(1.) Gal_1:15-16 : 'When It Pleased God,
God's pleasure is to reveal His Son in us, and this revelation is the key to experiencing the fullness of life and the hope of glory.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the profound truth that it pleased God to reveal His Son in us, likening this revelation to unveiling a hidden statue. He explains that while Christ is present in the regenerate believer, He often remains veiled until the Holy Spirit removes the misconceptions that obscure Him. Meyer illustrates this with the story of a woman who, after years of separation, recognizes her son disguised as a stranger, symbolizing the moment of revelation when we truly see Christ in our lives. The sermon encourages believers to seek the unveiling of Christ within them, recognizing Him as the source of their life and hope. Ultimately, Meyer calls for a deeper appreciation of the mystery of Christ in us, which brings glory and transformation.
Text
Who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." "It pleased God to reveal His Son in me." Now, " to reveal" means "to undrape." There is a statue. It is covered with a veil. It is there, but hidden. I take off the veil, and you see it. When you were regenerate, Christ came unto you: that is what regeneration means --Christ born into your spirit.
But Christ came in as a veiled figure, and you who are regenerate but who have never seen the Christ as I put Him before you in the last address, you have Christ in you, but, He is veiled. Now, mark. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and when the soul appreciates the death of Christ as its own death to sin, the veil is rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the Holy Ghost reveals Jesus as the substitute for the self, life.
"It pleased God to reveal His Son in me." O, my God, I thank Thee that Thou hast revealed Thy Son as the Alpha, the pivot, the fountain, the origin of my life! May it be so with us all! A friend of mine was staying near Mont Blanc. He had been there for a fortnight, but had not seen the "monarch of the Alps," Nearly out of heart with waiting, he was preparing to leave. Going up to dress for dinner, he passed a window and saw that the monarch was still veiled in mist. Having dressed, he came down stairs, passing the window again.
Every vestige of mist had now parted, and Mont Blanc stood revealed from base to snow clad peak. So now there shall come upon you a breath of the Holy Ghost, before which the misconception of your life shall pass, and to you God will reveal His Son in you as the center of your life. Turn for a moment to Col_1:27, a very favorite passage- "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
A woman sits alone. Her son ran away to sea twenty years ago. She is a widow, poor, lonely. A bronzed stranger comes. "Can I sleep in your spare room?" "I have a room to let, so you can stay." He comes in disguised, so that she cannot see him, He is there, but she knows him not. One day they sit together at dinner, and there is a gesture, and she says: " John! " That is the glory of the mystery when the two kiss. "My boy!" "My mother!" Then after dinner he says: "Mother, you shall never lack again, Here is gold.
I am going to live with you, never to go away again." That is the riches of the glory of the mystery of her boy in the house. Jesus, come! You have come, but You are a mystery. But we have come to the cross, and the mystery is gone, and there is the glory of the day; but there will be the riches of the glory of the mystery, Christ in us; and He will do for us better than ever we could have done for ourselves.
Sermon Outline
- God's Pleasure in Revealing Christ
- The Revelation of Christ in Us
- The Riches of the Glory of the Mystery
- Christ in Us, the Hope of Glory
- The Glory of the Mystery Revealed
- The Veil Rented by the Death of Christ
Key Quotes
“It pleased God to reveal His Son in me.” — F.B. Meyer
“When you were regenerate, Christ came unto you: that is what regeneration means --Christ born into your spirit.” — F.B. Meyer
“When the soul appreciates the death of Christ as its own death to sin, the veil is rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the Holy Ghost reveals Jesus as the substitute for the self, life.” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We must allow the Holy Spirit to remove the veil that hides Christ from us, so that we can see Him as our Lord and Savior.
- The death of Christ is the key to experiencing the presence of God in our lives, and it is only by appreciating this death that we can experience the fullness of life.
- Christ in us is the hope of glory, and this hope is realized when we allow Him to live and work through us.