We're finishing up a, well, depends on how you start and end some of these lessons. We're working on a two-part from last week, finishing up a series of arguments where we're wrestling with the question, not is Jesus God, but is he true God, very God, light of light, God of God? because we can use the term God in a variety of ways. Even the scriptures use the word God in a variety of ways. Sometimes that little g, God, will be used to describe an angel, or an angelic being, or even a prominent, imminent, powerful human being. David in the Psalms will, for instance, use that term God, or God's plural, speaking of those who either take to themselves that idea of being godlike, or even in a term of recognizing their relative superiority, humanly speaking. So the question is not, is Jesus a God, or is Jesus God? Because all of the heretics throughout church history will confess that. If you ask a Mormon, is Jesus God? They will say yes, but they mean something entirely different. If you ask a Jehovah's Witness, is Jesus God? They will say yes, but they mean something different, substantially different. And so it's important for us as Christians to be clear about who this Christ is who has redeemed us. who has saved us. Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help, and then I'm going to turn and read from Isaiah chapter 45. If you have a Bible with you, you can turn to Isaiah chapter 45. Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful for the way in which you have made yourself known to us. You are high and lifted up, almighty, the transcendent one, the omniscient one, the omnipotent one, the one who knows our thoughts even before we think them. And we cry out with the psalmist, who is man that you are mindful of him? You have proclaimed of yourself that you are a God who delights to show mercy. And so we ask, Lord, for your mercy this morning on our minds, upon our bodies, that we can hear and understand and believe the word of the living God. We ask this so that we would be able to worship our Savior more deeply. that we will be more firmly established in our faith, that we might be able to encourage our own souls with the truth of your word, and also might be able to encourage one another in these things once delivered to the saints. So we ask for your help in Christ's name. Amen. In Isaiah 45, what we're going to read here, beginning in verse 18, is the Lord speaking about Himself. He speaks of what He has done. And later in today's lesson, we're going to see that Paul quotes from and applies this very text to none other than Christ Himself. And so what we've been doing, starting last week, and we'll continue it this week, is looking at four arguments that one of the Reformers, a brother by the name of Francis Turretin, he sets out To answer the question, is Christ true God, very God? Is He of the same essence? Is He of the same stuff as God Himself, as God the Father? Or is He something somehow less than? God the Father. And Turreton formulated four tests, or not necessarily four tests, but four arguments in which we can conclude from the Scriptures that Jesus is, in fact, true God, very God, not just a God. And we looked last week at the names and the attributes. So names, attributes, works, and worships. And here's the way the argument goes. If we can see in the Old Testament names that are ascribed to God alone, and then we find those same names ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament, then what's our conclusion? Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus is true God. In like manner, if we can see attributes of God, for example, omnipotence, that he's all-powerful, omniscience, that he knows all things, Those are attributes that God does not share with his creature. He shares some of his attributes with us. He shares his attributes of love, of mercy, of kindness. We can imitate those things imperfectly, certainly, but it is true love. It is true mercy that we are able to extend to one another. But there are attributes that God does not share with us as creatures. And so when we find those attributes that are described only of God in the Old Testament, and then we find those same attributes described of Jesus in the New Testament, what do we conclude? That he is God. Now, today we're gonna look at two other arguments, two other sort of planks in this train of thought, and it's the works and the worship of Christ. So in like manner, here's the way the argument goes. If we can look at works ascribed to God alone, For example, creation. And then we find in the New Testament where those same works are attributed to Christ, we conclude that Christ is God, true God, very God. And worship, because we all know, we all know any faithful Jew at any point in the Old Testament could have given you chapter and verse that God alone is to be worshipped. In fact, what was the penalty for anyone worshipping someone other than Yahweh? death, right? In fact, the scripture says that even if your brother, even if the wife of your bosom were to take up idolatry, the command given to the Israelites was, you be the very first one to cast a stone. Do not take pity upon them, because idolatry was so serious in the mind of God. And so he commanded his people not to tolerate it, even from their closest, most devoted companions. So, If we can prove from the New Testament that Jesus Christ is worshiped truly and properly and with permission, then He is God. So let's read together in Isaiah 45. I'll read, if you'll follow along, beginning in verse 18. Thus says the Lord. Thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens. He is God, who formed the earth and made it. He established it. He did not create it empty. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret in a land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, seek me in vain. I, Yahweh, speak the truth. I declare what is right. Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you survivors of the nations. They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols and keep on praying to a God that cannot save. Declare and present your case. Let them take counsel together. Who told this long ago? who declared it of old. Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior, there is none besides Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, there is no other. By Myself I have sworn, from My mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return to Me. Every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall swear allegiance. Does that phrase sound familiar? Every knee will bow? If also Paul thought it sounded familiar too, we'll get to that here in a little bit. Only in the Lord, verse 24, it shall be said of me, our righteousness and strength to him shall come and be ashamed. All who were incensed against him in the Lord, all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. Now notice, particularly in verses 20 and 21, the Lord sets a sharp contrast between the worship of Himself, I am the Lord, I am Yahweh, and so-called gods, false gods. In fact, with kind of a mocking tone, He says, they have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols and keep on praying to a God that cannot save. So there's a contrast here between true God and everything else that pretends to be. So kind of peg that in your mind as we work through our lesson today, as we consider the works and the worship of God, and finding that those same works and worship are attributed to the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's think in the first place about the works. What are the works that are attributed to God alone in the Scriptures? Well, the first work that was revealed to man that God has done is, of course, creation. The very first words of our Bibles, isn't it? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So in Scripture, the act of creation, along with this idea of universal sovereignty that goes with creation, I mean, it's this idea that if he made it, then he gets to rule it, right? And we get this on a much smaller scale with our own children. In a sense, we made them, humanly speaking, and with that comes a natural authority. A parent naturally has an authority over their children. that's God-given, it's derived from God, but that's natural and it's right because there's a sense of creation there. I'm speaking in human terms, right? This is one of the things that identifies God as truly divine and worthy of worship. Now think about in Acts chapter 17. You don't have to turn there, but this is when Paul goes to Mars Hill. And he's debating there with the eminent scholars of Athens, the most eminent philosophers of the day. And Paul speaks of God as creator. And remember they had the monument to the unknown God there? And Paul said, I know this God that you seek. He's the one who's made all things. It's in Him that we live, and we breathe, and we have our being. Paul makes it very clear, it is in God alone that we have life. It is God who has made us. And in Isaiah chapter 40, we see something very similar. It's described to God alone, this capacity to create. And so, to attribute the work of creation to anyone else, or anything else, would be blasphemy, wouldn't it? It's one of the reasons that, as Christians, we have to reject things like evolution, because it is, by definition, Godless. And so we're ascribing to a random process things that rightly belong to God alone, so it's blasphemy. Evolution is not merely an error, it's blasphemy. It's an assault on the very image of God. And so the only conclusion that we could draw from these ideas that someone else has made the world and governs the world is that that would be blasphemy. And so when we see, for example, in Proverbs 8, verse 30, wisdom describes himself as being beside God in creation. So in Proverbs 8, 30, then I was beside him as a master workman. And so we have to understand that he's doing the same work as Yahweh. Wisdom personified in the book of Proverbs is Christ Jesus. Isaiah 48, I read from chapter 45, in Isaiah chapter 48, Yahweh testifies, again, about this servant of the Lord, and that this servant is none other than the creator of all things, and the covenant Lord of Israel. He is Yahweh. But then we have something that becomes even more explicit as we look at the New Testament. In John's gospel, John begins his gospel with, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Well, then in verse 3, all things came into being through him. Now, who's he speaking about there? The Lord Jesus Christ. So either Paul, is identifying Jesus as true God, or Paul's a blasphemer. You see, there's no middle ground. There's no other way, because Paul is assigning to Christ a work that only God can do. And to say anyone else has done it would be blasphemy. John says, I said Paul, I meant John. John would be a blasphemer. All things came into being through him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. Then in Hebrews chapter one, in verse two, in these last days, he, this is God the Father, has spoken to us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the world. So here is the apostle to the Hebrews, which I think is probably Paul, and he's saying that it's through Christ that all the world was made. Well, is Paul a blasphemer, or is he testifying truly that Jesus is doing the work that only God can do? In Hebrews 1, again, down in verse 8, He cites from Psalm 102, but of the Son, he says, you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. See, if you were reading, if all you had was the Psalms, or if you were a Jewish man or woman or boy or girl, and you're reading through the Psalter before the time of Christ, and you read Psalm 102, and it says, you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth, you would draw the inescapable conclusion that he's speaking about Yahweh. Well, the writer of Hebrews says, this is Christ. This is Jesus. So again, this is either blasphemy, or he's testifying truly that Jesus is God, that Jesus is true God. Here's Paul speaking in Colossians chapter 1. Verse 16 and 17, For by Him, this is Jesus, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. So you see, it's not only His creation, but the governance of all things. Well, those can only be attributed to God. So again, Paul's either a blasphemer or he's testifying truly that Jesus is Yahweh. We also see the miracles of Christ. And by the way, and I meant to mention this at the beginning, I want to repeat this at every lesson for the sake of integrity. I'm working through some of the concepts and some of the overall structure of Dr. Dolezal's classroom instruction. So I'm adding to and taking away as we go, but I want to give attribution where it's due. Now, he gives attribution that he's working through the material of others, Francis Turretin, and so forth. So this is not original to me. It is not even original to Dr. Dolezal, and he would be proud to tell you that. These are things that have been passed on to us from the scriptures and through those that God has enabled to study well the scriptures. The other, not only creation, But we see in the ministry of Jesus the performing of miracles. Performing of miracles. Now you might be thinking to yourself, well, but others perform miracles. Even wicked men, like the Egyptians in Egypt, for example, were able to perform certain miracles. There were others, the sons of Sceva, the book of Acts records, did certain miracles. So Jesus is not the only one recorded in the scripture to perform miracles. So we can't conclude that anyone who performs a miracle is divine. But here's the difference. All those who worked miracles in any other context did so by a power that was not theirs. Either in the case of the Egyptian magicians, they did it through the dark magic or dark arts, or In the case of the apostles, for example, they were delegated power and authority. Remember when Jesus sent his disciples out two by two? He says, I have given you power and authority to heal in my name and cast out demons in my name. But Jesus is very explicit. This guy, this isn't your authority. In a sense, I'm lending you my sword. I'm lending you my authority. but proper and innate authority and power exists in God alone. Listen to Turretin here. Francis Turretin says, the power of working miracles was not adventitious and ministerial to him like that of the apostles and prophets. In other words, it's not a borrowed authority. But it's proper in 8, because it is said to have flowed from him. And he cites Luke 6 and Luke 8. The apostles deny that they wrought miracles by their own power, but in the name of Christ. So if you look through the book of Acts, for example, you get into Acts 4, 5, and 6, and the apostles heal. And what do they say? What do they testify? It's not by our authority. It's not by our power, but by the authority, by the name, by the power of Christ that we heal. The apostles sought that power from Christ. If Christ sometimes used, I'm still quoting Turret, and if Christ sometimes used prayers in the working of miracles, it does not follow that he had no power of his own to perform them. For he did this not from a defect of potency, or power, but partly according to the voluntary economy by which he submitted himself to the Father in his mediatorial office and referred all things to him. In other words, according to his humanity, He prayed to the Father and sought the Father's strength. And also partly to accommodate himself to those in whose presence he brought the miracles to teach them that all things are to be obtained by prayer. Now, didn't we see that just last week in our sermon text, when the disciples were unable to cast the demon out of this little boy? And Peter, James, and John are accompanying Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. And down below, literally hell on earth below them, was a father pleading with the other nine disciples, would you cast out the demon? And the disciples were not able. And they come to Jesus later on privately and say, how come we were not able to cast him out? I mean, you had given us authority. Why didn't this work? And Jesus said, that kind can only come out by prayer. In other words, he was admonishing them for the weakness of their faith. They were not able because they did not believe. So we see the creative work of God. We see the miraculous work of God. We also see the works of grace and redemption. One of the things that we see as we work through the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus pronounced forgiveness of sin, what was the response of the Pharisees and the scribes? Did they go, yay, he's forgiving sin? No. They accused him of blasphemy. Why? Because only God can forgive sin. And Jesus said, I forgive you. And they picked up stones. And they said, he's a blasphemer. Clearly, evidently to everyone, he's a blasphemer because he says he can forgive sin. And we all know only God can forgive sin. So here's some other, I'm just going to kind of work through these relatively quickly, but the works of grace and redemption, just for you to think about. And again, one of the reasons, it's kind of a two-fold reason for working through this, is one, for our own devotion, our own praise and worship of God. It's good for us to be reminded and encouraged in our faith that Jesus is true God, very God, but also as an apologetic. that we're able to give a defense for the hope that is within us. We are able to communicate with a lost family member, a co-worker, or even just another Christian who's not as firm on these things as they would want to be. And so we think about the works of grace and redemption, we think about election. God chooses, and yet in John 13, that electing work is ascribed to Christ. Redemption. In Acts chapter 20, when Paul's on the beach there, meeting with the Ephesian elders for the very last time, and he speaks about Christ purchasing the flock of God with his own blood. He's attributing to Christ redemptive work that only God could do. In John 10 and Matthew 9, The apostles speak of calling, effectual calling, which again is God's work alone, and yet it's given to Christ. Sanctification, sending the Holy Spirit. Who sends the Holy Spirit? On the mind of the Jew, only the Father, only Yahweh can send the Spirit. What does Jesus tell his disciples? I will send my Spirit. You can go and read that in John 15 and 16. Giving eternal life, giving abundant life. Only God can do this, and yet Christ claims to do this. Resurrection of the dead, universal judgment. The Lord and husband of the church is attributed to Jesus. The builder of the church, which happens to be God's house, God's temple. which is a work that only God can do, and yet Jesus says, I will build. So, the works of Christ, His creation, His miracles performed of His own authority and power, the works of grace and redemption, these are things that are attributed to Yahweh alone. And yet in the New Testament, we see them attributed to Jesus. So what's the conclusion? Jesus is not just God or a God, but he is true God, very God, light of light, God of God, uncreated, eternal, of the same essence, of the same being, of the same stuff as God. Does that mean that God the Son and God the Father cannot be distinguished? Of course not. We are Trinitarian. We believe that God is one and God is three. The fourth one, the fourth plank in our argument. As we work through this, we're thinking about the names of God, the attributes of God, the works of God, and then lastly, the worship of God. I began our lesson this morning by reading from Isaiah chapter 45, and I ask you, in a sense, to peg that in your mind, to think back upon it. God is jealous for his worship. You can't read the Old Testament honestly and not come away with that conclusion, right? God is jealous for his own worship. In fact, you remember Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu? God struck them dead, not because they were not worshiping him, or because they were worshiping another god, but because they dared to innovate. They went to worship God on their own terms, in a way that pleased them, rather than what Yahweh had said, and God struck them dead. They offered strange fire. They offered an unapproved incense on the altar. So God is jealous for His work, His worship. He demands an exclusive religious devotion. Faith, adoration, worship, those are to be directed to God alone, not to any creature, not to anyone who is less than God. You know, this is the central belief of the Jews in covenant with God. Deuteronomy 6, for example, you shall worship the Lord, you shall worship Yahweh your God, and Him only shall you serve. It is not permissible to worship anyone else or anything else. And yet, There are other passages where Jesus or others direct us to worship Him. Or where we find evidence of creatures worshiping Jesus, and He doesn't correct them. Think about this. In John 14, Jesus says, Believe in God, believe also in Me. And John 5, for not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Jesus says, it's a package deal. You cannot honor the Father, you cannot worship the Father, unless you worship and honor the Son. John 9, 38, and he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Here's a man who falls down on his face and worships Jesus, and Jesus doesn't say, no, no, no, no, don't do that. That would be blasphemy. Now, we can find many examples in the Scriptures where the apostles, where someone falls down to worship Peter or Paul or Barnabas, there's a scene in Acts where Paul and Barnabas heal a man, and the crowd begins to worship. They called him Zeus, and they went to worship them as gods. And Paul and Barnabas, remember what they did? They tore their clothes, which is a sign of extreme grief at even the thought that they would be worshipped. And they had just performed a miracle. The thought that they would be worshipped was grievous to them. And that Jesus receives worship unapologetically. In Luke chapter 24, beginning in verse 51, while Jesus was blessing them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising God. Luke testifies about the ascension of Christ into heaven. And the disciples rightly, properly worshiped him. one more in Hebrews 1, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him. The writer of Hebrews says it's right for angels, perfect heavenly beings, to worship Christ. It's good, it's right, it's proper for that. Now if you turn with me to Philippians, this is the text I teased a little bit earlier. Paul quotes here, he paraphrases from Isaiah 45 and Philippians 2. You'll get to hear this text a couple of times today, so I'll turn to this in the sermon as well. But in chapter 2, verse 8, And being found in human form, he, this is Jesus, humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now Paul does something striking here. He quotes from Isaiah 45. Go back to if you still had a finger there in Isaiah 45. Yahweh testifies of himself, to me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance. or every tongue shall confess to God. Paul says, that's true of Jesus. Now, he says that he has, in a sense, earned this right as our savior, as our mediator, as the God-man, to become exalted. And at the name, every knee will bow. Now here's somewhat of a trick question. To what name will every man eventually bow? Every man, woman, and child? It's actually not the name Jesus at which we will bow. It's the name Lord. So in the Greek text, verse 11, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Well, the Greek word is kurios. When the Hebrews translated the Old Testament scriptures into the Greek language, you know what word they used, what name they used for Yahweh? Kurios. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Yahweh. That he is God of God, very God, true God, light of light. And inescapably, as we read Isaiah 45, the overall context is explicitly monotheistic, right? We read that. There's a contrast between those who worship gods who are not gods at all and God's testimony about himself, that there is no God besides me. And yet Paul says, at the name of Kurios, at the name of Jesus, every tongue, every name will confess that he is Lord, that he is God. So the exclusivity of this object of worship includes the Son, and it does not exclude the Father. And Paul makes that clear, that to worship Jesus is to glorify the Father. Numerous New Testament passages speak about believers calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can see that over and over again. In fact, there's a command given to us, for example, in Romans 10, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, kurios, will what? Be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And finally, for the last part of this argument with respect to the worship of God, We spent some time last week looking at Revelation 5. I want to look today at Revelation 5 once again, but I want to point out something that we did not deliberate upon last week. Revelation 5, verse 13. This is the vision of the throne room of heaven. And remember, John says that he falls down weeping because here is the High and Exalted One, the Ancient of Days, sitting on the throne, and he had in his hand a scroll, and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was found worthy to open that scroll. And so John says, I was weeping. And then one of the elders said, Weep no more. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, he has overcome, and there was a Lamb standing there as if he had been slain. And in Revelation 5, verse 13, Every created thing which is in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and dominion for ever and ever. Now, in the immediate context here, There's a worship of the one who sits on the throne, which is God the Father, the Ancient of Days, and also of the Lamb, who is the Son. But you see, it's a singular worship. It's not worship of two different beings. Distinguished according to their persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but one in essence, one in being. And there's a perfect fusing together of these two as a singular object of a singular worship. See, there's a perfect unity in the Godhead. Then we turn over to Revelation chapter 22, turn to the end, the end of the last book. Verse 3, No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. The pronoun is significant. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, why doesn't it say, and His servants will worship them? It says, and the servants will worship Him. Singular. Describing both the Father and the Lamb. What's the conclusion? Jesus is God. True God. Very God. Of the same essence. Of the same stuff. As the Father. Those all comments, if we are to worship God alone, as the Holy Angel twice told John, and we see Christ repeatedly receiving worship from the Holy Angels and others throughout John's apocalypse, we can only conclude that Christ himself is God, even as the Father is God. So, to kind of step back, and we've seen a lot of detail, but let's zoom back out again. We're working through an argument that I think is a very, very helpful argument, and it's one that's fairly memorable, or fairly easy to remember, is that there are four things ascribed to Christ in the Scriptures that prove that He is true God, very God, of the same essence and being as God. His names, the names Given in the scriptures, in the Old Testament in particular, to describe Yahweh alone, uniquely ascribed to Yahweh, are also used to describe Christ in the New Testament. Therefore, what's the conclusion? He is of the same essence as God. But not just the names, but the attributes of God. Attributes in the Old Testament are attributed to Yahweh alone. In fact, it would be blasphemous to attribute those attributes to any creature. And yet we find in both the Old and New Testaments that those same attributes are attributed to Christ. So what's the conclusion? He is God. True God. Very God. Of the same essence with the Father. And then as we looked at today, those first two, names and attributes, we covered last week. And today, looking at His works. Works of God, like His creation. It would be blasphemous to attribute creative capacity to anyone besides God. the kind of ex nihilo, out of nothing, that God merely spoke things into being. I mean, surely we can make things, but we don't create things. You've heard the old joke about the scientists who set out to, so they were arguing with God that they could do better in creating man. And they said, give us some time, we will make a better man than you did. And God said, okay. Go for it. And so they scoop up the dirt and God said, no, no, no, no, use your own dirt. See, we can make things, but we can't create them as God did. Only God can do that. And yet, to Christ, it is attributed in the scriptures, creative work. Redemptive work, miraculous work. And lastly, as we've just seen in the book of the Revelation, throughout the Gospels, the epistles, worship is offered to Christ truly and properly and legitimately. Worship that is due to God alone. And so the conclusion there, once again, is if Jesus is truly worshipped, legitimately worshipped, properly worshipped, the inescapable conclusion is he is Yahweh, because only God can be worshipped. So I think it's a helpful argument to have sort of in your hip pocket, so to speak. One, for your own comfort and encouragement as you meditate upon the scriptures. And as you read through the scriptures on your own and you run across this kind of language, you can recall that to mind. That the names of God, the attributes of God, the works of God, the worship of God are attributed to Christ. Things that would be blasphemous to attribute to someone other than God. We'll close there. But I encourage you to meditate upon that in your own study, but also to, in a sense, have that in your hip pocket as you're speaking with others. Because there are plenty of the cults who will say, yes, Jesus was a God, or Jesus was like God, but he wasn't true God. Not in the same way that the Father is God. And we should have an answer for that, shouldn't we? Don't you think it's a pretty important issue? Because if Jesus isn't God, we're in trouble. We are all dead in our sin. We have no hope, no escape in this life or in the next if Jesus is not God. Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful that you have given to us your Word and that you've blessed us with the gift of your Spirit proceeding from both the Father and the Son. giving us understanding, giving us the light and the heat of your word, giving to us a capacity to worship you, to be devoted to you that we do not possess in our own strength and our own nature. So we bless you and we praise you and we thank you. We ask that you would lift us up and build us up in our, not only our understanding of our minds, but in the affections of our heart towards our risen and exalted Christ, who is the Lord God Almighty.