INTRODUCTION OF THE TESTIMONY
[p. 167] INTRODUCTION OF THE TESTIMONY
An Address to Christians by James Taylor, December 27, 1901 Luke 2:1-8; Luke 2:13; 1 Corinthians 1:27 - 30; Revelation 21:10, 11 What I had in mind in reading these scriptures was to call your attention to the introduction of the testimony of God into this world. And not only the testimony of God, but the Spirit of God. In Luke we get the introduction of God’s testimony connected with the circumstances that surrounded it, and the circumstances that surrounded it have a meaning. There cannot be anything more interesting and nothing more important than the introduction of the divine testimony. It is a wonderful thing to contemplate, to ponder, the introduction of the divine testimony into this world. That is what we have to look at. That is what is brought to the attention of men in Luke. I say the attention of men because Luke’s platform is a broad platform. The writer of it was a companion to the apostle Paul. The sphere of Paul’s labours was humanity. He did not stop short of humanity. His conception of what God was about was this: that it extended to the furthest limits of humanity. There was no part of it that was not to be affected by the divine testimony. Paul’s base was heaven. The twelve apostles’ base was Jerusalem. Their labours were all connected with Jerusalem, but not so with Paul. He began with heaven, and you cannot restrict heaven. And on the other hand the testimony cannot be confined to any part of earth. There is no part of earth that has not its counterpart in heaven. They are co-relative in that way. In Acts we get the heavens open through and Stephen was permitted to look into heaven, and he saw a Man there. He saw a Man in heaven. But who was the Man whom he saw there? You find subsequently that the Man whom he saw had certain dealings with Saul of Tarsus. A light from heaven we are told, not a light from Jerusalem. A light above the brightness of the noonday sun fell upon him and profoundly affected him. He began with heaven and he felt that the influence of heaven was to extend to the furthest limits of the earth.
There was no part of humanity that was not to be affected by the influence of heaven. Luke writes about Christ in relation to humanity.
God’s thought is, that the earth is to be influenced by heaven. I do not believe that there is any part of scripture where you will not find that heaven and earth are to be connected. Earth is to be influenced by heaven. The nineteenth Psalm proves it. The sun is in the heavens. I think that you will find today that men are seeking to disconnect earth from heaven. They say that as far as God is concerned, He may [p. 169] abide there. In Revelation what you find is that men shall glorify the God of heaven. They do not say anything about the God of earth. But God is thinking about the earth. Look at what He says about Himself; heaven is the throne of God, earth is His footstool. You cannot separate the throne from the footstool. You cannot take away the footstool from God, it belongs to Him; and heaven is the throne of God. There is no house capable of receiving Him. You get this in Luke, in the testimony of God, that every part of earth is to be affected by the heavens. There was a brother speaking to me today about fresh air. What we need is fresh air. The higher up we go the fresher the air. We do not get high enough. We are too much confined to earth. It may be that we claim to have given up the earth, and then what do we find? Nothing but heaven. On the other hand, if we have given up heaven it is all earth. That is not the line God has taken, God takes up both. The church’s testimony is that the earth belongs to Christ. The idea of Genesis is the beginning of divine operations. What was it for? Earth was a part of it. No intelligent Christian would give it up. It belongs to Christ. If the Lord Jesus has left you down here, He has left you here to maintain that the earth belongs to Him till He comes.
I want to speak now about the testimony, about the circumstances of the introduction of the testimony. What I see in it is this: I see irony. Ponder it for a moment. God was ironical when [p. 170] He introduced His testimony into this world.
He takes up the most despised people obtainable to introduce His testimony into this world. I want you to ponder it, because it has its own reflection. It was suitable that God should come into the world in that way because of the pretentions of men. God was ironical. The Lord said, “Ninety and nine just persons” Luke 15:7.
That was irony. They were just as bad as the one that had gone astray. The most insignificant family in Judea God takes up. I think that everything that God does has a moral significance. You get no help from the scriptures unless you read them from that standpoint. God takes up the smallest things to bring in His testimony, And what a testimony! He was lying in a manger; God’s Testimony, the blessed Son of God. The true ark of the testimony. What did anybody care about him? Everything was going all right with them. But what about heaven? It was very different there. What you find in Luke is that suddenly there was with the angels a heavenly host. They knew what was going on.
The greatest thing that had ever transpired in this world had transpired in Bethlehem. Every intelligence in heaven knew the significance of it. They spoke of glory to God. That was one thing that they saw. He had come for the establishment of the divine glory. What had been on earth before? Nothing but reproach.
The honour of God was now to be maintained in the universe. There was going to be peace on [p. 171] earth. There was going to be the establishment of peace in the Person of Christ, and the angels knew it. That is what you get here, they were praising God; “Glory to God in the highest”. Peace was to be established on earth. The third thing was pleasure in men. Man had heretofore ministered nought but grief to the heart of God and never pleasure, but here is Christ, there was to be good pleasure in Man. The angels’ hearts were filled with it. All that was so wonderful in the heaven was introduced in the most insignificant circumstances here on earth. But that did not take away the cream of it. Do you think that I think any less of Christ because He was in a manger? No. It enhances the position. It enlarges the scene before me. It was suitable that He should be brought into the world in that way. Why? Because of the state of the world. He brought down the great things of the world in that way.
In Corinthians you get the fourth thing. It is the testimony by the Spirit instead of by Christ. What was so perfectly presented here in Christ all went up to heaven, and it was appreciated there. It was not appreciated on earth. It was a wonderful day for heaven when He went up there. In the Psalms we get, “Lift up your heads, ye gates ... . and the King of glory shall come in”, Psalm 24:7. The higher He went the more the greeting. He went far beyond all heavens. What was here in reality all went up there. But it has all come back again. The power of the Spirit of [p. 172] God is here in the saints; it has come back again.
It is here in the power of the Spirit in His people. Are the circumstances to be changed, or no? God when He called the apostle Paul said He called the base things of the world (1 Corinthians 1:28). And what was God’s purpose? It was His purpose to bring to nought the things that existed, “to bring to nought the things that are” he said. The ways of this world God will bring to nought. These things are to affect us. God intended that His testimony should bring to nought the things that are and He will see that it will come to pass. How are we affected by it? Are we content to be despised? Do we like to be considered the base things of the earth? The apostle Paul says, we are the filth and offscouring of all things (1 Corinthians 4:13). He knew what he was. The more you are here the less you are in the church, and the less you are in the church the less you will be in the kingdom. God intends you to be in the most prominent position of God’s universe. Is there anything higher than that? Everything is in the hands of Christ and He commits them into the hands of the Father. And what does He do? He puts them where they belong. And where do they belong?
They belong in the highest pinnacle of God’s universe. You do not need to be great now; you do not want anything greater than what God intends. I think Paul will have a wonderful place in God’s kingdom. Are you content to be obscure in this world? When Christ was here He [p. 173] was the most obscure Man on earth. He had no place to lay His head and not a penny. But that is the safest place for every Christian. The apostle Paul tells us our life is hid. Christ is hid and so are we. But when He is manifested out of the open heavens, then you will be manifested. You will get all the manifestation you want. Only wait, you have not long to wait.
I will go on to Revelation. We still find testimony. The heavenly city is testimony. I do not think there is any change at all. What comes out in the heavenly city comes out in Christ. The same things come out in the heavenly city as are presented here in the saints, but the circumstances are entirely changed. They are entirely different. When the heavenly city comes out the man who pretended to be great is no more. He is gone. The Lord says that nothing is left of him. He is taken out, root and branch. And God says, ‘I will show you glory’. You will have all that the world desires then. Glory will come in in earnest when God starts to work to bring it in. The heavenly city comes out having the glory of God. Now no longer the manger, no longer humble circumstances. No, it is all the glory of God. God says, ‘I am going to make a grand display, I will bring My glory in’. The Lord has been here and removed everything unsuitable for God, and then the glory comes in, and Oh! what a display! I leave it for you to ponder for yourself. Chapter 21 is the adjustment of the elements that are contrary to God.
[p. 174] They find their own place. The devil is bound; the saints are raised. We will get fresh air then. Ponder those things and they will reflect on your work here and fit you for God’s world.