Download The Eternal Sufficiency of Christ I. God`s eternal plan of salvation

The Eternal Sufficiency of Christ
I. God’s eternal plan of salvation (Acts 13:13-32)
 Side note (Remember Antioch spoken of here is not the same Antioch we
started with. This Antioch is in Asia Minor. North of Mediterranean, not East of
Mediterranean.
 Paul starts the sermon emphasizing the latter portion of the patriarchal period
This was period where Jacob was leader, whose name was
changed to Israel
Jacob has a 4th son named Judah whom God promised to send
the lineage of a savior through.
Moses also occurs during this 450 year period. The giving of the
law.
Then God gives Judges
Then God gives a King, (Saul for 40 years)
Then God raises up David (a man after God’s own heart
A man after God’s own heart, “He was
referred to this because of His
willingness to forgive His enemies in the
same way God is compassionate and
willing to forgive His enemies.
John the Baptist fulfills His work
God raises up Jesus our Savior from the lineage
****Why is Paul taking time to go through these things…. Hasn’t this sermon been preached enough
already in the book of Acts. It sounds a lot like Stephen’s sermon in Acts chapter 7, and we all
remember how well that sermon turned out. The people in Jerusalem wanted to praise Stephen and
have him write a book about it. Not hardly. They killed him by stoning him, so why are we seeing yet
another sermon like this here.
1. I believe two reasons, first, Paul is preaching in a synagogue where Jews are present,
and He is explaining the process of their history.
2. Second, I believe the Spirit of God is showing us that this plan of salvation has been in
works since the beginning of time.
 Often our Christian culture would mislead us to think that Christ going to the cross
was a sort of plan B. In other words, Adam sinned, and so God had to improvise and
come up with a new plan. Not thru the salvation of man from the wrath of God due
His sinfulness has been the plan of God from eternity. This is what we see Paul
explaining to these men. This has been God’s prophecy. This has been what God’s
men have preached in their temporary moments in time. However, the significance
of this message is that God was pleased to communicate this eternal plan of
salvation through the lives of sinful men. Ultimately, God knows what He is doing.
He has His reasons, and He has His plans to fulfill His reasons. Let me give you an
example. I didn’t think I would ever share this from a pulpit. Over the past few
years I’ve been struggling with some health concerns relative to my heart and
resistant infections. I have been feeling a lot better, but yesterday it hit me like a
ton of bricks, and I had no strength. I was unable to get out and do some of the
things I wanted to do. I wanted to go to the seafood festival. I heard some of you
had a great time down in seaside yesterday. I wanted to be there, but I didn’t have
the strength. I was forced to be stuck at home, and I became somewhat bitter
about it because. Well, just to be honest I’m tired of being sick. So, I was somewhat
sinfully bitter about it. Yet, I found myself yesterday afternoon forced to stay at the
house, so I decided to start reading of Acts chapter 13. I started praying through the
text, and I started praying for Pastor Neil to be anointed to preach a strong Word.
Not because I’m a super Christian, but because I didn’t have strength to do anything
else. The next thing I knew I was captivated by Acts chapter 13 and I couldn’t put it
down. You can ask my wife I stayed up late into the night reading this passage
because God began to show me great things about it. I got excited, and I text Neil
telling Him I was praying for Him for today, and I was looking forward to hearing
what God had to say through Him. I had no idea that God was preparing me to
preach this morning. But, and don’t miss this. God knew the plan all along. He
knew what would happen, and He was faithful to make sure we were prepared to
worship Him in Spirit and Truth this morning, and He was prepared to offer the
grace needed to CeCe and Neil in these moments we are gathered in worship. God
has plans, and they will not be thwarted according to Job 42.
 The patriarchs fulfilled their work on Earth and they died, Judah and His brother
Joseph fulfilled their work on Earth and they died. Saul completed his less than
stellar work on Earth and He died. John the Baptist completed His work and He was
beheaded unto death. Then Paul highlights even the great King David fulfilled His
purposes and saw corruption. Now that word corruption is somewhat misleading.
A better Greek translation of the work is decay. What it means is David fulfilled His
work to God, and his body decayed in the grave. Then Paul says an astounding
thing. Christ fulfilled His work, in the life, death and resurrection on the Cross, but
He did not see decay, and this brings us to our second point.
II. Christ’s eternal sufficiency for this salvation (Acts 12:33-29)
 All these men saw decay of body, but Paul exalts the reality that Christ did not see
decay. He was and is eternal. He is supreme over all things. John 1 says in the
beginning was the Word, and He was with the Word, and He was what. He was the
Word. Colossians 1, says all things were created by Christ, Created through Christ
and created what? They were created for Christ.
 Now this present a little bit of a challenge. Here we see Paul quote Psalm 2, where
God says today I have begotten you as my son speaking as a prophecy regarding the
resurrection of Christ. So, what is it? Is Christ eternal, or is He a created being
according to Psalm 2. Here’s what I believe God is showing us. Scripture clearly
teaches that Christ is eternal, and that He is sustaining everything at this very
moment. When God prophesied in Psalm 2 and what He is bringing to light in Acts
13 is that the day Christ came out of the grave was the day God declared to the
world that here He Is!!!!!! This is my begotten son. The one of eternal that I
promised through, Jacob, Judah, Joseph, Moses, Saul, David and most evidently
through John the Baptist. Here is the eternal sufficiency of salvation most clearly
displayed in Christ Jesus, and today my begotten Son I have made known to the
world, so that all who believe in Him will never taste eternal death, but will join in
the angels in singing His praises for all eternity.
 As we prepare to conclude our time of studying this eternal Message of salvation I
want to bring to light the urgent reality that it also communicates.
III. Man only has a temporary opportunity to respond to God’s gift of eternal salvation (Acts 13:30-52)
 What you see is Paul quoting a passage from Habakkuk chapter 1, the prophecy was
be careful lest what was told by the prophets come true, “I’m preparing to do a
thing among you that you would not believe even if I told you.
***The scary thing is I have heard of missions conferences that actually
use that prophecy in Habakkuk chapter 1 to encourage that God is getting ready to
good a great thing among the nations. The reality is Habakkuk and Paul wanted no
part in a mission’s conference that used this verse in a positive light. This was a
prophecy in Habakkuk’s day and in this setting in Paul’s day to warn of the reality
that this Truth of what God is doing among the Gentiles, and who Christ is as the
Sufficient Savior would not be received by some of you even if it were told. In other
words, be careful that this Message of salvation by faith alone in Christ be not
rejected even if it is shared to you.
 Second, we see the Gentiles joyfully receiving this message, and it says that all who
were appointed to believe accepted, by faith, this message of salvation. Now, I
want to be abundantly clear here. This word used that says as many as were
appointed or some translations say ordained to believe they accepted, by faith, the
message of Christ. The word used here for appointed is a Greek word only used 7
other times in the New Testament, and it is not a word that is associated with Paul’s
teaching on the doctrine of election. Rather, each time it is used it is used in the
context of the reality that an external force moves in such a way to propel us to
action. In other words, what Paul is speaking of here is the reality of what we see in
the book of Titus chapter 3. It is the reality of how the Spirit of God works in and
through our hearts to wash with us with His Spirit and produce a regenerated heart
that desires to accept the message of Christ. So, it isn’t speaking directly to the
doctrine of election. However, if you want to know more about what we believe
regarding the doctrine of election here at Coastline I want to reference you to take
time to go to Pastor Neil’s sermon series on the book of Romans found on the
website, in particular his sermons on chapter 7-10, and you will get more than your
fill of what we believe regarding God’s work in salvation.
 The greater picture I want you to see here is that God is putting before the city of
Antioch in this region of modern day Eastern Greece/Western Turkey two choices.
Those choices are life and death.
 The dangerous reality is this morning there lays a possibility that some of you will
fall prey to the prophecy and reject this Truth that even though it is being clearly
communicated, will walk away from it. However, the beauty is some of you are
going to respond, as the Gentiles in Acts 13, with great joy to love and cherish
Christ.
 The call is simple. Will you repent from yourself and trust Christ. What does that
mean? Does that mean you go out of here and you clean up your life and get things
in order and next week trust in Christ, no it means you lay before Christ everything
in your life most importantly all the sins, and you say I want Christ not these sins,
but I can’t do that on my own. I put my faith in the blood of Christ to cleanse me of
all sinfulness. Because here’s the great reality of Acts chapter 13
God allows His people a temporary Moment to declare an Eternal Savior, and then God gives all men a
Temporary Moment to respond to this Eternal Message.