THE KINGDOM, SALVATION AND ILLUMINATION
[p. 236] THE KINGDOM, SALVATION AND ILLUMINATION
There are three great fundamental principles in christianity: the kingdom, salvation and illumination. You get the kingdom in the end of chapter 2, you get salvation in chapter 3, and illumination is just touched upon in chapter 3: 7. All the three are presented to us in Christ, but we have to come into these things. All are in Christ, but all have to come out in us. You see illumination more fully in 1 John 4. You get rule and salvation here. The people of Crete needed these; He puts them, and us too, on the line of God’s ways, to lead us into eternal life, so that we may come into it. In verse 11 grace has appeared, the kingdom is toward all and salvation is toward all. We are never called upon to believe anything about ourselves; faith apprehends what is presented to me in Christ, and that is presented to all. You believe, and you see that every man has a claim to Christ, but the christian has come into the light of God’s disposition towards man, The work of God in me is not a subject for faith, but His work for me in Christ, that is for faith. The sun shines for all men, but a man may be blind. God’s wish is that all should be saved and the mediator is available for every man. Christ has a claim on every man, and every man has a claim to Christ, this is why you baptise infants.
You want to be brought under the rule or sway of grace; that is, you act under a sense of the grace of which you have had experience. My conduct must be regulated by that which has been presented to me, that is my responsibility. Grace teaches, you must come under rule, the rule of grace; that rule affects me. In Matthew 18 we see that the servant came under grace in being forgiven, but he was not affected by the grace and so said, “Pay me that thou owest”. We are to be affected and influenced by grace that has come out to us, teaching us, that is,
[p. 237] teaching those who have been affected by the grace. We must not be exacting with regard to others, some are very tenacious of their rights. In dealing with children you want to act on the ground of grace, you must not be too exacting. You want to promote obedience in children; if parents are subject to the Lord, and grace is acting in them, there will be the promotion of obedience in the children, and grace will be promoted in them. We come under government, but it is a government of grace, a rule of grace. How is God going to regulate the world to come? It will be by a government of grace. Insisting on law in a family will not be a success. Eli did not frown on his sons; he was wrong, for lawlessness must be frowned upon, but will against will in a family is not successful. You want to affect them by grace, it is grace that has affected you, and it will affect them. Righteousness must take its character from grace, they are not opposed. Grace maintains what is right. God has intervened in grace to redeem from lawlessness, that is to bring about what is right in us. Directly we turn to God we come under rule — directly a child is born it comes under rule, the rule of gravitation. “They that are in the flesh” do not come under rule and they cannot please God, but directly you are born again you can: you come under the influence of God and of grace. Then you want an atmosphere; I connect salvation with Christ and the christian circle. Men are hateful or hating one another; that atmosphere is deadly, you escape it by coming into the christian circle, By the death of Christ, in the company of the saints you find a congenial atmosphere. The kingdom is individual, but salvation is collective. In the Acts people came into the christian circle by baptism: it is very different now as regards the christian circle. Then it was, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation”, and they were saved by being baptised and brought into the christian circle. Deliverance from the world is found by coming into the christian circle. The principle is seen and then it delivers you from the world order; if you see the principle and I see the [p. 238] principle too, we gravitate towards one another and the principle is seen working in us. As to illumination: the child has eyes as well as a body. Illumination fits you for heaven, you are fitted for God and for heaven. The renewing of the Holy Spirit works in the direction of salvation. The Lord upheld the twelve under His influence; the atmosphere of that circle was the love of Christ, and the light was what God was toward them. They were right in the starting point — the kingdom is the start, you are not lawless, you surrender your own will and you abide in Christ. Get right in regard to Christ, in regard to rule, this is most important. You get out of lawlessness into rule and you get out of death into life.