UNION WITH CHRIST AND THE RESULT
[p. 456] UNION WITH CHRIST AND THE RESULT
The subject of the former evening was “Christ the Head”.
In His own light we know that He is our life, and we learn the resources which are in Him. If you have not entered into this side, and known Christ as Head, you are not ready for the subject now before us, even that through God’s grace we are quickened with Him, and raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. The meaning of this scripture is not apprehended when “in Christ” is quoted before “in heavenly places”. The place is the prominent idea in this passage. In Scripture the prominent idea is put first. The Greek is a very simple language, just as a child would speak. This is an immense help in the study of Scripture.
The subject I desire to bring before you this evening is,
“Union with Christ and the Result”.
In the verses I have read, it is stated that God for His great love has “raised us up together”. This is true of every believer, but every one does not know it. Hence in the prayer in the preceding chapter we read, “That ye may know ... the exceeding greatness of his power ... which He wrought in Christ”; it is not merely that God has done it, but you have the benefit of it when you are in the conscious knowledge of His grace.
I shall divide the subject into parts, in order that you may be able to follow it more easily. The first part we find is Fitness for Union ([p. 457] Chapter 1: 1 - 14) I need not comment on these verses in detail, but I merely dwell on the nature of the fitness — you must be of Him. You read in verse 4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” — before ever there was any sin — “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” — you must be fit for Him. All moral disparity must be removed or you could not be united to Christ; you must be of Him. This I have dwelt on previously, when referring to Hebrews 2; “all of one”; you are of His order. In the type, Eve was formed out of Adam; and in Ephesians we are called the “members of his body”; and “this is a great mystery”.
Now for “fitness”. You are not only chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, but you are given the highest position; you read in verse 5 your position, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself”: you cannot be higher than that; union does not put you higher than that. And we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”. I press that the first step is “fitness”; and it is important to bear in mind that the only point to which Abraham’s steward was sworn, when he was sent to find a bride for Isaac, was that she should be of his kindred. The great lack in souls is that they do not apprehend that they are of Him, of His order, and therefore you are not really in rest of heart, you are not ready to be conducted to Him as Rebekah was to Isaac. How was Rebekah proved to be fit to be conducted to Isaac? By her grace. When the steward asked her for some water to drink, she said, “Drink, my lord”, and added, “I will draw for thy camels also”; she might have acceded merely to the letter of his request; but she had grace, she was fit to be conducted to Isaac. I cannot say every one is conducted. I wish all were; I see that they are not ready to be conducted. Here the apostle writes, “After I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints”. I need not dwell more on “fitness”; it is a wonderful privilege, that you are of His kindred. “Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one”; there is no moral disparity.
Now I come to the second part,
The Counsel of God.
From verse 17 to the end is “the counsel of God”. The first thing necessary in order to understand the counsel is enlightenment, “The eyes of your heart being enlightened”, etc. Let me press on you how this great grace is effected, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”. It is very interesting that we are enabled to help others by the way we have been helped ourselves. I used to dwell on being enlightened until someone said to me, You are enlightened when you are given “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”. I believe many are well acquainted with this epistle who really have not grasped God’s counsel in it. Why? Because they have not “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”. They think that they can understand it by studying it with great care; but all that will not be sufficient until they get “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”, and hence they are not enlightened; they do not apprehend God’s counsel. You might ask me, What is it? I could not explain it to you, but it is the most magnificent thing which could be conceived, even that the body of Christ is on the earth during the period of His rejection. I do not think anyone can convey it to you, but I hope to point out presently what the object of it is, even that throughout the ages there should be glory to God by the church. Our Lord in John 17 (he is a well instructed man that can explain John 17), first [p. 459] sets us as Himself in the presence of the Father, and then sets us as Himself in the presence of the world. But bear in mind that Satan had so worked upon man that Christ was cast out and rejected, and then the secret of God, the mystery, was divulged, which had been kept secret from the foundation of the world, even that Christ’s body is on the earth. Hence as I pressed on a previous occasion, God cannot support anything which is not Christ: “Why persecutest thou ME?” This “ME” embraces all of Christ. In the place where Christ was refused, God cannot support anyone but Christ. You may say, There are the powers that be? Yes; God has ordained them “for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well”. Hence when Christ rises from the Father’s throne all who belong to Him will be gathered to Him. I have been speaking of enlightenment; when you are enlightened you understand something of the counsel of God, His great purpose in the church. I need not say that we have failed in maintaining it, but let me add that the familiar way in which we speak of this truth indicates that we do not really apprehend it. It is often said we are gathered on the ground of the one body. I understand what is meant by the expression; but I believe that if you apprehended the truth. you would see that not only are you bound together, a confederacy, but that you are of Christ.
I now turn to the scripture I have read for the third part,
The Realisation of Union.
I must dwell a little on this, because, though union is true of you all, yet without deep exercise you do not realise it. Take the type, Rebekah was conducted by the steward to Isaac. First, she is fit to go, not only because of her kindred but of her grace. Then she has to encounter family influence; they say, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten”.
[p. 460] It is not so much worldly interests as family interests which interfere with the realisation of union. The interest nearest to you is the one which most interposes. Many think that because family ties are in themselves right they will not be hindered by them. The steward said, “Hinder me not”: and they said, “We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go”. She overcomes the family hindrance, but she has not reached Isaac yet; she has to traverse the wilderness. Every step she takes nearer to Isaac is farther from family influence; it is experimental. You rise above all the things which would detain you here, and you are conducted by the Spirit of God to the place where Christ is, and you have a sense in your soul, a marvellous sense, of the place where Christ is. You not only know Him as Head, but you know that you are united to Him in the place where He is, a place in perfect keeping with Himself; as the Lord said to His disciples, “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto the Father”. You can sing:-
“The Spirit’s power
Has ope’d the heavenly door,
And brought me to that favoured hour,
When toil shall all be o’er”.Here union is known. Each one must be conducted individually; it is experimental. You may rejoin, and it is perfectly true, Are not we all united? Yes. God has set each of us in the body as it hath pleased Him; 1 Corinthians 12. It is not when you know it that it is done; it was done before you knew it. But I lament that we are so little interested in this great position to which God has called us. The realisation of union takes place when you have reached Christ in the place where He is. If you enter the assembly, you join the Lord outside of men; He is disallowed of men but chosen of God. He is superior to all the power of evil. In [p. 461] the next step, you know Him as Head outside the world; you are over Jordan, but you are not yet consciously on heavenly ground. When you are consciously united to Christ in heaven where He is, you are on heavenly ground. It is profound. It is most blessed to join Him in the assembly outside of men; it is a wonderful moment to the soul when you find that here where He has been rejected He has a place, and in that place He is supreme; that is the assembly. Next you find that He who is supreme in the assembly is your Head. He is apart from every human voice: “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew” [the whole scene], but “Christ is everything and in all”. You derive from Him. Next you are conducted to Him where He is. The Lord grant that you may believe it in your hearts; you must believe it first, and then look to be brought by the Spirit of God into conscious knowledge of union with Christ in the place where there is not a discordant note; “Thy pavilion”, free from “the strife of tongues”.
Now I come to part 4,
The Endowment.
Ephesians 3: 16: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”. Here we have detailed the gain from union with Christ. I call it ‘the endowment’. I am afraid the nature of it is little understood. But without the endowment, you could not be qualified to be here for Christ according to Himself; you may in many ways serve, but you are not in His confidence. In order to be in His confidence you require two [p. 462] things; one, to know His mind; the other to receive from Him ability to carry it out. How could you carry out His mind without His ability? How do you get this ability? Except you are united to the heavenly Man, you could not have His heavenly ability. Hence it is evident when you are in conscious knowledge of union with Christ, because if you are you receive ‘the endowment’. The endowment is composed of three parts. The first is that “the Christ” dwells in your hearts by faith. Be on your guard as to the application of Scripture. I have read that Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith means that you are holy. The passage does not refer to your state; it refers to Christ’s interests. As to yourself, Christ lives in you, He is formed in you. But when the Christ dwells in your hearts by faith, you enjoy the first gain from union with Christ. Your individuality is merged; it is now “the Christ” dwelling in your hearts by faith; if you are in conscious union with Christ, His interests are paramount with you. Perhaps your family was your interest before. It is not that the interest is morally wrong, but have you at heart Christ’s interests? It is possible to know the doctrine of the mystery, and yet not possess the endowment because union with Christ is not realised. You might be useful and acceptable in your service up to a point, and yet not have “the Christ” dwelling in your hearts by faith. His interests, not yours. Paul could say of Timothy, “I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state”; that means care like a relation. Though I am condemning myself, I must not weaken the truth. I believe the endowment is unaccountably great. Your individuality is merged and now Christ’s interests are paramount with you. Did not Rebekah, when she came to Isaac, adopt his interests in preference to her own? She did not cease to care for her family, but now Isaac’s interests were her own.
[p. 463] The second part of the endowment is, that you “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height” — that you may know the range, the domain, of His glory. And the third is that you may “know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled unto all the fulness of God”. Christ Himself is the fulness of God.
So far for the endowment. Surely you would know you had received it? You might feel that you know very little of it, but you could not but be characterised by it if you had received it, because in order to receive it the prayer is, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”. Now you have received the two things which qualify you for Christ’s service here; the one, you are in His power; and the other, you are in concert with Him. If you apprehend this scripture, you will see a wonderful position conferred on you by union with Christ, which you could not get in any other way. It is difficult to accept all I say. I admit that first you will pass through much exercise and self-abeyance in order to be in correspondence with it. No one, I suppose, has laid hold of a truth without being first impressed with the magnitude of it, that it is of God. If you see it easily you have not a sense of its magnitude. Often your heart may cry: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”. I say it feelingly, my one cry is that I might know this great endowment, that Christ may dwell in my heart by faith; that I may know the range of His glory and that I may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that I might be filled unto all the fulness of God — a wonderful statement. You might say, Can we be brought to this moral height here? Yes; and now you are qualified to be descriptive of Christ here; now you come, as in verse 20, to The Object of the Church.
“[p. 464] Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” — a power working in you beyond all you can conceive; “unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages”. This is the object of the church.
Let me for a moment call your attention to all we have gone over; first, fitness; secondly, enlightenment; thirdly, realisation of union; fourthly, the endowment conferred by union. I do not attempt to unfold it more fully, but it is a comfort to me to know that the Spirit of God can unfold it to you more than any language could convey. It is yours by the grace of God; it is not merely when you enjoy it that it is yours; it is yours by His grace, though you have not realised it; if you had realised it, you would gave received the endowment. However true Rebekah’s heart was to Isaac, she could not be endowed until she came to him.
It is not future but present, and this I press, because when you realise union with Christ you are acquainted with Him where He is in a scene of unparalleled brightness, apart from all the contrariety where you are.
The next part is,
The Testimony.
The testimony is twofold: one is to be descriptive of Christ, the heavenly Man, in the assembly; and the other is in your own family. You begin with, “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (chapter 2 presents the vocation), “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. If you are not holding the Head, you cannot know the unity of the Spirit. How could you? “Until we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown [perfect] man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” - [p. 465] even that you should be here as Christ, and this is the testimony. I turn to John 15: 26. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me”. Mark the words, “He” [the Holy Spirit] “shall testify of me”. The apostle John sets forth the divine power by which only your calling can be carried out. Thus John resuscitates Paul’s teaching: this is very interesting. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is sent to you by Christ, and “He shall testify of me”; HE will testify of Christ, a Man in heaven; and hence in chapter 16 the first work of the Holy Spirit is to demonstrate the state of the world: it is sin. Righteousness has gone to the Father, and the prince of this world is judged. So much as to the state of things here. But to Christ’s own, “He shall glorify me”; the very thing you desire is vouchsafed to you. “He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”. Some suppose that “mine” refers to Christ personally; but it is not correct; it refers to His things. “All things that the Father hath are mine, therefore said I, that he shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you”. I desire to draw your attention to the nature of the testimony; it is that you are descriptive of Christ, the heavenly exalted Man, on the earth. It is not possible for a man holding position from the world or seeking it, to be descriptive of the heavenly Man, however zealous he might be, because the first work of the Holy Spirit in him is to demonstrate the state of the world which rejected Christ. As I have already said, there are two circles in which this testimony is to be maintained: first, the church, and secondly in your own household. The testimony is to be descriptive of the exalted Christ in the world where He was refused and cast out. I admit the church has failed as the candlestick. It is a ruin in the eyes of man; but the body of Christ according to God’s counsel remains. I press [p. 466] the importance of the testimony in these two circles.
One word as to the household. Under the law there were no directions respecting it, except “Children, obey your parents”; nothing about it in the epistle to the Romans, and not much in Colossians; but when you are united to Christ, the heavenly Man, you are descriptive of Him not only in the church, but in your own family circle. The most amiable husbands must feel how imperfectly they come up to the divine standard, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it”. The principle is the same in all the household: “Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. How few answer to it! I have not seen it done in half a dozen instances. The standard is on the ground and principle that you are united to Christ, the heavenly Man, and consequently capable to be descriptive of Him here.
Now I come to the last part or section, which is in chapter 6.
The Character of the Opposition.
It is difficult to speak on it, because some suppose that they understand it; and nothing more hinders or obstructs the reception of the truth than the supposition that you apprehend it because you see something like it. Every Christian knows that there is opposition, but the opposition of Ephesians 6, the complete force of Satan, set forth in type by the seven nations of Canaan, cannot be encountered by anyone until he is here in the power of a heavenly man, but the moment you are in the power of a heavenly man, the whole force of Satan will be arrayed against you. Some have comparatively easy times, because they are not in this heavenly power, hence Satan does not strenuously [p. 467] oppose them. If you read 2 Timothy 3 carefully, you will see that the opposition there is from within; the whole force of Satan resists the truth. All in Asia had turned away from Paul, but he was strong in the Lord and in the power of His might; he was enabled to stand. You cannot know what the character of the opposition is until you face the enemy. How could Israel know the forces of the seven nations of Canaan until they were in Canaan? Impossible. You cannot know the force of Satan until he opposes you; you then have to face him. It is very easy to describe the perfection of the armour and all the requisites to encounter the enemy; but if you have not encountered the enemy you have never used it, for you never wanted it. You see Satan all along the line with Israel; he was Pharaoh in Egypt, but when destroyed as Pharaoh, he comes up as Amalek; and when they are leaving the wilderness in divine power Balaam encounters them. Balaam is a great foe to the Christian. The Corinthians suffered from Balaam, they were on social terms with the world. Everyone is characterised by the lowest society he keeps. It morally colours him. When they came into Canaan the combined force of the seven nations is opposed to them.
When you know union with Christ and are qualified to stand for Him here, then you encounter the whole force of Satan. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand”, Ephesians 6:13.
May the Lord lead the youngest in this room to enter into the reality of being united to Christ. I am not asking you, Do you realise it? I insist that it is true of you, and I say, Would you like to enter into the deep reality of it, and share in its wonderful effect? When you realise union with Christ, you are qualified to be here for Him; you are given His ability, and know His mind, and then you can be descriptive of Him here.
[p. 468] I need not add more; but the impression left on my own mind in dwelling on this wonderful subject is — the blessedness of it! The Lord grant that each of you may see that it is magnificent, and also that it is true now of you. And may He grant that it may be true to you, for His name’s sake.