The Legacy of Liberty, Part 3

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The salvation Christ offers us is the richest of gifts. 1 Peter 1, 10-12 tells us that the ancient prophets searched and inquired carefully about it, and the angels longed to look into it. This story of redemption stretches backward to the garden and forward into eternity.

Let's look into the legacy of this liberty that only comes from Christ. We're listening to the third and final part of the message, which was first preached on July 31, 2022. Here's the thing for them, the full meaning of their prophecies could not appear until Christ came. That's why they were writing those prophecies for us, Peter says here in verse 12. Now, not only is he speaking of the prophets in this, but he also mentions the angels at the very end.

Let's read it in context here. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you in things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. What were the prophets saying? Their exclamation would be what? Get ready, something big is coming.

Get ready, something big is coming. That's what the prophets would be exclaiming in all of their writings. The angels are something different. The angels are messengers of God's program.

Agelos is a word that actually means messenger, and sometimes in scripture it's translated messenger. What we do know from scripture is that the angels have intense interest in human salvation. Salvation is not for the angels. Redemption is not for them.

You have those that are serving God and you have those that are not serving God, two categories, and they are permanently in those categories. But they have intense interest in human salvation. What we know about the angels is that God has them so that they can serve the church.

They also learn from the church, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians chapter 3 teaches that. Angels rejoice at the conversion of a sinner. Remember when the story of redemption, when Christ came to earth? The angels had a big part in that, didn't they? They announced the coming of Messiah.

As a baby into the world. You know it's also true, remember in the garden where the soldiers came and they were ready to arrest Jesus. Peter takes out his sword and he chops off an ear. And Jesus said, put that away. He says, don't you know that I could call 12 legions of angels? Can you imagine? The angels who long to look into this salvation, they're standing there ready. With Michael, the archangel, they're standing ready, waiting for Jesus to call on them.

Aren't you glad that call never came? Can you imagine their perplexity? We know him. He's the second person of the Trinity.

And now he's being arrested, brutally beaten. He's going to be crucified. And what it says here in verse 12, things into which angels long to look. That could easily be translated, they stoop over to look. The idea is this, all these angels, right? They are positioning themselves and extending themselves even into uncomfortable positions to be able to see what's going on on earth. Things that God is doing in this story of redemption. They exert themselves to get a better perspective on it. So if the prophets were exclaiming, get ready, something big is coming, what would the angels be exclaiming?

What on earth? That's not inspiring, but if I were an angel, I'd be saying, what on earth? Because they don't know the mind of God. They serve God, but they're not omniscient.

They're not omniscient beings. But they long to look into these things because they are intensely interested in this story, this legacy of redemption and salvation and freedom. Now there's a third category here that Peter mentions in verse 12. The things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. And that's preachers. Those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit. This includes apostles, New Testament prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, proclaimers of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. This salvation that has come. Those who proclaim the good news of redemption and reconciliation in Christ, the gospel of grace.

Includes a whole group of people. And what would these people be proclaiming? Because we know the salvation of God. And so what this group proclaims is, behold our God. This is who He is. This is the nature of His love. This is what He has done to reconcile us to Himself. He is the object of our trust.

He is an infinite, sovereign, omnipotent, transcendent being who is absolutely holy and just. And we are not. And yet, and yet, look what He's done to reconcile us to Himself. Behold our God. That's what preachers say, in a nutshell. It ought to be what preachers say. Lastly, the last category I want to point out to you is the people of grace.

And that's all of us. The people of grace. Preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. And it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you and the things that have now been announced to you. And that the preachers of grace, the angels were the messengers, the prophets were the foretellers, the proclaimers. The preachers are the proclaimers of the good news of grace in Jesus Christ.

But then we, the people of grace. Jesus said something very striking in Matthew 11. He says, Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a prophet. He could be considered by some of the last Old Testament prophet. I don't really call that because he's recorded in the New Testament. He was a contemporary of Jesus Christ. But he was a prophet nonetheless. He was the one who prepared the way for Messiah. The last prophet to do that. And Jesus said, among women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Do you get that? That's you and me. Jesus is saying, in some respect, you and I have a better perspective than all of the Old Testament prophets.

Why? This grace in which we stand. Isn't that amazing? We know and experience the very thing that the prophets diligently examined and for which the angels strained for a better perspective. We know it. Truthfully, experientially, we know it.

We're in it. We're swimming in the pool of God's grace. His saving grace through Jesus Christ.

Edmund Clowney puts it this way, the least disciple of Christ is in a better position to understand Old Testament revelation than the greatest prophet before Christ came. So, people of grace, what is our exclamation? What are we saying? The preachers say, behold our God.

The prophets say, get ready, God's doing something big. The angels are, what on earth? The preachers say, behold our God.

What are we saying? Here it is, amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. We can draw near to God and that is awesome. That's this salvation, this grace that is ours.

I hope you can say it is yours, that you are in this grace. If not, I'd love to talk with you after the service is dismissed today. There's a round table in my office, let's go talk. Say, Rich, I need to know about this.

I invite you, I will go and talk with you. You need to know this grace. You need to know this Messiah. Christians, Christians, listen to me. Let the message of your life be. Behold our God. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Let that be the message of your life.

Stand with me, please. Father, it is our delight to bow before you in humble adoration and awe. That you, an infinite, transcendent, holy God, would come to us to reconcile us to yourself so that we can be free. Free from the bondage and the penalty of our sin and free to know you, to walk with you, to delight in you, to be transformed into the image of your son Jesus who gave himself for us. This grace in which we stand, Father, is truly amazing.

There is nothing else like it under the sun. And so, Father, may we rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory in the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ, the liberty, the freedom that is ours in Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father, for who you are and for what you have done. And may, as we leave here today, Father, may the message of our lives be. Every word that comes from our mouth, every action that we take, every attitude that we manifest, Father, may it proclaim loud and clear, Behold our God. We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.