I trust that we will know God's help together as we seek to study God's Word this morning, and that we will indeed see Christ today. Turn in your Bibles, if you will, please, to the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs in the 22nd verse. Proverbs chapter 8 and the 22nd verse. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abiding with water, Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world, when he prepared the heavens I was there, when he set a compass upon the face of the depth, when he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he gave to the sea his decree that the water should not pass his commandment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth, Then I was by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children, for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrungeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. Let's bow in prayer before we start. Dear God and Heavenly Father, we come before you at the beginning of another Lord's Day, and we bless you, O God, that you have provided us with this opportunity of coming together with an open Bible. And we would ask, O Lord, that we would hear you speak this morning. We pray the same for the children, and we ask for their teachers, that you will bless them this morning. Give them the words to say. May your word be a blessing to them. But for ourselves, O Lord, we ask help, and we pray that as the word is opened and considered, that in the day of much confusion we would see Christ, and that Christ would be clearly seen and loved and adored, and our hearts would indeed be warmed before your word today. Bless us, O God, and help us in all that we would do. In Christ's name. Amen. True religion, that is true biblical Christianity, is a religion of the heart. Externals are important and they have their place. How we look and how we behave are important, but God's primary focus is on the heart of man. You see, the first thing that God does in the conversion of a sinner is to give him or her a new heart. Figuratively speaking, he performs a heart transplant, taking out the heart of stone and implanting a heart of flesh, thereby granting those graces of faith and repentance. God is concerned as to the state of our hearts. One of the most stinging rebukes in Scripture comes from the mouth of our Lord in Matthew 15. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Yet if you and I are being honest, we are often more concerned with how we appear as Christians and are less concerned with the state of our hearts I can certainly speak for myself that though I believe that God has changed my heart, yet still with the remaining sin there is often coldness and dullness, and truly our hearts are often lifeless. Outwardly all may look well, but inwardly there is a lack of love for and delight in God. God would not have it so. And thankfully, we can say that God in grace has furnished us with much in the Scriptures that if we were to meditate on it, it would encourage us to grow and to increase in love. There are many truths revealed that when considered would draw out our hearts to God. And I'd like us this morning to consider one such truth. But I want you to keep in mind that the primary aim of this consideration is that our hearts would be warmed in love for God and Christ. The truth that I'd like us to consider is what's termed the pre-incarnate state of Christ. The pre-incarnate state of Christ. What does that mean? Well, I'd like us to consider together those things which were true of Christ before He became man, before He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. The Bible reveals much of Christ after He became flesh. But you see, the Son of God did not begin to exist at the time of His incarnation. Rather, He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal God. And indeed, we have some wonderful texts which unveil some of the things that were true of Christ prior to His walking on this earth. In many ways, we are considering deep and difficult issues. But I'd like to think through just two simple questions. Where and who? Where and who? So firstly, where was Christ? Where was Christ prior to His becoming flesh? It's a simple question with, I suppose, a very simple answer. You all would answer that He was in heaven with God, I'm sure. Throughout the Gospels, and indeed the Bible, we are told how Christ was sent from the Father and how He was sent from heaven. And that truth is borne out by that well-known opening verse of the Gospel of John. Please turn over to John chapter 1. It's a well-known verse, and keep your finger on Proverbs 8, because we'll go back to Proverbs 8 in due course. John chapter 1 and verse 1 says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was with God. Hendrickson paraphrases this, as the Word was face to face with God. And he goes on to comment, the Word existed in the closest possible fellowship with the Father, and that He took supreme delight in this communion. Christ, before His incarnation, was in the place of intimacy with the Father. The closest possible communion existed between the Father and the Son. See then another verse in the same chapter, in verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father. He hath declared Him." One writer points out that to lie in the bosom is the posture of fearest love. In John 13 we read of how the disciples whom Jesus loved was leaning on the bosom of our Lord, showing how He enjoyed intimate love and fellowship with His Master. Here though, in John 1, Jesus is not described as lying on the bosom of the Father. Look at the text. He is described as lying in the bosom of the Father. What love and what fellowship is this? This is an expression of the greatest dearness and intimacy in the universe. The text essentially says that Christ was wrapped up in the very soul of his Father. He was embosomed in God. Now, can we begin to describe or imagine this relationship? Yes, this text is in the present tense, and there is definitely an aspect where God and Christ are in perpetual fellowship. But this text does help us to appreciate what it means for Christ to be with God. It is one thing to say that Christ was in heaven before His incarnation. It is an entirely greater thing to say that He was with God, and that He was in the Father's bosom. See, prior to Christ becoming man, He was in heaven enjoying the most blessed, intimate, loving relationship with His Father. You see, the Bible would have us understand that from all eternity the Father delights in the Son, and the Son rejoices in the Father. This is explicitly stated in the passage we read at the start in Proverbs chapter 8. Go back to Proverbs chapter 8. A wonderful passage of scripture, and here we see this key concept in the book of Proverbs, that concept of wisdom. And here we have in Proverbs chapter 8, wisdom crying out, doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice. Wisdom is personified here, she's described as being a person speaking. Yet ultimately, it is not so much wisdom we have here, but rather we have Christ, the Son of God speaking. Look at verses 22 to 28 that we read, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way. And it goes on to say about how wisdom or Christ was there before creation and through all creation. And that the scriptures can later tell us that in Him were all things created. So Christ is clearly seen here. And I think that, as an aside, the phrase in there brought forth given the concept of a beginning, is used in the same sense as the phrase, the only begotten Son in the New Testament. It doesn't imply a beginning to the existence of God the Son, but it's simply describing the relationship within the Trinity, God the Father and God the Son, but that's merely an aside. When you look at verse 35 of Proverbs chapter 8, it's very clear that it is Christ who ultimately is in view, prophetically. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, Very New Testament language, and clearly Christ is here in view. And yet, in the midst of this tremendous passage, there's a wonderful verse. A verse that maybe I've certainly skipped over many, many times before. And it's verse 30. Then I was by him, goodness of wisdom, I was by him, and he's referring to God, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. Here we have a description of Christ prior to His incarnation. And it paints an amazing, wonderful picture of the interaction within the Godhead. It gives us a glimpse of the love and joy and delight that exists within the Trinity. And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. God daily delighted in His Son. The Son rejoicing always in the Father. You see, this delight wasn't sporadic and occasional, it was daily. It wasn't waxing and waning, it was constant, rejoicing always before Him. You see, God is very gracious to us in Revelation, and sometimes He stoops to our finite capacity to understand. How could we begin to understand these truths? But sometimes He uses language that we can get a grasp of. And I'm told that the language in the Hebrew here, and I'm definitely no Hebrew scholar, but the language in the Hebrew here would have us consider the joy that a father has as he watches his son play and laugh. That's the imagery, that's the metaphor that the language, that the writer of the Proverbs uses. And we can hardly begin to describe or comprehend this, but in the Godhead there is joy, there is delight, and there is intimate fellowship. Consider the words of the psalmist. You only need to turn to this in Psalm 16. In thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Now, I trust that the emphasis of this is clear, that namely, in the presence of the Father, at the Father's right hand is fullness of joy. There are pleasures forever. Now, if this is true of the child of God, how much more is it true of our Lord? Here we see that Christ, in the immediate presence of His Father, indeed in the bosom of His Father, enjoyed the greatest possible pleasure, the greatest fullness of joy. And this concept of the delight that exists in heaven amongst the Godhead is also confirmed by Isaiah. In Isaiah 42 where he says, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul Delighteth. This clear prophecy of Christ includes the message that the soul of God delights in his servant, in his elect one, in his Son. This is no heartless relationship within the Godhead. God the Father delights in the Son. So we're seeking to discover some of those things that were true of Christ prior to his becoming flesh and living on this earth. And we see that Christ was in heaven, but more than that, He was with God. He was enjoying perfect joy and delight in fellowship with the Father. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. So that's a wee bit about the where now. What about the who? Who was Christ prior to becoming flesh? Well, let's again begin with John chapter 1. Go back across to John chapter 1 and we'll discover who Christ was prior to His becoming flesh. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I'm assuming that all of us here agree that the Word described here is none other than the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, the Messiah. Verse 14 certainly would confirm that. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And what does this text describe about Christ before His incarnation? Well, it says, the Word was God. In the beginning, the Word was God. Christ, before He came to this world, was God. Now, don't charge me with heresy. I'm in no way saying that when He came to this earth, He ceased to be God. He was still God on earth, Emmanuel, God with us. But what we are considering this morning is those things which were true of Christ before He assumed humanity. And in this text, in the past tense, we are clearly informed that before the Son of God became Jesus here on earth, He was God. Turn over then to Philippians. Again, another well-known text. These are well-known texts, but often we don't consider them in light of the truths that they tell us of Christ prior to His incarnation. Philippians chapter 2. And verse 5, let this mind being you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. Do you see the contrast there? The contrast between what we see in verse 6, that who being in the form of God, and then verse 7 where we're talking post-incarnation now if you like, who made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. There's a clear contrast between the pre-incarnate state of Christ and the post-incarnate state of Christ. And the first thing we see in verse 6 is that John 1.1 is confirmed. Jesus thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Jesus did not consider equality with God robbery. Now what does this mean? Well, if you think about it in these terms, if after the morning service I go to my car and I get into my car and drive it up the Tim Road, that is not robbery for me. And I don't consider it robbery. That car is my possession. It is my right to get into it and drive it away. So it was for Christ an equality with God. It was not robbery for Christ to be equal with God. It was His rightful possession. Equality with God was already His. So it could not be robbery for Him. And so for our study now, again we see that prior to his incarnation, Christ was God. He was equal with God, and equality with God was not robbery for him. Then think about the first phrase in verse 6. Who? Being in the form of God. Now what does this strange phrase mean? Strange to Oriers at least. Well, the word that is used here is the word from which we get English words like morphology and morphological. It has to do with shape and characteristics of appearance. The word is used in that form only in one other place when Christ shows himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as is described by Mark, where he describes Christ coming to them in another form. That's the same word. The word form here used has to do with appearance. or with distinguishing features. Now, we need to be very careful here, that we don't begin to try and form mental pictures of God. God in Scripture is very guarded about revealing much about the appearance and form of God. It is clear that God is Spirit, and therefore He does not have a body like man, and when the Bible speaks of the arm of God, it's essentially using language that we can grasp and understand. God does not have a body. God is Spirit. And Christ existed in the form of God. He was in appearance like God. Now the veil is lifted slightly on these wonders when we turn to Psalm 105. Turn over to Psalm 105. And God graciously lifts the veil a little so that we can begin to get some idea of what's going on. Psalm 104, verse 1. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great. Thou art clothed with honor and majesty, who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain. The hymn writer describes this well. Immortal, invisible God, only wise, in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes. And later in the same hymn, while describing the Father, also describes the Son, Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, or pure Christ, pure Son of light. Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight. O Lord, we would render, O help us to see, tis only the splendor of light, hideth Thee. Christ dwelt in the form of the invisible God. He dwelt in light, unapproachable light, lethal light, which no man could see without instant death. Christ existed in the form of God. Truly Christ enjoyed great glory before entering this sin-cursed world. Turn over to John chapter 17. Again, one of these texts which would have us see something of what was true of Christ prior to Him stepping on this earth. John 17, verse 5, we read in this high priestly prayer, O now, and am now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, the glory which he had before the world was. Christ existed in incredible glory. Now, I cannot begin to understand or explain all this, but Christ, before coming to this world and before taking humanity, was in a position of unspeakable glory. He existed in the very form of God, in the likeness of God. He was God. Equality with God was his position and place. Jesus Christ. before his incarnation was in a state of the highest and most unspeakable glory and sheer awesomeness. So it is possible for Paul to write those well-known words. Turn over to 2 Corinthians. Again, it's good that we see things for ourselves. 2 Corinthians, the 8th chapter. Again, a well-known gospel text, but we sometimes miss what it has to say about the pre-incarnate state of Christ. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. He was rich. He became poor. You see the contrast again. The Bible is presenting us with a contrast. He was rich in glory, rich in privilege, rich in majesty, rich in possessions. As all that the Father had was His, He was rich. All things were made by Him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in the earth, visible and invisible. All things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. He was rich. So Jesus Christ, while he existed in the form of God, did not regard being equal with God as robbery. Christ, prior to his incarnation, was God, and existed in the form of God. So as we try to put all this together, as we try to begin to understand those things which were true of Christ prior to coming to this earth, and truly we are on holy ground here, we're delving into things that are of great mystery to us of finite mind, John Flavel, a Puritan pastor, describes it like this, The condition and state of Christ before His incarnation was a state of the highest and most unspeakable delight and pleasure in the enjoyment of His Father. The condition and state of Christ before His incarnation was a state of the highest and most unspeakable delight and pleasure in the enjoyment of his father. What a statement! He dwelt with God, in the form of God, in unapproachable light, in the very bosom of God. He was rich, rich in glory, and he enjoyed infinite pleasure and happiness in his father. I trust that many of you will see where we're going with this. God is concerned with our hearts. Hearts that are often prone to dullness. Hearts that are often prone to coldness. Well, this morning I would have us warm our hearts in light of the truth that we've considered. And I would ask you to marvel at the incredible love of God. That's all I want you to do, is to marvel at the incredible love of God. Simon Rutherford said, I must give up all attempts to fathom the depth of his love. All I can do is but stand beside his great love and look and wonder. And that's what I want you to do, just for a few more minutes this morning, is to stand back and marvel at the love of God. Firstly, marvel at the love of the Father. Just think about this for a moment. What an astonishing act of love it was for God the Father to give the delight, the darling of His soul, out of His bosom for poor sinners. What mind-blowing love it was for the Father to send His Son from his bosom, as it were, into this awful world. Think in purely human terms for a moment. Which of you parents would hand over your child to death, even for all the riches of the world? None of you would deliver up your child for all. Think also of how incredibly heart-wrenching we find it when a loved one departs from this world. And yet a human's love and delight for another human, no matter how strong, is so imperfect when compared with the love and delight that God had for his infinitely lovely son. What a hole is made in the hearts of some parents by the death of a son or a daughter. A hole that will never be closed up in this world. Yet the reality is that no child lay so close to a parent's heart as Christ did to his father's. No child lay so close to a parent's heart as Christ did to his father's. Yet although God had such infinite and perfect love and delight for His only Son, yet He gave Him up. And not only did He give Him up, but He gave Him up to death and death in the cruelest of manners. What could cause God to give His only Son? You know the verse well. God so loved the world That He gave, that He gave His only begotten Son. Now there's often debate around this verse with regards to the meaning of the word world. Yet such debate leads to a danger that the main focus of this verse is missed. This verse isn't merely talking about who is in view with regards to God's love, but rather it seems to focus on the magnitude of God's love. The key word in this verse is not world, it's soul. Do you get the point? God so loved the world. God so loved the world of what? That He gave His Son. That is the key point of this verse. It was matchless love that caused God to give His only Son. Now there's much that's empty in modern hymn writing, yet one writer penned these words in a hymn that I was exposed to a few years ago, and it says, How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son. to make a rich His treasure. God had chosen a people from every tribe and nation and if He was to save them, He must give His only Son to die in their place. He must shed the blood of His own Son. Yes, the Son in whom He delighted to pay the price of His wrath against the sin of His people. The only reason I'm standing here or you are sitting there is the love that the Father has for us. Such love that He would even give up His only Son to death. How amazing are those words. God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. And this love is even more amazing if that was possible when we consider it was for us. It was for us that God gave His Son. It wasn't for the angels, it was for sinners, it wasn't for His friends, it was for His enemies. God's love for His enemies was so great that He is prepared to pour all His wrath on His Son rather than on them. Dear child of God, God's love for you was so great that He is prepared to pour all His wrath on His Son rather than on you. He poured out the fullness of His wrath on the Son, on whom He delighted to the point where His Son hung and cried out, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? That is the love that the Father had for you. Does that not humble and break your heart? Does that not cause you to rejoice in your heart? Yes, we must thank the Son for His willing sacrificial death, and we'll come to that. But let us not be mindful to give equal glory to the Father, for if He had not loved us, He would never have parted with such a Son. Marvel at the love of the Father, but also I ask you to marvel at the love of the Son. Allow me to quote John Flavel once more. Adore and be ever astonished at the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners, that He should ever consent to leave such a bosom, and the ineffable delights that were there for such poor worms as we are. Christ existed in the very form and likeness of God. He dwelt in that light unapproachable. Yet though he existed in the form of God, he humbled himself, humbled himself taking the form of a servant, veiled in flesh the Godhead see. The one who existed in the form of God with all the glory of heaven left all his glory and came and walked on this earth without so much as a halo. The one who dwelt in the very bosom of his father in the glorious mansions of heaven came to earth where it was described of him the foxes of holes and the birds of the air have nests but the son of man hath nowhere to lay his head. He was rich, yet he became poor. From highest heaven he descended to Calvary in the grave. None was richer than he, yet none became poorer than he. In heaven he knew nothing of grief and sorrow, yet he became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. In heaven he knew nothing but his father's smile and delight, and on earth he would know separation from his father and his father's wrath. He enjoyed the pleasures of heaven, the infinite pleasures of heaven, yet willingly he left all. For what? To be despised. and to be rejected of men. He left the glory, the joy of heaven, willingly knowing that he would face the shame and the ridicule and the pain of the cross. Why would any leave such infinite delight, pleasure and privilege to come to die the death of a criminal? Was it not love again? Was it not because He loved those whom the Father had given Him? Was it not love for poor, rebel sinners like you and me? Why did He, who was so rich, become so poor? Was it not that you and I, who were so poor, could become rich? Was it not that you could know forgiveness of sins? Was it not that the very sins which you and I commit today could be forgiven? Was it not that you could be right with God, accepted into God's family, heirs and co-heirs with Christ? Why did Christ leave the glories of heaven? Why did He leave the glories of heaven to come in the likeness of sinful flesh? Was it not that we could enjoy every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies? Our Lord willingly left all the riches, all the pleasures of heaven to come as a man of sorrows, and He did so for you. Dear child, He did it because He loved you. You who would seek to be faithful, you who have trusted in Christ, who God has regenerated, He did it because He loved you. He left all for you. Oh, we must be humbled. We must be humbled by the greatness of Christ's love. Oh, we love Him for His death, but we must also love Him for the greatness of His love and humbling Himself to come from the glories of heaven. to die, to bear our sins, to face the wrath of His own Father on our behalf. My prayer is that love of Christ would constrain us and control us, that we would live for Him, that even we would be prepared to leave all for Him who left all for us. Unconverted, some of you may not know Christ here, I don't know. Does not the love of the Father cause you to seek the mercy of God? Does not the love of Christ draw your heart out to love Christ? You love your sin, Christ has come. He left the glories of heaven that your sins could be forgiven. I hope this morning is not some mere academic exercise where our knowledge has increased, I hope our knowledge has increased, but I feel that a consideration of a subject such as we've considered must bring us to the point where we marvel at the love of God. Is your heart not drawn out in love for God and Christ? Do we not love because He first loved us? Let's pray. Dear God and Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wonderful truths that are contained in Your Word. We bless You, O God, for Your Word and we thank You for what it tells us of the love of God and the love of Christ. We thank You, O God, that because of such love we can know forgiveness of sins. We thank You, O God, that because of such love we can come and we can worship even this Lord's Day and we can offer our songs of praise and we can Rejoice in the preaching of your word, and we can offer up our tithes and offerings unto the Lord, and we pray that we would do all this, O God, unto your glory. We, with Reverend Patterson and Reverend Nelson, as they have come and preached here today, we pray you'd bless the word that we've received from them. We thank you, O God, for your goodness to us. Depart us now in your presence, in Christ's name. Amen.