THE POWER OF THE LORD JESUS
THE POWER OF THE LORD JESUS
The true light of christianity is displayed in the Lord; you cannot learn it elsewhere. Therefore I can understand the apostle saying to the Philippian jailor, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”; as much as to say to him, You get into the light of what is displayed in the Lord, and you will be saved, and your house. I think it is very beautiful to know that there is one point where you can fully learn what is in the heart of God toward man, and you see it displayed, not in weakness, but in glory, in power. There is no power to equal the power of the Lord Jesus Christ! Talk about power in this world, and what nations and man can do: it is not to be compared to the power of the Lord Jesus.
If you ask what is my greatest glory — and a man’s glory is what his heart cherishes — I can honestly say that the glory of my heart is that I know God in the wonderful way in which He has been pleased to reveal Himself. There is not a single attribute of God which is now a terror to me, whether it be His righteousness, or holiness, or power. It is a most wonderful thing [p. 310] when all fear of God is completely expelled: that is love made perfect with us, “that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world...”. I know the love of God; my heart is burning; I am lit up with that wonderful light that has been revealed in the Son.
I think life practically is the enjoyment of the relationships in which it has pleased God to place us. In one sense, it is the power to enjoy the relationships; in another sense, it may be spoken of as the enjoyment of the relationships.. .. If we are to enter into the enjoyment of these spiritual relationships there must of necessity be the fellowship of the death of Christ.
All the relationships which God has been pleased to establish in grace are living, because they are of the living God. There is no thought in Scripture which is more suggestive to my mind than the expression, “the living God”. We read of the Son of the living God, the Spirit of the living God, the church of the living God, the service of the living God, the word of the living God — all is living.