be a product of his own doing. So we're going to go on today now to look at the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty, and we have this also from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he was at a very critical moment in his earthly ministry. He had sent his disciples out, two by two, seventy of them, to all the cities of Galilee, and they came back. And you know, if you compare these two accounts, you find that on the one hand there was a dark side to the report, and on the other hand there was a bright side. The dark side was that cities like Chorazin and Capernaum wouldn't have anything to do with the message of Jesus. They wouldn't listen, they wouldn't pay any attention to it, and so Christ here denounces them and pronounces woes upon them, and he says, it's going to be worse for you in the day of judgment than it is for the city of Sodom, the great wicked city that was overthrown by fire and brimstone from heaven. But on the other hand, he rejoiced greatly in spirit because his disciples had also been granted eternal life, and because they had also seen some fruits from their labors in that ministry in the land of Galilee. And so it was because on the one hand of this dark side of unbelief and on the other side this bright side of faith and the response that some men gave to the ministry of the word of God that Jesus Christ paused and lifted his eyes to heaven and said, I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them unto David." In the first place, then, we have what I would call this tremendous confession of Jesus. And you know, that's what the Greek word really means. That's why the translators have difficulty with it. Some of them translated, I praise thee, O Father, and some of them translated, I thank thee, O Father. You see, they're having difficulty finding any English word that's really adequate there, because it really means that Christ openly confessed and acknowledged with gratitude and joy in his heart the Father, who is Lord of heaven and earth. Now, he begins by acknowledging what I would call the general principle of God's absolute sovereignty. What do you mean when you say that the Lord is Lord of heaven and earth. What do you mean when you say, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth? Well, it means that He is the Sovereign over all things in heaven and all things on earth. You may remember this popular song some time ago that said, He has the whole world in His Well, that's a recognition that you find sometimes, even today, in the unbelieving world of the undeniable fact that God created this world, and He controls it, and all things are in His hands. That's why Jesus Christ said, the hairs on your head are numbered. See, God's in control. He has control of that little detail of His creation. That's why Jesus Christ once said, see that sparrow out there on the Well, that sparrow is not going to fall to the earth except by the will of the Father. It's an acknowledgment, in other words, that God Almighty is in control of all things that take place in this world. Now, indeed, this is something that God's people have always confessed right down through the ages. That's why back in the book of Daniel you can read that he does his will in the armies of heaven, God does, and among the inhabitants of the earth, he does his will, and there is no one who can say to him, what doest thou? And there is no one who can stay his friend. You see, he's God, and he is in control. And all of God's people right down through the ages have acknowledged this general principle, but no one ever stated it with greater emphasis and sharper clarity than the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, right down through the history of the Church, there have been those who have been willing to say, well yes, now I accept that general fact that God created the earth and that God holds the whole wide world in his hands. God is in control of the great system of the universe. I don't mind that, they say, but there's one thing in this universe that I'm not willing to say that God controls, and that's me. There's one thing in this universe that I'm not willing to say God has absolute control over, and that is my free will. And so you can say Lord of heaven and earth in a general way, and yet you can take it all back If, when it comes right down to your own eternal destiny, you say, well, now God, he controls everything, but not me, and not my will, and not my eternal destiny. And that's what a great many people have done when it comes to the sovereignty of God. And the moment you say that, you don't have the absolute sovereignty of God anymore. Because if God runs all things except man, then God doesn't control everything at all. Just think of the things that man has done and the things that man is doing. Well, if God isn't in control of that, then he's not really Lord of all, and you can't say any longer that he is Lord of heaven and earth. And so Christ not only started out by saying, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, expressing in a general way the sovereignty of God, but he goes right on to express that sovereignty of God in the very particular that is so often denied by men. For he went on to say, you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and you have revealed them unto David. That's exactly what had been going on as these disciples went out and preached the gospel. Quite true that the majority of people, especially the important people in cities like Paris and in Bethsaida, they wouldn't listen. They wouldn't listen to these preachers of the gospel and the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ says, well, that's no surprise. God hid it from them. And then every now and then there would be some simpleton, some uneducated farmer, somebody like that, who would listen, and they would come and they would believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. And that didn't surprise Jesus either, for he said, well, you see, God in heaven has revealed it to him. And so when it came to the specific point which is often denied by men, Christ explicitly and definitely and clearly said well God you're sovereign there too because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and you've revealed them unto David. Now that doesn't mean that God always and in every instance hides these things from the wise and intelligent. We know that because the church included a man like Paul and Paul was not. An ignorant man, he was a highly educated man. He was not a man of a low IQ, he was a man of a high IQ. And one day, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself to Paul and he became a child of God too. And it doesn't mean that every person who is simple, every person who is lacking in intelligence, every ordinary person like you and I who just have an average IQ, it doesn't mean that he always reveals himself to them either. because there are ordinary people of ordinary intelligence that never come to believe in Christ either. So Christ is not here saying that God always hides these things from the wise and intelligent, and that he always reveals them to babes, but he is emphasizing the fact that God does do this, and therefore demonstrates his sovereignty. And as a matter of fact, more often than not, this is exactly what he does. And that's why Paul in writing to the Corinthians says, you see, you're calling, brethren, how that not many wise, not many noble, not many mighty are called. You see, he says to these Corinthian people, how God has chosen the weak, the foolish things, the things that are nothing in the eyes of men, to confound the mighty and the wise. Well, you see, the thing is that brain power has nothing whatsoever to do with conversion. You can have a PhD in chemistry and philosophy and all the other things, and that's not going to do one thing to bring you into the kingdom of God. And you can be an ordinary person that has never had an education, maybe you didn't even finish the eighth grade. And if God is pleased to reveal himself to you, well, then you can come to understand and believe the gospel. Now that's exactly the way it is, and that shows you that God is not only sovereign over the sparrow out there, but he's also sovereign over you. He not only holds the whole wide world in his hand, but he holds your destiny in his hand also. So that's what Christ is saying here in this portion of his word. And we can't help but ask, well why does God do this? Why does he hide these things from the wise and intelligent? And why does he reveal them to the simple? Why does God do this? And the answer is, and you know this is the most important thing to grasp if you want to understand the doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty, and what we call in Reformed theology God's unconditional election, this is the most important thing to understand. Because right after this Christ says, yes, Father, For thus it was well-pleasing in your sight." And the word for is like the word because in our vocabulary. Why did God do it? Because it was well-pleasing in his sight. And that means he didn't do it because of something in you. He didn't do it because there was some difference in you that distinguished you from that other person that made you more worthy, or a more likely candidate, or anything of the kind. What this is saying, in other words, is that God exercises his sovereignty by hiding from some men and by revealing to other men, and the only reason is, it's well pleasing in his sight. And that means that the sole origin, the only source, of God's sovereign decree of election and reprobation is his own sovereign good pleasure. Not anything found in the creature. And that's why the Bible says there is no difference. You mustn't get the idea that God looks down and says, well, this simple fellow, he's more worthy. No, it's not like that. Or that he looks down and says, this guy who's wise and intelligent, he's less worthy. No, it's not like that. The Bible says there is no difference. That's why God can pick Paul if he wants to, and he can pass over somebody else if he wants to. He can do that just because it is his good pleasure, because he is sovereign. And Christ recognized this. And so after saying, God, you are sovereign over everything, and God, that includes man's own destiny, well, he says, God, even so. Yes, Father, because it was well-pleasing in your sight. So now if you understand that, you understand what we're talking about when we talk about God's unconditional election as an aspect of his absolute sovereignty. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He is Lord of your destiny, and he does it according to his will just because it pleases him to do it. And we know this because Jesus Christ said so. And you know, you could never know it any other way. And I can illustrate this to you by simply quoting what Paul said once to the Corinthians. Here's what he said. Who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man himself? Now I'm going to look at you for a second and I'm going to think about something. Do you know what I was thinking about? Of course you do. There's no way in this world you can know. Until I tell you, well, I was thinking about Iowa. You never would have guessed it, would you? How could you? There's no way you can know what I'm thinking. The only one that can know what I'm thinking among men is me. And that's because I'm inside of me and you're not. Well, the Bible says it's the same with God. Now, how are you going to know what God is thinking? It's even more difficult because, you see, the Bible says his thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways. If you, as a man, can't even know what I am, as a man, in thinking, how in the world are you going to know what God is thinking? If you can't know what I'm thinking until I tell you and reveal it to you, how are you ever going to know what God thinks? Well, you're not going to know until somebody tells you. That there's just the problem. Who can tell you? Well, I'll tell you, there is one person who can tell you, and there's only one. And that's Jesus Christ. And the reason why Jesus Christ can tell you is that he himself is on the inside. Because there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, and they are equal in power and glory, and that means that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, they are inside, as it were, the divine nature and the divine mind, and that's exactly what Christ says in verse 27. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. Think of that, all things. 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. Well, you see, the Jews were right when they said, why, Jesus, you're making yourself equal with God. That's exactly right, that's exactly what he was doing. He was always saying things like this, I am the Father, I am one. He who has seen me has seen the Father. I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to the Father except through And he said that because he is God, the second person of the Trinity. And there was a time in the Councils of Eternity when he said, Father, I'll go down there. Man is in a terrible shape down there on Earth, and I'm going to go down there, and I'm going to take upon myself human nature. I'm going to become one of them, but I'll still be divine. And then I can tell them. And so Jesus Christ came to this world, and he was born of the Virgin, and he took upon himself a human nature. And so you have in Jesus Christ God and man in two distinct natures in one person forever, and that Christ who is both God and man, he can tell us what is in the mind of the Father. And that's exactly what he is saying here. No one knows the Son except the Father. nor does anyone know the Father except the Son. It's a good thing it doesn't stop there, but it doesn't. And anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. So if Christ wills to reveal the Father to you, then you can know. If He does not will to reveal the Father to you, then you can't know. And that is why the Historic Christian faith has always emphasized this important fact, namely, that you cannot find out about God's sovereign decree except by coming to Jesus. You know, there have been times in my ministry when people have said things like this to me. Well, if I could only know that I am one of God's elect, If I could only know that God has chosen me to eternal life, well, then I sure would come to Jesus by repurposing faith." Well, that means what he would like to do is go up to heaven, never mind Jesus. He would like to go up to heaven, take the Lamb's Book of Life in his hand and open it up to the alphabetical part, having his where his name ought to be, and look down the list while he comes in the alphabetical listing to see if he's there, and then if he's there and he finds out that he is one that God has chosen, then he can say, oh well, then I'll repent and I'll believe. But you see, that's exactly what Christ says is impossible. No one knows the Father except the Son. and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. And that's why the reforming fathers used to say, you've got to find out about election by going to Jesus. If you want to know something about election, you've got to go to Jesus Christ. You can't find out anything about election except by going to Jesus Christ. And you can see that that is true because immediately after saying this, what does Christ say? Well, he says, come to me. Some people read this and they think, well that's strange, that seems like almost a new subject. It's not a new subject, it's a logical consequence. If God has an eternal decree of election of some to eternal life and reprobation of others to death, and no one knows about that but Jesus Christ, and no one can know about that, but by coming to Christ, well then what would he say? Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls." Well now, why doesn't Jesus Christ say, I want all of you who are in the Lamb's Book of Life to come to me." Well, because that information is not available. And because God in his marvelous wisdom has decreed otherwise. In his marvelous wisdom, the Lord God has said, well, now I want you to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And I want you to freely offer salvation and life to everyone who hears that gospel. Now, human logic would say, oh, well, you can't do that, you can't go out and offer salvation to everyone. If God has chosen some and rejected others, if God is going to hide it from some and reveal it to others, well, you can't go out then and tell everybody to come to Christ. You know what's wrong with that? contradicts the Bible, that's all, because that's exactly what Jesus Christ did do. He went and offered salvation to everyone. Come unto me, he said. And when he's about to ascend to heaven, he says to his disciples, you go out into all the world and preach the good news, that's what gospel means, to every creature. He didn't say preach it to some, he said preach it to all. That's why the Shorter Catechism speaks of Jesus Christ being freely offered in the gospel. Offered to whom? Well, to everybody. And so if you are a sinner and you need salvation, I think you can easily see that these words of Jesus are for you. You cannot say that Christ has not given you an invitation because he says, come. In the sermon last week, I was preaching on the text where Jesus Christ said, no one can come to me. And after that sermon somebody was talking to me and I said, well you know I really have trouble there, that's a tough one. Because here in this text Christ says no one can come to me, and yet in another text he says come. Now, how can Christ say no one can come in one breath, and in the next breath say, come? Well, you know, there is a very clear way to understand this, and that's just to study some of the miracles of Jesus. And I think that's why he worked them, so that we could see, you might say, kind of object lessons of his grace. Now, what did Christ do when he walked up to that man who was crippled from the day he was born, had never been able to move off of his pallet. What did Christ do to that man? Well, he didn't say, well, now I want you folks to realize this man can't walk. Everybody knew that. The man had never walked. But what did Christ do? He walked up to that man and said, take up your bed and walk. Well, now, of course, that's impossible. How can a man that's born crippled, palsy, how can he take up his bed and walk? But everyone knows that that's exactly what happened that day. He did take up his bed and walk. Christ walking you on, it comes to a man who's born blind, a man who's never been able to see anything. And Christ commands him to see. Now, how can you do that? How can you command a blind man to see? But that's what Jesus did. And not only that, but the blind man did see. And that's the way the gospel works. You come to men and you command them to believe in Jesus Christ, and you know they can't do it. You know very well they can't do it, and yet you command them to do it, and then by the grace of God, they can do it. And what is that man thinking when he gets up off of his palsied bed? And what does that blind man think when he opens his eyes and looks at Jesus? Does he say, well, I can do this because I found out that this was part of God's secret plan for me, nothing of the kind. He does it because he's been commanded to do it by Jesus Christ. And somehow he realizes that Christ not only commands, but enables us to do what he commands. So if you want to be saved, you don't go to the Father and say, Father, I want to have a look at the list. What you do is you come to Jesus Christ. You come by repentance and faith. And then after you've done that, you look back and you say, well now I realize that this is because I was chosen by God. A poet put it like this, I sought the Lord. Please notice that, I sought the Lord. But afterwards I knew he moved my soul to seek him, seeking me. Again he says, I find, I walk, I love. Well that's right, I find, I walk, I love. But O the whole of love is but my answer, Lord, to thee, for thou wert long beforehand with my soul. Always thou lovest me. Now, in conclusion, I would like to add just one final word, because you know some of these texts are specially written, I think, for preachers, and this is one of them. Christ was a great preacher, don't forget that. He spent a lot of his time while he was here on earth preaching the gospel to dead sinners. And I can understand why Christ rejoiced in spirit that day. and lifted up his eyes and said, I thank you, Father. Because one thing keeps a preacher going, and that is the assurance that God's word will not return to him void. You know, the Bible says, God's word will not return to him empty. Now, you can preach the gospel to a hundred people and you can see no results, or you can see some results or you can see great results. More often than not, it seems, it's very little results. But the one thing that keeps you going, if you really believe the Bible, is the assurance that God's word is not going to return to him good. And you know why you know that? Because Christ said so. We know, as we preach God's word, that God is God. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He not only controls that sparrow out there, but he also controls the destiny of men. And if he wants to, today or next time, or the time after that, if he wants to, he can reveal his grace and goodness to you, too. Through me. I can be preaching the word, and you can be just as good as a doornail. And on that day, he can reveal Jesus Christ to you. And that's why preachers rejoice. at the sovereignty of God. Some people think, well, if you believe in divine election, what's the use of preaching? Well, my answer is, if I didn't believe in divine election, I couldn't possibly go on preaching. But I know that I preach the gospel faithfully. God's going to reveal it to those whom he has chosen to eternal life. And there's nothing in this universe can prevent it. And they're going to come to Christ. and they're going to have eternal life. And when they come to Christ, they're going to find out that their names are in the Lamb's Book of Life. Well, let me ask you just two questions. Are you one of God's elect? Is your name in the Lamb's Book of Life? Well, the answer is you don't know. Would you like to find out? Very simple. come to Jesus Christ, and you can find out. For he said, come to me, and I will give you rest. Let us pray. We thank you today, Lord, for your wonderful gospel. We thank you that it is freely offered to everyone who hears it. We thank you that all who come to Jesus Christ will be saved because you have said you will never cast out anyone who comes to you, but at the same time we thank you, O Lord, that behind all of our doing is your doing, your sovereign and irresistible grace. We thank you that you do not only hide these things from the wise and intelligent, but in your unsearchable wisdom and mighty power also reveal it to the simple. We thank you, O Lord, because it was well pleased.