THE INNER MAN AND THE SUFFERING BODY
THE INNER MAN AND THE SUFFERING BODY
I have been struck lately with the distinctness with which the inner man, the new creation, declares itself in the sickness and suffering of the old - the body. In health and prosperity the distinctness of the two is not so clearly apprehended; but when sickness or affliction supervene, then the new is distinctly known as having nothing to do in itself with the sickness or the affliction, though the body in which it is, suffers. On the contrary, if our union with Christ be simply apprehended, there is a clearer and a fuller sense how entirely free the new being, in its nature and life, is from the sufferings of the old; and how really independent the one is of the things which are so essential and necessary to the other. And this is very helpful, because it imparts [p. 67] a consciousness of strength in the power of the Spirit, which enables the sufferer not only to bear his suffering better, but even when his sufferings are removed, to give a prominence to what is of Christ and eternal which he had not done before. Thus sickness and affliction help to rid us of that which interferes with our spiritual growth, for, as the outer man perisheth, the inner man is renewed day by day. And hence we often find that the greatest sufferers have the most joy in the Lord; and that, as dissolution approaches, there is more decided sense of ability to dispense with that which is perishing, and thus an abundant entrance is ministered.
How blessed to feel one’s self so positively one in nature and life with Christ, that to pass away from all here would only consummate that which is the source of real enjoyment here in the midst of suffering; and that the blessed Lord who is ministering help to us in our infirmities here, from the highest heavens, is the One whom we shall be with, without any need of this kind any more. What a peculiar sense of rest and enjoyment it gives one to taste even a little of the happiness of living with Him, for there it is that He sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied.
There is no joy in satisfaction apart from Him.
May He be so fully and vividly before your soul that your heart may make its boast in Him all the day long.