Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/callanish/sermons/24107/the-anointing-and-sealing-of-the-spirit/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] We can sing now to God's praise from Psalm 18. Psalm 18 at verse 28.

[0:20] Psalm 18 at verse 28. The Lord will light my candle so that it shall shine full bright. The Lord my God will also make my darkness to be light.

[0:33] By thee through troops of men I break and them discomfort all. By my God assisting me I overleap a wall. As for God perfect is his way.

[0:45] The Lord his word is tried. He is a buckler to all those who do in him confide. Who but the Lord is God. But he who is a rock and stay.

[0:58] Tis God that girdeth me with strength. And perfect makes my way. He made my feet. Swift as the hind. Set me on my high places.

[1:09] Mine hands to war he taught. Mine arms break woes of steel in pieces. The shield of thy salvation thou didst on me bestow. Thy right hand held me up.

[1:22] And great thy kindness made me grow. And so on. And so on. These verses. Psalm 18 from verse 28. The Lord will light my candle so that it shall shine full bright.

[1:35] The Lord will light my candle so that it shall shine full bright.

[1:51] The Lord my God who will light my darkness so that it shall shine full bright.

[2:05] By these woo-goers will light my disputedchnical까 crucified. Then I break up them discomfort all, And I, I call the sin, sing me, I, O, partly come on.

[2:32] As for God's perfect wishes with the Lord, His word is right, He is a burden to all those who do in Him combine.

[2:58] Who but the Lord is of the deep, Who is the rock and state, Tis God that heareth me with sin, And perfect makes my way.

[3:26] He made my peace with glass the high, Set me on my high glissons, My heart to what He taught, On my arms, take those of still in pieces, The shield of thy salvation, Thou didst not give me so.

[4:09] Thy right and help me up and pray, Thy kindness make me grow.

[4:23] I guess to turn now for a short while to the passage that we read, The second epistle of Paul to the Corinthians chapter 1.

[4:40] We can read again, Verse 19, For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us, Even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, Was not ye and nay, But in him was ye.

[4:59] For all the promises of God in him, Are ye and in him. Amen. And to the glory of God by us. Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, And hath anointed us, Who is God, Who hath also sealed us, And given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

[5:25] Particularly the words of verses 21 and 22. It is commonly said that this epistle of the Apostle Paul is perhaps one of the most personal epistles, One of the most autobiographical of all his lectures.

[5:52] And it might not surprise us to know that the establishing of the church in Corinth is attributed to his ministry.

[6:10] We understand under God's hand clearly. If you read the book of Acts and chapter 18, You will there note how Paul was greatly blessed in preaching the gospel in Corinth.

[6:27] It wasn't always the case that when Paul preached that blessing accompanied his preaching. But in this occasion, There was much fruit.

[6:40] Many, we are told, Heard Paul preached. And many believed and were baptized. And Paul would be the first to acknowledge that this is entirely God's doing.

[6:55] But after he had spent some time there, He left Corinth with the intention at some point in the near future to return there.

[7:07] And after he was away for some time, He obviously kept in touch with them.

[7:18] And he received information that disturbed him concerning the church in Corinth. And it is in this issue that some believe that we have the first epistle and we have the second epistle here.

[7:39] But that it is suggested, although there is no evidence to prove that, That there is a third left that Paul had written. Because there are references to what was written by him that are not contained in these epistles.

[7:57] But that matters not. The fact of the matter was that Paul understood that there were serious issues that needed to be dealt with.

[8:08] And he wanted to bring these things before the mind of the church in Corinth.

[8:20] And unfortunately for Paul, And for all who preach the gospel, The preaching inevitably stirs up those who are enemies of the gospel, Enemies of Christ.

[8:41] And the same was true of the apostle. That enmity was for some time disguised, But once Paul was away, They set up a trying to undermine his message.

[8:59] And this was very often the case. They tried to undermine his message by pouring scorn on the person that he was.

[9:09] And in this instance, What was the crowbar, if you like, They wanted to put under his whole ministry, Was the fact that he had promised to come, And he had not fulfilled that promise.

[9:30] And they pointed that out to those who were in Corinth, That he had not kept his word, And that he had not come to them, As he had promised to do.

[9:49] And when a person's word is questioned, That inevitably leads to questions in the minds of those who are hearing the gospel preached by him.

[10:03] So they question whether his integrity, Which is besmirched, Is also a cause for them to question the message of the gospel that he preaches.

[10:21] But in the providence of God, We see in the way Paul is led by the Spirit of God, There are evidences that sometimes what he intends to do, While it may be genuinely the desire of his heart, It is sometimes not God's will for him, And his path is diverted, And he is made to go elsewhere.

[11:00] So one of the writers says, He had hoped to go to Macedonia via Corinth, Returning by the same route, And then going on to Palestine. And both of these visits were not possible, Because of God's intervention.

[11:19] And it would be good for every Christian, To have the clarity of mind, That allowed them to speak, The truth with regard to God's purposes.

[11:39] Always. But God doesn't always reveal his purposes. God doesn't always choose to make known, What his plan is, For the church, Or for the individual who belongs to the church.

[11:55] There are times when he does. There are times when he makes it obvious, What he wishes the church to do, What he wishes those who form part of the church to do.

[12:09] But there are other times, When that is not immediately obvious. And it is because of this situation that Paul is in, That these sentiments that we find in verses 17 and 18, Come from.

[12:26] And some suggest that Paul is deeply grieved by the offense caused by those who challenge his integrity.

[12:42] And the reason for that is obvious, Because it is not just a matter of a personal offense.

[12:53] Because Paul's calling is greater than Paul. It is God who has called him to the ministry, And God who has given him this particular task of preaching the gospel.

[13:06] And while there are occasions when he may just have to bite his tongue, And take it on the chin, As it were, The offenses that people come to.

[13:21] But when these offenses are impugning not just his character, But his Lord's character, And his Lord's purposes, Then it is a more serious matter.

[13:34] The preacher G.B. Duncan has got an interesting booklet. It is a very simple book on the writings of Paul in Corinth, To the Corinthians.

[13:51] And he says something which is important for us to recognize. Paul was acutely aware of the fact that anything said against the servant Could become something said against the saviour.

[14:07] Whether we like it or not, The opinion of people, The opinion people have of Christians, Has a very close link to the opinion people have of Christ.

[14:19] And we need to remember that, As far as our own witness is concerned, And our testimony as Christians. If we prove ourselves to be unreliable in any area of our lives, Then our testimony, our witness, Is sullied by reason of that.

[14:39] So Paul defends himself, And wishes those who are opposed to him, To understand that what they are saying is wrong.

[14:50] But he has kept an affinity with those who are in Corinth. He has maintained an interest in them, As you would expect.

[15:01] And not only has he shown himself to be interested in what is going on there, But he allies himself with the cause of Christ amongst them.

[15:12] He's not speaking, As we find often in his letters, He's not speaking as somebody who's high-minded, Looking down on them and saying, Well, this is what's wrong with you, And this is where you have gone wrong.

[15:25] Very often he speaks as a Christian, Who is a fellow Christian, A brother Christian, And who sees the things that are going wrong, As things that he himself needs to associate with them, Not in the wrongdoing, But show that he is alongside with them.

[15:54] Look at the words that he speaks here, Of his own role as a comforter, For those who are needing to be comforted. Here he speaks of himself, The Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us, Even by me, And Silvanus, And Timotheus, Was not ye, And not ye, And nay, But in him was ye, For all the promises of God in him are ye, And in him are men, To the glory of God by us.

[16:30] So, He's not just speaking of himself as an individual, But as somebody who, Along with others, Has brought the gospel to them, And who is grieved When that gospel is threatened, Or the influence of that gospel, The effects of that gospel, The blessings of that gospel, When they are undermined.

[16:55] So, What are the many things, That Paul wishes them to understand, That he shares with them, As a brother Christian, As not just a servant of God, Sent to minister to them, But as a fellow believer, Who knows the blessings of God, That they enjoy, At a personal level.

[17:23] He says of himself, That, Along with him, That he established, Now he which establishes us, With you in Christ, They are established, As he is established, And their stability, Is to be found, On the foundation, Upon which, He and they built, Again, He says, They have experienced, Anointing, Paul could say, Of his own, Role, As a preacher, Of the gospel, That the spirit of God, Has given him, An unction, To proclaim the gospel, And there are occasions, When he emphasises that, Truth, But here,

[18:24] He speaks of, An anointing, That he and they, Enjoy together, As Christians, And the third thing, That he says, Who also hath, Sealed us, Collectively, He and they, Know the sealing, Of God, And, Fourthly, They have, Collectively, Again, As Christians, As believers, As brothers, And sisters, In the Lord, They have, Received, The earnest, Of the spirit, In their hearts, So these are, Four things, That Paul identifies, That allows him, To address, Any thoughts, That they may have, Concerning, His reliability, As a minister, Of the gospel, And his reliability, As a Christian believer, Because, They are,

[19:25] Of the one, Cloth, Cut, As it were, They are, First of all, Then, Established, Now, The thing, For Paul is, Is, That, While you may think, That it is, A temptation, To him, Because of the role, That God gave to him, To preach the gospel, Successfully, In Corinth, He, And they, Are both, Products, Of the gospel, It is, The God of heaven, Who has, Quickened them, It is the God, Of heaven, Who has, Brought them, To saving faith, And, There is, No way, Around that, This is, The foundation, Upon which, They, Build, As Christians,

[20:26] The foundation, That God, Himself, Has laid, For them, Upon which, They are able, To build, Charles Hodge, Says, God is, God is, Brought into view, As the author, And, Preserver, Of their faith, And, While we, Read in the scripture, The purposes, Of God, Made known to us, By way of the prophets, It is always, The case, That he brings us, To, The, The fruition, Of the promises, Made, Only by, Dent of his own, Power, The reason, I was thinking, Of, Of the role, Of the spirit, I was asked, A direct question, About, The difference, Between the spirit, At work, In the, The old testament, And the new testament, And, While there is, A difference, In the way, That the spirit, Operates, Quantitatively,

[21:27] If you want, If you look, At the role, Of the holy spirit, In the old testament, You can identify, Certain things, First of all, That mark him out, As, God, The spirit, While he was poured out, In, In full, On Pentecost, It was not the beginning, Of the existence, Of the spirit, From the beginning, Of time, From the beginning, Of the world, Before the world was, God, The son, God, The father, And God, The spirit, Coexisted as one, And, When you begin, To read through, The scriptures, Of the old testament, You find, The involvement, Of the spirit, In creation, You find, The involvement, Of the spirit, In equipping, The witnesses, To the purposes, Of God, He is there, To the fore, Along with,

[22:29] The father, And the son, Of promise, He is there, In, Not only, In, Opening out, The minds, Of, Of those, Who are, In the world, To God's purposes, He applies, That word, To the minds, And hearts, Of those, Who would believe, This is his role, He quickens, He, He quickens, Even the sense, Of the old testament, He opens, The eyes, Of their understanding, He directs them, To the person, Of Christ, Yet unborn, In the sense, That he is, God, Man, And, He is instrumental, In bringing them, Not just to salvation, But to, The fullness, Of salvation, In, The work, Of sanctification, Sanctification, Carried out by, This is not, As, As reamed, In the new testament, Solely, But, In the old testament, And here, Paul speaks, About, The same, Spirit,

[23:32] That works, In establishing, Them, In, In this world, As believers, In Jesus Christ, In the book of Psalms, And Psalm 118, Christ is yet to be born, But we are told, By, The, The psalmist, Who, By the spirit, Is able to declare, This truth, The stone, That is made, Head cornerstone, Which builders, Despise, This is the doing, Of the Lord, And wondrous, In our eyes, This is, The revelation, Of God, This is the, Work of the spirit, Making that truth, Known to us, And they, In turn, Build upon him, That God, Has established, As this, Cornerstone, That he directs them to, The stone, Must be built upon, And this, Is, What,

[24:34] Must happen, For everyone, Who is a believer, And failing to do that, They will fall, And as long as, They are building upon, The stone, That the Lord, Has laid, The, The foundation, That God has laid, Every single, One of them, Will, Stand, And, That is, Important, It's important, For Paul, To remind them of that, It's important, For himself, To remind himself of that, When, The truth, That he declares, Is challenged, As an untruth, Because of his, Unreliability, Though, He says, That cannot be so, Because, This is the truth, That I have believed, That you have believed, Upon which we are building, For time, And for eternity, And, There is a certainty, And a stability, That cannot be challenged, If we act according, To our feelings, Alone,

[25:35] Then one day, We will be high, We will be lifted up, We will be confident, We will be, Full of joy, And, Certain of our salvation, But if our feelings, Decree otherwise, Then, Our salvation, Evaporates just as rapidly, But Paul says, He which establishes us, With you in Christ, This is, God who does that, And he says, He has anointed us, He has anointed us, That's a, A very important word, One of the Puritans, Says, We are, We are, We are, Sure, Sure, Sure, Sure, Sure, Than the angels, Where before they fell, Sure, Sure, Than Adam was, In paradise, For, As we are, We are established, In Christ, The mediator, God and man, This is God's doing, And each believer,

[26:38] Knows from the mouth, Of the apostle Peter, You are kept, By the power of God, Unto salvation, Anointed by God, Again, You are directed, Through these words, Perhaps, If you think of it, There is one, Who knew the unction of God, Knew the anointing of God, The Messiah of God, Is God's anointed, And perhaps, It is the intention, Of the apostle, To remind them, Of their relationship, To that Christ, Think of you, Go back to, To when Christ, Speaks to the church, Speaks to his disciples, Of what he is going to do, When he leaves this world, He is going to leave them, In the hands of the Holy Spirit, And he says, Of that spirit, Even the spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, Because it seeth him not,

[27:38] Neither knoweth him, But you know him, For he dwelleth with you, And shall be in you, In you, I will not leave you, Comfortless, I will come to you again, And so on, You know these words, And the unction, The anointing, That Christ, Experienced, Particularly for his own, Role as the mediator, Of his people, Is, Maybe different, And probably, We must insist, That it is different, To any anointing, That his people have, But because he is in them, Remember, The prophet Isaiah, He speaks, Looking forward, To the coming, Of the day of the Lord, The spirit of the Lord, The spirit of the Lord, The spirit of the Lord, God, Is upon me, Because the Lord, Has anointed me, To preach good tidings, Unto the meek, He hath sent me, To bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim the liberty, Of the captives, And the opening of the prison,

[28:39] To them that are bound, To proclaim the acceptable year, Of the Lord, And the day of vengeance, Of our God, To comfort, All that mourn, And so on, This is the anointing, That Christ enjoyed, But as those who are, In him, Paul seems to be, Arguing that through Christ, This anointing, Is also, The experience, Of God's people, The experience, Of God's people, Remember, We can sometimes, Speak of Jesus Christ, And we must speak of him, As the prophet, The priest, And the king, Of his people, And he is all these things, But there is a sense, In which, The relationship, That his people, Enjoy with Christ, Also, Insists that they too, Are prophets, Priests, And kings, They are prophets, Because they are enabled, To rightly divide,

[29:40] The word of God, They are priests, Because they offer, Themselves, As living sacrifices, To God, They are kings, Because they are, Enabled by his grace, To rule over, The, The, The passions, And lusts, That are, Accompaniment of sin, Anointed, By the Holy Spirit, Set apart, For Christian service, Is that not what, The apostle John says, You have a nunction, From the holy one, He says, But the anointing, Which you have received, Of him, Abideth in you, And you need not, That any man teach you, But as the same anointing, Teaches you, Of all things, And is truth, And is no lie, And even as it has taught you, You shall abide, In him, Not saying, That the anointing, Of Christ, And the anointing,

[30:40] Of the believer, Is the same, But it is, Still, By virtue of Christ's, Anointing, That his people, Enjoy the same, And then finally, Sealed, In verse 22, He has sealed us, And given us, The earnest of the spirit, In our hearts, Again, This is God's doing, It is God's doing, In his people, And for his people, Perhaps there are a number of ways, In which the seal was used, And we read of it, Very often we read of it, It's a seal of ownership, It's a seal of certification, It's a seal, I always remember, When I was young, If we received a partial from, In the post, And it would come, Wrapped in string, And the post office, Would have placed a seal, On the string, Just at the knot, And the impress, Of the post office,

[31:41] Was there to ensure, That it was secure, That it was, Not tampered with, And in some senses, There is that emphasis, That, Paul is insisting, You have this seal, Of ownership, God impresses it, Into your heart, You are able, To read, In the evidence, That the spirit of God, Presents, To your mind's eye, Whose you are, And what that means, For you, How you are to identify, Yourself, As one of God's people, And how you are to identify, The things that, Mark you out, As God's people, The question is asked, What are the consequences, Of being sealed, And Octavius Winslow, Got a book, On the Holy Spirit, And he says, It is the act, Of the Holy Spirit, By which the work, Of grace,

[32:42] Is deepened, In the heart, Deepened, In the heart, Of the believer, So as to have, An increasing, And abiding conviction, Of the acceptance, In Jesus, And the adoption, Into the family of God, A growth, In the knowledge, Of God, And Christ, Sanctification, Is a greater desire, For holiness, Or by virtue, Of what the spirit, Wrought, In the believer, A policy, This is what is true, Of me, This is what is true, Of you, You can't see, This is the province, Of the apostle, This is the province, Of somebody, Who is called to minister, This is the province, Of the child of God, This is something, The child of God, Knows for themselves, By virtue, Of what the spirit, Is doing, In them, And he is doing,

[33:43] That in them, Because God, Has given them, The spirit, Christ has given them, The spirit, We are assured, By a seal of ownership, Through the indwelling, Of the spirit, And, Every one of us, Can find evidence, Of character, Evidence, Of inner conduct, Evidence, That can only belong, To the one, Who is building, On this foundation, That's what, Paul is wanting us, To understand, And this is why, He is bringing us, To the attention, Of, The child of God, Because of, You know, If somebody raises, A question, About, The integrity, Of your profession, Of your faith, Where do you go, What, What do you say, To that person, Well, You have the witness, In yourself, You say, The earnest,

[34:44] Of the spirit, We are told, And some have used, The illustration often, It is a, A prepayment, Of what awaits, In glory, A pledge, Of redemption, Is what Job, Hodge, Corset, The indwelling, Of the Holy Spirit, In the heart, Of his people, Is that part, Of the blessing, Of redemption, Which God, Gives them, As a pledge, Of their full, And final, Salvation, And, The spiritual, Life, Of the believer, Beers testimony, To that, You often hear, That Lord's people, Say, Complain, About their deadness, Complain, About their leanness, Complain, About their, Lethargic, Spirits, And all of these, Things are, Things that, Grieve the Christian, But they, Grieve the Christian, Because they know, What should be there, And what they look for,

[35:47] In order to find it, And if they were not, Christians, They would not be, Looking for it, They would not be, Missing it, They would not be, Longing for its presence, At a greater level, But it is, An endowment, Given by the spirit, Which reminds them, Of whose they are, And what is theirs, And it is, But a fraction, Of what awaits them, When the glory, That is promised, Becomes theirs, When may God, Bless to us, These few thoughts, Let us pray, Ever blessed God, We sometimes, Disassociate ourselves, With, The saints, Of the Old Testament, And the saints, Of the New Testament, Because of, The elevated position, That we give to them, And there may be, Aspects to their character, And to their behaviour, That puts us, To shame, Nevertheless, There are points,

[36:47] Of comparison, There are things, That are true of them, That must be true of us, There are things, That God, Has wrought in us, As you indeed have, That, You alone, Could do, And you alone, Must do, And we give thanks, For that, For the promises, Of the gospel, That are yea, And amen in Christ, Bless us together, Bless all we, Commit to your care, And keeping, Forgive our sins, In Jesus name, Amen, Amen, We're going to sing, The last, Three verses, Of Psalm 16, Psalm 16, And the last, Three verses, In Calic, Mon.

[37:49] Mon. God bless you.

[38:19] God bless you.

[38:49] God bless you.

[39:19] God bless you.

[39:49] God bless you.

[40:19] God bless you.

[40:49] God bless you.

[41:19] God bless you.

[41:49] God bless you.

[42:19] God bless you.

[42:49] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Amen. Amen.

[43:01]  Amen.