REFORMED CHURCH, BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 11
NOVEMBER 2001: MORNING SERVICE
Our help is in the Name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
AMEN.
Psalm of praise: Psalm 130:3 (second version)
Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all the worlds; God of God, Light of
Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance
with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made
man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered
and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the
Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of
the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living
and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life;
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the
Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I
acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN
The Law : Ex. 20:1-17
Psalm 125:6.
Prayer
Psalm 124:4.
Scripture reading: 2
Corinthians 13
Text: 2 Corinthians 13:4
For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because
of the power of God ...
We are preparing for the celebration of Communion next Sunday. Let us
examine the passage of Scripture we have read, bearing that in mind.
What do we see?
We realize that some churches were, from the very beginning,
irresponsible and indifferent with respect to the grace of God in Jesus
Christ. Think of the letters which John wrote to the various churches
at the command of the Lord Jesus:
- In his letter to the congregation at Ephesus Jesus Christ wrote
that He held it against them that they had abandoned their first love.
- To the congregation at Pergamum the Lord wrote: "But I have a few things against you,
because have there some who hold the teachings of Balaam, who kept
teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to
eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
So you also have some who in the same way hold the teachings of the
Nicolaitans."
- To Thyatire it was written that there was a prophetess named
Jezebel, who led astray the congregation to commit acts of adultery and
idolatry.
- To Sardis it was written that the congregation had the name that
it was alive, but God knew its deeds: the congregation was dead.
- The congregation at Philadelphia had members who lied, who
pretended to be Jews but were not.
- The congregation at Laodicea were lukewarm. They had no warm
feelings towards God and His love for them.
It was the same with regard to the congregation of which we have read.
- They just waited until Paul turned his back to leave, then some
of them inveighed against his preaching with all manner of gossip in
which his apostleship was denied.
- There was even more. In chapter 12 verse 20 the Holy Spirit lists
a number of transgressions which the congregation at Corinth would be
called to account for:
continual
strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance,
and disturbances.
This may appear to be just a list of sins committed there, but in truth
it testified to the life of a church that no longer showed any
gratitude for Christ's atonement for their sins before God.
- These things offered testimony that the members of the church no
longer bore in mind that Christ had to suffer the pangs of hell for
their sakes.
- They forgot that the Lord
- had left the highest heavens to suffer mockery and hunger here
on earth;
- was even subjected to the temptations of Satan;
- suffered agony when they lacerated the skin on His back with
scourges;
- and that He, who was God, collapsed in His human capacity when
He could carry His cross no further.
- Think of the pain when they hammered the nails into His body,
and when He had to hang from just these nails!
- And the humiliation and shame which made it worse, when He had
to hang naked before the people.
Jesus bore all this, because He was concerned with our welfare. That
was the reason for everything He did.
We should remember that we people are not the only beings in creation
who sinned against God, a large number of the angels also did! But
there is no possibility of redemption for them. These things happened
only on our behalf.
Paul said that he wrote these things before the countenance of God in
Jesus Christ. He wrote therefore with courage and confidence, because
he knew that God tested what He wrote and found every word true. But
the effect that he wished to achieve was this: He told the congregation
that he knew that he had to account to God for everything he preached,
but they should remember that they, too, had to account for everything
they did!
It appears that Paul was fully aware of everything that happened in the
congregation of Corinth at the time.
- In 12:21 he wrote that, during his previous visit, he had spoken
to certain people who had lived lives of impurity and sensuality.
- He knew that some of them had repented, but there were others who
had not repented.
Now he would be returning to the congregation. And, he said, every fact
would be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Every
word.
- By this he created the impression of a court of judgement. There
would eventually be a trial, at which the sinners would be sentenced.
- The idea was not that Paul would sit in judgement of each member
of the congregation, and that others would be called to testify against
certain members of the congregation to get them into trouble.
- He prophesied in that statement concerning the trial and
judgement to be conducted by Jesus Christ at His second coming - then
Christ would not be weak, but strong.
Then we find the telling fourth verse:
For
indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of
the power of God ...
This stands in relation to verse 2, where Paul wrote that he would not
spare the congregation on his return. The unrepentent persons would be
chastised in the power of Christ.
In their moments of sinning, the congregation of Corinth thought that
Christ was powerless.
- Paul mentioned what was probably their argument: He was crucified
because He was weak.
- The people had probably begun to argue that people had had power
over Jesus, and had forced Him to submit to suffering.
Paul put the matter very forcefully:
- The implication of His words was that Jesus had not been forced
by people to submit to suffering. He had wanted to undergo suffering;
He Himself had wanted to be crucified - for the sake of the elect.
- For that reason He laid down His life; death had not overwhelmed
Him, because He had Himself determined the hour of His death and then
expired.
But now the congregation should look beyond the weakness of the
crucifixion and the fact that Jesus had died.
- They should also bear in mind that Jesus had intentionally and
easily coped with and overcome these circumstances, and that He now
lived.
- Christ is almighty, because He is God. And by virtue of His
Divine power He had even determined the hour in which He would again
take up His life and rise from the dead.
- He thereby provided very clear proof of His Divine strength and
power.
We must consider two things in this connection.
- The first of these is verse 3 in which Paul wrote that Christ was
still mighty among them.
- The second is what we find in verse 5:
Test
yourselves ...
Examine yourselves ...
Paul left with them the thought that they did not remember the
crucifixion correctly, but nevertheless underlined the fact that
Christ could, in His Divine power, destroy them utterly if their faith
was found wanting in His judgement.
That is why He also asked the question:
"Or do you not recognise this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in
you - unless indeed you fail the test?"
Let us remember Christ in His moments of agony on the cross.
- But let us always remember clearly that Christ, our God, rose
from the dead.
- Let us remember that His death on the cross was an act of grace.
- Let us also remember that He used it in His omnipotence precisely
to prove His overwhelming power over both death and life.
Let us in our lives be worthy of this great act of grace, and let us do
as follows:
- rejoice;
- be made complete;
- be comforted (well-advised);
- be like-minded;
- live in peace;
- and the God of love and peace will be with you.
AMEN.
Closing prayer.
Closing Psalm: 149:1
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
AMEN.
Rev. Dr. M.J. du Plessis
Reformed Church, Bellville.
11 November 2001.
Scripture quoted from NASB.