart, again, it invokes some kind of sadness in response because his departure is via the cross, the bloody, beaten, bruised body of our blessed Savior going through that for us men and for our salvation. When He says what He says, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father. He does that via the cross, but His actual access to the Father comes through His resurrection, through His exaltation, through His ascension to the right hand of the Father. So I think the emphasis falls on the entirety of the events that are going to befall him. Yes, he's going to die. Yes, he's going to be treated like a criminal. Yes, he is going to be exposed to that sort of harsh treatment from man and ultimately from God. Jesus on the cross does not say, my friends, my friends, why hast thou forsaken me? He says, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So all of that shame, and as the old writers would say, the ignominy associated with the cross, but it leads to the resurrection. It leads to the ascension on high. It leads to the right hand of the Father. And I think it's in this context that our Lord Jesus is encouraging them to rejoice. So again, verse 28, you have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father. And the Bible tells us what happens upon his resurrection and his ascension to the right hand of God. Psalm 2, ask of me, I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth as your possession. We have it in Psalm 110, you always said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. We have it in Acts chapter two, verses 33 to 36, the exaltation of Christ led to him seated at the right hand of the Father, where God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. You have it in Ephesians one, 19 to 23, Christ, his name is above all other names. Every dominion and every power is subject to our blessed Savior. You see it in the book of Philippians as well. God has given him a name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. You see it in the book of Colossians in chapter 1, 15 to 20. You see it in the book of Revelation. When John comes to encourage the churches of Asia Minor, he greets the churches in chapter 1 in the name of the Trinity. And with reference to Jesus, he highlights the prophetic office, the priestly office, and the kingly office, and he says that Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth. So in other words, Jesus says, I want you to rejoice at what is befalling me because it's according to God's purpose and plan. I want you to rejoice because it means my exaltation. I want you to rejoice because it means your benefit. And I think that's the emphasis that he's getting across to these brothers. When it comes to the state of humiliation, there is far more to rejoice in with reference to the state of exaltation. When you think about Jesus, you need to think about him pre-incarnate. The birth of Christ was not the arrival of the Word. The Word was from the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God. In the Incarnation, we speak of Christ and what we call the state of humiliation. When He takes on our humanity to Himself, He then is under the law in order to redeem those under the law. So all the miseries and all the sorrows and all the hardships and all the difficulties associated with life in this present evil age were upon our Lord. In fact, the Westminster Shorter Catechism describes the state of humiliation this way. Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law. undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross in being buried and continuing under the power of death for a time. So when he says, I want you to rejoice, he is looking past the cross, through the grave to the current session at the right hand of the Father. And we call that the state of exaltation. Christ's exaltation consists in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and coming to judge the world at the last day. So that's how he can tell them to rejoice at the news of his departure. It's going to be bloody. It's going to be hard. It's going to be abandonment. It's going to be vicious. It's going to be vile. It's going to be cruel. It's going to be unjust. Do you ever look around at the day and age in which we live and say, man, we live in such unjust times? I do this a lot. It seems like politicians get away with murder, and yet for us, Boy, they can spot you when you're doing just about anything and everything, and you might get a visit from the RCMP. It's a very unjust world that we live in, but it's nothing compared to the unjustness of what took place in the death of the Savior. Imagine the Savior. Again, He's very God and very man. We don't like it when people insult us. We don't like it when people don't smile at us. We don't like it when people say things that are a little bit off to us. Imagine standing there amongst your fellows, those you've only done good to, and hearing them cry out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. And when Pontius Pilate, that gutless wonder, who knew that the Jews handed Jesus over for envy, it wasn't that he was a criminal. Pilate thrice in Luke's gospel says, I find no guilt in this man. Pilate knew that this was not a criminal trial. Pilate knew that this man was not guilty. Pilate, as I said, was a gutless wonder. And he thought for sure, if I proffer a deal, they'll certainly pick Barabbas. I mean, Barabbas was public enemy number one. He wasn't just some common thief. He was most likely a terrorist. He was most likely an insurrectionist. He was most likely in the category of those bad dudes we don't want walking our streets. So Pilate's probably thinking, I'll put Jesus up, but I'll put Barabbas. I mean, any thinking individual would take Barabbas. I mean, you've seen his poster at the post office. You've seen his mugshot on TV. You've seen him all over the place. Certainly, here's your opportunity. So when they say, give us Barabbas, So there's going to be hardship for the Son of Man. There's going to be cruelty. There's going to be viciousness and unjustness, but there's going to be resurrection from the dead. There's going to be an ascension to the right hand of the Father. There's going to be exaltation in the current session at the Father, and then His return again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Now, I believe that what He does in the remainder of verse 28 is to explain this. Notice after he says, you have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the father. So that's the exhortation. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the father. Now here's the explanatory reason. For my father is greater than I. So if we're talking to a Jehovah's Witness and they take this particular missile out and they shoot it at us, how do we respond? How do we answer this particular tactic in their employ? What do we say? Well, I just don't know. Now you may still say that after I'm done explaining it, but it won't be because it's never been explained to you. I'm gonna use a few big words today. Remember, I've spoken of guardrails in the past. We need guardrails. Imagine you're driving up a windy mountain road, and there was no guardrails. What would happen? You'd go right off that road into the valley below. And remember the illustration? Somebody gets to the top, and he sees the house owner, and he sees all these cars in the valley. And the guy says, well, why did they all go into that ditch? And the householder says, well, you know, we used to have a fence alongside the road. And then the guy says, well, why did you take the fence down? I don't know. It's the way the Trinitarian debates have evolved in our generation. Why'd we get rid of guardrails? Why'd we get rid of Nicaea? Why'd we get rid of Chalcedon? Why'd we get rid of the eternal generation of the sun? Why did we get rid of inseparable operations? A few things that I've tried to present in terms of strategy or hermeneutics to deal with these particular issues. Why did we get rid of them? I don't know, but we need to recover them so that we don't drive our cars off the road and end up denying the Trinity. In the first place, I want to explain, secondly, connect, and then thirdly, evidence some problems of rejecting the tactics that I suggest. First, in terms of explanation, the Father is not greater than the Son with respect to the divine nature. The Father is not greater than the Son with respect to the divine nature. That cannot be. In fact, let's just see it with our own eyes, go back to John 1, specifically verse 1. You've heard me cite it many times as we've moved our way up to this point in the gospel. But notice in John 1, 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Everything true of Godhood with reference to the Father is true with reference to the Son, is true with reference to the Holy Spirit. We call this consubstantiality. They are with the same substance, with the same essence. Remember the guardrail in 2nd London Confession, Chapter 2, Paragraph 3? In this divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having the whole divine essence, and yet the essence undivided. It's not parted out. God, the Father is 33, the Son is 33, and the Spirit is 33. That's heresy. It's wrong. Reject it. Cast it far from your mind. Notice in John 1.18, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. So when Jesus says, the Father is greater than I, He is not referring to the nature. He's not referring to that common essence that each has. Remember back in the immediate context of John 14, specifically at verses 11 and 12. I'm sorry, 10 and 11, do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Let's just back up to verse 7 and feel the full weight of this statement. Verse 7, if you had known me, you would have known my father also, and from now on you know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the father and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long? And yet you have not known me, Philip. He who has seen me has seen the father. So how can you say, show us the father? Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me? The mutual indwelling of the persons of the Trinity is called perichoresis. That simply means the mutual indwelling of the persons of the Trinity. The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father, by virtue of that common essence, that same substance, that same nature. Remember, we're in the Son, not by perichoresis. We're in the Son by grace. As adopted sons and daughters, we are justified by God's grace and brought into that blessed position. But Jesus says, I'm in the Father, and the Father is in me. So, back to our text, for my Father is greater than I, the Father is not greater than the Son, with respect to the divine nature. Secondly, the Father is greater than the Son, with reference to the Son's assumed humanity. and thus his mediatorship. The covenant of redemption, the father purposed and promised to save a great multitude that no man can number. The second person of the Trinity stepped up to the plate and said, I will be their surety. I covenant to do all that is necessary. So in the fullness of the time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman and born under the law. So when Jesus says, the Father is greater than I, Jesus is speaking here according to his humanity. This is a hermeneutical guardrail, or this is one of those protective hermeneutics that will help us to not drive the car off of the road. It is the predication or saying things, I know predication is a bigger word than just saying things, saying things of the one person of Christ according to his humanity, which is like sorrowing. hungering, thirsting, bleeding, dying, or saying or predicating things of his divine nature, which is the forgiveness of sins, the miracles that he does, the titles that he bears, and the fact that he asserts or rather receives worship from creatures. So you've got one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, two natures. So it is perfectly appropriate to speak of the one Christ according to either of the natures. So when we see Jesus in Scripture say things like this, He's not speaking according to His divinity. As divinity, it is impossible for Him to be less. As divinity, He is with the Father, each having the divine essence. Now, in terms of the connection, why is this the argument? Go back to verse 28. You have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you love me, you would rejoice because I said I'm going to the Father, for my Father is greater than I. I think the for the father is greater than I reveals to us the rationale for this. I'm going to the father and rejoice in me. The rationale is simple. The one cent is happily, according to his humanity, assuming that position in the covenant of grace. He willingly submits, he willingly obeys, he willingly takes to himself all that the Father has given him. So in that regard, the Father is greater than him. Turn back to John 4 for just a moment. is to see something of the emphasis on what we call the active obedience of Christ, but look how it demonstrates or illustrates the point we're trying to make here. Notice in John 4 at verse 34, Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. He's the sent one from the Father, the sent one who assumes our humanity, the sent one who is made under the law, the sent one who does whatever the Father gives him to do. So of course, in that sense, the Father is greater than I. Look at John 6, verses 38 to 40. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Again, he's not speaking according to divinity. He's not speaking as God the Son. He is speaking as God the Son, who's assumed our humanity unto himself. Notice in verse 39, this is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all he has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day. And this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. And the point is made, I hope, where you see when he says, he is greater than I, it's according to his humanity. It's according to his office as mediator. It's according to that Galatians 4.4 reality, made of a, are born of a woman and made under the law, to redeem those under the law. Of course, in that sense, the father is greater than Jesus. But before we proceed, look back with me for just a moment at the same verses here in chapter six. Let's not just bypass this too quickly. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Have you ever talked to people and asked them, why did Jesus come into this world? The answers you get are interesting. Well, to start a new religion. The Jews say to be a revolutionary under a messianic guise in the first century. That's why Jesus came. Others say, well, you know, he just taught us how to love each other. Kind of like Rodney King. Can't we all just get along? Why does Jesus come from the Father? Well, John 6, 38 to 40 tells us, and I think that in John 6, 38 to 40, there's a world of hope and encouragement for anyone here that may not be a Christian. We might get this idea, well, you know, God saves, but he's kind of, because he has to, kind of like the Ebenezer Scrooge in terms of divinity. Well, yeah, I'll just convey benefit on you, but it's really not in me to do so. The very creation of the world, the incarnation of the Son, the life and the death and the resurrection, the ascension on high, the missionary enterprise and endeavor, the history of the church is all founded on this grand principle that God is about saving sinners. Why did Jesus come? To do the will of Him who sent me. Verse 39, this is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all He has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And in case you missed that, listen again in verse 40. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and everyone who believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." You see, the heart of God is revealed in passages like these. The heart of God is revealed in a John 3 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That's why we reject hyper-Calvinism and this idea that it's only going to be a handful of people that meagerly enter into that new Jerusalem. The Bible tells us it's a great multitude that no man can number, from every tribe, from every tongue, from every people, from every nation, whether you be young or old, black or white, whatever your particular race or ethnicity or whatever we're calling it today, whatever your gender, if you are a sinner and you look to Jesus, you will be saved. You will have everlasting life. And on that day of judgment, Jesus will raise you up to everlasting life in the presence of God most high. If ever there was an argument for you to turn from your sins and to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, it's right here. And notice I'm not suggesting you have to be able to answer a quiz at the end of this sermon to give me all of the strategies that the church has employed to protect the divinity of our Savior and the humanity. I'm not going to do that. You need to look and live. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Remember that wonderful scene in Numbers? They're bit by these fiery serpents, they're dying, and Moses gets the instruction to craft this brazen serpent, lift it up into the wilderness. What was the specific response to that? Drag yourself over to that brazen serpent and kiss the base, suck the venom out of your wound before you look to that, but it was look and live. Why does Jesus use that analogy there in John three, and then go on to say, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Do you think Jesus is telling you, you don't have to drag yourself over first? You don't have to suck the venom out of your own wound first, but rather that you look and live. That's precisely what he's teaching. That's precisely what he's telling. That is precisely the heart of our blessed God in terms of the salvation of needy sinners. So never get in your mind, well, you know, I'm a sinner and I'm convinced of that, but I'm not sure that God's in this business of saving. God is completely in the business of saving. Ask anybody here saved, they will tell you, I was lost, but now I'm found. I was dead, but now I live. I was lost, but now I am marching heavenly or heavenward because of his grace. Wonderful, beautiful statement from our Lord. So I think that's the connection. Going back to John 14, specifically that latter clause, for my Father is greater than I. The technical terminology of predicating or saying something according to Jesus' humanity or divinity, but that is true of the one person, it's called partitive exegesis. Now exegesis, you've all heard that language. If you look back right now, and you don't have to, the exit sign, the EX on that word means out of. Exegesis simply means to come to the Bible and take out of the Bible what the Holy Spirit intended. The idea of exegesis or the idea of biblical interpretation is not reading our lives in there. Oh, well, I want it to say this. I'd like it to say this. No, exegesis means to lead out of the text what the Holy Spirit intended. Partitive just refers to making statements according to Jesus' humanity or according to Jesus' divinity. So the problem with rejecting this is that you're going to end up in a whole world of hurt when it comes to try and explain how in this divine and infinite being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. You're going to be in a very difficult strait to not, if you don't employ it, what we call, and you don't even have to remember this language, partitive exegesis. I would suggest that this is a failure to reckon with our confession, which accurately summarizes Scripture. In chapter 8, paragraph 7, in the first part it says, Christ, in the work of mediation, acts according to both natures, by each nature doing that which is proper to itself. So when Jesus says, the Father is greater than I, He's not speaking according to His divinity, because each has the whole divine essence, and yet the essence undivided. He must be speaking according to his humanity, wherein he assumes our humanity, he lives for us, he dies for us, and he is raised again for us. So this failure to reckon with 2nd London Confession 8-7, and the Bible specifically, and the history of the Christian church particularly, means a rejection of partitive exegesis. And there's other places where this comes to great aid for the people of God. Remember the Olivet Discourse when Jesus pronounces, or announces rather, the coming destruction upon Jerusalem in AD 70? What does Jesus say in Mark's account in chapter 13 at verse 32? He says, but of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the father. Huh, how do we deal with the Nora of the sun? Well, the church has always said that he's speaking there according to his humanity. Obviously not according to his divinity, because there's nothing outside of the knowledge of God. And then as well, if we embrace a rejection of partitive exegesis, it shows ignorance of the Apostle Paul doing partitive exegesis. Turn to the book of Philippians in Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter two, predicating or saying something true of the one person of Christ, according to either one of his natures. This is partitive exegesis. Scott Swain, as you're turning there, simply says, partitive exegesis refers to the practice of ascribing both divine and human natures, actions and sufferings from scriptural accounts of Jesus' life to a single personal subject, the second person of the Trinity. So that Jesus bleeds, that Jesus hungers, that Jesus thirsts, that Jesus sleeps, are all true according to his humanity. That Jesus forgives sin, that Jesus receives worship, that Jesus bears the title, the Word of God, that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity ascribes to his divinity. So notice what Paul does in Philippians 2, specifically at verse 5. It's interesting because this is kind of an exemplary text. Well, it is. In other words, we're not told a lot in the Bible, though we are, to be like Jesus. Now, hear me. I'm not saying we're not supposed to be like Jesus. Because what's the converse? Be like Satan? No, I'm not saying that. But what happened in the early part of the 20th century is that some people started teaching that salvation was by imitation. If we just go out and live the Jesus way, then we'll be saved. We just follow his example. We knuckle under, we pull up our bootstraps, and we turn the other cheek, and we go that extra mile, and we exemplify what the Savior taught there on the Sermon on the Mount, then we'll be saved. that the emphasis on the coming of our Lord Jesus in terms of the incarnation, specifically with reference to his death, is on sacrifice. We don't need imitation. We need blood atonement. We need propitiation. We need reconciliation. We need redemption. The apostle speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 1. He says the Jews seek after signs and the Greeks, they seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ and Him what? Crucified. So I'd say that the accent falls upon the sacrificial nature of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. But with reference to some passages that teach us Christian ethics, yeah, it's there, and this happens to be one of that. And the way that the apostle argues shows us that theology matters. We need to understand who Christ is or else the illustration or else the example doesn't work. So let's pick up in verse 1. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Now notice in verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, do what I'm telling you in verses 1 to 4. In terms of a paradigm or an example for you to follow, it's Jesus in verses 5 to 11. And I think the apostle is underscoring that if you really want to see humility, if you really want to see lowliness in operation, if you've got an axe to grind against a brother because he didn't smile at you on Sunday, take it to the Lord Jesus and reflect upon His movement. I don't mean in terms of local motion. I'm talking about the terms of assumption of our humanity. So notice in verse 6, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. That's partitive exegesis. The one who is in the form of God took to himself the form of a bondservant, the one person with two natures, the divine word who takes to himself our humanity with all the essential properties and all the common infirmities thereof. You've got to see the contrast to being in the form of God. He came and took upon himself the form of a bondservant. So, Paul, can we predicate of the one Christ things unique to the form of God? Yes, things like the forgiveness of sins, accepting worship, bearing titles of divinity. Can we predicate of the one who took on the form of a bondservant things unique to humanity? Yeah, like eating, like drinking, like sorrowing, like crying, like bleeding, like dying. So when Augustine, in his book on the Trinity, starts to use this convention, he didn't pull it out of a hat. He didn't say, you know, I'm going to foist upon the Christian world, subsequent to my own time, this doctrine of the Trinity that's only bound to confuse and confute and disturb everybody that ever contemplates it. That's not what he's doing. He does that contrast in the form of God, in the form of a man. according to his humanity, according to his divinity. To jettison this strategy, to get rid of this tactic, to get rid of this bit of hermeneutics, is to drive the Trinitarian car right off the road into the valley below. I'm not kidding. This is bad. And to say or to write it off, well, you know, that's just the easy way out. It's the biblical way out. And the church, reflecting on the biblical way out, has given us these wonderful insights. And once again, I'll remind you, we should listen to the church that went before us. They don't speak with the same authority as the divine scripture. But they, by God's grace, are the ones who when Jesus ascended on high and led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men. And what do those men do? They preached, they wrote, they composed creeds and confessions, and they set up guardrails all along that winding road so that we in the 21st century wouldn't get a little bit up the way and then drive off the road like the morons that we are. We need those guardrails. We need those helps. We need those hermeneutical helps so that we do not go off the road. And I would suggest that this would involve, among many heresies, I'm just gonna suggest the big one, Arianism. I don't mean, you know, guys with swastikas and shaved heads. Arianism is named after the heretic Arius. And Arius denied that Jesus was true God. I just heard a podcast recently, and the fellow was talking about the Nicene Creed and how it almost sounds redundant. You know, we believe in the Son who is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Isn't that redundant? Very God of very God, and then true God of true God? Now, Arius would have said, very God, a very God, because for Arius, Jesus was a little g-God. Think back to the witnesses on the other side of the road. They don't have a problem affirming that Jesus is a God. Arius didn't have a problem with saying that Jesus is a God. But true God from true God? No, Arius ain't going there. Neither was the heretic Charles Taze Russell or his followers. They hide behind passages like these and say, well, Jesus says the Father is greater. And a lot of Christians say, I don't really know how to answer that. Brethren, you better know how to answer that or you're gonna get your clock cleaned on Yale Road out in front of Uptown Grill. How shameful, sorry. We need to go back to go forward. So with Arianism, as far as he's concerned, the little G-God, Jesus, doesn't know what the big G-God knows. The son of man statement in Mark 13, 32. The son doesn't know the day or the hour. As well, only the big G God has this comprehensive understanding. And so therefore, the big G God is greater than the little G God. That's heresy. It's polytheism. Deposit a God and a littler God. I don't know how you evade the concept of polytheism at that point But it's it's horrible and it's been foisted upon the church throughout our ages and the church has fought back We need to maintain Trinitarian orthodoxy. We need to be able to confess, again, not with absolute knowledge because it's tough, probably a new walk in the park for some in terms of partitive exegesis, according to his humanity, according to his divinity. As I've said many times, stick with it, keep learning, keep listening, keep showing up. I hope that it will become clearer, but we need to be able to say with our confession concerning the hypostatic union, the two natures and the one Christ. so that two whole perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person without conversion, composition, or confusion, which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. Well, we're gonna stop in terms of exposition there. I got a bit of a cold. Don't wanna throw the voice out too much for tonight. Just a couple of thoughts by way of conclusion at this point. The first is that we ought to bask in the glory that is the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Now John there, writing in the plural pronoun, dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now we're not present with John in that first century, We're not walking those streets of Israel with Jesus. We're not watching him heal people. We're not watching him raise the dead. We're not watching him on the Mount of Transfiguration peel, as it were, his humanity back so he could see glorious divinity shine forth. We're not watching him say to the paralytic son, your sins are forgiven you. But can't we behold His glory in the pages of the Bible? Don't we behold His glory in the Psalter by way of type, by way of prophetic announcement, by way of anticipation? When we sing these Psalms, they're the songs of Jesus. He is the subject matter of the entire Psalter. He's the subject matter of the law, the prophets, the whole kit and caboodle of Old Testament. The focus of the whole is upon Christ. When it comes to this Savior, let us say with John, though not physically present in the first century, let us say with John, every time we read our Bibles, every time we come to sermons, every time we fellowship with the saints, every time we come under the sound of the glory of the gospel, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Have we not found that to be the case? What saves wretched sinners like us? A little bit of moral reform? A little bit of help from on high? No, it's the grace and the truth that comes to us through our blessed Redeemer. I would suggest, secondly, we ought to stand in awe that He didn't leave us as orphans. He says that back preceding in our chapter. Notice verse 17, the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as or I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Well, how does Jesus come to us in the sending of the Holy Spirit in verse 26? Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith according to the Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3. This isn't the little weird sinner's prayer thing where Jesus is standing outside of a door and there's no handle because he's waiting for you to knock on it and let him into your heart. That's not what we're talking about. The reality is, is that through the Spirit, Christ dwells in the hearts of believers by faith. such that we're not alone, such that we will not be orphans, such that wherever we go, we have the sure promise, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So then, not only that, on the heels of that, and I think there's probably priority, I'll send the Spirit, and then peace, peace. Brethren, this world, in many ways, is out to try and steal your peace. Turn on the news at any moment of any day. And what is it calculated to do? To destroy your peace, to see you troubled in heart. I actually, and this is my right wing whack job, nut job theory, I actually think they want to divide the body politic. Because then the government comes and is the savior for all of us miscreants that can't handle life together with one another. But that's another story. They're in the process of ripping from us any degree of peace whatsoever. See, for Jesus and this disciple group in the upper room, it was crucial that these men may remain stable, that these men, when they went to the Jewish synagogues and demonstrated and reasoned from the scripture that Jesus was the Christ, when they'd be brought up before the civil government, when they'd be in prison, when they'd be executed, when they'd be martyred, Jesus didn't want erratic men, confused men, chaotic men, men who couldn't compose themselves. So what does Jesus do? He provides the Holy Spirit, and He provides to them His peace. That peace is what is there to protect our hearts from being troubled, and that peace is there so that we will not fear. Christ, the only begotten Son of God, took on our humanity, lived for us, died for us, was raised again for us so that we can have everlasting life. And in John 10, he says, I come that they may have life, but that they have it, what? More abundantly. Not pulling your hair out every time you look at the news. Not thinking, oh, this is, whatever the mess is, Christ is king, a ruler over the kings of the earth. Does that ever encourage you? It does me. I mean, when you look back in the Old Testament and you see some of the wretches that governed Israel, specifically northern tribe wretches, it's great to know they were wretches on leashes. Great to know that whatever happens in our day, the Lord Christ is at the right hand of the father. He ever lives to make intercession for us. He is our advocate with the father, but he also rules and reigns and he must do so until all of his enemies are made his footstool. So the blessed son of God conveys to us the spirit of God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you so very much for the Lord Jesus Christ and what he took to himself for us. We bless you for the gospel of our salvation. We pray for the proclamation of that gospel to go throughout the earth, conquering and to conquer. We pray that from every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation, sinners would be called out of darkness into marvelous light. confessing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go with us and help us to proclaim these things. Help us to think clearly, biblically, concerning Christian doctrine. And may we just stand in awe that in this one living and true God, there exists eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, you can turn with me in your hymn books to number 568 as we close our service singing doxology in praise to our triune God. We'll stand together. ♪ Praise God in every hour ♪ ♪ Praise God in every hour ♪ ♪ Praise God, His Son and Holy Ghost ♪ Raise up the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for this day that we can gather together to worship you. Go with us now. May we know your peace. May we know your blessing. May we know your presence in our lives. And we pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation.