The Promise of Abraham and His Descendant

[0:00] to Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. We're going to be dealing with verses 15 to 18 today.

[0:17] I'd love to deal with the whole thought at once, but I'm afraid that would be a two and a half hour sermon, and I don't want to do that to you.

[0:30] Galatians chapter 3. I'm going to start reading in verse 10 and read down through 18.

[0:44] For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.

[0:55] Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith. But the law is not of faith.

[1:06] Rather, the one who does them shall live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith.

[1:32] To give a human example, brothers, even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

[1:43] Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, and to your offspring, who is Christ.

[2:00] This is what I mean, the law which came 430 years afterward does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

[2:10] For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise. But God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Let's pray together.

[2:22] Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for being able to look at these things. And Lord, I pray that you would help us not to be scared as what we've read and what we're going to cover today kind of looks puzzling.

[2:35] Lord, I thank you for the truth that's there. And I thank you for the blessing of doing the things that are mentioned there. And I pray that you would be with us. Help us to learn these things.

[2:46] Help us to live by the truths that are borne out because of it. And Lord, most of all, I thank you for the work that took place that this points to. And I pray that you would help us to rest in it and rejoice in it and to share it.

[3:04] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So I'm going to just give a quick thing about what Paul's been talking about. I'm not going back through the whole book.

[3:16] Just kind of what we've talked about here. There was this argument about how people were saved. And the Judaizers were throwing these questions to people or these statements to people that were causing them to question what they believed.

[3:28] And it was mixing them up. And it was ending up getting them to think that they could be saved, yes, by faith. But let's do some works here, too, to earn God's favor. And, of course, that was not what God had established.

[3:42] And we've already established in the reading and looking through the book so far that Abraham was saved by faith. That's the only way he was saved. And all those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham.

[3:57] And I'm just kind of giving summary statements of what we've looked at. This is important because the Judaizers taught that you had to be a physical descendant. Now, we've talked about circumcision.

[4:09] And this is not leaving that, but it's part of it. The Judaizers said that you had to be part of the physical descendants of Abraham. Or you had to be a proselyte.

[4:20] And that means someone who changed from their pagan religion to the Jewish religion. So you either had to be a physical descendant of Abraham or proselyte to be a son of Abraham. Now, that's just a little bit of a difference.

[4:34] We've talked about salvation by faith alone and the circumcision. But the Judaizers were boasting in the fact that they were sons of Abraham. I am somebody because I am the lineage of Abraham.

[4:48] And only those people who are of the lineage of Abraham are somebody. And if you want to be somebody, if you want, I'm speaking of somebody before God. If you want to be one of God's children, you have to become a son of Abraham by either being born there or being a proselyte.

[5:07] You take upon yourself the sign of circumcision. And they were boasting in their relation to Abraham. Abraham. And Paul has shown that a person's relationship to Abraham was by faith and not by lineage.

[5:22] And we've already looked at that. So keep that in mind as we're going through this. It's their relationship to Abraham is by faith and not by lineage. God promised the Gentiles would be blessed through Abraham.

[5:35] So here's these Judaizers come along saying, you know, you've got to be part of the Jewish religion. You've got to take upon yourself these signs and keep these laws.

[5:49] And that's what will make you a son of Abraham. And Paul's saying, no, no, no. There's a different thing there. God said you're a son of Abraham by faith. And he's proved that.

[6:01] But the Judaizers come back with this thought, but Mr. Paul, the law changed all that. Abraham was given a promise by God long ago.

[6:13] Now, and then sometime after, the law came. And since the law came, things changed.

[6:25] And now it isn't by the way Abraham was saved. It's by the law. And so they tried to argue that the coming of the law changed everything. They thought that the law had to be added now in order for there to be salvation.

[6:40] And so Paul is dealing with that. He's dealing with that very idea. Did the coming of the law change how people were saved? And that's what the Judaizers had begun to argue.

[6:52] It had changed the way people were saved. And Paul's saying, no, no, no. And he starts out in verse 15 by saying, let me give you an example. Let me give you an example. And he's using this illustration.

[7:04] He starts out by saying, to give a human example, brothers, even a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it's been ratified. So he's making reference to this human illustration.

[7:18] And he uses a word that can be translated testament or covenant. We ran into the same thing when we were looking in Hebrews and talking about the work of God there.

[7:32] And he talked about a testament. And we talked about how it could be translated testament or covenant. We run into the same thing here. Paul's using that same kind of term.

[7:44] And he's playing off from that. He's going to use one definition of it to be able to speak for the whole. And so he says, let's use this illustration. Now, Paul understands that we're really talking about a covenant that Abraham, God made with Abraham and not a will.

[8:05] But because they're similar and the same things apply to both, he's using this for an example. So he says, if you have a will, if you set up a will, now we'll speak in American terms.

[8:20] There's a Greek version of this. There's a Roman version of this. But we'll best understand the American version of it. And the application is the same. So we won't get into all the different ways Greeks did it and the way Romans did it.

[8:33] But if you and I, as we grow older and have kids, decide that, you know, we need to be careful about how our kids are taken care of after, if something should happen to us.

[8:44] And we need to be careful that the finances that God has given us is dealt with properly. So you and I will go to a lawyer and we'll ask them to draw up, we will ask them to draw up a will for us.

[9:00] And we'll go there and we'll stipulate, you know, so-and-so is going to take care of our kids and the money that we have, whatever it is, little or great, is going to be used this way for our children.

[9:13] And what property we have will be given to someone and it will be used for this. We just stipulate all kinds of things. And we sign it, we have it witnessed, and it stands.

[9:27] Now, the thing about an American will, if your kids grow up, or any situation coming along, as your kids grow up, your will will change. Your kids, say, now are all over 18.

[9:39] You don't have to stipulate who takes care of them because none of them need to be taken care of. And now, since maybe all of your kids are grown, you don't need to stipulate how your money is used necessarily for raising them.

[9:54] You have to stipulate other things. And so you can change your will and you sign it and it's witnessed and it's put down and it stands. And then you could get to be 65 and realize, oh, your kids are all self-made millionaires.

[10:07] And so you can go to the lawyer and say, you know, my kids don't need my money at all. I think I'll give all my money to the church and this is supposed to happen to my property. And we just set out what we want to do in a will.

[10:18] And it's witnessed and it's put away and it's kept. But it could still be changed. It could be changed the day before we die. But the minute we die, it can't be changed anymore.

[10:30] The last known, recorded, witnessed will is what stands. And nothing can change that. And that's basically an American version of the illustration that Paul is giving here.

[10:44] Human wills can be changed until a person dies. But once they die, there's no more changing the will. The will, and this is the important point, the will is ratified by the death of the one who made the will.

[10:57] Now, that's where our English idea of will breaks down in relation to the covenant that God made with Abraham. The covenant God made with Abraham doesn't take place when God dies.

[11:11] Never going to happen because God never dies. And it wasn't that Abraham was willing. He wasn't the one who made the covenant.

[11:24] It was God who made the covenant. God made the covenant with Abraham. Abraham, all he did was sit and receive it. He fell asleep while God made the covenant. He could tell what was going on.

[11:36] But he fell asleep while God made the covenant. And so it wasn't that God died or Abraham died. There was a death. There were animals. But it was God establishing a covenant.

[11:48] And when God establishes a covenant, it is set. It is done. It can't be undone. It can never be undone. There's been a rainbow in the sky after clouds when there's sun out for thousands of years because God said it would be.

[12:04] And it's been a reminder to all the people and to himself of the covenant he made with mankind that he would preserve the earth until the day when God would end all of this earth's being and deal with folks according to how they stand with God.

[12:23] And so the covenant stands, not because God dies, but because God made the oath. So the oath was made with Abraham. Abraham. So that's the illustration that Abraham uses or that God, Paul uses.

[12:38] Getting my names, I'm looking at Abraham and saying the wrong word. So Paul uses this illustration. So in using this illustration, he goes a little further and he asks, who is the one who received the benefits of this covenant?

[12:53] So God established a covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Who, you know, we make a will. They're called beneficiaries, I think they're called.

[13:07] When you make a will, who gets your money? Who are the people being benefited by your will? So we could ask, who are the beneficiaries of this covenant? And this is verse 16.

[13:19] Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. If you're raised like me, the King James was seed. Seed. So you'll hear me say seed a lot because I've memorized verses in the King James.

[13:33] So the word offering and our offspring and seed are the same in the Greek. So if you hear me slip up, that's what it is. Let me reread verse 16.

[13:45] Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one. And to your offspring, who is Christ.

[13:58] And so Paul is taking the word offspring and he's making a summation based on that word. So both covenants and wills specify who receives what.

[14:15] Abraham and his offspring or his seed receive the benefits of this covenant. So let's first deal with that. See offsprings versus offspring because he uses both words here.

[14:29] Offspring and offsprings. And that's an odd way of saying things, but there is a difference in the Greek. And we could even use, we could say offsprings, but that's odd.

[14:41] We would sooner say seed and seeds. And we would have a little bit of a distinction in our mind. We would think seed as being in one direction and seeds as being many directions.

[14:55] And that's pretty easy to kind of understand where he's going here. Paul points out that God did not promise to give to seeds or offsprings, but to offspring.

[15:10] If God had used offsprings, then he would be referring to all the physical children that Abraham had. So if God says, I will give to you and your offsprings, he would have been to all the children that Abraham had.

[15:28] Now we think of Abraham having how many children? Two. Basically. Ishmael. And Isaac. He actually had many more.

[15:39] He married another woman after his wife died and Isaac moved out. He married Keturah and had more than six sons. I can't remember how many it was. So he had a lot of seeds.

[15:52] And it could have been that they were promised all a part of this inheritance, but that's not the case. God often used the collective noun offspring.

[16:04] And a good illustration of this. You go out, you drive home, and it's still light out, but it's getting dark. And you're out in the country, and you look out in the field. What do you see?

[16:15] Deer. How many deer? Wait a minute. Isn't it deers? No, it's deer. You see deer. Deer. It's a noun that stands for a group.

[16:28] But if you happen to see one deer, what do you say? You still say deer. I saw a deer. How many did you see? One. You have to define what that is.

[16:41] And so, God uses the collective noun offspring, or seed. And so, the benefit can be to all, or some, of Abraham's descendants.

[16:54] The benefit can be one of, also be one, descendant. I don't know, those statements kind of said the same thing. But it can be, it can be the whole group, or it can be one.

[17:07] Now, he's already narrowed it down, by saying offspring, rather than offsprings. But God said, your offspring, would be blessed.

[17:21] So, I want to point out, and we'll see, we can see this, we won't take, I'll read a bunch of verses in a minute, and you'll see this a little bit. But we can go back to the Old Testament, and see that there were two aspects, to the fulfillment of this covenant.

[17:37] There was a, typological benefactor, and then there was the true benefactor, when God said that he would bless, the seed of Abraham.

[17:48] So, let's talk about the typological quickly first, and I'm not going to go deep into that. But, Abraham and his offspring, would receive the temporal blessings, from this covenant, that would point to something else.

[18:06] Okay? So, God said, you're going to have seed, as the stars of the heaven. Now, he had one son, that was part of this line. We'll talk about the other son in a minute.

[18:17] One son that was part of this line. Only one. And that son, only had two. But, one of those sons, had 12.

[18:29] Started making progress. And within, oh, 400 years, they became over, probably, well over a million. It could have been 3 million people, in 400 years.

[18:41] They grew, and grew, and grew. And God fulfilled that covenant promise, to Abraham, typologically, through Abraham, and his seed. So, God fulfilled that covenant, in a way that would be a picture.

[18:58] That's what we mean by typological. It's in a way that's a picture, of something that would come. So, there was this, near, and typological fulfillment, of God blessing Abraham, and his seed.

[19:13] But, Paul, is not, dealing with that argument. Paul is dealing with, the seed. He's making the argument, that the seed, would be the one, would, that would be blessed.

[19:28] Now, we can go into, a whole lot of argument. Good argument. Good, sustaining, evidences, and proofs, as to how, all this, pointed, to one particular, person.

[19:43] But, I think there's an easier way, to do that. But, let me make this statement. Paul would come, to the conclusion, that all, of mankind, would be blessed, in one, the seed, rather than, all the children, of Abraham.

[20:04] Now, the children, of Abraham, can be a blessing, to people. But, that's not what's going on. So, in this, trek through scripture, I want to show you, that all, through scripture, scripture, the thought, has been, that everything, pointed, to one seed.

[20:24] One, seed, not one group, of people, one person, is what, Abraham, was hearing, when God said, I will bless, you, and your seed.

[20:39] And, that's so important. Follow along, I'm going to not read, too quickly. I want you to understand these, but I have several verses, that I think will help, point us in the right direction. And, this is the idea, that God, has always had in mind, one, particular person.

[20:57] Genesis, 3, 15. I will put enmity, between you, and the woman, and between your offspring, and her offspring. He, he, shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise, his, heel.

[21:15] Not, they shall bruise your head, not, they shall be bruised, by, you, or they, it's he. Genesis, 17, 20, and 21.

[21:27] This is, now, Abraham, that's being spoken about. And, in Genesis, 17, 20, and 21, we're, dealing now, with this, oh, there's a second son. It's actually, the first son.

[21:38] How does he fit, in this, this situation? 17, 20, and 21. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Sarah has said, send this one away.

[21:49] I don't want him, inheriting, with my son. And, Abraham is grieved, and God comes to him, and says, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and multiply him greatly.

[22:02] And, even in, there's a sense, in which there's this, near typological blessing, a little bit, on Ishmael. But, but he's pointing, something specific. Let me reread this. I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and multiply him greatly.

[22:16] He shall father, 12 princes, and I will make him, into a great nation. But, I will establish, my covenant, with Isaac, whom Sarah, shall bear to you, at this time, next year.

[22:28] So, we're taking, a group of two, and God says, it's this one. It's this one. And, I mixed up my, that's the situation, where it was before, Isaac was born.

[22:45] This is where, Sarah says, get rid of Ishmael. But, God said to Abraham, be not displeased, because of the boy, and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac, shall your offspring, be named.

[23:03] Now, it is true, that through Isaac, all of the Jews, have been named. But, we're going to see, that it keeps, getting smaller.

[23:15] Genesis 25, 23. This is where, Rebecca is pregnant, with twins. And, there's just, you know, if you've been, I've never been pregnant, but I've heard say, that when, the kids wrestle, inside you, even one, it can be like, oh, come on kid, knock it off, that's my rib, you're, and when two of them, were wrestling, she was like, ah, what's going on?

[23:38] And, God answered, and said, two nations are in your womb, and two people, from within you, shall be divided. The one, shall be stronger, than the other, the older, shall serve the younger.

[23:49] Two there, and there's a distinction, only one. And, we find in scripture, that, that is spoken of, in the, in the, minor prophets, where God says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, and there was this distinction, that it would be one person.

[24:07] Second Samuel, seven, twelve, and thirteen. Now, this is, this is David, this is most of the way, through his life, or, a good part, through his life, over halfway, through his life, he's now considering, building the temple, building a temple, for God, and, and God says, no, no, no, I don't want you, building the temple, I don't want you, building me a house, I will build a house, for you, and that's what, the context of this is.

[24:33] Second Samuel, seven, twelve, and thirteen, when your days, are fulfilled, and you lie down, with your fathers, I will raise up, your offspring, after you, who shall come, from your body, and I will establish, his kingdom, and he shall build, a house, for my name, and I will establish, the throne, of his kingdom, forever.

[24:52] Now David had, many sons, some of them, were already dead, because of their sin, but, God says, of all your sons, this one, and he ends up, naming him, Solomon, Solomon, is the one, who's coming, who will establish, the king, but even he, was a type, because that was not, the end, that was not, the end, we'll get, to others, in just a second, concerning David, and that son of David, but in Micah 5, too, even the Sanhedrin, of the time, when Jesus was born, recognized, that the Old Testament, pointed, to one, not to a group, not to a whole people, but to one people, Micah 5, too, but you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, who are little, are too little, to be among the clans, of Judah, from you, shall come forth, for me, one, who is to be, ruler in Israel, who's coming forth, is from old, from old, of old, from ancient days, so the prophet,

[26:02] Micah, had been given, this prophecy, that said, there's going to be, one, and it's been, God's plan, all along, and he'll be born, in Bethlehem, and in Jesus days, the beginning, of Jesus days, the Sanhedrin, looked at that, and said, yes, the Old Testament, says there's going to be, one born, who will be, the one from of old, from ancient of days, who's to be ruler, in Israel, and then, in time, you can go on, to Isaiah 53, read the whole chapter, you can start in chapter 52, and you're going to find, the suffering servant, and that suffering servant, is not a class of people, it is one, it is this one person, who comes along, and takes all our sin, upon himself, bears that sin, patiently, and quietly, for us, before the Lord, and as a lamb, before her shearers, is dumb, so he opens, not his mouth, and he is slain, for us, who are wicked, and the whole chapter, in the part of chapter 52, before it, speak of one person, I'm going to jump back, to Genesis chapter 49, because this, ties back with David, and the thread, that will come through, and the phrase, that will be spoken of, of Christ,

[27:18] Genesis 49, 10, the scepter, shall not depart, from Judah, nor a ruler's staff, from between his feet, until tribute, comes to him, and to him, shall be, the obedience, of the people, him, him, his, one, one person, and the glorious fact, that comes to us, from the New Testament, from the lips, of Jesus himself, in John 8 56, your father Abraham, rejoiced, that he would see, my day, he saw it, and was glad, so Jesus said, Abraham knew, it was one, that was coming, that God would bless, his children, yes, his seed, the people who, who would, would be his children, would develop, into a nation, but Abraham, from the beginning, saw that there was, one person in mind, in this blessing, there was one person, in mind, who was the benefactor, of the covenant, of Abraham, now all of God, all of Abraham's sons, whether they be, physical sons, by birth, or spiritual sons, would be blessed, because of the covenant, of Abraham, but ultimately, the covenant, pointed to one, who would receive, all the blessings,

[28:42] Hebrews 11 13, these, these all died, in faith, not having received, the promise, things promised, but having seen them, and greeted them, from afar, and having acknowledged, that they were strangers, exiles on earth, and so all, the Old Testament, saints, were looking forward, to this one, and they kept their eyes, on the promise, because there was, one coming, and then Hebrews 11, 17 to 19, by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received, the promise, promises, was in the act, of offering up, his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac, shall your offspring, be named, through Isaac, shall your offspring, be named, he's not just saying, through Isaac, will you have grandchildren, he's saying, through Isaac, will that one, that one, come, he considered, that God was able, even to raise him, from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back, all of the Old Testament, and many, in the new,

[29:56] I'm speaking of unbelievers, the Sanhedrin, and Christ, and Paul, and the apostles, saw that when God, promised Abraham, a seed, he was not just, promising him, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, he was promising, one, one, and that one, was so important, that one, would receive, the true promised land, remember how, Abraham, Hebrews 11 says, he left his own country, seeking, a city, whose builder, was God, whose foundations, were of God, Abraham, left, Ur of Chaldees, not just looking, for a place to live, he looked, with his mind forward, saying, someday, I'm going to be,

[30:57] I'm going to be, in a place, I didn't know all this, I'm interjecting, stuff here, we could say, he's looking forward, to a place, that one of his descendants, will earn for him, it will be, the true inheritance, and that will be Christ, this one, not Isaac, not Jacob, not the twelve sons, but this one, would have offspring, as the stars of heaven, now, Abraham, had a lot of offspring, and there's a real sense, in which you could say, that Abraham's children, were as the stars of heaven, but the real, offspring, has children, has seed, as the stars of heaven, through all the ages, people who have trusted Christ, since the beginning, after the fall, there have been children, that God has redeemed, who are making up that group, and they were all, part of, not Abraham's seed, but the seed of Abraham's, they all belong to Christ, through this one, all the nations, would be blessed,

[32:12] Genesis 22, 18, and in, in your offspring, it doesn't say, it's very specific, in your offspring, shall all the nations, of the earth, be blessed, because you have, obeyed my voice, so in Christ, all the nations, are blessed, all who are trusting, in the seed, in Christ, receive the blessings, of Abraham, Abraham, we gain, all of God's blessings, by being in Christ, okay, I've got to run, through the last couple, verses, and it won't be hard, to go through there, Paul says in verse 17, this is the point, of the illustration, that's, he says, this is what I mean, the law, which came 430 years, afterward, does not, annul, a covenant, previously ratified, by God, so as to make, the promise void, so what is he saying, the Judaizers have said, oh sure,

[33:17] God promised Abraham, but when the law came, that changed everything, and Paul is saying, the point of my illustration, is this, when a covenant is ratified, nothing changes it, and when God makes a covenant, nothing changes it, you might say, but God made the other covenant, yes, both stand true, because God made both of them, and both fulfill their purpose, and there was a purpose, for this Old Testament covenant, and we're going to see that, beginning much more next week, we're going to say, Paul says, what's the purpose of the law then, and we'll look at that, it'll make sense, but as we're looking forward, the law doesn't, doesn't do away with that promise, it can't change the promises of God, the promise came first, the promise was made by God, if the law was needed for salvation, if the law was needed for salvation, Abraham was up a crick, because he was saved by faith, and he was saved before the covenant of the law, and so the inheritance can only come, by the one means, and God has already given it, by promise, in verse 18, for if the inheritance comes by law, it no longer comes by promise, it's either or, but God gave it by promise, to Abraham by a promise, so Paul's argument with them is, the law didn't change the promise, you cannot obtain righteousness by the law, you cannot obtain salvation by law and gospel,

[34:58] God has determined, that salvation is by promise, God has said, the just shall live by faith, or does that leave us, we trust in that seed, Christ, the same person, that Adam and Eve trusted in, that Enoch and Noah, and those who were saved at that time trusted in, they had the promise, it's the same people, that Abraham trusted in, the same person that Abraham trusted in, it's the same person that Isaac trusted in, it's the same person that Jacob trusted in, and those 12 sons trusted in, and down through, of the nation of Israel, of the descendants of Abraham, those who trusted in that seed, that was coming, the promise, they had eternal life, they had the blessings of this covenant, and that's the same for us, all of the Old Testament, look forward to this one seed, who would come, and have our sins placed on him, he would suffer, just like Isaac was about to be slain,

[36:16] Isaac was a picture of Christ, just as Isaac was taking someone's place, and God says, no don't slay him, and a ram was brought, that's a picture of Christ coming, to be in our stead, we deserve to be under the knife, but God said, no let my son take his place, and he let his son go to the cross, and die for us, and all of our salvation, is wrought, it's finished, it's completed, by Christ, by that seed, and that one seed, is the reason, anyone in the world, all through time, can have any righteousness, with God, that's, and studying this, I mean I knew these truths, but as I studied this, this made Christ, so much bigger, than I'd ever imagined, you know, I know all this is true, but now I think, and thoughts of Abraham, look to Christ the same way, it's all centered on Christ, and it's been pictured, from before the foundation, of the world, it's been pictured, from the ancient of times, in time, it's been pictured, from Abraham, that it's all, pointing to Christ, and so, your relationship, all hinges on, you and Christ, their relationship, all hinged on Christ, who are they trusting in, are they trusting in the law, that won't get them there,

[37:42] God says by faith, faith in that promised seed, are they trying to mix, law and faith, no that won't get them there, either that perverts, the grace, it's by trusting in that seed, whether you're, Adam and Eve, Noah, Adam, I mean Abraham, or anyone else, it all has pointed, to the work that Christ has done, so brothers and sisters, from eternity past, God has seen, your need of someone, to provide salvation for you, he has taught, his people from, from just after the fall, that there would be one, who would come, to meet that need for us, from the beginning, he taught, that our need, would be met by, another, one who would come, and do the work for us, that message became, clearer and clearer, the fog would melt away, through the ages, it became clearer and clearer, throughout the Old Testament, the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the son of David,

[38:44] Isaiah's servant of the Lord, clearer and clearer, it has been shown, one would come, to deal with our sin, and earn for us, abundant blessings, and it would be, it would be all, it would all be a matter, of faith in this one, no works, no trying of our own, only faith in this one, foreseen before, the foundation of the world, prophesied through, all of the Old Testament, promised, everyone from the Old Testament, through into the New Testament, has only been able, to hope in that one, and that is our Savior, don't turn from that, don't ever turn from that, don't ever let anybody say, yes that's great, but you need to do this too, no you don't, everyone in all of time, has been looking, to that one, and that one's work, and so Paul is making this argument, it's not the work of anything else, it's not the work that you do, or the work that I do, trust in that, rejoice in that, it's all done,

[39:55] I want to just address quickly, friend if you're here, and you don't, you're dealing with your sin, and you don't know, what's going to happen, I mean you're understanding, there's judgment coming in, and you're going to have to pay, because you know, you've broken God's law, what do you do, well the message is, the same, since the time, after Adam and Eve fell, until now, God has declared, that only by trusting, in the work of this one, his son, can we be made right, with God, there's nothing you could do, to make up your sin, God has called you to trust, in the work of his son, there, in the work of his son, sin is atoned for, there, in the work of his son, you can be spared, from the wrath of God, because he took it, in your place, and then, we're going to come, to this table, and we're going to, take the bread, and we're going to hold it, and give thanks for it, and as we hold it, and as we eat it, we're going to remember that, this one, foreseen from ages past, now as we look back, 2000 years, the same son, the same servant, the same seed, we hold this bread, as a reminder, of how he gave himself, for us, how we need to be in him, to receive the blessings, and as we hold the cup, same thing, his blood was shed, to pay for our sins, we hold the cup, in remembrance, of what Christ has done, so as we come, and partake, or as we partake this morning, we are signifying, that Christ has done, the work for us, and our only hope, and all our blessings, are found in him, as we trust him, so let that,

[41:49] Lord, let the Lord's Supper, be a reminder of you, this, for that this morning, let's pray, thank you Father, we thank you for being able, to think about these things, Lord, these are glorious things, all along, you have looked, at one person, and I know, I was raised in a way, where people said, yeah for a while, God said you could be saved, by doing this, and for a while, God said you could be saved, by doing that, and it's not true, your word is always pointed, to one person, your Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ, Lord, we praise you for that, we thank you, that it's all done, everything that we need, is in him, and as we are in him, we are safe, we are sons of God, we are blessed, I pray that you would be with us, as we partake now, at the table, in Jesus name, Amen.