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,