Office of Elder #6: The Good, Great, & Chief Shepherd John 10:11-18; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:1-5
Introduction
I: The Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18)
' Christ's willing Sacrifice of Himself
'Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, against the one who stands next to me,' ' strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.' Zech. 13:7
II: The Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)
' Great in His resurrection ' Great in our sanctification
III: The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4)
' Chief in His 2nd Coming
'[Jesus is] Good in His dying, Great in His rising, Chief in His coming. It seems to me to gather such force'Good to me as a sinner'Great to me as a saint'Chief to me, as one with Him in His glorious reign! I pass, as it were, through three stages'a sinner, then I look to the Good Shepherd laying down His life for the sheep; I reach higher ground, & I am a saint'I look to the Great Shepherd to make me perfect in every good work to do His will; I mount higher still'I die, I rise again, I walk in resurrection life'& now, I look to the Chief Shepherd, & hope to receive at His hands the crown of life, which He shall give to me, & not to me only, but unto all them who love His appearing'the Good, Great, Chief Shepherd! May God give us grace, meditating upon these things, to know them & to enter into them.' C. H. Spurgeon
Conclusion |