DIVINE MOTIVE
D. M. Welch
Hebrews 10: 9, 10; Romans 12: 1, 2
I am thinking of our brother’s word regarding a believer’s motive. I believe we take our lead from the Lord Himself. Psalm 27 suggests a pattern for manhood here in grace. It is astounding to me, from personal experience, how little I think about divine things through the day. But, for some reason grace has its effect and we find ourselves still resorting to the Scriptures and to the ministry, coming to the meetings, thinking of the brethren and praying. Why is that? The way all this works out through our experience is remarkable! Somehow, grace affects us through the day; we may even mourn the fact of not having been more occupied with these precious things during the day, whether it be at work or whatever we have been doing. What is most astounding in all this experience (even as we feel our lack) is that divine Persons are carrying through in men and women, boys and girls too, something precious to Them.
I have thought a lot about this, prayed a lot about being more conscious of living before God and dwelling in His house; to be more conscious of that, of what is vital and satisfying, knowing I am conscious and sensible about so many other things. We remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19: 13 A.V.), or the words from Mr Darby’s hymn, ‘as hireling fills his day’ (Hymn 12). That is, we pass through our responsibilities like a hireling; yet, as having some sense of the Lord on high, ever living to make intercession for us, to help us occupy till He comes. And, the Spirit Himself interceding is to help us when we may not know how to pray and helping us to be occupied in divine things. Somehow or other it all works out and we continue each day by resorting to our place for prayer. We keep thinking through the week of the next meeting, and, as we can, we read the Scriptures and pray in our households. This experience continues with us because of the work of divine Persons.
The verse in Hebrews is a very deep scripture because it shows the motive of the Lord Jesus, “Lo, I come to do thy will. He takes away the first that he may establish the second”. I read something today in ministry, so simple and practical. The brother said, ‘Christ is to the believer as the world is to the unbeliever’. The unbeliever takes up everything in regard to himself, but Christ has replaced the world and becomes everything to us. He takes away the first that He may establish the second. Therefore, as we review our failures in one thing and another, we know another footing now; it is in another Man, and that is why we are preserved, in spite of failure and not being occupied consciously with divine things. He ever lives; that is, His present motive is to maintain us in things relating to God. His motive for coming was to do the will of God; that carries over to what is down here now. His sacrifice, suffering and death now carry over to His present living, His present motive.
As Apostle, He inaugurates Christianity; the finality of all that God had in mind has come out in its fulness, and it is for us at the present time. As High Priest, He intends to maintain us at the level of our calling, that is His motive. We may not be able to explain much of how we have been brought right into the light, especially as we look back on the years of all the mistakes, failures and self-will. You have come from that walk of life and me from this walk of life, but divine Persons have had their way; and, there is something that transfers in our thinking and ways. I believe it has to do with motive. We little understand the work of the Spirit and how intensely He is engaged in these things. We know He is working yet we do not make room for Him very much. I think walking in the Spirit in Galatians 5 entails that we make way for Him. And, “by which will”, that is God’s will, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”. That is sufficient, more than sufficient, to show us the divine intent and give us a sure footing, as glory was attached to the offering of that precious body; and there is no more stable foundation.
In Romans 12 the Apostle beseeches us “by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice”. That is not asceticism, not a monkish idea at all, there is no taste not, handle not, in that exhortation. What motive, as we speak of the Lord Jesus being a holy vessel of God’s service doing the will of God! We take our lead from Him and we too, have a vessel (a body). Thus, we see how this principle is carried over to the saints now. Perhaps we can see a link, in principle, between these two scriptures (Hebrews 10: 9, 10 and Romans 12: 1, 2). So, we prove the will of God in our bodies, presenting our bodies. Again, considering the Lord, a body was prepared for Him, a holy vessel of God’s service, such a Man was here; and by His offering of that precious body, we are brought into the will of God, sanctified for that purpose. We are to hold our vessels a living sacrifice until He comes.
His service now recalls our thinking to these realities, and He touches our affections in some way, as we continue our journey and are kept on course. This is because He ever lives to make intercession for us. He is ever living for this. His motive is to preserve us; and. His motive is transferred to our thinking as we behold His beauty and dwell in the house of God, continually—not just at meetings. We have a desire then, to live more consciously before God, to be in the sense of His presence more through the day’s activities and into the night; to enquire of Him in His temple as with His people. While I have a responsibility I am convinced that the maintenance of things is because He is ever living to do so; and, because of the Spirit’s presence, there is an answer in our souls to such grace. We prove time and again then, what is the “good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. As the Lord Jesus offered His body once for all, we present our bodies as a living sacrifice; we are here more for Him and desire to occupy till He comes.
So, we get help in our motive, encouraged as we draw from the Lord and understand His motive to maintain us. We find help as resorting to the Lord. We get help as being among the brethren, and hearing a word that touches our affections, which gives us something to think about; all add to our experience as we are preserved by the Lord. Then, we are more able to hold our bodies as a living sacrifice, to think more consciously and more sensibly, in our daily activities and in our family and assembly links. We do not retire from normal everyday activities, but are helped as thoughts may occasionally come across our mind; something from divine Persons given to help us.
Nothing could be more important than thoughts of the Supper, for we would be no different than others without the reality of the Supper to sustain us during the week. The loaf suggests the Lord’s personal body, a body prepared for Him, in which He filled out perfectly the will of God; and, He offered that body that we might be sanctified and come into the will of God ourselves as with Himself. His personal love for the assembly is shown in it too. That is another motive of the Man Christ Jesus. He loved the assembly, and if in any sense we love what is His, it is because He does; that does not occupy us with what we have done or are doing, because we have not done anything that adds to this kind of love; His own personal love for the assembly. These Supper experiences preserve us together as our motives merge with His own.
I would like to take up the exercise of motive our brother brought before us, and not let thoughts run too far in any direction, or be too occupied with this thing or that thing; but, counting on the Lord, be found among the brethren, in fellowship in a right way, and occupying till He comes. Christ is our life; that is the key. He has become our life, no longer the world. We see how much we need Him to preserve us; see His own motive of ever living to make intercession for us. May the thought of His motive be transferred to our thinking, and our exercises merge to dwell more consciously in God’s house. May we be encouraged to help one another in the truth of occupying till He come, for His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Denton
3 August 2004