"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," MAT 5:17-18.

We examined the first portion of v. 17 in our last message in which we learned that Jesus came not to destroy the law. It is important that, as we study the second part of this verse, we understand that Christ came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. This verse says that not "...one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

This means that not the slightest infraction of the law can be left. Christ came to fulfill the entire intent of the law for the purpose of glorifying the Father. The purpose of the law was to render perfect submission, perfect contrition to the will of God.

Revival is not always good. There is a revival of the old assault against the law saying that the law was abolished. This revival is bad. We have to realize that the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill the purpose of God's creation.

FOR OUR FIRST POINT, we will consider that Jesus came not to destroy but to fulfill the law of love.

FOR OUR SECOND POINT, let's consider how fulfilling the law of love accomplishes the purpose of God's creation.

FOR OUR THIRD POINT, let's consider how the purpose of God's creation was for His glory. It was in the fulfilling of that law of love that the Father was so glorified. The Son so loved the Father that He glorified Him by perfectly fulfilling the law of love.

FIRST, we will consider that Jesus came not to destroy but to fulfill the law of love. Jesus clearly sets forth the law as the law of love in MAT 22:37-40. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." We must understand that all of the law and all of the gospel hang on those two commandments.

The purpose of God's creation was that our hearts would be fully set to love the Lord God: to love Him with all our hearts, with all our souls, and all our minds. If a person says he loves the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind, what is his first reaction to such love? It would be a delight to do the will of the One they love so dearly. All of the law, all of the intent of the law, hangs upon the purpose and intent of the heart, i.e., the soul and the mind loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself.

Our text says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." It is this law of love that the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill. He came to fulfill that perfection of love. He demonstrated this by His perfection of submission, His perfection of obedience, and His payment of the penalty to honor that law.

The law said that "...in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," GEN 2:17. He came to honor that law by giving His life and by shedding His blood to pay the penalty so the law would be fully honored. He came to demonstrate the love He had for His Father. Christ rendered such perfection of submission and obedience to honor the Father's righteous demands under the law for the glory of the Father.

Christ came to fulfill the intent of the law. We read in ROM 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." The word end" in this passage is taken from the Greek word teleo which means "To set out for a definite point or goal--the point aimed at--the ultimate or prophetic purpose." What it means is that Christ came to accomplish "the point aimed at" in the law. His purpose was to fulfill the intent of the law.

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. What does this word righteousness mean? It means conforming to the divine law of love with perfection. Christ was sent to fulfill the intent of the law with perfection by conforming His life to the divine law of love for "every one that believeth."

If our heart, our soul, and our mind love God above all, then we want to see that the intent of His will is performed. What was this intent? It was the perfection of that love which demonstrates what it is to love God the Father and to love everything that He requires, so the holiness and the righteousness of God would be honored. As we learn to understand God's wrath upon sin, we learn to see why He sent His Son to honor that law by the shedding of His blood as an act of obedience. Our lovely Saviour came to pay the full penalty of the law so not one jot or one tittle of the law should fall.

Jesus came in the way of perfect subjection to fulfill the intent of the law. Christ came to fulfill the purpose of the law by conformity of life for His church. The law requires perfection in the way of obedience, and His church, now in a fallen condition, is not capable of this; therefore, Christ came that He might fulfill with perfection the divine law for His church.

JER 23:5-6 says, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch...and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." That perfect branch referred to in this text points to the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, "this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." He becomes our perfection of conformity to that divine law. He becomes our righteousness through the shedding of His blood as an act of obedience, thereby appeasing God's wrath upon sin. He bore the wrath of God upon the sin of His people and perfectly honored the righteousness of God by such obedience. The full intent of the law was met.

Christ came not to abolish the law, but He came to fulfill the law. He did this by perfect satisfaction of the law through obedience and paying of the just demands of the law. Jesus Christ came to accomplish God's purpose in creation. God created man to be a reflector of His image or divine character for His glory. The Lord Jesus Christ came in the flesh. He became human; He perfectly reflected "the express image of [God's] person, and upholding all things by the word of his power," HEB 1:3.

Jesus Christ took our human nature, yet without sin, so God could yet be glorified in His purpose of the creation of man as the jewel of His creation. It was the purpose of God to create man for His glory. Now the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill the purpose and intent of that law of love, whereby man might be restored as the jewel of God's creation by looking upon the Lord Jesus Christ in our human nature as the "express image of His person."

ISA 43:7 says, "... for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." God created man for His glory. Christ came to glorify and honor His Father with His perfect obedience. We read this in REV 4:11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

It was for the pleasure of God and His glory that He created man, that He created the earth, that He created all things. It was for His glory that He set man as the jewel of His creation to set him over the things of this earth: the beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea. By sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin, God has accomplished the purpose of His creation. He sent His Son in our human nature with a body and a soul.

GAL 4:4-5 says, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." He sent His Son to fulfill and perform that perfect obedience that He had intended for man.

When Jesus was about to go to the cross to fulfill the law and the prophets as an act of obedience He said, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was," JOH 17:4-5.

We have to understand that the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill and finish that work that the Father gave Him to do. He came to finish the perfection of obedience. He said "I have glorified thee on the earth...." We have to understand it was by His perfect fulfilling of what God the Father had given Him to do that He said, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." The Father was so glorified by that perfect obedience of His Son; the purpose, the intent, of His creation was thereby accomplished. Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets by laying down His life.

In JOH 10:17-18 we read, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." That was the way of obedience: "This commandment have I received of my Father." "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life." The Father was glorified by that obedience.

Why had He commanded the Son to lay down His life? He did so in order to fulfill the perfect intent of the law; so the perfect satisfaction of the law would be met not only in the way of obedience, but also in way of the payment of the penalty for those sins that had been committed by His elect. Therefore, the Father is now so glorified that the law, the intent of the law, has been fulfilled.

When God created man, He placed before man the way of life and the way of death. He placed Adam in the midst of the garden where the two ways met. GEN 2:9 says there was, "...the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." He set before him the tree of life as well as the tree of knowledge of good and evil whereby the way of death was pronounced for disobedience.

What was the way of life? It was the way of obedience. Adam must do as the Lord commanded him and not eat of that tree. He must acknowledge and demonstrate God's right to be King over him. Even though God had set him in a kingly place, Adam must submit to God's authority over him; then he would live forever. God had laid before man the way of life and the way of death.

We see in GEN 2:15-17, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [The Lord didn't put Adam there to waste his time in idleness.] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The Lord set that tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden to let Adam prove that he would submit himself to the authority of the Word of God.

Adam and Eve clearly understood that the reward for obedience was life, and the penalty for disobedience was death. The Lord entered thereby into a covenant of obedience with Adam and Eve. The covenant of obedience was that they were to have the reward of life if they would obey, but they would pay the penalty of death if they disobeyed.

We see in Gen 3:2-3, "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Adam and Eve fully understood the penalty of disobedience, and they also fully understood the reward of obedience.

The reward for obedience was to live forever. The penalty of disobedience was "...thou shalt surely die." This intent of the law was what Christ came to fulfill. He came to die and pay the penalty for the disobedience of God's people to the glory of the Father. This is what the Lord Jesus is telling us in the text before us: "I came not to destroy the law but to fulfil." He came to fulfill the intent and the purpose of the law. This intent was to show absolute, total, unconditional surrender to the will of the Father so the Father might be glorified by the fulfilling of His law.

FOR OUR SECOND POINT, let's consider how fulfilling the law of love accomplishes the purpose of God's creation. The purpose of God's creation was to be glorified by man as a reflector of God's character through serving Him. Man was to serve Him, therein, the Lord would be glorified. In MAL 3:16-17 we read, "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.[The word fear does not refer to a slavish fear but a holy reverence, standing in awe of the will of God. Those who fear the Lord have received the new nature; they have had that work of regeneration; they have come to where they honor and stand in holy reverence for God and His revealed will.] And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."

The Lord is saying that He created man so He would be glorified by man serving Him. In v: 18 we read, "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." This is where the Lord is going to separate the righteous from the wicked on the Day of Judgment. When He comes to make up His jewels that will be placed in the crown of Christ, He says "...and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked...."

What does this word righteous mean? It means those people who have been brought into conformity to the divine law of love, who love God above all and their neighbour as themselves, and have been conformed to that perfect image of Christ. The righteous have had Christ formed in them; they have a new desire. They fear the Lord. Scripture says that God, "...shall...discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."

What God's Word really says here in v:18 is, "Then shall ye return, and discern between...him that serveth God [by conforming to the divine law of love], and him that serveth him not. [those who disobey the divine law of love.]" The wicked are those who will not serve the Lord. The Father created man capable of serving Him with perfection, but man lost this through the fall of Adam. The Son of God covenanted from eternity to fulfill the purpose of God's creation to glorify God by perfect obedience. Christ came to fulfil the intent and purpose of the law.

In REV 13:8 we read how the names of his people were "...written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The Lord has written the names of His elect in the Lamb's book of life from before the foundation of the world. God the Father was looking upon that perfect obedience of His Son. He was looking upon that perfect sacrifice of His Son from the foundation of the world. It was in the covenant of grace whereby the Father was looking upon His church in Christ when Adam sinned, or Adam would have been destroyed instantly when he sinned.

The covenant of grace had to perfectly replace the covenant of obedience. A sinless Covenant Head had to replace a sinful Adam. The same test of obedience had to be passed to earn the same promise with the same penalty imposed for disobedience. It was so important that we understand that in that covenant of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ covenanted to come and fulfill that broken covenant of works by perfect obedience, as well as to satisfy its penalty by payment in full.

The Lord Jesus came to fulfill the intent of the law, not to destroy the law. From eternity the mind of the Father was reconciled to His church through the covenant of grace. In 2CO 5:19 we read, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

If it had not been for the covenant of grace entered into in the stillness of eternity, God would have destroyed the whole human race the instant Adam fell. The fury of God's wrath upon sin is so intense that it caused Christ to sweat blood in the garden of Gethsemane. He took upon Himself to be made sin for His church. 2CO 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

In Gen 2:17 we read, "...for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." That penalty of death was to be instant; it was to be in that day. The covenant of grace that Christ had entered into with the Father to take the penalty and fulfill the law obtained the forbearance of the Father, so Adam and the whole human race were not instantly destroyed in hell.

We see Christ's pledge to fulfill the law and the prophets in the ceremonial law. The covenant of circumcision was Christ's pledge to keep the whole law for His church. The burnt offerings were Christ's pledge to pay the penalty and cleanse His church from sin with His blood. Christ's pledge is revealed in the Old Testament ceremonial laws. It was in those burnt offerings that we see the type of the wrath of the Father coming down upon sin. It was in those burnt offerings that we see how the Father was appeasing His wrath with the sacrifice of His Son.

As noted earlier, in Rev 13:8 we read how "...the Lamb [was] slain from the foundation of the world." It was the Father's eye looking upon that perfect pledge in the covenant of grace that restrained His wrath for His people before Christ came and fulfilled the law for His church.

In HEB 9:13 we read, "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" To serve the living God is what the Lord wants. He wants us to serve Him with fear, i.e., holy reverence, and without reservation. He wants us to serve Him with our whole heart.

Scripture says, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself..." without reservation to serve God's intent of the law. It points to how that "...blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean," typifies the blood of Christ which purges away all guilt. The Old Testament sacrifices were the pledge of the coming of Christ. All the Old Testament sacrifices were Christ's pledge to purchase the remission of sins for His church by fully satisfying the law.

In HEB 9:21-22 we read, "Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." This shedding of blood that took place through all these ceremonial laws was Christ's pledge that He would come. These sacrifices were the pledge which pointed to the covenant of grace wherein Christ covenanted to come to pay that penalty for sin with the shedding of His blood.

In that ceremonial law we also see circumcision. What was that? Circumcision was Christ's pledge to satisfy the law with perfect obedience. Salvation is two-fold. We must understand that there were two things necessary for Christ to accomplish to earn our salvation. He had to come in our place and fulfill that covenant of works with perfect obedience. The Old Testament church had His pledge that Christ would come in the way of perfect obedience; this was the covenant of circumcision. The covenant of circumcision served as the hedge around about that blood of the covenant, around that wine press spoken of in MAT 21:33, to keep out the unrepentant. No person can come under the blood of Christ without repentance.

Circumcision was Christ's pledge to satisfy the law with perfect obedience. In Gal 5:3 we read, "For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law." That circumcision covenant pointed to Christ's pledge of perfect obedience under the law. That circumcision covenant was to pledge that Christ would come, and that He would be a debtor to do the whole law for His church.

Look at what we read in Gal 4:4, "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." Christ was sent under the law. He came to fulfill our debt of obedience under the law. He was brought under that pledge of circumcision to come and fulfill the whole law for His church. We have to understand that Christ was sent not only to pay the penalty, but also to fulfill that broken covenant of works. Both of these were co-essential to our salvation.

When the fullness of time came "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." That circumcision of Christ on the eighth day bound Him to the pledge. He became a debtor to do the whole law. He pledged thereby that He would fulfill that perfect obedience, i.e., fulfill the intent of the law.

The faith spoken of in ROM 4:11 points to the circumcision of Christ. In GAL 5:5 we read, "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." It is righteousness by faith in Christ; it is by the faith of Jesus Christ. Abraham saw his righteousness in the circumcision of Christ, by faith. By faith Abraham saw the imputed righteousness of Christ, i.e., Christ's conformity of life to the divine law which was pledged in the circumcision of Christ.

In JOH 8:56 we read, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." Abraham received circumcision as a seal that the obedience of Christ was imputed to him by faith-- even as the burnt offerings were a type of the sacrifice of Christ being imputed to him to remove the penalty of sin.

In ROM 4:11 it says, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised...." We have to understand that word "sign" as taken from the original means a type. The circumcision of the flesh was a type of that circumcision of the heart. It was a type of that true work of repentance, of true conforming to the image of Christ, of that work of sanctification in the soul. It was a seal of the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith. The word seal means the mark of the genuineness. That righteousness, that circumcision of the heart, is a mark of the genuineness of the righteousness that Christ was coming to fulfill on Abraham's behalf, which he saw by faith.

ROM 5:19 says, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." The perfect obedience of purchased our righteousness. Christ's perfect obedience is imparted to us as our perfect conformity of life to the divine law. Christ's righteousness being imparted to us was obtained by the Lord Jesus Christ when He came out of the grave on the third day which is typified by baptism. He came to perform the end, or intent, of the law.

Jesus was circumcised and baptized. When He was circumcised He became a debtor to do the whole law for His church. When He was baptized, He was marked for death to pay the penalty for sin. We have to understand that the salvation for our souls has to be two-fold. We have to be redeemed from the penalty of the law by the perfect sacrifice of Christ for the payment of the penalty. We also have to be redeemed from our debt of disobedience to the law by His perfect obedience. We have to be redeemed because we are no longer capable of performing perfect obedience to the law. We need the imputed righteousness of Christ in the way of obedience, as well as His atonement to remove the penalty.

Now we see how when He was circumcised He became a debtor to do that whole law for His church. When He was baptized He was marked for death to pay the penalty. Therefore, we are complete in Him. We we see that we are perfectly complete in Christ. He has come not only to take away the penalty of sin, but He has also come to fulfill the full intent of the law by way of perfect obedience.

In COL 2:10-11 we read, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." That circumcision of Christ must be imputed to us. We must have that circumcision of Christ as our pledge, as our emblem, and as our badge of perfect obedience being imputed to us. It says, "In whom also ye are circumcised [How?]... by the circumcision of Christ."

Continuing on with verse 12 we read, "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." "Buried with him in baptism" means He was marked for death. There's where it points to the paying of the penalty. We also see that baptism goes much deeper than that. He was marked for death to take away the Father's wrath upon sin.

Christ was to be buried; He was to be raised again the third day, Why? So now we have His resurrection as the pledge of our justification. The resurrection of Christ is the New Testament pledge. The covenant of circumcision became fulfilled in the circumcision of Christ, therefore if we yet preach circumcision, we make the circumcision of Christ of none effect unto us; we remain a debtor to do the whole law.

This is what Paul is saying in GAL 5:2-4; and v:11; "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace...And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased."

The resurrection of Christ is our New Testament pledge that the Father has accepted the penalty that was paid; He has accepted that perfect obedience of Christ as the fulfilling of the law for His church. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the law by His submission to the will of the Father.

We read in JOH 5:30, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." He came in perfect subjection and contrition of heart to do the will of the Father. Verse 36 says, "But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." This is the pledge; this is the evidence: because He came out of the grave, now we have that pledge for the New Testament church that the Father has accepted Christ's perfect fulfillment of the law.

Jesus' whole ministry was to finish the work of the Father which the Father had given Him to do. In JOH 4:34 we read, "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." To do the will of the Father was the meat, the purpose, and the intent of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words in the way of perfect obedience He would thereby fulfill the law with perfection.

Job saw his Saviour's commitment in a prophetic way when he said, "Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food," Job 23:12. The Lord Jesus Christ says this is My meat: to do the will of the Father. What does Job say? He says, "...I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." The Father was glorified by the Son when Jesus fulfilled all the work that the Father had given Him to do. He laid down His life as an act of obedience.

We see in JOH 10:17-18, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." The Lord Jesus Christ came to do His Father's will in the way of such perfection of obedience. He lay down His life as an act of obedience. It is by this act of obedience that many shall be made righteous, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous," ROM 5:19. We have obtained that perfect robe of Christ's righteousness by His obedience..."unto death, even the death of the cross," PHI 2:8.

When Jesus was about to finish the work, He prayed in JOH 17:4-5, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Now the Lord Jesus Christ comes to lay down His life; He is prepared to go upon the cross. Now He says, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." How did He glorify the Father? He glorified the Father by finishing the work God gave Him, i.e., laying down His life for His church as an act of obedience.

It was by this perfection of obedience that the Father was so glorified and that the Father's perfect intent of the law was fulfilled; God's purpose for His creation was fulfilled. Jesus went on to say, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." He had such glory with the Father under that covenant of grace. Christ covenanted that He would come and fulfill the intent of the law. It was in how Jesus finished His work that the Father was so glorified.

Look at PHI 2:7-8, "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." There is where the Father was so glorified in how the Son humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He gave up all He had. He gave up His Kingly throne. He came down to be mocked, to be scorned, to be crucified, and He came to be obedient onto such a death. Jesus says He came to do the will of the Father. The will of the Father was that He should step into death; to glorify His Father by such obedience, thereby completing the work that the Father had given Him to do.

Jesus was completely resigned to the will of the Father. We see that in MAT 26:39, "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." When He was sweating drops of blood, when He was under that pressure in that wine press, and the blood of His body was being pressed out through the pores of His skin by the wrath of the Father that was coming upon Him, He says "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." He says, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," but He was so resigned to the will of the Father. The Father was so glorified by such submission and perfect obedience.

Jesus said to Peter, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" MAT 26:53-54. He was so totally in submission to the will of the Father. Because the Father was so glorified in the Son by such obedience, the Father now glorifies the Son; see the connecting word. "Wherefore..." now the Son is glorified by the Father. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," PHI 2:9-11.

FOR OUR THIRD POINT, let's consider how the purpose of God;s creation was for His glory and how the Father glorified the Son for fulfilling the law of love. The love that the Lord Jesus Christ had for the Father fulfilled the first table of the law of love. The love that the Lord Jesus Christ had for His church fulfilled the second table of the law of love. The law of love has now been fulfilled with every jot and every tittle of the law. The Father was so glorified by such perfect fulfilling of the law of love that now the Son is glorified by the Father for such submission and obedience.

We read in PHI 2:9-11, "Wherefore [i.e. because the Son had humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross] God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [Now the Father has glorified the Son for such obedience and has given Him a name which is above every name.] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Isn't that beautiful?

The Lord Jesus Christ prayed in JOH 17:4-5 saying, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me...." Now we see how the Father answered that blessed prayer of His Son. We see how the Father came to glorify the Son. He said "Wherefore..." it was because the Father was so glorified with such perfection of obedience that now the Father is glorifying the Son for such humble submission. "Wherefore..." the Son is glorified by the Father with a name that is above every name.

HEB 1:3 says, " Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." At His right hand is where the Father has so glorified the Son because He had so submitted Himself unto the will of the Father. With perfection of obedience, He came to fulfill the law for the glory of His Father. Now He had become the express image of His person, the brightness of His glory. He is now sitting down on the right hand of the majesty on high. "WHEREFORE" He is head of all principalities because He has fulfilled that work that the Father gave Him to do; He has fulfilled that law of love.

In COL 2:10 we read, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." The Lord Jesus Christ was set as the head of all principalities. What does the word principality mean? It means governing, ruling. It means that the Lord Jesus Christ is now set up as the King in the hearts of God's dear children. He has now become the head of all principalities. All things are now in subjection unto Him.

EPH 1:20-22 says, "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." Isn't that precious!

The Lord says in, PHI 2:9, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...." Why? Jesus is glorified because He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, because He came to fulfill not destroy the law, because He fulfilled every jot and every tittle of the law. The Father was so glorified that He now set Him far above all principalities and powers. He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be head over all things to His church.

We read in REV 5:8, "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." The four and twenty elders fell down before Him because He was the Lamb which was slain, because He had submitted Himself with such perfect submission to the Father.

In REV 5:11-14 we read, "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." You see the angels of heaven, thousands of thousands, ten thousand times ten thousands, millions and millions of angels cried with a loud voice "Worthy is the Lamb...." "WHEREFORE...," the Father has so highly exalted Him. How the Father has so glorified the Son is so priceless; it is beyond words. Why did He so glorify the Son? The Son was glorified because He has glorified the Father in completing all that He came to do.

Jesus said in Joh 17:4-5, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Here we see how the faith glorified the Son and how the angels were crying out by the billions "...with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."

Now we see in the thirteenth verse, "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Such glory the Father has given the Son because He was so glorified with such perfect submission, such perfect obedience of the Son. The Son rendered such perfect fulfilling of the law that not one jot or one tittle has passed away.

Verse 14 continues, " And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."

"WHEREFORE" the Son is so glorified by the Father "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;" It is so priceless when we understand the word "WHEREFORE." He was glorified because He had fulfilled the law of love, because He had humbled Himself, He had been obedient onto death, even the death of the cross.

MAT 22:44 says, "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Think of how those mocking blasphemers who crucified Him on the cross will come bending and bowing before Him. Everyone that comes against that blessed authority and kingship of Christ shall become His footstool.

We read in JOH 5:22, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." That is how the Father has glorified the Son. Now He shall become the judge of everyone of His enemies, everyone who will not bow to His kingdom, everyone that will not bow to His Kingly scepter. It says He has committed all judgment unto the Son. Think of how those people who have hated Him shall flee when they see those who feared the Lord in heaven, and the angels bow and lay prostrate at His feet. Where shall His enemies appear?

Verse 23 says, "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." "WHEREFORE..." The Son is so glorified by the Father that He shall sit as the judge of His enemies.

Look what we read in REV 6:15-17, "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." What Lamb? It is "the Lamb that was slain..." REV 5:12, that has been so highly exalted (see PHI 2:9-12) by the Father because the Father was so glorified by Him finishing the work that the Father gave Him to do. Now He shall have His enemies fall before Him and flee from His countenance. V:17 continues, "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" The Father has been so glorified that He now glorifies His Son. He has said how in that great day His enemies shall flee and hide. They shall call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall on them.

"WHEREFORE..." every thought must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The perfect obedience of Christ wherein the Father was glorified must captivate our every thought. We read in 2CO 10:5, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

He submitted and humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. "WHEREFORE" the Father has so highly exalted Him. Now it says we must cast down all "...imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Is there anything more precious than to have our thoughts brought into subjection and captivity to that perfect obedience of Christ? We see how the Father was so glorified in the obedience of Christ. Can we expect to remain in rebellion and dwell with such a God?

Verse 6 goes on, "And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." We must have a readiness to revenge all disobedience. See what Jesus says in JOH 14:23, "...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Now let's take note how the Father glorified the Son for fulfilling the law by bringing Him into the joy that was set before Him as the object of His faith as we read in HEB 12:2, "...for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame..." What was that joy? It was the joy of joys for His church.

In REV 19:7 we read, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." That's the joy that was set before Him. That is the joy for which Christ endured the cross and despised the shame. It was for that joy of rejoicing in the honour given Him at the marriage of the Lamb with His bride. That blessed marriage union of Christ and His church was the joy set before Him and His wife that made herself ready.

What do we mean by, "His wife hath made herself ready."? That means her mind has been reconciled with the mind of Christ. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God...he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," PHI 2:5-8.

As Christ's bride makes herself ready for that marriage union her mind must come into captivity to the thoughts and obedience of Christ. That means that the work of sanctification has been wrought in the soul. That means that His wife has made herself ready by being purged from all her sin. All the love of sin has been purged out of her heart, and she has made herself ready to become part of that spotless body of Christ. That means she can now come in that white linen.

Verse 8 says, "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." That "righteousness of saints," points to the work of sanctification by the Holy Spirit that was wrought in the soul, because nothing that defileth or nothing that pollutes shall ever enter heaven. She has made herself ready. All the rebellion that is born in the heart by nature has been broken away. There has been that perfect surrender to the will of the Father.

Look what the Apostle Paul tells in PHI 3:10, "...That I may know him...." What is he speaking about? He is speaking about that blessed marriage union, that intimate relationship with Christ which becomes the desire of the heart, the longing of the soul "...that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection." What does that mean? There is where Christ is glorified! We must become conformed to that blessed image of Christ. We have the longing desire to know Him and the power of his resurrection, i.e., to be delivered from the power of death and sin and raised unto a newness of life. "...and the fellowship of his sufferings," means that we are now being made able and willing to suffer for His namesake. We are able to see all the things of the flesh crucified and taken away, "being made conformable unto his death."

To be made conformable unto His death means what? Rom 6:10 says,"...he died unto sin once...." When we become conformable unto His death we become dead to sin and alive to Christ. That is where the bride is making herself ready. That is the joy that was set before our blessed Redeemer. All the glory and all the exaltation of which we spoke would be nothing if He had not received His bride. Christ's joy will have been fulfilled when His bride is presented unto Him by the Father; after she has made herself ready, she is brought into that blessed marriage union with Him.

This was the joy that was set before Him which enabled Him to endure the cross and despise the shame. If we are going to enter that joy with Him, we are going to suffer with Him, we are going to fellowship in His suffering. This is the way of the cross, and we must follow Him in the way of the cross which leads to that Joy forever more.

Amen.

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