This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, June 6, 1993.

This morning we begin our scripture reading in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6, verse 22. Listen to the word of God. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Notwithstanding, ye have done well that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now, ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel When I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire the fruit that may aboundeth your count. But I have all and abound I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The dead in which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you chiefly, they that are of Caesar’s household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. It’s been a number of years now, but I remember the event quite clearly.

The General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church had convened, as was the custom, with its opening worship service. And at that service, the retiring moderator of the previous assembly delivered the message. Now, I say he delivered the message deliberately, because what he delivered was not a sermon, not in the proper sense of the word, nor could it be a sermon because The man who delivered it was not a minister of the word of God, but rather a ruling elder. Now, this particular ruling elder was not going to let this occasion pass by without making his point, without grinding his ax. without calling attention to what he considered the inequities of the Presbyterian system that had been handed down from generation to generation over the course of 400 years. So when it came time for the benediction, this elder stood in the pulpit and, to the shock of many, raised his hands and pronounced the benediction.

Now, you may think that this is a small matter, that this little incident is hardly worth notice, but there were some who were present that day who were very much disturbed by that action. Why? Why were there those, including myself, who were distressed by that action? Because we considered what this ruling elder did to be a direct assault upon the biblical and Presbyterian view of the ministerial office. The biblical and Presbyterian view is traceable, at least to the Calvinist Reformation, for its articulation.

It finds expression in the 17th century work of the Westminster Assembly. The Westminster Assembly, as you know, was convened in London in 1643. It was that assembly that was responsible for the confession of faith, which we embrace, and also for the catechisms that are ours.

We use these documents to this day. But that assembly also produced a number of other documents. And even though those documents are not in use today, they provide the foundation for the order and practices of historic Presbyterianism. One of those documents is the form of church government. And in speaking about the duty of ministers of the word, this is what that document has to say.

The pastor is to bless the people from God. And then the form of church government cites the passage we first read this morning, Numbers chapter 6, verses 23 through 26. The document goes on to say, compared, that is, this Numbers 6 passage with Revelation 1, 4 and 5, substance of which you have at the head of your bulletin this morning, the document goes on to say where the same blessings and persons from whom they come are expressly mentioned. Isaiah 66, 21 as well, where under the names of priests and Levites to be continued under the gospel are meant evangelical pastors who therefore are to bless the people. While not having the document in front of you, all of that may be a little bit difficult to follow. But two things should be evident to us from this quote.

First of all, our Presbyterian forebears took very seriously the matter of the blessing of God’s people, and they saw a line of continuity. for that blessing running from Old Testament Israel to the New Testament Church. Secondly, our Presbyterian forebears were convinced that the serious matter of the blessing for the people of God resided in and was sanctified by that authority of the office of the ministry of the Word as that office as that office was first of all evident in the Old Testament priesthood, and then subsequently in the New Testament pastorate. It is not without reason, then, that as the office of the ministry of the has suffered within Presbyterianism from the rise of liberal and evangelical egalitarianism in the last two centuries, so also has the matter of the biblical blessing and its significance for the people of God.

We are no longer impressed with the weightiness of a benediction. There is reason, then, as to why some at that assembly which I mentioned earlier were distressed about the event that took place during that assembly. The Apostles’ benediction. that appear regularly at the conclusion of his letters are particular expressions of the biblical blessing. We have before us this morning a very brief but cogent blessing here at the end of Philippians. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Now consider the comprehensiveness of this blessing, short as it is, brief as it is.

The Apostle here, in these few words, will make a statement that compresses the fulfillment of his office and also opens up, reveals his heart to those to whom he extends this blessing. As these matters are brought together, the fulfillment of his ministry, the revelation of his heart, he will summarize his ministry he will state summarily his message. Think, first of all, of the fulfillment of the Apostles’ ministry and office. And by way of extension, consider as well the parallel that exists between that apostolic ministry and the ministry of the Word that is abroad in the Church today. Paul is an apostolic ambassador of the King, and in that office he is showing the way with respect to all those ministers of the Word that will come after him. He, as apostolic ambassador, has as his purpose the declaration of the mighty works and the eternal purpose of the One who has commissioned him. Paul is specifically the ambassador of the risen Christ, whose grace he is commissioned to extend now to Christ’s people by Christ’s Word.

The benediction which he pronounces, the blessing which he articulates, is a concentrated form of the communication of Christ’s intended blessing residing in his Word. We speak about the means of grace. We have the means of grace. in part set before us this morning at the table. But God’s means of grace are also found in His Word, and the benediction, you see, is a concentrated form of the communication of Christ’s intended blessing residing in that Word.

Christ, then, in the blessing, in the benediction, is active. He is active to extend his grace to us, his people. But he does so through his ordained servants, whose task is to make plain to all of God’s children the Lord’s pleasure. And what is the Lord’s pleasure? To bless his own. But this, the Lord’s pleasure, has become in the benediction the Apostles’ prayer.

Thus the benediction serves as a declaration and a conduit of the Lord’s grace, but also as a prayer by the Lord’s ambassador that now opens up the ambassador’s heart. Just as the Lord extends His grace, So the ministerial servant of the Word agrees with the Lord in his design and places himself in his prayer, in his life, by the taking of the benediction upon his lips, in the position of doing everything that he can that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ would have its full effect upon the people of God now. Ministers, then, who take up the benediction pronounced upon God’s people, and do so with sincerity and honesty, are the ministers that we covet for Christ’s Church.

However, there is one more thing that we need to say this morning before we close. You must not miss out on the content of the benediction. The substance of it. Listen to the words. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. At the center of the benediction is this word grace. But what is this grace that is spoken of here? It has specific content and substance to it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in view here, consistent with the teachings of Paul elsewhere, and even of Christ himself, is the wealth, the treasure, the goodness, the riches of the Lord’s domain.

This grace is the inexplicable, the inexhaustible, the undeserved glory that belongs to the kingdom of heaven, which is already now being communicated, already now being given to the children of God. To be sure, it comes invisibly. It is accessible only by faith. Thus, the grace is composed of those invisible blessings, those riches, that wealth, that goodness, that treasure, that is specifically now communicated to us in our spirit. to our spirits, that we in our spirits might fully delight in God.

And what a delight and privilege it is for me to express to you in the benediction week God’s love for you. I am truly humbled by such a duty. But what an awesome and terrifying responsibility to be called to declare to you, in the benediction, the incomparable riches of Christ. And may you, in the receiving of the benediction, be wonderfully and fully benefited. Let’s pray. Our Father in Heaven, some of us need to learn how to go to church. Some of us don’t know how to behave. Some of us have never learned how to pay attention. Some of us manifest our disinterest.

O Lord, chasten us, will you not? Convert us. Cause us, Lord, to see in you our delight and our full reward. Lord, may we not prove to be foolish, so empty, even ridiculous in the day of your appearing. And to that end, even now, Lord, train us in the matter of worship, that whether it be the matter of the benediction or other aspects of this service of worship, we would have our full attention. Do forgive us, Lord, if in fact now we are pricked in our consciences and cry out to you for your mercy. We pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.