2

2

THE LORD’S TIMING AND THE LORD’S

PROPERTY

J. Earl

1 Corinthians 6: 20; Ephesians 5: 25 (from “Christ also

loved”)–27

We often hear it said that such and such a brother or sister

has been taken by the Lord to be with Himself. I want to stress

that this is the Lord’s matter, the Lord’s doing. He has initiated

it, and He is seeing it through. Sometimes on our side we

speak of accidents, misjudgments, failings, and the like; on the

divine side there are no second causes. This is the Lord’s

matter from start to finish; He timed it to perfection, not before,

not after, exactly when He wanted it to be. We were singing in

the hymn (No. 398) about the Lord coming to claim His own,

and that we sense is just ahead; but what has happened at

this time is that the Lord has claimed one of His own. We bless

Him for it.

I read the verse in 1 Corinthians 6 because I think it needs to

come home to us, more than perhaps it ever has come home

to us before, that we are not our own; we are not, dear

brethren; we belong to Christ. He has bought us; He has paid

the price. What a price! Our sister belonged to the Lord, she

was not her own, and the Lord has put in His claim and He has

taken her. We rejoice in that. What a thing it is to know that the

Lord is having His way.

What a price He has paid for each one of us! If we are

believers here today it is equally true of each of us, that we are

not our own, we have been bought with a price; we belong to

the Lord. It is, of course, a question as to how much we

recognize that and give the Lord His way and acknowledge

His rights over us, but He has the right in any case.