The Present Ministry of Jesus Christ

Transcript

GRM 553
1/04/1998
The Present Ministry of Jesus Christ
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

Last few weeks we have talked about Jesus Christ and His ministry. His birth in Matthew chapter 2 and the beginning of His public ministry in Matthew chapter 3 with John the Baptist introducing Him to the nation. The public ministry of Christ actually begins with His baptism. I want to focus our attention today on the present ministry that Christ has. We often emphasis the past with His first coming and the future with His second coming. But there is very definite clear ministry being carried on by Christ in the world today, in the church, and in the lives of individual believers. I want to talk about that with you today, not in an exhaustive way but just looking selectively at some of those things which are true of Christ today in the present ministry He is carrying out from heaven.

Turn to the end of the book of Luke. The gospel of Luke and 24th chapter. The earthly ministry of Christ concludes with His ascension to heaven. But we would draw the perimeters of the earthly ministry of Christ for the context of beginning with His birth at Bethlehem and concluding with His ascension to heaven. Now we begin His earthly ministry with His birth. His public earthly ministry as Messiah in offering the kingdom to Israel will begin when He is 30 years of age and baptized by John the Baptist. So making a distinction here between His earthly ministry or His life on earth and the ministry associated with that and His public earthly ministry. His public ministry only covered a ministry about three years. But His earthly life and the ministry in that context, beginning with His birth in Bethlehem and culminating with the ascension to heaven.

That ascension is recorded at the end of the book of Luke. Then as we will see more fully in the beginning of the book of Acts. Jesus has been ministering to His disciples at the end of the book of Luke as Luke summarizes things and draws this account to a conclusion. Look at verse 49, "Behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." It's a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. "He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came about that while He was blessing them, He parted from them. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising God."

Now keep your finger in Luke 24 and turn over to Acts chapter 1. Luke the beloved physician as the apostle Paul refers to Him was the human instrument that God used to record both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the apostles. So, Luke was the human writer for both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, and they form a continuing history.

Acts chapter 1 picks up where Luke chapter 24 ends. In a very concise fashion verses 49 to 53 Luke summarized the ascension of Christ. Now in Acts chapter 1 he begins this account by filling in some of the details related to the ascension and then moves on to subsequent events.

He begins Acts with his account in chapter 1 verse 1, "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all the Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen." So Luke sees his gospel, the gospel of Luke, an account of the beginnings of the ministry of Christ. The book of Acts is a continuation of the ministry of Christ. That continuation will take place with Christ in heaven bodily and through His apostles and servants on the earth.

Verse 4, "Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised." That's basically the same thing as Luke 24:49, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." Basically repeated for us in Acts chapter 1. Verse 5 says, "You shall be baptized by the Holy Spirit not many days from now." That's what He had promised to them. The promise was of the Holy Spirit on the last night He was with them in the upper room account in John's gospel. He told the disciples that when He went to the Father He would send them the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, one of His attributes as God, but He was going to be sent in that He would come in a special and unique way to dwell within believers and work in and through them in the accomplishing of God's purposes.

Verse 8, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses." Verse 9, "After He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; they also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'" So a reminder that this Jesus is coming again to the earth and His return to the earth will be just like His departure. It will be a bodily return on the clouds of heaven to the earth.

This is an assurance to the disciples regarding the question they had asked Christ in verse 6, "When they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'" They recognize and know that He is the Messiah. Now are you going to begin the kingdom. Jesus’ answer is that you don’t need to know when the kingdom will begin. You need to be faithful in serving Me until I come again. These angels give these disciples a word of encouragement. "You have watched Jesus ascend to heaven. There's coming a day when He will descend in the way that He ascended and that's when He will come and establish the kingdom." And you'll note on passages on the second coming to earth like in Matthew chapter 24 about verse 30 and other passages, Jesus Christ has said to come on the clouds of heaven in the fullness of His glory.


Now this ascension is the formal conclusion of the earthly life and ministry of Christ. He bodily ascends to heaven. He will not bodily return to earth until that time when He comes again on the clouds of heaven to establish His kingdom. Now my understanding is that Jesus Christ took a physical body at His birth at Bethlehem. He continues to have a physical body even as He resides in heaven. That same physical body that was provided Him at His birth in which He was crucified on the cross which was raised from the dead ascended to heaven. As such in His physical body Jesus is only one place at one time. His physical body is limited to one place at one time. As God, He is not limited. During His earthly life, He voluntarily limited the use of His attributes Philippians 2 tells us. Now that He has ascended to heaven, I take it He has the full use of His divine attributes but He is bodily located in heaven as we will see.

Now I would understand that to be what the Scripture teaches even though I don't want to imply to you that I have much of an understanding of it. There is no analogies or comparisons to this truth because this is unique. Jesus Christ is the only Person of the Godhead who was born into the human race and took to His deity humanity. He is the only human being who was fully human but also complete deity. Now in His humanity He has ascended to heaven but in His deity He is unlimited. We will see more of that as we move along.

What I want to look at is something of His position and ministry as it is carried out in the world today. Turn back to one other passage. John chapter 16. John chapter 16. This chapter is the upper room discourse, the last night. He will shortly be betrayed by Judas and subsequently crucified. John 16 verse 7, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness and judgment." Verse 13, "But when the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;" and so. So that's the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit that Jesus alludes to shortly before His ascension to the Father.

Then come down to verse 28, "I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again, and going to the Father." That's what the ascension is, the final formal departure from the earth. I do not think that that necessitates an understanding that Christ did not ascend to heaven to commune with the Father during the 40 days of His ministry after His resurrection. What the ascension is, is the formal departure, marking the conclusion of His earthly ministry. That's the point of the ascension in Acts chapter one.

First thing I would note and it's a truth that will permeate the other things we are going to talk about, but I want to mark it off as a separate ministry. It's really a position, but it's a position that is a ministry. He has been exalted to the right hand of the Father. As a result of the ascension, climaxing His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ as been exalted to the right hand of the Father in heaven.


Acts chapter 7. Go back to the book of Acts. Stephen is giving his presentation to the Sanhedrin. He is given an overview of Israel's history to the Sanhedrin, reminding them of the sovereign work of God in grace with Israel and their continuing rebellion. Verse 51 Stephen draws his sermon to a conclusion with a gracious invitation. Verse 51, "You men who are stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit." Now to this point the Sanhedrin has been giving him a hearing. But when he turns the truth of God and drives it home to their hearts, they are convicted. And when you come under the convicting work of the Spirit of God there are only two options. Submit to that ministry of the Spirit, bow before the living God and receive His salvation by faith in Christ or turn against the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and reject it. The ruling body of Israel rejects this ministry. Verse 54 says, "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick." Literally, they were cut in their hearts. This truth pierced right to their heart. You know, we say maybe Stephen shouldn't have put it quite this way. He maybe should have said do you understand this, men. But he says you are a stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ear. That's pretty blunt. But it gets the reaction that it did because that cut right to their heart. It revealed them for what they were, and they were unwilling to turn from their sin.

Note verse 55, "But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven." Now here's Stephen on the verge of being stoned being given a vision and able to look into heaven itself. "And he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' They cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears, and rushed upon him with one impulse.” Then they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. You see, the two things that drove them crazy. The message of their own sin and the message of Jesus Christ, His Person and work. He is the exalted, sovereign Lord. They couldn't take it. They stoned Stephen and see who we will know as Paul, is there giving agreement to all these things.

What we want to pick up here is that Stephen looks into heaven. He sees the glory of God. And we see this in the book of Revelation. In heaven the presence of all three Persons of the Godhead is manifested in some way. Now the God the Father and God the Holy Spirit do not have bodily form as Christ does. But their presence is manifested. Here Stephen looks into heaven and sees the glory of God manifested, the presence of the Father, and at the right hand of the Father is Jesus Christ. Now we say how can God the Father have a right hand if He doesn't have bodily form? Well, the implication is the right hand is the position of honor and authority, intimacy. It is the exalted place is the point. Not that God the Father has a literal right hand since He never took to Himself bodily form. Jesus said God, referring to God the Father, is a Spirit. And those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth. But the point here is that Jesus Christ is at the right hand, the exalted place of highest honor, closest intimacy is the position that Jesus Christ is now holding in heaven.

Turn over to the book Hebrews. The book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews was written to Jews who had professed faith in Christ. He begins this letter in chapter one by reminding them “God had spoken in the past to the fathers and the prophets in many ways and many portions and in these last days He has spoken to us in One who is a Son.” So a higher, greater revelation has taken place through One who is the Son of God. Verse 3, "And He” [referring to Christ] “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. He upholds all things by the world of His power. When He had made purification of sins." We'll talk about this with His high priestly ministry in a little bit. "He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," the exalted position that is Christ's as a result of His finished work.

Remember Philippians chapter 2 verse 9 where Christ “humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death on the cross,” "wherefore God has highly exalted Him, bestowed upon Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow." That's what we're saying here. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. There is no more exalted position He could have. There is no higher honor that could be given Him. We are talking here His role now as the God man who in His glorified body has been exalted as supreme over all. The One who has finished redemption now is at the right hand of God in heaven.

Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews is about the high priestly ministry of Christ. We will talk more about that in moment. Look at chapter 8 verse 1 of Hebrews. "Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." It's an exalted position.

Look at chapter 10 verse 12, "But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God." He has been given absolute authority. Keep going through Hebrews to 1 Peter. Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter incidentally is also written to Jews who had become believers in Christ, Jews of the dispersion. In 1 Peter chapter 3 at the end of verse 21 he makes reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then verse 22 says, "Who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him." So, the point of being established at the right hand of God is He is established as the One who is supreme over all. He is the absolute sovereign. He is in the highest position. The emphasis here is not as in His deity. Of course, He would be supreme above all, but as the One who became man and has accomplished the work of redemption and now as the glorified God-man has been exalted to the right hand of God and so is supreme overall and in all.

So that exaltation to the position of intimacy and honor and absolute authority. Now that will permeate the other things we are going to talk about. We will want to have that fixed in our mind. It is a position, the right hand, but it also then involves His present work as the One who is supreme and rules overall. Now I don't want to blur this. There is a coming earthly rule, the kingdom of Christ on earth. That's yet future. But He's in the position of absolute sovereignty even though He has not yet taken that position in exercising that full authority.

Maybe you ought to go back to Psalm 110. Psalm 110, a verse that is repeatedly referred to in the New Testament. Psalm 110 and verse 1. The psalm of David which Christ used on the religious leaders of His day. David writes and said, "The LORD” [referring to God] “says to my Lord." It's a reference to the coming Son of David, the Messiah of Israel. Remember, Christ said how could David refer to his descendant as his Lord when in his position as the Father of this descendant, an ancestor, he ought to be superior, but this descendant will not only be a human descendant He would be the God man. "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.'" So, we see Christ now in the position of having been exalted to the right hand of God, anticipating the time when this same Jesus will come in the same way that you have seen Him go, the clouds of heaven in Glory. There will come a time when Christ returns to this earth and His enemies will be a footstool for His feet and He will sovereignly rule over all on the earth. Now He is in the position of the Victor who has authority over all but is not exercising that directly through His rule on the earth.
Back in the New Testament in the book of Ephesians chapter 1. Christ has been exalted to the right hand of the Father. He is in the position of supreme authority and closest intimacy to God the Father, but He is also, we get more specific now, Head of the Church, which is His Body. So that's a position. That is a ministry that He carries out today as well. He is Head of the Church, and this is a result of His finished work on earth and His ascension to the Father.

In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22. Verse 20 for what we've been talking about, "Which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet." But now let’s narrow this down. He has a particular role of authority in relationship to the Church. Everything has been in subjection to Him but in a unique and special way He has authority over His Church. So, He is Head over all things to the Church. He is ruler and sovereign overall. But in a unique and special way He will come at a time in the future to be the king of Israel on this earth. And from His position as king of Israel He will rule the nations of the earth. So here He is head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Through His position and ministry today, Christ is the sovereign head of His Church. I take it that includes each individual local church. That's why in the letters to the seven churches in Revelations chapter 2 and 3 we see Him in the midst of the lampstands that represent the church evaluating and judging, commanding. He is the sovereign in relationship to His Body the Church and in the individual expressions of that Body, the local churches.

Look in chapter 2 of Ephesians verse 14, "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one." He took Jews and Gentiles and made them one. So, verse 16, "That He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity." So that one Body which Jesus Christ is the head and the sovereign ruler.

You come over to chapter 4 verse 7, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." Then verse 8 which is a quote from Psalm 68, "Therefore it says, 'When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and gave gifts to men.'" So you see in connection with His ascension to heaven is the bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the Church. And in connection with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit on the Church are the gifts of the Spirit, sovereignly dispensed by the head of the Church, Christ, through the Holy Spirit who indwells the members of the Church. That is in connection with His ascension to heaven and a result of the ascension.

Verse 11, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;" until we all come to maturity in Christ is the point that He is making.

Verse 15, "But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."

That's the present ministry of Christ. He is the sovereign head of the Church. Each individual part of the Body functions in accord with His directions as the Head. So His purposes in the building of His Body for His glory are accomplished.

We as Christians need to grasp this. The Church gets into trouble not because it doesn't understand some of the doctrines that we might call more peripheral, not as fully developed in Scripture. The Church gets in trouble because it does not live in obedience to the clear explicit teaching of the Scripture and areas like we're talking about. It's amazing Christians will ring their hands and talk about the rebellion of the world today against God and against Christ and it is an open, flaunted rebellion. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. The invisible attributes of God are manifested in His creation Psalm 19 tells us, Romans chapter 1 tells us, but it is rejected. But you know that is not as amazing as the rebellion that is manifested within the Body of Christ against the Head of the Church. An unwillingness to be obedient and carry out the roles and responsibilities that He has assigned to us as members of His Body in a way that honors and exalts Him.

Does the world look at the Church and see a church that functions cohesively in unity and love and kindness under the authority of the head of the Church, Jesus Christ? No, they see the bickering and the battling and the tearing apart. At the same time, we are telling them they must submit to the authority of Christ and bow before Him. You are supposed to be His Body here and that doesn't happen. I'm not talking about ecumenism. I'm talking about local churches manifesting the presence of the Body of Christ in the earth. That's where the corrections need to be made. When Christ addresses the seven churches of Asia He doesn't tell them, now you need to get together and express together. He tells each one individually they are to be functioning as He would have them in manifesting His character.

Tragedy taking place in the Church today with the rejection of the authority of Christ and that authority reflected through His Word and then through the structure that He has established in the Church which is His Body. We need to understand that is His position. That is His ministry today. He is the Head of the Church. We must live in obedience under His authority, conformed to His Word. That involves recognizing the leadership God has established.

I was visiting with a pastor out of state this past week. Tragedy going on in his church as their staff and elders are united in agreement and yet there is a significant element in the Body tearing the church apart because they do not like the leadership that God has provided. How has this happened in the Church of Jesus Christ? A rejection of the headship of Christ because it's rejection of the authority that He has established.

I'm on a sidetrack but that's all right. I'm happy. Come to Romans chapter 13 quickly. Romans 13. Not really a full sidetrack because it does relate to the authority of Christ. Because no one says, Oh I reject the authority of Christ, the one who professes to be a believer. We find other ways around it which ends up being a rejection of the authority of Christ.

Look at Romans 13 verse 1, "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities." It's talking here about governmental authority. So, I want to be clear of the context, but the principle is established. "There is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God." Therefore, he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God and those who have abused will receive condemnation upon themselves. Here he's saying that godless Caesar, sitting on the throne as Paul writes this, is in authority established by God. You better recognize that authority and submit. When you don't you are rejecting the authority of God and bring condemnation on yourself. That principle of authority is established in any realm we talk about whether it's home, the authority that God has established; the church, the authority God has established there. We recognize God's authority and the authority of Jesus Christ when we recognize the authority that God has appointed for our lives. We sometimes glibly go by and say, oh yes, we acknowledge the headship of Christ over the Church. I just won't submit to the leaders God has established in this church. Well, then that's a rejection of the established authority. So, this headship of Christ in the ministry of the Church is of crucial importance.

So He has been exalted to the right hand of the Father. That involves both a position and a ministry as the One who has sovereign authority. He has been given as head over all things to the Church which is both a position and a ministry as well.

Thirdly, He is an eternal high priest. The book of Hebrews is devoted to this ministry of Christ as high priest. You may be still in the book of Hebrews. We noted in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 at the end of the verse, "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high." Turn over to Hebrews chapter 10 where we also looked. Hebrews is about the fact that Jesus Christ is eternally a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is not a Levitical priest and in the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood. He is in the Melchizedekian priesthood, and He holds His priesthood permanently. So we read in verse 10 of Hebrews 10, "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Verse 12, "But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins, for all time, sat down at the right hand of God." "For by one offering," verse 14, "He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified."

In the temple furniture there was no seat provided for the high priest. It was a reminder his ministry was never done. But Jesus Christ sat down portraying the fact His ministry of sacrifice as a high priest was completed. There were no more sacrifices to be offered. That's the contrast in chapter 10 verses 3 and 4. In those sacrifices there's a reminder of sins. Those sacrifices couldn't take away sins. If they had, the sacrifices would have ceased to be offered. Christ offered one sacrifice for sin for all time. But His high priestly ministry is not over. He has been exalted as high priest but His high priestly ministry goes on, not in offering sacrifice but in ministry as a result of the one time for all time sacrifice for sin.

Back up to Hebrews chapter 7, verse 25, "Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Responsibility of the priest to represent the people to God was the high priest's ministry. He was the intercessor. So here we have a high priest who's offered one sacrifice for sins, and He continues in His intercessory ministry based upon that one time sacrifice.

Come back to Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8. Look at verse 33. Romans 8:33, "Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." Do you see the connection in all of this? His death, His resurrection and His ascension, He is at the right hand. Now who can bring a charge against those who have been redeemed by the high priestly ministry of Christ? The result of His finished work on earth is He has been exalted to the right hand of God. There is no one higher than Him. You cannot go “over His head” so to speak.

You know, like in our court system. You go to trial, you lose, you appeal. You lose and you appeal until you come to the highest court and there is no court of appeal beyond that. So, Jesus Christ has been exalted to the highest place. For anyone to bring a charge against us, the redeemed, he would have to have greater power, greater authority than Jesus Christ has and there is no such being because He is at the place of the right hand. That's the point here in verse 34. He is at the right hand of God and He intercedes for us. There is nobody who can go around Him or over Him. So no charges, no condemnation can be brought against us because the One who is in the highest position intercedes for us.

I have been redeemed by His grace. Do I sin? Yes. The book of Job, the opening chapters, Job is attacked by Satan. I take it the picture we have in light of Revelation 12 which says Satan is the accuser of the brethren, Satan would bring our failures, our sins, before God but Jesus Christ is there. What? I paid the penalty for that sin. I represent that person. The lawyer terminology would be used in 1 John 2:12. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, the One who is the propitiation, the satisfaction for sin. So as our advocate, as our high priest, He is there to say, the sacrifice I offered is sufficient for that sin. He's clean. The charge does not stick. It cannot stand. The one I represent is not condemned.

That's the security of the believer. Those who hold to an Arminian theology and believe you can lose your salvation do not understand the present position and present ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ as high priest at the right hand of God. My security is a result of His position and His work, not mine. If it was dependent on us, what do you have? Up and down. You have your salvation today. You lose it tomorrow. You have it today. You lose it tomorrow. You have it today. You lose it tomorrow.

I went to seminary with a fellow who was Arminian in his theology and believed you could lose your salvation. One time said to me, Gil, if I really believed this, I would ask you to do me a favor. Get a gun and shoot me the next time I tell you I'm sure I'm saved. And he was right. He saw the inconsistency. It would be far better to die when you're sure you're saved than to sin and lose your salvation, get hit by a car before you get saved again. But praise God that's not the way our salvation is. It's not a result of our works. It's a result of His grace. That includes the ongoing present aspect of our preservation in salvation as well.

We could go into another aspect. As a result of Jesus Christ's ministry as our high priest today, we are priests of God. Hebrews chapter 4 invites us to come with “boldness to the throne of grace that we might obtain help in our time of need”. And Hebrews chapter 13 we are told about the sacrifices we offer to God: the sacrifice of our lips, the sacrifice of the good that we do to others. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice." We carry on a ministry as priests of God because we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ. So we come with confidence and boldness before a throne of grace because Jesus Christ represents us. So we have been made priests. First Peter 2:5 talks about the fact He has made us priests. Revelation 1 talks about the fact He's made us priests.

A whole doctrine of intercessors, Mary, well, you know, Jesus will listen to His mother so if you go to His mother, the more chance He'll listen to you. Then you got all these saints who you they can intercede for you. It's a denial of the biblical truth of the high priestly ministry of Christ. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, not lots of mediators. Not even two, the man Christ Jesus and His mother, Mary. There is one mediator.

And as a result of His present high priestly ministry, I come as a redeemed individual with confidence directly to the throne of God. My whole life is to be an expression of my priestly ministry. Everything that comes out of my lips, everything I do with this body is part of the sacrifice that I offer to God in exalting and honoring Him. That should shape everything we do with our lives. That's part of the present ministry of Christ.

There could be many other things we could develop, but the final thing I'm going to talk about is the indwelling of the believer. Jesus Christ presently indwells believers, those who have been redeemed by His grace. What we find in the Scripture, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all indwell the believer.

Go back to the Gospel of John. We'll take this from John because of time here. We'll just run through a series of verses beginning in John 14. This is a great comfort and encouragement to us as believers. He promises the disciples in John 14, the Holy Spirit will come to them. At the end of verse 17 of John 14 referring to the “Spirit of truth” that He would send He says, "He abides with you but He will be in you." A change in focus and the presence of the Holy Spirit within the life of the child of God. But verse 18, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." Not only will the Holy Spirit come to dwell in you, but I will come to you.

Look at verse 20, "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." So Jesus Christ is personally, bodily located in heaven but as God He is not only omnipresent but He has a special unique presence in the life of each of His children. "I am in My Father, You in Me and I in you."

Look at verse 23, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." So not only will I come, not only will the Holy Spirit come but my Father will come, and we will make our abode with Him. Our body becomes the dwelling place of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Now there is no doubt that the focal Person of the triune God in ministry in us and through us is the Holy Spirit. That's where the attention of the New Testament is placed, but that ought not cause us to think that the Father and the Son do not also dwell within us even though it is the Spirit whose ministry is focused and emphasized in the indwelling ministry.

Chapter 15 of John verse 4, "Abide in Me, and I in you." You note that mutual abiding, I in you and you in Me.

Chapter 17 verse 23 Jesus' high priestly prayer to His Father, "I in them and You in Me." So the Father dwells in the Son, the Son dwells in us so the Father, and the Son, dwell in us and the Spirit dwells in us.

Galatians 2:20, just jot it down, "I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me." It's a remarkable truth. Colossians chapter 1 verses 26 and 27 we studied that as well. Same truth.

We have the indwelling presence of the Son of God dwelling within us. What a comfort. What a joy. You know, I can never be alone, not in the sense of ever being lonely. He dwells within me. My closest friends, my closest family, they could be taken from me. But there's One who literally will never leave me nor forsake me. He dwells within me. That's an ongoing present ministry. Paul says in Philippians 4, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Colossians 1:27 says, "Christ in you the hope of glory." What an exalted privilege has been bestowed upon us that the living God would dwell in us. There are all kinds of things that we could say about that. It ought to make sin awful ugly.

You know, we are like little children. Infantile sometimes. I'm amazed at myself. You know, I get like my grandkids. You learn good lessons from your grandkids. You know, they are at the stage now they close their eyes, you are right there in the room. They close their eyes, and you say, "Where's Ashley? Where's Ashley?" Well, you didn't go anywhere. Come on. I mean, I see you. You are sitting there. No, you go along with the game. You say, oh, where? But they think what? They close their eyes now they're hidden. I'm right there with them just like I was. Well, you know, I need to remind myself. God is right there inside me. You know what I get? I get infantile. When I think I'm going to sin, I'll just leave Him outside the door so He won't be with me and He won't see me. I'm hiding. But what does Paul say to the Corinthians that's so ugly about immortality? Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells within you. You take that which belongs to Christ and join it in an immoral relationship. That is vile and ugly.

You know, when we sin we like to what? We dark about darkness. We are going to do it where nobody sees us. Do I understand the living God dwells within me and He never leaves. That makes sin all the more ugly. That's a negative reminder. The positive side is I have a friend who's with me. If persecution would break out, they would take everyone from me, imprison me in a solitary cell someplace, I would not be alone. My Savior would be there. I could commune with Him, enjoy His presence. I should be developing that and enjoying it today. He is the closest One I have.

That is an ongoing ministry and Christ in you, the hope of Glory. It sparks that fire. Some people don't seem to have any interest in the coming of Christ, I think what may be lacking is the Christ in you. They don't have that true hope of Glory that burns and shapes and molds their life.

This is just some of the present ministry of Christ. We celebrate a Savior who was born 2000 years ago, who was crucified, who was buried, who was raised, who ascended to the Father, who's coming again. But praise the Lord we are not in an interlude where's He's doing nothing. His ministry is ongoing and impacts us in a variety of ways as He molds and shapes and prepares us for the time when He will take us to be with Himself. Let's pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful Savior. Thank you, Lord, for the ministry that He carries out today, that He indeed has been exalted as the glorified Son of God to the highest position at Your right hand. Someday He will step from that place to this earth again in the fullness of His glory. Lord, we praise You for the ministry He's carrying out on our behalf even today. Lord, we desire that the richness and fullness of His life and ministry might be felt and experienced, might mold and shape us in every way individually as a church in the year that is ahead of us and until Christ comes. We pray in His name, amen.

(You have been listening to the Bible teaching of Gil Rugh. Gil is senior pastor at Indian Hills Community Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.)