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TILL JESUS COMES AGAIN
A. Introduction: The night before Jesus was crucified, He ate a final meal with His twelve apostles. They
had no idea that Jesus was going to be arrested that night and crucified the next day. At this meal, Jesus
instituted a practice which Christians have continued to carry out for the past two thousand years.
1. Jesus offered bread and wine to His apostles, calling the bread my body which is given for you, and
the wine my blood which is shed for you. Matt 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:17-20
a. Jesus then told them that as often as you eat and drink this bread and wine, do it in remembrance
of me. The apostles didn’t know it then, but the bread and wine were emblems of what Jesus
was going to do the next day—give His body and shed His blood as a sacrifice for sin.
b. For several weeks, we’ve been talking about what Jesus did that night and why. Rather than
examining the various way that communion is practiced in different Christian denominations
today, we’ve been considering what Jesus’ words meant to His twelve apostles that night.
c. We’ve also talked about what Jesus’ death accomplished as far as God’s overall plan for man,
why we need to remember His death, and what His death means for our past, present, and future.
2. Let’s briefly review some key points. The death of Jesus Christ is the singular most important event
in human history. Jesus is God Incarnate, God become fully man without ceasing to be fully God.
a. Two thousand years ago, Jesus took on a human nature so that He could die as a sacrifice for sin
and remove the guilt of our sin from us. By doing so He opened the way for us to be restored to
our created purpose. Heb 2:14-15; I Pet 3:18
1. God created humans to become His holy sons and daughters who live in loving relationship
with Him. He created us with the capacity to receive Him into our being (His Spirit, His
life) and then reflect Him to the world around us (His love, holiness, peace, joy). Eph 1:4-5
2. But all human beings have chosen independence from God through sin (we put our will
above His will, when the two conflict). Sin has disqualified us for God’s family. Rom 3:23
b. Jesus’ death was actually a means to an end. Because of His sacrifice, when we believe in Him,
we can be cleansed of sin and indwelled by God’s Spirit and life. This makes us God’s holy
sons and daughters through what the Bible calls a new birth. John 1:12-13
c. This new birth is the beginning of a process of transformation that will ultimately fully deliver us
from sin, make us holy in every part of our being, and restore us to all that God intends us to be.
1. As we cooperate with God through trust and obedience, He by His Spirit and life in us,
empowers us to make necessary changes to our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Rom 8:11-13
A. Right now, we are finished works in progress—fully God’s holy sons and daughters
through faith in Jesus, but not yet fully all that we are meant to be in character and
actions. I John 3:1-2
B. But if we stay faithful to the Lord, this process of full restoration will be completed,
because He who has begun a good work in us will complete it. Phil 1:6; Jude 24
2. Even though we still fall short of God’s standard in our thoughts and behavior, He deals with
us as His sons and daughters. And if we sin, our Father is faithful and just to cleanse us
from that unrighteousness, on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice. I John 1:9; I John 2:1-2
3. Jesus’ sacrificial death affects both our past and our present. Our past is forgiven and forgotten, and
we now stand before God as sons and daughters who are holy and blameless in His sight. God is
now in us by His Spirit to help us in this life as we walk with Him and grow in Him. Consider:
a. Heb 8:12—(God said, once the final sacrifice for sin is made) I will forgive (your) wrongdoings,
and I will never again remember (your) sins (NLT).
b. Col 2:13-14—(God) has forgiven all your sins: he has utterly wiped out the written evidence of
broken commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by

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nailing it to the cross (J. B. Phillips).
c. Col 1:20-22—God reconciled everything to himself. He has made peace with everything…by
means of his blood on the cross…As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God,
and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault (NLT).
d. Phil 2:13—God is (now) working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do
what pleases him (NLT).
e. I Pet 3:18—Christ…suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but
he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God (NLT).
f. Eph 3:12—Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s
presence, assured of his glad welcome (NLT).
1. Life’s hardships, combined with our own shortcomings, thoughts, and emotions can and do
challenge the reality of every one of the above statements about our past and present.
2. In the face of these challenges, we need to remember what Jesus did for us and why. Taking
The communion elements (bread and wine) are visible emblems of what Jesus did for us by
offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sin. Communion helps us remember that He died for
us, His sacrifice was a success, and we are restored to God.
B. Tonight, we’re going to begin to talk about how Jesus’ death affects not just our past and present, but
also our future. Jesus’ death brough men and women back to God. But there is much more to be done.
1. We noted in an earlier lesson that Paul the apostle (another eyewitness of Jesus) connected
communion with the second coming of Jesus. Paul wrote in I Cor 11:26—For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (ESV).
a. The first Christians lived with the awareness that Jesus is coming back to this world. There are
twenty-seven books in the New Testament. Only four of them make no mention of Jesus’
second coming, and three of those are short, personal letters (Galatians, Philemon, I and II John).
b. Jesus’ first message to the first Christians following His return to Heaven was: I’ll be back.
Acts 1:9-11—And when (Jesus) had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up,
and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come again in
the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (ESV).
c. When Jesus died for our sins two thousand years ago, He activated God’s plan to recover His
family and the family home (this world). This plan now is underway, but is not yet completed.
1. Paul wrote: Heb 9:26-28—(Jesus) came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove
the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us (NLT)…(He) will appear a second
time, not carrying any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring full salvation to those
who are (eagerly, constantly and patiently) waiting for and expecting Him (Amp).
2. Full salvation includes resurrection of the dead, restoration of the family home (this world),
and a return to pre-sin conditions—with all sin, corruption and death removed forever.
A. Jesus’ first coming marked the beginning of the process of restoring God’s creation, both
humankind and the earth, to the way the family and the family home was supposed to be
before sin damaged it. When Jesus returns He will complete the restoration
B. Peter the apostle said the same thing in one of his first sermons, preached shortly after
Jesus returned to Heaven. Peter told a crowd to repent and be cleansed of sin so that
“times of refreshing will come to you from the presence of the Lord. For (Jesus) must
remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised
long ago through his prophets” (Acts 3:20-21, NLT).

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2. Paul said that Jesus came once for all time at the end of the age. Once for all time refers to Jesus’
once for all-time sacrifice for sin. The word age is used to mean an indefinite period of time.
a. Age also refers to a period of time characterized by a distinguishing feature. We’re in the age
when things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be, not as God intended or created them to be.
b. God did not create this world to be a place of sorrow and death, pain and loss. He didn’t make
anyone or anything to die. Death is in the earth because of sin, beginning with the first man.
1. After God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, He warned them that if they
sinned, they would die—they would be cut off from God, who is life, and their bodies would
become subject to aging, sickness, infirmity, old age, and death. Gen 2:17
2. Our first parents disobeyed their Creator. As earth’s first steward and the head of the human
race, Adam’s sin affected the race resident in him and the family home, this earth.
A. Rom 5:12—When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death
throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned (TLB).
B. Gen 3:17-19—(When Adam and Eve sinned, God said, because of what you have done)
cursed is ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns
and thistles it shall bring forth for you…by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till
you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you
shall return (ESV).
c. All humans have an outward and an inward portion to their makeup—an inner man and an outer
man, a physical body and an immaterial portion (referred to as soul or spirit). II Cor 4:16
1. At death, the inward and outward portion separate. The body returns to dust and the inward,
immaterial portion (you, minus your body) passes into another non-physical dimension—
either God’s home in Heaven, or a place of separation from God known as Hell.
2. This is a temporary condition. In connection with Jesus’ second coming, resurrection of the
dead will take place. Resurrection of the dead is the reuniting of the inward and outward
man which separate at death. At that time our body will be glorified, or made immortal and
incorruptible, no longer subject to sickness, old age, or death. This is full salvation.
A. I Cor 15:20-21—But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has
become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. So you see,
just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the
dead has begun through another man, Christ (NLT).
B. Rom 8:23—And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a
foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too,
wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children,
including the new bodies he has promised (NLT)
C. Phil 3:20-21—But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we
are eagerly waiting for him his to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal
bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty
power that he will use to conquer everything everywhere (NLT).
3. God didn’t create human beings to live in an immaterial, spiritual world. He made us to live in a
physical, material world—this earth, the home He created for Himself and His family. Isa 45:18
a. In connection with Jesus’ second coming the family home, this world, will be delivered from
bondage to corruption and death and restored to a fit forever home for God and His family.
1. God is relational. He created us for relationship with Himself. The Bible begins and ends
with God on earth with His family. Before sin, God walked with Adam and Eve in the
beautiful home He gave them, the Garden of Eden (Gen 2-3). When Jesus returns, God and
man will once again be together on this earth.

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2. The renewed, restored earth is called the new heavens and new earth. The Greek word
translated new (kainos) means new in quality and superior in character—not something that
never existed before. This earth will be new but familiar, changed but recognizable.
b. John the apostle was given a vision of the end of God’s plan of salvation and redemption which
he recorded in the Book of Revelation.
1. Rev 21:2-3—I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven… I
heard a loud shout from the throne saying, Look, the home of God is now among his people!
He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them (NLT).
2. Rev 21:4-5—He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow
or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever. And the one who sat on
the throne said, Look, I am making all things new (kainos) (NLT).
A. Paul wrote: Rom 8:21-22—All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s
children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has
been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (NLT).
B. Col 1:18-20—He (Jesus) was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection
parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above
everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its
proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated
pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit
together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from
the Cross (The Message).
C. Conclusion: We have more to say next week. But consider these thoughts as we close. Jesus is
coming back to bring full salvation, to complete God’s plan to recover His family and the family home.
1. Without Jesus’ sacrifice in His first coming, we would have no part in that full salvation. But
because His body was broken and His blood was shed, we have a share in what Jesus will bring.
We have a future and a hope that will outlast this life, and surpasses even the best this life can offer.
2. Living with the awareness that Jesus will return to complete God’s plan of salvation and redemption
gives us hope in the midst of this damaged world and encourages us to live God honoring lives.
a. Titus 2:11-13—God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. He taught us to
give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this
world. We are filled with hope, as we wait for the return of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ (CEV).
b. I John 3:2-3—Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what
we will be like when Christ returns. But we know that when he comes we will be like him, for
we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as
Christ is pure (NLT).
3. The Bible makes it clear that prior to Jesus’ return at the end of this age increasing difficulties are
coming to this world. Paul the apostle wrote: Understand this, that in the last days there will set in
perilous times of great stress and trouble—hard to deal with and hard to bear (II Tim 3:1, Amp).
a. Jesus Himself said that men’s hearts will fail them for fear of things coming on the earth. But
He told His followers: Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption (full salvation) draws near (Luke 21:28, NKJV).
b. The Greek word translated look up is used figuratively to mean be elated. Because we know
that full salvation is coming, we can be elated in joyous expectation despite the chaos around us.
4. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice we have a future and a hope beyond this life. Knowing this helps us
deal with life. In the face of challenge, we need to remember what Jesus did, is doing, and will do.