Live Like It Is Finished - Because It Is

Well, it's an honor to stand before you this evening. Open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter one, please. Ephesians chapter one, no, I'm not re-preaching Ephesians chapter one. I know we've been spending a lot of time in Ephesians. I told Brother Chris the other day that he could probably finish his career and not get out of chapter two, preaching every Sunday and Wednesday. It's interesting, too, the nice little transition with the course of that song, because tonight we're going to look at, if you're a believer, we're going to look at the part of your story that was finished a long time ago.

And so I want us to, if you're in Ephesians chapter one, and by the way, if you want to just go ahead and stick your finger in John chapter 19 and Hebrews chapter 10, I'll be asking you to turn there a little later. And then I will read a few more verses that I'll make sure that you can write down the scripture reference, but you won't have to turn there. So we're going to start in Ephesians one, just a quick read through. And I want to point out some things that jumped out of out at me when Chris was taking us through Ephesians one. And then we're going to move into John 19 and go from there.

Ephesians chapter one, tell you what, before we read, let's pray. Lord, we are going to talk about that part of the story that every believer has the part that was written and finished long ago. And Lord, may it impact the part of the story where we play a part. Lord, and I just pray that you would cut through my words and use your word to speak to us and to mold us into the image of Christ in Jesus name. Amen. Now I'm going to pull a Chris Shepherd trick and I'm not going to give you the title to the end. I'm going to hold that off until the end because I don't want to give away the sword. All right.

But let's look at Ephesians chapter one and quickly read through verses one to 14. But as we're reading through, I have an assignment for you. I want you to look for words of completed action. I want you to look for specifically past tense verbs. I want you to look for places in this passage versus one to 14 where Paul is describing something that's done. Finished. Already been done. Happened in the past. OK, you got your assignment. Nod your head. Yes, this means yes. All right. Here we go. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.

Grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood.

The forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him. Things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Did you catch any? Did you find any? How many past tense occurrences did, how many words of completion? A bunch, Chris says, a bunch. I came up with these. Has blessed in verse 3, already happened. Chose us in him before the foundation of the world. That's in verse 4. Predestined, past tense, verse 5. Has blessed, verse 6. Have redemption, in verse 7. Not can have, but have already. Redemption.

That's in verse 7. Lavished, verse 8. Have obtained in verse 11. Not can obtain, but have obtained already. Having been predestined, also in verse 11, and were sealed in verse 13. I counted 9 occurrences where Paul uses the language of completion in describing the redemption of believers. This is a Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones is one of my favorite old dead guys. He had a habit of referring to the process of being born again as something that happened to you. And he would emphasize it like that. It's happened. It happened. You know, it's something that's in the past. It happened. Not something that you do, but something that happened to you.

Alright, so that sets the stage for us. Turn to John chapter 19, please. John chapter 19. You know, you would be surprised, or I would seem to be surprised to learn that John is in the New Testament. So I don't know why I was flipping through the Old Testament, but I was. Here we are. John chapter 19. Christ is on the cross. And the end of his earthly life is very near. He has been suffering for quite some time. Let's look at verses 28 to 30. After this, Jesus, knowing all that was now finished, said in order to fulfill the Scriptures, I thirst.

A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now, many of you may know that the phrase, it is finished, comes from a single Greek word. And I'm probably not going to say it correctly. To tell us the lie. Probably didn't say that right. To tell us the lie. Tell tell us die. How about that? To tell us die. Now, it was it's a very interesting Greek word. It was used in several ways in the day in which Jesus walked the earth in the flesh.

For instance, a servant would use that word when reporting to his or her master. And it basically meant I've completed the work that you assigned to me. Well, Christ had brought to completion all the father had desired for him to accomplish as the God man. Second, when a priest was examining a sacrificial lamb brought for the for the sacrifice, if he found it to be acceptable, remember the requirement was that it not have a bluish in his spots or anything. And if he found it to be acceptable, he would proclaim that word to tell us to lie. I know I'm butchering the word. But in that context, it meant that it was faultless.

So and of course, Jesus, the perfect son of God, perfect lamb of God without spot spot or blemish as well. Third, in in that time when an artist completed a picture or a writer completed a manuscript, they might say it is finished. The death of Jesus on the cross completes the picture that God had been painting of redemption, which God had painted from eternity past. One commentator said this, though, perhaps the meaning that Jesus had foremost in his mind when he uttered the word. To tell us die was related to its secular use in the context of payments of debts.

When someone had a debt in ancient times and it was paid off, they would write to tell us die on the certificate signifying paid in full. When he gave himself on the cross, Jesus fully met the righteous demands of a holy law. He paid our debt in full. None of the Old Testament sacrifices could take away sins. Their blood only covered sin, but the Lamb of God shed his blood for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant. And that blood and only that blood can take away the sins of the world. So there are a number of meanings wrapped up in this one Greek word.

But finally, there's another truth about the word that is notable, I think, and it comes from the fact that it is in the perfect tense, which is a tense which identifies a past completed action or event with continuing effects or results. In context, the perfect tense clearly speaks of the past historical reality of the crucifixion of Christ and the fact that his death on the cross has permanent effects, which ultimately will last through eternity. So looking at those several meanings of the Greek word to tell us die, I thought about this. If a servant said to tell us die, it only meant one thing. My work is done.

If a priest said it, it meant only one thing. The sacrificial lamb is spotless, acceptable. When an artist would say to tell us die, it only meant that the portrait or the drama was complete. When a debtor used the word, it only ever meant the debt is paid in full. But in Christ and only in Christ, it means all of that. All of the potential meanings of the word to tell us die are wrapped up in Christ. They all apply to what he meant and what he was saying as he breathed his last on the Christ. These four things Christ work was completed. Christ was the perfect spotless lamb of God without blemish.

The picture of redemption or the drama of redemption was completed. And the debt we owe to God has been paid in full. And then you put the bow on top of that, that those effects are permanent and lasting and ongoing. Never has to be renegotiated, so to speak. Now that's a good list of four meanings, but I want us to consider five things that were finished or completed in Christ. I'll list them and then we'll look briefly at each of them. First, all Old Testament types, shadows, and prophecies of Christ, and all promises of God were delivered and completed in Christ.

It all led up to that moment of completion of all prophecies, all shadows, all types pointing to Christ. When he said it is finished, they culminated in him. Second, all Old Testament sacrifices were terminated or made obsolete. We'll examine these in a little more detail in a moment. Third, all of Christ's perfect obedience was completed. Fourth, the wrath of God against sin was exhausted for those who would believe. And fifth, the power of sin, Satan, and death were completely destroyed, terminated, and defeated. That's a lot of meaning packed into that one Greek word.

Spurgeon said, Charles, I'm a huge Spurgeon fan, so I'm going to quote him a few times as we move along here. Spurgeon said this, we must not forget the brilliance of that intelligence which threaded all the ceremonies and sacrifices on one string of thought, beheld all the prophecies as one great revelation, and all the promises as the heralds of one person, and then said of the whole, it is finished, finished in me.

Second Corinthians 1, 19-21, if you want to write that down, 2 Corinthians 1, 19-21, Paul says, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Sylvanas and Timothy and I, was not yes and no, but in him it is always yes, for all the promises of God find their yes in him." I used to have a preacher who was famous for saying, "all" in the Greek means "all." "All the promises of God find their yes in him." That's why it's through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

John 5, verses 45-46, John 5, 45-46 says, this is Christ speaking, he's talking to the Pharisees, "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father, there is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote of me." Here's a more from Spurgeon, "But the words have richer meaning," he says, talking about it is finished, the words it is finished, "but the words have richer meaning. Not only were all types and prophecies and promises thus finished in Christ, but all the typical sacrifices of the old Jewish law were now abolished as well as explained.

They were finished, finished in him." Turn to Hebrews chapter 10, I ask you to put your finger there, Hebrews chapter 10, and we're going to read the first 14 verses. I know it's a lot, but the context is important. Hebrews 10 verses 1-14, "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come, instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, and by the same sacrifices that are continually offered by every year, continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

But in these sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure." Then I said, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book." When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings," these are offered according to the law, "then he added, 'Behold, I have come to do your will.'" He does away with the first in order to establish the second, and by that we will have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Verse 11, "And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made of footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Let me read verse 14 again. "For by a single offering he has perfected," you notice the tense of that? Past tense, done, completed.

"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." We'll talk a little bit about that mystery because, hey, being sanctified is not past tense. That's not a verb of completion. That's ongoing action. Okay? We'll talk a little bit more about that in a minute. But do you get the idea? Spurgeon is saying all of that, all of that sacrificial system was pointing to this one final sacrifice. It was establishing the idea that without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin. That was embedded in the minds of the Jewish people that in order for sins to be forgiven, blood had to be shed.

But they thought all that time when they were killing lambs and doves and all these sacrificial animals that they were doing more than just pointing toward Christ. And Spurgeon is saying, and the Bible says, plainly here, the writer of Hebrews, that all of that was pointing to the one sacrifice, just one. Doesn't need to be repeated ever again. It's over and done with. What did Christ do after He sacrificed Himself once? He sat down. He sat down because it was done. It was finished, if I may. Spurgeon again. The Savior meant, we doubt not, that in this moment His perfect obedience was finished.

It was necessary in order that man might be saved that the law of God should be kept, for no man can see God's face except He be perfect in righteousness. Christ undertook to keep God's law for His people to obey its every mandate and preserve its every statute intact. Throughout the first years of His life, He privately obeyed honoring His father and mother. During the next three years, He publicly obeyed God, spending and being spent in His service, till if you would know what a man would be whose life was wholly conformed to the law of God, you may see Him in Christ. We think about, I grew up Southern Baptist.

And the Gospel, I'm looking back on the history and I don't want to malign anybody. I'm sure they were probably preachers I heard. Listen, I was lost, so I probably didn't hear anything they said. But it seemed to me that a trend was half of what happened on the cross. I heard a lot of times about Christ taking my sin upon Himself. But I don't remember hearing until I was a grown man that the other half of that exchange where His perfect righteousness was given to me.

The most unfair thing that's ever happened in the whole universe, my sin, my disobedience, my rebellion was placed on His back and His perfect obedience was wrapped around me like a robe. Man, well His perfect obedience when He said it is finished, He hadn't left any stone unturned. He hadn't left, no jot or tittle had been removed or skipped over or overlooked. Every iota of the law of God He fulfilled. And He pronounced that in part of His pronouncement of it is finished, the completion of His obedience. Listen at Matthew chapter 5, 17 and 18. Matthew 5, 17 and 18 Christ says, "Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you until heaven and earth pass away not one iota not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished." In Romans chapter 5 verse 19, Romans 5, 19 Paul says of Adam and then Christ, "For as by one man by the one man's," that's Adam's disobedience, "the many were made sinners so by the one man," that's Christ, "obedience the many will be made righteous." We're not made righteous by the payment for sin. We're made righteous by the obedience of the Son that was granted to us to our account. And that obedience again was completed. It was finished when He said it was.

Spurgeon again. But next, "The Savior meant that the satisfaction which He rendered to the justice of God was finished. The debt was now to the last farthing all discharged. The atonement and propitiation were made once for all and forever by the one offering made in Jesus's body on the tree. There was the cup. Hell was in it. The Savior drank it. Not a sip and then a pause, not a draught and then a ceasing, but He drained it till there's not a dreg left for any of His people. The great ten thonged whip of the law was worn out upon His back. There is no lash left with which to smite one for whom Jesus died.

The great cannonade of God's justice has exhausted all its ammunition. There's nothing left to be hurled against a child of God." You need to remember that when the devil goes to accusing you if you've been born again. One of the most powerful, very short verse, but one of the most powerful verses of scripture and one of my favorites in all the Bible is Romans chapter 8 verse 1. Romans 8 verse 1 which says Paul speaking, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus." Do you get that? Do you get the importance of that?

When the devil tries to make you feel guilty and we're going to get to, we don't take this as license to sin. We're going to talk about that in a minute, but when you get the fear of God's wrath in you, you need to be reminded that Jesus drank all of that. If you're in Christ, if you're hidden in Christ, if you've been born again, if you've been redeemed, there's no condemnation left for you. Why? Because the supply of it was exhausted on the cross. When Jesus says it is finished, the payment for sin, the pouring out of God's wrath on sin for those who would believe was finished. It was exhausted. There is no more.

In Romans chapter 3, Romans chapter 3 verses 21 to 25, the Bible says, "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith." Propitiation means satisfaction. Christ satisfied the righteous demand of a holy God to punish sin completely.

And that propitiation was complete satisfaction. God doesn't have an itch anymore. The Father doesn't still have an itch to punish the sin of His believers because it was exhausted. The Father held nothing in reserve when He poured out His wrath on our sin, on His Son, on the cross. Spurgeon once more, once again when he said, "It is finished." Jesus had totally destroyed the power of Satan, of sin, and of death. Revelation chapter 1, Revelation 1 verses 17 to 18. John says, "When I saw Him," he was talking about Jesus, he had heard the sound that sounded like thunder or rushing waters.

He turned around to see He was speaking, "and when I saw Him, I fell at His feet though dead, as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me," He mean Jesus, "saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore.'" Listen, "and I have the keys of death and Hades." Who has the keys of death and hell? Jesus Christ has those keys. They belong to Him.

In Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14, Hebrews 2, 14, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise," He Himself referring to Christ, "likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death," that is the devil, "and deliver all those through fear of death, who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Christ has defeated death. He's defeated the one who had the power of death, and He's delivered believers from the power of the fear of death. And all of that was completed when He said it is finished.

And then 1 John chapter 3 verse 8, 1 John chapter 3 verse 8, "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." The power of sin has been destroyed. The devil has been defeated. It's done. Those actions are completed. They're done. So when Christ said it is finished, think of all that He meant by that one Greek word. Everything in the Old Testament that pointed to Him found their final fulfillment in Him. All the promises of God were fulfilled and guaranteed in Him on the cross.

There's never a need for even one more sacrifice. He sacrificed Himself one time for all time, and it's over. Listen to this one closely. His perfect obedience and therefore your perfect obedience was completed there. Not only did He take your sin upon Himself, but He transferred His perfect obedience. If you've been born again, if you've been born of God, He transferred His perfect obedience, His perfect righteousness to you. And the transaction was completed, done, right then and there. God's punishment for all the sin of all those who would believe was finished right at that moment, done, over.

There's now no condemnation for those who were in Christ Jesus because He was fully exhausted on Christ on your behalf. Finally, the power of sin, the power of death, the power of Satan was utterly vanquished on that day, all defeated, done, sin, death, the devil have no power over you if you've been born again to harm your eternal standing before God. That's a lot. But if you've been born again, you need to understand that part of your story was written long ago and there's a period already there and the book has been closed and your name is in it and you had nothing to do with that.

I heard a man say one time we encountered there was a group of people in Louisiana where we grew up that, and I think there's a group of those in this area who teach that you can lose your salvation, that a person can fall from grace. Someone wants you to be saved, you can fall out of grace and lose your salvation. And I heard a man, I think the best response to that simply was, if it was up to me to keep my salvation, I couldn't keep it for 15 minutes. I think he was being generous. I probably couldn't keep it for 30 seconds. But the good news is it's not up to you.

Your salvation was not up to you, just like your natural birth was not up to you. You had nothing to do. Your natural birth happened to you in my Martin Lloyd Jones voice. It happened to you just like your second birth is something that happened to you and you need to rest in that. You need to, if you're a believer, you need to take comfort in these thoughts and in these things and in these scriptures. But we don't need to stop at just knowing this stuff. In closing, how should knowing these things affect us as believers? How should we, the church, the bride of Christ respond to such revelation?

Well, Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 13 to 16, 1 Peter 1, 13 to 16, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you as holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, 'You shall be holy for I am holy.'" Why do we do that in order to earn our position in heaven? No. I can think of a couple reasons. How about gratitude? How about thankfulness for what he's done? Thankful for his mercy.

Because we all know if we got what we deserve, we'd bust hell wide open. People say, "How can a good God send anybody to hell?" No, no, no. How can a good God not send everybody to hell? Is the question. We all deserve it. I know I do. And so a simple reminder of his goodness and mercy toward me should prompt me to want to live a holy life. I love Philippians 2, 12 to 13. Philippians 2, 12 to 13. "Therefore, my beloved, as you have all..." Now remember, we're talking about how do we respond to this knowledge of everything that was finished when he said it is finished.

Paul says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." It's a mystery there, isn't it? You hear the mystery in those verses? Paul says, "Work out your own salvation." Wait a minute, Tommy. Didn't you just get through telling me my salvation was a done deal? Yeah, I did. Yes, I did. Paul's not saying you're on your own as far as salvation is concerned, but he's saying we take part in our sanctification. Rest assured, it's God who sanctifies.

Right? You do not sanctify yourself. You don't have the power to do that. How does God sanctify us? Jesus said in John 17, he prayed that the Father would sanctify us by his word, which is truth. So God is the one who sanctifies, yes? But we are called to work it out at the same time. We're called to for that. I'm thinking about, you know, Patty makes sourdough bread, and I'm thinking about her kneading her dough. And it's like if she were to add, when she adds a little more flour because it's a little too sticky and she kneads that dough and works that flour through that dough.

That's the picture I get here of what Paul may be saying, is that you're working it out in the realms of your life. But listen to what he says, "comma, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure." That's a relief, isn't it? Listen to Romans 8.30. Romans 8.30, "And those whom he..." This is Paul talking, "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified." Past tense. "And those whom he justified past tense he also glorified." Past tense. It's a word of completion right there. Wait a minute, glorification takes place when I get to heaven. Yes.

But in the mind of God, it's completed. The whole thing is completed. It's God who sanctifies with his word, but we are commanded to work toward sanctification. The work is completed. It is finished, yet we're commanded to work toward holiness. And so we do that. How do we do that? We come to church. We sit under the word faithfully. I'm so thankful for a church that pours the word into us and we allow the word to do its work. We don't just listen statically. We employ expository listening and we listen with the mind of God use this to change me and to carve something off of me and to make me more like Christ.

That's us working, allowing God to work in us and working our salvation out, if that makes sense. And we do that with the comfort of Philippians 1.6, also one of my favorite verses of Scripture, which says, "He who began a good work in you," which is God, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." So we've got this, we've got this mystery that we are called to work toward sanctification. We're called to work toward holiness, but we have this guarantee that if you've been born again, if God has begun a good work in you, you can be guaranteed He's going to complete it. "He will present you blameless," the Bible says.

He will, He will present you. It didn't say you might. He says He will present you blameless. So the title I've been holding off giving you is simply this, "Live Like It's Finished," because it is. "Live Like It's Finished," because it is. What do you mean like that? What do you mean, Tommy? It's finished so I can just relax? No, it's not what I said. If you live like it's finished, you live a life of gratitude. You live a life of desired obedience because you want to obey the one who died for you. You want to honor the one who was obedient on your behalf.

And that's my prayer for us as a church is that we would live like it's finished because it is. Father, thank you so much. I just feel so