THE DIVINE STANDARD OF SERVICE (5)
[p. 448] THE DIVINE STANDARD OF SERVICE (5)
2 Corinthians 5:10 - 21; 2 Corinthians 6:1 - 4
JT We dealt yesterday afternoon on the endurance that marked the apostle and the fragile nature of the vessel in which he had the treasure. It is to be noted that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (chapter 4:7) is the responsible person speaking. He would be in other circumstances later, but for the moment he had the treasure in an earthen vessel, one easily broken. But the very fragile nature of the vessel only cast him all the more on God, so that he went through with his ministry and did not faint, having obtained mercy. At times he came near to breaking point, but elsewhere we learn he went right through and finished his course. He said to Timothy that the time of his offering up was at hand, so that, although the vessel was so fragile and so exposed, the very weakness inspiring confidence and trust in God, yet he goes through until the time appointed, for he finished his course. “I am already being poured out”, he said to Timothy, (2 Timothy 4:6) as if the principle of the “dying of Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:10) marked him. He was being poured out before he died literally. God is pleased to take up in His service men in weak mortal bodies to show “that the surpassingness of the power” (verse 7) is of Him and not from us.
Then there was the outlook of the apostle at the end of chapter 4 (verse 18), “We look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are for a time, but those that are not seen eternal”. Looking at eternal things enabled him to speak of the light affliction which was but for a moment, working a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. This is an immense thing for the servant in his afflictions; it enables him to regard [p. 449] them, however heavy, as light and only for a moment. If we are able to look into eternity, the present is but a very brief moment. The outward man was perishing and the inward man was being renewed. It was a daily thing and that which was to abide was being renewed. There was daily renewal.
HD'AC The renewing of the inward man can only take place as we look at the things eternal and unseen.
JT I suppose you get a conception of what they are by looking, and the formation is in keeping with what you see. The things presented for faith are intended to produce a conception in us, so that the formation is according to that, would you say?
HD'AC Yes; it works both ways. The more there is this renewing of the inward man, the more we look at the things unseen and eternal, and the more we look at those things, the more the work is unhindered and there is result in the inward man.
JT Just so. So that the formation is in relation to the conception one has. In being brought up in this world people have a conception of it; the thing they are aiming at is presented to them, and their education is to that end. So in regard of what we are being brought into, we look at the things, and understand what we are being formed for; we shall thus not be unaccustomed to or unfit for them, as it says, “Now he that has wrought us for this very thing is God”, (verse 5).
CGR Does not the outward man involve more than the body?
JT The mortal element enters into it, but the apostle alludes to himself, to the whole outward make-up, including his body; that was perishing.
HES Are there not two thoughts before the apostle, on the one hand, confidence in God that he would be carried right through, and on the other hand,
[p. 450] the exercise that he might be carried through suitably to the ministry he had received?
JT Indeed, so he says here, “zealous, whether present or absent, to be agreeable to him”.
EuR Now does the earnest of the Spirit come in in verse 5?
JT The apostle brings in in principle all that we shall come into literally. The ‘earnest’ would mean that we have the thing in principle, but there is the formation which has to be regarded as distinct from the earnest. The renewal of the inner man is in view and what we are coming into, so that we are fitted for it, and I believe it is included in the statement, “He that has wrought us for this very thing is God”. Then He has given us the earnest of the Spirit. It is to keep us on the level of what we are coming into as to our enjoyment, while we are down here.
EuR Does the earnest of the Spirit involve the relationship of sons?
JT No doubt, but he is occupied here with our house which is from heaven, so that the earnest would be that which you go on with at the present time. In chapter 1 the Spirit is alluded to as the earnest in our hearts; that is for enjoyment. But it is brought in here to show that we are not without income in relation to the great future that is before us. The earnest is an income whereby we are maintained now in proper spiritual dignity.
FHB “He that has wrought us for this very thing is God” would indicate the whole work of God in us. It is with a view to that which is eternal.
WCG Would it be right to suggest two lines? There is the line of the work of God, new creation, coming into view; and then there is the line of responsibility, ending with the judgment-seat.
JT Yes; those two things work together. The one has to do with us in responsibility here, the other is the sovereign work of God, so that if any one be [p. 451] in Christ it is new creation, and new creation is God’s work.
AHW Will you say how we arrive at the conclusion of mind, so that we go on and nothing makes us give up?
JT “We faint not” (chapter 4:1); that is the attitude of your mind, the allusion being, as we remarked yesterday, to Gideon. There was no thought at all in him or his three hundred men of giving up. They felt their weakness, but in result they accomplished all they set out to do; they went through. It is the attitude of the mind, and God comes in in relation to that; the going through is a question of God supporting you, so that the excellency of the power is of Him.
AHW How do we arrive at that attitude of mind?
JT You come to value the thing, the “treasure”, as was remarked in prayer. “Having this ministry”, that is, such a ministry as is communicated, it must not fall to the ground, it must go through. That is the attitude of your mind. How can you carry it through? You cannot by your own strength. Your very weakness is your strength, therefore, as you rely on God. The excellency of the power is of God, and that very experience in itself is formative. It is the knowledge of God in the way of daily support, and you are in continual dependence on God.
HH Do you think chapter 3, which treats of the new covenant, is connected with responsibility, whereas this chapter would come in on the line of sovereignty?
JT It does. It leads up to that. We pass the judgment-seat of Christ; that is before us, but we reach new creation here.
HH Do you connect “beholding ... the glory of the Lord” with new creation or sovereignty, or is it the writing on the heart [p. 452] now?
JT It is, I think, more for testimony that God may be known here. It is that kind of ministry, and you are in keeping with it. The new covenant has set you up in spiritual liberty, so that you are here representative of God. New creation is in view of eternity. They enter into each other because normally the work of God goes on from the time He takes you up; and all that goes on in your circumstances ministers to what God has taken you up for. He has taken you up for something, that is, for His eternal purpose, and what may come in now in the way of service and testimony is sure to contribute to what He has in His mind for you eternally. It cannot but be so, if you are going on with God. You are coming to know God now, and you are apprehending what is before Him, which is new creation, and you have part in that already.
HH God has lost man in his affections, but now He is writing Christ there.
JT Yes, it is a question of God gaining confidence in your heart. That is what the new covenant means. Through it we are free to look on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face.
EuR In responsibility have we the Lord Jesus in that way kingdomwise, but holding our hearts in the blessed sunshine of God’s love?
JT Exactly; all this arises from the truth of the “vessel”, but it goes on to what is done in the body now. He comes to that in bringing in the judgment-seat of Christ. He alludes to the things done in the body whether good or bad. That becomes a solemn matter as to one’s whole life, what one has done with one’s body. We have bodies, and so it is a question of how we use them. Romans shows how unconverted men use their bodies, that in which we all have had our part; and the apostle shows how the body is secured for God, so as to be presented to God a living sacrifice.
FHB “We must all”; who are the “all” there?
JT The apostle is dealing with christians particularly here, that is, those professedly christians, but it would have a special bearing on certain at Corinth who were evil workers. He was aiming at them, but then he could well afford to bring it in in regard to himself. It includes every one of us professing to be a christian. Romans 14 connects the judgment-seat with God, and thus it is that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to God. All are to be placed according to Romans 14 before the judgment-seat of God. But here it is christians who are manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ.
Then it goes on, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men, but have been manifested to God”. He brings God in, but it is the judgment-seat of Christ.
SJBC J.N.D. used to say that everything will come out at the judgment-seat of Christ, what we have done, even in our unconverted days, but that will enhance the grace of God in having saved such as we.
JT That is plain enough here: “That each may receive the things done in the body, according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil”. It is not the things done in the body since he was converted, but “done in the body”. It is a question of how one has used one’s body and of one’s responsibilities to God as in it.
Ques What is the thought of receiving in that? How could a believer receive what he has done?
JT It will be a question of how he appears in the kingdom, what his reward may be. It will be according to what he has done in his body, that is, what he will be in the kingdom must be relative to what he has been here. He has been in the kingdom here in his body in a moral sense. Now, how do you use [p. 454] your body? What use has one made of one’s body? “Each”; we are singled out very distinctly.
JJ Would you use Abimelech as an illustration? He follows Gideon in Judges 9, and a kind of judgment-seat was made by Jotham.
JT Just so. I have no doubt he symbolises the kind of opposition that was current at Corinth when Paul wrote, that is, it was a question of being king. “Ye have reigned as kings without us”, it says. Abimelech had that in his mind. The trees took counsel as to who should rule over them, and the poor Corinthians were little better than the trees when they made proposal to have someone to rule over them. Although well qualified to rule, Gideon had refused, saying, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah will rule over you”, (Judges 8:23). He established that principle, although he was well fitted, because his mother’s sons were all of them like him, and “each one resembled the sons of a king”. So Paul was well fitted to rule, but he declined and said, “I would that ye reigned, that we also might reign with you”, (1 Corinthians 4:8). That enters into the servant’s exercise; he refuses to be made a king. It is one of the most insidious things to regard christianity as a one-man affair. It is not. It is absolutely that in regard to Christ, but not in regard of anyone here on earth. “The locusts have no king”, it says (Proverbs 30:27); they represent christians.
Ques It says of the Lord that He hid Himself. Should that not be applicable to us as servants?
JT They would have made Him king, but He says, “My time is not yet come”, (John 7:6). He was born king, but it was not for “this world”, and that is the principle: “The locust have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands”. It is a greater thing to be governed by principles involving love for Christ than by external rule. The “bands” imply that we can come together in affection. Now, the poor [p. 455] Corinthians were very like the trees of which Jotham speaks, that would have a king to rule over them. The fig-tree said, No, I will not leave my sweetness to rule over you; the vine said it would not leave its function to make glad the heart of God and man; and then the olive tree would not leave its fatness wherewith it honoured God and man. What precious ministries! This epistle corresponds; it is the honour the servant pays to God and to men. Well, am I going to leave that to become a king? No. These trees function profitably and consciously in regard of God and men, and they decline to rule over the trees.
JHB Is that not summarised in the last verse of chapter 1 of this epistle? “Not that we rule over your faith, but are fellow-workmen of your joy: for by faith ye stand”.
JT Exactly; that is an excellent illustration and confirmation of it. The thorn-bush is brought in. The thorn-bush in Exodus 3 is symbolic of what is of little value in this world, yet God came into it. But as in Judges it has a sense it is of little value, so why not take the place that is offered? The true servant declines to take on kingship; he is too well off; he knows that he is serving God, which is greater than kingship as known in this world. So the only one that would accept the offer was the thorn-bush and that was Abimelech, and so fire came out of the thorn-bush. Abimelech also fell under the judgment of God. His course was especially wicked coming immediately after Gideon had set out the principle that although himself like a king, he had declined the position of one.
JJ How do you view the Judges in the way of leadership?
JT It is a question of God calling a deliverer to meet the condition. The first judge was Othniel, the husband of Achsah, who had in her dowry springs of [p. 456] water; that is to say, she was a woman of means spiritually and Othniel was of the same family, so that they were persons of means spiritually. He was the first judge and he had to contend with the king of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is the land of “two rivers”, meaning worldly resources. Chushan-rishathaim thus was a man of worldly resources, and how is he to be met? By a man of spiritual resources, and that was Othniel. That is the principle of the Judges. The man is available personally, and God takes him up; the Spirit of God moves him and acts with him, and so it is all the way through the Judges. It is a question of God’s love for His people.
Ques Is Peter’s exercise in 1 Peter 5:3 on this line? “Not as lording it over your possessions, but being models for the flock”.
JT Exactly.
JJT Does the thought of manifesting touch the question of motives?
JT Quite. We have to give an account of the deeds done in the body: “that each may receive the things done in the body, according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil”. We are now in the presence of that anticipatively. Our very motives are all exposed and we have things out now. You may as well, because they will come out then, at the judgment-seat, hence one is always having to search oneself whether one is right as to one’s motives, as to what is governing one in all one’s doings.
Ques Would you say the judgment-seat of Christ is anticipated by us in daily self-judgment?
JT Exactly. You are in the light of all being “manifested before the judgment-seat of the Christ”.
HES Is the mutual side of things shown here, that not only they were manifested to God as the ministers, but they had an exercise that they should be manifested in the consciences of those whom they served?
JT It goes on, “We ... have been manifested to God”; he could thus call God to witness on his soul. That was an immense thing. Then the apostle says, “I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences”.
HD'AC He anticipated the judgment-seat, for all had come out already.
JT Yes; and it affords a great moral weapon in the soul, if you are consciously before God, and you can call God to witness in that way. You know that He commends you; so here Paul can call God to witness on his soul, and he says, “We ... have been manifested to God, and I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences”. If it were not so, there was something wrong with their consciences.
Ques Would the terror of the Lord bear on the things that do not come out now?
JT It would; and what is beautifully combined with that in the chapter is the love of Christ. He speaks about the terror of the Lord moving him to persuade men, but then he also says, “The love of the Christ constrains us”; the One who is to be on the judgment-seat is the One who loved Paul. He knew the terror of the Lord, but the love of Christ constrained him; he was under the direct influence of that love.
Rem Having the judgment-seat of Christ before us would preserve us from going on with what is not in accord with the mind of the Spirit.
JT Yes. The two things run together — the terror of the Lord against what is evil, whether it be in the believer or in others, so that you persuade men, and the love of Christ constraining you.
HH We all ought to take to heart seriously things that have never been cleared up here in regard of church difficulties and tests.
JT What a manifestation there will be of [p. 458] the motives governing all those sorrowful conflicts that have happened amongst the people of God!
JHT Would that combination be seen in Ezekiel 11:13, where it speaks of one dying, and then immediately, “Ah, Lord Jehovah! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” Would the combination you spoke of enter into our speaking and preaching?
JT Yes. It is greatly to be desired that we be constrained by the love of Christ.
The statements in the chapter, about being beside himself and the love of Christ, show how completely the apostle was clear in regard of the judgment-seat. There was not an atom of fear in his heart in regard of God. “Whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God”, that is, there was the power of abstraction from seen things, from mortal conditions to be “to God”.
WCG Does not that result from every matter being cleared up?
JT I think so. Paul was so clear in regard of any matter, that he could at any time enter into the presence of God without a fear, as one has said, assured of meeting an ‘unrebuking gaze’ when he spoke of going to be with the Lord. That was Paul’s state, that there would not be anything to rebuke even now. If I am beside myself, it is to God. At any time he could be with God in abstraction from seen things, showing how adjusted he was in his relations with God.
JJ Do you think we see the way the judgment-seat of Christ operates in John 21 in the way the Lord deals with Peter?
JT Exactly. The adjustment brings into view the love of Christ. It is His service to do it.
Rem In the affairs of men certain things may be on the calendar, but if you inquire about them, you are told that all those things have been settled out of [p. 459] court. We ought to bear in mind that there should be with us that concern with God that things may be settled now.
JT Quite so. One can be beside oneself to be to God, and God loves that in us, and then, as he says, “or are sober, it is for you. For the love of the Christ constrains us”.
PG It says with regard to David that he danced with all his might “before Jehovah”, and God gives His approval; but his wife despised him, and it is said that “Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death”, (2 Samuel 6:14,23). Would that be a similar case?
JT Yes. That generation comes to an end. God would never allow despisal of that which was manifested in David as he danced “before Jehovah”. It was the spirit of worship.
DLH Would you link the thought of “the terror of the Lord” with the word, “Our God is a consuming fire”?
JT I would. Our God is known in that way. It is a very solemn thing.
HES Is the idea that the apostle had confidence in regard of the future, but an intense exercise for the saints in regard of the present?
JT Yes; he was sober on their account; “the love of Christ” would keep him here for them, “for the love of the Christ constrains us”. The Lord has that which is so precious to Him here, that the apostle is constrained in that connection. It is a sober calculation of things as they are, for “we thus judge”, he says. A judgment formed [p. 460] under the influence of the love of Christ is a most interesting one, and you may be sure it is carried on free from partiality. “Having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died”. That is a judgment arrived at. The judgment-seat of Christ would assume that, but the apostle had already come to it. He judged under the influence of the love of Christ that if one died for all, then all have died.
JK The apostle was made perfect in love.
PW Was it the love of Christ constraining him that enabled him to say, “For I am conscious of nothing in myself; but I am not justified by this but he that examines me is the Lord”, (1 Corinthians 4:4)? It is the same person who says that who speaks here of the love of Christ constraining him.
JT I believe that is correct; he knew of nothing in himself, but was not thereby justified. After all, you have to refer to the Lord as to everything for final adjustment.
PW Then he goes on, “Then shall each have his praise from God”, (1 Corinthians 4:5). I thought that was a very beautiful touch.
Ques Is this matter of being justified before the judgment-seat of Christ different from having a good conscience?
JT You may have a good conscience and not pass the judgment-seat of Christ. One may say his conscience is good, but the question is what standard you go by. The judgment-seat is in keeping with the death of Christ.
Rem Saul had a good conscience in opposing Christ, a “conscience void of offence”, (Acts 24:16).
JT Quite. But later being in the light of God he adjusted himself with God; with him then a good conscience was a very different matter. He exercised himself in order to maintain it, but he had a perfect standard before him. The death of Christ, revealing God’s estimate of sin, was before him.
HD'AC The judgment-seat of Christ is in many ways merciful and wise. The apostle Paul, for instance, lived and died a misunderstood man by many; the judgment-seat of Christ will remove all that from the saints. They misunderstood him, and so it will be with us all. We may be too highly praised [p. 461] and valued — the judgment-seat will adjust it all. We may have been greatly misunderstood — the judgment-seat will remove it all. We shall begin eternity rightly adjusted with the whole company of saints.
JT Nothing will be left unsolved; everything will be seen as agreeing with the nature of God; nothing to dispute or interfere with God as known in Christ. This will mark eternity.
AHW Would it be right to say the terror of the Lord had been demonstrated in the death of Christ?
JT Surely; that is where God’s holy judgment against sin was seen fully.
JJ So the judgment-seat of Christ is essential for the scene of reconciliation in the end of the chapter.
JT And particularly for all of us in active service, that we challenge ourselves as to our motives. But then, in coming into close contact with Christ, we find that in the adjusting process His love is only confirmed, because we can never come into touch with Christ without being impressed that His dealings with us are in love. So the apostle’s sobriety and judgment came in under that head, “For the love of the Christ constrains us, having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died; and he died for all, that they who live [p. 462] should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised”. That clears the scene — that all have died. We judge the death of Christ as having this significance as under the influence of His love. What therefore are men after all? What are human distinctions? What is this reigning as kings? What are those aspirations as to places in this world? They all come down and disappear in the judgment formed as to the bearing of His death under the constraint of the love of Christ.
WCG Would you say a word about the conclusion formed in verse 15, “That they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised”?
JT The apostle is reaching it on the line of Him who died and rose again; we are living to Him. Now the fleshly order is therefore gone for faith. Of course we are not ignoring the other side of the truth, that we have our responsibility here in regard of natural relationships, but it is a question of going on to the full thought of God and of learning His love in relation to Him who died and rose again; that is, He draws you in the power of His love, draws you out of this scene of fleshly responsibilities into a realm where there is just one Man out of death and you live to Him. But then you do not know anyone else; you do not know people now after the flesh, not even Christ, so if any man be in Christ, a new creation. That is the way it reads — a new creation.
ASL In that scene there is nothing after the flesh.
JT Not a trace of it; it is all gone.
ASL When we actually get into that sphere, we shall be exactly like Him, so we shall see and judge of everything rightly according to God.
PG The terror of the Lord is rather a stumble to me. Would it be in connection with the refusal perhaps in a servant to deliver the message, like Moses, who said, “Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses”, Exodus 4:13,14. Would that not be the terror of the Lord?
JT Well, we have to do with God. “God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7), and it is our God who is a consuming fire, as was remarked, but that is relative to what is to be consumed. What you see in Revelation is a company of people standing upon a sea of glass mingled with fire. Everything is out; they are transparent. But then the fire was there; they had had to do with God.
HH “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men”; would that go further than those who profess?
JT No doubt; “men” includes all, but then, let us not drop down from new creation. In our scripture here we have come on to the very top.
WL Would this warning note prove that the testimony being carried on at the divine level, in spite of all the weakness that may come in here, is maintained and God justifies it?
JT Yes. You see the living conditions of the apostle; he judged all had died. Whatever your distinction in this world may be, it is nothing to him; all that has disappeared from his view. He will not be unseemly in his relations with you, but your graded distinction is nothing to him. That is the way it works out; he did not know anyone after the flesh; that is how he would live. If you had Paul in your house, he would convey to you that his living conditions were not even in legitimate things, but that they were in relation to Christ who died and rose again — in relation to a man out of death. His desire was to attain to the resurrection from among the dead, to a state of things out of death. That is what he was aiming at, and so he would convey to you that those were his living conditions. He did not care for anything that men were going on with; they did not affect him. “I would to God”, he said to king Agrippa, “both in little and in much, that not only thou, but all who have heard me this day, should become such as I also am, except these bonds”, (Acts 26:29). It was the state of his soul, his living conditions.
PL You referred to the trees. It says in Psalm 104:16, “The trees of Jehovah are satisfied”. Would he be such a tree?
JT Exactly.
HES Does the apostle in regard to the presentation [p. 464] of ministry, on the one hand, maintain things on the level of all that God is towards men, and on the other hand, the delight and pleasure of God in a Man?
JT Yes, the gospel he preached includes both these features.
Ques Is it in new creation we can say, “This God is our God for ever and ever”, (Psalm 48:14)?
JT Just so; there all is of God. The apostle is bringing before us his living conditions. He says, “So that we henceforth know no one according to flesh”. It is the acme of the thing; it is what is reachable. He comes on to the full level of the mind of God. He is touching many things, but here are conditions of his living experience, that he knows no one after the flesh, he says, “if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. So if any one be in Christ there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new: and all things are of the God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ”. Thus the realm of God is reached.
EuR Would it be right to say that while this has to be arrived at by each one individually, it involves our living conditions together?
JT No doubt. Paul is showing here from his own experience what is reachable by the believer, and this ought to enter into our service. Though it is much greater than anything I may have here in service, it is reachable. Paul can say it for himself, and it is for every one to say how far he has reached it.
Rem He began by determining to know nothing among the Corinthians but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
JT That was to bring down their pride. It was in his public ministry, and not to go beyond that was a remarkable feat, because we are all so apt to bring [p. 465] out everything we know, particularly the very best things, in order to make a good impression, but not so Paul. He had such power that (because of the state of the saints) he could limit himself to one part of the truth, and determine to know nothing beyond that. But what he is aiming at here is to show you there is a plane which is reachable now where all things are of God, where old things have passed away and where all things have become new, the great influencing power being the love of Christ who died and rose again. So in Philippians he aims not only to know it simply by faith, but to “arrive at the resurrection from among the dead” (chapter 3:11).
HH To bring a man to that high level would colour the gospel.
JT Quite. That is the great gain of formation. Paul reached the level God intended for us in Christ; he reached it in his soul. So we have the elevation of which we have spoken in his ministry, and of his relations with God; he had passed out of the world of seen things. Think of the effect of that on a man as he opened his mouth to preach the gospel! What an influence he would exert on his audience!
FSM Is living to Him the greatest objective that could possibly colour our lives, the general governing principle of life, the love of Christ constraining us?
JT Exactly; it is living, not to ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again.
WCG Do you not think what is behind that is that Christ is before our souls?
JT Quite; it is the Person who died.
FSM It is not a question of purely individual acts of service, but the Lord would influence us so by the power of His love that the whole life would be one of service.
JT Yes. And then, as we have said, there are living conditions for the servant. We need to learn to retire on to the plane that the mind of God indicates [p. 466] for us, a plane in which there is no question of service, but of new creation; a realm where everything is new, where there is not a vestige of anything old, and all is of God.
ASL “All things are of the God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ”. Would you say a word about that?
JT Now we come back from the plane of the purpose of God — new creation — to reconciliation. Reconciliation brings out a wide subject, so that the apostle goes back in his mind to what Christ was here. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their offences”. It was the wonderful platform on which God approached men so as to deliver and reconcile them.
EuR Is it a little like Peter and John abiding in the upper room in Acts 1 and the preaching going out in Acts 2?
JT Well, there it is not so much living conditions, but that they were staying in the place, meaning that the assembly is in view in Acts from the outset, and what is mentioned is to develop the order belonging to it in localities — in persons who stay in localities. It is not so much a question of living conditions, but of the fact that certain persons were staying there, and as representative of Christ’s authority.
FHB Would you say a word as to the relation of new creation with reconciliation? They are brought in together here.
JT Reconciliation is really the means to it in our souls. Only as reconciled can we come into new creation; but reconciliation has in view all my responsible history. “Not imputing their trespasses”, it says. God remits His claim so that we might be detained, and that we might see what He has in His mind for us, that is, Christ. So it was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good pleasure in men”, (Luke 2:14). That is what was in His mind, and God wants [p. 467] to remove everything that would hinder men coming into that. Men are to come into that, to be for God’s good pleasure, but how can they come into His good pleasure? We are reconciled to God by the death of His Son. The sins must be dealt with, but then He is not imputing them; He has been glorified in respect of them in the death of Christ. By the death of His Son He removes what is contrary to Him so that we may be for His pleasure.
ASL In this reconciliation everything has been cleared away, everything of the flesh has been dealt with.
JT Quite; the whole responsible side has been disposed of to God’s glory. What I have been here, my trespasses and the like, where I have been to God’s displeasure, God has dealt with all that, and in faith I am brought on to the platform of His pleasure in Christ. It is “good pleasure in men” (Luke 2:14), and faith brings me into that. God has disposed in the death of Christ of all that which would be to His displeasure in me. Reconciliation is thus a question of faith coming into the apprehension of Christ risen, as representing what is pleasing to God in man.
ASL That is the reason it is “by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10) — not the precious blood, but the death.
JT Quite; “the death of his Son” in Romans, and “in the body of his flesh through death” in Colossians (chapter 1:22). We see in these strong expressions the depth and thoroughness of the work needed for reconciliation.
Ques What is the relation between new creation and eternal life?
JT That brings up another thought. Eternal life has in view the fact that death is upon us; that is the relation in which it stands. Reconciliation has in view that we displeased God, and so He has brought in His ideal in Christ, “Good pleasure in men”. A Man has come in in whom God found His [p. 468] delight, and He is going to bring men into that. That is what He will do, but it involved the death of His Son.
Ques Does it reach on to the time when God will dwell with men?
JT It does. God has pleasure in us before He can dwell with us.
HFN Would you say a word on the last verse and its bearing on what you have been speaking of?
JT It is the foundation of everything. “Him who knew not sin he has made sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness in him”. Not only to be righteous, but to become God’s righteousness — a marvellous statement — a full answer to the death of Christ and what He was made. He was made sin for us, He who knew no sin. God did that; God made Him sin that we might be made His righteousness. This should appeal to our hearts!
RB Is the glorified body of the believer necessary for that?
JT I think so. It is what we shall be fully by and by — the expression of God’s righteousness.
Rem So the world to come is the sphere in which that will be manifested.
JT Yes. It is not only that we are constituted righteous, we become God’s righteousness in Christ.