Sermon Tone Analysis

Missions Statement Message # 3

…By Magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ

Introduction

This morning we are continuing to expand our church’s mission statement.

The first we answered the question, “Who are we?” People, purchased for a purpose.

Last week we focused on that purpose, the glory of God.

We defined it, described it and attempted to see God’s glory on display throughout the Biblical narrative.

This week we will begin to fill out the specifics of how we intend to glorify God.

Even though we talked last week about God’s glory we didn’t spend much time learning how exactly we are to glorify God.

The next three weeks will help us to that.

Today we center our attention on the first way our church plans to glorify God.

We exist to glorify God by magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every single one of those words is intentionally chosen.

We could have chosen magnify the Lord, or magnify Jesus or even magnify Jesus Christ but I decided on all three because I didn’t want to leave any room for ambiguity.

We are God’s called out people who have been purchased to glorify God and we do that first and foremost by magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ.

Big Idea — When the Lord Jesus Christ is magnified, God is glorified.

Let's begin with a question.

Is there really a difference between the words “glorify” and “magnify”?

Once we make that distinction we are going to consider 5 way in which we should magnify the Lord Jesus Christ so that God would be glorified.

I. What is the difference between glorify and magnify?

John Piper’s writing have been a tremendous help in clarifying what it means to glorify.

Piper makes an important distinction God’s desire to be glorified does NOT mean that He is not already glorious.

We don’t make Him glorious.

He already is.

To glorify is not the same beautify.When we beautify something (an old piece of furniture, car, a face) we add or subtract to it to make it more attractive.

We attempt to enhance and improve upon its original state.

We DO NOT beautify God.

We glorify Him.

To glorify is to see something as it is.

It is to comprehend (at least to a certain degree) God’s weightiness (His greatness).

When we glorify we feel a sense of God’s utter significance.

There is a magnitude and density to Him.

He is not light, worthless or trivialNo!

We see God for who He is and we make much of Him because He matters…He infinitely matters!Piper puts it this way, “we see AND savor Jesus Christ”.

The word magnify is similar to glorify Think of it as boastingKnowing something, loving it and then showing it off.

We are a culture that loves to boast (USA, sports team, desserts, etc)That shouldn’t change when we become believers.

The only thing that changes is what we now boast in.

Philippians 1:20 - 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored (magnified) in my body, whether by life or by death.One more important distinctionThere are two types of magnificationPiper = We magnify God’s glory like a telescope, NOT a microscope.

Microscopes make small things look bigger than they are.

We don’t magnify Jesus like a microscope.

That would be blasphemous.

Telescopes make unimaginably big but distant things look more like what they really are.

Our lives are to be telescopes for the glory of God.

We were created to see His glory, to be thrilled by His glory, and to live so as to help others experience the same thing.

Summary Statement - so there is a difference between glorify and magnify.

And our aim as Christians and as a local church is to magnify Christ.

To boast in His greatness and beauty in such a way that everyone would see His worth and give Him the honor He is due.

Now we want to turn our attention to 5 reasons why the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of our magnification.

II. 5 reasons why we as a church should make it our aim to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. We Magnify The Lord Jesus Christ Because He Shares In The Glory Of God Throughout this passage Paul refers to glory 13x.

Now Up to this point in our mission statement series we’ve talked about the glory of God.

We want to be about the glory of God.

The best way for us to do that is to magnify the LJC.

That is because, God’s glory is most clearly put on display in His beloved Son.

When Jesus delivers, and liberates, and transforms sinners who are dead in their trespasses and sins — God gets the glory.

You might say, “Jesus is the One who does the work salvation and God gets the glory, right?”Yes!

That is true.

God orchestrates salvation, Jesus accomplishes salvation.

And at the same time, Paul has no problem referring to God’s glory as Jesus’ glory.

Look at 4:4, the glorious gospel of God is also called “the gospel of the glory of Christ”.

Why does Paul say that it is the gospel of the glory of Christ?

Especially considering that God doesn’t share His glory with anyone.

God has made this clear…Isaiah 40:25 - 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

God has no equal.Isaiah 42:8 - 8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.Paul can say that God’s glory is Jesus’ glory…because Jesus is God!Look at the end of 4:4 it is the gospel of the glory of Christ…who is the image of God.Jesus Himself is God!

When the NT writers say that Jesus is the image of God they mean that Jesus possess, emanates and reveals the full glory of the nature and being of God.

The biblical understanding of Christ being the ‘image of God’ is that He is the complete and exact representation of God.He exhibits all of God’s attributes and perfections.

Illustration - App Icon on iPhone.

John 1:1 - 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He possess all the infinite fulness of God.

There is no deficiencies in Christ.

His attributes and perfections are infinite.

He is limitless and without measure.

His attributes are immutable and unchangeable.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.He is not capable of being something, other than He already is.

10.That is also why John says…John 1:14 - 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

11.Charles Spurgeon says, “In our Lord Jesus we see the glory of God in the wondrous blending of the attributes.

Behold his mercy as he dies for sinners; but see his justice, for he sits as judge of quick and dead.

Observe his immutability, for he is the same yesterday, to-day and forever, and see his power, for his voice shakes not only the earth but also the heavens.

See how infinite is his love, for he espouses his chosen; but how terrible his wrath, for he consumes his adversaries.

All the attributes of Deity are in him: power that can lull the tempest, and tenderness that can embrace little children.

The character of Christ is a wonderful combination of all perfections making up one perfection; and so we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, for this is God’s glory, that in him nothing is excessive and nothing is deficient.

He is all that is good and great: in him is light, and no darkness at all.

Say, is it not so seen in Jesus our Lord?

What a beautiful magnification of the Person of Christ.

Spurgeon was right…we see God’s glory most clearly in Jesus Christ.

12.Spurgeon never separated the glory of God from the glory of Christ.

Listen to what else he said, “Paul knew not merely God, but God in Christ Jesus; not merely “the glory of God," but "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

The knowledge dealt with God, but it was Christward knowledge.

He pined not for a Christless Theism, but the God in Christ.

This, beloved, is the one thing which you and I should aim to know.”

Summary Statement - We magnify the Lord Jesus Christ because He shares in the glory of God.

He is God.

We magnify the lord Jesus christ because he is the lord4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord…This right here is our Christian creed.

This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.

We preach Jesus Christ as Lord because there is no greater reality than that truth.

We preach Jesus Christ is Lord because there is no other way anyone can be saved.

Survey of the Lord Jesus Christ in the NT Peter preached at the Day on Pentecost to the Jews — Acts 2:36 - 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”Peter

preached to the Gentiles the same message — Acts 10:36 - 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),Paul did not shrink from preaching Jesus Christ as Lord — Acts 20:21 - 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.All throughout the book of Acts the disciples risked their lives preaching Jesus as Lord — Acts 15:26 - 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.The book of Acts ends on this note — Acts 28:31 - 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.The great book of Romans begins with some of the highest Christology in the whole Bible — Romans 1:1–4 - 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, We have been justified and have peace with God because of Jesus Christ our Lord — Romans 5:1 - 1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.We have received reconciliation — Romans 5:11 - 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.We have eternal life because of JCL — Romans 5:21 - 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 6:23 - 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Nothing can separate us from the love of God because of JCL — Romans 8:39 - 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.We glorify God through JCL — Romans 15:6 - 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.We glorify God by magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ for His saving work.

—1 Corinthians 6:11 - 11 And such were some of you.

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.This is why we preach Christ.