HEAVEN AS ABOVE
[p. 544] HEAVEN AS ABOVE
John 3: 27 - 34; James 3: 13 - 18; Psalm 133: 1 - 3
My message at this time will bear on heaven as above and that it has priority as regards place. I have selected, I hope wisely, these three scriptures and I have in mind also their writers, or the persons whose words are reported in them. There are three, and they form a testimony that should be adequate, the testimony of John the baptist, the testimony of James the apostle, and the testimony of David the king. They all qualify to speak about what is above, as well as what is below. They qualify to make comparisons between what is above and what is below.
John the baptist was not yet cast into prison. He was not just at the end of his service, but still he is morally at the end of it. He speaks of Christ, who is replacing him, and replacing him as from above. John is not assuming to come from above, he is of the earth. He is making a comparison between himself and Christ and makes a very good reliable one, and in making it adds much to the comparison. He makes Christ final because He is from above. And he shows that what is above is to be represented below by what comes from above. Now, John had not come from above but he is telling them to hear Jesus. He was listening to Jesus. Many had listened to John. He was a great preacher. Crowds went out from Judea and the surrounding districts to be baptised of John. They heard him. He was a great preacher, but he did not come from above. But in his preaching he had come in contact with Jesus. He met the Lord. He was a relative of the Lord after the flesh but made no claim on that. He says, “I knew him not”. “In the midst of you stands, whom ye do not know, he who comes after me, the thong [p. 545] of whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose”, John 1: 26, 27. And then in verse 31 “I knew him not”. John the baptist came to know Him; he was told of God how to know Him. Not by His personal name or by His history, but by the Spirit of God descending from heaven as a dove on Jesus. He was to know Jesus by that means. It was heaven that made John the baptist acquainted with Jesus. Heaven did not leave it with John to find out Jesus and become acquainted; no, heaven acted in the matter itself. And that is how the matter stands. If we are to become acquainted with Christ, heaven would introduce us. Heaven has various means of doing this. At that time it was by the Spirit, not there in Person, but coming down on the Lord Jesus as He came to John to be baptised. John says, “And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptise with water, he said to me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on him, he it is who baptises with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God”, John 1: 33, 34. Heaven knew what to do and did it and the result was perfect. And now John has borne witness and is still bearing witness and he is telling us that even he is not from above. The Holy Spirit was from above and Jesus was from above, but he was not from above. But one great enough is on the earth to be introduced by heaven to the Person who came down from heaven, and John speaks of Him in that way, “He who has his origin in the earth is of the earth, and speaks as of the earth. He who comes out of heaven is above all”, John 3: 31. Well now, John calls attention to Christ. There are certain persons enquiring about John and he says to them, You know I do not assume to be Christ. We are never any use to heaven if we assume. Heaven is not dealing with persons who assume. It is what we are. Each one challenges himself as to who he [p. 546] is and what he is. If we are taken account of by heaven it is through confession and repentance. Heaven recognises that. It is how we become singularised in heaven. There is joy in heaven over such. It is not a small matter that one becomes singularised in that way by confession and repentance.
So that the work of God goes on in that way and John the baptist is now acting as a witness to what is in heaven and to the prominence of what is in heaven and to the wisdom of it seen in result here below. John says, “What he has seen and has heard, this he testifies; and no one receives his testimony. He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true; for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand. He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him”, John 3: 32 - 36. That is to say heaven is represented by such a one and the results are perfect — that earth is brought into accord with heaven whether in one person or in a million persons, the testimony is perfect. The Spirit is not given by measure to Christ. The measure down below is what is up there. And the result down below is what is up there. However little in quantity it is the same quality. God is looking for quality and heaven is looking for quality. What comes down from heaven effects what is according to heaven. However small, the position is great. John says, No one receives his testimony. But then who does receive it? “He that has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true”. That is an assembly man. There are myriads that do not receive the testimony, but one does and he has set to his seal that God is true. If he writes you a receipt in any transaction he sets his seal to that — that it is a reliable document.
[p. 547] If there is anything needed it is reliability! The dispensation is very nearly over.
“For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God”. They are not received generally. In general the testimony is rejected, but the man who does receive it has set to his seal that God is true. That is a very important testimony at the present time, that God is true. The word of God is true. The inspired page is true. A converted man or woman is true. John’s epistle tells us that such a man is born of God and does not sin. We have to accept that. It is what is called abstract truth. He is a witness to God in heaven. I am speaking in a very practical way because this is a reliable standby in our business affairs. We must have our seal with us. “He... has set to his seal that God is true”. It is not God’s seal, it is my seal that God is true. God is true and every man a liar. There is my seal — that which I have set my name to. God is looking for persons like that. One man like that is important in the eyes of heaven — a reliable person, in my transactions setting as my seal that God is true.
Well now this is John’s testimony and his service is to be ended in a very definite way. But there is Jesus. “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure”. That is to say, there is a ministry of Christ here below in perfect keeping with what is above. It was not simply because of who the Person was but because of the Spirit, the Spirit given in an unmeasured way to Him. That is to say Christ has effected Christianity. The Spirit is given to Him in an unmeasured way and the Spirit is given to the assembly in an unmeasured way. So there is perfect testimony here to the effect that the Spirit is given without measure. Well, what a great matter it is to be in that! It is a matter for everyone of us, as to whether we are here to hear the words of God and whether the [p. 548] words of God are spoken and whether the Spirit of God is here in the transaction. And whether there are final transactions, for divine communications are final in their character and to disregard them is a matter negatively final. Oh, you say, I did not think that was Christianity, there are other things besides Christianity, you know. There is the judgment of God of which we have been speaking today. Oh, you say, I thought it was a day of grace! It is. But we must not forget that God cannot be limited. He destroyed Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus speaks of the days of vengeance. “For these are days of avenging, that all the things that are written may be accomplished”, Luke 21: 22. These things are happening in our dispensation. God does not reveal all to us. I may learn His way, the principles that govern Him in His ways, but He is not obliged to reveal every detail of what He does. “But if also our gospel is veiled”, the apostle says, “it is veiled in those that are lost”, 2 Corinthians 4: 3. Not to be lost, but are that. God knows them. He knows those that are His. He also knows those that are not His. God has got a judicial disposition as well as one of mercy. This is a solemn matter. God is not mocked, we are told in Galatians. The Spirit of God says that — God is not mocked. In Galatians 6: 7, 8 He says, “Be not deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man shall sow, that also shall he reap. For he that sows to his own flesh, shall reap corruption from the flesh; but he that sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life”. That is whether from flesh corruption, or from the Spirit eternal life, he reaps. It is a judicial matter with God. And so God is dealing with us so we may not be trifling, but may take things up in a final way. The Spirit of God is here and the words are here all pointing out that God is acting judicially and finally. Do not forget that — judicial and final is the judgment with some people;
[p. 549] it may not be in your case or mine, but God knows. Enough for us to know that there are such persons, and that our ministry cannot avail anything with such persons. The matter is settled for them.
So here we have in John’s record, “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure”. Now that applies to Christ and the same principle is found with the assembly. The Spirit is on earth as when Christ was here. He is here personally. And think of the delight of the assembly sharing the Father’s thoughts of the Son. And so it goes on, “He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him”. Not ‘will abide’ — but abides. God is saying, I have an Object supreme for My affections, and He is also saying there are persons not subject to that Person and My wrath abides on them. Paul speaks of the wrath of God revealed from heaven but does not say it is executed — John is saying that, it is being executed. Persons who are not subject to the Son — the wrath of God abides on them. One of the most solemn things I can say, but it is true. The point is, you see, to listen to the words that are coming, that are being spoken. God is speaking by His Spirit in His assembly, the oracles of God, and they are final. God is speaking, and we are listening and these words are to be effective so that we set to our seal that God is true. We are dealing with true things, and we ourselves are true. So the matter is settled either way. The point is that here there are subject persons who know the love of the Father for the Son, the infinitely satisfactory Object of His affections. And then there are those upon whom the wrath of God abides. There is hardly a more solemn statement than that. And there are such people on this earth now. It behoves us that none of us may be found leaning to the ways [p. 550] of the world in our hearts. All these matters require that our preservation comes from heaven.
Well now coming to James, I just wish to confirm what John testifies to us. James like Hebrews deals with the state of things in which there are persons who are called brethren and are not Christians, and persons called brethren that are Christians, who are presumably considered heavenly and who are to represent heaven and they will represent heaven and James is showing how it comes about. In chapter 1: 17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation nor shadow of turning”. The first word is that the gifts are good, the second they are perfect. That is the Holy Spirit, the most perfect gift ever given to the saints, comes down from above. Then in chapter 3 he comes to the point of a person who has wisdom. “Who is wise and understanding among you; let him shew out of a good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom”. James is considering that there are such. He goes on to say, “But if ye have bitter emulation and strife in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This is not the wisdom which comes down from above, but earthly, natural, devilish. For where emulation and strife are, there is disorder and every evil thing”. Now that is Christendom of these days; it was Jewish then. James writes to the twelve tribes, not leaving any out. Then it goes on, “But the wisdom from above first is pure, then peaceful, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, unquestioning, unfeigned. But the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for them that make peace”. That is, heaven is going to be represented. These are not the persons he has in mind in the next chapter. He speaks there about persons who fight. “Whence come wars and whence fightings among you? Is it not thence, from your pleasures,
[p. 551] which war in your members? Ye lust and have not: ye kill and are full of envy, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war; ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask evilly, that ye may consume it in your pleasures. Adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” James 4: 1 - 4. You might say, James, these are Christians you are ministering to. And here today it is the same thing. You wonder at the words he uses in writing to the twelve tribes. But then he speaks too of persons that are killed and do not resist. They are representative of heaven. You might say what I am ministering is not in fashion. Thank God what we minister is not in fashion. It is as real as James’ ministry was. It is of God. The words of God come to us. This speaking is as oracles of God. God is speaking, and warning persons who are warring and striving, You do not come from above but from beneath. Why are they not put out of fellowship? That is not the point; the position in James is the general position of Christendom and God is dealing with it. The recognised thing is Christendom — that which has the name of Christ attaching to it. Not Christians, but Christendom. It is Christendom in its whitewashed condition. But that is not all, and James has in mind that it is not all. So he says, “Who is wise and understanding among you; let him shew out of a good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom”. The wisdom from above is his power. It comes from above. James is speaking of what comes from above, from God. And this wisdom comes from above. Now Proverbs 8 tells us about wisdom. It is the power there — when creation is in mind. The same wisdom of God. Now it is necessary to bring in purity if we talk of wisdom. It is first pure — it agrees with things from above. How is one to be a vessel of what comes from above if one is taken up [p. 552] with things that are below? The first thing in connection with this wisdom is purity. “But the wisdom from above first is pure, then peaceful, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, unquestioning, unfeigned. But the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for them that make peace”. All this is from above. We are shown what is above. We are from above. John the baptist never saw these things. He was of an earthly family. Everyone of us belongs to the new dispensation, belongs to above; that is our place. And the things that are above come out through us. We are the vessel of the bounty of heaven. It is open to each one. If we are to be able to take account of conditions below the first thing is purity. Let us show out of a good conversation. Not as Lot who was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked, but good conversation, peaceful, gentle, not resisting, these are James’ saints. But the other is there — the devil is there — but then James’ saints are to be vessels of what is above. They belong to heaven and the Spirit from heaven is in them. The wisdom from above is in them. God shows His work, vessels of what is in heaven. What is of heaven, from above, brought down here in vessels and made effective on earth. It is God’s great proposal. He is showing what His work is capable of in His people. What the brethren have been through in Europe, especially in the British Isles, God shows what His work is capable of in a physical way. In this country there is not much in a physical way but it is the moral side. The work of God in the youths is tested by the conditions in which they are placed. But then God is saying, They are My nazarites. They have the means to continue in nazariteship. The Holy Spirit is with them; He comes from heaven that they may be the vessels of the bounty of heaven on earth. Thus James describes what may be there. Each one is to challenge himself:
[p. 553] is it in us — this wisdom from above which is the power in the vessel? “But the wisdom from above first is pure, then peaceful, gentle, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, unquestioning, unfeigned”. These are the great general principles. “But the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for them that make peace”. That is to say the great peace-making operation is under the Spirit of Christ. It comes out in peacemakers. First purity, then peacefulness, gentleness, yieldingness, mercy. Now this is the plant, as we may call it, the beautiful perfect heavenly plant, and the fruit of it, as it were, the Spirit of Christ. In Philippians we have the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is for those that make peace. “But the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for them that make peace”, all showing that the divine mind is to effect conditions down here in keeping with what is in heaven. And so the world to come is to be affected in the making of peace.
Well now just a final word as to David. How this is seen in the beautiful metaphors of David, which have such a great place in the testimony of God. David is speaking of Aaron here. He is alluding to Exodus 29 which tells us how Aaron and his sons were anointed. David is speaking of Christ’s anointing and is mentioning the things that are beautiful. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” He likens them to Aaron as he is shown in the Pentateuch. We have already alluded to the Pentateuch as from Moses and containing Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8 which tell of the anointing of Aaron. David is bringing you by the Spirit through all that. He is going down over the Person. He speaks of Hermon — Hermon is the thought of what is above. He is occupied with what is above. In Exodus 29 Aaron is anointed with his sons, but it is Aaron by himself that David is speaking of here. It is the personal beauty of Christ.
[p. 554] What a lover of Christ David was! You can sense it in some measure as he goes over the person of Aaron. “Like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard”. Now you say, What is in that? Well this would enhance the beauty that belongs to Aaron. David had a vision of what Aaron must have been. He is speaking of this anointing oil upon his beard that reaches to the hem of his garment. David can see all that. Can we? It is written by the Spirit of God as to how Christ was anointed from above and how it came down, the Spirit coming down upon His Person even to the skirts of His garment. And David says this is the picture the Spirit of God has caused him to see. Shall we ever see Him thus? Shall I ever see Him? Yes, we shall see Him. A spiritual man sees Him thus without rebuking gaze. He can rebuke many, but He loves to look at each of us without rebuking gaze. He loves to be amongst the saints thus. It is said of one that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. He never mentions his own name, but just designates himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. It is beautiful that he could speak of himself in that way. God rebukes us at times — as many as I love I rebuke and discipline. But that is not in a final way. He can always say to the saints, I rebuke you because I love you, because I want to look at you without rebuking gaze. And He can and will do so. He will make us like Himself. What a time that will be! Divine Persons enjoying life eternal not only in one another but in the saints. God has been working for this all these centuries to look at His people without rebuking gaze and with perfect complacency. He rebukes and disciplines to this end that He may look at us the more restfully and joyously. Think of the Lord looking at that disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. How I would like the Lord to look at me in that way. Let us each challenge our [p. 555] hearts: does the Lord look on me without rebuking gaze? He will do it eternally. He will have us for Himself for ever and ever.
So speaking of Aaron in this view, the anointing oil ran down to the hem of the garment. It is a matter of the hem of the garment now. It has reference to the finish at the bottom. It is a matter now of the finish at the bottom of the saints, because it is a question of the walk. God has pointed out certain walks and it is for us to walk in them. They are marked ways for us to walk and contemplate a definitely, completed, finished situation at the bottom. So the foot is dipped in oil. And so it is here that the hem would mean that the saints are viewed as a finished product, and all comes down from above and David says brethren dwelling together in unity are like that. That is the thesis of the psalm: what brethren are as dwelling together in unity. The thing is enlarging as he goes over it. “For there hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore”. As the Spirit is given and coming from heaven so there is perfect complacency with the head of our Aaron.
Aaron’s beard would refer to his beauty. It was not shaved. We all shave, but it is not the original thought to shave the beard. Aaron had a beard and the oil came down on that and went down right to the hem of his garment and as a result we have the blessing of God. “There hath Jehovah commanded the blessing, life for evermore”. It goes right through to eternal conditions. Peter contemplates it, “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness”, 2 Peter 3: 13. God is going on to perfection and we want to be in His hands to that end. He is going to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
May God bless His word to us.