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The Inestimable Value of Jesus Christ

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• 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 15. At least we say it's a simple verse. I think it'll probably be a little more complicated than we think at the very beginning. Notice, if you would, 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 15. The title of the message is "The Inestimable Value of Jesus Christ." The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 15, and he says this: "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." While we've often thought about the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, in relation to that, His person and His work, we've probably not really contemplated what you and I would call the extreme value and worth of what our Lord has accomplished. Like everything else, we tend to take Him for granted. We take His grace for granted. We take His mercy for granted. We take His life for granted. But the Apostle Paul just simply says, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift." Now, the word "unspeakable" occurs three times in the New Testament. Each time it occurs, it occurs from a different Greek word.

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• I want to show you those three times very quickly. So if you look in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and look at verse 4 to begin with, here the Apostle Paul says this, in talking about himself, how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.

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• Now, the word "unspeakable" in this passage is the word arrētos, and it really refers to that which is unsaid, that which is unspoken, or that which is unspeakable on account of its sacredness. Then if you would look very quickly to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 8—we'll be back there a little bit later—but look in 1 Peter 1 and verse 8. They're talking about the joy that Christians possess in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Now here the word "unspeakable" is aneklalētos, and it refers not just to that which is unspeakable, but in one sense of the word, that which is almost inexpressible. It's referring to the joy that Christians have. We may tell others about the joy that we possess in Jesus Christ, but yet at the same time, we cannot really express its height or its degree, and so it is joy unspeakable in that sense of the word.

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• Then if you look back to 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 15, once again, the Word of God says, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." This Greek word happens to be the word anekdiēgētos and refers to that which is not capable of being spoken of, that which is unutterable, that which is inexplicable, and therefore that which is indescribable. In other words, what he is saying in verse 15 is that there are no words that can properly express the greatness of God in giving His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, it's higher than our mind can conceive. It's higher than language can express. And so, this word is actually a derivation of another Greek word, which means, again, incapable of being narrated fully, completely, or wholly. So, there are many scholars that have tried to express this word by using other words like "wonder beyond description" or "unsearchable." All of these are just to describe the one word here, "unspeakable."

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• So what we have to understand is this. Think about this. He says, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." That means this: that all of God's preachers that have lived in the time past, that are living now in the present, and shall be living in the future, all of them lumped together, could not express or fully declare the value and the worth of Jesus Christ. It is an unspeakable gift. Not fully able of being narrated.

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• And moreover, the truth of the matter is not only can preachers not do that, but angels cannot do that. Angels, although they may be holy and although they may be in the presence of our Lord, yet they are incapable once again of understanding this, and the reason being simply because they have never ever been redeemed. So if you look back in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 1 and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 10, you're going to see that even the Old Testament prophets did not understand everything that they prophesied about Jesus Christ. So in 1 Peter 1 and verse 10, the Word of God says, "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you."

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• "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." So obviously then, the Old Testament prophets did not understand everything that they wrote or preached, and angels of course cannot even attempt to understand this because, number one, they have never ever been redeemed. Now when you look back in your Bibles at 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 15, when Scripture says, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift," the

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• Greek word for "gift" is dōrea there, which rightly means a gift, but it also denotes a gift that is given in gratuity, a gift that is given in grace, a gift that is given in favor. In other words, it is the gift of a sovereign. So it is a gift that has been given in grace, favor, and mercy. So you have to understand that no one deserved the Lord Jesus Christ. No one deserved His grace, mercy, or favor. And no one deserved to be saved. No one could earn or merit salvation, period. And the truth of the matter is this: each one of us only deserved justice. And when justice would have been applied, that means then we would have been condemned and faced damnation as well. And yet the Bible tells us that God gave us this unspeakable gift in Himself. Now I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of 1 John, and we're going to look at verse 4 just for a few minutes. 1 John 4 and verse 10.

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• What's this? 1 John 4 and verse 10. The Scripture says, 1 John 4 verse 10: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Now when you stop and think about this, God did not send His Son because we loved Him. He did not send His Son because we needed Him. No, He sent His Son because He loved us, and He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Now the word "propitiation" is a very interesting word. It is the word hilasmos in the Greek, and it literally refers to the fact that Jesus Christ appeased, placated, and satisfied the justice and the wrath of God, but at the same time He also appeased, placated, and satisfied the holiness and the righteousness of God as well. So the Bible said, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Now, hang on to that thought, but now skip down to verse 19. Here's a verse that we quote often. The Bible says, "We love him, because he first loved us."

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• So many times we do not even think about the implications of these verses. We just simply quote them. But first of all, I want you to note in 1 John 4 verse 19, if God had not first loved us, we would have never have loved Him. So when you say, "Well, I love God the Father" or "I love the Lord Jesus Christ," in reality our love for Him is merely a reflection of His own love for us. So you have to understand, if He had not first loved us, we would have been lost. We would have never experienced salvation. We would have never sought Him. We would have never believed Him. We've never desired Him. So here's the second implication: when He said, "We love him because he first loved us," we must grasp and understand, in one sense of the word, the privilege and the grace that is given to us to enable us to love Him.

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• I'm going to go further: even to desire Him. Have you ever considered the fact that if the Father had not sent the Son to be the propitiation for our sins, we would have never—and I'm going to emphasize that—never, ever loved Him. We would have never desired Him. And we may not even today as Christians love Him as we should love Him. We may not love Him the way we ought to love Him. But an amazing thing is that we still, by His grace, have a desire to love Him. You would not even have that desire had it not been that He first loved us. I've often thanked the Lord just for the desire to love Him, for the desire to be more holy or to be more godly. Now, He loved us first, and therefore we can only love Him. Now when you consider the love of God, you have to understand that God is to be loved, and the way that He demands—and I would also add, in the way that He deserves—to be loved. So if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Matthew and look, if you would please,

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• at chapter 22. And I want to begin reading there with verse 35. What's this? Matthew 22 and verse 35. There's an interesting verse at the end of this passage, verse 40. But in verse 35, "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" And notice, if you would now, our Lord does not quote any of the Ten. 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 actually the Shema Israel from Deuteronomy chapter 6. So He said, "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." And then He said in verse 40, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

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• Now stop and think about this. "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." So you must consider the fact—now, think about this—God first loved us, then enabled us to love Him. And if we did not love Him, we would not be interested in His law or His gospel or anything. In other words, on these two commandments hang the law and the prophets.

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• So Paul, then in 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 15, thanking God then for this unspeakable gift that He's given us in Jesus Christ. Now, let me just mention something before I show it to you in Scripture. Do you realize that any and each and every and all blessings come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ? So if you will turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 3. Ephesians chapter 1, look in verse 3. We're going to read through verse 8. Ephesians 1, beginning there with verse 3. The Word of God says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

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• "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation

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• of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him." Now, if you'll look back at verse 3, He's blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Then notice, if you would, that included our election. That included the fact that we have been made holy with Him. That included the fact that He predestinated us to the adoption of sons. That includes the fact that He's made us accepted in the Beloved. It includes every blessing that is conceivable. Now, in light of that, look back in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Romans chapter 8 and verse 32. I want to tie this together. Look in Romans 8 and verse 32.

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• Then we're going to read just a little bit more. But look at this verse, Romans 8 verse 32. The Bible says concerning God the Father—watch this—"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? In other words, if God has given us His best, His only begotten Son, He is saying, "How much more with him will he give us also that which is lesser?" So He's going to give us any and everything through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's begin reading with verse 33. Look at this. This is just some of the things that God has given us. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,

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• who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Now watch this question: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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• Now, if you go back and look, if you would, at verse 33, when he asks this question, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Then look at this one: "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Do you realize there is no condemnation, there is no charge of condemnation that can stand against a child of God?

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• And I'm going to explain why momentarily. But I want to point out the fact it does not matter who the enemy is that tries to condemn us. It doesn't matter if it's Satan himself. None of those charges will stand, not only because we have been justified by the grace of God, not only because Jesus Christ has died, not only that He's forgiven us our sins, but He also ever liveth to make intercession for us. So no charge of condemnation can go against us.

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• He has purchased us. Nothing can separate us from Him. We're vitally united unto Him. He is the head and we are the body. And He goes on to say that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God. And He lists a number of things. Then He says this: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, anything that you can imagine," He said, "nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." In other words, let me put it like this: In the redemption that Jesus Christ provides, there are no what-ifs.

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• You know, I've tried to explain things to people from time to time, and somebody comes up with, "What if? What if? What if this happens? What if that happens?" There are no what-ifs. Everything is certain, everything is settled, everything is sure, and we have divine assurance on that fact.

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• Now, why is this true? Why is all this true? And the answer comes back: It is because of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. So everyone can quote John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." When you get to those two words "only begotten," the Greek word is monogenēs, literally, which means one-of-a-kind, unique. In other words, there's no one else like the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason there's no one else like the Lord Jesus Christ is because He is the only begotten Son of God.

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• He is perfect man, and He is perfect God. So when the Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, "And without controversy—no controversy over this—without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Without controversy, homologoumenōs is the Greek word. That means with the consent of all, or confessedly, no one, no one would object to this fact. Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.

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• Now, stop and think about this. This is why Jesus Christ is one of a kind. This is why Jesus Christ is unique.

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• Now, in John 1, verses 1 through 3, listen to this. John 1, verses 1 through 3: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

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• Now, those first three verses are very appropriate. Listen to this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Now you skip down to verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." So Jesus Christ now is not just simply the perfect man; Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Now when you understand the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, you're going to grasp the value and the worth of His person and His work.

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• In the Old Testament, you had all kinds of sacrifices. There were bulls and lambs and goats sacrificed, but the blood of animals could never, ever take away sin. And let me just say it again: the blood of man could never take away sin. The reason the Lord Jesus Christ could take away sin was not just simply because He is God in the flesh, but also because He was appointed to be the mediator and to be the propitiator of our sins. In other words, God the Father ordained Him.

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• If you look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13 and verses 20 and 21, I'm going to show you another passage just momentarily, but look at this. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 and 21. The Bible says, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to

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• whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

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• Now note, if you would, in verse 20, "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant." So all of those animals that were sacrificed in the Old Testament could never take away sin. They just simply were covering until the true Lamb of God came, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason He came was because of this eternal covenant between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In this covenant God gave to Jesus Christ a people. Jesus Christ undertook to be their shepherd, to be their propitiator, and the Holy Spirit, of course, agreed then to convict and convert, and that He did. So look in your Bibles now to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verses 18 through 20. I want to tie this together before I begin telling you exactly why I'm preaching this. Look at this: 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning there with verse 18. Here it is: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as

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• of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." In other words, God the Father ordained salvation. That's what you read about in Ephesians chapter 1. He, God, hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In other words, God the Father purposed and planned salvation. God the Son purchased salvation. And God the Holy Spirit applies salvation. But all of this comes from the purpose of God. And so very clearly, Jesus Christ is the one who brought us this great salvation. That's why the Apostle Paul is saying, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

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• Now, let me tell you what motivated me to bring this message today. Because this past week I was traveling and I was listening to a Christian radio station and someone—I don't even know who, don't remember—someone said this on the air talking about Jesus Christ: "He forgave me all my sins." And when he said that, here is what I said in my mind: "He also forgave me for my sins. And He had a lot of forgiving to do." And then the thought hit me of what I just said. And then the next thing that came to my mind was an old hymn. I don't know if you've ever heard it or not.

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• It's beautiful. "He the Pearly Gates Will Open." I wish I could sing; I would sing it if I could, but let me read some of the stanzas. Listen to this first one: "Love divine, so great and wondrous, deep and mighty, pure, sublime! Coming from the heart of Jesus, just the same through tests of time. He the pearly gates will open, so that I may enter in; for He purchased my salvation and forgave me all my sin." Here's the third one—I'm going to skip the second one: "Love divine, so great and wondrous, all my sins He then forgave; I will sing His praise forever, for His blood, His power to save. He the pearly gates will open, so that I may enter in; for He purchased my salvation and forgave me all my sins." Here's the last stanza.

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• "In life's eventide, at twilight, at His door I'll knock and wait; by the precious love of Jesus, I shall enter heaven's gate. He the pearly gates will open, so that I may enter in; for He purchased my salvation and forgave me all my sin." Now, every one of those stanzas ends, "purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin." I want you to listen very carefully to the next two truths. Actually, when I heard the man say, "He forgave me all my sins," my life flashed before my eyes in my mind. Not all of my life, but primarily my sinful life. That's why I said He not only forgave me all my sins, but He had an awful lot of forgiving to do. Now, let me tell you something. I confess very easily, very quickly, that I'm a sinner. I have no problem with that, because the Word of God declares that. But do you know something? It is absolutely impossible for me to remember every one of my sins. Moreover, it is impossible for you to remember each and every one of your sins. We can remember enough of our sins before our conversion to know that we were sinful.

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• We were fleshly. We were worldly. We were after the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We understand that. We also can remember enough of our sins to know that even after we were saved, we were not perfect, and we still sinned, not like we did prior to our salvation, but we were still sinners. And the truth of the matter is this: when we stop and think of our sins, even after our salvation, none of us have loved the Lord Jesus Christ the way we should love Him. None of us have prayed the way we should have prayed. None of us have studied the Word of God the way we should have studied the Word of God. None of us has worshipped God and praised Him the way we should have worshipped Him and praised Him. In other words, what I'm trying to show you is this: even after we were saved, there are some things that we should not have done that we did, and some things we ought to have done that we did not do. So there are sins of commission, but there are sins of omission as well. Now when I said my

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• life flashed in front of my eyes, that is my sinful life, and I said, "He forgave me also. He also had an awful lot of forgiving to do." So let me ask you this question, and I want you to think about this. Here we go. How many sins had you committed before Jesus Christ died? Now in the strictest sense of the word, I'm going to answer it for you, and that is none. Because you weren't even born. Which means this: Jesus Christ not only died for all past sins, present sins, but future sins as well. Now hang on with me. Think about this. We just read about that eternal covenant in Hebrews 13 verse 20 and 21, where God gave us to Jesus Christ—that's what He prayed about in John 17—and Jesus Christ, knowing every sin that we would ever commit, loved us anyhow, became our propitiation. He gave Himself for us, knowing our wickedness and our depravity. Now I want you to think about this. We're talking about the worth and the value of the person and work of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ died, forgave me of all my sins—past, present, and future—just my sins are a lot. But that is true of every believer. You just think of the believers that have lived in time past, and

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• you think of the believers that are presently living today and those whom God will save in the future, and Jesus Christ died for each and every one of their sins in order that they may be forgiven. Can you imagine? It's impossible for me to tally all of my sins. It's impossible for you to tally all of your sins. But when you try to tally up all the sins of every individual believer that has ever lived, now living, and shall live, that would be an impossible task for you and I. Wow.

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• The greatness and the magnificence of His forgiveness is astounding. Now here is something else. I want you to think about when we're talking about our sins. See, most of the time you and I are very flippant when it comes to our sins. I've actually heard people brag about their sins. To be absolutely honest, I'm ashamed of my sins. I wish I'd never done them, but I did. But the truth of the matter is this: many times we're flippant and we don't really understand the impact of our sin. So I want to show you—I know you know the passage, but I want you to turn first of all to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 53, and let's begin there and read at least the first 10 verses. I want you to watch this. Isaiah 53, beginning there verse 1, because there is one passage that I've got to emphasize. Look at this. We understand most of this, but Isaiah 53, beginning there if you would with verse 1. Look what the prophet says: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is

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• the arm of the Lord revealed? For he—that is, Lord Jesus—shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." I'm going to preach on this passage one day again; I've done it in time past. But the Bible says that we esteemed him not—that is, we did not even give him a second thought. We didn't think he was worthy of a second thought. Look in verse 4: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

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• But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

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• He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Now look at verse 10: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Wow!

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• When you stop and think about this, the brutality that Christ went through—it was not just the rejection, it was not just the mocking and the ridicule, it was not just the cat-o'-nine-tails that He was beaten with, it was not just the crown of thorns driven on His head with a reed. He was crucified, and all of this is agony for sure. There's none of us probably can even conceive of the human pain that our Lord suffered. But that human pain that He suffered was nothing compared to His spiritual sufferings. Look what He said in verse 10: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Jesus Christ was and is the sinless Son of God. He was like as we are, tempted in all points, the Bible says, yet without sin. He was personally sinless. He had done nothing to deserve death. He had done nothing to deserve our condemnation. But God the Father made Him legally guilty.

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• He was personally innocent, but He was made legally guilty. So if you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, look at verse 21. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21: "For he—that is, God the Father—hath made him—God the Son—to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Can you conceive of this in your mind, that the sinless, holy soul of Jesus, our Lord's person, was legally made a sinner, and all of our sins were imputed to Him, placed upon Him, given to Him to suffer in our stead?

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• I would imagine the spiritual sufferings of our Lord were far more potent than His physical sufferings. I want to show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. To me this is almost inexplicable. Hebrews 12, beginning there with verse 2: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Now go back to verse 2. Look at this: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." Now wait a minute. What was the joy that was set before Jesus Christ? Who for the joy that was set before him—the joy that was set before Jesus

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• Christ was, number one, His absolute and complete obedience to His Father, and number two, He was redeeming His people. And it's counted as a joy. And notice, if you would, what He did: the Bible said He endured the cross, despising the shame. Of all the agony that He suffered, it was because of sin. And here's the clincher: all that our Lord suffered, endured, was not just because of sin, but because of your sin and my sin. Yet He forgave each of us fully and freely.

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• In other words, it was His great person that led to His forgiveness. Here's the second thing you've got to consider. To show you the greatness and the value and the worth of the work of Jesus Christ, He not only redeemed and forgave us, He not only cleansed us, He also redeemed creation. You remember in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam sinned? What did God do? God cursed the ground because of the sin. So this earth has been under a curse. In fact, God told Adam, "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 8. I want you to see the greatness of the work of Jesus Christ. Look in Romans chapter 8, and let's begin reading at verse 19. Romans 8 verse 19. Look at this: Romans 8 verse 19: "For the earnest expectation of the creature"—that would be creation—"for the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth

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• for the manifestation of the sons of God." So this earth is just waiting breathlessly until the sons of God are made fully manifest. Why? Watch verse 20: "For the creature"—or the creation—"was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because"—here it is, look at this—"because the creature"—or the creation—"itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." And then he says this: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." In other words, God's earth, God's creation, is groaning and waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, because when we are set at liberty, when we're glorified, He shall be glorified in us and we in Him, and the whole creation will be released from this curse. So the person and work of Jesus

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• Christ is worth everything imaginable. It is inexplicable because it is His unspeakable gift. Now I want to make some applications, and I want you to listen carefully. The first one is this: we need to value the work of Jesus Christ as it is revealed in His Word. Now you're in the book of Romans. I want you to turn to Romans chapter 4. But as you're turning there, I'm going to quote from Psalm 32 and verse 2. Psalm 32 and verse 2, where the Word of God says, "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." So the Apostle Paul uses this Old Testament quote in Romans chapter 4, beginning there with verse 6. So look at it: "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Blessed is the man to whom the Lord

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• will not impute sin. Now I want you to think about this. Everyone understands the word "impute," or at least you should. So when I was a boy—you didn't know such thing as credit cards—but I would go into a store, and if I saw something that I wanted and I did not have any money, I would pick up that item I wanted, I would go to the store clerk, and I would say, "I impute this to my father." No, I didn't say "impute" to my father. You know what I said? "Charge it." That's what the word "impute" means; it means to charge. "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Do you realize

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• the greatness and the value of the work of Jesus Christ is even though we sin, our sins are not imputed to us. Why? Because they've been imputed to Jesus Christ. They were charged to His account. We understand how blessed we are through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Let me show you another one. I want you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18. We're going to begin reading there just momentarily with verse 21. But here's the second application: if we have been so richly, freely, and fully forgiven, we must also learn to forgive others as Jesus Christ forgave us. Now, let me make a statement. I've heard people say—you've heard people say—"Well, I'll forgive him, but I'm not forgetting." Well, if

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• that's your attitude, you're not forgiving. Because when God forgave us our sins, He forgot them. Now that does not mean He eradicated them from His mind, because He is omniscient; He knows everything. Okay? But it does mean this: that He does not hold them against us any longer. He does not bring them up. So here's a good illustration. Alice and I get into a little row, let's say, and she says something she ought not to say, and then she says, "Well, I'm just sorry. Please forgive me." And I said, "Okay, you're forgiven. No problem." So the next day she says something again in light of that, and I said, "I knew you never really repented because here you are doing it again." Well, it was not just her; it's me. Because I said I forgave her. If I forgave her, I ought not to bring it up again. I ought not to hold it against her. See, God, when He forgives us, He does not hold our sins against us. So when we forgive biblically, we do forget. We do not have the power to eradicate it from our minds, but we do have the power to not mention it again, to bite our tongue and hold it. Now.

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• Look at this. Look in Matthew 18 verse 21. Look: "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven"—490, which means basically unlimited. "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant

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• fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

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• So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." In other words, here's what our Lord is saying: if we have been the recipients of His great mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness, and look how many sins of each of us that He's forgiven, can we not also learn to forgive each other? That's exactly what He's saying. So the Apostle then saying, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." In other words, there is no way that anyone can exhaust the significance of the gift of Jesus Christ. Now, let me show you another one. If you look back in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 15, look at this. He says, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." If you would look and take the time to read 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and 2 Corinthians chapter 9, you will find that the Apostle Paul is taking an offering for the poor saints of Jerusalem. And he ends this plea with thanksgiving to God for His unspeakable gift.

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• How does that apply to us? Well, here's what he's saying: if God has been so generous and so gracious with each of us, can we not be generous and gracious with the poor suffering saints as well? Of course. In other words, here is the very strong implication of verse 15. Listen to me: your view of the person and work of Jesus Christ will be reflected in your giving and in your helping of others. If you realize what God has given unto you in Jesus Christ, it will make you generous and gracious and loving, kind, forgiving. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. You think, you meditate upon the value and the worth of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The greatest work that has ever been done by the greatest person who's ever lived. It is salvation alone. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day.

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• We thank you for your love. We thank you for your grace. Father, above all, we thank thee for Jesus Christ. Lord, we cannot express the value of the worth of Jesus Christ. It is far beyond human words, human utterance, human ability. But Lord, we know that he is your Son, and he is our salvation. Help us to love thee, to honor thee, submit to thee, obey thee, worship thee, and to give thee all honor, glory, and praise. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we ask these things. Amen. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:35:19Z