THE FATHER OF SPIRITS
W F.Flowerdew
I link on with our brother's prayer as to the pathway of the Lord Jesus here and the way in which He has endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God, because the apostle is particularly concerned that we should "consider well him who endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself, that ye be not weary, fainting in your minds". It seems that there is always the need of being strengthened and encouraged and lifted up in our minds against what might depress or cast us down, or work in other ways. We need, of course, to strengthen ourselves against sin and how the enemy would try to get in in that respect. But I thought in this section particularly that the Lord would lift us up in our spirits, if any may be inclined to faint and droop in mind as we might quite easily do from one cause and another. But the Lord would encourage us, I think, to endure, to have our part in this race and have the heavenly line of things before us so that we might really be in the race with the great objective before us - the Lord Himself who has gone before and is now at the right hand of God. He sets things on and sustains us, sustaining the whole system for the pleasure of God. And He would sustain us individually too, and work with us in relation to our spirits.
What is particularly affecting in this section is the name of the Father as the Father of spirits: "shall we not much rather be in subject ion to the Father of spirits, and live?". It is touching to think of that. We have sung of the Father's name in our hymn. We have had it before us in Matthew's gospel, our "Father who is in the heavens" (chap 6: 1), but this seems to be a particularly intimate matter, "the Father of spirits", an inward matter, a matter in which I think we are particularly in touch with God Himself, known in this blessed relationship as the Father of spirits. We cannot tell what is going on in anybody's spirit, persons in discipline, brethren in hospital and such places; we cannot assume to know what is going on in anybody's spirit or in anybody's heart, but the Father of spirits does. The Father of spirits is the One who cares for this inward line of things, so that on an occasion like this the word may come in, as it does, through one and another, and we do not know how it is going to operate, but the Father of spirits does. He can apply the word to our spirits, and whilst the word is given, we have to leave the results in the Father's hand. The Father would produce something with us in relation to our spirits, in relation to the result that He has in mind Himself, that we might live, that we might be partakers of His holiness. That is the result; there would be something more for Him, some greater representation of Himself.
I think we can often see this with persons who are under particular discipline, how quickly the Father works in them and the Spirit works in them, producing perhaps mature features in a very short time. I have noticed it myself with elderly brothers in particular, and sisters too - the brothers because you hear them expressing themselves - how mature they have become in their address to the Father, their speaking to God, as if something very special has been wrought out in their spirits in the time of discipline. I think that is what this thought of the Father of spirits would involve; it would produce a quality and a maturity of things which God is looking for from each one of us, however the discipline may come. But He would encourage us not to faint, to keep our eye on the Lord, to keep on in the race, not to faint, not to be weary but to endure, and just to subject ourselves so that quality might come about with us, that the Father might get more for His own pleasure and that there might be this result, increasingly partaking of His holiness. How perfectly this great feature of holiness was seen in the Lord Himself! I think the Father is producing this in His own way, that He has His own point in discipline just perhaps to adjust us, to remove something, but to produce something substantial in the way of holiness which is in accordance with His own nature, which is really the result of His own love. It has been said that the Father is out for our promotion, He is promoting us. He is always out to further us and help us forward. This would encourage us to go through, to endure, pointing attention to the Lord's own pathway here, its perfection, and His going on to the cross, "and that the death of the cross", Phil 2: 8. I think it would help us to be prepared for the reproach, and to go through with whatever measure of endurance may be called for on our side, in order that this positive result may be found with us, that we may be subject to the Father of spirits and live, because the Father's organisation is a living one and He desires us to live.
The end of the chapter says we have come to the living God, a great living system of things. It would have in mind, I think, that we should be more representative, more like the God whose system it is, and m ore matured, marked by increasing quality. I think the Lord is getting at this matter of quality, reduction in numbers may be, and sorrowfully we have had to face it and do, but I think the Lord would get at that which is more and more distinctive in the way of quality, what would be more and more for the Father’s pleasure, and the understanding of Himself. It is an interesting title, the Father of spirits, and as having to do with Him inwardly in an intimate way we can rejoice in the place of children and sons in relation to the Father. The Lord would help us to see that it all has a bearing upon our increase in the knowledge of the Father Himself and what He is securing in the way of quality and life for His own pleasure. It was just this thought, as following our brother's prayer, that confirmed me to read the scripture, knowing that more is in mind, but just to touch on this line of things that we might be found more in this great sphere of life which is for the Father’s pleasure.
LONDON
13 February 1973