"That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). I wonder if we will ever learn that fact. These things which men value most, esteem highly and to which they give great honor. God despises. And that which men ridicule, belittle, and despise God honors. The wisdom of this world, the moral righteousness of this world God almighty holds in total, absolute contempt. We see this fact throughout the Scriptures; and we see it plainly in Christ's letters to the churches. The church at Sardis was great in name and reputation. Men approved of her and applauded her. But Christ looked at that church and said, "Thou art dead." The church at Laodicea was rich and increased with goods. It appeared that she lacked nothing. But she was so nauseating to the Son of God that he was ready to spue her out of his mouth. He said, "Thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." You see, God looks on the heart. He is not in the least degree impressed by those outward things which impress and deceive men." That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God!"
The church of Philadelphia was not like the ones in Sardis and Laodicea. "The Philadelphian church was not great, but it was good; it was not powerful, but it was faithful." (C.H. Spurgeon). And the Lord Jesus commended this church for its faithfulness. Men might look at the little church in Philadelphia and despise it. It was a small church. It did not have an elaborately decorated building. It had no great men of learning in its membership. But it was faithful. And Christ found nothing in this church to reprove, correct, or rebuke. He gave it only words of praise and encouragement. Our Lord holds this church up as an example of what every local church should be.
Proposition:If I could summarize the message of this letter in one sentence, I would say, "God Honors Faithfulness."
Divisions:As we look at this letter to the pastor of the church at Philadelphia, I want to call your attention to four things contained in it:
This letter was dictated to John by One who is himself God. And this God is our Savior. "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the keys of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." Here are three attributes, or characteristics, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A. Christ Is Holy.He is the holy God. "Holy and reverend is his name." (Ps. 111:9). He is the Holy One of Israel. Being God, he is glorious in holiness, in every way equal with the Father. But specifically this text has reference to Christ's holiness as the God-man, our Mediator, Representative, and Substitute. It is not his Divine, essential holiness that comforts and encourages his people, but his Representative holiness.
1. Our Savior was himself "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners" as he lived in this world (Heb. 7:26).
He had no original sin and no actual sin. Though he was made to be sin by imputation, when he died as our Substitute, Christ had no sin of his own. He knew no sin. He lived in this world, before God and men, in perfect holiness.
2. And Christ's holiness, as our Mediator, is the basis of our acceptance with God – (Rom. 5:19).
His blood washes away our sins. His sacrifice satisfied our debt to God's law and justice. His death removed our guilt before God. And his righteousness, being imputed to us, gives us merit before God. He is "The Lord Our Righteousness." Christ is our Righteousness, our Holiness, and our Sanctification.
We have no holiness of our own. All the holiness we have is what we get from Christ. As John Gill put it, "Christ is the Cause and Author of holiness to his people. We are sanctified in him. We have our sanctification from him. And we are sanctified by him." (I Cor. 1:30, Heb. 10:10-14).
He is truly God and truly man. Our Lord is true and faithful in all his offices and covenant engagements. He is true to God and true to his people. And he is the truth itself. (John 14:6).
1. Christ is the truth of which all the types, promises, and prophecies of the Old Testament were only pictures.
2. Christ is the Truth of God, the sum and substance of all gospel truths.
3. And Christ is the Truth embodied – He is the Revelation of the invisible God. He is the Living Word of whom the written word speaks.
C. And The Lord Jesus Christ Is Our Sovereign King.
He has "the key of David." He "openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." These words describe Christ's sovereign power and absolute authority as the Son of David, the Messiah, our Lord and King. This dominion is not something Christ shall have some day. It is his now. Our crucified, risen, exalted Savior is now sitting as sovereign King upon the throne of David (Isa. 22:22; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:34-36; Rev. 5:5). Here is an example of his sovereignty: He opens, and no man shuts; He shuts, and no man opens.
1. Christ opens the scriptures to his elect, giving us the light and knowledge of gospel truth by his Spirit (John 14:26; 16:14) – And Christ shuts the scriptures to others, giving them blindness and hardness of heart (John 12:39-40).
2. Christ opens a door of utterance for the gospel in one place and shuts it in another, according to his own sovereign will (Acts 16:6-10).
3. Christ opens the door for his sheep and leads them in the way of life everlasting (John 10:3, 9) – And Christ shuts the door against those who will not obey his voice (Luke 13:23-30).
We who believe worship "Him that is Holy," trust "Him that is true." And bow before Him that is Sovereign. Our Divine Savior is the Holy, True, and Sovereign Son of God.
II. Secondly, when our Savior speaks to this church at Philadelphia there was no Divine reproof or Divine warning, but only A Divine Praise (v. 8).
Imagine that, the Son of God himself bends over from his lofty throne to speak a word of praise to a band of faithful believers! I sure would like to be in that crowd!
Perhaps we should take this as an example to follow. Usually we are quick to point out the faults and failures of our brethren. It seems to me that love would be quick to forgive and quick to praise. A little praise is a great means of encouragement. I know some people seem to think that kindness is blasphemy. But if the Son of God speaks an encouraging word of praise to his church, surely I will be safe to praise my brethren a little.
(Illus: A child gets 5 A's and 1 D. We see the one D! Your son washes your car and misses one spot – You see the one spot of dirt!)
What was there about these Philadelphian believers, which the Son of God saw fit to commend and praise? The matter of commendation and praise was their works, works of faith, love, and patience.
A. The Lord Had Set Before This Church An Open Door, Which No Man Could Shut.
He does not tell us what this door was, but generally this language is used to describe a door of utterance for the preaching of the gospel. (II Cor. 2:12). God had given these men and women an opportunity to serve him in the furtherance of the gospel; and they had seized the opportunity. They were faithful in the service God had given them to perform. They did not talk about what they wanted to do, or what they had done, or what they would do if they had more money and more people. They just did what they could for the glory of Christ and the furtherance of the gospel. It may be that their labor was insignificant in the eyes of men. But Christ looked upon their faithfulness as an honorable thing.
Nothing done for Christ is significant – Illus: Certain men wrote out the scripture and hid them.
1. The one thing God requires of his people is faithfulness (I Cor. 4:2).
2. The one thing God honors in his people is faithfulness. (Matt. 25:23; Luke 19:17).
3. When Christ opens a door for us, if we faithfully follow him, no man can shut that door, and he will not shut it.
B. The Faithfulness Of These Saints At Philadelphia Was Especially Commended Because They Had Little To Work With – "For thou hast a little strength."
This is not a word of reproach, but a word of praise. They had been faithful in their service to Christ, even thought they had little strength! Some churches are like this Philadelphian church: they have a little strength, but only a little.
The church at Philadelphia was a small church. Therefore they had very little strength for undertaking any great work. But their lack of numbers did not deter them. They just rallied together and did what they could. And Christ commends them for it. God thinks more of quality than of quantity, and regards obedience higher than numbers.
2. Because they were small in number, like most small churches, they had little Monetary Strength.
When money was required, they could do little. They were a band of poor people, with no men of means among them. But they were precious to Christ, who counts sincerity to be more valuable than gold.
3. And, like most small assemblies, this church had very little strength in the area of Talents And Gifts.
In Corinth, everybody could teach, everybody could speak in tongues, everybody could work miracles. And little good was done. At Philadelphia, there were no men of brilliance or extraordinary talent; but they did much for Christ, because they used every ounce of strength they possessed for him.
"Thou hast a little strength" – This was their misfortune, but not their fault. Therefore they were not blamed for it. The Lord does not blame us for having little strength, but for having little faith, little love, little devotion, little zeal, and little consecration. If our strength is little, let us pray for grace that our little strength may be used entirely for Christ.
C. The Saints of God At Philadelphia Were Faithful And Persevering In The Midst Of Great Opposition.
The Lord Jesus gives them this word of praise and encouragement – "Thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." These men and women could not be driven away from the word of the gospel and they would not forsake Christ. They had little strength; but with all the strength they had they kept God's word and held Christ.
1. What is the Word which they kept?We do not have to guess. It was the word of the gospel. Our Lord says, "Thou hast kept the word of my patience" (v. 10), that is the gospel of Christ and him crucified, in which his patient suffering as our Substitute is set forth. (I Pet. 2:21-24).
NOTE: The Sinner's Only Hope Before God Is The Gospel Of Substitutionary Redemption – (II Cor. 5:21). This word of grace we must hold fast.
2. How did these Men and Women Keep The Word of the Gospel?
These men and women were weak, few in number, and people of insignificance. But they were ready at all times and against all odds to hold to and defend the truth of God. Most men are like spiders, (who spin their webs out of their own bowels), they spin their theology out of their own feelings, their own wisdom, or their own experience. But these Philadelphians took nothing to be truth but the truth of God. And with regard to the truth of God, they valiantly refused to budge an inch. They had no regard for "modern thought." They held to the old ways of eternal truth (Jer. 6:16).
NOTE: May God give us grace in these days of Arminian free-willism to holdfast the old gospel of his free-grace (II Tim. 1:9-13).
These truths we will live by, and God helping us, if need be, we are prepared to die by. But we will not, we cannot give them up. To deny any one of these blessed truths would be for us a blasphemous denial of Christ himself. Those who embrace these gospel truths are our brethren. Those who are enemies to these truths are the enemies of our God. And the enemies of our God are our enemies (Psalm 139:19-22).
3. Do You Keep This Word of The Gospel?You may have no great talents, you may have no influence among men, and you may always be numbered among a small group of narrow-minded fanatics, but I tell you that the salvation of your soul depends upon your faithful adherence to the truth of the gospel (Col. 1:22-23).
These believers at Philadelphia were commended and praised by Christ, because they kept and denied not his Word. Blessed is the man who cannot be persuaded to forsake the gospel for any reason.
III. Inasmuch as they were faithful to him, our Lord assures them that he would be faithful to them and declares that he will keep them with A Divine Protection – (vv. 9-11).
Those who keep God's Word shall be kept of God. Those who holdfast the truth of God shall be held in truth by God. Those who persevere in the faith shall be preserved by grace.
A. Our Lord Will Separate The Wheat From The Chaff And The Precious From The vile – (v. 9).
The Jews, who are Abraham's physical seed, claimed to be God's people exclusively; and many today yet regard them as the people of God's choice. But here our Lord calls those who yet worshipped according to the customs of Judaism and the law of Moses, "the synagogue of Satan."
1. It is not the physical seed of Abraham, but his spiritual seed, who are the people of God. The Israel of God, for whom the promises and the covenant of God were made, is the church – (Rom. 2:28-29).
2. There are many who, like the Jews, claim to be God's people who are not. They say they are Jews, but they lie.
All who hope for acceptance with God because of their works, their baptism, their receiving the sacraments, their experiences, or their personal holiness are hypocrites of the synagogue of Satan.
NOTE: God's elect, the true people of God are circumcised in their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit (Col. 2:10-14). We worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ alone, and have no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).
3. In the end the despised people of God shall be exalted over their enemies as Christ himself is exalted over his enemies. Our Lord will make our enemies bow before our feet and know that he loved us, chose us, redeemed us, and saved us by his grace. (Matt. 25:32-34, 41).
B. As Long As We Live In This World, Christ Will Keep His Own From The Hour of Temptation – (v. 10; John 10:27-30; I Cor. 10:13; John 17:11-15).
1. Christ will preserve his own elect from apostacy.
Though heresies increase and abound, God's elect shall not be deceived by the increased acceptance of free-willism, legalism, and ritualism (I Cor. 11:19; II Thess. 2:7-13; I John 2:19-20).
2. Christ will preserve his own elect in the midst of all their trials. (Isa. 43:1-5).
3. And Christ will preserve his own elect in the way of faith and obedience unto life everlasting – (Ps. 37:23-24; Jer. 32:38-40).
God's elect cannot and shall not perish, because we are kept by the power of his grace in the hands of an omnipotent Savior.
C. It Is Our Lord's Promise of Preservation That Inspires Us To Perseverance. (v. 11).
Upon the basis of his promise to preserve us from temptation, our Lord admonishes us to persevere. All of God's elect shall be preserved unto eternal glory. But only those who persevere and go on holding fast the faith of the gospel shall be saved (Col. 1:22-23; Heb. 3:6, 14; 10:26, 30-39).
IV. In verse 12, our Lord Jesus Christ gives A Divine Promise to those who holdfast the faith of the gospel.
Those who persevere in the faith shall conquer their enemies. To them Christ says, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God." A pillar is a permanent structure in a permanent place. So Christ is promising us a place of eternal residence in heaven itself. And while we live here below, as we holdfast the gospel, as we cling to Christ alone, he promises us assurance of our interest in him. "I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name." In a word, Christ is saying, "As you hold the word of the gospel, as you hold me by faith, I will make you to know that you belong to me. I will make it evident that you belong to God, to the New Jerusalem, and to me, and that all the blessings and privileges of the sons of God are yours forever!"
Application:
1. Child of God, our Savior has set an open door before us, which no man can shut. God means to use you. Let us give ourselves whole-heartedly to the cause of our Master.
2. Holdfast the hope of the gospel and let nothing either drive or allure you from it.
3. Our Savior will hold us in his grace. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
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