THE CLAIM CHRIST HAS ON ALL WHO LIVE
[p. 239] THE CLAIM CHRIST HAS ON ALL WHO LIVE
2 Kings 5: 1 - 19; Acts 11: 1 - 14; 2 Corinthians 5: 14, 15
At first sight the connection between these scriptures may not be seen. They refer to different circumstances, but there is a moral connection to be traced between them, and this is always to be seen in the word of God. The same principles are seen running right through Scripture. The point I want to reach is the claim that Christ has on all who live; Christ died for all, there is no exception there, that they which live should live to Him who died for them. He died for all, for a certain object, that is, that they which live should live to Him. He died and He rose again: all should live to Him, that is the purpose and aim of God, that the living, that is all who live, all who take the ground of living, should live to Him. Christ died for all, that is the basis of the passage.
What is it to live to Christ? It is to live as man in fidelity, that is to live to Christ. We stand in a certain relation to God, to Christ, to our fellow christians and to our fellow men, and we should be in fidelity to each of these; this is really what it is to live to Christ. The pleasure of Christ is to lead in the way of righteousness, and in the paths of judgment: that is His pleasure. He would not leave men running after the wind, He would have you inherit substance, that is His pleasure. Christ is wisdom.
Now in 2 Kings 5, the evangelist was the little maid. We get there the truth of the Lord’s word in John 4, “salvation is of the Jews”. Naaman’s salvation was of the little maid, and so of the Jews. The king was no good in the matter, it was out of his power, but the prophet could help, and so the principle is maintained that salvation is of the Jews. We also get it through Paul and he was a Jew. Naaman came into the land and came to the prophet, and he was told to wash — this was very humiliating. Jordan too was a contemptible river in comparison with the rivers of Damascus. The whole [p. 240] proposition was most humiliating, and God meant it to be so. Naaman had to come down, he had to humble himself to be exalted. His servants were wiser than he was, they advised him to do such a little thing as to wash and be clean — they were wiser than he. Naaman becomes really a witness against Israel. There were plenty of lepers in Israel at that time, but they were not cleansed. They might have had the blessing if they had themselves listened to the prophets. What is the application of this story to us? It is an interesting story but we want to see its present application to us. We have not to do with actual leprosy, but there are moral lepers. The case of the actual leper is dreadful and there are such even in this day.
But moral leprosy is dreadful too and there are many such in this day. The mass of the gentiles were lepers morally, they were in darkness and distance. How has God taken steps to meet this? It was possible for Naaman to wash in Jordan, but no amount of washing will cleanse a man from his moral leprosy. Christ has gone into Jordan: the blessed Son of God has gone into Jordan and He became identified with man’s leprosy. Now see 2 Corinthians 5: 21, He, God, has made Him to be sin for us. God ordained Him, who knew not sin, to be made sin for us. He became identified with man’s sin — leprosy. Gentiles were lepers, sin was working in them, He became identified with man’s sin. He was “made sin” — a very strong expression. He identified Himself with the leprosy of the gentiles, He went down into Jordan, and He came up out of Jordan very like Naaman. He as it were left the leprosy in Jordan. “He rose again”, He rose without the sin. Christ became identified with man’s sin, but when He rose, all was left behind in death. He left the leprosy behind Him. In the grace of God the Son of God was made sin, He has been lifted up, but He has left behind Him the sin or leprosy and become the Head of every man. He is mediator.
In Acts 11: 1 - 14, Peter got a vision from the unseen [p. 241] world, and the sheet was let down three times to impress it upon him. Peter looked at all gentiles as unclean, as leprous. He had not got rid of his Jewish ideas: he thought the gentiles were specially leprous. The sheet comes really from a risen Christ to impress upon him that God did not now view gentiles as common or unclean. In the eye of God they were now regarded in the light of Christ, as it is written in Acts 13, “I have set thee to be a light of the gentiles”. God looked at them no longer as outside the blessing. Peter had to learn the change in God’s view, now all were looked at in connection with Christ. Paul was marked out to be the apostle of the gentiles, their leprosy had really been removed in the death of Christ.
It is appalling to me to see the indifference with which people treat Christ. People do not want to have you talk of Christ, but the thought of God is that Christ is of the utmost importance. He is the One before God. Christ stands in relation to men every moment, they should ever regard Christ, because He is ever the mediator between God and men, He has a claim on men. He has been into Jordan to remove man’s leprosy, and there is no one in the whole world but what has a claim on Christ, and no one on whom Christ has not a claim.
Now to go a point further, it is very nice to hear that God can now go on with the world, but God had a purpose in the death of Christ. As men we have a purpose in doing things, so how can you think that God had not a purpose in the death of Christ for all? God could only bring order out of the confusion, in which the world was and is, by the death of Christ and the purpose of God was to bring about order. God made Him sin to remove the leprosy. The purpose of God to bring in order is seen fulfilled in those who live, no more living to themselves but to Him who died for them and rose again, and this is His thought for all. We see all around us how far self is the great object for men. How strong even in the christian is the tendency to have self before him. God’s purpose is to bring in order in the [p. 242] midst of this confusion and now Christ, a divine Person, is set before men that they may live to Him, that is to God, not to an archangel, but to God. He who died for all is the Son of God, and the purpose of God is that the living should live to Him who died for all. How are you to live to Him? The first step surely is to ascertain all that you possibly can in regard to Christ. If a man were going to change his occupation, he would certainly enquire all he could about his new master. You are going to change your master: you have served Satan and self hitherto, now you are going to change masters, and as a prudent person you will surely seek to find out all you can about your new Master. There is a great deal to be found out about Christ, and you are not wise if you do not find out all you can in regard to Christ. He is now living, He died and He rose again, and you can find out about a living Christ. He is going to be the Sun in the universe of bliss.
Then again as to living to Christ, you get the Spirit. Man of his own will cannot live to Christ: we cannot imitate Christ save by His own Spirit, and Christ is the giver of living water — the Spirit, to everyone who asks. In the energy of the flesh no one can live to Christ. The report of Him, as living, has come down, and He is presented to man as living. He is the giver of living water to men, that they may live to Him. They which live; that is all of us, none is excluded. We may have to go down into Jordan, that is to die, but I have to tell you that Christ went down into Jordan that He might remove the leprosy in which the gentiles were. The time past of your life may suffice to have lived to yourself; it is now well to come to an end of that. Now is the time to recognise that God would have you to live to the One who died. God had to deal with a moral chaos and He wanted to set it in order, and He did it by the death of Christ. What a wonderful thing really that we should be able to live to Christ! May God give you grace that you may not disregard Christ. He is to fill all things and is not to be disregarded.