Christ: "A Noble Theme"

by the Editor of Constantia Educator

Psalm 45: 1 "My heart is stirred
by a noble theme." But what is
this theme? The psalmist goes on
to say that his song is for, is
about, is to, the 'king'. It's also
about his bride and their mar-
riage. But who or what is this
'KING' and who or what is the
bride?
People have given many answers,
some more satisfactory than others, but
to bring the matter closer home, to
make it more relevant to us, to make it
more practical: what is the centre, what
is the heart of your religion? You will
answer, "Obviously it is God." But I
ask further, what about God? To say
that God is the centre of your religion
is somewhat vague. What do you :tnean
when you say 'God' is the heart of your
religion?
Some will reply that God's sovereign-
ty is the centre of their religion. God is
worthy of praise and worship because of
his greatness and power. That is cer-
tainly a great theme, but it's not really
the heart of our religion. Others will
say the Holy Spirit is the heart of reli
7
gion. For he empowers us, directs us,
guides us, comfort us, he is the one
who gives life to our religion. Well,
again that is true, but such an exclusive
focus leads to an imbalance if it is
pushed to its extreme. Yet others will
vote for fellowship as being the most
important aspect of religion. "The
church is the thing," they say, "We
must get people together, we must
make disciples and build them up. The
church is the bride of Christ, it was for
the church Christ died, just look at all
the teaching in Scripture that centres on
a believer's relationship with his
brothers and sisters." Again that is an
important doctrine, but it also is not
the noble theme that stirs the psalmist's
heart.
We are not called to be Christians for
nothing. The church has not been called
into being to become a holy club.
Christ has commissioned the church to
evangelize, to go out and preach the
gospel to every creature, and the mes-
sage of that gospel is that Christ has
died for sinners. That is the central
theme. Without that none of the rest
has any meaning. So we find that Paul
writes to the Corinthians: "I resolved to
know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
There is the heart of our religion. We
are Christians! And this is the great, the
rioble theme that stirs the psalmist's
heart as he meditates upon it. It so
bubbles over that he composes this
glorious song to the praise of his King
and the King's bride.
There have been many attempts to
explain this psalm and to identify the
human king that forms the model for
the psalmist. Some have said this was
written in honour of Solomon's mar-
riage to an Egyptian princess. But this
song says too much in places for that
really to be the case. It is obviously
refuring to something far greater than
any earthly royal wedding. I like
Spurgeon's words here: "Some see only
Solomon and Pharoah's daughter--they
are short-sighted! Others see Solomon
and Christ--they are cross-eyed! Well
focused, spiritual eyes see Jesus only!"
In 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul says, "I
resolved to know nothing while I was
with you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified." In these words we see that
this was a deliberate plan of action, "I
resolved," he says. It wasn't something
that just happened, it wasn't coinci-
dental, it wasn't an accident. Look at
the context of Paul's words. Here we
see how Paul said that his plan of
action, his strategy, was a carefully
thought out plan. He had carefully
considered all the options open to him.
He had examined all the methods at his
disposal. He considered eloquence--
pleasing words, clever arguments, attrac-
tive visual aids, all the clever tricks of
rhetoric and argument and persuasion.
But having considered this he discarded
it and looked elsewhere. He considered
superior wisdom. He could have dis-
played his great learning, he could have
paraded all his academic qualifications,
all his many degrees, he could have
awed the people into accepting his
message because of his great learning,
he could have made the people believe
just because he, the great wise Paul,
had said so. But he discards this method
as well. Not that Paul despised such
learning, not at all, learning is
important. But Paul, having weighed
up all the advantages and all the
disadvantages, all the options, he made
an important decision as to the best, the
most effective method of spreading the
gospel. Paul's opinion was the same
opinion of the psalmist as we find it in
Psalm 45. No other knowledge, no
matter how important, no matter how
great, no matter how wonderful, no
other knowledge can match knowing
Jesus Christ.
That is the rrrst thing we learn
from this verse in 1 Corinthians 2:2.
The subject of Paul's preaching, the
heart of his doctrine, this noble matter
that stirs the heart, this most important
of all knowledge is to know Jesus
Christ. Whatever other knowledge may
be necessary, even essential to life, this
is the prime subject and everything else
in life must be seen by the light of this
central theme.
Secondly, Paul goes on to qualify
this knowledge of Jesus Christ. He
goes on to be more specific about it.
This is not a vague general knowledge
but is something specific. It's not
Christ in a vacuum! He says it is to
know Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The great central theme of the church is
that "Christ died for sinners." Many
will talk of Christ as a great man, a
learned teacher, a model example, even
a perfect example. But his death is
always the great enigma, the puzzle.
Yet Paul puts great emphasis on those
last three words: "I resolved to know
a g e l S ~
The Counsel of Chalcedon, February-March'; 1989 . ,
nothing while I was with you except
Jesus Christ and him crucified." To the
Jews this was a stumbling block; to the
Greeks, foolishness; to modem man it's
an embarrassment. But not to Paul.
This is a noble theme that stirs his
heart--it's a theme that bubbles and
boils and overflows. It just cannot be
contained, the more the things about it
the more excited he gets over it.
Paul DETERMINED to know
Christ. Paul determined to know
CHRIST CRUCIFIED. And third
ly, Paul determined to know ONLY
Christ and him crucified. Nothing else
was important, save this one central
theme. This was the sole topic of his
conversation; this was the theme, the
subject of all his sermons. His conversa-
tion, his sermons, were so full of
Christ that you could be forgiven for
imagining that this was all Paul knew,
that he knew nothing besides this one
noble theme. Paul's heart was indeed
stirred by a noble theme.
Now if we were to extract just one
lesson from this verse it must be that
there is no other doctrine more neces-
sary to us than this, that there is no
other aspect of doctrine more needful to
be preached, to be studied, to be medi-
tated upon than Jesus Christ and him
crucified. All other learning, all other
knowledge, all other skills, no matter
how improtant they are, no matter how
necessary they may be, they all fade
into insignficance beside the great doc-
trine of the person and work of Jesus
Christ.
Let me demonstrate this from the
Scriptures:
Phil 3:7,8: -- "Whatever was to
my profit I now consider loss for the
sake of Christ. What is more I consider
everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord!" And Paul had great
learning to point to when he said that.
He had degrees from several universi-
ties. He had achieved power and posi-
tion in his direction of study. And there
was nothing wrong with any of that,
but in comparison to knowing Jesus
Christ, all this was as nothing, less
than nothing. Actually Paul says it had
become a liability, and that's putting it
politely--Paul actually said that in
comparison to knowing Jesus Chrsit all
his academic achievements were as
much use to him as a pile of rubbish!
Col 2:3: -- ''In Christ are hidden
ALL the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge." You see, you can know a
great deal, you can have vast knowledge
on a human level, you can multiply
degree after degree, but if you don't
know Christ, if your knowledge, if
your thinking, if your meditating, if
your activities are not centered in Christ
then all is worthless; it's a waste of
time and energy. All your great
learning, if it is without Christ, is
emptiness, or, as the Preacher puts it in
Eccleciastes it's a "chasing after wind!
It's meaningless!" Why is this doctrine
so important?
It's important because this is the on-
ly key to unlocking the meaning of
Scripture. This is the only key to under-
standing the Bible. Without Christ the
Old Testament is a dry, boring, and
depressing history. Without Christ the
law is a fearful bondage, a terrible
imposition. Without Christ the book of
Leviticus, the Mosaic sacrificial system
is a barbaric ab attoir!
Without Christ the New Testament
is no more than a moralistic ideal far
beyond our ability to attain. If you have
not this great knowledge you will never
thrill to all that Jesus Christ is and
does. Without this knowledge of Jesus
Christ and him crucified Christ will
never be the lovely theme of your song.
This knowledge of Jesus Christ is
important because it is the basis, the
very foundation of all graces, duties,
comforts and happiness for the child of
God.
First of all GRACES.
COL 3:10,11: -- here we see that the
new self, the new man is being renewed
in knowledge, and that knowledge is of
Christ. Christ is all and in all. Where
there is no knowledge of Christ there
can be no spiritual growth. Where there
is but little knowledge of Christ there
will be but little spiritual growth. But
where there is much knowledge of
rthe Counsel of Chalcedon, February-March, 1989
Christ there will be great spiritual
growth. Do you wonder why you do
not grow spiritually? Do you wonder
why you stagnate and even backslide?
Do you wonder why you find it so hard
to maintain your interest in spiritual
tl1ings? Do you wonder why the attrac-
tions of the world are so strong? I ask
you, examine your knowledge of Jesus
Christ. Do you know him? Is your
knowledge of him growing? Think
about your conversations this past week--
what was their subject? What was the
main topic of your conversation? The
weather? The sports? Your exams?
Your finances? There's nothing wrong
with any of these things, but where was
Christ?
2 Peter 3:18: -- "Grow in grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ." The two go together and
grow together. If there is no growth in
your knowledge of Jesus Christ there
will be no growth in grace either--you
will stagnate and die spiritually unless
you grow in knowledge of this noble
theme. If your heart is not stirred with
this noble theme you will die!
The knowledge of Jesus Christ is the
basis for all graces and DUTIES: No
Christian duty can be performed with-
out this knowledge of Jesus Christ. If
you are ignorant of Christ how can you
understand what he wants you to do?
How can you believe in Christ if you
don't know him? Without knowledge of
Christ how do you expect to exercise
faith? In John 6:40 we read that seeing
is believing; knowledge and faith are
there equated. You must know Christ
and him crucified in order to believe in
him, and for that faith to grow, so must
your knowledge of Christ. I Peter 1:3
tells us that Jesus Christ is the one
who gives us the new birth, how can
you be a Christian if you know nothing
of this great and noble theme?
This knowledge of Jesus Christ is
the foundation of all graces, duties and
HAPPINESS. The joy of the Chris-
tian is centred in this knowledge of
Jesus Christ. This is the good, the
noble matter that bubbles up in his
heart.
Phil 3:3: -- "We who worship by
the Spirit of God, glory in Christ
Jesus." We glory, we rejoice, we boast
in Christ. Take Christ and him crucified
out of our religion, take away this great
and noble theme and oilr religion will
die! And we, of all men, will be most
miserable! For we will have nothing to
give us joy.
This knowledge. of Jesus Christ is
the foundation qf al1 graces, duties, hap-
piness, and COMFORTS.
John 17:3: -- 'This is life eternal,
to know you AND Jesus Christ whom
you have sent." If eternal life lies in
knowing Jesus Christ then the comfort
of knowing eternal security lies in
knowing Jesus Christ. What is more,
eternal damnation is to be ignorant of
Jesus Christl
Have you found Christ? Do you
know Christ? When Archimedes dis-
covered the principle of physics that
today bears his name, we are told he
jumped out of his bath and went run-
ning down the street shouting "EURE-
KA! -- I've found it!" What great ec-
stasy Philip must have experienced
when he went running off to Nathaniel
shouting "Eureka Jesus! I have found
Jesus!"
Let us now briefly compare this
knowledge of Jesus Christ with all
other knowledge.
Firstly, ail other knowledge is
natural and may be obtained by any
with hard work. But this knowledge of
Jesus Christ is a supernatural know-
ledge.
Matthew 11:27: -- "All things
have been committed to me by my
Father. No one knows the Son except
the Father, and no one knows the
Father except the Son and those to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
The wisest men cannot by their own
efforts le;uli one thing about this noble
theme. They can learn many things, but
by their efforts they cannot learn
anything about this noble theme. The
cleverest scientists and philosophers,
for all their research and study, cannot
learn one thing about this noble theme
unless it is supernaturally revealed to
them by God. This knowledge is be-
yond the reach of the natural man. It is
special, it is unique; it is precious.
Secondly, other knowledge is unat-
tainable to many; not all are able to
acquire natural knowledge.
We hear much these days of children
with impaiied brains, people with learn-
ing problems, retarded children, and so
on. Not everyone gets to be top of the
class; not everyone gets to go to the
university; some can't even finish high
school. We hear of many lands with a
literacy rate of as low as 5% or 30%
and so on. Natural knowledge is beyond
the reach of these people. But here is
the mystery, here is the beauty of this
knowledge of Christ; it is open for all
to obtain; no one can say, "It is impos-
sible for me to acquire it."
Mt 11:25: -- "Jesus said: 1 praise
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
becaue you have hidden these things
from the wise and learned, and revealed
them to little children."'
I Cor 1:26,27: -- "Brothers, think
of what you were when you were called.
Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth. But God
chose the foolish thzngs of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak
things of the world to shame the
strong .... "
Thirdly, natural knowledge, even
though you were to attain to the high-
est ability in it, can never bring you to
heaven.
Human learning may improve your
standard of living in this life, but it
does nothing for the next. HU111an learn-
ing may even prove a source of sin:
Rom 1:21: -- "For although they knew
God, they neither glorified him as God
nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became ant! their foolish
hearts were darkened." Again in Rom
1:18: "The wrath of God is being
revealed from heaven against all the
. godlessness and wickedness of men who
' .
suppress the truth by their wickedness."
They have great knowledge and learning
but it is all natural human learning and
so, because Christ is 1eft out of their
thinking their knowledge only leads
them into sin. ln contrast, this know-
ledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified
has the ability to produce .dramatic
changes in a person's life.
2 Cor 3:18: -- "And we, who with
unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's
glory, are being transformed into his
likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord." To know
Christ is a wonderful thing, for it
brings about this tremendous trans-
formation. We begin to be changed into
his likeness, we begin to become like
Christ himself, and our sinful habits be-
, gin to be overcome. Instead of growing
in sinfulness we grow in holiness.
Also this knowledge of Christ proves
a saving knowledge to mankind as we
learn from 1 Tim 2:4. "God our Savior
wants all men to be saved and come to
a knowledge of the truth." For yoli to
be saved you must discover Jesus
Christ. "Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must
be saved." (Acts 4:12).
APPLICATION
To those who teach, and by this I
mean all who teach; I don't limit this
just to myself and those who stand in
the pulpit; I don't limit this to you who
teach in the Family Bible School. You
ate all included but so also are you
parents. As you teach the truths of our
religion to those in your . care, is this
the one great central theme that you
emphasize? Is Christ and him crucified
the one glorious truth that you keep
returning to? Is this the essential fact
that colours all else that you say and
teach? If it is not then you labour in
vain to teach. Without this central
kernel of truth you are sowing sterile
seed that cannot produce any results.
But I need also include here all who
witness and speak of their faith to
others, and of course this includes us
all. When you give a reason for the
hope within you, is Christ and him
crucified the heart of the matter? If not
your words are lost on the empty air.
Seeing that this one doctrine is so
important, let each of us make it our
prime desire and duty to know and learn
Page20
,"" ,r , .... " ..
The Counsel of Chalcedon, February-March, t989
more of it. That is not to say that all
other aspects are unimportant and may
be ignored, but this is the heart, this is
the essence and all other doctrine needs
to be subjected to this one great theme--
Christ and him crucified. How our
ignorance of this theme should make us
ashamed. So much time is spent in
other pursuits, how little in the search
and study of Jesus Christ. I ask you, are
you seeking to know more of Christ?
Are you determined to know and learn
more of Christ? In all your other search
for knowledge and learning, all of
which is necessary, are you making
time to fill your mind also with this
great and noble theme--Christ Jesus our
Lord, who died to save us from our
sins!
To you who sit so regularly under
the preaching of this Christ, why do
you still despise this knowledge? We
have seen the importance of this
knowledge, we have seen that it is the
greatest knowledge you can ever pos-
sess. Why do you sneer at it? Why do
you ignore it? Why do you reject it? Do
you not realize that to reject this
knowledge means that God will reject
you. "My people are destroyed from
lack of knowledge." (Hos 4:6). Do you
not see how great a sin this is? To
reject the preacher and what he says
seems but a small thing in your mind.
But listen to what Jesus says about
you. His disciples complained how
many in their day rejected their message
and Jesus said to them about these who
rejected this message: "He who listens
to you listens to me; he who rejects
you rejects me; but he who rejects me
rejects him who sent me." (Lk 10:16).
When you reject this knowledge of
Jesus Christ, when you despise the
glorious truth that Christ died for
sinners, you reject and despise not only
the message, you despise not only the
Christ who died for sinners -- you reject
God! How terrible that is, for you do
not sin as the heathen sin, they don't
know God. You sin with knowledge
and willfulness. You sin deliberately!
How great must be your punishment
then for so despising the great salvation
that has been provided for you.
May God have mercy on you for
Christ's sake.
[This article was written by the editor of
CONSTANTIA EDUCATOR, a publication
of the Constantia Park Baptist Church, Glen-
stantia, Republic of South Africa. This was
an editoriar in the September, 1988, edition.]
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The Counsel of Chalcedon, February-March, 1989 -------:-----------------Page 21