Jesus the Alpha and Omega of Bible Study - Chapter 10

1:43One of the very first things we looked at about Jesus and his approach to the words of Scripture is that the words of Scripture really are the basis of the relationship between us and God. So the words form the relationship. Conformance to the words, obedience to the word is union with God. Disobedience to the word is severance from God. Another thing we looked at Jesus, he rejected any interpretation of scripture that would render an author's purpose ineffective. In other words, the scripture breathed by God, he recognized had a purpose. There's a greater author and there's a human author, and that Jesus approached Scripture knowing that the author wasn't going to contradict himself, either the human author or the divine author. So he rejected any interpretation that would render any Part of the scripture ineffective, and neither should we. We should reject anything that renders purpose ineffective or sets scripture aside. Another element is that Jesus paid attention to detail, didn't he? We looked at that, and I mean very precise detail. Also, Jesus looked for the singular meaning in the text. He recognized there's one meaning in the text. That meaning is to be found through the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation. He didn't, he used the words and he understood what they meant in the context when they were given, and he applied the meaning of that text or principle to different situations. That's really what half the book, majority of the book, is about. Just those basic principles. Those are watershed, though. If you're looking for multiple meanings, if you're looking for allegorical meanings, or if you're making some connections that go beyond that, you're not adhering to a single meaning. If you dismiss detail, you're not interpreting the Bible like Jesus interpreted. But if you will just put these simple things into practice, I'm not worried about. Your theology, your theology will take care of itself. There's not very many, very simple. Yes, now these are big umbrellas that cover a whole lot, but that's really, you'll begin there. You'll be well on your way. That's the first part. So we begin with Jesus. We approach scripture the way Jesus approached scripture. Now, I want to turn the page and I want to talk to you about Jesus being the omega of Bible study. So what is Alpha? The beginning. What is Omega? The end. So when I'm saying Jesus is the end of Bible study, what do you think I'm trying to say?

5:22Let me ask it like this: this big picture. Why do we read our Bibles? What's that? It points us to Christ. Yes, it points us to Christ. What is the ultimate? And why does it point us to Christ? So that we can become like him. Very good. It points us to Christ, reveals Christ, so that we can become like him. Yeah, so very much the looking at Jesus as the Omega is that Jesus is our ending point.

6:00We are going to be conformed into his image. And so the Bible was given for the purpose of promoting Christ-like godliness. If I had to summarize the whole purpose of the Bible in one word, I could choose either godliness. If I had to choose what is the purpose of the Bible in one word, I would choose godliness. Why would I choose godliness? Scripture is revealing who to us? God, right? If I had to use two words, I would say Christ-like godliness. Why do I put those two words together? Christ-likeness is what?

6:52It is the manifestation of godliness. Godliness is what? Revealed in Christ's likeness, right? So the scripture puts these two principles together, puts these two concepts together, and doesn't separate them. And so I think of scripture, the purpose of scripture is about Christ-like godliness. In fact, this is how I say it. The overall purpose of Scripture is to glorify God by revealing, exalting, and promoting Christ-like godliness in mankind. There's a lot in that, but very simple. What is the purpose? Why does God want you reading the Bible? Well, he is glorified. And he is glorified. How is he glorified? We know that glorifying God is the ultimate, right? That's the big umbrella. But then, under that, how does Scripture glorify God? Well, by exalting, by revealing, exalting, and promoting Christ-like godliness in us.

8:04That's how Scripture glorifies God, reveals the divine personality, exalts that divine personality, and promotes that divine personality in us. That's the whole frame of scripture. I mean, you could easily say, what's the purpose of scripture? Christ-likeness. What's the purpose of scripture? Godliness. Christ-like godliness. How have you, but that's it. When you pick up scriptures, you're part of something bigger than yourself. God is doing something, and he is glorifying himself by revealing, exalting, and promoting Christ-like godliness in you. Scripture is to have a transformative work, or you're not approaching Scripture the way Jesus did. And that's going to pan out here in a little bit.

9:01Scripture, Revelation 19:10 says this: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. That's way at the end. Revelation 19:10. Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Valvard says it well. This means that prophecy at its very heart is designed to unfold the beauty and loveliness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's who we're learning about. That's who's being revealed. Let me explain. So, can you read that? Okay. I'm sorry if it's too small. Correct interpretation is a means of transforming the reader into the image of Christ for the glory of God. It's not an end in itself, it's about transforming. Scripture begins with God stating his purpose for creating. Why did he create? You remember? Why did he create man in the first place? What did he want to do?

10:18I'm sorry. He wanted to do what? Fellowship. But he wanted, yeah, but what did he want? What was the purpose? Let us create man. What? In our image, right? Let us make man in our image according to our likeness and let them rule over all the earth. That's what he starts out at the very beginning. This is what I'm going to do. Let us make man in our image. And yes, there's a fellowship component in that for sure. Let them rule.

10:52Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Don't think that changed because of the fall. That's still the purpose. Sorry, this microphone's a little didn't quite get it on right. You know where scripture ends? It ends in Revelation with mankind beholding the face of God and the glorified Lamb and bearing his name and reigning with him. But it says in Revelation 22, verse 3: there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it. The Lamb, the one revealed, Christ Jesus. And his bondservants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their forehead. Who are they going to look like? Who are they going to be identified with? The Lamb.

11:55And they will reign forever and ever with him. So scripture begins. With God stating his purpose, and they end with God having accomplished that purpose, a look to the future of having completed that purpose. And who do they look like? They look like Christ. They look like Christ bearing his name. And so, scripture, in a nutshell, is an epic testimony about Jesus. It reveals him, it exalts him, and it provides the means for his likeness to be formed in his people. That's what Scripture is doing.

12:41Reveals him, exalts him, and provides the means for his likeness to be formed in you. God started, let us make man in our image, and he ends with them beholding, seeing the face of the Lamb with His name upon their foreheads. This is a big deal, by the way, in many circles. How do we understand? We can relatively see that fairly easily, but it's how it specifically works out in our approach to Scripture. And we often come to a text and we often fail to relate biblical text to the greater testimony of Christ's likeness. Each biblical text contributes in some way to the biblical message, revealing, exalting, and promoting Christ-like godliness. It's all part of an epic testimony that fits together, promoting and exalting one personality, and that is the God-man, Christ-like godliness.

13:53Well, Scripture reveals Jesus, and it's very clear that as we come to Scripture, we need to see Jesus. We need to make this connection from Christ Himself. Did Jesus make this connection? And the answer is yes, He did, and we could go to a number of different places. I spent some time since I was familiar with John, spent some time in John. John chapter 5 is a great place where Jesus just asserts his deity, he asserts his equality with God in no uncertain terms.

14:40If you'll remember what's going on in John chapter 5, there's a paralytic man. He can't get down to the water at Bethesda, and Jesus comes up to him. He says, I've been here all these years, and I can't get to the pool when the water is stirred. And Jesus says to him, Pick up your pallet and walk. So he picks up his pilot and he walks. He's healed. Well, then some of the religious leaders get really upset with him.

15:10You're carrying your mat on the Sabbath. Incredible, incredible situation, incredible hardness of unbelief. So here's this man saying, well, the guy who healed me told me to carry the mat. You're telling me I shouldn't. They said, who is he? He says, well, I don't know. And eventually it works around that he finds Jesus and tells them, Jesus finds him and then tells the religion, Jesus told me to carry. So now you've got this deal. Okay, who's really in charge here? The one who can heal and say, pick up your mat and walk, or the Pharisaical traditions. And so what becomes first a fight over the Sabbath violation very quickly escalates to equality with God. Jesus is clearly asserting, I am equal with God. I am Lord over the Sabbath. I can tell, I have authority to tell him to do what I'm telling him to do over the institutions of the Pharisees.

16:21And so in all that, they get really upset and they're ready to kill him. They're really killing. To kill him. And in John chapter 5, 18, it says, For this reason, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was making, was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. There's no question in the Pharisees' mind. He's not saying, well, God, we're all brothers and sisters.

16:51No, he's claiming a unique privilege, a unique relationship, making himself equal with God. And this becomes the fighting grounds. So Jesus, in this passage, in chapter 5, he claimed equality with God on a number of basis. Number one, shared activity with the Father. I do the things that the Father does, I give life like the Father gives life. He goes on, he says, I have the exclusive role as judge. Only God judges, and I have that exclusive role. I'm just running through this really quickly, but just to give you a flavor of what's happening in the passage. And then in verse 23, he says, shared glory that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. So he very much, he asserted his equality with God in no way. Uncertain terms in John 5. But then he goes on to defend his equality with God. And then he, what he does in beginning around verse 32, 31 is he begins calling forth a series of witnesses. John the Baptist, he testified of me. The mighty works that the Father has given me to do testify that I am equal with God. I am doing things that only God can do, and that testifies that I am equal with God. And then he goes on in verse 37 to verse 47, and he says, my Father's Word, the Father's Word testifies. And in that Father's Word, he is referring to what's written in the scriptures.

19:02And he says in verse 37, and the Father who sent me, he has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time or seen his form. You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent. So that's what he's saying in 5.38. You do not have his word abiding in you. His word is promoting faith in me. My father's word promotes me. Promotes faith in Jesus.

19:34He goes on to say the scriptures testify that Jesus is the source of life. He goes on to tell them, You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me, and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. So, just as John the Baptist, so what Jesus is saying here is the scriptures are testifying to something. Just like John the Baptist is a sign pointing to something else, and the miracles are testifying to a greater reality, so does Scripture. Scripture is testifying to a greater reality. And what is that? And let me just say here, there's a couple of guardrails I want to put up here. There's been a lot of abuse in reading Christ into places in Scripture and making some connections that are not appropriate. And so that's part of why I wrote this. How do we make legitimate connections to Christ in the Scripture without going down a road of allegory or isogeting Jesus in different pages and making connections that come out of our minds rather than the mind of Scripture? So when Jesus Is saying that scripture is testifying to him. He's not saying, he does not imply that he thought every sentence in scripture was a direct statement about himself. Just like with any courtroom case or a courtroom witness, the purpose of a testimony is to advocate a maiden position. That's why you have witnesses. They advocate a main position. And Jesus was simply stating that he is the main theme of scripture and that its witness of him is clear enough. Scripture's testimony to him is clear enough that the leaders should recognize him and come to him as the life-giving God. So Jesus saw in Scripture that it's clear enough. If you will listen to the words of my father, if you will listen to the words that are written in Scripture, and you will follow where they go, you will come to me as the life-giving God. That's what he is saying to the Pharisees, but they're not coming to him. Carson, D.A. Carson, says it well. He says, Jesus insists that there is nothing intrinsically life-giving about studying the scriptures if one fails to discern their true content and purpose. By predictive prophecy, by type, by relevatory event, by anticipatory. Statute, what we call the Old Testament is understood to point to Christ, his ministry, his teaching, his death, and his resurrection. I think that's well stated. This is how Jesus saw the Old Testament, what its main purpose was, what its theme was. It's about revealing God. It's revealing God, revealing himself as God.

23:00And then he goes on, and he speaks about Moses' writings. Moses' writings also promote faith in Jesus. So he goes through the whole list: Father's words, scriptural words, all this running together. Of course, Moses' writings, all part of the Father's words, all part of scripture, they promote faith in Jesus. Jesus says, For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? So Jesus says, the reason that you don't come to me, he's talking to the Pharisees here, is because you don't believe Moses. You really don't believe what Moses said.

23:47That's shocking, right? To them. What are you talking about? We believe Moses. No, you don't. Again, this does not imply that Jesus thought that every word Moses wrote was a direct reference. Reference to him. Jesus was simply declaring that an unbreakable connection exists between belief in Moses' words and belief in his words. Jesus did not see a contradiction between Moses and himself as the leaders did, but true belief in what Moses said will lead to faith in Jesus and his godness, his deity.

24:26Any questions? Trying to get your mind around how Jesus saw himself. He's like, I don't just show up in a few random places. This is the sum. This is the current. This is the flow of thought leading to the revelation of one personality, God himself. Another element of this is that scripture exalts the righteousness that Jesus embodied. So when we're talking about revealing Jesus, it's also exalting the righteousness that Jesus Himself embodied. Okay. Righteousness of God is revealed in Scripture very clear.

25:21Isaiah 46:12 to 13: Listen to me, you stubborn-minded, who are far from righteousness. I bring near my Righteousness. It is not far off, and my salvation will not delay, and I will grant salvation in Zion and my glory for Israel. Saying, I'm going to bring my righteousness to you. There is a righteousness that God is exalting from the very beginning, a conformity to his word, a righteousness that scripture is revealing. And so the righteousness of God, as you work your way through the Old Testament, is revealed what God is like, what he expects.

26:10It's also clear as you come into the New Testament and start reading what Jesus said, he thought of himself as the righteousness of God. It was unquestioned. He saw himself as the righteousness of God himself. You remember when talking to Philip, Philip said, Show us the Father. That'll be enough for us. What does Jesus say? Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father.

26:57How can you say, Show us the Father? That's what I've been doing. If you have seen me, Philip, you have seen the Father. That is someone who sees the righteousness that he embodies equal with Father God. Jesus fully understood. And you go through the Testament, God boasts, this is my beloved Son. This is the one in whom I am well pleased. This is the individual. This is what I get excited about in humanity is this individual right here. This is what I like, the righteousness he bears. This is what I'm all about. Father said that on a number of occasions. But Jesus is saying, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.

27:49So Scripture reveals Christ, Scripture, God's righteousness in the Old Testament. It exalts Christ's righteousness that Jesus embodied. But it also, Scripture, promotes that righteousness in humanity. Scripture does. It's interesting that Jesus says, you know, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher and the slave like his master. What is he saying there? It's enough for you to become like me. That's what he's telling his disciples. It's enough. It's enough. Because Christ himself embodied the perfect righteousness of God. He says, it's enough for you to be like me.

28:48It says in Matthew 11:27, all things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. So nobody knows the Father except only those to whom the Son wishes to reveal the Father. Question becomes: why would Christ want to reveal the Father to humanity? Why? Because Christ is about promoting his Father's righteousness, right?

29:28Christ himself embodies it. He's not advancing himself. He's exalting the Father. When he reveals the Father in Himself, He is glorifying His Father. You see, this amazing work and love relationship within the Trinity where the Son is exalting the Father. He says, I don't do anything on my own. I'm not going to glorify me. The Father glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father. And so, what Christ is All excited about is making his father known to us.

30:06And to promote that, Christ, you've got to understand this about Christ Jesus. He was absolutely captivated with the beauty of his father. Absolutely taken with it. Absolutely was enthralled with it. He loved his father's ways. They were perfectly beautiful to him. And he was captivated. And that's the one we're following, right? Totally captivated with God's glory. So Christ's likeness at its core. I get this. What is Christ's likeness at the core? It's the perfect desire and ability to reflect the Father's goodness. That was Christ's glory, is he had this perfect desire and ability to reflect his father's goodness so much so that he could say, Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.

31:16That's what he was captivated with. And so when you're talking about Christ's likeness and you're growing in Christ's likeness, you're going to grow in a desire to Want to reflect the Father's goodness, you're going to grow in your ability to reflect the Father's goodness, and that's going to be your glory to reflect His glory. That was Christ's glory. The question: How does Jesus reveal the Father today? He's not walking around in bodily form as he was in the days of his incarnation. So, how does he envision this to take place? Well, Jesus undoubtedly viewed the Scripture as a means the Scripture of God, the Spirit of God, would use to promote His Father's righteousness in His people. It will be through the words of Scripture. That is how the Scripture is Spirit. His words are Spirit.

32:31They were given by the Spirit. They are received in our Spirit. And like a seed that knows what it's supposed to do, it does what it's going to do. And it knows what it wants to promote. That's why I'm not really worried about what your theology is going to end up. I'm far more concerned about how you approach the Scripture. If you will approach the Scripture and let it speak, Speak to you and let it do in you what it wants to do. It will take care of your theology, and more than that, it will transform you to reflect our Heavenly Father's goodness. That's what Scripture is doing.

33:19And that's why it's tragic when individuals spend a lot of time in the scriptures, maybe even know the languages, and remain unchanged. They've missed the whole thing. No, you should look more and more like Christ. That's what Scripture is going to do. Remember, Apostle John, he outlined the spiritual maturity process in 1 John. Just read this to you: 1 John 1:12. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. You see, some progression: there's little children, there's young men. There's fathers. Now, how do we get the little children to become fathers? I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. It's that word of God abiding that is promoting this maturing process.

35:02And, of course, Jesus, I won't go into John 17, but Jesus very much prayed to sanctify his people in the truth. His word is truth. And he is referring to that we are going to believe. He envisions that we would be here today reading his words, the words that were given to his apostles, and that we would come to know him through the words of his apostles. And that's why there is only one Christ of Scripture.

35:35The Christ of Scripture is the one that New Testament apostles and prophets spoke about and relayed to us. We're connected to him through their words. Any questions on that? Now I want to try to apply this. Because it gets interesting when some people start seeing Christ in a lot of different places that I don't think he really shows up in. Now, what I mean, there was, and some people take one of my heroes, Charles Spurgeon. He made a statement that, well, you preach Christ. Someone says, What happens if I'm in a passage where Christ isn't? He says, Well, then you find Christ. Basically, he said, You know, all roads lead to Rome. Well, all passages lead to Christ. Well, what if I'm in a passage that just, well, he's not there? Well, then you jump over the hedge, you cross the river, you do whatever you do to get to Christ, or something to that effect. He was emphasizing something important there. We are ministers of the new covenant, we speak about Christ.

37:07But some, I think, have taken that to excuse illegitimate connections to Christ. And so, how do we recognize these truths that Christ saw himself in Scripture? Now, how do we make a legitimate link? And that's where applying this principle. To see Christ, we want to understand the connection to Christ. You can think about a river. Only the Mississippi, the Mississippi enters, empties into the Gulf of Mexico, right? But it has a lot of tributaries, doesn't it? And those tributaries don't empty into the Gulf of Mexico, do they? Or do they?

37:56They do, but not directly, right? So they support the flow that does, right? So it's important. So Christ is revealed in Scripture. The narrative, the metanarrative communicates Christ. It's like a big river going into the ocean. The tributaries don't empty directly, but they support the narrative that does. And so making a legitimate, taking a tributary and jumping straight to the ocean is not legitimate, in my opinion. But understanding how the flow of thought connects in revealing and exalting and promoting Christ-likeness. This is a big deal in hermeneutics today.

38:44We're just focusing on Bible study. But how do you apply it? And it's easy when you come to a passage like Micah 2, which speaks 5:2, which speaks that Bethlehem is going to be the place of Christ's birth. So when you're looking at predictive Prophecy, it's really easy to see Christ there. But how, there's some, there's a lot of passages. Let me just take you to one. Just go to 2 Samuel 23. This is just one example. I would use David and Goliath, but that one's been used a whole lot. How do you see, how do you make a connection between David and Goliath and Christ? It's interesting. Books and volumes of books have been written about making that connection. I want to take one that's probably even a little more obscure, maybe not obscure or just less obvious, I should say.

39:36We've got in 2 Samuel 23 David's mighty men. And it's just a genealogy, or it's not, it's kind of a genealogy, it's just an enumeration of David's mighty men. This is David's last song, 2 Samuel 23 for verse 5, for he has made an everlasting covenant with me. And then he starts listing David's mighty men. These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Joseb, Bashahabeth, Techmononite. Can you say that? Chief of the captains. There was Adino, the Eznite.

40:29Then there's Elias. Hazar, the son of Dodo. Ahovite. There's David when they defied the Philistines. There's, he goes on. Then there's Shaman, the son of Aggie. Ah, you see, the Aggies do show up in scripture. And he goes through and he starts going through these lists, and then he gets to verse 13 and he interrupts himself. He says, Let me just tell you something about these mighty men. There are three of them. They went down at harvest time, cave of Edulam, while the troop of the Philistines were camping there. David was in the stronghold while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. So they're in Bethlehem. And David had a craving. And he said, Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. So here's David over there. The Philistines are up over there. And David's like, oh, I wish I had some water from my hometown, Bethlehem. And then so, look at what these three mighty men did. So he stops and he starts telling you, Let me tell you something about. I'm not just going to list off these mighty men. I'm going to tell you something about them. So the three mighty men broke through the camp. They're like, they're listening to David on the drink. I can imagine their eyes.

42:00Looked at each other. Let's go for this. Let's do it. Let's go. Come on. They go out. What do they do? They break through. And they break through the camp of the Philistines. And they drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Now that's loyalty, isn't it? Number one, it's strength, right? To go and break through for a drink of water. They bring it back to him. Is that loyalty or what? Now think about that. That's loyalty. God had made a covenant with David, and one of the things that he needed to secure his kingdom was loyal men. And so these mighty men are hyper-loyal to David. They love him and they're devoted to him. And what does David do? He pours it out.

42:59He says, Nevertheless, he would not drink it, but poured it out and said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did. And then he goes on. Then there's Abishai, brother of Joab. And he just goes through a whole long list. And you're thinking, okay, where is this going? What is this? Then in verse 24, Ashael, the brother of Joab, was among the 30. And then he goes on, he speaks about.

43:30A whole lot of others. Zalman, the Aholite, Mahariah, the Nedophant, Nedophantite, Ittai, the son of Rebi. You know, he ran a barbecue shop before he got into Mighty Men business. Baniah, Hadiah, Shama. And he goes on and on, and you think, okay, let's just move on. We get down to verse 38: Ira, the Ithrite, Gerub the Ithrite, and Uriah the Hittite. Uriah the Hittite. He's going somewhere, isn't he? How do we get to Christ? What's a legitimate link there?

44:32Uriah is probably not even saved. May not even be a believer. We have certainly no evidence of that. Certainly, but loyal to David, yes. Years ago, I put my father's tractor to the test. When I was a teenager, my dad got a new tractor. It was his pride. And joy. It was a huge tractor. In fact, give you, that's what the tractor looked like. It was a 50-20. It had the big tires. And he said, son, this tractor can go through anything.

45:15Don't ever say that to a teenage kid. So one day I didn't have a car, had to drive it to school. It's kind of a mess, drove it down to school, whatever, and came back. And I had a friend with me in the tractor and driving on my dad's property. And I said, see this thing? It could go through anything. See that old pond up there? No problem. The guy's like, I don't think so. It'll go through anything.

45:51It didn't go through anything. I sunk it, okay? It sunk. And my dad was a pretty good sport about it. So if you're listening to this, thank you. Raising kids is expensive, and you think just college is expensive. No, there's a whole nother dynamic to raising kids. But you think about, I put a tractor to the test. What is David doing? He put God's faithfulness to the test, didn't he? You know what he did to Uriah, right? Those of you who know the history.

46:30He saw Uriah's wife and thought she was beautiful. And he arranged to have a relationship with her. And then, when he knew it was going to be discovered, he had Uriah killed, sent him out on the battlefield, withdrew the troops, killed him out there. He put God's faithfulness to the test, didn't he? David is confronted with his sin. Think about it. There's probably not anything more horrible on the pages of Scripture. There's hardly a betrayal more significant, except for maybe Judas than what David did to Uriah.

47:22And then, of course, David is convicted of it. And what does he say? Be gracious to me in Psalm 51:1, O God, according to your loving kindness. Don't be gracious, don't deal with me as I deserve, but according to your loving-kindness. That according to your covenant faithfulness, you gave me a loyalty in these mighty men. And look at what I have done according to the greatness of your covenant. Compassion, blot out my transgression. How do I make a link from Uriah to Christ here?

48:20You may not even be a believer. I would submit to you that a legitimate link is to is through the virtue of faithfulness, Christ-like godliness. He doesn't even know the name Jesus. He doesn't know the name Christ, Jesus Christ. But what is admirable in Uriah is the godly characteristic, the godly virtue of covenant faithfulness. That is what we admire. It's this characteristic of God that Uriah embodies. And then we can easily see the one, through the virtue of faith, there is one who ultimately embodied the loving kindness, the covenant faithfulness of God, and that's Jesus Christ. So I do not make a direct link from this passage, but I can relate what is. Admirable in Uriah to godliness.

49:36And then I can relate godliness to the ultimate embodiment of godliness in Christ. And in that way, the divine personality is seeing what is admirable. This is any questions on that? I see often people coming to an Old Testament passage, and they'll make some wild connection between David and Christ that just isn't there. I think, again, I would make a connection to David and Goliath through the virtue of his character, through the virtues that he's embodied. He was anointed.

50:23He went out. What was admirable about David was, again, his covenant faithfulness to God. But through, we can easily fall into a trap of making connections that ultimately break down somewhere. For instance, Jacob. Oh, there's Christ. No, there's Jacob there. Yes, there are some patterns that you see that are very similar. Twelve brothers bowing down. You see a lot of. Things, but be careful of making a link that doesn't connect legitimately. I'll keep going. Christ-like godliness is the ultimate goal of every study.

51:26Christ-like godliness will ultimately impact every aspect of man's being and human life on earth. That's what the future is about. When he reigns. When he reigns, what that means is his Christ-like godliness reigns over and in and through. Christ-like godliness will ultimately impact every aspect of our being. And every time you pick up the Bible, it's another transformative step in that process of sanctifying us into his image. Seeing Christ's likeness as the ultimate goal of Scripture is not forcing a grammatical or allegorical link to Christ from every text of scripture. There's a lot of abuse that's happened in that category.

52:24It is recognizing how each text contributes to the exaltation and promotion. Of the Christ revealed by Scripture. The goal of Bible study is Christ-like godliness beginning in the heart of the student. Listen, don't be afraid where the scripture takes you. Let it have its way in you. It knows what it's doing. Just to summarize this, every stream of biblical thought empties into the vast ocean of Christ-like beauty. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren, and these whom he predestined, he also called, and these whom he called, he also justified, and these whom he justified, he also glorified.

53:22Those he loved, what? He predestined to become what? To conform to who? The image of his son. That's his gift. Love. The revealed image of God is Christ. And this is something about 1 Corinthians 15:28 that I want to set in your mind. When everything is subjected to him, it's coming a time when all things will be subjected to Christ, when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and Will embody, will look like him. When all things are subjected to him, what does he do? Then the Son himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all, so that the triune God, so that man would really bear the image of his God.

54:30And Christ himself is all about exalting and promoting God's glory. That's the essence of who Christ is. The spirit of Christ-like godliness wants the Father to be the all-encompassing desire and presence in all of humanity. That's why I like to say Christ's likeness is decisively Trinitarian. The Father's involved, the Son's involved, the Spirit's involved, God is involved, bringing about Christ's likeness, His image in His people. That's why we read our Bibles. That's why the Scriptures are never going to pass away. For you have been born again, not of a seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God. For all flesh is like grass and all of its glory like glass. Like the flower of the grass, the grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. The word endures forever. And get this last part. And this is the word which was preached to you.

55:47The word endures forever. And this is what was preached. The words of scripture will endure forever because they were given to glorify God by revealing, exalting, and promoting Christ-like godliness in mankind. Any questions? Well, we're out of time. I'll be up here. This is a very large subject, I should say, in the world of Bible study or hermeneutics and seminary. Anyway, but it's simple. I hope it's easy to understand. We begin with Christ. We approach Scripture the way He approached Scripture. We end by being transformed into His image. That's why we have the Scriptures. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have left us your word that endures forever and that you have a purpose. Father, pray that you would awaken a greater love for your scriptures, a greater love to center our fellowship more and more around these words. Let us talk about them as we come and as we go. Let us encourage one another with these words. Father, let them transform us. Father, what a treasure it is to have these words. What a precious gift you've given us to look like your son and that you're working that out. Father, help us to be teachable, illumine our minds, awaken our hearts, give us a greater desire for the things that belong to you.

57:29Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.