Letters
of Truth - Spirit
of the Word - Covenant
Eschatology - Introductory
Note - New Stuff
Divided
Version
REDEMPTION--ALL IN ALL
by Ray Prinzing
1. The Law of Circularity
2.
No Second Causes
3.
The Fifth Dimension
4.
Time--By Divine Degrees
5.
The Scent of Water
6.
Christ--Our Mercyseat and Intercessor
7.
Christ--Our Advocate and Ransom
8.
Not In Our Stead, But For Us
9.
A Joint-participation
10.
Therefore Choose Life
11.
The Corrective Judgments of God
12.
God's Wonderful Vengeance
13.
Sufficient-The Evil
14.
The Potter's Field
15.
Jubilee---And The Returning Field
16.
By Man Also
17.
What Manner of Man Is This?
18.
Till All Men Know
19.
To The Uttermost
20.
All Things Reconciled
THE LAW
OF CIRCULARITY -
Chapter 1
To Him be glory forever! Amen." [Romans 11: "For from
Him and through Him and to Him are all things. -- For all things originate
with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things
center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him. [Romans 11:36,
Amplified].
It has been well stated that our theology needs to be arranged according
to the vast sweep of God's law of circularity, for then there will be the
proper place for every one of its great truths; and no quick generalization
will
be in error because too few facts have been taken into account. In place
of fragments of truth and piece-meal principles, the wholeness and roundness
of the plan of God will appear.
Jesus Christ our Lord is both the CENTRE and the CIRCUMFERENCE of God's
great plan of the ages. Not only is He both the " Author and the Finisher
of our faith," [Hebrews 12:2], but HE is also all of the DISTANCE between
the beginning and the end. "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the
Ending, says the Lord, Which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
[Revelation
1:8].
All nature is a manifestation of "circularity." "The sun also arises, and
the sun goes down, and hastens to his place where he arose. The wind goes
toward the south, and turnes about unto the north; it whirls about continually,
and the wind returns again according to his circuits. All the rivers run
into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers
come, thither they return again." [ECU. 1:5-7].
The many
words which we find in the Scriptures, with the prefix "re-" signify a
very important fact. We'll but list a few: return, renew, restore, reconcile,
resurrect, refresh, redeem- all speak of something that left its place
and must now make its circuit and come back to the point of its beginning.
The King James Version of the verse used for our foundation text, begins,
"For of Him. .." this word "of" coming from the Greek word "eke" and literally
meaning OUT OF. This clearly places God as the Source of all things,
and hence the Amplifier's beautiful translation, "For all things originate
with Him and come from Him." This we must understand, if we are to
receive all things from His hand. And though it may be, that, after it
has left the hand of God in its perfect state, God then allows it to become
perverted and confused, so that by the time it reaches you, it is hardly
recognized as a "good gift," but rather as evil. Nevertheless, if you
will receive it as from God, regardless of its present state, then God
will surely work "all things" together into good, and the ultimate victory
shall bring joy to your heart, and be to His praise.
Strange enough, through the years, the carnal mind accepted pagan theories,
and another solaced god was brought into the theology of man. They dressed
him in black, gave him a pitchfork and a forked tail and horns, called
him a Devil, and then proceeded to give him much of their allegiance. When
something good happened along their way, they supposed the Good Lord might
have done it. When something bad happened to cross their path, they just
knew that the Evil Devil caused it, and they negatively sang his praise
and told everybody about his awful deed. Thus more and more the purposes
of God being wrought out through the ages were ignored and cast aside,
and His sovereign control of the interplay of good and evil was not even
considered, for they occasionally had a good God, but mostly they feared
a bad Devil.
Furthermore, it takes a real quickening of the holy Spirit to illumine
our darkened minds, and to reveal the truth that to trace back far enough,
behind all secondary causes, the first cause of all things is GOD. It
is true that things can become perverted, for all evil is perverted good,
but since all things originally came from God, his is the power to RESTORE
all things back to their original state, and to gain an added glory in
the very process. To so overcome and conquer all is indeed to the glory
of God.
If we accept the testiness and trials which come our way, and realize they
were not given to crush us, to terrorize us, but to serve us and to work
more of God's purpose into our lives, then we can "hold our peace" and
wait to see the end of the Lord, which is mercy and peace. Thank God, all
things originate with HIM. Look beyond the present appearance, and keep
your eyes, not on the testing, but on the Author and the Finisher of your
faith. Now, if you see Him only as the Author, and not the Finisher, then
you will be wandering up and down many a by-way trying to find the end.
But see HIM also as the Finisher, the Fulfilled of your faith, then He
who has begun in you a work which is good, will also bring it to a successful
conclusion.
The positive facts of the sovereignty of God might deal quite a death-blow
to the vaunted ego of man, but HE is Lord of all. "For there is no power
but of God: the powers that be are ordained (ordered) of God." [Romans
13:1]. God can raise up men and abase them. He can momentarily give
men certain powers and positions, and man in his foolishness can mis-use
and pervert that power and position, but what does that mean? It means
that there needs to be a restoration! And that's what The Book is all about-the
return, redemption, restoration which God has purposed.
It had to be fresh once, before you could refreshen it, making it fresh
again. There had to be life to begin with, before you could revive something,
to renew it again to a state of life. It had to be in existence prior to
its becoming destroyed or marred, before you could restore it again, bringing
it back to its original state. As to its primeval state, all things originated
with God.
"For BY
HIM were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities,
or powers: all things were created BY HIM, and for Him." [Colossians 1:16].
The scope of this is more than the mind of man can begin to comprehend,
but
" ALL THINGS" are by Him. Praise His name.
"The burden of the Word of the Lord for Israel, says the Lord, which stretches
forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the
spirit of man within him." [Zechariah 12:1].
"-shall we not be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?"
[Hebrews 12:9].
We speak of being "born again," and of "regeneration," but it is also clear,
you had to be generated in spirit, to have a spirit existence, before you
could be regenerated to that realm. Regeneration does not deal with a re-birth
to this earthy realm. Jesus made that plain to Nicodemus, when He said
unto him, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God." This so puzzled the natural mind of
Nicodemus, that he answered back, "How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born ?" [John
3:3-4]. But Jesus was not speaking of our natural birth into this physical
body. He knew that our "spirit" came from God, and that if we were to
move once again in freedom in the KINGDOM OF GOD, the spirit realm, we
would have to be BORN AGAIN into that realm. Surely, "that which is born
of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
[John 3:6].
God is the "Father" of spirits, for "God is SPIRIT...." [John 4:24], and
brings forth of His own substance. And in His wise counsels, He then purposed
that these myriads of spirits should be developed and matured, and brought
to a place of perfection whereby He could have full fellowship with them,
and also that they should redound to His glory. As part of that development
process for men, He chose to subject them to this "vale of tears," as men
often refer to this earthly sojourn. He purposed to refine you, "but not
with silver; He has chosen you in the furnace of affliction." [Isaiah 48;10].
And so, "I have seen the travail, which God has given to the sons of men
to be exercised in it." [
Eccl. 3:10].
Praise God! HIS LIFE is beginning to fill these earthen vessels
whom He has apprehended in this generation, and they are discovering a
practical outworking of His salvation in the very daily process of their
lives. Though still in this vessel of clay, they are also joined to
the heavenlies, to partake of its substance, its life, its victory. Thus
there is an overcoming of the desires of the flesh, and an entrance into
the higher realms again. How we yearn for this birth process to be completed,
so that we shall be totally loosed from this earthy realm, and become totally
a partaker of that heavenly realm.
The whole present kosmos, world system, is in a state of degeneration,
going into a state of decay and corruption. But there shall come an hour
when the tide is changed, and God will call a halt to the spoilation and
devastation, and begin the work of universal restoration and regeneration.
Jesus spoke of that time, saying, "IN THE REGENERATION when the Son of
man shall sit in the throne of His glory." [Matthew 19:28]. This will surely
mark the beginning of the "times when all things will be restored to their
pristine glory." [Acts 3:21, Wuest Expanded trans.]. Or, as the Phillip's
translation gives, "that universal restoration of which God spoke in
ancient times through all His holy prophets."
This plan, so great we scarce can take it in, Paul describes as the PLAN
OF THE AGES, when speaking of the manifold wisdom of God which is being
revealed, "According to a plan of the ages which He made in the anointed
Jesus our Lord." [Ephesians 3:11, Rotherham].
A plan for the
ages, and the ages fitted to that plan. All things proceeding out from
God, passing through the processes and developments which He ordained,
and then ultimately all things returned back into Him once again. "O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable
are His judgments, and His ways past finding out !" [Romans 11:33].
One of
the mysteries of God's great purpose being executed throughout the ages,
is why He chose to work a divine interplay of good and evil, the negative
and positive, the emptiness and fulness, the bondage and then the liberation.
We may not, at present time, comprehend all the ramifications of why it
is essential that He would use, and interplay evil with the good, in our
development unto spiritual maturity. But it brings a new rest within just
to know that ALL THINGS are out of God, and that HE is in perfect control
of all the present process, "Working all things after the counsel of His
own will." [Ephesians 1:11]. Furthermore, we read, "For it was an act worthy
of God and fitting to the divine nature, that He, for Whose sake and by
Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory,
should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering."
[Hebrews 2:10, Amplified]. And if it was necessary that our Lord walk this
path of suffering, then I am sure that we shall arrive into His fulness
via no other route, but we must walk in His steps.
Yet we are equally persuaded that the hour shall come when the eyes of
our understanding shall be enlightened, and we'll not only understand why
He chose to use evil and its interplay in His purpose, but we'll say with
a heart full of praise, "He has done all things well." We know so little,
we grasp but a fragment of His plan and purpose. But we are coming to
understand enough to at least know that God is GOD, and we can commit ourselves
unto Him, as unto a "Faithful Creator," assured that we shall receive the
fulness of redemption, and return back into Him in due time.
"For the
creation was subjected to frailty-to futility, condemned to frustration-not
because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who
so subjected it. Yet with the hope that nature ( creation) itself will
be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance
into the glorious freedom of God's children." [Romans 8:20-21, Amplified].
Psalm 90, beginning with verse one, reads "LORD, YOU HAVE BEEN OUR DWELLING
PLACE IN ALL GENERATIONS." Past, present, and future--He alone is our
home, our dwelling place. Outside of a consciousness of His presence we
are but homeless wanderers, seeking to return into Him, wherein we have
full peace and satisfaction. "He has made everything beautiful in its time;
He also has planted eternity in men's heart and mind (a divinely implanted
sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun,
but only God, can satisfy)." [Eccl. 3:11, Amplified].
This dwelling
place in God antedates the present "kosmos," world arrangement of this
material creation, being "BEFORE THE MOUNTAINS WERE BROUGHT FORTH, OR EVER
GOD HAD FORMED THE EARTH AND THE WORLD."
And then the statement is made, "EVEN FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING YOU
ARE GOD." The word "everlasting" comes from the Hebrew word "olam" meaning
"age," and should be correctly read, "FROM AGE to AGE." Thank God, in
all ages He IS GOD, and He IS our dwelling place. And though for a moment
we have been subjected to this present vanity and frustration, yet there
shall be a returning back into Him. "For a small moment have I forsaken
you; but with great mercies will I gather you. In a little wrath I hid
My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer." [Isaiah 54:7-8].
"YOU
TURN MAN TO DESTRUCTION; AND SAY, RETURN YOU CHILDREN OF MEN." [Psalm
90:3].
You could never read this word "return" here, if you
had not first read that man had been "turned" away to destruction. It was
GOD who turned man to destruction, set him on this downward course, made
him subject to the bondage of vanity. Man did not volunteer for this time
of travail, but the plan of God included this process, so God Himself
turned man in this direction, and it will also be the sovereign operation
of a sovereign God who shall bring back into Himself the whole of His creation.
He is even now reconciling the world unto Himself.
"For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past,
and as a watch in the night." [verse 4]. Now comes the time element, so
little understood, and such a problem to us all. For in the 13th verse
we read, "Return, O Lord, how long?" He turned us to destruction, and planted
within the bosom of every man that command to "return," which has become
that inward sense of destiny which will not be satisfied until man does
find himself at home in God once more. While mankind in general is still
in that state of spiritual slumber, and has never awakened, yet there is
a remnant, an election of grace, His first fruits, who have heard the inward
call, they have arisen, and would trim their lamps and go out to seek and
find Him. "And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you have searched for
Me with all your heart." [Jeremiah 29:13].
Ah, yes, we would return, but "HOW LONG, LORD, HOW LONG?" It is hard to
comprehend that a thousand years are but as a day, when to us some days
seem to be so very, very long. He said, "Return," and we have heard, and
would respond, and yet we discover we cannot return any faster than
HE shows us the way to come home. The times and seasons are in His hand,
but in this we take great comfort, the end is secure, we shall return into
God.
Man will traverse land and sea, soar into space, and blaze new trails and
break the frontier boundaries again and again- not just to find a new land,
or discover something which will bring him fame and glory, though on the
surface those things may appear. But deep within the spirit of every man
is that sense of destiny,
"I must return to God." But where is He? "That
they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find
Him, though He be not far from everyone of us: for in Him we live, and
move, and have our being." [Acts 17:27-28]. Groping through the darkness,
knowing not that HE is so very close, were their eyes opened to see. Yet
He has appointed a day-- O glorious day, when His light shall shine forth,
and a way shall be there, and mankind shall return into Him who is their
home. To find that peace and contentment in His pure reality.
"It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created
life groans in a sort of universal travail."
[Romans 8:22, Phillips].
In his footnotes for this passage, Conybeare brings out one of the richest
explanations we have ever read. "St. Paul here suggests an argument as
original as it is profound. The very struggles which all animated beings
make against pain and death, show (he says) that pain and death are not
apart of the proper laws of their nature, but rather a bondage imposed
upon them from without. Thus every groan and tear is an unconscious prophecy
of liberation from the power of evil."
St. Augustine bears this out also, when he states, "Even in that miserable
restlessness of the spirits who fell away and discovered their own darkness
when bared of the clothing of Your light, do You sufficiently reveal how
noble You made the reasonable creature; to which nothing will suffice to
yield a happy rest, less than You." And again, "The nature which enjoyed
God shows that it was formed good, even by its very defect, in that it
is therefore miserable because it enjoys not God."
We need not describe at length the misery and frustration of this present
groaning creature, the evidences are all about us. But let it be reaffirmed
that every tear and sigh, every groan from the pain and distress is an
unconscious prophecy that ultimately deliverance must come, for this is
a bondage imposed from without, and shall be lifted. Only in the pure
holiness of God, bathed with His light, shall the creature find his peace
and contentment. And our very struggles and searchings, our restlessness
of desire, which cannot be satisfied with this world's substance, is another
proof that only in God is true satisfaction found.
All things proceeded
out from God, and the purpose of the ages was begun. Next our text reads,
" AND THROUGH HIM." Not only is He the Source of all, but even in present
time all things live because of His grace and mercy. "But to us there is
but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one
Lord Jesus Christ, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we by Him." [1 Corinthians
8:6].
Our Lord
Jesus Christ is the Administrator of the plan of the ages! Things have
not been left to happen-stance, to evolve according to the whims and inclinations
of the fallen creature. God was in control when the purpose began, and
HE is still in control all through its execution. Or as we read also, "BY
HIM all things consist (are held together)." [ Colossians 1:7].
The
life of the universe is conditioned by His existence. Phillips translation
gives, "He is both the First Principle and THE UPHOLDING PRINCIPLE of the
whole scheme of creation." HE sets the boundaries for destruction, and
nothing goes beyond His control. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise
You: the remainder of wrath shall You restrain." [Psalm 76:10]. What He
allows He uses, and restrains all that He does not purpose to use. There
may be days when you feel you will completely fall apart at the seams,
and you struggle in yourselves to "hang on to the end." Yet in truth it
is Christ who holds us together, and though we may be sorely tested, He
will not suffer us to be tested beyond what we are able to bear, but will
also provide for us a landing place where we may stand, while He works
all things together into our good again.
Nor are
we left in the vague uncertainty of trying to find our way back." Jesus
said unto him, I AM THE WAY, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto
the Father but by Me." [John 14:6].
Without a way there is no going,
Without the truth there is no knowing,
Without His life there is no living.
"He that has the Son has life." [1 John 5:12]. Every part of the process
of the plan of the ages is vitally connected to our Lord Jesus Christ.
THROUGH HIM- by the means of Him all things are administered and shall
be brought back into harmony, reconciled into God again. "For He must reign,
till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death." [1 Corinthians 15:25-26].
So victorious
shall be His reign, that all things shall return back into God, for "TO
(Greek, into) Him are all things." He is the consummation! At no time is
the plan completely fulfilled until all things have been duly processed
and returned back into Him. Thus He shall be the SUM TOTAL of all things.
"And I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto
you than at your beginnings: and you shall know that I am the Lord." [Ezekiel
36:11].
Regardless of the extent of the travail and bondage, He will not only triumph
completely, but He shall bring us into His full victory. The overcoming
process shall be to His praise, and for our benefit too. Then the combined
effulgence of redemptions' glory, in all of its inherent and acquired qualities,
will shine out in a scope greater than our fondest or wildest dream. Because
then it shall shine out on a flawless universe that has been freed, delivered
from sin's thralldom.
When his testings were ended, we read, "So the Lord blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning." [Job 42:12]. There is no ultimate
loss in God, for when He has worked all things together into good, and
all has returned unto Him again, nothing of the original will be lost,
but there will be that added glory acquired by our conflict with evil,
and overcoming it through His grace. Thus the glory of the latter shall
be greater than of the
former.
Now, the overall plan is too great, its time element is too long, we thank
God for this knowledge that the end is secure, and it will have its own
inner stabilizing effect on us. But for a personal application, remember,
we all have our individual cycles, blessings and testings, the ups and
the downs, and God is using them in His purpose to develop us into His
image and likeness, a new man in Christ. Our days come out of God, they
are administered and held together by Christ, and they shall all find their
consummation back into Him again. He is to be both our Alpha and Omega.
RETURNING INTO GOD
Out of the depths of the dust of the earth, Heard the
call for the time of re-birth,
Whisp'rings of Spirit that breath upon men, Turning their
footsteps t'ward homeland again.
Pilgrims and strangers we wandered about, Vexed by the
evils that rampaged without,
Tempted by passions that rumbled within, Earthly travail
for our soul's discipline.
Turned to destruction by God's sovereign will, Till we
are broken, contrite, and made still,
Gone the rebellion of ego's great pride, Dealt by the
Cross, till in Him we have died.
Buried together in morning's new womb, Waiting the hour-release
from this tomb,
Knowing that He shall unveil yet His own, Spirit of spirit
and bone of His bone.
Into His image, conformed by His grace, Love's undergirding,
the path to retrace,
Onward and upward to bow at His throne, Joy that surpasses
all joys we have known.
Firstfruits returning betoken the score-- All of creation
the Christ shall restore.
Erasing the shadows of vanity's night, Turning us 'round
till we walk in His light. BACK
NO SECOND CAUSES
- Chapter 2
"For IT IS GOD Himself whose power creates within you both
the desire and the power to execute His gracious will." [Philippians 2:13
Weymouth.]
"And you shall know that I have not done without
cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord God."
[Ezekiel 14:23].
There are many ideologies and concepts being taught today, and even pulpit
preaching is most diversified, ranging from the confused thinking of "God
is dead," to a social lecture which merely uses religion for a background
support. To counter some of this, others seek to evangelize and rally men
back to God and the Bible, and one even went so far as to propose--"Let's
spread the rumor that God is still alive." To us, such an idea is as bad
as the first shameful statement that God is dead. If it is only a "rumor"
in their thinking, they know very little of His LIFE. Surely the best witness
of a "LIVING GOD" is to be experimentally partaking of that life, so that
our state of being will be a manifestation of that life.
Then another messenger came along to explain that the reason some people
find it hard to remain enthused with the gospel story is because they only
live in the "afterglow" of Christ's resurrection. Perhaps as far
as most of Christendom is concerned, he spoke correctly, for they have
but a fading afterglow of past glory. But this is not the message we would
proclaim, for the life and victory manifest in the resurrection of Jesus
Christ shines with greater brilliance today than ever before, now being
realized and enjoyed by those who are becoming ONE IN HIM. There
is a present-tense reality, which John rightly declared, "He that has the
Son has life."
[1 John 5:2].
While we thrill to the truth of that which happened almost two thousand
years ago, it need not become an "afterglow," but the beginning of a progressive
unfolding of HIS LIFE which becomes personally experienced by those
who follow on to know the Lord in all of His fullness. And these are
finding that God is indeed involved in all the affairs of their daily life,
and that He can inhabit their "now."
Apart from the theological fact that "in Him we live, and move, and have
our being; ..." [Acts 17:28], for all practical purposes of comparing personal
relationship with Christ, we will admit that for many, their God is dead,
inasmuch as their "understanding is darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart." [Ephesians 4:18].
Others have received a measure of His life, enough to know that He is alive,
but even so, for them He is still a very small God, relegated to miracles
in days long past, or yet to be revealed in the distant future. Their
concept seems to be that God is in an eternal struggle with the Devil,
and while God wins one battle, the Devil wins the next one, and so the
matter goes-- and in the end, if there be an end, God shall take a few
to heaven, while the rest remain captives of sin, and are eternally bound
in a prison of torment, co-existing in God's universe as a vivid reminder
that God brought forth out of Himself a creation, giving them a will that
is stronger than His, and that the Devil was able to gain control of that
will and bend it to his evil way, so that they are lost forever from God.
We have no time whatsoever for such a concept. It is a caricature of the
nature and power of our God. We would emphasize that God is sovereign,
always in perfect control of circumstances, and working out all things
after the counsel of His own will, into our good, and for His praise, and
we need Him to be Lord of all our "now."
Someone, we know not who, once wrote, and we quote: "We habitually stand
in our own 'now' and look back by faith to see the past filled with God.
We look forward and see Him inhabiting our future. But our 'now' is uninhabited
except for ourselves. Thus we are guilty of a kind of protem atheism which
leaves us alone in the universe, while, for the time, God is not. We talk
of Him much and loudly, but we secretly think of Him as being absent. We
inhabit an interval between the God who was and the God who will be."
unquote.
This
is very thought-provoking! May God work in us a consciousness of His present-tense
INDWELLING LIFE. We need more than an afterglow kind of theology, of a
Jesus who was, and we need more than a hope for some future "Lord in the
millennium." We need to KNOW--revelation alive with divine quickening,
that in our NOW "all things are of God." Paul so firmly believed this truth
that he makes, and repeats this positive statement six times in his writings.
Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 8:6, and 11:12, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Ephesians
1:11, Hebrews 2:10. This is no careless handling of the truth, but the
Spirit of God so working in the apostle that he arrived to this settled
and firm persuasion through processes which contained both the severity
of suffering and the glory of pure revelation.
Even the Old Testament maintains this positive aspect. "My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all My pleasure." [Isaiah 46:10]. "The Lord of hosts
has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass;
and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.-- For the Lord of hosts has
purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and
who shall turn it back?" [Isaiah 14:24, 27].
Hebrews 12:2 clearly states that Jesus is "THE AUTHOR and finisher of our
faith." Various translations have given emphasis to different shades of
meaning for this word " Author," some reading that He is THE SOURCE, or
some point that He is THE LEADER, and one even describes Him as THE PIONEER
of our faith. But there is a deeper meaning than all of these, true
as they might be, as when the Wuest translation gives Him to be THE
ORIGINATOR, and the Amplified included the explanation that HE GIVES THE
FIRST INCENTIVE for faith.
Combining
these thoughts together we find that He is not only the Source of our life
and salvation, but He is the very One who initiates every phase of its
working in our behalf. SALVATION BEGINS ON THE PART OF THE SAVIOUR, not
on the part of the one needed to be saved. Christendom tells the world,
"Come to Jesus." But the bride in Song of Solomon 1:4, says, "DRAW ME,
we will run after You." HE MUST FIRST DRAW, or how else shall we run after
Him?
In the case of the redemption of mankind, this is even more severe, for
this is not just a "rescue action" on the part of God, to reclaim a dying
creation. Nay! It is far more than that, for the natural man is already
dead to the spiritual realm. "To be carnally minded (i.e. to mind
the flesh) is death." [Romans 8:6]. And Paul declares that we "were dead
in trespasses and sins." [Ephesians 2:1]. How, then, can there be any initial
action on the part of a dead man? If a man were drowning, but not yet
dead, you could throw him a life-line and expect just a little cooperation
on his part, to receive and hang on to the rope while you pulled him in.
And while you would be giving forth the most effort, you would like his
cooperation in the matter. But if he were already dead, how then shall
he respond to your rescue action? Not until life is imparted can there
be any responsible action on the part of the one being saved.
Thus
we read of our Lord that He "was made a quickening (LIFE-GIVING) Spirit."
[1 Corinthians 15:45]. As He chooses, and imparts of His life, men begin
to live and grow in spiritual stature. "I am the Lord, and there is
none else, there is no God beside Me: I girded you, though you have not
known Me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west,
that there is none beside Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I
THE LORD DO ALL THESE THINGS." [Isaiah 45:5-7].
Now it is self-evident that there has to be a CAUSE before there can be
an EFFECT. GOD is the First Cause of all causes, and we see the proper
sequence given in this passage of scripture. The principle is one, ALL
GOOD, and then it can become perverted, thus being changed into evil.
IF it was evil to begin with, it couldn't be perverted. And with God as
the First Cause, were evil brought forth from His being initially evil,
that would be saying that there is eternal evil in God. NEVER! But we read,
"I form the light, and create darkness." The word "form" comes from
the Hebrew word "yatsar ," meaning form, fashion, frame, CONSTITUTE. While
the word "create" used here, from the Hebrew word "bara" means to prepare,
form, fashion, create. FIRST He constitutes the light, bringing forth the
light from His own being and substance, and it is GOOD. Then out of this
light other things can be fashioned. Pervert the light and it becomes darkness.
But darkness is not an enduring state in itself, it can only exist in its
relationship to the light. Darkness can once again be swallowed up into
the light, but light can never be overpowered and swallowed up into darkness.
"The light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehends it not." [John
1:5].
"I make peace, and create evil." PEACE must come FIRST, and when peace
is turned upside down and perverted you have confusion and strife. But
just as soon as all the turmoil is straightened out and corrected: peace
reigns once more, for it is the first, and final state. Since all things
ultimately have to return to their beginning, in harmony with the law of
circularity, all evil must be corrected, and all things worked together
into good.
Now, whether it is the initial bringing forth of creation, or in the present
process of drawing us back to Himself, we still see the creative handiwork
of God, as HE causes and initiates our salvation, and all of our successive
action. "Remember not the former things, neither consider the
things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing." [Isaiah 43:18-19].
So much of our activity has been a trying to repeat past cycles. We look
back into history to see how God has moved, and then pray that He will
do it that way again. But we have come to sense within a deep consciousness
that God is preparing to DO NEW THINGS, and we are not to remember the
former things any more, lest we would be tempted to try and repeat them.
But we are to look ahead for the springing forth of the new. You say, "What
are these new things?" Ah, if the mind of man could figure out God's next
moves, it is self-evident that they would not be of His initiative. HE
WILL ORIGINATE THE ACTION, He will do the first act, and in His revelation
we shall learn what our responsive actions are to be.
"OF HIS OWN WILL He begot us with the word of truth, that we should be
a kind of first fruits of His creatures." [James 1:18].
"No
man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day. --But there are some of you that
believe not. --Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me,
except it were given unto him of My Father." [John 6:44, 64-65].
Now,
while we praise the Lord for His work in us, and freely admit that it was
not of our choosing, but HIS, that He initiated the action in us, and only
by His grace and power shall we ultimately come through to full maturity
in Him, so also, we would clearly state, God has, and shall initiate the
personal application of salvation in every man. " And it shall come to
pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking,
I will hear." [Isaiah 65:24].
This promise has long been a source of encouragement to many, just to know
that regardless of the need that might arise, before ever we are aware
of our need, and cry to Him for help, HE has already begun the answer.
Thus
again it is self-evident that God initiated the whole process.
I am sure that Paul well understood the battle with negative forces, for
he so clearly taught that "our contest is not with human foes alone, but
with the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark world; that
is, with the spirit-forces of evil challenging us in the heavenly contest."
[Ephesians 6:12, Williams]. But Paul also knew his position in God, and
that even now, through Christ, we are "more than conquerors." [Romans 8:37]
.Thus he sought to maintain a God-consciousness.
Even when Paul was troubled, and "there was given to me a thorn in the
flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me,"
[2 Cor. 12:7], still he knew that it was GOD WHO PROVIDED
THE THORN. And when he had settled the question with God as to whether
or not it should be removed, he went on to rejoice in God's grace sufficient
for the need, thus keeping his eyes upon the Lord, and not on the thorn.
As far as he was concerned, GOD was the First Cause of all that came
into his life, and he did not entangle himself with a fighting against
so-called "second causes," blaming this and that, and thus becoming more
negative conscious than he was of the positive victory secure in Christ.
Then consider the example of Joseph, and of how his own brethren cast him
out, sold him for a slave. The trials and testings were many, eventually
leading him right down into the prison house. One would be prone to blame
the brethren and fight against them, accusing them of being the cause of
all his distress. But when the process was ended, and Joseph became ruler
in Egypt, and in due time his brethren came down into Egypt seeking food,
and were brought before him -- when they learned his identity they became
fearful of what he might do to them in retribution. But Joseph quieted
all their fears, and reassured them that all was well, by saying, "I am
Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not
grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither: for God did
send me before you to preserve life. SO NOW IT WAS NOT YOU THAT SENT ME
HITHER, BUT GOD: and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of
all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." [Genesis
45:4-5, 8].
GOD
caused the brethren to sell Joseph. GOD caused him to be put in prison.
GOD brought him out of prison and made him ruler in the land. GOD PURPOSED
ALL OF THIS TO WORK SALVATION FOR ALL of Joseph's brethren, and to bring
the house of Israel down into Egypt where they were to sojourn for a time,
plus also bringing blessing to the Egyptians through his ministry as well.
GOD, the First Cause of all, working His sovereign plan.
We are so prone to look at the present circumstances, and place the blame
upon those involved; brethren-betrayers who caused us to be cast out; unsaved
loved ones who stirred up trouble; immature Christians who have misunderstood
the call of God upon our life, and so thought we were off the deep end.
Yes,
we lay the "cause" at the feet of many, but we need to look past all of
the exterior part of these things, and see that behind it all is GOD, bringing
circumstances to bear upon us to work out His will. HE is the living God,
the First and the Last, and all of our life is in His hand, and He is directing
our steps, even though sometimes it requires the sovereign operation of
the interplay of good and evil.
Our natural question is: how can any good come out of evil? And many see
these opposite forces in constant warfare, but we are persuaded that BOTH
ARE IN THE HAND OF GOD, He controls their interplay, and uses all things
to fulfill His divine plan. "The Lord has made all for Himself: yea, even
the wicked for the day of evil." [Proverbs 16:4].
Another illustration is found in the life of Samson, a young man who had
been dedicated to God from before his birth, to be a Nazarite, fully separated
unto the Lord. When he grew up, he saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters
of the Philistines, and requested of his parents that they would get her
for him, to be his wife. This cut deep into the heart of his parents, they
wanted him to have one of the daughters of their own people, not one of
the uncircumcised Philistines. But Samson insisted that he must have this
woman, and the scripture declares, "But his father and mother knew not
that IT WAS OF THE LORD, that He sought an occasion against the Philistines..."
[Judges 14:4]. In the natural this would be a bitter thing to swallow,
and must have brought much distress of mind to Samson's parents, and perhaps
they sought to reason out many things as the cause of this thing-just a
backslidden condition, or the influence of the wrong kind of company, etc.
Whatever the outward circumstances were, the Bible does not record, it
simply says, "IT WAS OF THE LORD," He was the real Cause of it all,
and in the end it all turned into good, as God used Samson to become a
severe thorn in the side of the Philistines, destroying many of them.
When Israel became a nation, with their reign of kings, after the reign
of Solomon the kingdom was divided. Rehoboam was asked by the people for
an easing of the yoke upon them. He rejected the counsel of the old men,
followed the advice of the young men, and we read, "So the king hearkened
not unto the people: FOR THE CAUSE WAS OF GOD, that the Lord might
perform His Word ..." [2 Chronicles 10:15]. And when the ten northern tribes
refused the kingship of Rehoboam, and made Jereboam their king, then Rehoboam
gathered his army to go and bring them back under his control. But God
sent a messenger to him, saying, "Thus says the Lord, You shall not go
up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: FOR
THIS THING IS DONE OF ME." [2 Chronicles 11:4].
First a division in the kingdom, then later both kingdoms dispersed into
captivity, God all the while fulfilling His purpose. Many would now teach
that it was all over for Israel, but we read on, "God has not cast away
His people which He foreknew. Blindness in part is happened to Israel,
until the fulness of the nations be come in. And so all Israel shall be
saved: - For God has concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have
mercy upon all." [Romans 11:2, 25-26, 32].
DIVINE
CAUSE stands behind the whole process! A purpose in the division,
and a pur-pose in the dispersion, and also in the ultimate time of restoration.
"If the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of
them the riches of the nations; how much more their fulness? For if the
casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving
of them be, but life from the dead?" [Romans 11:12,15].
One might look for secondary causes, sin, idolatry, etc. bringing the judgment
of God, and all of this is true in a limited sense, but behind it all stands
the outworking of the purpose of our sovereign Lord.
"I am sought of them that asked not for Me; I am found of them that sought
Me not: I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called
by My name." [Isaiah 65:1].
Just as surely as Jesus declared that no man could come unto Him except
he was drawn by the Father, so also He declared, "It is written in the
prophets, And they SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD." [John 6:45]. What
God has now been working in the hearts of His first fruits He shall also
work in the heart of every man in due time, for all shall be taught of
God. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order." [1 Corinthians 15:22-23].
There are those who object to such a glorious plan of salvation, one that
shall include every man, for though they feel they personally are called
to be apart of the present order, they do not want God to apprehend others
for a succeeding time and order. But we would ask again, WHO INITIATED
THE WORK OF SALVATION IN OUR HEARTS? Christ did! Could we do one thing
about our salvation before He began to draw us personally to Himself? No!
For how can a dead man begin to save himself? And neither can any other
creature initiate the action for their salvation before the Spirit begins
to draw them. Yet, thank God, He has purposed that they shall all be taught
of God.
"And all your children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be
the peace of your children."
[Isaiah 54:13].
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least
of them unto the greatest of them, says the Lord: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." [Jeremiah 31:34].
Man may plan his programs, and seek to teach others his traditions and
creeds, but gladly do we look forward to the time when GOD initiates His
teaching unto the nations, even as it is written, "In the last days it
shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above
the hills; and the people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall
come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and
to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and
we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." [Micah 4:1-2].
There
shall be a RETURN UNTO THE LORD. Creation has known the path of destruction
and degeneration, the bondage of vanity. But God has also purposed a regeneration,
and a time when He shall send forth His light and truth in degrees we have
never dreamed of, and draw to Himself all mankind. The CAUSE is His, and
He will initiate the action to come. He has not ceased His working with
His creation, nor is He merely repeating cycles, but as already pointed
out, He has new things which He has purposed for this day, and the days
to come. The first act is His, and contains the revelation of how we are
to follow in that operation. The inworking is God's, Who works in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure. The yieldedness to that inworking
is our part, to respond as He calls, and to obey that which He commands.
Then with joy we can also begin to reach out a helping hand to others.
"Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing every one and instructing
everyone in all wisdom, (in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes
of God), that we may present every person mature-full grown, fully initiated,
complete and perfect-in Christ, the Anointed One. For this I labour striving
with all the superhuman energy which HE so mightily enkindles and works
within me." [Colossians 1:28-29, Amplified].
FIRST CAUSE OF ALL
No second causes! now can this be, A certain fact, a
truth for me--
That all which comes into my path, Is from the hand of
Him who hath
A purpose in the interplay, Of good and evil sent my
way?
When nights are dark and days are cold, And pressures
seem so manifold;
When friends depart, I stand alone, And all the brethren
me disown,
Till I am shunned, a thing despised, Esteemed as one
by God chastized.
When precious truth to me revealed,, To others yet remains
concealed,
And so they brand the message wrong, And make be their
'derision song,
As one seduced by evil power, A shameful servant in this
hour.
No second causes--the whole of God, Who wields His great
correction rod,
To train, develop, and mature, A life in Him that shall
endure,
A vessel for His sovereign praise, Through whom to work
in coming days.
Ah, yes, O Lord, First Cause of all, Whose wise design
embraced the fall,
And wrought redemption's glorious plan, Transforms the
life of every man.
Before Thy throne we now would bow, Accept Thy will,
for this, our now. BACK
THE FIFTH DIMENSION
- Chapter 3
"That you may be in strength to comprehend, with all the
saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, to know
also the love of the Christ that is exceeding the knowledge, that you may
be filled--to all the fulness of God." [Ephesians 3:18-19, Young's Literal
Trans.].
There is a pre-requisite that is essential to our being able to grasp the
tremendous scope of these various dimensions, and it is found in the previous
verse just before the passage we have given. "That you, being rooted
and grounded in love..." Oh, that God would so purge out all the prejudices,
the pre-conceived ideas, the narrowness of concept which has plagued our
understanding through the years, until the sweet spirit of divine love
shall enwrap us. To be rooted and grounded in love, so that this love permeates
all of our considerations and ponderings. Then shall we be in the right
position to begin to comprehend, with all the saints, the dimensions set
before us.
The word "comprehend" used here comes from the Greek word "katalambano"
and means TO RECEIVE THOROUGHLY. We shall illustrate this with a
few scriptures, beginning with that which is in a negative sense, and then
proceed to the more positive aspects.
John 12:35, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness COME UPON you:
for he that walks in darkness knows not where he goes." These words "come
upon" are from the same Greek word as "comprehend," lest the darkness would
thoroughly receive you. We need to walk in the light while it shines upon
our pathway, for if we do not follow on, into more light, we will find
ourselves slipping back into the shadows, and then the light that is within
becomes darkness, and how great is that darkness. When the darkness COMES
UPON you, to thoroughly receive you, from thereon you know not whither
you go, stumbling, faltering, blindly groping around. (Original Editor's
note: Irrespective of the "groping" because of the darkness, or the depth
of your personal "hell," it should be remembered that "...if I make my
bed in hell, behold, You are there." [Psalm 139:8]. His word is sure, "I
will never leave you, nor forsake you." Here is another opportunity for
the child of God to be "an overcomer" and as pointed out in the prior chapter,
"The Law of Circularity," the holy Spirit, The Spirit of Christ, are joined
with them to assist in the accomplishment of "coming into the Light." [Hebrews
13:5]).
There are those who like to be in the shadows. But a shadow has one of
two fates: either it is dissipated by the light, or else it becomes swallowed
up into total darkness. Shadows are transitory. Not only is this true in
the natural realm about us, but it is very true in spiritual things. We
have many blessed types and shadows in the Scripture, they point to the
reality of things to be revealed. Either one progressed on into the reality
and fulfillment of what those types and shadows portend, or else those
very types and shadows will become darkness to you, as you find yourself
with a form of godliness, but without its power. All of the rituals, forms,
ceremonies, etc. which once held great meaning, will become a meaningless
routine if you do not follow through to their consummation in the reality
of what they signify.
Now, into a positive illustration, Paul instructs us, "so run that you
may OBTAIN (receive thoroughly)." [1 Corinthians 9:24]. Don't run in such
a manner that you come trailing in, last position, but give yourself to
the race in such away that you might receive the full prize, obtain all.
We desire to receive more than just the "in part" portion of this present
age, we would taste of the very powers and glory of the age to come. Run
in such a manner that you will receive it thoroughly.
Or, again, Philippians 3:12. "I follow after, if that I may APPREHEND
that for which also I am APPREHENDED of Christ Jesus." With the words
"apprehend" also meaning, to receive thoroughly. How do you want
to receive of Him? Surely more than just the fringes! He shall receive
us completely into His fulness, and we would thoroughly receive all of
that for which He has purposed for us. Here is a union greatly to be desired,
to so completely receive of Him, while He so completely receives us into
Himself, that we have that ONENESS which is spoken of in John 17:23, "that
they may be made perfect in one." For "he that is joined to the Lord is
one spirit." [l Corinthians 6:17].
One more illustration, for we would show the intensity of this word "comprehend,"
this time reading Acts 10:34-35, "Of a truth I PERCEIVE that God is no
respecter of persons: but in every nation he that fears Him, and works
righteousness, is accepted with Him."
Peter has just passed through a most unusual experience, as alone on the
house top God had given him a vision, with a very important message which
would utterly change his concept of thinking in certain areas. The voice
declared, "What God has cleansed, that call not common."
[Acts 10:15]. So later when three men came to Peter to ask him to come
to Caesarea, to minister to the household of Cornelius, he was prepared
to go. Later when Cornelius told Peter of his own experience, and how God
had sent a messenger to him with the good news that his prayer had been
heard, his alms remembered before the Lord, and that he was to send to
Joppa for Peter, all of this, together with Peter's own experience, convinced
Peter that God was indeed no respecter of persons. He PERCEIVED,
he thoroughly received it as a truth, a fact to be honored and acted upon.
Between the time of Peter's trance, and the outworking of it in his personal
experience, a changing process took place in Peter's thinking, and he was
able to COMPREHEND a new dimension in the outworkings of God.
THE BREADTH. The revelation which came to Peter brought a comprehension
of this glorious dimension. Breadth is the distance measured from side
to side. It signifies the vast OUTREACH of God's grace, to encompass
all. Peter perceived the tremendous outreach of God's grace, that God
was no respecter of persons, for the breadth included every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue.
"That you MAYBE ABLE to comprehend, with all saints..." Before we pursue
farther into this vast dimension, notice these words "Be able," coming
from a Greek word meaning TO HAVE STRENGTH. Some are not able to comprehend,
they do not have the strength to grasp such an expanse. The same idea is
used in the verse, "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads
into life, and few there be that find it." [Matthew 7:14]. While Luke 13:24
gives, "many will seek to enter, and shall not be able." They will not
have the strength for it. Often people say, "I would like to believe that,
but I just can't." They do not have the quickening, the energizing force
of the Spirit within to empower them to be able to receive it, to comprehend
it. Furthermore, "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy
Spirit which is given unto us." [Romans 5:5], and it requires that we be
rooted and grounded in this love, if we are to comprehend these staggering
dimensions of the workings of God.
The outreach of the grace of God is to encompass ALL MEN. " And I, if I
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." [John 12:32].
"ALL THE ENDS OF THE WORLD shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all
the kindreds of the nations shall worship before You." [Psalm 22:27].
"Look unto Me, and be saved, ALL THE ENDS OF THE WORLD: for
I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone
out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me EVERY
KNEE shall bow, EVERY TONGUE shall swear."
[Isaiah 45:22-23].
Paul is so blessed with this promise, which he realized was to be fulfilled
through Jesus Christ, that he quotes it with real amplification. "That
at (Greek, IN) the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
[Philippians 2:10-11].
This word "bow" also should be examined, for this is not a severe coercive
action, but rather one of deep worship which arises from the heart.
The particular Greek word which is used here denotes real worship, for
Paul also used it when he spoke of how be bowed his knee before the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Eph. 3:14].
Bow
to confess that "Jesus is LORD." And "no man can say that Jesus is the
Lord, but by the holy Spirit." [1 Corinthians 12:3] .Yet He has promised,
"I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh." [Joel 2:28] , and thus all
men, inspired by the holy Spirit, shall bow in worship to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord-sovereign Lord, the only God to be worshiped.
Oh, to have the strength to be able to KNOW this, to receive
it fully, to comprehend it with JOY. Peter's revelation caused him
to perceive it, that God is no respecter of persons, that He will have
all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
THE
LENGTH. Discovering that the breadth, the outreach goes from one end
of the earth to the other, to include all men, then what is the length?
We find that in our particular dictionary the definition for the word "length"
is divided into nine parts, and five of these deal with TIME.
Now we need to comprehend the extent of time, the PLAN OF THE AGES through
which this purpose shall be fulfilled. The "time" element is one of the
hardest things for people to grasp in the dimensions and operations of
God. We scarcely can understand the normal length of a man's natural life.
Our hours merge into days, our days into weeks, our weeks into months,
our months into years, and already we are befuddled to really grasp such
a length. Then when the stretch of years is lengthened out to include an
age or two, on into the eons before us, it merely becomes words without
meaning, the natural mind cannot fully grasp it. (Original editor's note:
The author's statement above, "The "time" element is one of the hardest
things for people to grasp in the dimensions and operations of God," is
very true and the "infant in Christ" oft times relates God to our time
factor concept. God our Father and His Christ are spirit and are not subject
to limitations: i.e. time itself. Christ Jesus is ALL, He is the "Alpha
and Omega," the beginning and the end: He is also everything in between,
nothing was left out in the total act of creation. Later in this chapter
he states, "All time is in the hand of God, both past and future. All is
alike unto Him, for He dwells in what can be rightly termed "the eternal
present," and thus He can just as easily deal with past or future.").
There is a length in God's purpose which covers the span of the ages. A
length which says, "He must reign until..."
[1 Cor. 15:25], and keep reigning until all enemies
are subdued under His feet, including the last enemy, which is death. Then
shall The Son deliver up the kingdom to the Father, that God might be all
in all. This very length of "until..." keeps the majority of Christendom
totally baffled. To know that our God controls all of the time element,
and He can measure it out, lengthen it, or shorten it according to His
desire in fulfilling His purpose.
"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of
God." [Hebrews 11:3]. This word "worlds" is the Greek word for AGES, "aion."
The Wuest Expanded translation makes this clear: "the God-appointed ages
of time were equipped and fitted by God's word for the purpose for which
they were intended."
God planned out every age and the purpose which it should accomplish, allotting
enough time to complete each detail, and everything is moving according
to HIS divine time-schedule. "When the fulness of time was come" [Galatians
4:4], God sent forth His Son. Not too early, not too late, for the "fulness
of time" is in His perfect control.
When all seems still, and movements nil, God works
His purpose rare,
The measured rhyme of slowest time, Performs its task
with care.
Thus ages past their lot have cast, In patience to abide
The final hour, when vict'ry's pow'r, Possessed a greater
stride.
He knew the pace redeeming grace, Could move to reach
its goal,
He could proceed with utmost speed, To transform every
soul.
Yes, God has a purpose for the ages, and He has the ages fitted for His
purpose." According to the purpose of the AGES, which He made
in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Ephesians 3:11, Young's Literal].
However, we are not alone in our searchings to understand God's times and
seasons, for we read, "The prophets have enquired and searched diligently--what,
or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow."
[1 Peter 1:10-11].
The prophecy was most heart-warming, "For unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder." [Isaiah
9:6]. But how little did they comprehend the manner of time, the passing
of the years, centuries, between the hour when the child was born, and
when THE SON would finally take the reins of the government, when His kingdom
would come, and His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Nor do
we yet know the hour of this fulfillment, though we firmly believe that
"redemption draws nigh." And little did they know the length of the
span of time between the sufferings of Christ, with Calvary's dark hour,
and when the glory would follow, which glory we are still waiting to see
revealed. But we do read, "If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may
also be glorified together." [Romans 8:17]. Ah, who even can tell
the time lapse between their own periods of suffering, and the victory
which follows?
"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord
is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is
long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance."
[2 Peter 3:8-9].
So
long man has reasoned out time schedules according to the carnal mind.
And then, sad to say, limited the operations of God to these feeble concepts
and the weaknesses of man. Often have we heard them use the allegory, "if
the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where
the tree falls, there shall it be." [Eccl. 11:3].
Which might be very true for the "tree," since man has no ability to raise
it back up, and cause new life to come forth in that fallen tree. But
this cannot be used as an illustration of the final destiny of man, heaven
or hell, sealed at the time of one's physical death, according to which
direction they fall. Many things are impossible to man, but with God all
things are possible.
"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof
wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; YET
through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant."
[Job 14:7-9]. There is HOPE because of the resurrection power of our God.
The
times of "falling" and "rising again" are in the Father's hand. And His
resurrection power is able to bridge all the spans of time, and fulfill
His purpose to bring new life to every creature. "For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order."
[1 Corinthians 15:22-23].
Yes,
to comprehend with all saints the length--the time element, even when we
read, "And I will restore to you the years that the locust have eaten,
the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army
which I sent among you." [Joel 2:25]. Now, when He says He will RESTORE
THE YEARS, this is more than just a restoration of the blessings which
we might have missed. Restoration itself implies that you had to have it
first, then it becomes lost, marred, etc. and must needs be restored.
So these YEARS which have been devastated and marred by the self-will of
man, will be restored to us again, and then filled up with His goodness.
HE is able to build and fill up all the ages past, as well as the future
which shall be filled with His glory. All time is in the hand of God, both
past and future. All is alike unto Him, for He dwells in what can be rightly
termed "the eternal present," and thus He can just as easily deal with
past or future.
Just because we presently are not able to fully comprehend the LENGTH,
the very time operations of our God, let us not foolishly close our minds
to the truth. But to say with one who wrote, "Lord, I do not presently
understand all of this, but whatever You mean by it, fulfill it in my life
according to your plan, not according to my limited comprehension."
It takes strength, and we need to be rooted and grounded in love, if we
are to understand, receive thoroughly, the glorious length of time, in
its vast stretch of the ages to come, and the outworking of God's purpose.
Time is the speed in which sound moves. Time is the
space in which light travels.
Time is the arena of motion. Time is a degree, its intensity
is regulated by God.
I know not how much of the over--all span of time that the Psalmist was
able to comprehend, but he was able to say, "My times are in Your hand."
[Psalm 30:15]. And may God help us to even know this, that we might be
at peace with Him in the outworking of His purpose in our own lives.
THE
HEIGHT, and THE DEPTH. Having briefly considered the outreach and the
time for its fulfillment in God's purpose, we now come to the next dimensions.
It is difficult to speak of one without the other, so we'll take them together,
the height and the depth. "The heaven for height, and the earth for depth."
[Proverbs 25:3].
Interestingly enough, it does not give traditions' contrast of heaven and
hell, but rather, heaven and earth. Jesus Christ did not come to lead us
from hell to heaven, He came to lead us from this earthly, carnal realm,
to the Father. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto
the Father, but by Me."
[John 14:6].
Rather
than being geographical locations, we can readily say that concerning both
heaven and hell, they are a "state, or a condition of being." One songwriter
beautifully stated it, "Where Jesus is, 'tis heaven there," for he was
thinking of that harmony of fellowship and love. However the Psalmist declared,
"If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there." [Psalm 139:8], for God's
presence fills His universe. But to be aware of the presence of God, and
yet to be out of fellowship and harmony with Him, is indeed a hellish state.
And this very earthly sojourn can become very much of a "hell" if we are
in rebellion to the will of God.
Now we come to a scripture which gives the contrast again. "I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet you
shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
[Isaiah 14:14-15].
The word "hell" that is used here is the Hebrew word "sheol" meaning
"the unseen state." It was also used in referring to the grave, which would
be just a few feet into the earth. Our old English word "hell" is a derivative
from the Saxon "hillan" or "helan," or from "hell," a cavern, which anciently
denoted the concealed or UNSEEN PLACE of the dead in general. In parts
of England men still say, "I plan to hell my potatoes," meaning to bury
them in a hole or pit, that is, a covered place. And formerly a lover would
take his sweetheart into a "hell" to kiss her, that is, into a place where
others could not see. Thus we can understand how far we have come even
in changing this word hell from what it once stood for, until now, by popular
usage it has come to mean a place of torment.
Tradition
says that God is in His heaven, the Devil is in his hell. But the Word
declares that God's presence is everywhere, and for us right now, most
importantly, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world,
and they that dwell therein." [Psalm 24:1]. Regardless of our present state
or condition, we are HIS creation, and while we have been placed in this
"low estate," subjected to the bondage of vanity for a time, yet it is
with the hope that ultimately we shall be raised up again into a more glorious
state in fellowship and harmony with our Creator.
"Now that HE ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended
up, far above all heavens, that He might fill all things."
[Ephesians 4:9-10].
We would ascend, but is it not a spiritual principle that "the way up is
down?" And thus even Christ first descended, "made Himself of no reputation,
and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God has highly
exalted Him." [Philippians 2:7-9].
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in due time."
[1 Peter 5:6].
Now the negative approach is from height to depth, but the positive is
from the depth to the height. "He brought me up also out of an horrible
pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established
my goings." [Psalm 40:2].
Then notice how Paul refers to all of these dimensions in one rich passage
of scripture. Beginning with the fact that we are already Iow, in the DEPTH,
dead in trespasses and sins, carnal, earthy, now "He has raised us up together,
and made us sit together in the heavenlies (that's the HEIGHT) in Christ
Jesus. That in the ages (LENGTH) to come He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus
(the BREADTH, grace to all men)." [Ephesians 2:6-7].
And
then we come to this most blessed principle of spiritual equation. "The
length and the breadth and the height of it are equal." [Revelation 21:16].
Specially this is applied to the New Jerusalem, which is a typology figure
for the bride, the Lamb's wife. But we believe that God's fundamental rules
apply to all of His operations, and so we rejoice, for it indicates that
God does not sacrifice quality for quantity.
It matters not how far the outreach must go to include all men, unto the
ends of the earth, He will not sacrifice the quality of redemption so that
He might take them all in. "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession
for them." [Hebrews 7:25]. Salvation is TO THE UTTERMOST, to the full,
and it shall be for ALL.
Redemption
is also equal the length, so that while it may require the ages to come,
to reveal the bountiful measures of His grace, yet time does not weaken
or lessen the quality. The recipients of His salvation in the far off distant
ages will find it just as transforming and glorious as we do today. In
fact the glory thereof shall increase with the length, inasmuch as the
manifestations of His triumph will have spread from the first fruits to
ever-increasing numbers of His creation, till the whole has come to know
Him as their all in all.
And
when one considers the height-beyond the beyonds, which leaves our mind
grasping for boundaries, still HIS is the fulness "that fills all in all."
[Ephesians 1:23]. Breadth, length, height, depth, these have given us four
dimensions, but Paul goes on to tell us of the FIFTH DIMENSION, for He
says, " AND TO KNOW ALSO-THE LOVE OF THE CHRIST."
The
LOVE of the Christ which surpasses knowledge. This tremendous fifth
dimension actually encompasses all of the other four, and that is what
makes them equal. His love enwraps the whole, and the quality of that love
is not diminished by His dealings with us here on earth, nor is there a
higher quality for operations in the heavenlies. He does not have one kind
of love for a sinner, and another kind of love for a believer. HIS LOVE
IS THE SAME TOWARDS ALL REALMS!
"For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Romans 8:38-39].
Now what is the result of our comprehending such a tremendous scope? Why
did Paul desire that we have strength, to comprehend with all saints, these
glorious dimensions? So that "you may be filled through all your being
unto all the fulness of God-that is, may have the richest measure of the
divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself."
[Ephesians 3:19, Amplified].
If God were not GOD of the whole universe, in its great outreach, then
how could I be sure that He could be totally God, to fill all of my being?
Perhaps I would be that one unfortunate creature which would miss out on
His mercy and grace. But to comprehend that every dimension, regardless
of how expansive it might be, the whole is covered by the Love of Christ,
then I know that being contained within this circle, I am to be a receiver
of His salvation which is TO THE UTTERMOST. Love decreed it, Love shall
fulfill it, until I am filled and flooded with its reality. Every creature
shall know the joy of this marvelous, boundless grace.
A GOD OF LOVE IS HE
The outreach of the grace of God, Is greater far, I see
Than all the creeds of mortal man, A God of Love is He.
The span of time, the ages course, Is such a mystery,
Yet all is fitted for His plan, A God of love is He,
The depth to which creation goes, This earth's Gethsemane.
Is still within Divine control, A God of love is He.
The height to which we shall arise, Redemption full and
free,
Was purposed long before the fall, A God of love is He.
And over all His vast domain, Each measurement's degree,
His love surpasses every score, From outer edge to inmost
core,
And yet aboundeth more and more, The whole creation to
restore.
A God of love is He. BACK
TIME- BY DIVINE
DEGREES - Chapter 4
"By faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by
a saying of God."
[Hebrews 11:3, Young's Literal Trans.].
BY
FAITH we understand. True faith always pre-supposes a divine revelation
has been received to become the foundation upon which a belief or action
is founded. We read that "by faith Abraham went out, not knowing whither
he went." The record is based upon the history of his actions and how he
obeyed God. But if you go back into the Genesis account, you read, "The
Lord SAID unto Abram, Get out of your country." [Gen. 12:1].
Abraham went out, by faith, yes, but it was obedient action based upon
a divine revelation, "GOD SAID!" If God had not spoken to him, he
would not have had direction to go any place, he would not even have known
he was suppose to have gone.
When we read, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for," [Heb. 11:1],
we find that the word "substance" comes from the Greek word meaning "substratum,"
or that undergirding solid rock. Faith has an undergirding, it is divine
revelation, and without that ROCK of His illuminated Word, we have
nothing to base our beliefs, or our actions upon.
So the writer says, with the divine revelation of God undergirding our
understanding, we understand that the "worlds were framed by the word of
God." (King James Trans.). This word "world" meaning AGES, and the word
"framed" meaning TO MAKE THOROUGHLY FIT, to be adequate, adjusted, fully
equipped. By faith we understand that time has been made thoroughly
fit, adequately equipped, fully planned and prepared by God to work out
a purpose. TIME IS A SERVANT TO THE PURPOSE OF GOD!
Furthermore
it is essential that we understand that God does have a purpose which is
being wrought out through time. This is not just a helter-skelter succession
of unrelated events, piling up in confusion on each other. God has a beautifully
synchronized purpose which He is executing right on schedule, with every
age fitted for its own part in that purpose. "Known unto God are all His
works from the beginning of the world." [Acts 15:18], for He is both the
" Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last." [Revelation 1:11]. And we would
add for emphasis, HE IS ALL OF THE DISTANCE IN BETWEEN! He is greater than
time, for He is the Author of time, and in perfect control of its progress
and process.
God
has "a purpose of the ages, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Eph.
3:11, Young's]. It contains the whole, outworking and interplay of good
and evil. It's end is secure in His triumphant victory, and it shall redound
to His praise. But for now, we would turn our thoughts more to our own
participation in this purpose, and know that our life has been ordered
of God with a distinct purpose in view, and HE has fitted all of the "times"
for our life. As it says of David, "Now the acts of David the king,
first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel....with
all his reign and his might, AND THE TIMES THAT WENT OVER HIM..." [1
Chronicles 29:29, 20]. Thank God, every fragment of "the times that go
over us" are in His sovereign control. The length of each testing, and
the glory of each blessing, and all beautifully entwined to fulfill His
plan for us, and bring us into our destined place in Him.
Now it is certain that flesh cannot bring itself into the timetables of
God, nor can we bring God down to our time schedules. "Lord, do this right
now," we pray, and if this is in harmony with His plan, it does come to
pass immediately, but if God's plan is otherwise, we learn to wait and
in patience possess our souls, saying, "Your will be done." God can bring
us to His time, and sustain us in all the intervals when the vision seems
to tarry. And we repeat, while God's purpose is being wrought out through
time, it is not subject to time, but time has been fitted for its outworking,
for time is a servant to God's purpose.
GOD'S
PURPOSE ANTEDATES TIME, for He purposed it in Himself before time began,
and then arranged for the times in which He will fulfill it. Therefore
His purpose is not in bondage to any man's time, be it a day, or a thousand
years, but all time has to serve that purpose. Furthermore, God's grace,
whereby this purpose shall be accomplished, also antedates time, for we
read, "Before time began He planned to give us in Christ the grace to
achieve this purpose..." [2 Timothy 1:9, Phillips].
The sufficiency of grace was freely given before time began, hence God's
grace is not bound to time either. Grace can take all the time it desires
for its manifestation, for it is not subject to the confines and limitations
of time. The religious traditions of some speak of an age of grace, as
if all other ages would be devoid of grace. This is utter nonsense. You
cannot possibly limit the grace of God to any one age, for it is manifest
in all ages, and is not bound to any certain age alone.
Since
man is saved by grace, not of self-works, and grace is a gift of a sovereign
God, then obviously He can administer that grace to man whenever He chooses.
The length of time has no claims upon that grace, it is but a servant to
His grace, to reveal by degrees the wonder and glory of God's bountiful
grace and mercy. Should God so arrange that this be the hour when He gives
grace in your life, then bow low before Him in worship and praise. Yet
if you have loved ones who have not yet been given this inflow of grace,
do not despair, "In Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his
own order." [1 Cor. 15:22-23], and God has fitted the ages so that there
is an appointed time for grace to work in every life. We do not know
HIS times and seasons, therefore we warn every man to turn to God now,
knowing that we reap what we sow, and to continue sowing to the flesh means
more harvests of suffering and sorrow. And we thank God for each heart
that is opened to receive of God's grace now. But, for those who seemingly
are hardened and resisting His love today, grace has not lost, there is
an acceptable time when grace shall reach every hardened soul. In fact,
I dare say grace is already at work through the disciplines and trials
and fires of purification, preparing that one for the day when they shall
bow and worship Him as Lord and Saviour.
With
a purpose that antedates time, and grace also given before time for its
accomplishment, next we find that there is a wisdom that also antedates
time. "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,
which God ordained before the world (ages) unto our glory." [1 Corinthians
2:7]. The Amplified gives, "That wisdom which God devised and decreed before
the ages for our glorification (that is, to lift us into the glory of His
presence)."
This divinely imparted wisdom is not a product of time, gained through
the unfolding of time's experience, but is that divine wisdom which antedates
time, and when received enables us to use time in relationship to the purpose.
Wisdom
is the KNOW-HOW which is joined to the ability, GRACE, to accomplish the
PURPOSE. And how marvelous that God can impart a word of wisdom
in an instant, that goes far beyond our "years," and the times of our experience,
and the knowledge gained through experience.
You say you would like to receive some of this wisdom? "If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all liberally, and upbraids not;
and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
[James 1:5-7].
And
Paul writes that in Christ are "all the treasures of divine wisdom, of
comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and all the riches
of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment stored up and lie hidden." [Colossians
2:3, Amplified].
So, to ask in faith, and to recognize that this wisdom is in Christ and
that He abides within us by His Spirit, and is able to impart that wisdom
according to the need, as we live and walk in harmony with the Spirit.
And the more we come into this union with Christ, the greater the flow
of His life through us, in all its manifestations. And "He is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."
[1 Cor. 1:30].
A purpose--grace for its out working--wisdom to direct it, and then we
find that God has also promised LIFE which also antedates time, and which
can endure all the ages, and still remain in full strength at the end of
time. "In hope of eternal (Greek, aionian, AGE--ABIDING) life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world (before the ages) began; but
has in due time manifested..." [Titus 1:2-3].
Aionian-life, or age-abiding life is life that abides throughout all time,
for it is not subject to time, being that life of God which actually antedates
time. The ringing declaration that God shall be "all in all" makes it self-evident
that the end is secure. [1 Cor. 15:28]. What the real need is, is LIFE
WHICH CAN ABIDE THE PASSING OF TIME, so that we do not miss out on any
of the processes of the coming ages. This is that divine life which God
promised before time began, and which is now made manifest through our
Lord Jesus Christ, "Who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality
(Greek, incorruption) to light through the gospel."
[2 Timothy 1:10].
There is no need to worry about "eternity" which is secure in the hand
of God, the question is, do we have life which can last as long as time
lasts? There is a life that goes beyond this "bios," physical life of the
flesh. There is a life which goes beyond "psuche," Greek word for soulish
life. The Greek word used for divine, age-abiding life is "zoe," and this
life antedated time, abides all through time, and will abound after the
ages have run their course and the whole returned back into God, to find
its consummation in Him. It is of this life which John spoke, when he said,
"He that has the Son has life." [1 John 5:12]. Jesus Christ IS our life,
and abiding within our hearts by faith, and by His Spirit, we are passing
from the realms of death into the fulness of His life. "I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." [John
10:10].
To speak of that which is before time, makes it self-evident that time
has a beginning. Time's beginnings no doubt are concurrent with Genesis
1:1, "In the beginnings." The Hebrew word here is in the plural form. It
has its counterpart in Hebrews 1:10, "And, You, Lord, in the beginnings
(here the Greek word also is plural) have laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the works of Your hands." While this was the beginnings
of many things--sin's entrance into the universe, and many other projections
of God's purpose, time certainly figures in this beginning. BUT, we
repeat, there are those things which were BEFORE TIME, which have a
more eternal quality, they abide through the passing of time, and shall
emerge in victory after time shall be no more.
It is also apparent that there are many ages yet to come, for Paul writes
"that in the ages (plural) to come He might show the exceeding riches of
His grace in kindness towards us through Christ Jesus." [Eph. 2:7].
That time also has an ending is also revealed, for we read the statement,
"neither in this world (age), neither in the world (age) to come." [Matthew
12:32]. Again, "The harvest is the end of the world (age)." [Matthew 13:39].
And, "Upon whom the ends of the ages have come." [1 Cor. 10:11]. Now, if
the ages are plural, then one has to end for the next one to begin. But
if one age is equal to eternity, then the plural is an impossibility. Yet
we hear a most senseless phrase, "the endless ages of eternity." If one
age is endless, there is no plurality, and if there is an end to an age,
then it is not eternal.
Our common law of opposites can offer us a good point for consideration
about time and eternity. We need no proof that when we say "down" that
there is an "up." We need no proof that there is an "out" when we say "in."
So
also, to say "TIME" definitely implies that it has an opposite which is
"ETERNITY." Eternity signifies a condition or a state wherein time does
not even exist any more than "up" exists in "down."
Much confusion concerning God's plan of the ages is eliminated when we
understand that the words given in our King James Version, forever, eternal,
everlasting, all spring from the root Greek word "aion" meaning age. When
we read, "But now once in the end of the world (age) has He appeared to
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" [Hebrews 9:26], we know that
this was not the end of the world, for it has continued two thousand years
since Calvary. But we do recognize that it was an end to a certain age,
a time period which entailed a certain form of God's dealings with man,
and then a transition into a new age, in which He dealt with man in a new
order. Thus we pass from age to age, each successive age fulfilling
God's purpose, for which it was framed, fitted, and then passing away,
while a new one begins.
God
alone is the ETERNAL CENTER from which all time proceeds, and into Whom
all things return to find their consummation. "For thus says the high and
lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy." [Isaiah 57:15].
There is no such thing as time succession with God, as He can deal with
our past or future as equally as with our present, for all is alike unto
Him. He is the ETERNAL I AM. We say, He was, He is, and He will be, but
actually HE IS alone expresses Him. For us there has to be a past and a
future, a point of beginning and an ending, for we are under the workings
of time. But HE who is greater than all time, is not subject to its bondage,
nor limited to its operations.
Augustine
said, "Past and future I find in all the motion of things. In the truth
which abides I find not past and future, but only the present. And this
without fear or possibility of change. Take God and you will find the I
AM. To mount beyond time, who shall do this in his own strength? But let
Him lift us up, Who said to the Father, I will that where I AM that there
they may be also." End of quote.
Now, the more we yield to the in workings of the Spirit of God, the more
we shall come into harmony with His purpose being wrought throughout the
ages. The more we shall receive of His grace for its accomplishment in
our life. The more we shall receive of His wisdom to know the way. And
the more we shall receive of His LIFE to abide the processing.
While the Scriptures speak of many different ages, it also points to that
climactic age of all ages. We read the phrase "Your throne, O God, is for
ever and ever." [Hebrews 1:8]. These words "for ever and ever" come from
the Greek which literally means TO THE AGE OF THE AGES. This is
very familiar terminology in the Scripture. In the Tabernacle structure
of the Old Testament, we read of the court, of the sanctuary, and then
of the holiest of all, or the holy of holies. It was the most holy place,
where the presence of God dwelt, and into which place the high priest went
but once a year, and then always with the blood of the sacrifice which
was a covering for their sins.
Then we read of "the song of songs which is Solomon's." [Song of Solomon
1:1]. For Solomon "spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a
thousand and five." [1 Kings 4:32]. But of all the songs which he wrote,
there was one that was chief above them all, it was the song of songs.
Thus
all through the Scriptures, though obscured by many translators, we have
this phrase "to the age of the ages." It points to that age which shall
be the greatest of all ages, and which finds its type in the year of Jubilee.
That glorious climax to His purpose and process of the ages, wherein He
says, "Behold, I make ALL things new." And when He says, "ALL", is self-evident
that there is nothing remaining in the universe which shall not be made
new, else all is not all.
"For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death." [1 Corinthians 15:25-26]. When
the last enemy is under His feet, destroyed, it is self-evident that none
remains. Then shall God be all in all! The Amplified gives, "Be everything
to everyone."
"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." [1 John 1:5]. Thus it
is self-evident that when He is all in all in me, there will be no darkness
left in me, but the whole shall be light, else He is not all in all.
The sun goes down and darkness fills the room where you are sitting, then
you flip the switch and "turn on the light," where does the darkness go?
It is dissipated by the light, it is swallowed up into the light. It does
not hide compact in a corner until later when it speaks out and overcomes
the light and reigns again, it cannot overpower the light. "In Him was
life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not." [John 1:4-5]. He is that True Light
"which lights every man that comes into the world" [Verse 9], and when
every man has been fully illuminated, all darkness is gone. The low vibrations
of darkness shall be raised to the higher vibrations of light, and the
whole restored into God again.
"Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing
everyone in all wisdom, (in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes
of God), that we may present EVERY PERSON mature--full-grown, fully
initiated, complete and perfect-in Christ, the Anointed One."
[Colossians 1:28, Amplified].
Now, we return to our thought, coming into Christ, time is a servant, not
a master, though in our state of imperfection we seem to be bound by time.
But consider the promise contained in the statement, "And it came to pass
in the process of time..." [Exodus 2 23]. Time is transitory, it does not
last, therefore everything which is related to time's processing simply
COMES TO PASS, out of the future, into our present, and on into our past,
for such are the workings of time. Since God fitted the ages for their
purpose, and each fragment of time must obey His command, once that allotted
time has been run, its process complete, it makes way for the next thing
to come and be fulfilled.
But, once in a while we all feel like the Israelites, "And it came to pass,
while the Ark abode in Kirjathjearim, THAT THE TIME WAS LONG; for
it was twenty years." [1 Samuel 7:2]. But God sustains even in these
periods, and we can say again with the Psalmist, "My times are in Your
hand." It is good to know where our times are, and when we are assured
that they are in God's hands, then leave your times there. He will begin
and end every situation and circumstance right on schedule, and utilize
every moment in between to fully work out His purpose and plan for your
life. For the totality of all time is in His control, and every moment
is His. This is more than recognizing that God controls the "whole scheme"
of things, but also that every detail is under sovereign care, and you
are His workmanship.
"I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there
is a time (appointed) for every matter and purpose and for every work."
[Eccl. 3:17, Amplified].
Every degree of time, every advance into new eras, all moves according
to the counsel of God, with the whole interplay of good and evil fulfilling
His will. TIME IS BUT A SERVANT to fulfill His plan. And that which
was given us in Christ before time began, will abide times passing, and
bring us through into the glorious consummation wherein we shall be satisfied
with His fulness, and redound to His glory.
TIME IS THEIR SERVANT
O grace of God that antedates, The times and ways of
men,
Inworking wonders of His love, Untraced by mortal pen.
To fill the purposes of God, Purposed in Christ our Lord,
To conquer every hidden foe, In times' permitted horde.
A plan so great the ages course, Is fitted for its need,
Each year and month and hour move, In perfect measured
speed.
While wisdom joins its wonders rare, To execute God's
will,
To undergird each forward step, And guide each move with
skill.
With life abiding every age, Not bound to mortal's time,
But flowing onward in great strength, Enduring every
clime.
A purpose, wisdom, grace, and life, All this to reign
supreme,
Time is their servant, not their lord, Mankind to now
redeem. BACK
THE SCENT OF
WATER - Chapter 5
"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it
will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though
the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the
ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs
like a plant. But man. ..where is he?" [Job 14:7-10].
The searchings of heart and the questionings of the mind which Job faced
are closely akin to many of the thoughts which still motivate the probings
of men in this generation. How blessed are these nuggets of truth therefore
which the Spirit of God reveals to the heart, as we seek to understand
the ways of death and life.
In his account of the fall and rebirth of the tree, Job reveals the wonderful
and inspiring truth of RESTORATION, one that involves THE SCENT OF WATER.
Yet
when it came to relating this parable of natural life, Job found it hard
to join it to his ponderings on the destiny of man. And the question comes
with forceful challenge, "If a man die, shall he live again." [Job 14:14].
Then as the dawning light of truth begins to pierce through the shadows
that darken his understanding, Job begins to grasp the truth, and so we
read on...
"All the days of my appointed time will I wait, TILL MY CHANGE COME.
You shall call, and I will answer You: YOU WILL HAVE A DESIRE TO THE WORK
OF YOUR HANDS. For now You number my steps: do You not watch over my sin?"
[Job
14:14-16].
RESTORATION is a beautiful word, yet methinks most people little comprehend
the true scope of its meaning, and the glory of its outreach. Far too long
we have been prone to limit everything to the confines of the natural mind,
and circumvent a precious truth with the natural confusions and conclusions
of the world. Given in its common usage, we take the word "restoration"
to mean an act of restoring, putting back into an unimpaired or much improved
condition, putting back into nearly or quite the original form. Thus we
use it with the thought of repairing or recovering, and sometimes even
limit it to the thought of "patching up."
But
to use the word RESTORATION in harmony with the glorious sweep of the Word
of God, we must connect it with the word RESURRECTION, and to do so changes
the thought from the limited confines of that which is only repaired or
patched up, into a NEW LIFE COMPLETELY. This is readily seen in our scripture
text concerning a tree that was cut down, its root waxed old in the earth,
and the stock thereof died in the ground. But there is HOPE, there is an
EXPECTATION, not for the renewing or reviving of the old tree, but of a
NEW GROWTH, a new life which shall spring forth out of the old stump. It
required but THE SCENT OF WATER to cause that old dry and decayed stump
to become the womb of a new life, and it begins to bud and bring forth
boughs like a plant.
The illustration is also found in the life of king Nebuchadnezzar, when
in his dream he was depicted as a tree "which grew, and was strong, whose
height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth."
But he also saw in his dream how that "a watcher and an holy one coming
down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave
the stump of the roots thereof in the earth." [Daniel 4;20, 23]. The destruction
was severe, and the king was driven from men, and did eat grass (Hebrew
here is herbs) as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,
until the time decreed for his discipline and correction was fulfilled.
THEN THE SCENT OF WATER--then the mercy of God was extended to him, and
a transformation was made, for not only was the king restored, but it was
a new life. Gone was the old life of pride and conceit, or personal glory,
now there was manifested a new light which gave glory to God, and he praised
and gave honour unto Him that lives for ever and ever.
At the same time he was re-established in his kingdom, excellent majesty
was added unto him. Thus we see the outreach of restoration is not just
a return to former glory, nor reviving of an old life, but it involves
a resurrection into a whole new life, to the glory of our God.
The SCENT of water. This word "scent" meaning the smell, savour, fragrance.
It didn't require a great flood of actual water, but the very fragrance
thereof reaching out unto the dry, desolate stump, and HOPE WAS REVIVED,
and then as the water begins to refresh and bring its life, the boughs
grew and flourished.
In spiritual terms this "scent" might be said to be the "VISION" which
is a vital part of the real, but not the actual complete fulfillment. But
the scent, the fragrance, THE VISION is reaching us, and we find it causes
a stirring deep within, and a new life is coming forth. "Where there is
no vision, the people perish." [Proverbs 29:18]. We would like to give
another our vision, with hope that they too might begin to partake of this
new life, but this is not something that one man can pass on to another.
Only water can give the SCENT of water. Only the SPIRIT OF GOD can send
forth its fragrance, impart the vision needed for today.
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out of My Spirit
upon ALL FLESH; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." [Joel 2:28].
A
sovereign work of a sovereign God, to impart the vision to every creature,
that all might be brought into the fulness of HIS more abundant life.
Along with the word "vision," perhaps we can add the word "SOUND," as a
comparable example, for the first sounds that come to one are not the full
message, but they prepare the way for that which is to follow, alerting
one's attention, and causing, one to give ear to that full message which
is to be spoken. And in this connection we have the combining of
words, when Elijah said unto Ahab, "There is a sound of abundance of rain."
[1 Kings 18:41]. Rather than speaking of the SCENT, he used the word
SOUND, but in either case, it denoted that RAIN WAS COMING, and it would
bring new life to the drought-strickened nation.
How timely therefore are the words of Psalm 89:15. "Blessed the people
that know THE JOYFUL SOUND: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light
of Your countenance."
Surely like a withering tree, Christendom has lost its life and glory,
it has become a dry and barren thing, twice dead, and ready to be plucked
up by the roots. Man has so organized and programized his religion, that
it is time for the end of all flesh to come. Many have looked upon the
barren fields and wept. Many, in sorrow, have turned to other avenues of
religion, searching among the entanglings of science and various cults,
trying to find something that would offer a ray of hope. Others have simply
gritted their teeth, and with extreme determination fought to carry on
in the old form and ceremony, hoping that something would come along with
a surge of life and help patch up the decaying tree. But in the midst
of all this confusion and chaos we find a remnant, A CALLED OUT COMPANY,
who have HEARD THE JOYFUL SOUND, they have caught the SCENT OF WATER, A
VISION has gripped their heart, and anew life is springing up in the midst
of the earth. To them it is not a revitalizing of the old, a
returning to some "good old days of yesteryear," nor yet the propping up
of that which is falling down, but they are beginning to taste the glory
of a NEW LIFE coming into them from the living fountain of HIS divine life.
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines; the labour of the olive tree shall fail, and the fields shall yield
no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no
herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God
of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength." [Habakkuk 3:17-19].
It
is not a looking back to see if there is any hope for the old, there is
no expectation that the former realms will yet produce any new "meat and
drink," but neither is there any discouragement in the hearts of those
who have caught THE SCENT OF WATER, for they know that God is simply "taking
away the first, that He may establish the second." [Hebrews 10:9].
The old methods of revival are not accomplishing the task of today. The
old traditions and creeds of men are not giving enough light to guide the
steps of our youth upon today's pathway. And yet, though God's CALLED
OUT ONES realize their total inadequacy to meet these tremendous needs,
still there is a rejoicing within them, because they have seen THE VISION,
they have HEARD THE SOUND, they have RECEIVED THE SCENT OF WATER, and know
that GOD HAS A PLAN AND PURPOSE whereby all mankind shall be restored unto
their Creator, and that resurrection life shall ultimately reach every
individual.
THE
SOUND of an abundance of rain! No one can "hear" for another in such
a way as to cause another to rejoice in the coming rain, each one must
hear for himself. To one dull of hearing, there is no prospect in view,
even as to one who is blind, the vision before us offers them no hope.
Likewise for those whose sense of smell is deadened by the odors of the
flesh, the scent of water has no meaning to them. Far too long has man
sought out the titillating and exotic odors of strange realms to excite
the flesh, until they no longer can detect the sweet fragrance of the coming
rain.
"Because the savour (scent) of your good ointments, your name is as ointment
poured forth, therefore do the virgins love you. Draw me, we will run after
you." [Song of Solomon 1:3-4].
DRAW
ME! How? By sending forth the sweet fragrance which shall captivate me,
and cause me to desire only you. Your name is an ointment poured forth.
The name represents the whole nature and character of the one to whom it
belongs. HIS LIFE has been poured out, His love and mercy have reached
out unto mankind, and those who receive THE SCENT find that it awakens
in them a deep desire to RUN AFTER HIM. How expressive are the words of
a song someone wrote "Sound afar the tidings of the Saviour's worth,
Ring the message over land and sea, And if I be lifted
up above the earth
I will draw all men to Me. Irresistible, so meek, yet
glorious,
Irresistible, o'er all victorious, Irresistible, He goes
before us,
How irresistible the Christ of God!"
Yes, indeed, the vision, the sound, the scent of water is most irresistible,
for we have found that which speaks satisfaction to the heart. All Christendom
might be asleep, and once we were content to slumber with them, but not
now. Rather, we say with the scripture, "My heart wakes: It is the voice
of my Beloved that knocks, saying, Open to Me, My sister, My Love, My dove,
My undefiled: for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops
of the night." [Song of Solomon 5:2]. Ah, all might be so still, nothing
stirring outwardly, no great revival in progress, everyone slumbers on,
until HE COMES, at the sound of His voice, at the scent of water, the fragrance
of the dew, of the drops of the night-then there is a response within,
a new life awakens, a branch is put forth, new growth begins to take place.
"Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Cords that lie buried will vibrate once more."
The tree
is cut down, the life is wasted, hope has fled, and faith is nil. Is there
to be no restoration ? YES, A THOUSAND TIMES, YES! At the scent of water
it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
"You, O God did send a plentiful rain, whereby You did confirm Your inheritance,
when it was weary. Your congregation has dwelt therein: You, O God, have
prepared of Your goodness for the poor. The Lord gave the Word: great was
the company of those that published it." [Psalm 68:9-11].
Again we find the connection made-- rain to refresh, and the sound of the
Word going forth. It doesn't take length of years to cause one to grow
weary. The barrenness of religion, the dryness of form and ceremony, and
we were like one panting in the desert for a drink of cool water. But the
Lord has prepared of His goodness for the poor, and He has given a Word
to refresh the weary. "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says unto the called out." [Revelation 3:6]. It is the Word given line
upon line that produces "the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to
rest; and this is the refreshing." [Isaiah 28:12]. Many have thought
that the "stammering lip, and another tongue" were the refreshing, but
not so--this is how God spoke to them because they refused to hear the
Word given unto them line upon line, and precept upon precept.
We would not minimize the work of the holy Spirit, for we deeply appreciate
every avenue of His moving in the hearts of men, and surely we rejoice
in the "speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance." But we
also need to be careful to rightly divide the Word of truth, and not apply
a scripture where it does not belong. A wide scale movement of "speaking
in tongues" is not the RAIN which the Lord has promised. That which shall
refresh the weary, and cause new life to spring forth out of the barren,
is the inflow of the pure WORD OF THE LORD. "As cold waters to a
thirsty soul, so is GOOD NEWS from afar country." [Proverbs 25:25].
(Original Editor's note: "Speaking in tongues" is a gift of the Lord and
it is imparted to the believer by the holy Spirit. This is one of the major
foundational "truths" which most Pentecostal church groups embrace. Oft
times the "gift" overshadows the Giver. I quote from a statement of Rev.
S. Buell, "The gifts of the Spirit can gratify the flesh." Use, develop
each and every gift; however, the gift never should replace the center
of our focus, which is Christ, Our Lord.).
"Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the
Lord shall make bright clouds, and given them showers of rain." [Zechariah
10:1].
"And He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former, and the latter
rain in the first. ..and I will restore to you the years..." [Joel 2:23,
25.].
It is significant to note that the words "the former rain" are given in
the margin as "A TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS," for the Hebrew word
used here is the same for "former rain" and for "teacher." "Sow to yourselves
in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is
time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you." [Hosea
10:12]. TILL HE COME AND TEACH RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The scent of water--the sound of His word--this is what shall bring forth
new life. Men have tried everything else, musical programs, moving pictures,
personal testimonies and personality parades, all to no avail. But when
there shall be the SOUND OF THE WORD, teaching line upon line the
truth so vitally needed for this hour, it shall be as the scent of water
which shall cause the old dry and dead stumps to bud and bring forth new
life, HIS LIFE.
An illustration of this inner response is found in the life of Elisabeth,
the mother of John the Baptist. " And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth
heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. (and she said),
For as soon as the voice of your salutation SOUNDED in mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy." [Luke 1:41, 44].
The word "sounded" is actually the Greek word "ginomai" meaning TO BECOME.
At the very scent of water, just as soon as the voice of the salutation
began to become, to take on recognized form in her ears, there was a response
from within. It is true, we do not claim to have the full message, our
revelations are quite incomplete, but as soon as there is a beginning,
and the vision starts TO BECOME, what a stirring we feel deep within.
After all, we have been dead and dry for so long, we could not receive
the full rain at once, but THE SCENT OF WATER comes, preparing the
way for the heavier showers to follow, when we are ready to receive the
deeper inworkings of our Lord.
Thus far, in this chapter, we have limited the application pretty much
to our own individual paths, and its response in the REMNANT, God's
called out ones. But now we would like to sweep out with a more general
application to all men. For the question remains, "If a man die, shall
he live again?" There is hope for a tree, at the scent of water, it will
bud with new life, but what about a man? We cannot generate a spiritual
scent of water needed to give new creation life. Job knew this, but
his understanding did enlarge to comprehend this much, "all the days of
my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." But, what if my change
does not come before physical death overtakes me? Ah, the answer follows,
"YOU SHALL CALL, AND I WILL ANSWER YOU: YOU WILL HAVE A DESIRE TO THE WORK
OF YOUR HANDS." [Job 14:15].
Of the fall and destruction of man, we are well aware-- the tree is cut
down, and brought to nought. But GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN HIS CREATION,
His desire is still towards the work of His hands.
"YOU turn man to destruction: and say, Return, you children of men. For
a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and
as a watch in the night.--Return? O Lord, how long? and let it repent You
concerning Your servants. O satisfy us early with Your mercy; that we may
rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein
You have afflicted us, and the years where we have seen evil."
[Psalm 90:3-4,13-15].
God
foreknew the fall of man, and how that death would pass upon all men. Part
of His purpose of the ages was to "turn man to destruction." But He also
planned for the restoration of that man. The time element is no hindering
factor with God, a thousand years being but as a watch in the night. When
man began his downward road into destruction, it was with the command that
ultimately he was to-- RETURN, YOU CHILDREN OF MEN. So the next question
rightly follows, "Return, O Lord, how long?" And then the plea, "O, satisfy
us early with Your mercy." What a comprehensive view of the whole
process.
Is
there any place where the scent of water cannot reach? NO! For "where shall
I go from Your Spirit? or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend
up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are
There." [Psalm 139:7-8].
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
--Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which ALL that are
in the graves shall hear His voice; and shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation (Greek, judgment)." [John 5:25,28-29].
The
scent of water shall reach ALL MEN, the sound of His voice shall come unto
them, and they that hear shall come forth, resurrection for the good brings
them into His more abundant life, and resurrection for the evil, rebellious
ones, advances them into the process of judgment, i.e. divine correction,
before they receive of the fulness of His life. The word "damnation"
used in King James translation is actually the Greek word "krisis" meaning
judgment. God's judgments are all with purpose, to chasten and correct
until restoration is accomplished. (Of which we shall have more to say
upon later on.). "When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants
of the world will learn righteousness." [Isaiah 26:9]. (Original Editor's
note: We direct the readers attention to The Spirit of The Word, by A.P.
Adams, (linked below) Chapter 12. "Probation;" Chapter 15. "Judgment,"
and Chapter 21. "The Purpose of Evil.").
The
scent of water, the sound of rain, the voice of the teachers of righteousness
shall ultimately come to every man, for " As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order." [1 Cor.
15:22-23]. How blessed shall be this restoration and resurrection, for
though it was "sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is
sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is
raised in power." [1 Cor. 15:42-43].
Who can begin to comprehend the full scope of the NEW LIFE which shall
ultimately come to every man? But this is certain, Christ did "taste death
for every man." [Hebrews 2:9], and HE IS "the true Light, which lights
every man that comes into the world." [John 1:9].
Yes, to God be the glory! He is mindful of the work of His hands, and though
for a time it seems that some have been hidden away on the shelf, untouched
by the wonders of His grace, time cannot disannul the operations of His
grace when He returns to complete that which He has begun, it shall redound
to His glory. He is the FAITHFUL CREATOR who shall bring all of His creation
into the fulness of His harmony and life.
THE SCENT OF WATER
THE
SCENT OF WATER has reached this heart of mine.
A wakened a deep longing, To leave behind the thronging.
And seek for higher realms of pure design.
The old life now is ending, The new is far transcending,
Thank God for every process to refine.
THE SOUND OF HIS
RAIN has reached this heart of mine.
A message so refreshing. To loose from the immeshing
Of all the carnal ways that would entwine.
How blessed is the sounding, Of truths that are abounding
To work in us His purpose so divine.
THE LIGHT OF VISION has reached
this heart of mine,
Traditions now obscuring, By light that is enduring,
The shadows all dissolved by His sunshine.
The scent, the sound. the vision, Shall work their transformation.
Till I, O Lord, am made completely Thine. BACK
CHRIST-OUR MERCYSEAT
AND INTERCESSOR - Chapter 6
"And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat." [Hebrews
9:5].
"Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,
to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through
the forebearance of God." [Romans 3:25].
"And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world."
[1 John 2:2].
There is a principle to be found in spiritual truth and experience which
can be briefly stated this way: THE HIGHEST ORDER OF ANY THING IS TO
BECOME THAT VERY THING. Thus, in relationship to our Lord, whatever
it was that was spoken of, be it a door, away, a shepherd, etc. every symbol
and type was personified in Him, as He declared, "I AM THE WAY" - "I
AM THE DOOR" - "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD." "If you look for the fulfillment
and consummation thereof, look to Me, for I AM."
Now through these past years the Spirit has begun to quicken to us that
this same principle ultimately is to be wrought out in us--that the
highest form of praise is not to just lift your hands and say "praise the
Lord," but that our very life and being BECOMES HIS PRAISE. The highest
form of prayer is not to bow the knee and offer petitions, it is when your
whole state of being becomes a prayer, an out-breathing of desire for God's
will to be fulfilled in the earth.
So then, as we progress in our understanding of the truths revealed, and
consider these beautiful aspects of truth in Christ, it follows that what
we see IN HIM, when we are fully joined to Him, and brought into His fulness,
then we also are to become expressions of these various things which are
found in Christ, until it shall be said, "because AS HE IS, so are we
in this world." [1 John 4:17].
When we are totally one in Him who is LOVE, and we are fully a partaker
of His divine nature, then we shall literally manifest love simply because
it is our very nature to do so. Whatever the holy Spirit applies this principle
to, for you, as He focuses His illumination upon a thing, to work it into
your life, praise God, that vision becomes prophetic of your destiny's
throne.
Now, as we follow on into the thoughts before us, we discover that the
word given as "mercyseat" is the same word in the Greek which is given
as "propitiation," being the word "hilasterion" and meaning TO APPEASE,
TO SOOTHE, TO CONCILIATE.
We
read that God has given Jesus Christ to be a propitiation for our sins,
and we could equally read it, God has sent forth Jesus Christ to be our
mercyseat. All that the "ARK OF THE COVENANT" described in the Old Testament,
as a part of the inner sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, is fulfilled in Christ,
for HE BECAME OUR MERCY-SEAT.
As we examine the "Ark of the Covenant," and in particular the MERCYSEAT,
there is a truth which we would include here to form the background, that
it may lend its glory to the greater vision which we shall be considering.
We realize that the Scriptures reveal three manifestations of our God,
as Father, Son, and holy Spirit. Now again and again we find a threefold
dimension in truth, touching many areas, body, soul, spirit; thirty-fold,
sixty-fold, one hundred-fold; etc. Thus it becomes almost natural, once
we have gone beyond the surface application or view, to look to see if
there are other aspects to be seen, especially if there is an indication
that there could be three. So as we read of this Ark, we find there are
only two cherubims, instead of three. Let us share with you what the Lord
has quickened to us on this.
Why weren't there three cherubims instead of just two! To begin with, we
find there are three great princes listed in the Word of God. 1) Michael,
and his name means, "Who is like God?" He is the great warrior of God,
the defender of righteousness. 2) Gabriel, whose name means, "God is mighty,"
and he is that divine messenger of truth, representative of the work of
the holy Spirit, for the Spirit comes to guide us into all truth, and every
time you read of Gabriel, he is bringing a message of truth to someone.
Then the Scriptures reveal another, 3) Lucifer, whose name means "the shining
one," or "morning star." This great prince was, Ezekiel 28:14, "the anointed
cherub that covers." But due to the great providence of God, he was thrust
into a negative realm. The word "cherub" literally means "ONE GRASPED"
or "one laid hold of." Paul picks up the word, and though he doesn't use
the word "cherub," he does use a Greek word which means TO BE GRASPED,
or LAID HOLD OF, when he says, "I have been APPREHENDED of Christ."
Thus, when we apprehend one, lay hold of one, grasp them, we could literally
say that they have become our cherub for that moment.
Lucifer
was laid hold of by God for a specific purpose, which now must needs be
fulfilled, namely, to become the opposition, the negative force, while
Christ, The Son, is the Positive Force. Furthermore, if he was a covering
cherub, he had to be covering something, or Someone, and we believe that
he was then the overshadowing aurora of glory over the Christ; that light
bearer which surrounded The Son, then as soon as he was apprehended, laid
hold of, and thrust away from Christ, removed and cut off from Christ,
there was only one result which could follow, to be plunged into darkness.
Surely, to go out from the very presence of Christ, and the flow of His
life, it becomes NIGHT--a realm of death. When the light that is
in you becomes darkness, how great is that darkness! He, who was the covering
of light, was removed from the light of Christ, and CHRIST IS THE SOURCE
OF ALL TRUE LIGHT, so then this one became the instrument of darkness.
As long as this one remains in darkness, his very name is a testimony against
him, for it speaks of what he once was, "a light bearer," but now is not
fulfilling that place.
Yet, is not a great part of the deception of the world today because of
those who claim to be what they are not-- and to be in darkness, yet claiming
to have the light, and able to give forth light. All such "are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."
[2 Corinthians 11:13-15].
Turning our thoughts again to the Ark of the Covenant, we have the two
cherubims overshadowing, representing Michael and Gabriel, but the third
one, Lucifer, is missing. While we have the manifestation of the Father
represented by Michael, and the holy Spirit represented by Gabriel, for
THE SON there has to be a different representation, which is THE
MERCYSEAT, with its constant sprinkling of blood. It was the BLOOD
OF CHRIST, freely poured out for us, which also hovers over and is
upon the mercyseat, to complete the triad, in its threefold glory and victory.
Two cherubims and the blood all watching over the MERCYSEAT, all
guarding the grace and mercy of God, until it shall reach to the ends of
the earth, and bring salvation to every man.
The Divine Warrior shall press the battle to the full, and gain the victory.
The Divine Messenger of truth shall spread the glad tidings until all have
heard the good news. And the LIFE POURED OUT shall be freely given to
every man, thus salvation is the composite work of the threefold manifestation
of God, as Father, Son, and holy Spirit.
Yes,
Christ is our mercyseat, He is our propitiation. Now we said that this
word "propitiation" means TO APPEASE, TO SOOTHE, TO CONCILIATE. Here is
where Christendom's theology seems to go into reverse, for they teach that
Jesus is our mercyseat to appease God because of my sin. NOT SO! God did
not need an appeasement because God has never been estranged from His creation,
but it is the whole creation which has been turned from Him, and must needs
be returned. That whole concept that God became angry with His creation,
and was about to destroy us all, until the Son was filled with such compassion
for us that He seeks to find a way to appease the Father, and thus spare
creation, is false. The Son does not have to beg the Father to spare us,
for THE FATHER HIMSELF LOVES THE WHOLE OF HIS CREATION, AND HE HIMSELF
HAS PURPOSED ITS TOTAL RESTORATION. God so loves the world that He makes
all of the overtures to draw us back to himself.
Wayward
mankind is the one that needs to be appeased, conciliated, brought back
to God. Man left God, but God has never left mankind. Indeed, "though I
make my bed in hell, YOU ARE THERE." [Psalm 139:8]. Job, in the midst
of his trial, having lost that consciousness of God's presence, for he
was so conscious of his own testings, said, "Where shall I go that I might
find Him?" But David, having come into a beautiful revelation and understanding
of his God, reversed the question, to ask, "Where can we go that God
isn't there?" For though quickenings come and go, feelings come and go,
yet the Anointing abides, it continues, and as we progress from dimension
to new dimension, the lesser is swallowed up into the greater. "In Him
we live, and move, and have our being." He has not left us, but is there
to draw us back unto Himself, regardless of how far away our wayward steps
might wander.
Jesus taught this clearly in His "sermon on the mount," when He said, "If
you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother
has something against you; leave your gift before the altar, and go your
way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your
gift." [Matthew 5:23-24].
Don't make the angry brother come to you and soothe and appease you, but
you seek out the angry brother and appease him, soothe him, and be reconciled
to him. Now, dare we say that God demands this of us, but as for Himself
it is the other way around, and that though we were the rebellious ones,
and turned away from Him, now we must return and appease Him? Let us not
be so foolish.
GOD
IS RECONCILED TO US, HE LOVES US, we are the ones that need to be reconciled
unto Him, and come into the knowledge of His love and grace so freely given
to us. It is "our sin" that must be dealt with, that God might be revealed
to us in all of His love and holiness.
"O Lord, why have You made us to err from Your ways, and hardened our heart
from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, the tribes of Your inheritance."
[Isaiah 63:17].
If God, Who is our Source of Life and Light, had turned away from us, we
would have been immediately plunged into total darkness and death. He is
not taking His Spirit out of the earth, the day of grace is not ending,
it is all barely beginning. Therefore, though we have but tasted "in part,"
through the ages to come He will continue to unfold His grace, manifesting
it through His vessels of mercy, until the fulness thereof is revealed,
and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the
waters cover the sea. And ALL FLESH shall see the great salvation of the
Lord.
It is when this "MERCY COMPANY" has fully become, matured in the
fulness of the Christ, then shall the completeness of the MERCYSEAT
be revealed in the earth. So--as Christ is now "my" mercyseat, in due time
we are to become that mercyseat for others, to show mercy unto all men.
Wondrous revelations of the grace of God are just about to begin, as God's
first fruits shall "bring forth the Headstone with shoutings, crying, GRACE,
GRACE unto it." [Zechariah 4:7]. We have yet to hear the full message
of grace declared, for we have but received a small glimpse of His grace
and of His love towards His creation.
"You turn man to destruction; and say, Return, you children of men." [Psalm
90:3]. Ah, yes, when the Lord turns you away, and your back is toward Him,
you face darkness, for the Light is behind you, and you walk in the darkness
and shadow of your own selfhood. Then you discover that if the blind lead
the blind, they all fall into the ditch. Being turned from Him, to dwell
in the shadows and darkness, how then can a man know his own way? "I know
that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in a man that walks to
direct his steps. O Lord, correct me..." [Jeremiah 10:23].
But
He did say, when He turned man to destruction, with every step of our going
away, there was inherent within us that call to return, and the knowledge
that somewhere down the line there would be a retracing of those steps
back to Father's house. For with the turning away, He gave the command,
"Return, you children of men;" Then farther down in the Psalm, after
he mentioned the fact that a thousand years were as a day, and a day as
a thousand years with the Lord, and I'm sure that the Psalmist must have
been amazed at what came forth from his own mouth, as he declared the wonders
of the ways of the Lord. Finally, overwhelmed with it all, he asks with
deep yearning, "Return, O Lord, HOW LONG? and let it repent You
concerning Your servants." [Psalm 90:13].
The Psalmist might have begun to wonder when creation would ever begin
to come back--if a thousand years were as a day. "Lord, return? truly we
desire to return, but HOW LONG?" Ah, this bondage to vanity has
frustrated and burdened us for so long, and there is that burning of desire
for our return to Father's house, to once again dwell in the fulness of
His presence.
We
would not charge God foolishly, "For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempts He any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his
own OVER-DESIRE, and enticed." [James 1:13-14]. God does not tempt us with
evil, but because we are turned away from Him, walking in our own selfhood
and rebellion towards Him, then our own will is foremost before us, instead
of God's will which is now in the light behind us, so that walking in our
own shadow, taken up with our own will and desire, as this desire is expanded
beyond the normal bounds of balance and need, it plunges us into sin, and
sin, when it is finished, brings forth death, that complete action of the
carnal mind. It is because of this pervertedness of our own self-will and
its over-desires that God disciplines us, and purges out this "lust" and
brings us back into the true balance which is found in HIS WILL.
God's
goodwill is spontaneous and unchangeable, it does not vacillate according
to the merits or demerits of the individual. "God commends His love towards
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. --When we were
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." [Romans 5:8,
10].
Now
bear in mind that ultimately, becoming completely ONE IN CHRIST, we shall
also fulfill this same ministry. It was "while we were yet sinners"
that He poured forth His life for us, and while we were enemies He revealed
His love to, and for us. Therefore we dare not view any man with the thought,
"does he deserve it?" Because there was no way that we ourselves deserved
it, we had no merits to claim that love, but it was freely given to us
just the same, and we shall learn to freely give in like manner. Furthermore,
it says, "not imputing their trespasses unto them..." [2 Corinthians 5:19].
Right now this becomes the hard part, especially if you have been raised
with that heavy hangover of condemnation and charging every man with guilt
and shame. It was a sin to do this, it was a sin to do that, and we were
so sin-conscious that we were not able to kindle any consciousness of forgiveness
and love, or to express of HIS mercy.
Ah,
what mercy superabounds in the New Covenant, where one does not impute,
does not charge man with sin. Seems as if the very moment we see someone
doing what we consider is wrong, we immediately want to brand them as sinners,
and heap condemnation upon them for their deed, thus thrusting them farther
into darkness, with a guilt complex. Rather, we need to come into that
place where we are able to turn on the light, reveal the love and life
of Christ, and give them a more excellent way, with power to live righteously.
Tell the world the good news, that in Christ they shall find the fulness
of life for which they have yearned. But to make this transition, till
we are no more condemnation-conscious, but rather become CHRIST-LIFE-CONSCIOUS,
this is a process indeed.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more." [Hebrews 8:12] .
"God be merciful to me a sinner." [Luke 18:13].
Both times we find this word "merciful" coming from the same root word
for mercyseat, or propitiation. There is no appeasement, no soothing if
all the time we remember man's sin, and continue to charge them with guilt.
But here God says that He will not remember, will not call to mind the
iniquity of man, but writing His laws upon their hearts and minds, and
giving them power to live a holy life, sin will be erased from the universe.
The publican, standing in the temple, filled with his own sense of shame,
cried out, "God, be the mercyseat for my sin, appease my sins, soothe my
troubled conscience, deliver me from the workings of sin in my Iife." Praise
God, "HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS," and also deliver
them from all consciousness of evil, so that, we might be only conscious
of God and His righteousness.
Now, the publican did not pray that someone would beg the Father for him,
that he might be spared, but he was the one standing in such great need
for appeasement, he needed to be reconciled, and thank God, whosoever calls
upon HIM, He will in no wise cast out. "Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that HE LOVED US, and sent His son to be the propitiation for
our sins." [1 John 4:10].
It was our sin that needed to be dealt with, and HE WAS, AND IS ABLE TO
DO SO, and bring us into victory. The Son was sent, He is the MERCYSEAT,
to take away "the sins of the world." Individually, yes, and for ALL mankind.
This brings us to another word, portraying another factor of His ministry
of love towards us, and that is INTERCESSOR, from the Greek word "entugchano"
meaning, TO MEET WITH, CONVERSE WITH, HAVE DEALINGS WITH.
Again we discover Christendom's viewpoint is just the opposite from the
truth, for they have always taught us that Jesus Christ, as the compassionate
SON, stands before the throne making intercession, pleading before God
for us. Praise God, the Spirit is unfolding truth in ever-increasing rays
of glory which magnify His love and mercy, and which releases us from the
traditions and carnal creeds of men. We find that HIS INTERCESSION IS
TO US-WARD, to bring us to God, WORKING IN US, to meet with us and reveal
the Father's heart of love to us, that we might return unto our Creator,
and serve Him with all of our heart. All this attention of Christ is DIRECTED
TOWARDS US. God does not have to be interceded for us, it was GOD who sent
Christ to us, to meet with us, to woo us and unfold to us the good news
of our salvation, that we might truly have "peace on earth, goodwill towards
men."
God so loved the world that He gave His Son for us. To wit, that God WAS
IN CHRIST, reconciling the world unto Himself. Jesus doesn't have to plead
with the Father for the Father to send us mercy and favour, THE FATHER
WAS THE VERY ONE WHO SENT THE SON TO REVEAL THAT MERCY AND GRACE TO US.
We are the ones that need to be interceded with--to be conversed with,
to be told of this tremendous salvation, of this life which is for us in
Christ. O, how we need "intercessors" in this hour, not those who weep
and wail before God to send salvation, but to ENTREAT MEN TO BE RECONCILED
TO GOD, for God has ALREADY prepared salvation for all mankind, only most
men are not even aware of it, for they have never been quickened by His
Spirit of life, or been told of His love and mercy.
"Likewise the Spirit also HELPS OUR INFIRMITIES: for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession
for the saints according to the will of God, because He makes intercession
FOR THE SAINTS according to the will of God." [Romans 8:26-27].
The holy Spirit knows what is in the mind and will of God. In our weaknesses
we are too limited in understanding, therefore HE HELPS US in our weakness,
we are the ones who needed to be conversed with, that He might reveal unto
us the will of God, and bring us into harmony with that will. Praise
God, the whole realm of the heavenlies stands ready to help our weakness,
and to bring us into the life and victory of our God. This is Heaven's
great ministry to earth, that we might live!
CHRIST, OUR MERCYSEAT
A mercyseat in Christ I've found, Where grace doth ever
more abound,
Propitiation for my sin- A cleansing now, without, within.
'Tis I, not God, who stands in need, How opposite from
carnal creed,
My weary, sin-sick soul to soothe, My steps returned
to paths of truth.
God has not been estranged from me, His love abides eternally,
But I, from Him, have gone astray, While self-rebellion
filled my day.
And in this state of vanity, Frustration, fear, and misery,
I cannot rise and do the right, My world is plunged into
the night.
But God is love, and sent His Son, To bring me back,
new life begun,
To take away my sin and shame, And write on me His own
new name.
No need to plead with God for this, He sought me out
in my abyss,
He came to me, my Mercyseat, To fill my life with joy
complete. BACK
CHRIST -- OUR
ADVOCATE AND RAMSON - Chapter 7
"Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me."
[John 14:6].
Well spoken are the words of Proverbs 16 :25, "There is a way that seems
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." To be carnally
minded is death, and every way and scheme that the natural mind might produce
only serves to magnify the death realm in which he dwells. "Every way of
man is right in his own eyes..." [Prov. 21:2], and so we stumble on, wandering
through various by-paths, striving to find THE WAY, but continually missing
the mark, proving again and again that "the man that wanders out of the
way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead." [Prov.
21:16].
The bleakness of this situation could be emphasized and magnified and described
in ever increasing black tones--but this side of the picture we are well
acquainted with, what is needed is a clarity to the message of the positive,
that grand and glorious news that THERE IS ONE WHO HAS COME TO HELP
US IN OUR WEAKNESSES, to impart of HIS LIFE, that we might be able to follow
in His steps, and return to our dwelling place in the fulness of God.
Laden with our sins, burdened with our guilt-complex and condemnation,
we are in no condition to rise up and make noble decisions to live a righteous
life, and thus be counted worthy to stand in the presence of God. But
HE who is ALL RIGHTEOUS, He who knew no sin, neither was any guile found
in His mouth, He is now ready to make intercession for us, and to help
our infirmities.
Let us be reminded that this word "intercession" literally means TO
MEET WITH, CONVERSE WITH, HAVE DEALINGS WITH. Because He knows the
will of God, then He can have these dealings WITH US, converse with
us, and bring us into the will of God, for He knows the plan and purpose
of God. In our weakness we know not the right way and what the will of
God really is, but the Spirit knows, and thus He helps us to know the win
of God. We used to think that He was "up there" pleading with the Father,
doing everything "instead of" us, until He has persuaded the Father to
be kind to us and show us a bit of mercy. But now we understand that
the holy Spirit's intercession is FOR the saints, and not instead of them,
but because we know not what to pray, HE HELPS US, for since He
knows the mind of God, He can help us to know that mind, so that we might
be able to pray in harmony with the win of God. But He does not take our
place so that we are absolved from praying, rather HE HELPS OUR WEAKNESSES,
and gives us the prayer to pray, which leads into victory.
We don't need the holy Spirit to tell God what is in our heart, God already
knows what is in our heart. "...All things are naked and opened unto the
eyes of Him with whom we have to do." [Hebrews 4:13]. It is even recorded
of Jesus, that He "needed not that any should testify of man: for He knew
what was in man." [John 2:25]. Jesus, knowing what they were reasoning
within themselves, would tell them what their thoughts were, and bring
out into the open their secrets. HE knows my prayer long before I utter
it, He knows what my desire towards Him really is, so that it is not my
problem. It is even written, "before they call, I will answer; and while
they are yet speaking, I win hear." He begins to pour out His love towards
us before we even begin to express our desire for more of Him. Therefore
I don't need the holy Spirit to lift my prayer to God, when He already
knows what my prayer is going to be. In fact, to be truthful, He is the
One who places this prayer within us, for I had no desire towards God until
He placed this desire within me. If He gave me the desire, He certainly
knows what it is. But what we do need is for the holy Spirit to HAVE
DEALINGS WITH US, to intercede and make known the will of God TO US, from
God to us, not just from us to God. And when we realize that "the anointing
which you have received REMAINS IN YOU," then you know that you have a
constant intercessor, one ever ready to converse with you, and guide you
into all truth. You need not wander in darkness wondering what the will
of God is, for there abides within you AN INTERCESSOR ready to help your
weaknesses.
"Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, Who is even at the right hand of God, (literally, in the place of
power, for the right hand speaks of strength and power), Who also makes
intercession for us." [Romans 8:34].
HE, being in the place of power, now has full ability to help MY weaknesses,
and to fill up all of my need and lack. "And has given Him authority to
execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man." [John 5:27]. He has
all the power and authority necessary to execute all that is needed in
my behalf, until all of my weaknesses are swallowed up into His strength
and fulness. There will be that need for judgment, those correctional
processes used to bring us into line with the will of the Father, but since
HE KNOWS THE MIND OF GOD, He is able to converse with me, have dealings
with me in such a manner as to bring me into conformity to that will and
purpose. "Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like
unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest
in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation (appeasement, propitiation)
for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted,
He is able to aid them that are tempted." [Hebrews 2:17-18].
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." [Hebrews
7:25].
Praise God, HE EVER LIVES to draw us to God, to bring us into righteousness!
Now
this brings us to a very important word which is used relative to our being
helped, and that is ADVOCATE, from the Greek word "parakletos" meaning
ONE CALLED ALONGSIDE TO HELP, a comforter. In fact, four times this Greek
word is used in the New Testament as "COMFORTER" in reference to the holy
Spirit. "But the Comforter, which is the holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." [John 14:26]. Praise
God for this Comforter, and all of the help which He is imparting, to teach
us ALL THINGS, no restrictions, no qualifications, for IN HIM are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and He freely imparts to us according
to our need.
"And if any man sin, (err, miss the mark) , we have AN ADVOCATE
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." [1 John 2:1].
The
word "with" used here is the Greek word "pros" meaning TOWARD. We have
an Advocate to help us toward the Father, helping us in all of our relationship
toward God, so that we will be acceptable with God. It isn't that He
is to help the Father, the Father doesn't need help, WE NEED THE HELP,
and HE HELPS US TOWARD THE FATHER. He is my Advocate, He is the One called
alongside to help me. He comforts me. I need someone alongside of me all
the way to help me towards God, and HE IS HERE TO BE OUR COMFORTER, OUR
OWN PERSONAL ADVOCATE.
There are various divisions made for the sake of our limited understanding,
as fragment by fragment, line upon line, we come into the knowledge of
the truth, and so we often refer to the various manifestations of God according
to
that position and expression which is needed in our life at that particular
time. He is our Father, manifested as Son, and presently abiding in us
as the holy Spirit. Galatians 4:6 declares that "God has sent forth
THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON into your hearts." This blessed, divine Spirit
was sent to be our Comforter, "that He may abide with you for ever; even
the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him
not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; FOR HE DWELLS WITH YOU, AND
SHALL BE IN YOU." [John 14:16-17].
For the age, age-abiding, this Comforter is alongside to help, and He
also is INSIDE, dwelling within, if so be that we have received Him,
to be our help, helping us toward God, so that we are able to approach
God, and be found approved in the sight of God. It is His ministry to us-ward
which helps our relationship toward the Father. His ministry IS IN US
toward God... No one needs to plead our case to God, HE IS THE VERY ONE
WHO SENT THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON TO HELP US. He loves us! He
is helping us! And God sent the Spirit of His Son to dwell within us, to
be our Advocate, our Comforter.
"Without Him I can do nothing, Without Him I'd surely
fail,
Without Him I would be drifting, Like a ship without
a sail.
With Christ every foe can be vanquished, With Christ
I can meet every test,
With Christ as my Pilot I'll anchor, In the harbor of
peace and rest."
"I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out
of the people." [Psalm 89:19].
While this is speaking of David, chosen out from among the people to be
that mighty one to rule over Israel, it surely pre-figures THE CHRIST,
and of Him it can truly be said, "I HAVE LAID HELP UPON ONE THAT IS
MIGHTY," and such an One is sent to me, to help me in all of my weaknesses,
to bring me into the fulness of the life of God. Yes, that our salvation
might be to the uttermost!
Brought into His fulness, to BECOME ONE IN HIM, then shall all the
first fruits become mighty ones also, and in that day, "he that is feeble
among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall
be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them." [Zechariah 12:8].
Upon these shall God lay help, shall He impart of His abundance so that
they might become His mighty ones, to become His mercyseat, His intercessors,
His comforters for others.
There is such a yearning within--"O God, bring us to that place where we
are able to be a comforter to those that need comfort." Again and again
we read it in the Word, as in Isaiah 40:1, "Comfort, yes comfort My people."
And yet it seems that we do not have enough to say, we do not know what
to do, we don't know how. Ah, that is why He is working in us now, filling
up all that we lack, and our weaknesses shall become our strong points,
that in the ages to come we might become the vessels of His grace and mercy,
so that we might bring comfort to those in need.
"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." [1 Corinthians 6:17].
When our life is totally swallowed up into oneness IN HIM, we shall become
ONE SPIRIT. Then we read, "It shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out of My spirit upon all flesh..." [Joel 12:28]. When we become ONE
IN THE COMFORTER, we become part of the Comforter, we become part of that
which is poured out, freely given, to all of the world.
We read that when He sends the rain, He "sends rain on the just and the
unjust." [Matthew 5:45]. Furthermore, "I was found of them that sought
Me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me." [Isaiah
65:1].
Praise
God, these mighty ones shall flow out with life and love unto all men.
They won't condemn the sinner and tell him to clean himself up. They won't
cry to those who are dead to come and receive life. They shall take life
to those who are dead, and they shall bring help and salvation to those
who need cleansing. That which is filled with sin and iniquity cannot clean
itself, but that which is pure can minister that purity unto them.
Strange indeed, the past theology of men. The corpse is floating upon the
water and we throw it a life-rope and tell the corpse that if it will grab
hold we'll help pull it in. What nonsense! He is dead, he cannot grab hold
of anything. The man is DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS, his back is toward
the light, he is all enwrapped with self-rebellion against the Lord, there
is no light in him at all. Then are we suppose to call out to this one
totally dead in trespasses and sin, "Come to Jesus"? How can he come? He
is dead to all spiritual life. He has no power to turn around and walk
towards God. Then dare we blame him for not coming to Christ for salvation?
How foolish! But, now, if a mighty one overtakes him, and light is brought
to this one in darkness, and they are covered with the love of God, and
life is given whereby they can begin to receive new strength, then shall
they respond and serve Him.
With the new ministry of reconciliation to be revealed in the ages to come,
there will be no need to tell men what sinners they are, and knock them
down a little more into the mud. "A bruised reed shall he not break, and
smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory."
[Matthew 12:20]. We shall not give them any more condemnation and smother
that last little spark they might have, but rather it shall be fanned into
a strong flame, and the message will be clear that God does love them,
and freely offers to all of His abundant life. It is a life which makes
rich and adds no sorrow, for in His presence there is fulness of joy, and
at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Not
until they have first received life can they begin to come towards God.
So Jesus plainly declared, "I am come that they might have life, AND that
they might have it more abundantly." [John 10:10].
There
is a whole realm of processing between life and more abundant life, and
comes in this "AND" space, which includes the whole process of death to
self, and the way of the cross. First of all Christ must impart to us life
before we can die to self. We tell the sinner to die to his sin and come
alive to Christ. He is already dead, how can he die any more? There has
to be life before there can be death. LIFE IS THE CAUSE, death is an effect,
there cannot be an effect without a cause. Something cannot die unless
first it has been alive. Therefore there must be an impartation of LIFE
to one dead in trespasses and sins, and after he has received this measure
of life, then he can begin to use that energy to die out to self, and the
more one dies out to self, the more they come into the MORE ABUNDANT LIFE
OF GOD.
We read, "But you shall receive power, after that the holy Spirit is come
upon you: and you shall be witnesses..." [Acts 1:8]. This doesn't mean
that we all find a soapbox and stand upon some corner to witness to everybody
that passes by. The Greek word for "witness" is "martyr." It requires the
inflow of the power of the holy Spirit to enable us to lay down our life,
that we might be found in His life. Too many preach death to self before
they announce the LIFE of the holy Spirit which will enable them to pass
through this death-process. That is why we need the Comforter, for without
His help we cannot die to self.
Praise God, He has given to us an intercessor, an advocate, a comforter-to
work in us, to enable us to do that which is right. Since we were without
strength, God laid help upon one that is mighty, and HE came to our rescue.
He takes up residence within us, and He works within us the right way,
and then we live it. "For it is God which works in you both to will and
to do of His good pleasure." [Philippians 2:13]. You can only work out
what He has worked in, but you cannot live something that He has not first
worked in. The way to work it out is simply to LIVE IT. We live out
what He works in. Praise God, this releases us from all self-condemnation
for not manifesting perfection when as yet He has only given us the earnest
of our inheritance. We possess but "in part," but when He gives us more,
brings us into His fulness, then we shall be able to fully manifest perfection.
You can give expression to that which He has wrought within, but you cannot
express what He has not worked in you as yet. Thus, there is no condemnation
to them in Christ Jesus, we simply follow on as He leads, responding to
His inworkings.
"Who is this that comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this
that is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore are you red in
Your apparel, and Your garments like him that treads in the winefat? I
have trodden the winepress alone..." [Isaiah 63:1-3].
Laid help upon one that is mighty--MIGHTY TO SAVE. But why is He
"red" in His apparel? This word "red" comes from the Hebrew word "adam."
What was the apparel He put on? It was the form of a servant, for He was
found in fashion as a man, in the garments of Adam! Furthermore, this
Adam-body became stained with blood, for His blood was shed. He poured
out His life for us, and "now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far
off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace." [Ephesians
2:13-14]. ALL for man's benefit, because of His love!
Which brings us to the thought of RANSOM. "Redeemed-with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." [1 Peter
1:19].
"For the LIFE of the flesh is IN the blood." [Leviticus 17:11].
The
blood was the vehicle which carried the LIFE, the life was IN the blood.
Men have termed it a "bloody religion" because for years preachers talked
about the exterior, about the blood which was shed, but they never got
to the real truth, which was the LIFE THAT WAS POURED OUT FOR US. It was
the LIFE which was IN the blood which abides to this day to bring us into
victory. Romans 5:10 says, "we shall be saved BY HIS LIFE." It wasn't
the red fluid which dropped to the earth and was absorbed into the dust
of the ground which saves us, it is that LIFE which was in that blood,
which life was poured out of us, and which is age-abiding and sufficient
for our needs in this very day.
"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to GIVE HIS LIFE a ransom for many." [Matthew 20:28].
Then the Scriptures speak, of those who have "counted the blood of the
covenant wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy (common) thing." [Hebrews
10:29]. It is HIS LIFE which they little esteem, which they call common,
as if it was not a holy, set apart, separated life which could work in
them this same holiness. Now, once again blend in the thought of our becoming
IN HIM these same wonderful ministries, and for an example of being a ransom,
we turn to Acts 7:35, where we read, "This Moses whom they refused, saying,
Who made you a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and
A DELIVERER." We find that this word "deliverer" is the same Greek word
in this case which is translated "RANSOM."
How was Moses a ransom for Israel in Egypt? Did Moses pay a price to Egypt
for Israel's redemption? Did he promise Egypt anything in return for allowing
Israel to leave? NO! Moses paid Egypt exactly NOTHING. It was his own life
which he poured out for Israel, it was the freely giving of his life for
Israel which led them up out of Egypt.
When Jesus Christ became our ransom He didn't have to take an offering
to God, and say, "Here, God, is a price for the people." Nor did He go
to the Devil, and say, "Here devil, is a ransom-price, now you let all
creation go." NEVER! He poured His life out and freely gave it to the people.
We are the ones who are receiving the ransom, and by receiving His life
we are able to get up and leave the filth of this old world behind, and
walk into the higher realms with Him.
In the natural we pay the kidnapper the ransom money, but God does it the
other way around, HE GIVES OF HIS LIFE TO US WHO ARE IN BONDAGE, AND
THEN WE HAVE NEW LIFE AND STRENGTH TO ARISE AND RETURN TO FATHER'S HOUSE.
We cannot do it on our own, we are weak and helpless, bound in the shackles
of sin and shame, but when HE gives of His life, and fills us with His
strength, then THROUGH HIM we are able to rise up and return. Praise God,
His life is given as a ransom FOR US, in our behalf, we receive the help.
For forty years Moses poured out his life for his people, "choosing rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward."
[Hebrews 11:25-26].
Paul also said that he was ready to be "POURED OUT" an offering for Christ.
Are we willing to pour out our life for others in this day? This does not
take away from HIS ministry, but only expands it unto all creation. Whatever
life we have, we first received it from Him, and then if we pour it out
for others, it is still HIS LIFE which is reaching them through us. Praise
God, HIS life shall reach out until it has embraced ALL MEN. "Who gave
Himself a ransom for all to be testified (witnessed to) in due time." [1
Timothy 2:6]. Ere the ages have run their course and fulfilled all of God's
purpose, every man will receive of HIS LIFE, and witness to the fact
that HE IS THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN, and especially of those who believe.
CHRIST, OUR ADVOCATE AND RANSOM
An Advocate, A Comforter, A Ransom for my soul,
What mercy and what grace revealed, To make the wounded
whole.
Futility, a world undone, Destruction everywhere,
But not forgotten by our God, He knows the pain we bear...
And in His plan, through ages wrought, He purposed our
release,
To bring us back unto Himself, Into His rest and peace.
He laid the help upon His Son, And sent that Son to me,
To work within my heart this grace, Which sets the captive
free.
A ransom He became for me, His life He freely gave,
Poured ,out, and yes, effective too, Triumphant o'er
the grave.
An Advocate, A Comforter, A Ransom-this I see,
The Father's heart has planned it all, Creation's jubilee.
BACK
NOT IN OUR STEAD,
BUT FOR US - Chapter 8
"The Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God."
[1
Peter 3:18].
There is a depth to the inworking of the holy Spirit in the lives of God's
called out-ones which staggers the imagination, and almost beggars description.
As God once spoke to Jeremiah, "See, I have this day set you over the nations
and over the kingdoms, TO ROOT OUT, and TO PULL DOWN, and TO DESTROY, and
TO THROW DOWN, TO BUILD, and TO PLANT." [Jeremiah 1:10]. So also, the
holy Spirit roots out all the pre-conceived ideas of the carnal mind, pulls
down the dogmas and traditions of man, and throws out the doctrinal errors
of Christendom, that HE MIGHT BUILD IN US, line upon line, the truth which
shall bring us into His more abundant life. It is not an easy process,
but it is a blessed one as we come to see the hand of God in all of these
operations and processings.
The
carnal mind always conceives a doctrine which spares the flesh and dulls
the mind with a false security. Such is the whole tangled thread of "substitutionism"
with its inherent delusion of escapism. How we rejoice therefore in
the inflow of divine illumination which dispels the darkness, eradicates
the carnal creeds and concepts, and brings us back into the upward path
of truth and life. It is not an escapism which is needed, but that personal
participation which will work in us the fulfillment of His purpose, and
the experiential knowledge of His plan for each of us. Then shall we be
found to His praise and honour and glory.
men!
Much of Christendom has taught that man fell, and because of that fall
the wrath of God and a curse were placed upon him. Furthermore, there was
a penalty which must be paid for that plunge into selfhood and sin, resulting
in a broken law, and this penalty is eternal death, which is then explained
to be an endless life in some severe degree of torment. While they spoke
of it as "eternal death" they told us that it was actually a form of eternal
life in a place of eternal torment, and that God would provide each sinner
with a body which would live on and on so that there could be a continual
application of this said torment. Then the teaching goes on to explain
that God would save man, but justice must be fully satisfied, there could
be no pardon, no penalty fully remitted, it must be paid by someone before
God would be pacified and the demands of justice would thus be met.
Now, if man was to pay his own penalty, it would be absolutely his utter
undoing, since it must be endless torment, and no man would be able to
go beyond this eternal state and come out of this "living hell." So next
we are told that the SON OF GOD offered Himself as man's substitute. (This
word "substitute" is so out of harmony with the Scripture that it leaves
me cold, but we shall have to plow through it in order to present the case
as clear as possible.) So they say that the Son offered Himself, and that
God pours out all of His wrath on this innocent Son, and then we are able
to go scot-free because of what this Son has done for us.
However, the whole substitutional doctrine is further complicated as they
go on to tell us that Christ did not pay the penalty of the broken law,
for He did not die eternally, and though He was to pay "our bill" He did
not have to suffer eternal torment, for His death was to last but three
days and three nights. So now we have both a substitute to pay the penalty,
and then a substituted penalty also. When He "paid it all" for us, He had
to pay a different price than what we would have to pay. The payment which
would have been demanded from us was an eternal death, but from the Son
of God it would only have to be for three days. All of this was then explained
away in a maze of confusion by stating that the reason there would be a
substitution of penalties was because that He was divine, and it was the
quality which made up for the lack of quantity. But this only muddied it
up some more, for then they said it was not His divine nature that died,
but His human nature, except it was His divinity that made His human death
a full satisfaction to the law.
So now, according to this mixed-up theory, we have substituted the Son
of God for all the sinful creation, substituted the penalty to be paid,
and substituted His flesh for His divinity, only we needed His divinity
to make His flesh sacrifice to be acceptable. Then, when all of this was
said and done, this whole wonderful scheme which was hatched in the theology
of the carnal mind, can only partially work, and in a great measure it
is going to fail--the Devil shall reap most of mankind, while the Son of
God escapes through the backdoor and raptures back to heaven a handful
who choose to believe in Him. But all the rest of the world, for which
He died, because they themselves are presently dead in their trespasses
and sins and have no life whereby they can reach out and grasp hold of
His salvation, therefore He cannot save them against their will, and will
lose them all in spite of this whole complicated scheme of substitutionism.
Next,
we are told, God is angry with mankind because of man's awful rebellion
and sin, but the SON is all love, and therefore the Son stands and pleads
with the Father to have mercy upon His creation. Thus they have compounded
the confusion with their slander against the character and nature of our
loving heavenly Father.
How gladly do we turn away from these distorted figments of the carnal
mind, to return to the blessed truth of the Scripture, and believe the
truth for truth's sake, as the Spirit begins to illumine and quicken it
to our hearts.
God was not angry, He is not angry with His creation even though men sometimes
will impute that emotion to Him, and liken Him to, and restrict Him to
the confines of the creature which He created. "GOD IS NOT A MAN... neither
the son of man..." [Numbers 23:19]. And we should not limit His actions
to the carnal nature of rebellious humanity. What a joy to discover that
God's nature is one of LOVE and MERCY and great COMPASSION. It is true,
there are scriptures which say that "the Lord was angry with me because..."
but always this is the thought and viewpoint of man, beholding God's actions
in judgment and correction, and they impute to God the emotions which they
find in mankind, for what man is there who does not become emotionally
involved as he reacts to the rebellion of those about him? It requires
a comparing of God's actions with the WHOLE WORD OF GOD which also reveals
His tremendous nature of love, and the motivations of His work, to then
understand that God's ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our
thoughts, but as the heavens are HIGHER than the earth, so are His ways
higher than our ways, and it is HIS LOVE WHICH MOTIVATES ALL OF HIS ACTION.
It was not God against His creation, while the Son was pleading for mankind,
but we actually read, "to wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD
UNTO HIMSELF." [2 Corinthians 5:18]. It was God Himself who planned and
purposed the salvation of His whole creation. Jesus was the manifestation
which carried it out, but remember, it was GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, in
the personage, of the man Christ Jesus. Jesus was the visible expression
of the invisible God, but it was God Himself who was in Christ accomplishing
this reconciliation. The man Christ Jesus plainly declared, "I can of Mine
own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because
I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me."
[John 5:30]. And again, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He
sees the Father do: for what things so ever He does, these also the Son
does likewise." [John 5:19]. IT WAS THE FATHER'S DOINGS WHICH THE SON WAS
MANIFESTING, it was a revelation of the Father's love for His creation.
Man tries to impute carnal emotions and actions to God, that man might
have an excuse for these actions in his own behaviour. But when we find
that all of God's works in us are motivated by His love, then we can only
manifest what He is doing in us, and our actions towards others must also
be motivated by love. To be conformed to His image, becoming a partaker
of His divine nature, then is to manifest the same towards all men. AS
THE SON manifested the nature of His Father, so also shall the "sons" become
an expression of this nature of love.
"Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes
unto the Father, but by Me." If you had known Me, you should have known
My Father also." [John 14:6-7]. The entire Father-heart of God is revealed
in the Son, and if you want to know what the Father is like, take a good
look at THE SON, for whatever you see in the Son is actually a revelation
of the Father.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God." [John 1:1]. I'm sure that it is readily understood that this
"Word" is Christ. He is the Logos, which includes not only that SPOKEN
WORD, but also the whole intent and purpose which undergird that which
is expressed. Jesus Christ was the visible manifestation of the Divine
will in purpose, thought, and action. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, we
can accept that, His abiding deity, then it says, "The Word was WITH God."
This word "with" is the Greek word "pros" meaning TOWARD. Any word
which you utter, while they go out from you, are actually toward you, for
your words are a revelation of what you think and feel. You are as a sealed
book until you speak, and while you might be presently describing the beauty
of the rose before you, actually your words are a revelation of you, for
no one knew what your attitude and thought was until you spoke. Were you
to begin describing that rose in degrading terms, as a thing of nought
and ugly, it would readily become a revelation of your own state and feeling.
People would soon turn from gazing at the rose to look at you and wonder
just what was wrong with you, or what caused you to have such an opinion.
Thus your words are TOWARDS YOU, revealing your inner thought.
When the expression of God was manifested in the earth, "and the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us..." [John 1:14], this was a revelation of
God to His creation. It was not an expression in contra-distinction
to the Father, it was not Jesus doing something on His own, apart from
the Father, but THIS WAS, AND IS THE FATHER IN GLORIOUS EXPRESSION.
Isaiah 45:21 declares that He is "a just God and a Saviour." He is a
SAVIOUR because He is JUST. Our I salvation is not just an appeasement
of justice, but rather IT IS THE RESULTS OF JUSTICE. God is totally just,
therefore He also is our Saviour, bringing forth salvation for all of His
creation. His justice requires Him to BE our Saviour, and not just an executor
of vengeance, etc.
"He that is our God is the GOD OF SALVATION: and unto the Lord belong the
issues from death." [Psalm 68:20]. The great distinguishing characteristic
from all that are called Gods, or worshiped as such, is that HE IS A GOD
OF SALVATION. No other gods can produce salvation. Though the heathen nations
around about Israel worshiped many gods of wood and stone, these gods could
do nothing to save, although their worshipers zealously and diligently
served them. We read how that the prophets of Baal cut themselves with
knives, screamed and shouted, and carried on in great style, but without
any answer. Baal could not act nor make a motion. But our God is the God
of salvation! Surely "they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their
graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save." [Isaiah 45:20]. Neither
is there much wisdom or knowledge in such a theology wherein God is dependent
upon the will of man, and limited to the weakness of the flesh to execute
His salvation. Thank God for a revelation of HIS POWER TO SAVE ALL MEN,
and to bring them into the knowledge of the truth.
If your God is able to SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST, worship Him, but if He can
only save a handful, while the Devil gets the rest, what kind of a salvation
is that?
Methinks we are "a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding
in them. O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would
consider their latter end! How should one chase a thousand, and two put
ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had
shut them up? For their rock (god of the heathen) is not as our Rock, even
our enemies themselves being judges." [Deut. 32:28-31]. Surely our nation,
and all that is called Christendom, need a revelation of our God who is
the GOD OF SALVATION.
Moses stood before Pharaoh to speak for the release of the children of
Israel, and by a miracle demonstrated the power of his God, having Aaron
cast down his rod before Pharaoh and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh
called in His wise men and the sorcerers, and the magicians of Egypt also
cast down their rods and they became serpents, "BUT AARON'S ROD SWALLOWED
UP THEIR RODS." [Exodus 7:12]. Moses' God was the GOD of gods, the KING
of kings, and the LORD of lords, and He was revealed as a JUST GOD and
the GOD OF SALVATION.
Our
God loves us, and He has purposed to save us, and "to this end Christ both
died and rose, and revived, that He might be LORD both of the dead and
living." [Romans 14:9]. This was the purpose in view, and this was His
plan, to be manifested as LORD over all realms, both of the dead and of
the living. He therefore is "the Firstborn from the dead; that in all He
might have the pre-eminence." [Colossians 1:18].
Now it is written, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." [Matthew
22:32]. While it is readily apparent that these followers were gathered
unto their fathers, in the invisible realm, and were sustained by HIS LIFE,
and were living unto Him, this was spoken before Calvary. But after Calvary
He was Lord both of the dead and the living--and all the dead, dead in
trespasses and sin, the dead of all ages, now come under HIS LORDSHIP.
Christ entered into the strong man's fortress and took away from him all
the armour wherein he trusted, "that though death He might destroy (make
of none effect) him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage." [Hebrews 2:14-15]. Jesus Christ alone now possesses
the keys of death and hell. "Having spoiled principalities and powers,
He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." [Colossians
2:15].
What are the strongest weapons the enemy has been able to use? Fear
and death! Now the Scriptures declare that "fear has torment."
And this word "torment" is a Greek word that literally means "restraint."
If I am afraid of the dark, when it becomes night-time I must stay in the
house where the light is, for the darkness has hemmed me in, and so the
fear of the dark places a restraint upon me, limiting my going to that
area wherever the light reaches. How the enemy has used FEAR. And because
men saw that it worked so good to bind people, and because the "devil"
gains such fame and notice among most christians, then these religious
leaders use the same tactics and bind the people to their group and program
through fear, and the threat of curses and judgments. They tell people
God will whip them, and get angry at them, and hurt them if they do not
obey the standard of that religious system. Thus with fear, and a perverted
creed, they restrain the people and make them slaves to their system. Fear
of torment, fear of judgment - what a terrible thing to hold over people,
and how they distort the true image and character of our God. How different
is the true "fear of the Lord" which bring a release, and is the beginning
of wisdom.
So the enemy uses fear-and the greatest of all fears is the fear of pain
and death, because men never knew how they would get out of it. But now
Christ has taken away from the enemy-strongman his weapons, and whereas
fear was once used in a negative way, with its slavish restraints, now
HE turns it into a positive way, so that "THE FEAR OF THE LORD TENDS TO
LIFE." [Proverbs 19:23]. Then the enemy used death, so the Lord takes this
tool and uses death to bring us into life. Thus, whereas the first death,
and all its process separated us from the light and life of God, now God
uses this death process to bring an end to the carnal realm, that we might
come alive to His more abundant life and victory.
All the keys of death and hell are in HIS hand. He is Lord of all! Unto
our God belong the issues (out-goings) from death. Praise God, He shall
use this process unto complete victory, and thus "in Christ shall all be
made alive. But every man in his own order." [1 Cor. 15:22-23]. HE IS THE
GOD OF SALVATION! It cannot be repeated too often, for we need this truth
to become a part of our very being, that we might have hope and confidence
until we see the consummation of His purpose for His creation.
Praise God, now HE is also the God of the dead--even those who are dead
in trespasses and sins. And it matters not if it has even carried through
to the complete corruption of the physical body, for He shall bring forth
every man into His life, drawing to Himself, and conforming to His image.
" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL MEN unto
Me." [John 12:32]. Therefore now it is GOD which works in us both to will
and to do of His good pleasure. HE places in us the desire, and then HE
gives the power for its fulfillment. Every good gift and every perfect
gift comes down from above. Therefore we say with the Song of Solomon 1:4,
"DRAW ME, we will run after You." He must do the drawing, and as He does
it is so much easier to run after Him. "No man can come to Me, except the
Father which has sent Me draw him." [John 6:44].
We say, "Come to Jesus," but first let it be that the Father draws them,
then shall they come, and gladly so, for He will place within them the
desire to come. Furthermore, while Jesus is The WAY, it is THE FATHER who
draws them to the Son-God in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.
Not the Son trying to appease the wrath of His Father, lest the Father
destroy all of His own creation, but it is the Creator Himself who is drawing
all men back unto Himself, through the agency of His own Son whom He sent
for that very purpose.
How often we quote the verse, and teach it to our children, "GOD SO LOVED
THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON..." [John 3:16]. Yet little
has it taken root in our consciousness until we realize its truth. LOVE
is the very motivation, and GOD IS THE MOVER. The Son is not in opposition
to, nor in contrast to the Father, but He is actually a true revelation
of the Father's heart of love for all creation. It was GOD who so loved
the world that HE gave, and it is the will of God thoroughly expressed
through the Son, while the Son balances the judgment and mercy which is
needed to bring forth salvation for all men. He uses what seems to us to
be manifestations of wrath simply as a means of disciplining us, and drawing
us into the path of righteousness that we might receive more of His goodness.
He does not whip us for whipping's sake, but for the purpose of bringing
us to salvation. And the chastenings are actually a manifestation of His
LOVE.
"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are
rebuked of Him: for WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, and scourges every
son whom He receives." [Hebrews 12:5-6].
All the judgments of God are remedial and corrective in nature, to bring
us to God, and the Son will administer these judgments according to the
need, that He might also freely give us of His salvation. So much is The
Son the expression of the Father, He said, "I and My Father ARE ONE." Thus
the manifestation of one is the manifestation of the other, even as Christ
was declared to be "the brightness of glory, and the express image of His
person." [Hebrews 1:3].
So
the Son's love is the Father's love, and the Father's love is expressed
through the Son's love. And shall not the same be said of us when we BECOME
ONE IN HIM? For "he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." [1 Cor.
6:17]. So when He shall pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh, are not
we to be apart of that which is poured out? If it is the Father's love,
it will be our love. If it is the Father's will, it will be our will. Not
two wills in contra-distinction to each other, my will and God's will,
but when "my will" becomes "HIS WILL," and "His will" becomes "my will,"
there is but one will to be exercised. Thus, whether you say it is the
Son doing the works, or the Father doing the works, they were BOTH IN ONE
fulfilling the work of redemption.
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent
His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."
[1 John 4:9].
So freely given--now this LOVE and LIFE are to become ours. We do not need
a doctrine of escapism, nor of substitution, but we need to rightly understand
what our own participation in this glorious out-working of redemption really
is. In the following chapters we shall ponder this some more. It is HIS
LIFE for our living, because HE planned it so.
NOT IN OUR STEAD, BUT FOR US.
O, strange theology of man, That would devise redemption's
plan
In ways that yet would spare the flesh; Confusing dogmas
to enmesh.
They first must have a substitute, To face the circumstance
acute,
For in their creed they have a God, In mortal conflict
with this clod.
A God of wrath, with judgments sore, Who standeth waiting-now
to pour
His fury on each wayward soul, Each one who fails to
reach the goal.
And so they say eternal death, Awaits the end of natural
breath,
Except that Christ came in our stead, And in our place,
hell was His bed.
Another substitute must be, For Christ did not eternally
Remain in death, but in three days, He paid the price,
mysterious ways.
And then they say, when all is done, How small the vict'ry
for the Son,
For He will salvage but a few, The Devil all the rest
is due.
Thank God, this theory isn't so, Out to the scrap heap
it must go,
While truth the Spirit doth impart, Shall work within
each stony heart.
The Christ did come, praise God, 'tis true, And now He
maketh all things new,
He tasted death for every man, Fulfilling God's redemption
plan.
He blazed a path to realms above, And freely gave us
of His love,
Not in our stead, but for us He, Did conquer death, bring
liberty.
And now we, too, can die to self, With all its shame
and worldly pelf,
For He goes with us all the way, And gives the strength
to take the prey.
We had no strength, but He is strong, To choose for us
the right from wrong,
And thus BY HIM we'll overcome, His life our all-in perfect
sum.
To just escape is not to win, Now would we shrink from
discipline,
With Christ to suffer, then to reign, Is sure to be the
highest gain. BACK
A JOINT-PARTICIPATION
- Chapter 9
"That I might come to know Him in an experiential way,
and to come to know experientially the power of His resurrection and a
JOINT-PARTICIPATION in His sufferings, being brought to the place where
my life will radiate a likeness to His death, if by any means I might arrive
at the goal, namely, the out-resurrection from among those who are dead."
[Philippians
3:10-11, Wuest Expanded Trans.].
"And
if we are His children, then we are His heirs also: heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ-sharing His inheritance with Him; only we must share
His suffering if we are to share His glory."
[Romans 8:17 Amplified].
As we have already pointed out in the previous chapter, there has been
a very insidious weaving of deception in a doctrine of substitutionism,
and because men were taught that Christ became their substitute, then they
always look for a "substitute" so that they might escape everything that
comes their way, which they feel might cause some distress to the flesh.
The very teaching that the preacher sowed, he is reaping, and it is killing
him. They preach a total substitution, Christ paying our debt, His cross
did it all, and we ought to be free from all suffering, etc. And so rather
than the congregation learning to bear their load, and becoming an OVERCOMER
IN CHRIST, they all cast on their preacher their load, while he has to
bail them out of trouble, pray them out of all their distresses, and he
ends up with a nervous breakdown. God did not call men to become substitutes
for their congregation, to absolve people from being developed and processed
by all these circumstances which He sends to them.
Always we want somebody to "bear it for us", but the promise is given
this way, "When YOU pass THROUGH the waters, I will be with you; and THROUGH
the rivers, they shall not overflow you..," [Isaiah 43:2]. No escape but
to GO THROUGH, and to find that HE is with us all the way, to give us grace
and bring us into the fulness of His victory.
"IN ALL THESE THINGS we are more than conquerors through (by the means
of) Him that loved us," [Romans 8:37]. Not "out of" them, but IN all
of these things. In all of what things? The previous verses list them like
this-tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and
the sword, until "for Your sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted
as sheep for the slaughter." We thought we were to pray, "Lord, take
me out of all these things," but we discover that we really need to pray,
"LORD, BRING ME THROUGH ALL OF THESE THINGS, and accomplish all of your
purpose, and then make me an overcomer."
The doctrine of escapism produces a weak, impotent, selfish type of
people who shrink from pressure and testing which is sent their way, They
know nothing of OVER-COMING, and it is high time that this nonsense
was stripped away, and people faced up to the process of being developed
and growing up in Christ, No more to say, "how can I get out of this,"
but rather to affirm, "by the grace of God I can come through this thing,
and not just somehow, but triumphantly," Amen!
There is a continuity in the work of the Lord, where we are not wavering
and double minded in our understanding. We begin to realize that "If we
be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: If we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him," [2 Timothy 2:11-12], God is bringing His remnant into
that place of having a SINGLE EYE unto the Lord, and they are determined
by His grace to GO THROUGH and gain the victory.
There are those who, in the midst of their troubles, feel that if one prayer
is good, several prayers are better, so they call upon all their friends
to help send up a volume of prayer-thinking that if they get enough people
praying it will twist God's arm until He has to do something. Storm heaven
and get violent, they say, and we'll demand heavenly action on this thing.
Sure enough, "the kingdom of God is being preached, and every one strives
violently to go in--would force his own way, rather than God's way into
it." [Luke 16:16, Amplified]. How much violence the kingdom has endured
because people would force, or try to force their own way upon God, demanding
that He do this and that in delivering them from the very thing they need
for their cross, to work their purification.
In due time it will be realized that all punishments are for man's benefit,
and with purpose, "that we might be partakers of His holiness." [Hebrews
12:10] .
"Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
AFTERWARD
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby." [Hebrews 12:11]. It does not work its exercise in us if we escape
out of it, or if we find a substitute to bear it for us. But it does work
the wonders of His grace while we pass through the processing. "I have
seen the travail which God has given unto the sons of men to be exercised
IN IT." [Eccl. 3:10].
You say, "how come then when I used to pray for deliverance God would always
come to my rescue and get me out of it?" Sure He did, and thank God He
did, for we first needed to learn that when we called He would answer,
plus the fact, He knew just how much of the process we could endure in
the early stages of our spiritual growth, and so He gave the victories
which would balance the testings.
But one day we come to the realization that suddenly our "prayers" are
not being answered in the same old way. And the first carnal reaction is
one of self-condemnation, maybe we have backslidden, or maybe God is punishing
us for some sin. Thus all the old preachers of doom and condemnation heap
their black accusations upon you as well. So you examine your heart, and
you wait before God, and know that you are walking closer to Him than any
time in the past, so then you seek for a new answer, and learn that HE
IS BRINGING YOU THROUGH THIS TRIAL, and using it for your good.
"Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He
suffered." [Hebrews 5:8]. "Leaving us an example, that we should follow
His steps." [1 Peter 2:21]. If the Captain of our salvation could come
no other way, then I am sure that following in His footsteps we can come
no other way either, but we shall find that this is simply A BLESSING IN
DISGUISE, and substitutions would rob us of this part of our blessing.
How would you like to be in a situation where three of you suddenly discovered
that there was A FOURTH ONE walking with you, even the Son of God? Oh,
you would love to have Him with you like that. Ah, the three Hebrew children
found the setting for this rich experience in the "fiery furnace." [Daniel
3:25]. There was no escapism here, nor did they find three of their brethren
who would be their substitutes and go through this for them, but they experienced
both the testing and the victory, and rejoiced in their God who was with
them all the way.
You would love to see God close the mouths of all the lions? Then expect
to be thrown into a lion's den. You would desire to see one raised from
the dead? Then think it not strange if someone near and dear to you is
wrapped in death. Always we want to share the glory, but we do not want
to go through the testing. Now God is perfecting OVERCOMERS, and thus
the obstacles must be there for us to overcome. Escapism and substitutionism
cater to the flesh, for the flesh would always shrink from the cross, and
try to find another way. The humanity part of us might pray, "Father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But deep in our spirit the
consecration is made, "nevertheless, NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS, BE DONE."
Christ drank the cup to its very end, experienced all of its sorrow, and
then He filled it up with blessing and offers it to us. And the cup which
we bless, is it not the communion of our Lord Jesus Christ? Praise God,
that we might drink with Him, both of the sorrow and the joy, and find
it communion which is rich and sweet indeed.
Thus we learn to "count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations..."
[James 1:2], realizing that God will bring you THROUGH them, and that "there
is no temptation taken you but such is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will
with the temptation make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear
it." [1 Corinthians 10:13].
Make a way of escape--the Amplified translation gives a clearer light upon
this passage. "But with the temptation He will always provide the way out--the
means of escape to a landing place--that you may be capable and strong
and powerful patiently to bear up under it."
There are those times when you feel you are simply treading water, with
nothing solid underfoot, and then HE provides a way to A LANDING PLACE--not
that we are able to get out of it all, escape it an, but bringing us to
a place of solid footing, then we are able to BEAR UP UNDER IT until
the whole process of God is wrought out in us. "Let patience have her perfect
work." "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." It is our personal
participation in the whole process which works for us an exceeding and
aionian weight of glory, even "while we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen
are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (Greek, aeonian,
age-abiding)." [2 Corinthians 4:18].
While we cannot accept that "confused doctrine" of substitutionism, there
are some beautiful scriptures which bring out the wonderful grace of our
Lord, and how HE SHARES WITH US of our sorrows and griefs, and imparts
of His strength that we might have help to come through to victory.
"The
just FOR the unjust, that He might bring us to God." [1 Peter 3:18].
It does not read, "the just instead of the unjust," as we have often
been told, but all that Christ did was FOR us. He has a perfect identification
with our experience. "He Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."
[Matthew 8:17]. He became our Companion, our Burden-bearer, not to exempt
us from any burden bearing, not to absolve us, not to cause us to escape
it all, but to be with us, that by HIS enablement we might come through
it all victoriously.
Galatians 6:2, 5, reads, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ.--For every man shall bear his own burden." There
is no actual contradiction here, for there are two different Greek words
used. The first word is "baros" meaning WEIGHT, and refers to those
heavy weights which sometimes build up, and thus we need to help one another
bear these overloads. This is an opportunity for love to find expression.
But the second Greek word is "phortion," drop the letter "h" and you have
our English word PORTION, and in this regard, Phillips translates this
fifth verse, "For every man must shoulder his own pack." There is a specific
pack given to you for your development and training, and if you find a
substitute to carry it for you, how then can it work in you, and for you,
of His purpose ? Gladly do we help carry the overload when the testings
become too much, and weighty, but there is that portion which God has given
to every man, and he must needs learn to shoulder his own pack.
Someone once wrote, "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world
go free? No, there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for me."
HIS death does not absolve us from dying. HIS DEATH ENABLES US TO DIE,
AND DO IT VICTORIOUSLY. God deliver us from that confusion which teaches
that Christ died in my place, and now I just believe in Him, sit down and
twiddle my thumbs, and wait to be taken to heaven, a beautiful Isle of
Somewhere. And then while I wait the carnal man plays, and self becomes
a distress to all those about me, and we wonder why we have such carnal
christians in our gatherings. It is because they were not taught that they
needed to be a JOINT-PARTICIPATOR in this death process. He did
not die in our place, but He died FOR US. As He did "by the grace
of God taste death for every man." [Hebrews 2:9], it was that having fully
conquered, now He is able to walk through the valley of the shadow of
death WITH US, and HELP US through the process until we have thoroughly
died out to all of self and its rebellion. He has blazed a trail through
the regions of death, not to provide us a BY--PASS, that we might escape
it, but rather that following in His steps we might arrive at the same
victory which He obtained.
Praise God, it is written, "I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I
have exalted one chosen out of the people." [Psalm 89:19]. While this is
speaking of David, chosen to be king over Israel, he is but a type of that
GREATER
ONE, even our Lord Jesus Christ, and He has become that MIGHTY ONE
who is there to help us through all of the travail and process leading
to perfection. It was when "we were without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly." [Romans 5:6]. Man could not save himself--were he
able to have kept the law, it was written, "This do, and live." But it
was weak through the flesh, and being without strength we continued to
fall--failure everywhere. So the Father laid help upon One that is MIGHTY,
and He came to help bring us through. HE IS OUR SAVIOUR. We did
not deserve this help, but GRACE does not operate upon a merit system,
it operates upon the need. They that are whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick.
Now, it is a truth that as we are fully conformed to His image, filled
with His nature of LOVE, becoming strong in the Lord, and in the power
of His might, then we shall also be able to help bear the load of the weak.
Not to exempt them from all the load, but to be with them, and to help
bear their overload. Love and compassion increase as this truth is made
real within. Just because we say that "every man must bear his own
burden" does not leave us insensitive to the needs about us. But God
would purge us from the mere human forms of sentiment and temperament which
would cause us to "bailout" those who are in trouble, when they need to
remain there and learn their lesson and be developed unto spiritual maturity.
While we will not become their substitute, nor will we bail them out, neither
will we abandon them. So they are in prison, and we do not bail them out,
then what do we do ? Ah, "I was in prison, AND YOU VISITED ME." You
know why we always wanted to bail people out? To pray them out of their
trouble? Because we did not want to go to prison with them, nor did we
want to become involved with their trouble, and help bear their load, so
we just thought everybody ought to escape the whole thing. What a doctrine
of "cop-out"! (Original Editor's note: Prison, Merriam Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary, Tenth Edition states, "a state of confinement or captivity;
a place of confinement exp. for lawbreakers --compare jail." If we err
not, the greatest prison of all is the "death" state of carnal man. Can
we through the Spirit visit those in this prison--death state? Can we uplift
those who God is speaking to and be God's witness (martyr) and share His
truth, the reconciliation-restoration process that God purposed prior to
the foundation of time? The authors make a profound statement in the preceding
chapter, "Not In Our Stead, But For Us," and we quote, "It was not God
against His creation, while the Son was pleading for mankind, but we actually
read, "to wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF."
[2 Corinthians 5:18]. It was God Himself who planned and purposed the salvation
of His whole creation. Jesus was the manifestation which carried it out,
but remember, it was GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, in the personage, of the
man Christ Jesus. Jesus was the visible expression of the invisible God,
but it was God Himself who was in Christ accomplishing this reconciliation.
The man Christ Jesus plainly declared, "I can of Mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own
will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me." [John 5:30].
And again, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father
do: for what things soever He does, these also the Son does likewise."
[John 5:19]. IT WAS THE FATHER'S DOINGS WHICH THE SON WAS MANIFESTING,
it was a revelation of the Father's love for His creation. ).
When we are willing to identify ourselves with men, walk with them in their
sorrow, then shall we see new life spring forth, and salvation will be
theirs also. We do not become their substitute to bear it in their stead,
but on their behalf, and for them, we walk together and help carry the
load. This is the big difference between substitutionism and true joint-participation.
Jesus Christ NOW holds the keys of death--and He uses this process to bring
us into His more abundant life. He came to deliver us from the DEATH-LOAD,
not just from death itself. He would deliver us from THE FEAR OF DEATH,
and He has brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel. Now
we need not fear the process any more, since to be made CONFORMABLE TO
HIS DEATH also means that we shall have an active participation in His
resurrection life.
But this death-Ioad, this whole body of death, and realm wherein we were
bound, we did not have the strength to rise up out of it, we could not,
in ourselves, overcome it, SO HE CAME TO BE OUR STRENGTH. "O wretched man
that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God
THROUGH (by the means of) JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD." [Romans 7:24-25].
We do not escape the second death, "It is appointed unto man once to
die, and after that the judgment." But how can we pass through the
process and come forth into life? We are too weak in ourselves." It is
through our Lord Jesus Christ that we find the strength. HE IMPARTS OF
HIS LIFE. He freely gives us of His grace, and then we shall come through.
Right now we have but "in part" and therefore we still are not fully LOOSED,
but we shall gird up the loins of our mind, and be sober, and hope
to the end "FOR THE GRACE THAT IS TO BE BROUGHT UNTO YOU at the revelation
of Jesus Christ." [1 Peter 1:13]. We need MORE HELP, and He shall bring
it to us.
"Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time (Original
Editor's note: The second time will be manifested within the life of the
believer. When Christ, when God, as they are ONE, will take residence within
the tabernacle, within the "Living temple of God." We are beginning
to see the Spiritual Body of Christ coming into view. Those who have "spiritual"
eyes can see, and those who have "spiritual ears" are hearing as the Center
of the universe, as creation its self is on tip toes, seeing the sons of
God returning), without sin, unto salvation." [Hebrews 9:28]. He came,
not to save us from the penalty, but from sin itself, not just from death,
but OUT OF DEATH. Even as it was written of our Lord, "Who in the days
of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
cryings and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was
heard in that He feared." [Hebrews 5:7].
"Saved FROM..." in the Greek this reads, SAVED OUT OF, for He was not
spared from the Cross, nor from dying even a physical death, but He was
saved out of it all by the upsurge of resurrection life.
What is essential here is a change of nature, for we "were by nature the
children of wrath." [Ephesians 2:3]. It requires a death to the old carnal
nature, and there is no substitution for this death process. We all face
the process sooner or later. But, praise God, there is a real deliverance
from the body of this death, and it is a deliverance for ALL, for all creation
shall yet be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
[Romans 8:21].
He bore--yes, He took away the SINS OF THE WORLD, and it is this salvation
from sin which brings us into His life and the freedom of the Spirit.
Not only to take away my past sin, and relieve me from the overload which
I could not bear, but now to walk with me and help me through all of the
daily travail so that I do not constantly fall back into sin, nor miss
the mark. "He is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present
you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." [Jude
24].
Furthermore we find the promises are many that He is with us day by day.
"MY
PRESENCE SHALL GO WITH YOU, and I will give you rest." [Exodus 33:14].
Again, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." [Hebrews 13:5]. Plus
the assurance that "the anointing which you have received of Him ABIDES
IN YOU..." [1 John 2:27].
ABIDES-from the Greek word "meno," to remain, continue. It is this
abiding of the anointing which continues in us which also brings forth
a continuity to our life in a progressive development. Guiding us onward
into all truth, remaining in us to work in us the fulness of His will,
to bring us to the hour of adoption wherein we shall be swallowed up into
the fulness of God.
There is no doubt about it, we need this constant help, and HE is our Comforter,
the One called alongside to help. Jesus said, "He is with you, and He shall
BE IN YOU" Praise God, what a Source of strength to enable us to overcome,
even the Christ who dwells within.
So we find that the whole plan of "atonement" was not to satisfy God's
justice, but to reveal His love, for He is our "Just God and our Saviour,"
being our Saviour because He is Just. Justice is not against the sinner,
demanding his condemnation, but rather it is FOR HIM, insuring his total
salvation. It is the work of God IN CHRIST, reconciling us to Himself.
God is already favorable towards man, and daily makes that favour known
even as He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, and causes
the sun to shine over all. Jesus Christ did not come as our substitute,
but to be OUR COMPANION AND HELPER, to be with man, and for man. His life
was poured out FOR us, not to save us from the penalty, but to save us
from sin itself. And it is self-evident that when there is no sin, neither
is there a penalty for sin. He did not die that we might not die, but to
deliver us from a death in which we are already involved. He did not live
a righteous life in our place, but to ENABLE US TO LIVE THE SAME LIFE,
even as we are challenged, "Be holy; for I am holy ." [1 Peter 1:16].
"That I might come to know Him in an experiential way, and to come to know
experientially the power of His resurrection and a JOINT-PARTICIPATION
in His sufferings, being brought to the place where my life will radiate
a likeness to His death, if by any means I might arrive at the goal, namely,
the out-resurrection from among those who are dead." [Philippians 3:10-11,
Wuest Expanded].
No more need we seek for a substitute, nor for away of escape, for now
we are coming to know that HE IS MIGHTY, and He is with us all the way,
bringing us all the way THROUGH the present travail, and into the fulness
of His spirit-life. Praise God for the glory of His resurrection, and that
we shall share in the same, after the travail of the present has accomplished
its purpose in us.
A JOINT-PARTICIPATION
A joint-participation, A sharing all the way,
To fellowship His sufferings, Humiliation's day.
Conformable unto His death, All self-will thus to cease,
While God doth work a purging, From sin to bring release.
We would not shun the process, Nor seek for an escape,
But in the winepress with Him, We'd tread the smallest
grape.
That out of sorrow's weeping, We then might find the
cup
Has overflowed with blessing, With Him to freely sup.
He knows the path before us, For He has walked the whole,
And now His presence lingers, To succour every soul.
His Spirit e'er abiding, Shall guide us to His throne,
The overcomers sharing, The joys as yet unknown. BACK
THEREFORE CHOOSE
LIFE - Chapter 10
"I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: that you may
love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cleave
unto Him: for He is your life, and the length of your days." [Deuteronomy
30:19-20].
While it is self-evident that every individual needs that personal quickening
of the Spirit upon the great truths which are being revealed, oftentimes
it only requires that a truth be plainly set forth for the holy Spirit
to immediately use the occasion to cause it to become LIGHT upon the pathway
of a searching heart. Many have passively held to certain concepts simply
because they knew of no other viewpoint, but once the truth has been presented
to them, they are ready to receive and follow it on its way. Carnal
minds have long carried on a controversy over the so-called free will of
man, and the other vital issue of God's sovereignty. We hereby present
that which has been quickened to our present understanding.
It is plainly written, "HE (that is, GOD) works all things after the counsel
of His own will." [Ephesians 1:11]. Here is divine sovereignty in a precise
statement, working ALL things-not just some things, but ALL of them after
the counsel of His own will.
"The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of Him who has subjected the same in hope." [Romans 8:20]. Now we see that
sovereign will of God in action, and the subjection of the creation to
the bondage of vanity was not a voluntary thing on the part of creation,
it was part of the purpose of God, and HIS WILL was brought to bear upon
the creature. BY REASON OF HIM who is working all things, and who is in
perfect control of the entire process all through its progression to completion,
HE knew that by subjecting the creature to this process things could be
worked out which could not be accomplished any other way, and therefore
HIS WILL was made manifest in this direction and course of action. Furthermore,
when HE subjected us to the bondage of vanity, He did so "IN HOPE." Hope
for the ultimate deliverance for the whole creation into the glorious liberty
that rightfully belongs to the children of God.
Traditional creeds have uttered certain things so much people begin to
believe they are true, and some even think these phrases to be scripture.
One
of these is the term "free moral agent." The farther we go into this
uncovering of the truth, the more we are aware of the fact that we are
not half so free as we once thought we were. The very phrase "free moral
agent" is not a Biblical term, and it is directly opposed to the truth.
We shall take the words and examine them.
AN AGENT is one who acts or performs an act.
A FREE agent is one who can act as he pleases without any restraint of
any kind placed upon him. While a free MORAL agent would be one who is
free to act upon all moral issues, that is, upon all questions involving
the qualities of right and wrong.
Obviously
the creature cannot fill all these qualifications. Our understanding is
limited and influenced by our heredity, our environment, and whatever knowledge
is available in our particular sphere. Then added to this are the invisible
restraints and bounds placed upon us by our Sovereign Creator. Plus the
fact that the "mystery of iniquity" does already work in us through the
old adamic nature passed on to us, which is then expanded by our own evil
deeds, propensities and desires. And then some dare to say that we are
able to render a correct judgment on all issues of right and wrong? What
foolish thinking. We might try to do our best according to what facts are
at hand, and what we have gained through various experiences and studies,
but even so it is extremely limited. For man judges by the seeing of the
eye, the hearing of the ear, using much circumstantial evidence, and the
bias of our own feelings and emotions.
Furthermore, that there is a restraint placed upon us is clear as we read,
"Surely
the wrath of man shall praise You; the remainder of wrath shall YOU RESTRAIN."
[Psalm
76:10]. Yes, the actions of man most certainly are controlled, directed,
and over-ruled by God. What God permits, He uses to His glory, and what
He does not ultimately purpose to use, HE RESTRAINS. "My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all My pleasure."
[Isaiah 46:10].
Yes-nothing
can happen outside of God's will, and whatever does happen is within the
circumference of His will and to be used to work out more of His purpose,
ere time has run its course.
There is, however, within the overall circumference of God's will, a limited
freedom which HE has given to man wherein we can be exercised. Man is
free as to his will, to make his choice, but not always free to carry out
that choice. And there are some inherent laws which govern the making of
our choices, as we shall see as we proceed.
"A man's heart devises his way; but the Lord directs his steps." [Proverbs
16:9].
"The lot (choice) is cast into the lap: but the whole disposing thereof
is of the Lord." [Proverbs 16:33].
Jeremiah came to this understanding, and declared, "O Lord, I know that
the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct
his steps." [Jeremiah 10:23].
There are many more verses which could be given to affirm that the way
of man is not in himself, but these will suffice for now. And so we earnestly
ask the Lord to show us HIS WAY, and help us to walk therein. However,
while it is true that man's actions are controlled by the Lord, it is also
true that we have a certain freedom in yielding our mind either to the
spirit of the world, or to the pure Spirit of God, for the gendering of
our thoughts. And we shall be judged, not simply for our outward actions,
but for the INNER MOTIVATION. "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is
he." [Proverbs 23:7]. Whether or not you are ever allowed to carry out
your choice, you will be judged, disciplined, and purified according to
your inward desires and choices.
Personally we count it a token of His grace and mercy that HE has kept
HIS HAND upon us many times, so that opportunity for action did not meet
with desire, thus there was less to reap when the seed was not sown. And
the inner desire is easier to purge without the roots of indulgence.
Man
will be brought at last to voluntarily choose the right way by being made
to see that it is right, and that the right is best, and then Christ will
supply the help to enable man to take that way. Yet it is essential
in the nature of the case that man be given the right to choose his way,
but in this making of a choice God must supply the knowledge so that man
knows what the right way is. He who made the will of man knows how to influence
it in the right way, make it subservient to His will, and to bring glory
to Himself in the process.
Free will is the power to choose between opposite courses of moral conduct;
but the choice also is determined by the apparently strongest motive. God
has retained the sovereign control of influencing our motives towards the
final destiny. For while our will might be free, it is not independent,
it is determined and controlled by motives.
Take all of our vicious habits and propensities for evil, our gross ignorance
and prejudices, all of these cause us not to be able to weigh things properly,
hence we are prone to choose the wrong. Being influenced by all of these
contributing pressures, desires, etc. we certainly need help far beyond
ourselves to make the right choices.
Take for an illustration, a drunkard. The strong motivation for flesh gratification,
strengthened by repeated indulgence, leads this poor soul captive at its
will. In moments of soberness the individual might decide he doesn't like
the way of life he is following, and deep inside is that desire to do the
right, but as time goes on and the drink--appetite cries out for satisfaction,
and the influences for a drink grow stronger, so that they out-weigh the
other desires for right, and then with a host of cover-up excuses, it's
back to the bottle again.
With much of the influence of our choice coming from the amount of understanding
and knowledge we have of the situation, is it any wonder that we read,
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge?" [Hosea 4:6]. It but emphasizes
the need for pastors and teachers "which shall feed you with knowledge
and understanding." [Jeremiah 3:15].
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves: if God peradventure
will give them repentance (a change of mind) to the acknowledgment of the
truth: and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,
who are taken captive by him at his will." [2 Timothy 2:25-26].
Obviously, if we are a captive of the spirit of this world, caught in the
snare of the devil, subservient to his will, then we are not our own master,
and a free moral agent, to do as we please. Whatever choice we make would
be influenced by these negative forces.
"The god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God,
should shine unto them. (Greek, shine INTO them). For God, Who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
[2 Corinthians 4:4, 6].
Surely darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people, as GOD
has permitted the god of this world to blind the minds of men so that they
cannot see. And while men are daily making their choices, it is done
in blindness. And while their right to make a choice is there, the ability
to do so has been so limited, and if the blind lead the blind they both
fall into the ditch. But the GOD who caused creation to be so hemmed in
with vanity and darkness, is also the GOD who has purposed that in due
time every creature shall be brought to the light. For this very cause
THE SON was given, "the true Light, which lights every man that comes into
the world." [John 1:9]. And even unto those who sit in the regions
of the shadow of death, in due time, unto them the light shall come.
HE has "brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel." [2
Timothy 1:10]. It only remains that in God's appointed time this GOOD NEWS
must be brought to every creature, and when the LIGHT bursts upon them,
they shall be able to see the truth and make the right choices which shall
cause them to believe on our Lord Jesus Christ, and receive of HIS more
abundant life.
When
GOD commands the light to shine into your darkness, and illumines your
mind to the truth, then you are able to make a new choice in harmony with
this greater knowledge. How beautifully this is illustrated in the life
of the apostle Paul.
Paul was so encased in his prejudice and self-righteousness, utterly deceived
in his work, that he went about to make havoc for the church, causing men
and women to be cast into prison, and others to be slain. He was a very
zealous man, and he was as religious as they come, and no doubt he was
as sincere as he could be. His trouble was lack of light! Yet God had no
difficulty to turn him around, for when God caused a light to shine upon
his pathway, brighter than the noon day sun, suddenly this man saw a new
dimension, reversed his whole concept, and made his choice to follow on
in the way of truth. "Lord, obviously my choice and actions were wrong,
I see that now, so what do YOU want me to do?" Here was repentance, A
CHANGE, OF MIND, and he was recovered out of the snare of the devil,
no more to be taken captive at his will, but now to become A LOVE SLAVE
TO CHRIST, to be found in HIS will. All it required was for God to turn
on the light!
Joshua makes an excellent challenge, by reason of the victory of God which
Israel has experienced. He rehearsed before them all the triumphs which
they had witnessed because of the goodness and mercy of God to them. Brought
out of Egypt with a Strong Hand, subdued all of the enemy which withstood
them in the way, and now were in the land of promise. A way had been made
through the river of Jordan, the walls of Jericho were fallen. From victory
to victory Israel had progressed. Now Joshua says to them, "Choose you
this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord." [Joshua 24:15].
Here was an array of facts which would help to influence the choice. Consider:
shall we choose the gods our fathers served before the flood? Oh, NO! For
they all perished in the flood, and only those who were serving Jehovah
came through victoriously. Shall we choose the gods of the Amorites? Never,
their gods failed them, and now we are possessing their land. Then whom
shall we choose to serve ? WE SHALL CHOOSE TO SERVE JEHOVAH WHO GIVES
THE VICTORY, AND IS LORD OF ALL! Viewing the situation in the light
of the display of the power and triumph of God, Joshua knew that he, and
all of his household, would serve the Lord. And in view of facts like these,
Israel also declared their intention of serving this Mighty Jehovah also.
But the record doesn't stop with this particular choice, We read on, "And
also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose
another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works
which He had done for Israel." [Judges 2:10].
All the fathers which had known the power of God, and so had made their
choices with the influence of this knowledge, had now all passed on. Then
a new generation comes on the scene, they do not have the light of the
knowledge which their fathers possessed, they do not know the Lord by personal
experience, and they haven't seen the works which He can do. All they have
is the historical record which was told them. But this "second hand" light
doesn't shine near so bright, and isn't very convincing to those who are
faced with their own decisions.
Judges 5:8 carries on our thought, "They chose new gods; then was there
war in the gates." They had a historical religion passed on by their fathers,
and then they had, all the gods about them which the other nations were
serving. Now Israel, who shall be your God? They decided to live in the
"now"--they became a "now generation" to be like all of their contemporaries,
the nations round about them. So they chose them new gods, but little did
they expect what followed, "SO THERE WAS WAR IN THE GATES."
War--for what purpose, to reveal how impotent their new gods were, unable
to deliver them from their enemies, and to teach them Who was truly GOD,
and whom they should choose to be their God, and serve Him.
Thank God, there were a few left in Israel who
knew Jehovah, and when the test came, and all the "new gods" failed, they
were able to declare the truth of Jehovah, and lead the people to victory
THROUGH HIS POWER.
"Yet you have forsaken Me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver
you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver
you in the time of your tribulation." [Judges 10:13-14].
Seven times in the book of Judges do we read how Israel turned to the Lord,
found deliverance and salvation for a time, then turned to other gods,
and went back into trouble and captivity again. Every generation had to
learn the hard way which was really the right choice. Faced with their
dilemma, they repented, put away the strange gods, and served the Lord.
But the Lord found it necessary to afflict them with their enemies, and
He did not hasten to answer their first selfish whimper. "Go back to the
gods whom you have chosen, let them deliver you." "But Lord, they failed
us, they are no good, we want to serve You!" And when they finally became
desperate enough to put away, destroy, throw out the idols, then God would
have compassion on them and give them victory again. And so the cycles
are repeated, until man is convinced that only in the Lord our God is there
strength and salvation, and HE ALONE IS GOD.
"And you shall cry out in that day because of your king which you shall
haven chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." [1 Samuel
8:18].
"And Samuel said to all the people, See him whom the Lord has chosen, that
none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said,
God save the king."
[1 Samuel 10 :24].
"Now therefore behold the king whom you have chosen, whom you have desired!
and, behold, the Lord has set a king over you." [1 Samuel 12:13].
After
all the cycles of servitude and deliverance, forsaking the Lord, serving
other gods, and then returning to the Lord again, next we find that Israel
desired a king, so that they could be like all other nations. And though
Samuel warned them what a king would do, taxes, conscript their youth into
his service, etc. still they chose to have a king, a visible ruler. God
was invisible, and too remote --other nations had visible gods and visible
kings. If they couldn't have "visible gods," then at least they clamoured
for a visible king.
But be it noted, this choice of Israel was within the circumference of
the will of God. HE knew that the only way they would learn the folly of
man's rule, was to have a man set over them. So we read that GOD chose
their king, and God set him over them. Ah, when God makes a choice He knows
just how to satisfy all your fleshly desires--and He gave them a king that
was tall, dark, and handsome, head and shoulders above all the people.
But flesh is flesh, and bondage was added to bondage, as again they fulfilled
the scripture, "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their
soul." [Psalm 106:15].
Oh, no wonder we learn to pray, "Not my will, BUT YOURS, be done." If He
gives us our request, fulfills the desire in away that pleases the flesh,
it is but to our own destruction. But when the choice is in harmony with
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, on the higher spiritual plane, then we are blessed indeed,
and partakers of His life and victory. But to forget His works, and wait
not for His counsel, one is surely to make the wrong choice.
Yet for all this, we see the hand of God working, and using even our baseness
and carnality to teach us some severe lessons. "Your own wickedness shall
correct you, and your backslidings shall reprove you: know therefore and
see that it is an evil-and bitter, that you have forsaken the Lord ypur
God, and that My fear is not in you, says the Lord of hosts." [Jeremiah
2:19].
To
ignore His counsel, and to choose after the carnal mind, is sure to produce
a wrong choice. Yet God allows us to make these choices, for through all
of the reaping of that which we have sown, we learn that it is an evil
and very bitter thing to forsake the Lord our God.
"Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their
abominations. I also will choose their delusions; and bring their fears
upon them." [Isaiah 66:3-4]. Praise God, what a wonderful working of His
divine interplay of good and evil, and then using the whole to work out
His plan in the earth. Man chooses his own way, and then God also makes
an added choice for him, choosing their delusions into which they shall
go, for He knows just which delusion is needed to teach man his needed
lesson. Praise God, HE ever is in perfect control, and only allows His
creation to wander off into avenues which He knows shall be used, though
the lesson learned is often quite severe.
Our heart is with the Psalmist, when he declared, "I have chosen the way
of truth." [Psalm 119:30]. Now comes the blessing, when we begin to learn
to choose the way of truth. If we would exercise any right of choice at
all, let it be in this manner!
"What man is he that fears the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that
he shall choose." [Psalm 25:12].
"The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way."
[Psalm 25:9]. If we would be among the proud and arrogant, to walk with
a haughty, stiff-necked crowd, we will miss His way. But the meek shall
He teach and guide, and they shall know the right way to choose.
Paul came to that place in his experience, where he said, "Yet what I shall
choose I know not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to
depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide
in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence (persuasion),
I know that I shall abide and continue with you." [Philippians 1:22-25].
Paul had a personal desire to depart, but his love was not a self-centered
thing, and love for the brethren caused him to know that they needed him
there, and so his choice was made in LOVE'S LIGHT, and this influence guided
his choosing. When our understanding is quickened by the love of God, and
we make our choices governed by love, we shall make far different choices
than when we were motivated by self-centered ambition. Then Paul adds,
"having this confidence, or persuasion..." The Greek word used here for
"confidence" is "peitho" also translated as OBEDIENCE. With the support
of love for the brethren, and the undergirding of OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S WILL,
all personal desire was pushed aside, and the choice was made to continue
with them until God's purpose was fulfilled for his abiding. Choosing obedience
to the will of God, and knowing what the will of God is in a certain situation,
the choice is easily made.
While in the beginning of the consideration Paul didn't know which way
to choose, with the adding of light of love for the brethren, and discerning
that this is God's will, he simply chose obedience to that will, and the
decision was made.
"Choosing rather to suffer the afflictions with
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming
the reproach of Christ far greater riches than the treasures in Egypt:
for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." [Hebrews 11:25-26].
How could Moses choose to suffer afflictions with the slave-nation of Israelites
rather than the pleasures and treasures of the palace of life of Egypt?
What was it that enabled him to make this kind of a choice? It was a revelation,
an understanding, the light of the greater riches! It was not just a choice
between Israel's present poverty and Egypt's riches, though that was all
the visible part of the evidence to consider, but he had the added light
of the age abiding riches of God which caused Egypt's riches to pale into
insignificance.
God
has the power to bend our wills to His purpose because He can progressively
evolve a constraining power of motive sufficient to insure the results.
God knows exactly how to influence your motives to make you choose right.
The influence of God is irresistible!
When, in the plan of God for each individual, HE turns on the light so
that they can clearly see the facts they have, been missing, they will
be able to alter their choices, and I choose Him, and His will. Then once
we have made our choice that He be Lord of our life, we will discover that
"You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,"
[John 15:16], and our choice which is made God-ward is because already
HE has expressed His love and choice to us-ward, drawing us to Himself
by His bountiful grace.
THE WAYS OF CHOICE
By His great foreknowledge and infinite love, He
gives the choices unto His own belove',
And then tenderly woos as a gentle Dove- That we hasten
and choose the ways from above.
And full well He knows what the outcome will be, But
to us it remains as a mystery,
That in learning to choose till our wills agree, We grow
and develop to maturity.
The highest and best is in fellowship sweet, To learn
of His will as we sit at His feet,
To be Spirit-taught in some sacred retreat, Till at last
we stand in His fulness complete.
And yet if we choose to go our own way, Allowing our
self-will to hold us in sway,
This too, He doth know, and we come to the day, When
our chastened heart seeks His will to obey.
"For thine own wickedness shall correct thee, And thy
backslidings also shall reprove thee,"
Till with sorrow of heart you are caused to see, How
evil and bitter thine own way can be.
And thus we are challenged our Lord God to serve, That
inclining our hearts His ways to observe,
His Spirit might keep us, might fully preserve, Our life,
for salvation now kept in reserve. BACK
THE CORRECTIVE
JUDGMENTS OF GOD - Chapter 11
"O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Your anger,
lest You bring me to nothing (lest You diminish me)."
[Jeremiah 10:24].
The Hebrew word for "correct" is "yasar," and has also been translated
as-TO INSTRUCT, TO CHASTEN, BE TAUGHT, BE REFORMED, etc. While the Greek
word is "paideuo" and includes the thought of CHILD-TRAINING, involving
the whole process of discipline which girds us up to the right way.
The admonition for spiritual growth is always before us, "GROW in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." [2 Peter 3:18].
To grow in grace requires that we pass through all of those processes whereby
the works of the flesh are stripped off, and we cease to follow our own
self- centered will, and become conformed to HIS WILL. Thus we see God
often has to use corrective measures to bring us to the place where it
is "no more I, but Christ lives in me." [Galatians 2:20].
Jeremiah realized this need for development, and He also realized that
"the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct
his steps." [Jeremiah 10:23], and so he made his request, "CORRECT ME,
BUT WITH JUDGMENT." What a prayer! "Lord, gird me up, bring me into aright
standing with You, instruct me in the way that I should go, USING YOUR
BLESSED JUDGMENTS to accomplish the purpose. Not with anger, that would
surely diminish me, but if You use Your judgments, it shall work good in
me." Ah, what a revelation concerning the judgments of our God.
Man has long viewed God's judgments as a vindictive action prompted by
a motive for revenge and supported by a tumultuous wrath that must be pacified.
NOT SO! Such is a gross caricature of our God! His mercy and grace are
super-abundant, and though He finds it necessary to chasten, His wisdom
and righteousness produce a just and pure chastisement conditioned to correct
the situation, and thus bring forth a creature improved by the process.
ALL
OF GOD'S JUDGMENTS ARE CORRECTIVE IN NATURE, motivated by His love, and
used to work out a divine purpose, into our good, and His praise!
"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His
correction: for whom the Lord loves He corrects; even as a father the son
in whom he delights." [Proverbs 3:11-12].
One of the things that needs to be considered is that to speak of the chastening
and correction of the Lord does not necessarily mean receiving a whipping.
Remember, the main goal in view is that of vital INSTRUCTION, that we might
learn to walk in the way that is pleasing to the Lord. God is not in the
process of continually spanking His children just for the sake of spanking
them. God uses these various methods of discipline TO TEACH US, INSTRUCT
US, that we might grow up into spiritual maturity, conformed to
His will, being partakers of His divine nature. It is a constant demonstration
of His love, to know that He is vitally concerned with us, that He would
give us this individual attention, and shapen our lives to His own image.
"Despise not..." this word "despise" comes from the Hebrew word "maas"
meaning, to loathe, despise, reject. How often have men rejected the instruction
of the Lord, and found to their sorrow that they should have hearkened
to Him.
Jeremiah has often been called "the weeping prophet"
because of the tears which he shed for his people. What sorrow of heart
he must have felt because of their rebellious condition, and how often
the word of the Lord came to him, "In vain have I smitten your children;
they received no correction." [Jeremiah 2:30]. "They have refused to receive
correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused
to return." [Jeremiah 5:3]. "This is a nation that obeys not the voice
of the Lord their God, nor receives correction: truth is perished, and
is cut off from their mouth." [Jeremiah 7:28]. What an indictment!
"Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, and teach him out of Your
law; that You may give him rest from the days of adversity." [Psalm 94:12-13]
.
Blessed-literally, HAPPY, VERY HAPPY! Surely the Psalmist had received
light from the Lord to utter such a thing. Happy is the man whom the Lord
chastens, and whom He teaches. And indeed, it is so! For when the Lord
has duly taught man His law, man shall find that he has entered into a
NEW REST. The way of the transgressor is hard, but "take My yoke upon you,
and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest
unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." [Matthew
11:29-30].
There's no rest in thy confusion, Good and evil,
gold and dross,
But the twain for thee are parted, Separated at the cross.
In the blessed girding up of our Lord, though it requires a stripping of
things the self-life holds dear, in due time we shall discover we have
but lost the weight of earthly burdens, and they are no loss at all--we
are simply freed to enter into a higher realm, into HIS rest and peace.
Not only do the judgments of God bring rest unto our own soul, but there
is another side to this, when we read, "Correct your son, and he shall
give you rest; yea, he shall give delight unto your soul." [Proverbs 29:17].
There is no doubt that we all have experienced seeing those children who
torment and pester their parents, causing them much grief with their rebellion
and self will. Finally when the parent has endured all he can take, or
at least realizes that this has gone on long enough, he steps in with discipline,
and all is quieted. The child learns a lesson; and the parent has rest.
Consider how the children of Israel, wandering through the wilderness,
complained and grumbled, wearying the Lord with their ways. Again and again
He had to discipline them, instruct them, teach them their lessons. They
cried for flesh to eat, and He gave them quail, enough until they were
sick, smitten with a plague, and they buried a great many. Soon they murmured
and complained again, and He sent fiery serpents among the people, and
many died. Over and over again they had to learn their much needed lessons,
until they became obedient, willing to walk in the way of the Lord.
Thus it is yet today, the Lord continues to work in us, instructing us,
teaching us His ways, and when He has a people fully developed and prepared,
they shall become HIS REST, even as it is written, "The Lord has chosen
Zion: He has desired it for His habitation. THIS IS MY REST FOR EVER: HERE
WILL I DWELL." [Psalm 132:13-14]. "In whom you also are built together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit." [Ephesians 2:22].
Now we must examine this word "judgment," the Greek word, as used in the
New Testament, is krisis, and with the letter "k" changed to the letter
"c" it is brought directly over into our English language as CRISIS. All
of the pressures and trials which produce these times of "crisis" in our
life are simply a working out of God's corrective measures, His judgments.
The root from which krisis comes is "krinein" meaning, TO SEPARATE. And
so it is, a crisis is a critical period of time, a decisive moment, a turning
point; hence, a separating, choosing, deciding, judging. The very purpose
of judgment is to separate you from the old, that you might come into the
new. To separate you from selfhood's rebellion, giving you a turning point,
and heading you in the right direction, into the will of God.
The man is very sick, he is growing steadily worse, and finally there comes
a Crisis, either he begins to mend, or else death comes. It is a TURNING
POINT! And when God orders the crisis, it is to turn us towards righteousness,
and bring us into HIS NEW LIFE.
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."
[Eccl. 3:1]. We would propose the thought that judgment time is a time
to rejoice, for it betokens that now there shall come a bend in the road,
a turning point, and measures will be taken to correct things. This is
not a time of dread and horror, but a turning point, A CRISIS, reversing
the downward trend into decay and utter corruption, so that new life might
be manifested. Degeneration must end and regeneration begin!
"Say among the heathen that THE LORD REIGNS: the world also shall be established
that it shall not be moved: He shall judge the people righteously. Let
the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad: Let the sea roar, and the
fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then
shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for He comes to
judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people
with His truth." [Psalm 96:10-13].
Ah, if we tell you that there is a turning point, things will be corrected
and brought into righteousness, then you will rejoice. But if we say it
is a time of judgment, you say, Woe is me! But it is all the same thing,
that's what God's corrective judgments are all about.
The Psalmist, speaking by divine inspiration, declared, "My soul breaks
for the longing that it has unto Your judgments at all times." [Psalm 119:20].
This is explained further when we read on, "O Lord, quicken me according
to Your judgments." [Psalm 119:149]. To God be the glory, for by the inworkings
of divine judgment A QUICKENING is wrought. True, it often means death
to the carnal realm, but when He has wounded, slain, brought into nothingness,
He also shall heal, make alive, and bring forth into a place of glorious
fulness.
One thing we always need to remember, the afflictions and tribulations
which are HIS INSTRUMENTS are always applied with HIS LOVE which is ever
pure and entirely free of human temperament and sentiment; so much so,
that if no other expedient remains, He does not hesitate to slay in order
to make alive.
"Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He has torn, and He will heal
us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive
us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we will live in His sight."
[Hosea 6:1-2].
"I will correct you in measure, and will not leave you altogether unpunished.
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement
of a cruel one, for the multitude of your iniquity; because your sins were
increased." [Jeremiah 30:11,30].
Yes, the spoilation is allowed by God, and HE can bring to nought if it
seems to be necessary, but never does He allow it to end there, for the
message goes on through the lips of the same prophet, "For I will restore
health unto you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord. --And
you shall be My people, and I will be your God." [Jeremiah 30:17,22].
"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects: therefore despise not the
chastening of the Almighty: for He makes sore, and binds up: He wounds,
and His hands make whole. --Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear
it, and know it for your good." [Job 5:17-18,27].
Surely we have barely begun to understand the depth and wonder, the
richness and blessing of the judgments of God. "He is The Rock, His work
is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity,
just and right is He." [Deut. 32:4]. HIS WAYS ARE JUDGMENT, and strange
as it is for our minds to comprehend, it has become the most potent for
blessing of all of Love's instruments of mercy. "Zion shall be redeemed
(Hebrew, freed) with judgment, and her converts with righteousness." [Isaiah
1:27].
Then the prophet Isaiah was also moved to declare, "Yea, in the way of
Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul
is to Your name, and to the remembrance of You. With my soul have I
desired You in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek You
early: FOR WHEN YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE IN THE EARTH, THE INHABITANTS OF THE
WORLD WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS." [Isaiah 26:8-9]. Since it will require
God's judgments to teach men righteousness, we need to re-examine much
of the thinking handed down to us through the theology and creed of man,
and come to appreciate and revere our God of judgment equally with our
God of love; accepting every circumstance He sends, whether of sorrow or
joy, with an equal gratitude. Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and remedial
are His judgments.
One man wrote, "Judgment, not in the sense of vengeful retribution, but
of that involved when a craftsman working on a mass of clay, or an ingot
of metal, continually examines the results of the various processes to
which he subjects it, with a view to assessing whether or not his skill
and artistry are producing the desired results."
Surely God's creative work is seen all through the process of His judgments.
There is no failure in the plan and purpose of our Lord. His instructions
will bear fruit, and bring glory to His name. His chastenings will ultimately
yield "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" in those who are exercised
thereby.
"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through Him might be saved." [John 3:17]. Not a ministry of condemnation,
but one of life, to bring us salvation. Yet how shall this salvation work
in us, and be ministered to us? Part of it is via the way of His judgments.
"For judgment I am come into the world, that they which see not might see."
[John 9:39]. How can there be new life unless there be A TURNING POINT
from the ways of condemnation and death? So the rest of that verse reads,
" And that they which see might be made blind." This is understandable,
as long as they "think" they can see, they will not receive the light,
they think they already have it. But once they are plunged into such darkness
they know they cannot see, this becomes a crisis, a turning point, to arise
in the light of the Lord.
Thus even those aspects of judgment which seem to bring more darkness and
devastation, all of these actions are ultimately used to bring forth new
life and light. Some have to be plunged momentarily into more death before
they are ready to be turned into new life, but judgment is equal to all
the needs. And there is no contradiction in being "saved," and having life,
and having judgment, for judgment is but the means to the end, and a turning
point to rise up into Christ.
And HE shall "bring forth judgment unto victory." [Matthew 12:20]. The
Spirit of the Lord shall move, showing judgment to the nations, and
yet "a bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench,"
for His processes of judgment are UNTO VICTORY.
Although the LOVE OF GOD has been rarely associated with His judgments,
we rejoice for the quickening of the Spirit which opens our eyes to see
it so. Even when judgment is understood as having a loving purpose in the
"believers," it is most often thought of as having a purpose of another
kind towards those whom many term as "unbelievers." As if God could change
His nature, or could have two purposes, one of love, and another of hate.
Nay, our God changes not, His chastenings are given in love to His whole
creation, whether any return that love or not. "He makes His sun to rise
on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
[Matthew 5:45].
How we need a divine outpouring of rain--an overflowing of the Spirit upon
all flesh. "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up
your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain
righteousness upon you." [Hosea 10:12]. A more literal Hebrew rendering,
"till He come and teach righteousness," for the same root word is used
for "rain" and for "teach." HE is the TEACHER of righteousness, and HE
shall come unto us as the RAIN to bring forth new life in us. Yet for all
of this coming of rain, for some He shall first be as a torrent to sweep
away their refuge of lies, and then teach them of His truth.
Praise God, when the Spirit is poured out upon all flesh, then shall there
be an inworking which shall bring forth righteousness. Every chastening
will be exercised with divine purpose, and bring forth the desired correction.
2 Thessalonians 1:5 speaks of "the righteous judgment of God." God's judgments
are just and righteous because of their perfect order and sequence. First
of all they began with the Head of the house. "Christ as a son over His
own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing
of the hope firm unto the end." [Hebrews 3:6].
"For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings."
[Hebrews 2:10]." And being made perfect, He became the
Author of aionian salvation unto all them that obey Him." [Hebrews 5:9).
And Calvary became a focal point of victory, for "Now is the judgment of
this world now shall the prince of this world be cast out." [John 12:31].
And He was able to declare, "The prince of this world comes, and has nothing
in Me." [John 14:30]. And thus we find the GREAT TURNING POINT, that
appeared to man to be a failure, ending in the death of the Son of God,
was actually the turning point and the manifestation of the beginning of
a marvelous redemption. For it is written, "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me." [John 12:32].
Yes, the turning point was first made manifest in THE MAN CHRIST JESUS,
and as the Captain of our salvation, He did, by the grace of God, taste
death for every man. His tremendous consecration, "not My will, but Yours
be done," which was prayed at Gethsemane, and fulfilled at Calvary, revealed
how complete was His perfection, and it became the turning point for all
history; The judgment "of the world," i.e. the whole arrangement of this
present system, hinged upon that which was wrought in THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE,
even our blessed Lord. And now it can begin to be measured out to all of
those who would be joined unto the Lord, to become one in Him.
So then we pass from The Head, to the house itself, "For the time is come
that judgment must begin at the HOUSE of God: and if it FIRST BEGIN AT
US, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
[1 Peter 4:17].
Judgment beginning at the house of God! This does not imply a sudden
visitation of catastrophes, calamities and troubles, but it means that
there will be a concentration of divine instruction and discipline, as
God carefully purifies each individual, until He can gather to Himself
a FIRSTFRUITS. Those who are apprehended for this hour will find that their
ways are under the watchful eye of the Lord, He orders every step of their
path, and He will bring pressures to bear upon them which help to turn
their feet in the right direction. In due time there shall be an outreach,
as this correctional working proceeds to those who yet wait to be called
and drawn by the Spirit, for He is to be the Saviour of all men. But remember,
for us, it is a present-tense process, as we seek to be filled with His
fulness, we must be duly purged and cleansed, and there are these ordained
TURNING POINTS, CRISIS, JUDGMENTS to work His way in us.
Violations or ignoring of vital principals might go on for a time, because
the judgments of God are not always sudden and apparent, but often work
slowly and on a long term course. But there are many conditions and situations,
confusions and frustrations, limitations and complications, which, if we
but knew it, are judgments. They are brought our way by the hand of God,
to hem us in, to subdue us, to bring us to the point of complete submission
to His will.
How lovingly the Father watches over His own. What tenderness arid faithfulness
are seen in the way HE "girds up" our way. It would be a real mark of learning
if, when we find ourselves frustrated and confused, to simply sit down
and ask the Lord for more understanding of HIS way to learn to USE these
situations as sign posts along the way, telling us that God would put a
bend in our path and turn us more towards His plan for us. There seems
to be so much "fight" yet left in men. We are so determined to push "our"
way through, regardless of how rough the going becomes. And so the
frustrations continue to build up, the limitations are increased, and the
complications multiply until we come to the end of our selves, and then
cry out, "Lord, show me Your way." Yes, thank God for these little measures
of His judgments, divinely used to correct us, to instruct us, to bring
us into alignment with His will and purpose.
If these judgments are effective in us now, then we read, "He that hears
My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting (age-abiding)
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death into
life." [John 5:24]. The word "condemnation" is actually the Greek word
"krisis," the process of judgment. To yield to the mighty hand of God
NOW is to escape the future general judgments which will yet come. For
after the HOUSE has been thoroughly judged, and brought up to divine specifications
and qualifications, and found approved in His sight, then shall the process
of judgment pass onward to the next order. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive, "BUT EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER..."
[1 Cor. 15:23].
"This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." [John
3:19]. Praise God, who ever thought it to be so? THIS IS THE JUDGMENT,
THAT LIGHT IS COME INTO THE WORLD! This is what causes a crisis, a turning
point, for the LIGHT to come. Now it is obvious, when men's deeds are evil,
they love darkness rather than the light, so they are not about to come
to the light of their own choosing, but God knows they need a change, to
be turned, so HE SENDS THE LIGHT TO THEM, and this illumination will cause
the turning, as the darkness is dissipated.
What was the turning point for Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus?
IT WAS LIGHT! It was his judgment hour, for the light had come. True enough,
a sudden burst of light can be a shattering experience if you are only
accustomed to the darkness. It will blind you, but that is only a part
of the process to turn you, and God will give a new eye-sight.
While there are future judgments to come, in divine sequence to work in
every man, this we also read, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should
not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that
we should not be condemned with the world."
[1 Corinthians 11 :31-32]. To yield to the Lord NOW,
and despise not the chastenings of the Lord, but to allow them to work
their process in us now, then we shall not have to be condemned, judged
with the world, partaking of those processes yet to come.
"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." [Matthew 21:44]. Thus we are
challenged to FALL NOW upon the Rock, and come into submission to Christ.
If we resist, harden ourselves against Him, then in due time the Rock will
fall on us, for we shall be broken and subdued, regardless of the route
we take for its accomplishment.
But we must notice these words, "it will grind him to powder." The root
word here is the Greek word "Iikmao" meaning-to disperse, scatter, or literally,
TO BE WINNOWED. Rotherham gives a footnote in his translation which
points out that this being "winnowed" is the same as in Daniel 2:34-35.
"You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image
upon his feet of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the
iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
and became LIKE THE CHAFF OF THE SUMMER THRESHING FLOORS..."
Men might reject the Stone, but the Stone will not reject them. And
if they refuse to bow now, and become broken before Him, in due time HE
WILL VISIT THEM, winnow them, separate the chaff from the wheat, and bring
a turning point in their life, until they are ready to acknowledge Him
as their Lord and Saviour. Every judgment is correctional in its working
in us, and praise God, in due time the whole earth shall be visited with
His restoration process. It is not a time to be feared, but to rejoice
in, for it means that regeneration has come for the whole of creation.
LOVE'S CORRECTION
In wrath He remembers His mercy, And yearns towards His
creatures below,
He knoweth our frames are so earthy, Our footsteps are
falt'ring and slow.
In love doth He gird up His children, Doth chasten and
train them, you know,
Every son whom now He's receiving, Through this certain
process must go.
But if to thine own way you wander, Remember, you reap
what you sow,
A harvest that's multiplied over, With sorrow and measures
of woe.
Till all thy backslidings reprove thee, And turn thee
again to the Light,
In hum'bleness thou shalt repent thee, With spirit that's
broken, contrite.
And so all God's judgments are given, With tenderness
mingled with might,
Till righteousness covers His people, And gone are the
shadows of night.
Omnipotent God of creation, Thy judgments bring blessing's
delight,
There's hope in Thy rod of correction, And joy in Thy
leadings aright. BACK
GOD'S WONDERFUL
VENGEANCE - Chapter 12
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place
unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the
Lord." [Romans 12:19].
With the limited perspective of our circumscribed humanity, plus the interference
of emotions, temperament and sentiment, it becomes quite obvious that we
are not fully capable of doing our own avenging, and so Paul admonishes
us that we need to "give place..." If necessary it is better for the moment
to allow the wrong to usurp the upper hand, while we suffer the loss, than
to involve ourselves in another one of these "do-it-yourself" kind of projects
which will only compound the problem. Far too often our action in seeking
to be avenged is connected to wrath, a tumultuous emotion which distorts
the vision and causes rash words and actions. So--give place to this
wrath, make room for it to be dealt with, subdued and controlled, until
all of our inner agitations are dealt with and brought into alignment with
the motivation of Divine LOVE. When LOVE is the sole motivation of our
action, then whatever disciplinary measures are manifest through us, it
will bring forth the right kind of results.
GIVE PLACE to God's operation, for it is so much better than man's, for
He knows the proper timing, the proper methods, the proper instruments
to use to accomplish the needed task. Yes, "vengeance is MINE, says the
Lord."
The Greek words used for vengeance are: ekdikeo, ekdikesis, ekdikos. The
prefix syllable "ek" literally means OUT OF, while the word "dikeo" means
JUST, OR RIGHTEOUS. Thus it literally speaks of that action which is OUT
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, OUT OF THAT WHICH IS JUST, and for the purpose of bringing
everything else into alignment with that which is just. Only a just action
can produce justice. Two wrongs never make a right. But aright and
just action can be used to correct a situation and make it right. Since
the Greek words listed have been translated as: avenge, revenge, vengeance,
punish, let us note for a moment the meaning of these words, as given by
the Dictionary. They are man's given meanings for these words.
AVENGE-to inflict punishment for vindication or
retribution. To exact satisfaction.
REVENGE-to inflict pain or injury in resentful
or malicious retaliation.
VENGEANCE-punishment inflicted in return
for an injury; often, passionate or unrestrained revenge, with great
violence or force.
PUNISH-to afflict with pain, loss, suffering
for a crime or fault, (and, it is added, incidentally, for reformation).
Thus the whole gloomy picture is one of unbridled fury to inflict pain
and suffering on another because we feel we have been wronged, and so we
want them to suffer also, only in greater measure than we have, as if this
would compensate for the whole affair. How totally un-Christ-like! What
a lack of love, forgiveness, and all the other virtues which would bring
restoration rather than further destruction.
How much better is GOD'S VENGEANCE, for His actions are out of righteousness,
to bring everything back into a just and right place. It doesn't necessarily
imply any pain, suffering, or loss, although He may use these as a means
of correction, but only in the amount necessary to bring the adjustment.
For His mercy is such that "He sends the rain on the just and the unjust."
[Matthew 5:45]. And while He would bring all things into a state of "rightness,"
yet in wrath He remembers mercy, and every action is motivated by His love.
Indeed, Christ gave Himself, "the JUST for the unjust..." [1 Peter 3:18],
He, who was the JUST ONE gave everything, poured out His life for us who
were just the opposite, unjust, unrighteous. This freely giving of His
life was that we might be brought back into a state of rightness.
Now, at the time of the crucifixion, one thief told the other one, as they
were also hanging on their crosses, "And we indeed justly; for we receive
the due reward of our deeds: but this MAN has done nothing amiss." [Luke
23:41].
It was the JUST, on the behalf of the unjust, pouring, out His life that
we might come into new life. There were certain "due rewards" that were
coming to the unjust, corrections had to be made, with a halt to the downward
course of degradation, but for all this, rather than fiendishly exacting
the toll, Christ poured out His life for them, so that, receiving His life
they could come into alignment with a path of rightness, and thus end all
the need for further correctional processes.
Before Moses was duly processed on the backside of the desert, till he
was subdued and brought into a state of meekness, we find that he really
illustrates the carnal nature of man. He went out one day to see how his
own people were faring, " And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended,
and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian." [Acts 7:24].
The Scripture doesn't say how great the wrong was that was being done to
the fellow-Israelite, but obviously Moses went beyond an even and just
score, for he killed the Egyptian. This was far more than even an "eye
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" which later was part of the law that
was given to Israel. Even under the law there was to be a "rightness" to
that vengeance which was allowed, and they were not to exact more for a
penalty than was involved in the crime.
The New Covenant, however, is even far better than the law, for it
does not impute sin against the sinner, but says, "LOVE your enemies,"
"DO GOOD to them that spitefully use you," and seek for reconciliation,
not vengeance. Indeed, leave all vengeance to God, for HE knows just how
to correct and bring forth rightness, and with a JUST BALANCE.
No wonder Paul wrote of the tremendous need for us to be renewed in the
spirit of our mind, and be cleansed of all man's carnal-mindedness with
its unjust demands. When we have brought "every thought to the obedience
of Christ," then when your mind is in total alignment to the mind of Christ,
you will be "in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, WHEN YOUR OBEDIENCE
IS FULFILLED." [2 Corinthians 10:6].
Paul was on his way to Rome, experienced a shipwreck, and then finally
landed on the island Melita, with other shipwrecked survivors. Everyone
was wet and cold, and it was raining and miserable, so they kindled a fire,
and Paul helped them gather sticks. In the process a viper was picked up,
and came out of the heat and fastened on his hand. The immediate reaction
of the barbarians was in accord with carnal-minded vengeance, and they
said among themselves, "no doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he
has escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffers not to live." [Acts 28:4].
Their whole thought was, beware, vengeance is out to get you, it will have
its retribution. And this whole concept was further beclouded by the idea
that if something evil was happening to you it was because you had surely
sinned somewhere along the way, and now vengeance caught up with you. Just
like when the disciples saw a man which was blind from his birth, and asked
Jesus, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born
blind?" [John 9:2], and how startled they must have been when Jesus answered,
"Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: BUT THAT THE WORKS OF GOD
SHOULD BE MADE MANIFEST IN HIM." [John 9:3]. And likewise, Paul shook off
the viper, he did not become ill nor suffer any bad effects, and then they
all marveled. How our minds need to be girded up to the truth, until we
have been brought to rightness, so that every thought and action expressed
through us might also be of a righteous nature. Not unbalanced, not perverted,
not distorted, but righteously to move and to correct. There will be correction,
there will be discipline, but it will be according to the need, not according
to emotional impulses motivated by unholy carnality. Praise God, ''as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts." [Isaiah 55:9].
Abraham was viewing the situation, praying earnestly for Lot and the sparing
of the righteous, that they be not destroyed with the wicked of Sodom and
Gomorrah, and asked, "Shall not the Judge of all earth do right?" [Genesis
18:25]. Is this our confidence? While we are too limited to rightly assess
the circumstances and mete out the disciplinary and correctional action
needed, we are assured that the Judge of all earth shall do RIGHT. We can
safely trust in the righteousness of God! And when the whole process is
over, not one individual will be able to say that God did one single act
which was not totally right and just.
"For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our
King; HE WILL SAVE US." [Isaiah 33:22]. Praise God, what a vision! JUDGE,
LAWGIVER, KING-for what purpose? TO SAVE US! This authority, dominion,
power, and exactness is not against us, it is for us, to work out our salvation.
Therefore, Isaiah goes on, He is "A just God and a Saviour." [Isaiah 45:21].
HE IS A SAVIOUR BECAUSE HE IS JUST! The whole operation of His saving grace
is because He is a just God. His justice requires that He also be our Saviour.
Since He was the One responsible for our subjection to the bondage of vanity,
it is essential in the nature of the case that He also have the responsibility
to redeem us from this corruption, and restore us again into the glorious
liberty which rightfully belongs to the children of God.
"If we believe not, yet He abides faithful: HE CANNOT DENY HIMSELF." [2
Timothy 2:13]. Because of His own righteousness, His own essential character,
His will bring forth salvation to all of His creation.
"The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall
He thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth." [1 Samuel
2:10].
"He has prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world
in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness."
[Psalm 9:7-8].
"He shall judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgment.
(And what's the result of this process?). The mountains shall bring peace
to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.--He shall come down
like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth." [Psalm
72:2-3, 6].
There is no need to lift a scripture verse out of its context here
to establish a doctrine, but in reading these verses which speak of the
judgment of God, and while you will find that He judges the nations, and
brings an end to unrighteousness, it will always end with a declaration
that He brings peace, a new life, with ultimate restoration and victory.
Anything less than presenting the totality of the victory which follows
the judgment is a perverted gospel, indeed, it isn't good news at all.
True judgment speaks of the operations of God OUT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BRING
FORTH A RIGHTNESS, THAT WHICH IS JUST. He sends forth His Word to correct,
heal, and establish us in the right way. And praise God, His Word shall
not return unto Him void, it shall accomplish that whereunto it was sent.
"When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be
condemned with the world."
[1 Corinthians 11:32].
CHASTENING--far too often this brings to man's mind the thought of
a "whipping." But the Greek word here actually means CHILD-TRAINING, and
while this may include a certain amount of whipping to correct and subdue,
there is much more involved in proper child-training, for it covers the
whole spectrum of instruction, guidance, example, and then a follow-through
to make sure that all conforms to the standard. The standard is GOD's HOLINESS,
and we are being brought into a fulness of the measure of the stature of
Christ.
JUDGMENT DAY-is generally thought to be the last day, doomsday. But not
so, it might bespeak of the "end of all flesh" in that there is a termination
of man's downward course, but it is a time for a bend in the road, and
the beginning of a restoration into righteousness. "When Your judgments
are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."
[Isaiah 26:9]. Praise God!
"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled." [Luke 21:22].
Whereas once we might have shuddered at the thought of the "days of
vengeance," now, as our understanding becomes enlightened concerning the
ways and workings of our God, we are ready to rejoice. It means that those
things which were out-of-line will now be rectified, set to rights, and
the action for this realignment coming directly out of that which is just
and righteous.
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance
on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting (aionian) destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." [2 Thessalonians
1:7-9].
What a marvelous passage of scripture! To you who are all bent out of shape
and distressed, REST with us, and abide the timing when the Lord shall
be revealed from heaven. WITH HIS MIGHTY ANGELS. The word "angels" is literally
the Greek word for MESSENGERS. Messengers from the heavenlies! "And I saw
another angel (messenger) fly in the midst of heaven, having the gospel
of the ages to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: AND WORSHIP
HIM..." [Revelation 14:6-7].
O, how we desire the ministry of these mighty messengers, declaring the
GOOD NEWS, and what is apart of this good news? That the hour of His judgment
has come! Praise God, now there shall be a righteous action which shall
turn the tide of iniquity, and begin the establishment of righteousness
in the earth. This is not to be feared, but we rejoice to know that such
an hour shall come, yes, and is nigh at hand.
IN FLAMING FIRE-fire illuminates, and in that revealed light one discerns
more clearly what is wrong and what is right, and is able to make a choice
for the better. The dross will be consumed, and that which is right shall
be illumined, and people shall be able to find their way into paths of
holiness and righteousness.
Then also shall those who obey not the gospel begin to learn what it means
to obey. With instruction, discipline, correction given which shall produce
a willing obedience.
Then this verse--"vengeance ...punished with everlasting destruction" FROM
THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD. Proceeding directly from the presence of the
Lord shall come this righteous action which shall fully deal with every
ungodly, perverted, distorted, corrupt situation. "The same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone
IN THE PRESENCE of the holy angels (messengers), and IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE LAMB." [Revelation 14:10].
How different the truth of the Word of God is from the traditions of men,
with their confused doctrines. Man teaches that this "hell-fire" and "lake
of fire," etc. meant an eternal separation away from God. Oh. NO! All of
this purification, correction process is accomplished IN the presence of
the Lamb. Right there where the Lamb can impart of HIS LIFE and salvation,
love and mercy, pouring in the oil and the wine, and bring a restoration,
once the iniquity has been dealt with. And IN the presence of all His messengers
who are there with the glad tidings, the good news of His judgments and
glorious salvation resulting from the process. And as the Psalmist declared,
"If I make my bed in hell, behold, YOU ARE THERE." [Psalm 139:8]. His presence
is there to turn that hell into a heaven, once He has dealt with the thing
that caused it to become your hell.
We read that "Sodom and Gomorrha,--are set forth for an example of suffering
the vengeance of eternal (aionian) fire." [Judea 7]. Again we must note
this word "eternal" or "everlasting," from the word AIONIAN, meaning of
the age, or age during. Just because a punishment lasts for an age does
not mean that it is eternal, that it has no end. This is a period of time
designated by God for the bringing to nought that which is wrong, until
all is subdued and made subject to the truth. The word "punished" means
no more or less than TO PAY JUSTICE. We do reap what we sow, this is one
of the laws of God. But God is just in all that He exacts, and one does
not reap an eternity of torment and suffering for a short earthly lifetime
of sowing to self (extra em. web ed). God will mete out exactly
the amount of time necessary for the correction, but it will not be prolonged
beyond that which is needed. Thus we read on, how that though Sodom and
Gomorrah are an example of this visitation of FIRE, it is not without end,
for Ezekiel, chapter 16, gives a beautiful prophecy of how God shall bring
again their captivity, restore them to their former estate, and new life
and victory shall be manifested. But in the process they have missed out
on a whole period of time when they could have been enjoying the life of
God, had they walked a righteous pathway.
"And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not, neither
did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with
few. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:
and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." [Luke
12:48].
"And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart from
there, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment, than for that city." [Mark 6:11].
Those who have received manifestations of the power of God, heard the message
of the gospel of the kingdom, and then rebelled, shall have more to give
an account for, and shall be judged accordingly. "And you, Capernaum, which
are exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty
works, which have been done in you, had been done in Sodom, it would have
remained unto this day." [Matthew 11:23]. Yes, God's vengeance is just,
and shall be severe enough to correct every situation.
"And these shall go away into everlasting (aionian) punishment: but the
righteous into life eternal (aionian)." [Matthew 25:46]. Here again we
have a marvelous verse. Since "aionian" speaks more of a QUALITY than
a quantity, our desire is to have that LIFE WHICH ENDURES THROUGH THE AGE
TO COME. However, if the need requires, God also has prepared a punishment
which is sufficient and equal to the need. God's life continues from age
to age, its quality is age-during. He that has the Son has this kind of
life, praise God for it.
But notice this word "punishment" here, which comes from the Greek word
"kolasis" and means TO BE PRUNED, or restraint. Why prune? That all
the non-productive branches might be removed, and all the off-shoots might
be trimmed back, and the whole brought into proper shape and design. Pruning
brings a restraint, it holds in check, and channels the energy in the right
direction to produce that which the husbandman desires. God has purposed
an age of pruning, a stripping away all of selfhood's rebellion. While
all creation shall have to face its pruning, there are those FIRST FRUITS
which are being duly processed now, and they shall be ready to help others
which shall face this operation later.
What mercy is revealed through the handiwork of the husbandman, as he trims
and prunes, not too much at one time, but gradually shaping and purging,
till the whole shall meet his specifications.
"So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing
how they might punish (RESTRAIN) them because of the people: for
all glorified God for that which was done." [Acts 4:21]. This helps to
illustrate the word punish. The religious leaders would have been delighted
to prune, restrict the activities of the apostles, but at the moment they
could not. The punishment they would have meted out, had they dared, would
have been for the purpose of curtailing the ministry of the apostles.
God has "reserved the unjust unto the day of judgment to the punished."
[2 Peter 2:9], for then shall He begin to prune, strip away the ambitions
of self-will and carnal egos. He will place a restraint upon man's evil
work, and bring a crisis which works a turning point, ending the path of
sin, and establishing a way of righteousness.
Dare we trust God in His judgments? Jeremiah prayed, "O Lord, correct me,
but with judgment." [Jeremiah 10:24]. He knew, for himself that this was
the best way. He was sure that the Judge of all earth would do right in
his behalf. But it is interesting to note his view-point towards the heathen,
and that humanistic idea which still prevailed in his attitude towards
them. "Pour out Your fury upon the heathen that know You not." [verse 25].
Jeremiah did not want God to turn His anger upon him, lest it would diminish
him, bring him to nothing. But that was good enough for the heathen, in
his opinion. But as one reads on through the book of Jeremiah, of the experiences
and processings which he endured, we find his spirit is sweetened, and
his revelation of God's mercy is enlarged, and he speaks of the great restoration,
and how God is "the God of all flesh," and in the day of the New Covenant
shall mercy flow out for all men.
How we need a revelation of the MERCY of the Lord, as did David. He had
disobeyed the commandment of the Lord, numbered the people, and was being
judged for his deed. The prophet gave him a message from the Lord, choose
your punishment, shall it be seven years of famine, three months of fleeing
before his enemies, or three days of pestilence which God would send? David
returned the answer, he did not feel the innocent people should have to
suffer seven years of famine for his mistake. He surely did not want to
be at the mercy of the enemies. So, Lord, "Let us fall into the hand of
the Lord; FOR HIS MERCIES ARE GREAT: and let me not fall into the
hand of man." [2 Samuel 24:14].
Vengeance? Yes. Punishment and judgment? Yes. But for all this, remember
that the mercies of the Lord are very great. He will correct and discipline,
prune and purge, but He also restores and makes whole again.
The definition of vindicate is "to set free; DELIVER:
AVENGE: to free from allegation and blame: justify, etc. God's Mercies
go far beyond our understanding. His vengeance [to lay claim to in order
to correct and discipline, prune and purge, for the purpose of restoration],
is a beautiful stone set in the bed rock of His LOVE.
VENGEANCE UNTO VICTORY
How glor'ous is God's mighty hand, In power to move,
His love to prove, Through all expanses of our land.
How terrible His holiness, He shall impart, To ev'ry
heart, The glory of His righteousness.
He is indeed Consuming Fire, To purify, And draw thee
nigh, And work in thee a pure desire.
In flaming fire and vengeance strong, To prune and purge,
Rebellion's urge, And birth a new submission song.
'Tis not for loss, but for our gain, We see His hand,
And understand- That He in us as King shall reign.
In reverence we bow before, His throne of grace, To find
our place, In mercies yet abounding more.
Oh, yes, it's true, it's glorious, He cannot fail, He
shall prevail, His vengeance is victorious! BACK
SUFFICIENT -
THE EVIL - Chapter 13
"But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought
for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
[Matthew 6:33-34].
Take no thought--literally, be not over--anxious and unduly worried
about tomorrow, but realize that God has the whole in perfect control,
and as we seek Him FIRST, He will take care of every need as it arises.
"For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things."
[Matthew 6:32]. Physically, mentally, spiritually-every need shall be met
as we seek first the kingdom of God, seek for HIS will and lordship in
our life, that we might serve Him in accordance with His will for us.
Then comes this statement, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
Ah, how men would like to word this differently. We prefer the kind of
promise which reads, "And as your days, so shall your strength be." [Deuteronomy
33:25]. Or again, "My grace is sufficient for you." [2 Corinthians 12:9].
Sufficient unto the day is the strength and grace thereof sounds real good.
We like that! And this is true, praise God, but right now the Master is
emphasizing that there is a quota of evil that is also sufficient for the
day.
This word "evil" from the Greek word "kakai" which is the feminine form
from "kakon," speaks of evil in the abstract sense, to cover all the generalized
forms of evil in the world. Pressures, troubles, distresses, afflictions,
injustice, corruption--the whole influence of that which is evil in our
day, all is included in this generalized term of evil.
Now we read, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
[Romans 12:21]. Yet is it not true that there could be no form of this
overcoming without the evil being there as an obstacle? How can one win
in a hurdle-jumping race if there be no hurdles out on the race track?
And so it is, God knows exactly how much evil to allow to come your way
for your development as an overcomer. To be an overcomer you must have
things which need to be overcome. "He that overcomes shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son." [Revelation 21:7].
Perhaps once more we need to be reminded that "to us there is but one God,
the Father, of whom are all things." [1 Corinthians 8:6]. HE is the First
Cause of all causes, and the initial Source of all things. This is He of
whom it is written, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace,
and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." [Isaiah 45:7]. And this
is the same God spoken of in Ephesians 1:11, "He works all things after
the counsel of His own will."
"The Lord has made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the
day of evil." [Proverbs 16:4]. And again, "I have created the waster to
destroy (act wickedly, corrupt)." [Isaiah 54:16].
Our God takes the full responsibility, and we shall simply stand by
and see what He will do with it, and wonder, and come to worship Him for
all of His ways. Indeed, true worship is unreservedly approving from our
heart all that God does, for we know that His way is the best way.
Some people wish that God had qualified His statement, to read, "I create
physical evil," that is, earthquakes, famine, etc. But the full context
of Isaiah 45 shows otherwise. Verse one speaks of Cyrus, "whose right hand
I have held, to subdue nations." It was God who girded him for conquest,
and sent him to WAR. But war is more than just a physical evil, it is the
consequence of wrong doing, and results from sin, deceit, corruption, oppression,
ambition, hatred, etc. And even the injecting of a godly man into a war
to help clean up the mess doesn't erase the fact that war itself is
an evil, and the results of evil.
"Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord has not done it? Surely the
Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His secret to His servants the
prophets." [Amos 3:6-7]. Praise God, HE controls both ends, and He causes
the evil to happen in one place, and tells the secret of it to His servant
in another place, and then uses that servant to "stand by" in prayer and
believing until a victory is wrought out of it all.
It is God Himself, and not an enemy, that has set good and evil before
us, not for our injury but for our benefit, under the direction of perfect
wisdom, that all the events of life must work together for the good of
all.
WISDOM that is infinite, cares for each of us as if we were but one, and
yet regards the whole as easily as if they were but one. One individual,
or a whole universe, it matters not, His power is such that we all receive
that personal attention as if we were the only one, and yet He deals with
the whole with that same wonderful wisdom and power. When each individual
is the object of infinite patience and boundless love, is watched over
by an omniscient eye, and protected by an omnipotent arm, none can perish.
And remember this one solid fact: All evil must ultimately self-destruct,
while all good is self-perpetuating. God has built an inherent law into
each force, it is immutable and cannot be altered. All creation tells the
story of how evil constantly destroys itself, and it is a survival of the
fittest. Thus good continues to perpetuate and carry on, and ultimately
shall triumph completely. Hallelujah!
Someone once wrote the statement, "whatever is, is right." This is absolutely
true from God's position, even though it appears to be the opposite from
the natural, earthly viewpoint.
We look at a certain situation and declare that it is "all wrong," and
from man's viewpoint, under the restrictions and laws that govern us, it
is wrong, and we shall be judged and dealt with according to our choice
and action in the matter. Yet from God's viewpoint these things are
"right," in that they are being used of Him in the divine interplay of
good and evil, to work a development and maturity in us.
Thus we find that in one sense, the words right and wrong are quite
relative, and also that they relate to some standard or rule. Usually it
is all on man's side and viewpoint, for it was given to man for his processing
and overcoming.
Yet certainly we must all agree that IN GOD there is no duality of right
and wrong, for everything He IS, and DOES is RIGHT. His holiness and righteousness
assure us of that, for His way is Perfect.
It is on man's realm that we find these contrasts, and then must use the
right to overcome the wrong. Negative and positive, with their interaction,
for this is apart of this present arrangement. To develop and train us,
that we might be prepared for the higher realms in God.
Now, for a moment, consider a heathen sacrifice. The man had his idol,
he makes his vow unto his god, and then seeks to fulfill the sacrifice,
for he would be very conscientiously condemned if he neglected it, for
to him it is right. Yet according to the law of Christ such a sacrifice
is all wrong. Jesus Christ gave His life for us--ending all these animal
sacrifices, etc. as we believe in Him. So we would teach him our doctrines,
and tell him that his way of doing things is all wrong. New light often
changes our attitudes and standards, so that what we once thought was right,
we later feel is wrong, and then we proceed to walk in the new light, since
now for us it is right. Praise God for this progression.
We have, however, no desire
to just change one set of "man's" ideas for another, but we would walk
on in the light of the Lord, that we might be "changed from glory to glory"
even as this change proceeds to us from the Lord.
No one would hesitate to say that the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ
was awfully wrong, and very wicked. "You have taken, and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain." [Acts 2:23]. As far as man's side of it was
concerned it was all wrong to do this--Jesus Christ was totally innocent
of any mis-deed. The trial was a mockery of justice, and every act that
followed only compounded the wrong-doing. And yet there is another side,
it was right, and furthermore, God was a party to that rightness.
"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God." [Acts 2:23]. It was the Father's will that Christ drink the bitter
cup. Jesus prayed that if it be the Father's will, that the cup would pass.
But the cup did not pass, He had to drink it all, for this was the Father's
will. "For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness
(Greek, be a martyr) unto the truth." [John 18:37]. (Original Editor's
Note: John 18:37 "For this cause came I into the world..." and in Matt.
27:45-47 Jesus states, "My God, My God, for this I was kept (this was my
destiny-- I was born for this.) This interpretation is taken from "Eli,
Eli, Lmana Sabachthani" from Matt. 27:45-47; however, it is interpreted
by G. M. Lamsa in Aramaic. In his book, Idioms in the Bible Explained &
A Key to the Original Gospels Lamsa states, "This term (Eli, Eli, Lmana
Sabachthani) even at present is only used by the Aramaic speaking people
in Assyria, the same language which the Galileans spoke at the time of
our Lord. This phrase in Aramaic means, ‘My God, My God, for this I was
kept (this was my destiny-- I was born for this'). He did more than
give voice to the truth in preaching, He gave His life to confirm the message
which He spoke, and this physical death was apart of the PLAN.
Jesus said to Pilate, "You could have no power at all against Me, except
it were given you from above." [John 19:11]. God furnished the power, and
without His co-operation it could never have been done.
Did Judas deliver Him up? Judas was the one who betrayed Him with a kiss.
Did the Jews deliver Him up? They were the ones that said, "His blood be
upon us," and "Give us Barabbas." Did Pilate deliver Him up? He had the
legal authority and power to set Him free. Were all of these people guilty?
Surely they all had apart in the action, and all were partly to blame for
this wicked deed. From man's standpoint they were all very wrong. A kiss,
the token of love's expression used to betray, this is all very, very wrong.
The unbridled animosity of the Jews was a clear revelation of their wrong
position, filled with evil intent. While Pilate violated his whole position
as a ruler in consenting to the death of an innocent man.
Yet, while each one of the involved parties were guilty and in the wrong,
this we also read, "Both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the nations, and
the people of Israel, were gathered together, FOR TO DO WHATSOEVER YOUR
HAND AND YOUR COUNSEL DETERMINED BEFORE TO BE DONE." [Acts 4:27-28].
Who gathered everybody together and had them in their respective places
for this event? GOD DID! He controlled the whole background history which
led up to this appointed hour. He arranged the nations around Israel with
their ungodly influences which helped to destroy the faith and righteousness
of the people. He caused Israel to be governed by Rome, with Herod and
Pilate at hand. Every part of this drama was pre-arranged by God, so that
they would carry out His plan and purpose.
Is it wrong to purpose to do a wrong, and then to supply the power
for the wrong doing? We would say, "Yes." It was wrong, relative to the
wicked parties. And yet in the absolute, higher sense, it was right, for
it was all apart of the pre-determined plan and purpose of God. We dare
not mix the two viewpoints, nor confuse God's part with man's position.
The whole point zeros in on the fact that GOD controls the interplay of
good and evil, and He measures out the sufficient amount needed for your
day, to work out His purpose.
"We are assured and know that GOD BEING A PARTNER IN THEIR LABOUR, all
things work together and are fitting into a plan for good." [Romans
8:28, Amplified].
"He makes the wrath of man to praise Him, the remainder of wrath He does
restrain." [Psalm 76:10]. God permits no evil that He cannot in the
end --overrule for good, hence, all evil will result in good before the
ages have run their course, and His purpose is consummated. By the time
we survey all the evil around us today, with our limited vision, it is
hard to see how God can work all of this into good, or even find a cause
of why He is using it in this interplay. But there are moments when we
find a situation in our own life which begins all bad, which through His
sovereign operation of grace is turned up-side-down, and the good that
is brought forth amazes us. Praise God, HE IS GOD!
Consider also the life of Joseph. As a young man he was hated by his brethren,
they cast him into a pit, and spared not for his crying. Then they sold
him for a slave. Every part of this was wrong, all wrong! Yet as the process
moved on, and Joseph's brethren finally came to him, down in Egypt, he
said to them, "So now it was not you that sent me hither, BUT GOD. --Now
therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither:
for God did send me before you to preserve life." [Genesis 45:8, 5].
Had Joseph considered only the outward circumstances, and the evil action
of his brethren, he could have been so filled with hate, that he would
have refused to see his brethren, or have anything to do with them. In
fact he was now in a position where he could have taken revenge and treated
them very cruelly. He knew that it was the hand of God that controlled
all the circumstances, and he did not hold it against them.
Joseph also felt the weight of their self-condemnation, and helped to lift
the load by revealing to them the great truth of God's handiwork. And told
them they were not to be grieved, nor angry with themselves--not to be
so condemned that they could not look him in the eye and be glad for the
time of reunion. That God had used them for instruments of evil, he well
knew, and he did not justify them for what they had done, HE LEFT THE
JUSTIFICATION IN THE HANDS OF THE LORD, but neither did he condemn
them any more. Wrong was wrong, but in the hands of God it could be worked
into good, and this is to HIS glory and praise.
Was it right for Joseph's brethren to do what they did? No! It was heartless,
cruel, a very black deed. This was an awful weight on the shoulders of
a young lad, and it was a crushing blow to the aged father who dearly loved
this son. Here was a quota of evil almost too much to bear.
BUT THEN COMES THE GOOD. Joseph was disciplined and trained, his
youthful pride was subdued, he was in a fiery trial which would purge out
the self-exaltation and whatever blemishes of character that needed to
be dealt with. No longer would he tell his visions and dreams and glory
in the fact that he was the center star. The dreams were true, they were
God given, but he needed much refinement before they could be fulfilled.
As far as the brethren were concerned, their treatment of Joseph was all
wrong, but as far as God's purpose was concerned, it was just right.
Jacob also reaped what he sowed. His past included many devious works and
deceptions, including when he deceived his own father. Now he in turn was
deceived by his own sons as they brought him Joseph's coat which they had
dipped in blood, and made as though a wild animal had killed the lad. Reaping
what you sow is not easy, but it was working into the spirit of Jacob some
needed purification.
And then the brethren--ah, what bitter sorrow they experienced, and were
softened, their consciences which were too dull to hear the crying of their
brother when they cast him into a pit, and when he was led down the road,
sold as a slave, now their conscience was quickened, and they remembered
their evil deeds, and what repentance followed. "Now I rejoice, not that
you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance, for godly sorrow
works repentance to salvation." [2 Corinthians 7;9-10]. Our rejoicing is
not because a man is beat down to his socks, thoroughly subdued, but rather
that this sorrow works a repentance, a real change of mind. We are grateful
that God has a means whereby this can be accomplished, though we glory
not in the means itself. No chastening for the present is joyous, but grievous,
it is in the "nevertheless afterwards" that we find a peaceable fruit of
righteousness which causes us to rejoice.
We read, "Your own wickedness shall correct you..." [Jeremiah 2:19], and
so it was with Joseph's brethren, as they also began to reap the fruit
of their own doing, it brought a correction into their lives.
Applying the principle of "overcoming evil with good," Joseph gave
them their needed sacks of grain, and then even replaced their money in
the top of the sacks. Such good overwhelmed them, and being smitten by
their own conscience, for they knew they did not deserve any such treatment,
they judged this act of kindness by their own evil motives, and were sure
that a scheme of evil was plotted against them. And then the fear of their
own mis-deeds overtook them and they suffered and squirmed under the strain
while the whole thing was slowly adjusted and resolved. This is a hard
way to learn what is wrong, but praise God, we are thankful that God is
so great that He can use the backslidings to purge the backslider.
Nor does the record end with Joseph, his brethren, and his father all being
benefited by this processing, for the Egyptians also were blessed, as Joseph
was placed in a position to "preserve life." The influence of good was
expanded and multiplied so that even the surrounding nations could come
down to Egypt and buy corn, and thus be spared through the famine. Thus,
even years later, after Jacob had passed away, and the brethren were still
remembering back to their deeds, and again sought Joseph's forgiveness,
he re-affirmed to them, "Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as
for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring
to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." [Genesis 50:19-20].
We will not call evil good, evil is evil. "Woe unto them that call evil
good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." [Isaiah 5:20]. But
this we are able to say, our God is able to take all evil and work it into
good, though He has to turn everything upside down in the process.
"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the
good." [Proverbs 15:3]. HE, and He alone controls the interplay, and knows
just how much evil to bring to bear upon us, and how much good to bring
in, while the whole is used to develop and mature us into His sons. "Known
unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." [Acts 15:18].
And we are persuaded that "nothing can happen outside of God's will," but
ultimately all things shall redound to His praise.
"Therefore has the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us:
for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He does: for we
obeyed not His voice." [Daniel 9:14]. Disobedience must be corrected, and
GOD sovereignly watches over the evil which He uses as part of that chastening
process. We are not at the mercy of negative forces, we are under the
sovereign care of our Creator. HE sets the bounds for evil, and sufficient
unto the day is the quota allowed, but it shall not destroy you forever,
even if God allows it to bring you down to hell.
"You shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon
Jerusalem...and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that
I have done in it, says the Lord God." [Ezekiel 14:22-23].
When the race is run, the books are tallied, and the whole purpose is consummated,
all creation shall be comforted, and understand that God had a wise design
in view, and that evil was allowed to exist because HE had a purpose in
view, and when that victory is accomplished the means to the end will be
abolished. Evil will cease to exist, but the good which was brought forth
shall redound to His praise.
How would we learn forgiveness if there was nothing to forgive? Hence He
sends the wrongs, teaches us how to forgive, and gives us the joy of doing
so. It is written, "Go and learn what that means, I will have mercy." Thus
we find ourselves in many situations where we need to exercise His grace,
and show mercy. The wrong, the evil-used to teach us things which we could
learn no other way.
Yet we would be admonished, GOD controls the interplay. We are not to try
and "play god" in other peoples lives. By His grace we would be His vessels
of mercy, and yet neither would we condemn those who for a time are vessels
of wrath, for in due time they, too, must be restored.
SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY
Sufficient unto the day, Is the promise given thee, A
present truth that now shall be
The Source of thy sufficiency, Imparting strength to
run the race,
Each step o'ershadowed by His grace, As God directs thy
way.
Sufficient unto the day, Though bitter may be the score,
In moments of chastening sore,
Which reach to thy innermost core, Each stripe is a token
of love
Commandeered from heaven above, To purify thy way.
Sufficient unto the day, No more than thy God hath decreed,
Can troubles o'er thy pathway speed,
Since all unto Him must give heed, Thou shalt not be
brought to shame,
For He doth remember thy frame, And undergirds
thy way.
Sufficient unto the day, Thy soul shall also be blest--To
conquer each trial and test,
The Spirit becoming thy rest, The whole of thy pathway
made light,
Dispelling the shades of the night, As God illumes thy
way.
Sufficient unto the day, The evil He works into good,
While learning the lessons we should,
A purpose oft' misunderstood, Yet God has control of
it all,
And vict'ry our hearts shall enthrall, As He perfects
our way. BACK
THE POTTER'S
FIELD - Chapter 14
"And having held a consultation, they purchased with them
the plot of ground where the potter dug his clay, as a burial place for
the strangers, on which account that field was called a field of blood
to the present time. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through the
intermediate agency of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the
thirty silver coins, the evaluation of the One who had been valued, whom
they of the sons of Israel valued, and gave them for the field where the
potter dug his clay, according as the Lord appointed me."
[Matthew 27:7-10, Wuest].
When the Spirit of God gives a new glimpse into another facet of truth,
uncovering more of the secret which has been hidden from the ages past,
the heart is overwhelmed and awed-how great is His goodness, how
mighty is His power, how marvelous is His plan of full redemption for every
man. Often times these truths are hidden in parabolic form, but once they
are illumined they immediately add their light to the glowing evidence
that he is indeed "the Saviour of all men."
Did you ever wonder why, when Judas returned the money which he had received
for betraying his Lord, why it was that the men went out and bought a "potter's
field" for a place to bury Judas, and other strangers? Why didn't they
buy apiece of old waste land somewhere outside the city? Why buy a parcel
of ground as valuable as the resource from whence some potter dug his clay?
These
things do not evolve by happen-stance, but we are persuaded that here again
God was revealing IN TYPE a beautiful truth.
What is limited in its type, for expression in parabolic form, contains
within it the broader expanses of meaning which are often veiled from the
eyes of the casual observer. Let us give an illustration. In Matthew 13:24,
we read of how a man sowed good seed in his field, and while he slept an
enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. But when it came time to explain
the parable unto His disciples, the Lord declared, "THE FIELD IS THE
WORLD." [Matthew 13:38]. And in another parable we read that, when He had
found the treasure He desired, "for joy thereof goes and sells all that
He has, and buys that field." [Matthew 13:44].
Gathering up the various facts from these parables which Jesus gave, we
know that "though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor,
(SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD), that we through His poverty might become rich."
[2 Corinthians 8:9]. He bought the field! God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son for all the world, and now it can be truly said,
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." [1 Cor. 10:26].
The cost was tremendous! "But Himself He emptied, Himself He made void,
having taken the outward expression of a bondslave." [Philippians 2:7,
Wuest]. He had to leave behind "the glory which I had with You before
the world was." [John 17:5]. As He, "the Lord of glory" [1 Cor. 2:8], was
crucified, being THE LAMB SLAIN, that He might redeem, buy back again that
which had been sold into sin and shame. How great is the love manifested
in this redemption process.
It is to be noted that this field is called "the field of blood." While
little is known of other worlds, or if there be life on other planets in
our own galaxy, yet there is one paramount feature concerning our earth,
and that is "BLOOD." This earth, this field has been stained again and
again with blood, from that of righteous Abel, on down to this present
generation, when our own boys (men and women) are now being sacrificed
upon the battlefields in a ruthless, godless slaughter. Always it
seems the price is more blood, and any limited peace, or what we call peace,
is gained, it appears, by blood.
Again, it is to be noted that even our "bright nature" which we had before
the fall, has been replaced with the density of blood. It is stated that
"blood is congealed light." Ah, how we long for the change in our atomical
structure, until once again divine light courses through our being, until
our whole body is full of light. The life of the flesh is in the blood.
Thank God, He has promised, "I will cleanse their blood that I have not
cleansed."
[Joel 3:21].
Truly this can rightfully be called, "the field of blood." It is necessary
therefore in the nature of the case that if there is to be a redemption,
this can only be accomplished through the shedding of blood, but it requires
a far better sacrifice than that of bulls and goats.
"Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, be a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own
blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of
an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh:
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God?" [Hebrews 9:11-14].
Next, it is to be noted, this potter's field was bought "to bury strangers
in."
It is interesting to find that this word "stranger" is also applied to
our Lord Jesus Christ, (and those who are HIS)." He came unto His own,
and His own received Him not." [John 1:11]. "I was a stranger, and you
took Me not in..." [Matthew 25:43]. Thank God, there are those who are
receiving Him, but for the most part, He is still a stranger to the world.
For He "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion
as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross." [Philippians 2:7-8]. Thus He was "numbered with the
transgressors." [Isaiah 53:12]. Though He knew no sin, yet He became identified
with the sinners, as a stranger, and was buried in the very earth which
He came to redeem.
But now-because of HIM, all other strangers need strangers no longer. So
we read of those who are "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world; But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes
were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.--Now therefore you are
no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God." [Ephesians 2:12-13,19].
Yes, it was a field of blood, it was A POTTER'S FIELD, but that is just
the place to be buried, for from thence the Master Potter shall dig His
clay, and shall fashion anew a glorious vessel unto Himself. He has not
abandoned His potter's field! It matters not how deep the pit, His arm
of love reaches down, and, as the Psalmist declared, "HE brought me up
also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon
a Rock, and established my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth,
even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust
in the Lord." [Psalm 40:2-3].
"But now, O Lord, You art our Father; we are the clay, and You are our
Potter; and we all are the work of Your hand." [Isaiah 64:8].
"The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed
as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the Potter." [Lamentations
4:2].
The process of making a vessel is beautiful to consider, as the Potter
digs out the appointed clay, and proceeds to prepare it for molding.
It is most interesting to note that "clays owe their origin to the decomposition
of various rocks..." according to the Universal Standard Encyclopedia.
We have not especially cared for the crushing, breaking process, but God
isn't molding stubborn rocks and stones." A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise." [Psalm 51:17]. Also, "Whosoever shall fall
on this Stone (CHRIST) shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall,
it will grind him to powder." [Matthew 21:44]. Ere the process of God is
finished, everything will be subdued before Him, every man shall have been
broken, made into clay, and then formed according to His will.
We know not
why the Master Potter chooses to apprehend the portions of clay that He
does, why He has dug us out of the earth, rather than digging some other
place. But truly we are grateful for each one whom He has apprehended now,
and it is not for boasting, but should afford deep humility to know that
His hand is now laid upon us, that He might fashion us into a vessel meet
for His use. It was Gideon who wondered at this sovereign "apprehending
of God," who said, "Oh my Lord, behold, my family is poor in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my father's house." [Judges 6:15]. And Paul confessed,
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given."
[Ephesians 3:8].
Yes, the sovereignty of choice is HIS, but how thankful we are that His
purpose is that "in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in
his own order ." [1 Corinthians 15:22-23]. To those who have now been
laid hold of by God, "we pray always for you, that our God would count
you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness,
and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our
God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
[2 Thessalonians 1:11-12].
Once the clay was dug, it was then
trodden by men's feet so as to form a paste. God always has those instruments
whom He can use, as He said to Israel, to "come upon princes as upon mortar,
and as the potter treads clay." [Isaiah 41:25]. Or, as the Psalmist
declared, "You brought us into the net (the INTERnet??); You laid affliction
upon our loins. You caused men to ride over our heads." [Psalm 66:11-12].
(the internet!! o:)
How
little have we comprehended the ways of our God, and just when we thought
He had apprehended us, and was going to bless us, we found that HE placed
us in situations where "men" walked upon us until we were almost a shapeless
mass. Was this the path of an overcomer? we questioned. And many found
it hard to accept it as from the hand of the Lord, but nevertheless, HE
had a purpose in all of the humiliation process, for when HE had thoroughly
worked out all of our stubborn resistance, then He would be able to shape
us into a vessel through whom His glory could be revealed.
What is being wrought today in the "precious sons of Zion" shall ultimately
be wrought in all men. He shall subdue, and whosoever will not fall upon
the Rock, shall find that the Rock shall fall upon them, until it has ground
them to powder-not to destroy, but to bring to that condition where He
can make them into anew vessel, to His praise. He will not do this for
the purpose of extinction, but with wise design for anew realm. "And in
the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed :--it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms." [Daniel 2:44].
"You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel." [Psalm 2:9].
"And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter
shall they be broken to shivers..." [Revelation 2:27].
What shall be done with these broken nations, these
shattered pieces of clay? BURY THEM OUT IN THE POTTER'S FIELD, UNTIL
THE DAY WHEN HE SHALL COME AGAIN AND LIFT THEM UP, TO RESHAPE THEM INTO
VESSELS OF HIS PLEASURE.
Someone once wrote:"God chooses, God bruises, God uses, He had no problems--only
plans!"
"He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us
up. After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us
up, and we shall live in His sight." [Hosea 6:1-2]. Reduced to nothing,
buried in the tomb of nothingness, out in the Potter's field, to await
the hour when His grace shall embrace us again, and resurrection power
shall lift up that which was brought low, and love shall conform us all
into His own blessed image.
In the natural illustration, one can easily see the dual use of a potter's
field. First the good clay was dug out, and used for the desired
vessels, and then the broken fragments, discarded pieces which were cast
away, could all be placed into the emptied pits. (Original Editor's Note:
We find it very interesting as the writer states, "First the good clay
was dug out." We are led to a verse from Ecclesiastes, 12:7, "Then shall
the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it." If "ALL THINGS are out of (from) GOD" then can it be
said that the Field is God Himself? End of note). To the natural mind this
graveyard of refuse is the end, no hope left-but to let the years roll
on, while time, weather changes, and those hard, broken pieces begin to
crumble and decompose. When the long, disciplinary process is over, we
find that the Master Potter is able to return to that potter's field, and
dig up that which was buried, while His resurrection power forms anew that
which was useless and discarded, and it shall redound to His praise.
It is hardly necessary for us to pursue the thought of how the clay is
placed upon the wheel, and tenderly shaped by the Potter until a vessel
is made, but our earnest desire is that we "shall be a vessel unto honour,
sanctified,
and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
[2 Timothy 2:21].
Once the vessel was, however, duly shaped and formed to the proper specifications,
it is then smoothed and coated with a glaze, and finally "fired" in the
furnace. The "smoothing" process is well known to many, I am sure. The
various and sundry means which God uses to remove the rough spots, this
is a necessity, that we might be free from that which is harsh, crude,
or disagreeable. There shall be no flaws in the vessel which shall share
His glory. One definition for this word "smooth" is to be "frictionless."
Ah, no clashing of wills, nothing left in our nature which would cause
a resistance to be felt, but a perfect harmony, fully adaptable to His
will and purpose in all things.
As for the glazing process-let it be said that when we are clothed upon
with the glory of Himself, glistening with His righteousness, then can
it be said, "The Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen
upon you. And the nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness
of your rising."
[Isaiah 60:2-3].
The final task in preparing the vessel is to cause it to pass through the
fire, to be placed in the furnace. Fire has many uses, and God has used
it to MELT us down until we were pliable in His hands. He has used it to
burn out the dross. But He also uses the fire to TEMPER AND HARDEN, and
those who have passed through the fiery tests find that instead of "falling
apart" because of the process, they have a new inner strength, and they
are stronger because of all the processing. Yes, though tried by fire,
may God grant that we "might be found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ." [1 Peter 1:7].
"Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to
hear My words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he
wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel he made of clay was marred
in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed
good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
O house of Israel, CANNOT I DO WITH YOU AS THIS POTTER? says the Lord.
Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in Mine hand, O
house of Israel."
[Jeremiah 18:2-6].
The
vessel was marred IN THE HAND OF THE POTTER. Therefore the Potter was
fully responsible for both the "marring" and the ultimate re-molding process.
Thank God, He who began in us a work which is good shall ultimately bring
it to a successful conclusion, regardless of all the in-between- processes.
But now He must needs break it all down again, reduce it to a shapeless
mass, tread it under, water it anew, and work it into a new lump from whence
He can shape a new vessel. This was the message which came to Jeremiah
concerning the house of Israel.
Israel--marred in the hand of the Potter, they became vessels of shame
and dishonour. So He broke them, and scattered them out in the FIELD (Original
Editor's note: scattered them out into Himself. End of note.), shifting
them among the nations (Amos 9:9), while the years passed over them, and
they were processed by all the conditions which time can bring. But He
has purposed there shall be a time when He shall gather them together again,
and receive them unto Himself. And then Paul asks, "If the casting away
of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them
be, but life from the dead?" [Romans 11:15].
The
vision is glorious, and our heart is thrilled, for though Israel was marred,
broken to pieces, cast out into the Potter's Field, scattered across the
"field of blood," into every corner of this earth, yet the thirty pieces
of silver for which our Lord was sold, bought that field, and while it
is a burying place for strangers, HE shall visit it again.
There is, however, another thought which blends in with this whole picture,
so we turn to Romans 9:21-24.
"Has not the potter power over the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to show His
wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the
vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared
unto glory. Even us, whom He has called, not of the Jews only, but also
of the Nations?"
Yes,
the Potter has some vessels that He has made which are unto dishonour,
and fitted to destruction--that is, when He has finished using them in
their dishonorable state, He will break them, cast them out into His field,
until such a time as He chooses to dig them up as clay to be molded anew,
into vessels of mercy and praise. Some will object, thinking that this
teaches "a second chance." Let it be clearly stated, SALVATION, OR ANY
OF GOD'S WORKS, ARE NEVER BY CHANCE! They are wrought by His sovereign
grace, with great purpose and design. But we do rejoice that every vessel
marred in the hand of the Potter can be RE-MADE, as it seems good unto
Him.
Why then, if they must be re-made, has He brought forth vessels unto dishonour?
This is more of His great work in the "interplay of good and evil." But
for a moment, consider: How often today God has placed in the same house
a vessel of mercy unto honour, and a vessel of wrath unto dishonour. He
apprehends one to receive His grace, drawing unto Himself, imparting light
and life, and leaves the other one in darkness. Then HE proceeds to use
this unenlightened one as a "vessel of wrath" in the purifying process
of His apprehended "vessel of mercy." Oh, what testings, what rubbing off
of rough places, what polishing goes on-all of His choosing and purpose.
It is a mark of spiritual maturity and growth when a child of God can recognize
that if it be that theirs is a somewhat divided home, with a dishonourable
vessel there, to allow God to use that vessel to draw out of them all the
impurities and imperfections, while they submit to it all as unto GOD'S
HANDIWORK, knowing that HE uses such vessels for His own will. Then, rather
than trying to escape the situation, they yield to the working of the Lord,
and seek to cover the whole situation with more LOVE, while God brings
forth the fulness of His purpose.
Not always, however, and to God be the praise, are homes so divided, but
then rest assured, when two are walking together in harmony before the
Lord, still HE will bring into their lives from somewhere those vessels
of wrath which are to be used in their purification--be it neighbors, fellow-workers
on the job, or however the case might be. May God hold us steady, not railing
upon these "vessels of wrath," but allowing HIM to use whom HE pleases,
until we are fully conformed to His image, and found unto His praise.
Then, what shall be the end of these "dishonourable vessels?" "The
unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife
is sanctified by the husband." [1 Corinthians 7:14]. Likewise whatever
vessels God has brought into the sphere of your influence, used for your
purification process, shall they not also, in due time, be SET APART UNTO
SALVATION, having served their purpose?
Praise God, let all vessels of mercy then intercede for the others, to
pray, "in wrath remember mercy." [Habakkuk 3:2]. And even if it be
necessary for the Lord to utterly break in pieces those marred vessels,
and cast them out into the field, buried as lone strangers, without hope,
without God in the world-remember, the field was bought with the price
of our Lord, and though "seven times" pass over them, as in Nebuchadnezzar's
case (Daniel 4:28-37), or yet seventy times seven, still God shall take
that clay, once it has been crushed, mellowed, and become pliable, and
mold it again into another vessel, unto His praise. There shall be a time
when He shall receive again unto Himself all of His creation, though it
take the severest of discipline measures. Yet He shall not fail nor be
discouraged, "till He send forth judgment unto victory." [Matthew 12:20].
Judas was certainly a dishonourable vessel, having betrayed his Lord, and
come to such an ignoble end of his natural life, until finally, having
hanged himself, they took him and buried him out in the field where
the potter dug his clay. Ah, what beautiful typology! When all would
be decomposed, dust returned to dust, once again apart of the clay of the
earth, it could be taken up and remade into another vessel, this time to
be one unto praise, honour, and glory. Having served the full purpose as
a vessel of wrath, now shall the grace of God reach out and set this one
apart for the in workings of HIS GREAT SALVATION.
And all that is portrayed in this one individual is also applicable for
the whole of creation which has been buried under the bondage of vanity
and corruption in the field of blood, this earth-realm. But HE who is The
Great Vessel Of Mercy was buried in this same earth, and thus sanctified
the whole earth, set it apart for the due process of being re-made into
another vessel, to the glory of God. So great a plan of salvation, with
humbled hearts we bow low to worship at His feet.
THE POTTER'S FIELD
The potter's field-a field of clay, What visions now
before us lay....
A rock that's crushed, to decompose, Within the earth
to take repose.
A lump of clay to thus become, Before the Potter, waiting,
dumb.
That He alone might make anew, A vessel of His image
true.
The process might at times seem long, And even yet bereft
of song-
As on the Potter's wheel we turn, While He is teaching
us to yearn
For every aspect of His will, His plan in us to thus
fulfill.
And if it be the thing is marred, Beyond repair it seemeth
scarred,
Then take it out into the field, And bury it, till it
doth yield
To times and seasons, breaking now, Before the Lord to
humbly bow.
And then the Potter shall return, And dig again the clay
once spurned,
And fashion it unto His praise. Thank God for all the
Potter's ways. BACK
JUBILEE--AND
THE RETURNING FIELD - Chapter 15
"In the year of jubilee the field shall return unto him of
whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did
belong." [Leviticus 27:24].
While it is true that the letter of the law cannot be explained but by
the gospel, it is no less true that the gospel in its breadth and depth
cannot be set forth except by the figures of the law, each jot of which
covers some blessed mystery.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled." [Matthew 5:17-18].
What first appears to be just the "letter of the Word," with parables,
records of past dealings, etc. is suddenly discovered by the Spirit's illumination
to be a hidden truth of rich magnitude and blessing. There is depth upon
depth which is hidden from the unsanctified gaze of the wise and prudent
of this world's system, and revealed unto those who are walking softly
before the Lord. For many the law and the prophets are relegated to the
past, discarded as unnecessary for this day, while traditions of men, and
newfangled carnal concepts are substituted. But Jesus plainly declared
that every part of the law and the prophets would be FULFILLED,
brought to the full. The fact that many years have passed by, even an age
or two, make no difference. The message is sound, the prophecy is true,
and in God's own appointed time every particle, dot and comma, and all
that is in between shall be completely fulfilled.
In the previous chapter we pondered the triumph and victory which is connected
with "the potter's field" and the ultimate recovery of every individual
vessel, though for a time it was scarred, marred, and had to be cast out,
buried in this particular field. Now we would go on and consider the whole
earth as the field which is returned to its owner in the consummation-the
great jubilee. So first, let us refresh our memories with some good background
scripture.
In the parable of the man who has a field wherein he sowed his grain, and
during the night an enemy came in and also sowed tares in the same field,
when it came time to explain the parable, Jesus said, "THE FIELD IS
THE WORLD..." [Matthew 13:38]. The Scripture is its own best interpreter,
and the natural mind need not inject its own reasonings, but with careful
study, as the Spirit of Truth guides onward, other passages will give the
necessary clues as to the correct meaning of the usage of a word. Therefore,
to find the needed application here for the field, Jesus plainly stated,
"the field is THE WORLD." There can rightly be the smaller, more individual
applications, as pertains to our own little world, personal being, but
for the general scope, we can take it to apply to the whole world.
We read, "What is man, that You are mindful of him? and the son of man,
that You visit him?-You made him to have dominion over the works of Your
hands; You have put all things under his feet." [Psalm 8:4, 6].
In reference to this "dominion" given unto man, we read, "but now we see
not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus..." [Hebrews 2:8-9].
We know that Christ has full power and dominion, but as for the rest of
mankind, we have not yet entered into this realm of completeness.
There
was, in the beginning, a time when man did receive a dominion and then
lost it. And the promise is given, "and you, O tower of the flock, the
strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto you shall it come, even the first
dominion." [Micah 4:8]. Obviously one cannot restore what is termed "the
FIRST dominion" unless there had been that original state. But all through
the scriptures are the truths which speak of a RE-storing. And it was by
Divine planning that circumstances were so arranged that man forfeited
and relinquished his title deed to the dominion given him, and he became
a servant of sin, to obey the lusts thereof.
"Know not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?" [Romans 6:16].
How pitiful that the myriads of things which appeal to the flesh can become
so important that man will "serve them" to the satisfaction of the flesh,
and immediately place themselves into the servant position, while that
thing becomes their master. To whomever, or whatever we yield ourselves
as servants to obey, his servant we are. The application of this can take
many forms and cover many things, but the principle of it is true.
"In time past you walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the
children of disobedience."
[Ephesians 2:2].
Servants of corruption, servants of the negative realm, having lost the
dominion given to Adam, and rather than being "lord" over these things,
man became a servant to them. So then it was necessary for Christ to come
and REDEEM, to buy back that inheritance which was forfeited.
The
ministry of the FIRSTBORN is to redeem the brother in debt, to redeem the
inheritance if it be lost, to avenge the blood of the brother, and to raise
up seed unto the dead. This was the responsibility given to the first born
in every Israelite family during the Old Testament times. To enable him
to fulfill this position, there was given to him a double portion, so that
he would have enough for his own personal needs, and a supply to take care
of all these other needs, should they arise.
Wonder of wonders! God is bringing forth a company of many-brethren FIRST
FRUITS who shall share in this ministry, and the inheritance shall be fully
redeemed. The AGE OF JUBILEE shall see the field, i.e. the world return
unto HIM to whom it did belong. (Original editor's note: And God will be
"ALL in ALL." End of Note.).
Now it is established that the field is the world. And again, "the kingdom
of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field." [Matthew 13:44]. And while
there is the overall universal application, there is also that personal
application, and our own little "earthen vessel" is also afield. And we
sincerely desire that our field be fully restored to all that for which
it was created, that the purpose of God might be fulfilled in us.
"There is a spirit in man." [Job 32:8], and it is now buried deep in
this earthen vessel. The scriptures also reveal that God is "the Father
of spirits." [Hebrews 12:9]. So this spirit now buried in an earthen vessel
came from God, once being apart of His whole spirit realm. Now it is
hidden in a small earthen vessel, a field. We are not always aware of the
fact that we have a spirit, for man "became a living soul" and primarily
operates from the soulish level, that is, in the realm of the impulses
and emotions, the intellect, and the will, which then is expressed through
the body. Until the "spirit of man" is joined again to the Spirit of God,
it readily yields itself to the "spirit of the world," which in turn begins
to dominate the mind, i.e. the soul realm, which then controls the body.
So the whole realm is brought under the dominion of corruption and decay
after the manner of this present cosmos. (Original Editor's Note: Cosmos;
the order of things, and in God's order, the cosmos is perfect, nothing
out of harmony to His purpose. End of Note).
Thank God, HE has purposed a full redemption, and our entire field, i.e.
our whole being shall be fully redeemed. We are "waiting for the adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body." [Romans 8:23]. "Who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according
to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself."
[Philippians 3:21].
God
has not only purposed that our "spirit" shall return unto Him, for if this
was all He was after, He need only release us all from our physical body
by a death in the physical, allowing "the dust to return to the earth as
it [Eccl. 12:7]. This is the process as we now know it, but it is not the
final word. God has promised a FULL REDEMPTION.
But before the body is also totally redeemed, there is this inner work
in the regeneration which begins with the quickening of our spirit, to
become alive to the holy Spirit. Then a renewing of our mind, bringing
that whole realm of the soul into conformity to our quickened spirit. And
lastly it shall manifest this whole change in the body itself. Nothing
lost, no part left in the realm of corruption. While the "spirit of man"
might be termed the "treasure" in the field, HE BOUGHT THE WHOLE
FIELD, spirit, soul, and body to be fully restored to the higher realm.
Likewise, The Christ, the Last Adam, the Son of God, became hidden in a
body of flesh and blood, and for all practical teaching of the moment,
was lost in the field. He came unto His own and they received Him not,
for had they known Him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Little did they know that when they buried Him in a tomb, that HE literally
sanctified, set apart the whole earth in which He was buried, set it apart
unto the hour when all creation shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption, and released into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Then the heavens have received Him, "until the time of the restoration
of all things" [Acts 3:21]. And He yet remains hidden from the view of
man.
Now the first fruits whom He has apprehended are in the earth, but they
also remain hidden even here. They possess anew life, a life from above,
but that life is "hid with Christ in God," and all the earth can see is
the same old "dust body" like unto their own, and outward appearances have
not changed at all. Thus far it is only an inner work. But "when the Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory."
[Colossians 3:4]. And "the whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful
sight of the sons of God coming into their own" [Romans 8:19, Phillips],
for they know that this signals the hour of the beginning of the redemption
for all creation, though it be "every man in his own order."
One really doesn't see much of this TREASURE today. "The earth mourns and
fades away...the earth also is defiled (POLLUTED) under the inhabitants
thereof... therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell
therein are desolate." [Isaiah 24:4-6]. The whole earth lies polluted under
its inhabitants! How much this verse speaks that which is echoed from all
the reports of ecology minded men of today. "The earth is utterly broken
down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The
earth shall reel to and fro like a
drunkard ..." [Isaiah 24:19-20]. Ah, how desperately
the whole earth cries out for that hour of redemption from the corruption
which has been heaped upon it.
Amid all this rubble and ruin there is a "treasure" which the Son of man
came to seek and to save. Buried in the darkness and fear, religious form
and ritual, there is a treasure which belongs to the realm of the celestial.
HE FOUND HIS TREASURE, but He did not immediately whisk it away to the
"beautiful Isle of Somewhere," He left it here, to remain hidden for a
time, for there is so much more to be worked out in the total plan and
purpose. But He knows where He has hidden it, He is always aware of where
it lies, and He is able to return to it immediately any time He so desires,
it is lost no more, it is just waiting unto the hour of fulness. "You were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption (Greek, the loosing-away) of the purchased possession."
[Ephesians 1:13-14].
The
purchase has been made, His life was poured out at Calvary, and it is sufficient
to redeem the whole earth, and all that dwell therein. It now awaits the
divine timetable for the hour of its loosing.
"For JOY he went and sold all that He had" and bought that field. He emptied
Himself, poured out His life for all, but He received the field. "Who for
the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." [Hebrews 12:2].
No wonder the songwriter penned the words...
"Stay, let me weep while you whisper, Love paid the ransom
for me..."
Paul caught a glimpse of that JOY SET BEFORE US, with the ultimate fulness
of victory, and declared "that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
[Romans 8:18]. And He was willing for his life to be poured out now as
an offering unto the Lord as part of that great reconciliation process.
"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly
I love you, the less I be loved." [2 Corinthians 12:15].
This is Calvary's kind of love, such as Jesus manifested, to freely give
one's life, even though for a time such love is not returned nor accepted.
There shall come a day when love will fully triumph, for "CHARITY NEVER
FAILS."
God
has already projected, extended His love thus far for us, may we not in
turn project love also for all the rest of creation? Christ has both descended
and ascended, and there is no place that God can send His servants but
what love, HIS LOVE, has already blazed that trail, paving the way ahead
for us.
Therefore,
though grace may be rejected, scorned, ignored, trampled on and despised,
still God's love can suffer it all and yet still further project itself
to cover a multitude of sin. "Charity shall cover the multitude of sins."
[1 Peter 4:8]. And again, "LOVE COVERS ALL SINS." [Proverbs 10:12]. Out
of the mouth of these two witnesses let it be established, charity never
fails, love covers all sin. That's why hell shall be invaded and ultimately
emptied of all its inhabitants. The Conqueror will be LOVE.
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein." [Psalm 24:1].
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...He sent
not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through
Him might be saved." [John 3:16-17].
"And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also
for the sins of the whole world." [1 John 2:2].
Again, the individual, personal application: When He bought back that treasure-that
spirit in man, He also bought the whole field, i.e. the earthen vessel
wherein that spirit presently dwells. At present time this body remains
under much of the system of this world, subject to its pressures and afflictions,
but God is very mindful of His possession, and not one thing touches His
possession but what He has purposed it to work of His divine counsel and
plan for that life.
No loss in the ultimate sense, for HE has sown the seeds of GAIN in loss
itself, and out of the ashes of the old shall burst forth the life of the
new, HIS LIFE in rarest glory and victory. Nothing can happen outside of
God's will, therefore what HE allows to touch His possession at this time
is allowed because of the ultimate gain which it shall produce in due time.
He guards you as the apple of His eye, to visit and inspect you and to
make sure that His plan for you is being fulfilled without interruption
and without failure in any part.
Again the words of the songwriter express it :
"Moment by moment I kept in His love, Moment by moment I've life
from above..."
Why? Because the EARTH is the Lord's, and THE FULNESS THEREOF. All
of it belongs to Him EVEN NOW, He bought it, and in the time of jubilee
it shall ALL return unto Him to whom it did belong, and now is restored.
And because it IS His possession He daily watches over His Word to perform
it IN US, and in all creation." You visit the earth, and water it..."
[Psalm 65:9]. He knows about the dry times and the deep inner cry for a
refreshing, and He knows just how to use this "dryness" to cause you to
reach out and earnestly seek Him for new life, and He knows just when you
would faint and grow weary and lose hope, and then HE sends that refreshing
which strengthens and confirms your life in Him.
"Having come to this settled and firm persuasion concerning this very thing,
namely, that He who began in you a work which is good will bring it to
a successful conclusion right up to the day of Christ Jesus." [Philippians
1:6, Wuest].
There is healing, there is daily provision, there is all that is needed
for this present time. All of the blessing which is needed to provide the
resources for strength and development and growth, and all of the trials
that are needed to test this development and mature it into tested character.
When the fulness of time is come, this earthen vessel shall be changed
in its whole structure, and raised to a higher realm, like unto HIS glorious
body. It will be a personal time of jubilee for this vessel. Sinless and
free from all that would corrupt, for this corruptible shall put on (be
clothed with) incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. This
will be the FULNESS of the NEW BIRTH, that which was begun in the spirit
of man, proceeding through the soul realm, shall ultimately be manifested
in the bodily change. "We know that whosoever is born of God sins not;
but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches
him not." [1 John 5:18].
Free
from sin, cannot sin--why? because being fully born of God, to possess
the nature and character of God, and returned into HIM to whom he did belong,
he is kept by the righteousness of God which abides within.
Furthermore, there is not only a restoration of the pristine glory of the
past, which was before sin, and the bondage to vanity, but there will also
be that addition of the acquired glory by contact with, and overcoming
of evil, and it will be this combined effulgence which shall radiate throughout
the universe to the praise of our Lord and Saviour. Thus the latter state
is greater than the former, for when HE returns the whole to its former
estate, He also has promised to do better unto us that at the beginning.
The
whole process of the ages is not without purpose. God has a plan being
wrought out through the ages, and we are a part of that plan. Our finite
minds cannot comprehend its full scope and meaning, but as we are brought
back into harmony with Him, we shall know, even also as we are known. The
ultimate victory is beyond present comprehension, but we are assured by
the Scriptures that the glory to be revealed is so great we dare not compare
it to the present sufferings and travail.
What causes us great personal rejoicing, to know there shall be a time
of the fulness of our redemption, our jubilee, when we return unto HIM,
is also to be multiplied in the grandest of measures, until the WHOLE
EARTH shall enjoy her time of jubilee, fully loosed from the tyranny
of change and decay, and restored into the realm of His more abundant life.
Every individual, and ALL MEN-- and then also the very ground upon
which they walk, as thorns and thistles and briars, etc, are all purged
out. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in
the earth." [Isaiah 42:4]. Which is also brought over into the New Testament,
and worded this way, "He shall send forth judgment unto VICTORY."
[Matthew 12:20].
Then
shall "the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea." [Habakkuk 2:14]. And "All the earth shall
worship You, and shall sing unto You; they shall sing to Your name." [Psalm
66:4]. For "THE GOD OF THE WHOLE EARTH SHALL HE BE CALLED." [Isaiah
54:5].
An array of verses like these can only cause great rejoicing and hope within
us even now. And we would cry out with the prophet, "O earth, earth, earth,
hear the word of the Lord..." [Jeremiah 22:29]. There is a message of
hope, there is a vision of victory to be fulfilled. The end thereof is
secure, it was made certain at Calvary when LIFE was poured out for all
mankind, and the field was redeemed, physical earthen vessels and the global
earth whereon we live-all this creation shall be redeemed, and brought
into the great jubilee. THE FIELD SHALL RETURN UNTO HIM TO WHOM IT DID
BELONG.
Praise God!
To accomplish this glorious return there must needs be an extensive correction
and purification made. "The earth shall cast out her dead...and the earth
shall disclose her blood..." [Isaiah 26:19, 21]. And there shall be a judgment
ministered, and a time of reaping what was sown, and then a binding up
of the wounds and a healing given. We would not try to minimize the extreme
measures which will be used for correction, but we would point out that
there shall be a jubilee which follows." The elements shall melt with fervent
heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Nevertheless we, according to HIS promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth, wherein dwells righteousness." [2 Peter 3:10, 3].
"And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."
[Revelation 21:5].
A GLEAM OF LIGHT
Out of the dim, dim shadows, Out of the lonely night,
There comes a ray of gladness, There comes a gleam of
light.
And truth beams out in splendor, And truth beams out
with grace,
Grace for each weary pilgrim, Grace for each tribe and
race.
Till lips which once were muted, Till lips which once
were still,
Are filled with God's own praises, Are filled with God's
own will.
The hope of all creation, The hope we've held so long,
Redemption's fullness hastens, Redemption for the throng.
While earthly kingdoms tremble, While earthly kingdoms
fall,
Shall Christ come forth triumphant, Shall Christ be all
in all.
A jubilee shall follow, A jubilee for man,
When earth shall be recycled, And flourish once again.
Returning to His glory, Returning back to God,
A restoration climax, To end correction's rod. BACK
BY MAN ALSO--Chapter
16
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive. But every man in his own order." [1 Corinthians 15:21-23].
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned...death reigns...even
over them who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression."
[Romans 5:12, 14].
The magnitude of God's plan of redemption is overwhelming, insomuch that
we would simply bow low to worship HIM who does all things well. As the
holy Spirit quickens and illumines the truth concerning the plan of the
ages, and the very fact that there is a PLAN being wrought out, even though
the natural mind cannot comprehend it, nevertheless it does bring a real
sense of peace and well-being to the inner man. We know that HE who has
begun in us a work which is good, shall also bring it to a successful conclusion
in due time. The height and depth, length and breadth of it are too much
for us to fill in ourselves, but we know that HE is able to do exceedingly,
abundantly above all that we ask or think, and so we gladly commit ourselves
to His processing. And this is all well and good in its own sphere and
outworking, but as we continue to follow on in the path He sets before
us, and the Spirit continues to unfold to our heart the truth for our day,
we also begin to see that much of God's purpose is to be WROUGHT THROUGH
MAN, and not just apart from, nor in spite of man.
It was one act of disobedience by which one man relinquished his title
deed to creation, but it is in the multiplicity of many acts of disobedience
that iniquity and corruption has expanded and extended throughout the earth
until now.
Death reigns
over those who also have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression.
We have not committed, perhaps, the precise act which Adam did in his error,
but we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. [Romans 3:23].
For when Adam sinned, he plunged all of the seed yet within his loins into
the same realm. The mystery of iniquity now works in all mankind, released
into every race, kindred, tribe and tongue.
But by the same token, while all the seed within Adam's loins came under
the bondage of vanity and death, likewise, when God clothed Adam with coats
of skin, promise and type of when we shall be clothed with immortality,
God therefore clothed all the seed within his loins with the same promise
of ultimate redemption.
Sin, multiplied and magnified in Adam's fallen offspring has caused the
expansion of corruption and death as it is this day. By contrast, therefore,
this also is true in the positive realm.
"Therefore by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto
the justification of life." [Romans 5:18].
It was BY MAN that the offense came, and all its following consequence.
While it was within the circumference of the plan and purpose of God that
it should be done, nevertheless it was not wrought apart from man, but
through man. Furthermore, we, of this generation, were not asked by
Adam if we wanted to be included in all of this iniquity, but he simply
plunged all the seed within his loins into the same stream of evil. Likewise,
when it came time for another man, the man Christ Jesus, to reverse the
order and begin the upward way again, He did not stop to ask us if we wanted
to be redeemed, but He poured out His life for us, and embraced the whole
world to be destined for complete restoration. The initial act of the first
Adam, the initial act of the Last Adam were both by the divine will of
God, to include all men.
Because "the children are partakers of flesh and blood, HE also Himself
likewise took part of the same." [Hebrews 2:14]. "Took upon Him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." [Philippians 2:7].
For it was through man that the disobedience came, and it must needs
be BY MAN that the obedience unto life also would come, Christ being that
man.
We are taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be DONE IN EARTH,
as it is in heaven." [Matthew 6:10], for it is here, on earth, that evil
is manifested in its gross corruption and death, and must be reversed.
So, through the righteousness and obedience of Christ this NEW, OVERCOMING
LIFE was released into the stream of mankind. And it will be through the
multiplicity of many men, conformed to His image, filled with His Spirit,
that this kingdom shall be established until it fills the whole earth.
"Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient
that ONE MAN should die for all the people." [John 18:14].
It was not an angel that was to be offered up, "For verily He took not
on Him the nature of angels; but He took on the seed of Abraham." [Hebrews
2:16]. It was this incarnation, God manifested in the flesh, which revealed
the tremendous love of God for His creation, and that He is not seeking
to eternally destroy His creation, but to redeem and fully restore the
whole. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption..." [1 Corinthians
15:53], and Jesus Christ was manifested to "abolish death, and
has brought life and immortality (Greek, incorruption) to light through
the gospel." [2 Timothy 1:10].
Here is
the GOOD NEWS, that coming into HIS LIFE we are to be clothed upon with
incorruption. That which cannot be corrupted, which cannot sin, is not
then subject to the penalty for sin. The wages of sin is death, but if
there be no sin, there can be no death. Thus it is self-evident that when
we are fully clothed upon with incorruption we also are brought into a
state of immortality, a realm where there is no death. The only way we
shall conquer death and corruption is to be filled with HIS LIFE which
is incorruptible, "Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for His
seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." [1
John 3:9]. Conformed to His image, filled with HIS NATURE, partaker of
the fulness of His life, and incorruption will be a reality manifested
in, and through us. This is the vision, the good news which Christ declared
to wayward mankind.
"So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at
Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which
they had not heard shall they consider." [Isaiah 52:15].
Exalted rulers might utter their opinions, and their subjects dare not
contradict what they say. But when there is a MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUTH,
in a personified state of being, manifested through men who have been changed
into the image of their Saviour, every mouth shall be stopped, and the
platitudes of men shall cease. HE is the truth, and HE is bringing men
and women into oneness with Himself, so that they also shall BE His witness
of the truth. While this will silence all the mouths of those who uttered
things they knew not, it shall also bring about a deliverance from ignorance
and darkness, for suddenly what men did not know shall they see in plain
evidence before them, and the message they had never heard shall they then
begin to consider, and bring their minds into alignment to that good news.
The message of God apprehending a first fruits has been told down through
the years, by those who have caught a glimpse of the message, and had it
quickened within by the Spirit. Some then will use such a message for the
exaltation of the flesh, boasting on how great they are, or will be. But
Paul safe-guards the whole process by declaring, "BY THE GRACE OF GOD
I am what I am" [1 Corinthians 15:10], and there was nothing in self
wherein he could, or would boast. "But God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world." [Galatians 6:14].
"But not as the offence, so also the free gift. For if through the offence
of one many be dead, MUCH MORE THE GRACE OF GOD, and the gift by grace,
which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many." [Romans
5:15].
The coverage of sin unto death is well known, we see the evidence of it
every where. But now it is time to consider that the grace of God, and
the free gift of HIS LIFE shall also abound, and MUCH MORE SO. This is
not some "tit for tat" equation, in the restoration, redemption side of
the picture it is all MUCH MORE. "That as sin has reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal (age-abiding) life
by Jesus Christ our Lord" and in a measure that reads, "But where sin abounded,
GRACE
DID MUCH MORE ABOUND."
[Romans 5:20-21].
Christ's act of obedience is upon all those who believe, and are born of
His incorruptible seed, and it shall be by the WHOLE FAMILY OF CHRIST
that the forces of evil shall be conquered and utterly spoiled. The kingdom
of God shall expand and multiply itself through MANY, for Christ is not
only ONE MAN, He is that, but He is more, HE IS MANY, in-as-much as He
is bringing forth a whole many-membered body which is conformed to His
image.
"For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that
one body, being many, are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST. For by one Spirit
are we all baptized into one body." [1 Corinthians 12:12-13].
The victory began in one man, JESUS CHRIST, and now it is being expanded
into a whole first fruits company, and shall continue to increase, "every
man in his own order," until the whole world has been fully reconciled
into God. (Original Editor's note: The whole world (mankind); none is to
be left out, for this is part of the ALL of God). Thus the victory which
we see in Christ is to become our personal portion also as we become one
in Him through a joint-participation in both the process of suffering and
death to self, and then the rising up in HIS more abundant life. This is
the in working of the grace of God!
"The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from
heaven." [1 Corinthians 15:47].
We know what it is to be of the "earthy" realm, of the old adamic nature.
We know what it is to see this carnal realm expand in us until we are arrested
by the grace of God and changed, to become IN CHRIST a new creation. Now
we also must know the fulness of what it means to be a part of that "heavenly"
realm of the second man, even our Lord. And keep in mind that the "seconds"
have little in common with the firsts. The Second Adam undid all the work
of the first. The first Adam brought us into condemnation and death. The
second Adam brought us into righteousness and life. And just as the first
birth of the natural brings us into this earthy realm, so also the second
birth brings us into the spiritual realm of the heavenly sphere. The first
covenant was a ministration of condemnation unto death, the new covenant
is a ministration of the Spirit unto righteousness and more abundant life.
The first death brought a separation from God, and an awareness of this
grossly material earthly realm. The second death will bring a separation
from this earthy realm, and an awareness of the new life of God in the
realm of the Spirit. How we desire to come into the fulness of the second
Adam, into the glory and victory of our LORD.
Paul was keenly aware of the difference between these two realms, and in
his revelations of the Lord, said, "I knew a man IN CHRIST...of such an
one will I glory: yet of myself (a man still in the flesh) I will not glory,
but in my infirmities." [2 Corinthians 12:2, 5].
This inner man, the hidden man of the heart, is the formation of the new
creation life, born of the incorruptible seed of God, of such a one we
rejoice--in this inner life we would glory. But as for the outward man,
that which is yet in the form and fashion of the earthy, we would not glory,
for it must pass away, and be swallowed up into the new.
In the transition from the earthy to the heavenly we find there often exists
a state of duality, which of course causes a conflict. The flesh clamors
for satisfaction, while the inner man of the heart desires to reach out
for divine life and fulness. Using the record as an allegory, we read,
"Now there was long war between the house of Saul (type of the flesh) and
the house of David (type of the inner man of the Spirit): but David waxed
stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker."
[2 Samuel 3:1].
This new life of Christ within must grow and expand until it fills us completely
and swallows up all of the old into the new, and we are completely transformed.
Then shall this new life flow out of us and work as anew leavening to bring
salvation to others.
"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be
one, even as we are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made
perfect in one." [John 17:22-23].
By man also came the resurrection of the dead, even by the man Christ Jesus.
There was a oneness between this God manifest in the flesh, and the fulness
of the Almighty. Now Jesus prays that this oneness might be extended to
include us, that we also might become ONE IN HIM, made perfect in Him.
So that, whereas once we were identified in the old Adamic realm of the
flesh, now we might be fully identified in the new realm of the Spirit,
to share His glory, being a full partaker of His life.
"That you put off concerning the former behaviour the old man, which is
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit
of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness." [Ephesians 4:22-24].
This is much more than simply trying to alter our image with a few gifts
and graces, this requires a being clothed upon with the NEW MAN which is
incorruptible. A patched up corruptible man will never do, but we must
put on incorruption, which comes by being born of that incorruptible seed,
and literally becoming swallowed up into this whole new realm. AND, it
must eventually be completely manifested right down here on earth, through
a generation which God has brought through to perfection. It was by man
that death came, and it was by man that resurrection came. Only that
MAN through whom the new life came was received up into heaven before all
the world could look upon Him and receive of His new life. Why? Because
it is in the plan of God to bring a full company into the same image, and
then reveal both THE SON and the sons unto the world, and then begin the
ministry of restoration until all are brought into the fulness of His life.
So much do we become ONE IN CHRIST, that Paul writes, "He that is joined
to the Lord is one spirit."
[1 Corinthians 6:17]. And when this is brought to
perfection in us, then comes the fulfillment of 1 John 4:17, "Because as
He is, so are we in this world."
This word "is" in the phrase ''as He is," is a verb form indicative of
the verb BE, which refers to a state of being, for "IS" is a connecting
verb meaning to coincide in identity with: to equal. This equality is not
a thing to be selfishly grasped, but it is the outworking of His grace,
into His oneness, and being clothed upon with HIMSELF, and His glory. Hence
the processing until we come "into a perfect man, into the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ." [Ephesians 4:13].
"Behold THE MAN whose name is the branch; and he shall grow up out
of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord, even he shall
build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit
and rule upon his throne: and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and
the counsel of peace shall be between them both." [Zechariah 6:12-13].
Herein is a new creation man, and a realm of ministry which shall be equal
to the needs of mankind. Heretofore we have had the ministry of the priesthood,
and the ministry of kings, but they were separate, to function in their
own spheres, but very limited. A priest could see certain needs but lack
the power and authority to deal with them, for that belonged to the king.
A king could see certain spiritual needs but lacked the position and ability
to handle the situation because that was apart of the priesthood. But
when this BRANCH comes forth it shall fulfill Revelation 1:5-6, "loved
us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us KINGS
AND PRIESTS..."
These are they who are of the "order of Melchisedec," who was a priest
of the Most High God, and also king of Salem (peace). Jesus Christ is the
great "Apostle and High Priest of our profession." [Hebrews 3:1]. Of this
order He truly manifested both the authority and power needed, as well
as compassion and mercy and spiritual life of a true priest. Now, as we
are joined unto Him, we shall become part of the same "MAN-COMPANY"
through whom this ministry shall be revealed.
"And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty
of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he
be great unto the ends of the earth. And this shall be the peace, when
the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces,
then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal (anointed)
men." [Micah 5:4-5].
This shall be the peace--when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord shall have a standard prepared to raise up against him. Whether
one would apply this on a personal basis, a national basis, or in relation
to the whole world, evil is only allowed to come so far, then God has prepared
the means to turn it back, and to bring victory. Through the ages iniquity
has abounded, but there is a MAN-COMPANY which He is preparing, a remnant
of grace chosen out of every generation, and they shall be fully united
in that day of His appointment, when the cup of iniquity would overflow
its bounds, then shall these rise up to take the prey, and establish righteousness
in the earth.
By man also--by these "prepared ones" shall God shepherd all nations, for
they shall be His servants which stand to feed the flock, and to lead the
nations to the fountain of living waters. These are His anointed ones filled
with new creation life, and they shall not minister after the former ways
and manners of the old creation, to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, and
pamper the ego of man, but they shall open the way into truth and light,
into green pastures and quiet resting places of spiritual victory.
Many would try and proclaim themselves to be "anointed men," but that which
springs out of the self-life is a false anointing and can bring no deliverance.
The
true anointing is like unto that which abode upon our Lord, and having
the SAME SPIRIT, shall abide upon HIS PREPARED MEN. "The Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them
that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable (receivable) year of the Lord,
and the day of vengeance (the day of laying claim to) of our God; to comfort
all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit
of heaviness..." [Isaiah 61:1-3]. I know this is fulfilled in our Lord!
But that is the very reason why we believe it shall also be fulfilled in
those who become a part of that many- brethren-company of whom He is the
Head. This does not take away from His glory, but only magnifies and enhances
His glorious work in the children of men.
"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in
judgment. AND A MAN shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and
a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land." [Isaiah 32:1-2].
HE is the King of kings, He is the Lord of lords, He is the Prince of princes,
and He is the Man of men, for in all He shall have pre-eminence.
But what a blessed hour awaits creation when the new creation man comes
forth to be a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest.
Reconciliation, that full restoration of all things must come, and praise
God, it shall be revealed that "a man," even those who are born of God,
shall be God's channel of deliverance and salvation.
"Because He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in
righteousness BY MAN whom He has ordained." [Acts 17:31]. And how do we
know that this is true? because "He has given assurance unto all, in that
He has raised him from the dead." Jesus said, "Because I live, you shall
live also." The resurrection of the MAN Christ Jesus is the guarantee of
our resurrection life. And our resurrection into the new dimension of His
more abundant life is the undergirding assurance that we are to help judge
the world, and turn creation back towards its Creator. "To execute vengeance
upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings
with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them
the judgments written: this honour have all His saints." [Psalm 149:7-9].
This
honour have all His "saints." The word "saint" comes from the Hebrew word
meaning a separated one, a holy one. Surely one would be unable to judge
the evil if they were engulfed in the same, ladened with its sins and lusts,
etc. Therefore God has been separating His people, to form a new man, created
in righteousness and true holiness, so that we might be able to view the
matter from a pure standpoint, and render a righteous judgment, and thus
bring about a correction. Having borne the image of the earthly, we will
understand its frailties, and not condemn. And then bearing the image of
the heavenly we will be able to lift up to a higher realm those who are
to be corrected and disciplined, until they learn to walk in the right
way.
Now let it be remembered, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the
servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his
master, and the servant as his lord." [Matthew 10:24-25] .
Jesus prayed, "Father, the hour is come; glorify Your Son, that Your
Son also may glorify You." [John 17:1]. And so shall it be with this MAN-COMPANY,
having been brought to the end of "self" and human resources, through the
fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, they
are then ready to receive of Him, that they might glorify Him. Not until
He imparts of His fulness to man, can man glorify his God, for man has
nothing in himself to offer. Hence this new creation man receives of the
glory of God that in turn he might bring glory to God, and this by ministering
salvation to the rest of groaning creation.
"By
LOVE serve one another..." [Galatians 5:13] is the timely admonition of
Paul, and so shall it be, for the ministry of reconciliation is totally
a MINISTRY OF LOVE, BY A NEW MAN to reveal to all men that God loves them,
and is drawing them back into Himself, to share the fulness of His life.
A NEW MAN IS COMING
How mighty is the calling, so holy and high, A place
in God's kingdom to yet occupy;
Yet e'er by His grace when the sons qualify, They'll
have tasted the fire that doth purify.
'Mid testing and trial and chastening rod, To pass through
the schooling ordained by our God,
Preparing for pathways they never have trod, Their feet
with the sandals of peace rightly shod
As kings and as priests on this earth they shall reign,
To administer peace-and evil restrain,
The judgments of God they shall also sustain, While mingling
His mercy with justice' refrain.
Wonder of wonders, into deity fused, A kingship beyond
all thoughts ever mused,
With radiant life by the Spirit diffused, And victor
o'er sorrows which once had confused.
A ministry filled with compassion and grace, To reconcile
all of humanity's race,
Upholding the Saviour, the world to embrace, Till His
triumph alone shall have the first place.
So overturn, overturn selfhood today, A NEW MAN IS COMING
o'er earth to hold sway,
A righteous dominion that's lasting for aye, A love-governed
freedom, hope's bright golden ray. BACK
WHAT MANNER
OF MAN IS THIS? - Chapter 17
"But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this?"
[Matthew 8:27].
"The
whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God
coming into their own."
[Romans 8:19, Phillips].
Down through the centuries there has sounded and reechoed the call, the
challenge-"I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge,
and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy
it: but I found none." [Ezekiel 22:30]. Also, the prophet Isaiah declared,
" And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor:
therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it
sustained him." [Isaiah 59:16].
God sought for a man, one that would be able to stand in the gap, to make
intercession for humanity, and found none, for as yet there were only those
in the "preparation process," and far from the state of perfection at that,
for the creative work of the Spirit is not yet complete. Indeed, they yet
awaited the manifestation of the PATTERN SON into whose image they
were to be conformed. And though each generation has produced those who
were, and are responding to the call, walking by faith, yet "these all,
having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should
not be made perfect." [Hebrews 11:39-40]. Therefore it was necessary for
God to EXTEND HIS OWN ARM, to further project Himself into
His creation, and condescending to men of low estate, HE came forth as
a man, to redeem us, and to reveal the image of that which we are to become.
(Original Editor's Note: The PATTERN SON was the Word and God's
purpose was established prior to the beginning of time. As we embrace the
verse John 3:16, "GOD SO LOVED......" His purpose is partially seen in
the fact that "God has all men penned together in the prison of disobedience,
that He may have mercy upon them all." (Romans 11:32. JB Phillips Translation).
He purposed confusion and chaos for His creation that they might learn;
however, as undeniable as it may be, the prison of disobedience, His mercy,
His Love, were much more evident as God took responsibility for His creation
in, "It was in Him (Christ Jesus) that the full nature of God chose to
live (One in Spirit-in Union), and through Him God planned to RECONCILE
to His own person everything on earth and everything in Heaven, making
peace by virtue of Christ's death on the cross." (Colossae 1:20). God purposed
and His purpose was guided by and through His LOVE; there was nothing left
out, no change, not one of His creation slipping through some crack, ALL
is returned to God. End of Note.).
God has called out a people, Israel, to be His peculiar treasure, and through
whom He would bring salvation and blessing to all mankind. But Israel was
not able to bear the load of such a calling, they were too weak and helpless,
having become the servants of flesh and sin. Even the law, which was added
because of their transgression, could not fully keep them in check. And
in due time many of them forsook the law altogether, and became known as
"the Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh
made by hands." [Ephesians 2:11]. And so it was, that instead of having
a united people through whom He could work, God had a very divided people,
some zealously keeping the law, with all of its flesh works, and others
who left off its practices completely. In either case there was very little
that He could use. The self-righteous law-keepers were of no value to His
Spiritual Kingdom, and certainly those who had cast off all restraint were
no better. Therefore it was necessary for God to come forth HIMSELF,
to bring salvation, and to lay the foundation for a whole new creation.
"For to make in HIMSELF of of the two ONE NEW MAN." [Ephesians 2:15].
In Genesis 1:26 we read, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness: and let them have dominion..." It can be safely said that
this is a prophetic account of God's purpose. Then the second chapter of
Genesis begins to give the historical account of the process to MAKE
A MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE. It begins with the image of the earthy, but
that is only part of the process for we must also "bear the image of the
heavenly." [1 Corinthians 15:49].
Thus, Jesus Christ came forth, not only to
bear the image of the earthy, to be a partaker of flesh and blood, but
also to reveal the image of the heavenly. The preview glimpse of the out-shining
of His glory on the mount of Transfiguration, plus the glorious manifestation
of the power of resurrection, give us a brief insight into that of which
we are to be partakers. The first Adam was not the full expression of the
"image and likeness" of God, but we read of our Lord as "being the brightness
of His glory, and the express image of His person." [Hebrews 1:3], for
HE IS "the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of
God." [Revelation 3:14]. Yes, the MAN CHRIST JESUS is the firstborn of
this whole new creation species, HE is the first manifestation of the COMPLETED
PROCESS, bearing both the image of the earthy, and then of the heavenly.
God
sought for a man, one to use in bringing forth salvation, and because we
were "in bondage under the elements of the world:--God sent forth HIS SON,
made of a woman, made under the law, TO REDEEM them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." [Galatians 4:3-5]. REDEMPTION
IS THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CREATIVE ACTIVITY OF GOD, to
bring us forth in the full image of the heavenly, and into the placing
of us as HIS SONS. He cannot place us as His sons if we only bear the image
of the earthy, if we are only partakers of the first part of His creative
work. But we have come "to this settled and firm persuasion concerning
this very thing, namely, that HE who began in you a work which is good
will bring it to a successful conclusion right up to the day of Christ
Jesus." [Philippians 1:6, Wuest]. And when HE has brought forth the "work
of His hands," a people fully conformed to His image, then shall HE place
them as His sons, and through them begin to draw all men unto Himself.
And so we have the question before us, What manner of man is this? As we
noted in the previous chapter, it is BY MAN ALSO that righteousness
shall be established upon the earth, and what a MAN! This is a man
that has yielded to the full processing of God, passing through every part
of the discipline and training necessary, "so that the man of God may be
complete and proficient, well-fitted and thoroughly equipped for every
good work." [2 Timothy 3:17, Amplified].
Who
can comprehend what it will mean to be so fully equipped with the fulness
of God, that we shall be equal to every situation? A man that need not
turn aside from any need, but will be able to impart that life and peace
which is so desperately needed. GOD SHALL HAVE JUST SUCH A MAN IN THE EARTH,
for He is preparing a many-membered- company of sons, of whom Jesus is
the firstborn.
It is true, the scope of the vision staggers the very imagination,
for while we can look unto Jesus, and see in Him THAT MAN whom God
desires, yet when we look at ourselves, beholding the weakness of our flesh,
and the vulnerableness of the natural man, the span between such height
and depth is too much for us. But we must realize, it is not "this image
of the earthy" that we are to look upon, nor expect to rise to the occasion
fully able to meet the need. In fact, it becomes absolutely necessary that
we become completely CHANGED, transformed, to partake of the heavenly,
i.e. to be born from above. And "without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness." [1 Timothy 3:16], for this being changed from glory to glory
is indeed a tremendous process, and a mystery which cannot be comprehended
by the natural mind. But we shall have "our outward expression changed
into the same image from one degree of glory to another according as this
change of expression proceeds from the Lord, the Spirit, this outward expression
coming from and being truly representative of our Lord."
[2 Corinthians 3:18, Wuest].
The
very fact that we speak of two realms of man, the earthy, and the heavenly,
makes it self-evident that we are yet in the transition process of leaving
the former behind, that we might become the reality of the second. Indeed,
it places us in this peculiar position of being caught between TWO SPHERES,
while as yet we are neither "here, nor there." How well-fitting is the
remark, then, what manner of man is this? Presently he is a stranger even
unto himself, for being stripped of the old, he can no longer be identified
with its realm and nature, and possessing but a small portion of the new,
there isn't hardly enough to identify him with its realm and victory. He
is indeed, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," and many "esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted," for it has "pleased the Lord
to bruise him." [Isaiah 53:2, 3,10]. BUT HE IS A MAN APPREHENDED BY
GOD, and when the Lord has completed His work within these vessels, it
shall redound to HIS glory and praise.
Paul described the duality of this state of being, under present transition,
when he wrote, "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."
[2 Corinthians 4:16]. Two men, an outward man, and an
inward man.
Someone once penned the following lines:
"Within this earthly temple there's a crowd,
There's one of us that's humble, one that's proud;
There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins,
And one who unrepentant sits and grins ;
There's one who loves his neighbour as himself,
And one who cares for naught but fame and self.
From much corroding care I shall be free,
If once I could determine WHICH IS ME"
What then is the operation of present purpose? "That you put off the former
conversation (Greek, manner of behaviour) the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind; and that you put on (be clothed with) the new man, which after God
is created in righteousness and true holiness." [Ephesians 4:22-24].
"For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found
naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might
be swallowed up of life. Now He that has wrought us for the selfsame thing
is God." [2 Corinthians 5:2-5]. When the world shall behold this change
complete in a firstfruits company, shall they not truly inquire, "What
manner of man is this?"
Yes, God is bringing forth HIS MAN, and how patiently HE
is moving within each apprehended individual, to complete the work He has
begun. The removal of the old, and the establishing of the new, has required
much skill and tenderness, yet His love has so encompassed the whole that
we rejoice to see His handiwork in the lives of His chosen. There shall
be a PERFECT MAN, which Paul defines as, "unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ." [Ephesians 4:13].
Jesus clearly taught, "those things which proceed out of the mouth come
forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts..." [Matthew 15:18-19]. And well has the prophet spoken,
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can
know it?" [Jeremiah 17:9]. Hence the cleansing process, and the intense
purification, until we can say with Christ, "the prince of this world comes,
and has nothing in me." [John 14:30]. Ah, what manner of man is this? One
in whom there is no guile, whose heart the Lord has cleansed so completely
that there is no part dark. Such is the degree of man that God is producing,
and all creation is on tiptoe, waiting to see the unveiling of such an
one. Now it is a very true word, that "A man can receive (take unto
himself) nothing, except it be given him from heaven." [John 3:27]. This
company which shall be revealed will not have come into their position
in God by the result of self effort and works of the flesh. This is the
in working of sovereign grace. In fact it is essential in the nature of
the case that every man who will receive of the fulness of God must first
be stripped of all his own identity and human resource, until like
Paul, we count "all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ."
[Philippians 3:8].
No amount of self-assertion will enable one to become this MAN whereof
we speak. "The way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks
to direct his steps." [Jeremiah 10:23]. It is not in our own self-proclamation,
declaring that we are this, or that, for "not he that commends himself
is approved, but whom the Lord commends." [2 Corinthians 10:18].
In his writings, Paul points out that "MAN...is the image and glory
of God." [1 Corinthians 11:7]. This alone makes it self-evident that
to be THE GLORY OF GOD, we must needs be stripped of our own glory,
for "the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh."
[Galatians 5:17]. There is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness,
nor communion between light and darkness. But as we yield to the processing
of the holy Spirit, He will separate us from the glory of the flesh, and
unite us into one Spirit with God. "And now, O Father, glorify You me with
Your own self with the glory which I had with You before the world was.--The
glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as
we are one." [John 17:5, 22].
But let the process continue, let everything be shaken that can be shaken.
God
shall accomplish what He has purposed, and it shall redound to His glory.
"I WILL MAKE A MAN more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden
wedge of Ophir." [Isaiah 13:12]. It has taken much wilderness training
and discipline, "to prove you, to humble you, to know what was in your
heart, whether you would keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled you,
and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not,
neither did your fathers know; that He might make you know that man does
not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth
of the Lord does man live." [Deuteronomy 8:2-3].
"Your words were found, and I did eat them: and Your word was unto me the
joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Your name, O Lord of
hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone
because of Your hand ..." [Jeremiah 15:16-17].
Yes, surely here we can ask again, what manner of man is this? One who
shall live by every Word that proceeds from the Lord. They esteem the words
of His mouth more than their necessary food. Let others engage in the speech
of this world, idle talk that has no depth, God's apprehended ones are
more interested in "hearing what the Spirit says unto the called out."
[Revelation 3:6]. Thus, the more you live BY HIS WORD, the more
you will sit alone, because of His hand upon you, for your life is not
of this world, but of another realm.
Strange enough, even the so-called "church world" has not understood who
these are that dare to fully live by the Word of God. And when the natural
man would ask of them, What manner of man is this? They are quick to answer,
These are mystics, they are dreamers, they are deep ones which are simply
to be tolerated until we can decide what to do with them, for they are
misfits in our organizations. Ah, let them cast their accusations and shaming
remarks, the time shall come when, we "will speak of Your testimonies also
before kings, and will not be ashamed." [Psalm 119:46], for again it shall
be said, "never man spoke like this man," [John 7:46], as the word of truth
flows from the lips of God's anointed ones.
WHAT
A MAN! A christed company, anointed with the fulness of the same spirit
which dwells in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is "the anointing which you
have received of Him abiding in you, and you need not that any man teach
you: but as the same anointing teachs you of all things, and is truth,
and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him.
[1 John 2:27].
"You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows."
[Hebrews 1:9]. When the kings of this earth have failed, and cry for help,
it shall be said again, "THERE IS A MAN in your kingdom in whom is the
spirit of the holy gods...light and understanding and wisdom, like the
wisdom of the gods, is found in him..." [Daniel 5:11].
We might well speak of total redemption, for the promise of God is sure.
And we might well speak of The Christ who is our Redeemer, for HE is the
Saviour of ALL MEN. But it is equally true that He is bringing forth a
whole first fruits company of this NEW CREATION MAN, and they shall be
His instruments of righteousness, to move throughout the earth to overthrow
the kingdoms of this world, and to subdue all unto Christ. Of them it is
written, "ONE MAN of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God,
it is He that fights for you, as He has promised you." [Joshua 23:10].
"How should one chase a thousand, and two put then thousand to flight,
except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up." [Deuteronomy
32:30-31]. How beautifully this is portrayed in the life of Christ, how
that men could not stand before Him, when Jesus had declared Himself, saying
"I
AM HE." " As soon then as He had said unto them, I am He, they went
backward, and fell to the ground." [John 18:6]. Now let the question be
raised, What manner of man is this? A man, by the very declaration of his
presence, causes others to fall backward to the ground. When the fulness
of the Spirit dwells in the NEW CREATION MAN, as it dwelt in The Christ,
we shall begin to see the enemy fall before the truth. We have shuddered
in fear when we felt the presence of the adversary, but this is not God's
plan. Nay, rather, one man shall put a thousand to flight!
The day yet lies before us, as the SONS OF GOD
COME FORTH, when the enemy, coming into our land, shall be met by these
men of God, and at their spoken word, the enemy shall fall backward, conquered.
The path of the aggressor will be stopped, and his oaths and blasphemy
will be silenced. An out-stretched hand, a piercing glance a spoken word
by the sons of God, and who shall stand before them? What manner of man
is this?
"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in
judgment. AND A MAN shall be as an hiding place from the wind..." [Isaiah
32:1-2]. And a man, God's man! When the mountains tremble, and the earth
quakes, when the sea and waves roar, and chaos seems to be on every hand,
when the inhabitants of the nation cry out for a place of security, then
shall God unveil HIS SONS, and a man shall be as a hiding place. The vision
shall not go unanswered, it shall not be doomed to frustration. Though
at present we seem to be so weak and helpless to aid another, for it is
the time of our stripping and nothingness, yet at the appointed time, HE
that shall come will come, and when we see HIM, we shall be like Him, for
we shall see Him as He is.
It was under the limitations of "the earnest of our inheritance" when "they
brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches,
that at the least THE SHADOW of Peter passing by might overshadow some
of them." [Acts 5:15]. Now, when the full arrangement of the New Testament,
and the full reality of the new man, what will it be when AS A SHADOW
OF GREAT ROCK IN A WEARY LAND, God's sons stand forth to impart of
His life to the needy? Do you suppose someone will ask in that day, What
manner of man is this? One thing is certain, those so endued with the
fulness of God will not take the glory to themselves, but shall glorify
God, and draw men unto HIM.
Nor will this "man of God" minister condemnation to those in need, but
rather they will bring forth life, and new faith in God. Consider the illustration
found in 1 Kings 17. Elijah was with the widow and her son, at Zarephath,
sustained by a barrel of meal, and a cruse of oil that would not fail.
"It came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress
of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no
breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with you,
O man of God? Are you come unto me to call my sin to remembrance,
and to slay my son." [verses 17-18].
Was it for condemnation unto death, that Elijah was there? NO! "NOT
IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES UNTO THEM..."
[2 Corinthians 5:19]. So Elijah took her son, and went
out alone to pray. God revived the child, and Elijah took him again to
his mother, and said, "See, your son lives. And the woman said to Elijah,
Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the
Lord in your mouth is truth."
No condemnation, no calling sin to remembrance, but bringing forth life
where death has reigned. What manner of man is this? These are they whom
God has chosen and prepared to help in the process of the restoration of
all things, that His purpose might be fulfilled, and the plan of the ages
complete. No wonder all creation is on tiptoe, waiting to see the wonderful
sight of the sons of God coming into their own. For in this NEW MAN company
lies the hope of all creation. THE SAVIOUR revealed through these who are
conformed to His image, to become saviours in Him, to bring life, light,
and victory to the earth.
ANEW CREATION MAN
O, who art thou? this question raised, Can leave thee
startled, puzzled, dazed.
A son of earth, in mortal form, A pilgrim wandering in
the storm.
What now is thy identity? For be thou bondman, or yet
free?
Of noble fame, of rich man's birth? Or yet of one of
little worth ?
All that I was I now am not, The former realm I have
forgot.
But stripped of all the flesh's pride, I find my name
is set aside.
Nought to declare, nor make its boast, But numbered with
God's hidden host.
From day to day I must decrease, And wait the time of
His release.
A new life I shall have in Christ, Fruition of this lonely
tryst.
For he who with the Christ has died, Shall be in Him
identified.
Who art thou? ah, then none need ask, When God shall
all His sons unmask.
God shall declare them for His own, Identify them with
His throne. BACK
TILL ALL MEN
KNOW - Chapter 18
"And this is the age-abiding life, that they get to know
You the only real God, and Him whom You did send, Jesus Christ." [John
17:3 Rotherham].
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." [Psalm 24:1]. Praise
God! ALL THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, not just a twig or two, not just a mountain
or two, but all of it, the very fulness thereof, "the world, and they that
dwell therein." We are HIS whether we know it or not, we are His whether
we like it or not, whether we desire to serve Him, or whether we are presently
in rebellion to His will. Not always, however, shall man be in opposition
to his Creator, for after all present travail is ended, and man has run
his course of self-will and rebellion, there shall be an inflow of the
love of God into every heart, and this divine love shall draw every creature
back to his Creator, to serve Him with a whole heart, and to worship before
Him in complete obedience to His will.
"God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through Him might be saved." [John 3:17]. His was not a ministry
unto condemnation, but into salvation. (And let this thought be inserted
here. "As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you." [John 20:21].
We are sent in the same way that He was sent not to condemn, but to save.
Therefore,
if we assume a ministry of condemnation, and are constantly pointing the
finger at another to condemn him, the question remains, who sent us? Not
the Father, for He never sent His Son, nor His sons, into the world to
condemn, but to bring salvation).
"We
have seen and do testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour
of the world." [1 John 4:14].
"Who will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come into the knowledge of the
truth." [1 Timothy 2:4].
These beautiful scriptures speak of the SAVIOUR OF ALL THE WORLD, of
how He came to bring life to all mankind, to have all men to be saved,
and come into the knowledge of the truth. The word "knowledge" used
here is the Greek word "epignosis" meaning FULL KNOWLEDGE. Not just that
amount of limited knowledge gained by experience, but also that which is
received by revelation to make it full knowledge, that which the holy Spirit
imparts, for "the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God." [1
Corinthians 2:11], and it takes the Spirit of God to give us that revelation
which brings us into full knowledge.
What has this to do with the salvation of all men? Simply that the will
of God which ultimately shall be brought to the full, is that every man
will receive a Spirit-revelation-knowledge of that salvation. Since it
requires the holy Spirit to impart such knowledge, praise God for the promise,
"It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit UPON ALL
FLESH."
[Joel 2:28]. Thus, "all flesh shall see the salvation
of the Lord." [Luke 3:6]. For this is the purpose of God to be wrought
out for all of His creation, to be manifested in due time.
But first things must come first. One of the problems of our growing up
process is that we never see far enough ahead, so that we always want to
put last things first. Man would try to run ahead and lay hold of some
climax victory without enduring all of the process which leads up to that
hour. There is that in man which desires "to escape" if possible all the
laborious climbing up the mountain, and he would skip from peak to peak
if possible. But God moves with a divine order and purpose, which is progressively
revealed and progressively fulfilled.
One man of God has stated, "All the purpose of God is wrapped up in the
revelation of that purpose. Therefore the enemy would concentrate all of
his warfare to make sure that revelation does not come through, and so
seek to hinder God's purpose." Yes, this is the life of the ages, that
we all might KNOW HIM, our Saviour, and in whatever measure the
enemy is allowed to keep us momentarily from knowing, he has kept us from
entering into a fuller measure of the NEW LIFE which is set before
us in Christ.
Thank God, HE has a way of demolishing all hindrances. But we would pity
those who would try to solidify and categorize everything into a few pet
doctrines, and allow such doctrines to become a fence to bind them in,
and keep them from moving onward into new revelation. There is no stopping
place this side of "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
[Ephesians 4:13].
Therefore, if first things are first, then we come to the very center of
the Alpha of our salvation, Jesus Christ, for first came THE HEAD,
the Foremost One of all things, "that in all things HE might have the pre-eminence."
[Colossians 1:18].
Praise God! There is SALVATION when Jesus Christ has the pre-eminence.
According to the progressive development of HIS in working in our life,
in the measure He has pre-eminence within, in that measure we will go forward
in our deepening experience.
Now--while Christ is to be the First and Foremost One, He is not the only
One to be revealed in glory and perfection, for He is bringing a whole
company forth who shall be conformed to His image, and be possessors of
His life. This is not something self-contained in just His own being, but
this LIFE is freely given, for "the Son of man came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom FOR MANY."
[Matthew 20:28].
"For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. For both HE that sanctifies and they who are
sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them
brethren." [Hebrews 2:10-11].
Yes, a company of sons, His many brethren, the
firstfruits of salvation, for "God at the first did visit the nations to
take out of them a people for His name." [Acts 15:14]. Around the world,
in every region and country, the Spirit is sovereignly drawing out a people,
a first fruits company--a token of all the harvest that is yet to come
when all nations shall bow before Him, and proclaim Him Lord of all. Yet
we also understand that in the economy of God, according to His purpose,
it will be "every man in his own order." [1 Cor. 15:23]. Rank after rank,
division after division, cycle after cycle, ever reaching out in the ages
to come in greater encompassing measures, the Spirit of God shall gather
them in.
"Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world
be cast out." [John 12:31]. Jesus spoke this as He was approaching the
cross. In that hour when He was going to face the adversary head--on, He
would meet death squarely, and He would conquer death, hell, and the grave.
He was going to take the keys of death and hell, make a triumph over them,
and rise up in victory.
But what about this statement, "now is the judgment of this world?" For
in the very same chapter, just a few verses farther on, we read, "I came
not to judge the world, but to save the world." [verse 47]. How do we blend
these two together without a contradiction?
In that hour the Spirit of God was moving through our Lord Jesus Christ
to pass sentence upon the entire bestial system that was in operation in
mankind. It was a sentence against "the spirit" that motivated man's wayward
course. It was not an hour for dealing with every individual in the earth,
but He was dealing with the "prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now works in the children of disobedience." [Ephesians 2:2]. Thus
it was the "prince of this world" that was being dealt with, and utterly
cast out.
Positionally, when He dealt with this "spirit" which motivated man into
rebellion, He also dealt with the entire world. But experimentally, it
is taking all these ages to bring every man in his own order to a knowledge
of salvation. What HE did in that hour on the cross is now being executed
through all these following ages and eras of time that we are passing through.
Therefore we read, "When HE (that is, the Spirit of Truth) is come,
HE will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.--Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." [John 16:8 &
11].
The "spirit" behind the "mystery of iniquity" has been dealt with. It was
judged at Calvary, sentence was passed upon it, and its end was decreed.
And now the blessed holy Spirit is working individually and sovereignly
in His little flock. One by one He (God through His holy Spirit) draws
us to Christ. The world-at-large is not yet caught up in this deeper process,
to be purged and purified. But soon, praise God, there is to unfold anew
ministration in the purpose of God, which will reach out in new ways to
establish His righteousness in the earth.
History has recorded in the past where God has dealt with individuals,
but it also records those times when God dealt with a whole nation at one
time. We have known the grace of God reaching into the individual life
of a man, to turn his steps about, and begin that process of purification
which would unite him with his God. One here, one there, taking them "one
of a city, and two of a family" [Jeremiah 3:14], that He might bring them
to Zion, into His fulness. But soon we shall see God reach out and begin
to deal with whole families, and with whole areas, yes, and even with whole
nations--to accomplish His purpose, and to prepare the way for His
kingdom to be established upon the earth.
There is a marvelous progression in the 17th chapter of John, so we shall
note some of the verses:
Verse 3, "This is age-abiding life, that they might know
You..." Then observe how we come into this knowledge.
Verse 6, "I have manifested Your name unto the men which
You gave Me OUT OF THE WORLD."
When
He said, "that they might know..." He did not say all the world at once,
but He begins to minister first to those which were given Him
OUT
OF THE WORLD. He called His twelve disciples, and later He sent
forth seventy and then betimes He even taught a whole multitude on a hillside,
but it was never a tremendous crowd, as compared to all the world. But
specifically He imparted of His life to the apprehended ones which were
drawn "out of the world" unto Himself.
Verse 8, "I have given unto them the words which You
gave Me; and they have received, and have known surely that I came
out from You, and they have believed that You did send Me." Thank
God, He drew OUT OF THE WORLD a people, they received His word-and
THEY
KNOW that God did send forth His Son to be their Saviour. They know
in Whom they have believed. Are we among those whom He has drawn out? Have
we received, and believed the Word? This is the company with whom
HE is presently working to bring them to perfection, into the fulness
of His life.
Verse 9, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world,
but for them which You have given Me: for they are Yours."
Verse 15, "I pray not that You should take them out of
the world, but that You should keep them from the evil."
Strange enough, man is always trying to "get out" of everything, but Jesus
did not pray for that--that we should be taken out of the world. He never
asked for a "rapture" for His saints, but that we would be kept from the
evil that is in this world's system, and bring us through it all
victoriously. This is LIFE--that you might KNOW-- and if you know
in Whom you have believed, know that He is in complete control of all of
your situations, then you can come through them triumphantly.
This little flock, this remnant is not to be removed, taken out of the
world, but kept from the evil.
Already "in spirit" they are out of this world, they are not a part of
it, they are not controlled by its spirit, they do not operate on its nervous
energy. As far as this world is concerned, "You are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God." [1 Colossians 3:3]. But physically
we remain in this world, to endure its travail and to be exercised therein,
while we learn to set our affections (our mind) on things above. To be
IN the world, but not of the world, and to be kept from all the evil
thereof.
Verse 17, "Sanctify them through Your truth, Your word
is truth.." SET THEM APART THROUGH YOUR TRUTH. It is the receiving
of His Word line upon line that has a tremendous sanctifying influence
upon the lives of men. Now keep in mind, presently we do not have reference
to all the world at large, but we are speaking of a company whom
He is drawing out of the world, to give them His Word, to manifest
His name unto them-His character, His nature, all the essence
of Himself, that He might receive them into one with Himself. All of this
process of taking a people out of the nations, His election of grace, is
to work in them a tremendous sanctification. For their sakes He also
is SET APART, and therefore "both He that sanctifies and they
who are sanctified ARE ALL OF ONE: for which cause He is not
ashamed to call them brethren." No wonder He is not ashamed to call them
brethren, they are drawn out of the systems of this world, they have
received and believed His Word, and are fully set apart thereby,
to become
ONE IN HIM.
Verse 21, "That they all may be one; as You, Father,
are In Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us, THAT
THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE that You have sent me."
Why has all this process been going on in a remnant? Taking them out of
the world, sanctifying them, "transforming them, making them one in God?
That, or, for this reason, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE." What an
expanse of vision. Earlier in His prayer Jesus said, "I pray not for the
world. .." for then all attention was concentrated on the perfecting of
His firstfruits, bringing them into oneness with Himself. But now, as this
is accomplished, we begin to see the purpose for it all, that the world
may behold the results of salvation's working in the remnant, and believe.
Believing is a process which leads us into a new realm. If we believe
into Christ, it leads us into the whole christed (anointed) realm. When
the world begins to see the manifestation of restoration, and believes,
it will lead them into its blessing.
We still have "this treasure in earthen vessels" [2 Corinthians 4:7], and
the Christ-life within is referred to as "the hidden man of the heart."
[1 Peter 3:4]. It is not yet made visible what we shall be, and therefore
the world cannot see any thing upon which to base their believing. But
as God completes His work in His firstfruits, and then removes the veil--changes
this vile body and fashions it anew like unto His glorious body, then shall
the world see a manifestation of full redemption.
As long as one religious group is warring against another, and there are
these schisms or divisions, with hatred and envy and jealously every where,
the world sees this, and says, "There is no love here," and because they
have enough problems of their own, they turn away from all of this religious
confusion. But, when they shall finally see one in whom the grace of God
has worked, bringing to perfection in every part, they will begin to believe.
"By this shall ALL MEN KNOW (it turns their believing into knowledge)
that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another ." [John 13:35].
Herein is a tremendous test of our development into maturity in Christ--TO
LOVE. And we also read, "LOVE-thinks no evil." [1 Corinthians
13:5] .The Spirit is indeed in working of His nature, until those who are
called by His name shall manifest this love, and no more impute sin to
any man's account, put shall demonstrate that "love covers a multitude
of sin."
"But THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW that I love the Father; and as the Father
gave me commandment, even so I do." [John 14:31].
Herein is another manifestation upon which the world can come to knowledge-as
they behold OUR OBEDIENCE to His commands, it will be a proof that
we love Him. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments."
[1 John 5:3]. Obedience is a beautiful manifestation of love.
This COMPOSITE BODY OF SONS, His many membered brethren company, will
be a manifestation--a living witness and example for all to see. God will
unveil them, and say to the world, "See this people, whom I have formed
for Myself, they are the first fruits of redemption. What I have done in
them, I will also do for every man." The world shall see, and begin to
believe, and start their own journey homeward (return) toward their Creator,
rank upon rank, every man in his own order.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; AND ALL NATIONS SHALL FLOW UNTO IT. And many people
shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we
will walk in His paths." [Isaiah 2:2-3].
"And this good news of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness to all nations." [Matthew 24:14].
There are those blinded souls who seem to think that this has already been
fulfilled, that because of the radio, television, and man's many programs,
they think that the Gospel has just about been given out every where. Oh,
no! Listen, beloved friend, it must not be just "of the letter, but of
the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." [2 Corinthians
3:6]. Man's creed and tradition does not make good news, and just broadcasting
the "letter of the Word" will not begin to draw men unto Christ. Not until
GOD'S MESSENGERS, filled with the fulness of His Spirit, carry the good
news to all nations, will this be completely fulfilled. Good news, fully
revealed and manifested in His perfected sons.
The Samaritan woman met the Master at the well, she found Him to be the
very Source of the Fountain of living water. He ministered to her need,
changed her life, and she went back to report to the men of the city that
she had met "THE CHRIST." There was something so changed in the
woman, that as she gave her testimony, "many of the Samaritans of that
city believed on Him for the sayings of the woman." [John 4:39]. And so
they came and besought Jesus that He would come and tarry with them, which
He did for two days." And many more believed because of His own word; and
said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of your sayings: for we
have heard ourselves, AND KNOW that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour
of the world." [verses 41-42] .
They began to believe when they saw what happened to the woman, and heard
her testimony, but this believing led them to Him, and then receiving from
Him, it says they came into a clear KNOWLEDGE, they knew that
HE was the Saviour OF THE WORLD.
All the world stands in dire need for a revelation that HE IS THEIR SAVIOUR,
but not until the Spirit is poured out upon all men, to quicken the "letter
of the Word" which has been sown, will we see truth spring forth out of
the earth, and the real harvest be brought forth. Praise God, He has promised,
"It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My
Spirit upon all flesh." [Acts 2:17].
"ALL SHALL KNOW ME, from the least to the greatest." [Hebrews 8:11].
This word "know" is the Greek word "oida" meaning absolute knowledge, therefore
the Wuest Expanded translation gives, " ALL SHALL KNOW ME IN AN ABSOLUTE
WAY, from the least to the greatest of them."
The very magnitude of redemption is too great for us, we scarce can
take it in. Yet our heart thrills to the knowledge that all men shall know
Him, and it is to this end that we pour out our lives to the Lord. "HIM
we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing
everyone in all wisdom, in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes
of God, that we may PRESENT EVERY PERSON mature-full-grown, fully initiated,
complete and perfect-in Christ, the Anointed One." [Colossians 1:28, Amplified].
TILL ALL MEN KNOW
The time of the harvest, the end of the age, Climaxing
the order of history's page.
The cycles have passed in meticulous rhyme, And measured
their purpose to move in God's time.
When seed that was planted has ripened, mature, With
some for destruction, and some to endure.
So summon the nations and can up their kin, The hour
long foretold is now to begin.
Awake the sleepers and gather them round, Prepare ye
the people, the trumpets will sound.
The harvest is ripe and the fats overflow, The sickle
is sharpened and furbished to glow.
To gather the tares, an the things that offend, Take
out of the kingdom each thorn that would rend.
And bind into bundles that all might be burned, Decision's
deep valley is now overturned.
To thresh and to shake till the answer is plain, The
plumb line dividing the tares from the grain.
Then into the garner to gather the wheat, The called
in Christ Jesus, in Him made complete.
This firstfruits of harvest is but for a sign, Revealing
God's purpose of greater design.
Till an men shall know Him, creation restored, All nations
to worship-proclaiming Him Lord. BACK
TO THE UTTERMOST
- Chapter 19
"The Lord swore and will not repent, You are a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue
by reason of death: but this man, because he continues ever, has an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them."
[Hebrews 7:21-25].
The glory and extent of salvation rests in the ability of the Saviour.
A changing priesthood is sure to have its limitations, but an UNCHANGEABLE
priesthood can proceed to minister until fulness is reached in every part.
We are well acquainted with the "in part" ministries, as God anoints men
to fulfill a certain mission, and it grows and expands and many are blessed.
But when he dies, while others might try to carry on his vision, it is
never the same again. For one thing, every generation needs a NEW VISION,
and not a carry-over of the old. But also, that particular anointing
and call given to a man is a ministry that is peculiarly his, and when
he dies, it also ceases to function. A changing priesthood, because
death brings a cessation of their activity. But when there comes an unchangeable
priesthood, with the power of an endless life, the ministry can proceed
through the ages until a full victory is consummated.
Jesus
Christ is our great High Priest after this order of Melchizedek, and because
HE EVER LIVES, and changes not, He shall reign until all enemies are
subdued under His feet. And while it is not the major point of our
thought in this chapter, we also behold the vision of becoming ONE IN
HIM, to share in this priesthood, and when we have this same AGE-ABIDING
life, we shall see a ministry unfold before us which leads into perfection,
into completion. Our task will not be left undone, but we shall have the
ages before us to carry it through to victory, and to
HIS praise.
This phrase, "He
is able also to save them to the uttermost," is given by Phillips as "He
can save fully and completely."
Young's Literal, "He is able to save to the very end." Amplified, "He is
able to save to the uttermost-- completely, perfectly, finally and for
all time and eternity."
The Greek words used here are most interesting, "eis to panteles," or
INTO THE ALWAYS. It is only used twice in the New Testament, here,
and one other time, which, while being in the negative sense, we shall
examine anyway, for it helps to bear out the strength and meaning of the
word. "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity
eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up."
IN
NO WISE could she lift up, it was a complete bondage, not a single
avenue of escape, nor a moment of respite. Always it was "bowed down,"
to the uttermost, always. UNTIL Jesus came and brought liberation,
and then the negative had to give way to the positive, and it was His salvation
which was then to the uttermost. Praise God, what is to man an unchangeable
situation, and as far as the natural is concerned will remain that way
always, such a state is not impossible to God. The only permanent, and
unchangeable state which is truly eternal, is HIS SALVATION.
All sin and evil shall end, but His life and righteousness shall continue
always.
Again we remind ourselves of the scripture, "For the creature was made
subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected
the same in hope." [Romans 8:20]. The completeness is clear, the
coverage is ALL MEN. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God." [Romans 3 :23]. "And so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned. Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them
that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression." [Romans
5:12,14]. "The scripture has concluded all under sin." [Galatians 3:22].
"For GOD has concluded (shut up) them all in unbelief, that He might have
mercy upon all." [Romans 11:32].
With such an array of scripture, it is evident that the coverage of sin
was, and is complete, and in no wise could, or can creation lift itself
up again. Bondage to vanity was a seemingly endless state.
Even the giving of the LAW could not produce the LIFE and POWER
which could remedy the situation. "For if there had been a law given which
could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law."
[Galatians 3:21]. All of the commands, "This do, and you shall live,"
were ineffectual, because the natural man was bowed down and could in no
wise lift himself up. One cannot pick themselves up by their own bootstraps.
BUT, "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
GOD sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin
(being a sacrifice for sin) condemned sin in the flesh." [Romans 8:3].
It required a "divine intervention" in the state of affairs. There must
needs be the impartation of a higher power, a more abundant life, to give
strength, help, and victory. And GOD sent His own Son to be
that Saviour.
"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin has reigned
unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto age-abiding
life by Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 5:20-21].
There is a POSITIVE operation of God which swallows up all of the
intermediate, present state of negation. The abounding of sin is most evident,
and for thousands of years appeared to be a condition out of which creation
could not lift itself. Then Christ appeared, bringing life and incorruption
to light through the Gospel, and released the positive power of His life
to restore-- thus,"IN CHRIST shall all be made alive."
[1 Corinthians 15:22].
The coverage of this REDEMPTION is very complete, for we read, "And
having made peace through the blood of His cross, BY HIM to reconcile all
things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether things in earth, or things
in heaven." [Colossians 1:20].
Salvation
covers ALL MEN, in purpose, in provision, and ultimate possession.
His is an unchangeable, continuing priesthood, therefore salvation
is to
the uttermost, and its completion is assured, secure.
The thought is two-fold: 1) Its scope is universal, to be ALL IN ALL.
For Christ shall reign until He has put all enemies under His feet, and
then will He deliver up the kingdom to the Father, "that God may be
all in all." [1 Corinthians 15:28].
2) Its individual application is to the full, until each
vessel is brought to FULL CAPACITY, and thus satisfied and content.
It is self-evident that if there be one part missing in an individual,
there would still be the restlessness of desire seeking for fulfillment,
and there would not be peace in its full measure. It is significant that
the Hebrew word "shalom" which is given as PEACE, is also given
for COMPLETENESS. There is no true, lasting peace without completeness.
Christ is declared to be the "Prince of peace," [Isaiah 9:6] for He is
totally complete. "In HIM all fullness is pleased to dwell." [Colossians
1:19. Interlinear]. "For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
[Colossians 2:9]. Because of His completeness and perfection, He is the
embodiment of peace, and able to minister out of that fulness to us who
are in need.
Then Paul's writings made it clear that we are to have such a UNION
WITH CHRIST that we also might be partakers of this fulness, and thus
be fully satisfied. "And through union with Him you too are filled with
it." [Colossians 2:10, Williams]. God shall fulfill the desires and
longings of all creation until every creature has been brought into contentment.
"Day by day Your Spirit leads, ever onward into
You,
Till at last I'll find contentment in Your pure reality."
Some would ask the question: will every body be brought to the same position
of sonship, etc. The answer is no! Positions vary according to the
plan and purpose of God for each individual. Using the allegory of the
physical body, Paul asks, "If the whole body were an eye, where were the
hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now has
God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased Him."
[1 Corinthians 12:17-18].
And again, "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars: for one star differs from another star
in glory. SO ALSO IS THE RESURRECTION of the dead." [1 Corinthians
15:41-42].
But the point is, whatever the capacity of the created being, God will
bring it to full capacity so that there is no part lacking, and in this
satisfaction it will redound to the glory of God. Restoration is
bringing everything to its fullest potential and purpose for which it was
created, and then to remain in that state of completeness, INTO THE
ALWAYS. But there is no competition nor envying of positions,
when every creature is swallowed up into divine fulness, they could receive
no more. Furthermore, positions are relative, and they deal with God's
operations through the ages, as we are fitted into our place in Him, to
fulfill our callings, but when the whole purpose of the ages is complete,
and God is EVERY THING IN EVERY BODY, perfect harmony and glory
shall fill the universe.