The Drama of Redemption

First John chapter 3 and the second part of verse eight.

For this purpose, the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the work of the devil is pray. Heavenly father we bound your presence tonight to praise you and thank you for being our God, Lord, we thank you for the apostle John, who do was very convicted and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the great words that we are looking at tonight we pray heavenly father is. We take a look at it. What this verse means that you would give us insight, direction and guidance that Lord we would have a better understanding of of what your death and resurrection did to Satan, Lord, that we might glorify you in that that we might joy in it for our sales that Lord you have done a work that we cannot begin to explain the work of redemption, a work of salvation in our hearts, a breaking of deception of the enemy.

We praise you for that now. Help us Lord, that we might live in that truth. And Lord, that he might have such an effect on us that it would help us to walk in the power of the Spirit each day.

Love you Lord, thank you and praise you for your goodness. Loved us and we assess prayer now in your holy and wonderful and precious name.

Amen.

You may be seated for this purpose, the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Some of you might remember Mel Gibson's movie the passion of the Christ that came out several years ago and there was one particular scene in that movie that was so vivid and so shocking that everybody was talking about it. John Piper said he believed that it was the most important scene in that entire movie and the scene was this Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane and he was praying and sweating great drops of blood. He knew what was before they knew that what was coming was unbelievable suffering and then death and as Jesus is pray and Satan, as they are and he is whispering in his ear. Things to try to bring him to other discouragement to try to destroy him and all of a sudden this Jesus is praying. A snake slithers out from under Satan and slithered right over to where Jesus is. Jesus steps up and without any fear perfectly calm, lifts his leg up and install upset snake right into the ground, and when Satan sees that he just recalls an absolute fear and an absolute shock that did not happen literally in the garden of Gethsemane, but it is the perfect symbol of the verse that we have in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 that the theologians call the proto-who on Galliano the first gospel where God said this to Satan and I will put enmity between you and the woman in between her seed in your seed, and he will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.

That's exactly what John is saying in first John chapter 3 verse eight. For the Son of Man is manifested of the purpose of the Son of Man was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. The Puritans have a name for this verse. I called the drama of redemption.

The reason for that was because they wanted the world to know that the gospel was not just a philosophy that it was not just a a dissertation that it was not just a treatise at the gospel was the actual historical event at the gospel was actually a series of events, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Martyn Lloyd Jones said it this way.

I Tennessee always is to turn the gospel into a point of view into an idea in the teaching and forget that it was first and foremost a series of events and of facts which actually took place that it seems to me is that inevitable result of sin. The apostle Paul tells us in his letters to the Corinthians, and to the Colossae and he was aware of that very subtle danger. He was always afraid of somehow or another nullifying the whole message of the cross by turning it into a philosophy for the very essence of the gospel message is is not first and foremost a teaching but a proclamation. An announcement of certain things that have happened when you read the book of acts you will find the first preachers traveled around and were heralds of the message.

They told the ancient world of certain things which it happened. They talked about a person in the reported what that at happened to him was a very special emphasis they told people of the amazing fact of the resurrection. How this person, Jesus of Nazareth, who'd been completely misunderstood not only by the common people by the rulers and elders of the people, how you been put to death. They said God raised him from the dead, and he had manifested himself to them.

His chosen witnesses and to certain other people. They told how after he had spent 40 days on the earth. They had seen them rising into the heavens and now they were preaching in the power of the amazing gift that it sent to them.

A person I call the Holy Spirit. The Scripture does not say. For this purpose, the son of God was manifested, that he might teach that he might heal that he might be a role model that he might do any a number of these things that Jesus did do those things. But that's not primarily why he was manifested. He was primarily manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil people. This is the heart of the gospel. If you asked the average person today to explain the gospel to you, they'll start telling you what you need to do, they'll tell you.

We just need to give your heart to Jesus that they'll tell you that you that you need to turn from sin that you need to repent and the answer that is is yes that is true. Those things are needed, but that's not the gospel. The gospel is not what you've done for Jesus.

The gospel is what Jesus has done for you and what Jesus has done for you on the cross is what you must respond to you respond as is the Lord opened your understanding is Lord gives you power to see the truth of what Jesus did for us on the cross and flicks.

I think it's important to see that the fruit of regeneration is your trust at your repentance. It's your turning from sin. But the gospel itself is Jesus's death for you in the resurrection, and how we need to glory, and that with that in mind. What did the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Do with the works of the devil only ask you this. Which book of the Bible is the most mocked the most defamed the most criticized today. It is the book of Genesis, especially the first 11 chapters of Genesis. The first 11 chapters of Genesis, we found out how the world came to be. We find out who created the world we find out how long the world has existed, we find out that man did not evolve. It did not come about by some chance that he was created. We find out that man is a created being of God that he was made in the image of God he was made for the glory of God.

We find the introduction of evil and sin by a character who we call Satan the adversary the devil, Lucifer, the anointed cherub that covers the deceiver, the thief who comes to kill, steal and destroy.

What is the book of Genesis. Under such attack because it is our foundation for understanding who God is who we are, why we are here, and while were in the horrible dilemma that we are in his human billions some huts on 11 verse three. The Scripture says if the foundations be destroyed and what can the righteous do listen if the book of Genesis cannot be trusted in the gospel generally makes sense does it. If your children to be in taught in school with the human race was a freak accident of nature that that your earliest ancestors were not really Adam and Eve, but but it all started back billions and billions of years ago and Anna and primordial slime somewhere where it's a sale began to two separate and and multiply, and that's how it all started.

If that's with those children believe in their gonna grow up saying I'm I'm just an accident of nature. I'm not really responsible to anyone calls. I don't really have a creator. I just happened about by chance and so I don't really need to be accountable to anyone. I can just live like I want to because unlike all the other animals I can live like I want to live. I can believe what I want to believe I can have the motto if it feels good do it. I bring all this out because first John 38 does not make sense if the Genesis account of creation is not truly the inerrant word of God that truly says that the world was created by the triune God in six literal 24 hour days, says that God created a man and a woman who were the parents of the entire human race. He created them in innocence and place them in a perfect environment. They, unlike us had a perfectly free will. They did not have a sin nature that there was nothing on the inside of them that would push them to sin.

We on the other hand, were born with a sin nature, we sin because we have a deep dark affinity for sin, we sin because we have a nature that laws sin. Most of our temptation start acquire most of our temptations don't start from Satan. They start narrowing heart. They come from the flesh, and they they know how to get us most of our temptation start in the heart. Satan doesn't have to tempt us too much because we have hearts that are just given over to sense a much you have to do a whole lot, but Adam and Eve were innocent. No sin nature so there's temptation came from without and it came from Satan.

Satan came to Adam and Eve in the guise of a beautiful serpent and tempted them to eat of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Understand first John 38. We have to get behind the motivation of why Satan went to the trouble to tempt Adam and Eve and if you get behind to see why he did that the answers this he had a deep intent, hatred for God. By this time in history.

Satan is already fallen.

The sin of pride that somehow slithered into the heart of Lucifer. Lucifer than the Archangel of God, the greatest, most powerful created being of God and yet his pride led him into absolute foolishness.

The stories explained in Isaiah chapter 14 where Lucifer is so deceived by his pride that he thinks that he can usurp God's throne and take his power. He said this, I will ascend in the heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

I will be like the most high God said Satan that was Satan's rebellion in Ezekiel chapter 28 we have a picture of of Satan. And who years we read you this. You are the Signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering sardius, topaz, and diamond bowl onyx in Jasper Sapphire Amaral and carbuncle and crafted and goal your settings in your engravings on the day that you were created. They were prepared you and anointed Guardian cherub I placed you. You were on the holy mountain of God in the midst of the stones of fire. You Walt you are blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you and the abundance of your trade your field of violence in your midst, and you send. So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you a Guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Your heart was proud because of your beauty you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor, I cast you to the ground I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. That's the Old Testament picture of Satan's fall after Satan's fall. He was forced out of his primary access to God in heaven he came down to this earth, he came down to this earth and absolute utter rebellion against God.

Jesus spoke of this when he was commissioned and his disciples in Luke chapter 10 verse 17 through 19. He said this, the 72 returned with Joyce landlord. Even the demons are subject us in your name and he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power the enemy and nothing shall hurt you in second Corinthians 4. Look at how the apostle Paul describes Satan and his activity against humans and even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God for what we proclaim is not our sales. But Jesus Christ as Lord, with our sales as your servants for Jesus sake are that little bit of background, this go back to Genesis in the garden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to transgress God's law to eat of the forbidden fruit and God had given them this command.

The day that you eat of that fruit of knowledge of good and evil tree of the knowledge of good and evil in that day you will die. Did they die the day that they ate of it. They do not physically die that particular day they begin to physically die they physically died much later. But they spiritually.immediately that day they lost their access to God.

They lost their ability to commune with God. They became slaves to sin itself, and Satan. They were influenced by the world the flesh and the devil they lost their innocence and they lost their ability to physically live forever. All of that is what John is talking about when he speaks of the works of the devil. So what is John telling us what did the cross and the resurrection do to destroy the works of the devil, I'm not gonna give you all of them because we could go on and on that ownership for them with you tonight. I believe these four tremendously important number one. He provided redemption redemption.

First Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 19 says that knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ like a lamb without blemish to redeem means to purchase a slave off the sleigh block. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they had no idea of the price that they were paying just how much it was going to cost what is a slave, a slave is a person who belongs to another person.

He doesn't call the shots in his life he has to do whatever it is his slaveowner tells him to do. He does what they telling the day.

He does what they AA doesn't do what they telling not to do. He can go only where they telling to go and he can't go where they telling not to go. One of my favorite Old Testament passages is the is the book of Hosea. I love that for it's a beautiful picture of the of the redemption that is provided for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Hosea was an Old Testament prophet, he preached the law of God. He loved God, the love God's word.

I think he was just a tough no-nonsense preacher. I think I would've really enjoyed getting to know Hosea, but God gave him a command in the command was that he was to go and marry a lady and he obey that command.

Her name was Gomer. He married her. They begin to really love each other and had three children and it seemed for several years that everything was going to go great and things are going to be fine. Then picture this way that he came home one evening and after work and he walked in and the kids were crying and the wife was not there a sick kids.

Why are you crying. Where's your mom and they said will will dad were sorry we hate to tell you this, but a man came by today and any and mom up, packed up her to her suitcase and she said that she was leaving.

She said that she doesn't love us anymore and that she was bored with life and she told us that she won't be back.

I can imagine Hosea going back into his bedroom away from the kids and just fallen down his face before God and weeping and crying and crying and begging God to bring her back for several months. They heard nothing from government and every day you continue to pray for her. What was she doing she was going from one lever to another to another to another. And in the process she got sick, and terribly diseased and it got so bad that she didn't even have enough food to eat, so she sold herself into slavery to a slaveowner.

The slaveowner gave her a couple good meals a day and then he decided what I'm doing some of the sale. You, so we took her to Samaria put up a put her up on the sleigh block in order that she might be sold the way they did it back in those days was the slaveowner would strip the. The lady of her clothing in order that the prospective buyers could see exactly what they were getting. I can imagine her standing there, shivering in the cold just so happen that Hosea is walking through that area of Samaria that day. He just happens to look up in the sleigh block in there he sees his wife, she's they are. She's thin, she's weak and emaciated.

She looks 10 years older than she did the last time that he saw her and he hardly recognizes her but is her and I can imagine him going over to the slaveowner and he says how much for her slaveowner since 15 shekels of silver and some barley and so he takes it any slows it down at the at the slaveowner's feet and he walks over to the sleigh block and he holds up his arms to his wife and he says I love you come home. I can imagine her not even looking him in the eye and she falls down in his arms and he hugs her. He takes a blanket and he wraps her up he puts her in the wagon and he takes her back home and Alex finally get back home and he brings her into the bedroom he lays her down the bed. The kids all come and they rejoice in their mom home and then he walks out. He's got plans to nurse are completely back to health, and she says to herself. I can't believe it. I can't believe that he still loves me after all that I've done against him.

After all the hurt that of costing after all the betrayal that was in my heart and yet he still love me, and he bought me back off the slave market brothers and sisters that redemption. And that's exactly what Jesus Christ did for you and for me. He bought us off the slave market and doing that he redeemed us sin controls. It sits on the throne of our life and tells us what to do. I've never smoked, but everybody I know this smokes wish they'd never started in that interesting and I'll talk to you but I want to quit. No sign is I hate this. We should never started this, but this addiction is just is so powerful psychologist tells today that pornography is even more addictive than heroin that when people look at pornography that it it releases endorphins in the mind that cause cravings that will absolutely drive a person crazy pornography controls know we don't all struggle with the same bondage is the slave market is sin is the same. It's powerful. His purpose is to control you to the point where it will destroy you is only one way out of that slave market and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. That is the only way out. Jesus said that he would pay the ransom and he did want you to know when he paid that ransom even pay it to Satan. He paid it to God the father on the cross he cried out to tell you stock it is finished, which actually means it in the Greek it means paid in full. He paid our ransom. He paid are set sin debt in an absolute fullness and as a Christian because of that you and I can say along with Paul sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.

Second thing that Jesus provided was reconciliation. Romans chapter 5 verses 10 through 11 for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life more than that.

We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that whom we have now received reconciliation.

The word reconciled means the removal of enmity. Paul said in Ephesians 2 that we are by nature children of wrath.

We are born with a sin nature that has an ugly deep rebellion against God. 15 years ago you opened up the Charlotte Observer on a Thursday morning and I read a letter that was written to the editor of the Charlotte Observer and I jot it was so shocked me that I cut it out and I saved it not is a letter written by guy named Steve Gosset and I just wanted to read it very short but it was entitled maybe Jesus died for your sins in response to dangerous passion, which is a February 29 editorial just for the record, Jesus Christ did not die for my sins. I never met the man. One even around the time.

After listening to Christian rhetoric for over 50 years. I still don't binder the guilt of owing Jesus all taken our quiet meditation any day.

Steve Gosset for the preaching of the cross is the them that perish foolishness and a source are being saved it is the power of God. Steve Gosset stands before Almighty God in the final judgment. I have a that letter will be brought up before his final statement in John Piper's little book on the passion of Jesus Christ. He made the following statement about reconciliation. I thought this was good, so the reconciliation that needs to happen between sinful man and God goes both ways. Our attitude toward God must be changed from defiance to faith and God's attitude to us must be changed from wrath to mercy, but the two are not the same. I need God's help to change. But God does not need mine.

My change will have to come from outside amoeba God's change originates in his own nature, which means that overall, it is not a change in God at all. It is God's unplanned action to stop being against me and start being for me the all-important words are while we were enemies. This is when we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Romans 510. While we were enemies. In other words, the first change was God's not ours. We were still enemies. Not that we were consciously on the warpath. Most people don't feel conscious hostility to God.

The hostility is manifest more subtly with a quiet insubordination and indifference. The Bible describes it like this, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Heart.

Thirdly, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ provided for the removal of deception in the Old Testament days was only one group of people in our world that had the truth the light of God and that was the Jewish people all the way through for free history until the time of the cross was a Jewish people that had the law of the word of God, the law of God, the promises of of the coming Messiah, and the prophecies of God. They had all that and the rest of the world was in pretty much darkness they didn't have they did know God they did know the law of God, they did know what God wanted to know what God desired. They did know what God required. They did not know God, Scripture teaches us that Satan had blinded the eyes of the unbelievers, and it kept them in other in utter deception. The cross broke the power of that deception. Listen to what John wrote in John chapter 12 verses 3332. And remember, the same guy that wrote the passage it would deal with the night is the one that wrote the book of Revelation is also the one that wrote the gospel of John the gospel John 1233, 32 Jesus said this this voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I if I am lifted up from the earth as a reference to the cross. I will draw all peoples to myself that word, they are means all kinds of people.

That is, people from every tribe, kindred tongue and nation and that happened all the way through the Old Testament times. The truth of God had been encapsulated in the little nation of Israel. Then, when Jesus died and rose again the light of truth broke out across the world. The gospel began to proliferate. The gospel was taken of the four corners of the earth, and people from every tribe can kindred tongue and nation came to Christ. All of a sudden Spaniards were getting saved and and Romans and Syrians and in people from every nation were hearing the gospel and coming to know Christ, the Melinda millennialist believe that John was saying the exact same thing in Revelation chapter 20 verses one through three. We dealt with at this more and more this morning sermon. If you remember, remember, what happens to Satan during the millennium now the omelette is believed the millennium the thousand year. Is not up future Golden age that will take place after Christ returns to the earth. They believe that it is a a picture of the church age. From the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ. He reverses 133 then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to a bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

He laid hold of the Dragon, the serpent of old who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal on him, and listen why so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. So John says that Satan is bound during that thousand year. If that thousand year period is a picture of the church age. In the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ, then there was Satan bound Satan is certainly not bound. Today is the way take a look at that site and what he's doing. He is still killing, stealing and destroying but he was bound in his ability to deceive the nations and when did that start that started on the cross, the bonding that took place on the cross. The cross took away the darkness from the world so that every nation could receive the truth. The cross and the resurrection provided for the removal of Satan's deception, not all of it yet, but the removal so that the nations could hear the gospel and people not just in Israel from all over our world could hear the gospel and come to know Christ forcefully, his crucifixion and resurrection provided for our eternal life.

In John 11 Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He believes in me shall never die. In Romans chapter 4 Paul said Jesus was delivered for our fences and he was raised for our justification.

Listen listen plus Institute. Verse 13 through 15 and you, being dead in your trespasses and un-circumcision of your flesh, he is made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it. This might be the best passage in the entire Bible to explain how the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ destroyed the works of the devil. The all of our sin. All of our nasty filthy sin was taken and nailed to the cross of Christ and and and and for what purpose those scenes were judged and paid for judged and absolutely paid for, so that when Satan comes against us with the tax with trying to condemn us trying to keep us in bondage. All we have to do is pointing back to the cross, pointing back to the cross and what is the Scripture say Jesus disarmed Satan and made a public spectacle of any of them and all of his minions and tromped over them in it so that we might be able to say of death wears lasting a grave wears a victory for the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be in the God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. For this purpose, the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

A man a man is pray. Heavenly father, we come before your throne tonight.

Praise you and thank you for your precious word that is so encouraging Lord as we look tonight at some of the reasons that that you were manifested Lord, it just reeled our hearts to know that you brought about our redemption, Lord, that you broke deception in our life that Satan is not able to to do would EEE at one time could do because of the cross of Calvary. Father, help us, that we might be excited about the cross, helpful, helpless heavenly father that we might joy in your resurrection, that we might walk out of this building tonight knowing that we belong to Christ, and he belongs to us and we will be his forever and ever and ever. We love you. Do not Jesus.

Thank you for loving us and is in Jesus precious and holy name we pray. Amen