DESCENDING
Charles Remmington
Paul the writer to the Ephesians is speaking here of the Lord Jesus, the One who has descended – descending, Paul could say here, to the lower parts of the earth. He could also speak of Him as the One who has ascended, One who has ascended up above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.
I desire this afternoon to speak a little as to what descends from heaven. As we read the scriptures I think we can see that the greatest descending of all was the descent of the Lord Jesus as coming down to this scene in which we are. How beautifully Mr. Darby put it in his hymn with which we began:
We see thee, Lord of glory,
Descending from above,
And learn the wondrous story
Of God come down in love.
O love, all thought surpassing!
That Thou shouldst with us be,
Nor yet in triumph passing,
But human infancy! (Hymn 188)
I would like to pause for a second and consider this. The One who was so great, so glorious, on an equality with God, should be found here, as Mr. Darby puts it ‘in human infancy’. As I have been considering what has descended from heaven, I would desire to draw upon other scriptures to illustrate what I have in mind. What descends out of heaven, as I see it, is what is gentle and what is feeling, and what is of benefit to mankind. Think of the benefit of what has come about from the descending of the Lord Jesus to be here in fashion as a man, taking His place as a man, as a humble servant.
The contrast is that which falls out of heaven. You can read in the scriptures that which falls out of heaven. One would delight just to make the contrast with that. Think of the way in which Isaiah speaks of that. “How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer”, Isa 14: 12. There was one aspiring to be as great as God and Isaiah could see him fallen from heaven. “How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer”. Think of the activity of sin, dear brethren! The activity of Satan. How there was sin in the universe before there was sin in the world. Think of how Satan could fall. We can see from Revelation too, the sign of the seventh seal being opened (see Rev 9: 1). Remember those seals in Revelation and the judgment that falls upon the earth. You get the seventh seal and the fifth angel sounded his trumpet. John was able to see a star fallen to the earth, and locusts came forth out of the pit. Think of that which is spiritual but satanic in character, that which has fallen to the ground. I draw upon these things to make the contrast between what is fallen and what has descended. Think of the activity this afternoon, we say sadly, the activity of this scorpion-like character, the locusts. The seventh seal was opened and then the awful judgment that fell upon this earth. There have been others before. These judgments are perhaps not so far away from us. They are nearer than perhaps we realise, and then those locusts with a sting of a scorpion will be let loose upon the earth tormenting men so that they sought death but could not find it.
You might wonder why I am saying these things but think of the activity of Satan, the activity of the devil. Let me tell you, his activity is very real. How many persons go down certain routes or channels and they suddenly find, to use an expression, that there is a sting in the tail. It is a scorpion character of the work of the devil. You might say, well where do you see it? You see it on every hand. You see it in the colleges, the schools, the universities, in the homes through various means. What we will say this afternoon perhaps to the older persons is, pray for the children, pray for those that are younger. The activity of such a one as I am speaking of as having fallen out of heaven is everywhere. Pray for them, pray for the children of the saints certainly but pray for the children of families of people all around. They need our prayers. They are subject to influences that are terrible, that are of the scorpion character, as of the devil in essence. He is very busy. But one would desire just to leave that, for his end is surely a terrible end. Think of the way in which that one I am speaking of, Satan himself, will be taken and will be bound. He will be bound for a thousand years. But at the end of that time he will be loosed, just for a little time. It is almost as it were just to test his credentials again that he will be let loose. And he will go out through the nations and deceive the nations again. And what will his end be? He will be cast into the lake of fire and then he will be there, with the beast and the false prophet.
But after that books will be opened. You young people, do you know that there are books in heaven and there is writing going on? Names are being written. At the time I am speaking of there will be a great company, a company of great and small, of every nationality and tongue. They will stand before the Lord Jesus as a judge. And books will be opened and those pages will be turned and they will be judged each according to their works. And it says, “If anyone was not found written in the book of life he was cast in to the lake of fire”. And who will they have company with? They will have company with Satan and his angels. That is a terrible thought.
The gospel goes out this afternoon not for you to be occupied with what has fallen out of heaven. I go over that just to give you the solemn background and to form a contrast for what I want to speak about, a wonderful glorious Person:
We see thee, Lord of glory,
Descending from above
I want to begin with the way in which He has come. Think of the incarnation! Remember the way in which He could be found here wrapped in those swaddling clothes. Each one down to the youngest will know the story of the incarnation. That is the Lord as taking the form of a man, but found initially as that babe. Think of Him there with His mother. Just stop for a second and think of the Lord Jesus Himself where He was in His glory – yet he should have a mother. One was just impressed with this: it is not my thought: I have read it, but I will pass it on. One has spoken of the fact that the Lord’s mother was a divine provision. Now that is wonderful. Think of the way that the Lord had a mother, as you have or I have. But there He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, dependent upon her. The Psalm speaks of that; he is spoken of as trusting on his mother’s breast. Think of Mary, the mother of the Lord. She could see the child grow up; he had brothers we are told. She could see him growing up and at the age of twelve asking questions in the temple and they were astonished at His understanding and His answers. Think of the Lord about the age of thirty. There was the marriage in Cana with the deficiency there; they had not enough wine. The Lord’s mother could say, Do whatever He says. I wonder what was going through this woman’s mind. Think of Him too a little later on as hanging upon the cross. How she could look up and see her son, the Lord Jesus, hanging upon that cross. The sword would go through her soul. I am saying these things because I want to illustrate the descent from glory of this One who ever remained God, yet taking this form of man walking as a man amongst the persons that He came in touch with in the streets of Nazareth. A man as you and I, sin apart. Harmless, separated from sinners, feeling the way in which He had come, for much had been laid upon Him.
Think of all that was upon Him. He knew – we spoke about it this morning – setting His face steadfastly as going to Jerusalem. That was not to reign, no. Rightly He should have reigned. He was the King of Kings, Lord of Lords. It is left to the little children to cry out, Hosanna. If they had not cried out the stones would have cried out. He should have come in to take up His place, but they crucified Him; He had to be stricken and to be smitten. He came into this condition into which He could even taste death. He could even experience death itself. I like just to think of the way in which the Lord Jesus could move forward and with cruel hands could be crucified. Outside the city of Jerusalem, a place called Golgotha, being interpreted the place of a skull, there on a hill were three crosses. I would like you to be affected by this afresh tonight; there were three crosses. The Lord Jesus was hanging in the middle and either side of Him were two persons who had done wrong who were rightly there. One got the blessing: the other did not. “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise”. That was on account of a work that was going to be transacted, there between the Lord Jesus and His holy and righteous sin-hating God. Let me ask you this afternoon, dear friends, Has anyone here the burden of sin upon them? I spoke about the torment of the scorpions. I know no greater torment than the burden of sin, the guilty conscience. Sin would weigh you down. It brings in distance, brings in distance from your parents: above all, it brings in distance between you and God. You know things are not right. It is the wonderful grace of God that He has given you a conscience to know what is right and what is wrong. You feel that with the days going on, darkness coming in, so much darkness. You wonder about man’s conscience sometimes, but it is still there. There is such a thing as a seared conscience of course but in the room this afternoon we can say, thank God, we have consciences and God is working. God will work with your conscience and work through your heart. So listen to the preaching, listen to the word and the word will come to you just where you are. For God knows where you are; I do not, the preacher does not. He is able to set on a few simple words from the scripture, but God knows just where you are and He will be speaking to you tonight.
Dear friends, you are in the presence of the word of God; listen and answer to it in faith. What would happen? God would not point you to your own sinfulness; He would not point you to your own waywardness. No, He would point you to a finished work. How was that work transacted? It was transacted in those three hours on that cross when the Lord Jesus was there hanging, bearing the sins of many in His body on the tree. The Bible tells us that, that the Lord Jesus bore the sins of many. Think of that, that before the three hours of darkness He had been subjected to the ridicule of men. How He would have felt that. But what was that to the darkness of those three hours when darkness came over the whole face of the earth and He was there suffering at the righteous hand of a sin-hating God? He was suffering in bearing our sins. He was the sinless One, He had done no wrong; He had not even thought of anything wrong. You might say you have done nothing wrong but I tell you that you have thought wrong things even if you have not done wrong things. The Lord was perfect. If God in His anger and His judgment against sin was to be satisfied it meant that there had to be a pure sinless offering and the Lord was just that. And there He was lifted up. He could say I, if I be lifted up will, draw all to me. God is now giving you a centre away from yourself, away from anything you might think of yourself, good or bad. He is giving you another centre and that is the Person of the Lord Jesus. He could say, Look unto me. That is the word of the prophet in Isaiah (see Isa 45: 22). We need to look away from ourselves. Look unto the Lord Jesus and there you will see that on account of that work, God is satisfied. What was the proof of that? The veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. What does that mean? That means that you can now go into the presence of God on account of the work of the Lord Jesus, “he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins”, John 1:9. He could say as He died that He committed His spirit to the hand of the Father. He could say, “It is finished”. The work of redemption, the work of atonement was finished.
Of course He had yet to go into the grave. He had yet to be raised. But the point that I am making is that He had actually died and the witness of the fact was not only that the veil of the temple was rent and God was satisfied, but the soldier in cruelty came and pierced the side of the Lord Jesus. It was the witness to the fact that He had died. He had actually expired. We have John’s own word: he actually saw that soldier piercing the side of the Lord Jesus. And what does He say? He says he writes of it that ye might believe. I trust as looking around this room that each one of us are believers, believers on the Lord Jesus. Not just as a good man, many persons will be like that, even churchgoers. Believe upon Him as the Saviour, as your personal Saviour. The One who took your place and bore your judgment, as you are unable to bear it. Put your faith and your trust in Him and no other.
But then it says that He descended into the lower parts of the earth. Think of that. I feel that I cannot find words to express what we are touching here. There is something very deep about this. Think of the way in which the Lord Jesus actually died. Think of the way He was then taken down from that cross and buried, in the heart of the earth according to His own words. The Jews asked Him for a sign. He said, you will not have a sign save the sign of Jonas. Jonas was in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights, thus must the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (see Matt 12: 40). Think of the Lord Jesus actually being buried. He was placed in that grave, by one who loved Him, His body wrapped up, with pure linen, and He was placed there by loving hands in that grave. Men appointed His grave with the wicked but He was with the rich in His death because He had no violence, neither was there guile in His mouth (see Isa 53:9). Think of the words of those that were concerned that He might rise, for He said that He surely would do. They took that stone and sealed it, secured it. These are some things you can read of in Matthew. That brought out yet again another descending from heaven. You know what it was this time; you can read it for yourself at the end of Matthew. It is an angel. There were those dear saints who came to look at the sepulchre seeking the Lord. An angel descending out of heaven rolled away the stone and could say He is not here. What use was a seal for a guard or securing the stone? No use at all. I almost think of it like a child getting a marble and with just one finger moving the marble. That is the might of one angel. And what did that prove? In the moving of that stone it was not to let the Lord out, no, it was to prove that He was no longer there. He could not be held by the power of death. He was buried, He was out of sight and the work was complete. How wonderful, how glorious that was. But here it says He descended into the lower parts of the earth. I am speaking, you will understand, not only to draw attention to the depths but to the height as well. What a descent of the Lord Jesus; He had come here, He had descended into the lower parts of the earth.
But He is no longer there, He is raised. He is now ascended and is in heaven. After forty days in a different condition, he could take the disciples outside of Jerusalem and was taken up from them. It says here that He that descended is the same, the same Person, the same ascending up above all the heavens. I would like to inquire how many heavens there are. Scripture speaks of three. But the Lord Jesus has ascended up above all the heavens. He has gone through them all, to take His place at the right hand of God. And there He is raised and ascended, there for our justification. God is satisfied. He is now crowned with all glory and honour. Well may we say, Worthy of all acceptation is He who was once the Lamb slain but there now, having ascended through all heavens.
Now as a result of that ascension I want to speak of another descent and that is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let me just inquire tonight, beloved, do you know the forgiveness of your sins? Is all clear between you and a righteous and holy God? Everything clear? Have you the gift of the Spirit? You might say, why do we speak of the Spirit in the preaching? I think it is very simple, because the Spirit would make the things I am speaking of real to you. They would not just be like a picture on the wall. He will give you the reality of the thing. He will enable you to enter into it. He will give you the most wonderful thing, that He is the link; the Spirit of God is the link, between you here on earth and the Lord Jesus in heaven. Man is not just body, but soul and spirit. You might think about an animal, but man is a spiritual being. God is a spirit and those that worship Him do so in spirit and truth. What we are dealing with are spiritual things. Men think about what is purely natural and our natural bodies. Remember there is that which is of the soul and of the spirit. But the gift of the Spirit is our link to God in heaven, our link to the Lord Jesus above. Have you the gift of the Spirit? Sometimes I think of the time in the Acts when certain disciples said they did not know that the Spirit had come. Sometimes we perhaps act as though we do not know that the Spirit has come. The Spirit’s service to us is wonderful. He will shed abroad the love of God in your hearts. He would make these things real to you. That is a consequence of the ascent of the Lord Jesus. There is now the descent of the Holy Spirit.
Now dear friend, I just want to remind you of one last descending of the Lord Jesus. Maybe that will be this afternoon. You may not even go home. Have you thought about that? The One whom you love and whom you trust will come for you. It says in Thessalonians that the Lord Jesus Himself shall descend. Think of that! It says here, “He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens”. This very same One that I am speaking about, the One who has suffered, the One who has died, the One who is your life here in whom you have put faith and trust, He is coming for you. Think of the Lord Jesus coming! How many there are who love Him. Those that have died, the Lord knows those that are His right down the dispensations, right from the very earliest days of Abel. We know the Lord will come at the Father’s time. And all those that have died, the many millions that there are, I know not, the Lord knows every one. He will visit every one of those graves and they will be raised and be given bodies of glory. We who are living will be changed. Think of the activity of the Holy Spirit even in that service, changing us. These very bodies that we have, corruptible, mortal and subject to pain, subject to wrong-doing, all these things will be changed. But the Lord Jesus Himself, I want to emphasis that, the Lord Himself is the same Person. He will descend. Where? He will descend into the air, the dead will be raised, and those that are living will be caught up to be with Him forever. Thus you will enter on your eternal portion with the Lord Jesus. Think of that. The Lord will come very near, as I understand it the atmospheric heaven is the air; relatively according to the universe, it is not very much, and the Lord will actually come into that very realm. He will descend there. So that you and I as living, along with those who have died and have put their faith and trust in our Lord Jesus, will be caught up with Him. That is the hope of the believer. Is it your hope, dear friends, tonight? It is maybe the hope for those that are older, leaving the hardship of the way and the struggles of one thing and another, but is it the hope of every one of us whether we are young or old? Will you be there? Will you be caught up? As I said you may not even go home this afternoon, the Lord may come for us and we shall be with Him thus forever.
As I said at the beginning, what comes out of heaven is very blessed, is very wonderful, and it defies all human thinking. Human intellect would never have thought of it. Who would have thought that God would have come in such a way as this?
O love, all thought surpassing!
That thou shouldst with us be,
Nor yet in triumph passing,
But human infancy!
God with us, Emmanuel, God with us. It is wonderful to think that here in this very scene there is One who descended from the highest heights, descended to be actually here with us as walking amongst men, but who will come again, will descend into the air and will take us to be with Himself. Well, may this be the hope and glory of each one of us, for His Name’s sake.
SUNBURY
15 October 2001