Well, we've been considering the cross of Christ over these four studies, the centrality of the cross of Christ in the eternal plan of God, in the perspective of Jesus, in the preaching of the apostles, and in the eternal song of heaven. We considered the necessity of the cross, that God, having determined and counseled freely and sovereignly and chosen, not because he was obligated to do so, but of his free grace and love, he chose to save sinners, that the means by which he would accomplish their redemption necessitated the death of his son. And we saw that it was the character of God, his perfect righteousness, his infinite holiness, and his perfect justice that's inflexible, demanded the death of Christ in the sinner's and the depravity of our sin, the awfulness of our pollution. And Adam also necessitated that Christ must suffer and die. And then we thought this morning about the nature of the cross work of Christ. What was it that was transpiring at Calvary? And we looked at it under those four main things. to which were Godward and to which are manward and due to do with our sin. But that Christ at the cross and taking to himself our sin and becoming our substitute and our sacrifice, he propitiated the wrath of God. He brought about reconciliation to God for sinners alienated from him. He redeemed them by the payment of a price And he expiated their sin by making a sacrifice for them to God. And those four things, they are not divisible in a sense. It's not that Christ first of all propitiated the wrath of God and then he reconciled us and then he redeemed us. But all of these things were transacted in the great once and for all self-offering. of Jesus Christ in the sinner's place with their sin as he held himself for the accomplishment of our redemption in the place appointed, the sacrifice of a cross. And so the wonder of what transpired in those hours when Jesus hung upon the cross. We come to our final study tonight and it is the perfection of the cross work of Christ, the perfection of the crosswork of Christ. The cross is central in the plan of God. The cross is central to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ through the womb of the Virgin. And the cross was necessitated by the character of God and by the defilement of our sin, those two great things that stand in total antithesis, the awesome righteousness and justice of God and the utter depravity and pollution of man and our sinfulness, necessity that one must die. And that one could be none other than God himself in the person of his Son incarnate. Two natures in one person forever. And at the cross, as he propitiates the wrath of God, as he brings about reconciliation for those who are alienated from God on account of their sin, as he paid the price that God required in order that they might be brought back from the slave market of sin and of death and of hell and from under the mastery of Satan to become children of the living God, a price is paid. And their sin is dealt with by the sacrifice, the oblation that Christ offers as he becomes sin for us, he who knew no sin. And as he deals with our sin, he takes it away through the bloodletting of his cross at Calvary. We're asking tonight, was that work of Christ at Calvary complete? Was it a perfect work? In other words, what we want to see tonight, the uniqueness of that work, the finality of that work, the sufficiency of that work and the completeness of that work of Christ for sinners. So let's look at those in turn. The uniqueness of the crosswork of Christ. When we speak about the perfection of the cross work of Christ or the perfection of the atonement, that's what we've been thinking about over these studies. The atonement, the atoning work of the Lord Jesus at the cross of Calvary for his people. And when we speak about the perfections of the atonement with regards to its uniqueness, what we're speaking about here is the singularity of the work of Christ on the cross for sinners. And that means that we ask this question, could there be a similar work? Could there be another work that would be somehow comparable to the work of Christ accomplished for us at the place called Calvary? Or is the Atonement, is the cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ something that stands unique stands alone, stands apart from all other things and all other means by which men and women would seek to be right with God. And the answer is that that sealing work of Christ can never be equaled. It can never be compared with any other work. It is unique in the best understanding of the word uniqueness. It is one of a kind. It is singular with regards to its author. It is God's work from start to finish. He is its author from all eternity. And it's unique in the singularity of its author. It is singular in its agent. It's accomplished. It's brought about, if you like, by the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's singular. Now, there was no other one who could come to accomplish this work. And it is singular with regards to its nature, that which we considered this morning. In order that the wrath of God be turned away, in order that reconciliation be secured, in order that of the redemption price be paid, in order that sin is removed, only the crosswork of Christ alone could bring that about. And it is singular with regards to its perfection, that which we're considering this evening. The uniqueness of the crosswork of the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, rests upon the uniqueness of its person, the one who accomplished it and the work which he accomplished. It's unique because it is performed and accomplished and secured by none other than the God man, Jesus Christ, the eternal God. the one who was with God, the one who was God, the one who became God, became flesh and tabernacled among us. In the uniqueness of his person, God himself came forth from heaven, born of the Virgin. That's something again, it's a great truth that's central to our faith and yet sometimes we almost fail to comprehend it, and I am being reverent tonight when I say this to you, but the Eternal God, and the Creator of all things, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word who spoke, and it was so, who said, let there be light, and there was light, becomes for the sake of man's redemption an embryo in the Virgin's womb. Who can comprehend that? And yet, sustaining all things by the Word of His power. And in the humility of the Incarnation, He comes forth. He enters our world from the realm of glory via the Virgin's womb. And he's laid in a cattle feeding trough. And he's the Lord of Glory. I love Philippians 2, that great Christological passage. And the times have expounded it and I have expounded it from the dimension of trying to to enter into the perspective of the heavenly angels, who eternally worship Christ, their Creator. And they behold Him in the manger. Where is our Lord, our Maker? He is in a caliph feeding throne. Where is our Lord, our Maker? He's in the garden of olive groves, and He's lying prostrate in the ground, and He's writhing in agony of soul, and He's crying out with loud cries to His Father in heaven, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. This is our Lord, our Maker. Where is He now? He's in Pilate's judgment hall and he's hanging from the great beam that transcended that hall and they're spitting in his face and they're punching and slapping and whipping his back. They're plucking the hairs from his face. This is the Lord of Glory. Can there be any further and greater humiliation for the Lord of Glory? Yes. Where is He now? He's on Calvary's hill, and they're kneeling Him to the cross. We're speaking here of the perfections of the crossword because it's accomplished by the Lord of Glory in His humility as God incarnate, God becoming flesh. He is the God-Man, the two distinct natures in one person forever. And it is Jesus, the Christ of God incarnate, who is the only mediator between God and man. That's why the cross work of Christ is perfect. The perfection of this work and this uniqueness is because it is Jesus Christ incarnate who is the mediator, the only, the one and only and forever mediator between God and man. He himself declared in John's Gospel chapter 14, I am the way, the truth, And they're like, no one, no one comes to the Father except through me. Do you get it here? That's about the uniqueness of the perfection of his saving work. He said there is no salvation. There is no one who can come to God, no one for whom the wrath of God can be turned away, no one who can be reconciled, no one who can be bought back from the slave market of sin and death and hell, no one whose sin can be removed apart from Jesus Christ, the way and the truth of the life. And it's the writer to the Hebrews who in particular establishes most clearly for us the perfections and uniqueness of the crosswork of Jesus Christ because of his superiority over all that has gone before. God established the sacrificial system. God established that the land should be slain. God established the grounds on which he could be broken. God established the grounds of blood-shedding by way in which people could come into his presence and by which he could be worshipped. But as the writer to the Hebrews said, these were but signs, these were but that which pointed, these were in that sense symbolic of the one who was coming and you note the contrast even in the chapters that we read together as it sets out The old Covenant blessings and the old Covenant system. Then Emmett says, but Christ, he stands unique, he stands above, he stands beyond all that pointed to them. These were mere shadows. These sacrifices performed daily in the temple and the great sacrifice performed annually on the great day of atonement could not take away sin. But Christ has come. He's of a different order in that sense. He is the fulfillment of all that God had ordained that should precede Him as that which foreshadowed His coming in His person and work. And so it cannot be equaled and it cannot be rivaled by angels. And the early chapters of the Hebrews brings that out. He is superior to the angels. He is better than the angels. He's better than the sacrifices of the old covenant. He is beyond. He is in. He's the incomparable Christ. And so this work of redemption could not be accomplished by the angels. It could not be accomplished by the multitude of sacrifices that God had ordained under the old covenant. It could not be accomplished by men or by man. Only Christ could bring about this work. And so the cross work of Christ is perfect in its uniqueness. And again, we saw something of that this morning, last Thursday evening, when we looked at the necessity for the cross work of Christ, that which necessitated the atonement. The character of God demanded that one who is God must die. And the sinfulness of man demanded that one who was from among man must die. And Jesus is that person. He is the God-man. And He satisfies all the demands of God's holy character. We'll come back to that in a moment. And He satisfies the law's demands against our sin. Unique and therefore perfect is the saving work of Christ at Calvary. No other person, no other sacrifice, no other work could see but the work of Jesus. But the cross work of Christ is not only perfect in its uniqueness, but it is perfect in its finality. It is perfect in its finality. In other words, we're asking this salvation of God's chosen people. Was it finished at a definitive, definite point in time? Was their salvation actually accomplished? Or was there some aspect of this work of Christ that needed to be repeated in order for the fullness of the saving work of Christ to be brought to fruition? Was there need for ongoing re-enactment of the sacrifice of Christ? Was there need for man to contribute something to fill up and therefore complete, bring about the finality to that which Christ accomplished through His death upon the cross? And again the answer is a resounding no to those things, but the atonement, the cross work of Christ was completely, absolutely and finally accomplished by what Christ accomplished through his death on the cross. It cannot and never will be repeated. There is nothing to be added to it. There is no contribution that man can make that will bring about some aspect of the work of Christ to its completion, to its finality. It is final. There was a definitive appointed time, the time appointed by God from eternity, the time when Christ closed his earthly journey. on Golgotha's cross, that the salvation of God's people was finalised. And so the atoning work of Christ cannot be repeated by men at the Mass. That is blasphemy. That is an anathema to Christ and the Gospel. And we cannot and we must not ever tolerate such a thing. Nor can the work of Christ be continued are supplemented even by Christ himself, as some of the cults would tell us. That Christ is still completing his saving work. That too is blasphemy. That is another gospel, a false gospel. And there's nothing that can be added to the work of Christ by man. Even his coming to Christ is not a part of the work of Christ as many even evangelicals seem to think. We'll come back to that. The scriptures are so abundantly clear throughout of the perfect finality of the atonement, the cross work of Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 6 and verse 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Death have no more dominion over him. Why? Verse 10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Paul's bringing that out for the implication of that for our living. Likewise, reckon yourself to be dead. But he's stating the basis on which it is rooted. It is rooted on the finished work of Christ. He died once for sin. It is a final sacrifice for sins to which all others pointed. The many passages that we read this evening, let me just turn you back to them from the epistle to the Hebrews. We bring out the force of this. Hebrews 7, verse 27, speaking of Christ, who needeth not delay, as those high priests who offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the people's, for this he did once. He made one sacrifice, that is, one complete and final sacrifice for sin when he offered up himself. Chapter 9, verse 25, "...nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest." For then he must often have suffered, verse 26, at the foundation of the world. But, the great contrast, not once at the end of the world, at the end of the ages, hath he appeared to put away sin. It speaks of the finality of his sacrifice, the finality of the work that he accomplishes. He appeared once to deal with sin, to atone for sin. And remember, when the scripture speaks of these things, it includes redemption and propitiation. and reconciliation. We saw this when he was not carved up. But the focus here is on the sacrifices, the comparison between the sacrifices of the old and the once and for all time appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him he shall appear the second time apart from sin unto salvation. And in chapter 10, again the verses that we read. He's come to do the will of God. He's coming to take away the first, that is the old covenant by the establishment of the new covenant through the sharing of his blood by the which will we are sanctified through the offering, again it's the singular offering of the body of Jesus Christ once. And you will note there that the for all is in italics, it's not in the original. And I make a comment on that in a moment. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, again the contrasting word, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. And again, the sitting down signifying a finished work. It's what Paul says when he introduces the gospel in Romans chapter 1. called an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand by his prophets in the Holy Scripture concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was made of the seed of David, that's his incarnation, according to the flesh, declared the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. And again, Peter writing to those scattered believers in 1 Peter, 3 and verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, that just for the unjust that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. This is the finality of this crossword. It is done. It is completed. The goal, the telos of God's eternal plan of redemption has been finalised, if you could put it that way, by the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And that once and for all, it's a phrase that's repeated many times, particularly in the letter to the Hebrews, but we've seen it in Romans and Peter. It's not once and for all people. That's why that's the... It is once and for all time. Read the context. The context is always in the many sacrifices over the ages of the old disposition. But now the once and for all time sacrifice has come in the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ for sins. And so the work of Christ is a completed work, it is a perfect work, because it is a finished work. And that is testified above all, I suppose, to Christ's last cry upon the cross. It is finished. I think better rendered, it hath been accomplished. What is finished? What has been accomplished? by the bloodshedding of the Son of God. Propitiation, reconciliation, redemption, expiation. What he's crying there to his Father God, having embraced the cup of God's wrath, having drank it in its fullness to its very bitter dregs, that cup, unmixed with mercy, he embraced it in the garden, he drank it at the cross. And in the drinking of that cup, he perfects the work of redemption to which he had been appointed from all eternity. And he's crying to his father, and he says, I've done it. It has been accomplished. The redemption of your people is secured. I've turned away your wrath. I've brought reconciliation. I've paid the price. I've taken away their sins. Father, it is done. And he gave up the ghost. the perfection of the atonement in its finality. And then we have, thirdly, the perfection of the atonement in its satisfaction. It is perfect because it is final. It is perfect because it is unique. It is brought about by the God-man, Christ Jesus. But it is perfect because of its satisfaction. In other words, the question we're asking here, did the atonement, the cross-work of Christ, did it satisfy the character and the law of God? The demand of God's holiness and the demand of God's justice demanded all that was entailed in the cross-work of Christ. And the law of God required it because of man's sin. The law of God sets up the standard and says the soul that sins, the soul that falls short of the glory of God, the soul that transgresses my law must die. And so we're asking, did it satisfy these two great demands? The demands of the holy, perfect character of God and the demands of his inflexible justice of his law. so that a sinner can again come into the presence of God and be accepted. You see, the saving work of Christ was designed by God from all eternity to satisfy perfectly all the demands of God's perfect character and of His holy law. It was designed to do. even before the foundation of the world, even before man had sinned. God designed this salvation, this saving work of Christ, that His character might be upheld and that His law might be upheld. And the perfect satisfaction of Christ's work is built upon those two great foundational principles. You see, there is an indivisible union between the character and the law of God. They're not the same thing, but it's an indivisible union. In other words, satisfaction of the one means the satisfaction of the other. If we satisfy all the demands of God's righteousness and holiness, and all the demands of God's inflectable justice, Then, of necessity, it satisfies all the demands of His law. For His law is an expression of His character. That's what the law is. God is. And He gives us His law and He says, this is what I am. God's law is the expression of His character. And therefore, it satisfied, that is the cross work of Christ, not only satisfies the holiness and justice of God, but it satisfies all the demands of sin. God's law declares the soul that sins must die. For God is holy. Those two things are indivisibly united. And so if we demonstrate the satisfaction of one, we demonstrate the satisfaction of the other. If God's character is satisfied by the work of Christ, then the law of God is satisfied by the work of Christ. And so if that which Christ accomplished in turning away God's wrath, in reconciling His people, in redeeming that people, and in excreting their sin, then the law of God is also satisfied by the finality and the perfection and the completion of this work. And the prophet Isaiah tells us, even as he prophesied in the clearest Old Testament terms concerning the cross work and the atonement of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53. And we've already referred to this in our study. But this lamb appointed is taken as a lamb to the slaughter. He's borne our griefs. He's despised and rejected of men. Yet he is stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. Chastenment of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. Oh, we like sheep have gone astray, this is our sinning, have turned every one in his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So here is the atoning work of Christ that we've been unfolding in these studies, particularly the last two. And then as Isaiah comes to the close of this particular prophecy, he says, Do you get the link there? The satisfaction in the soul of Christ in His travel upon the cross, carrying out the atoning work to which He had been appointed by all eternity, the satisfaction is in His making an offering for our sin and bearing our transgressions. He is satisfied that all that the holy character of His Father God required, and all the demands of His just and holy law be fulfilled. They are accomplished in His dealing with our sin, in His bearing our transgression, in His being put to death by God to propitiate the wrath of God, to secure reconciliation, to pay the price that God required, and to remove their sin. The Lord Jesus satisfied by the Calvary of the soul. That's why he cries. This is a man who's been on the cross under the affliction and horrific human elements of that means of death. But this is a man who has suffered at the hands of God for three hours. He has endured an eternal hell in drinking the fullness of the undiluted wrath of God against the sins of his people. And yet with a loud voice he cries, It hath been accomplished, that he satisfied that all that he has transacted in Calvary perfects the work of redemption to which the Father had assigned him in eternity. holy character of God and fulfilled all the demands of his holy Lord. And of course, the ultimate vindication of that satisfaction was by God himself. For God indicated that it was a finished work. God indicated that it was a perfect work when he stroked forth his finger and rent the veil. But ultimately, God said that it is finished. And that he was satisfied in all the demands of his holy being and in all the demands of his holy law. God said, I am satisfied when he raised him from the dead. Romans 6, 9 and 10 we've already read. And in the ascension and glorification of Christ to the Father's right hand, Romans chapter 1. He has come and perfected that work, and therefore he's exalted and sits down at the right hand of God. And when Peter preached, and we looked at it in our first study in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost, he said that God had delivered him up to the death of the cross. And therefore, having died the death of the cross, God has raised him and God has exalted him to his own right hand. That's the message they preach. And then we come to that great Christological passage, and I've already quoted from Philippians 2, this one who humbled himself and came in the form of a servant, and humbled himself to become obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, in light of his submission to the death of the cross, and that is all that was accomplished in his death at the cross, God hath exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Would God exalt His Son so if He had left undone the work that He gave Him to do? Of course not. It is a perfect work in that it is a satisfying work. But finally, it's not only perfect in its uniqueness and perfect in its finality and perfect in its satisfaction of the character and law of God, but it's perfect in its completion. I know there's an overlap here between finality but there is something slightly different here and we'll do this and we'll make an application and we're done. In other words, did Christ leave anything undone? may have been unique, may have been final, the ultimate sacrifice for sin. The Father God may have been satisfied, both in his character and in his law with the work of Christ. But is there something else to be done? That's what I'm coming at here. Did he in any way, in some way, fail to accomplish a full and complete redemption for those for whom he came to die? In other words, what I'm asking here is, is man the sinner? Anything to contribute to the work of Christ in order for the salvation of Christ to be accomplished, completed and perfected. Did Christ by his cross work, did Christ in his atonement as the God-man and all that entailed that we've looked at over these studies. Did he infallibly secure the eventual and final and eternal salvation for all those for whom he died? You see, no work can be considered complete. No work can be considered perfect or finished if it fails to accomplish its stated goal and purpose. No work, at any level. Could you say it's perfect, it's completed and it's finished, if it has not accomplished the stated goal and purpose of that work? And the purpose of God in the death of Christ was what? It was the actual, eternal salvation of His people. Those whom He'd chosen in eternity, those whom He'd gifted to the Son, those for whom the Son came to die upon the cross. Did Christ secure their eternal redemption by his cross work? In other words, was Christ's coming and his death upon the cross and all that it entailed in what we've looked at in these studies, was it merely to make salvation possible for the people? There are many, many people in our conference, evangelicals, who teach that, who believe that. But He didn't undergo all that we've looked at, and I've only scratched the surface, in order to merely make the eternal salvation possible for the people. In other words, there's something to be done in order to fulfil the work of Christ at the cross. Man must make some response in order to accomplish that which Christ came to do in His cross. But the Lord Jesus, many times, as it's recorded for us in the Gospel, made it clear that He came to save sinners. He didn't say, I've come in order that sinners might be saved. I haven't come to You know, in that passage in Mark, he had come to seek and to save that was lost and to give his life a ransom for the many. He said he had come to save them. And even in the very annunciation that the angel made to Joseph, he shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save, shall save, not possibly save, but he shall save his people from their sins. He was sent on a mission to save them Did he accomplish his mission at the cross of Calvary? If we send our child to the shop to get some bread, would we consider that mission that we sent them on, that is to get bread for the family table, would we consider that mission complete? If the child went to the shop and merely offered to pay for the bread, but returned home without the bread, Would the mission be completed? I would pay for the bread and I would have bought it all. No, until the bread is secured and in their possession and on the family table, is the mission complete? And the Lord Jesus came on a saving mission to save his people from their sins. I've come to seek and to save sinners, that which was lost. And so again, the Lord Jesus Christ, He actually turned God's wrath away from His people. And He actually brought about reconciliation between God and sinners. And He actually paid the price for the redemption of His people. And He actually took away their sins that they might be saved. It is an accomplished redemption that Christ accomplished on the cross for all for whom He came to die. Look at Hebrews chapter 9. Again, the great contrast. But Christ, verse 11, coming a high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. He entered into the holy place, having obtained, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Before he went to the cross, he prayed that great high priestly prayer to his father. And we looked at this in our first study. And he's praying with the cross central, that which was ever before him. And he said the hour has come. What hour has come? The hour that he might be glorified. And he's speaking about the cross work that he's going to. He says, Father, the hour of my death has come. The hour for me to take and drink that cup is here. It's the hour of my glorification. What is glorious about the awful death of the cross and all that transpired there? It's this. that in that death he accomplishes the salvation of his people. And Christ says that in the prayer, as thou has given him power, that is the Son of God over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And going to accomplish that, Father, I'm going to save that people you've given me. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God. And Jesus Christ, who long has said, I have glorified thee in earth, I have finished the work. What work? Giving eternal life to as many as you have given me. Through my glorification at the place called Calvary, through my death, through my being lifted up, I've finished the work. which thou gave me to do." What a glorious salvation! It is perfect salvation because it is unique, it is final, it has satisfied the character and law of God, and it is complete. It has accomplished that eternal redemption for as many as God has given to Christ in eternity. Now just one word as I close. is the application of the atonement. That work of Christ needs to be applied to the sinner's heart. I want to ask you tonight, has that saving work of Christ in all its fullness been applied to you? Boys and girls, have your sins been forgiven? Have you trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that you might be saved from hell? And for all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, who have entered into this conquered redemption by the grace of God through faith as we reached out and embraced this gift. What difference is it making to your life? Are you living in the good of it, living in the fullness of it, rejoicing in it, sharing it, living it? I'm praising God from the depths of your beings every day. It's the song of heaven we've seen that. But is it your song today? And tomorrow? When the busyness and pressures of life crowd in upon you, do you take time out to worship the Lamb who was slain to accomplish your eternal redemption? He is worthy. Bless His name. Amen.