THE GOSPEL
[p. 460] THE GOSPEL
My subject is very elementary, but the one thought before me is that if you do not begin right there will always be delay in your progress. It necessarily must be so; it is not that souls are. not converted, but they are deficient; they have not received the revelation belonging to the time. Many do not get beyond the offerings under the law, and indeed we have, as we know in Christendom, even the repetition of the sacrifice — the mass, and so on. The question is, Where do you begin? Many souls in Christendom are occupied with offering the sacrifice of Christ, as their own offering. Under the law the man brought the offering, and in the preaching of the gospel now there is often this defect, the man’s side alone presented; thus occupying souls too much with themselves. The great thing is to occupy the soul with God. I ask, Whom did you offend? God. Then it is not your feelings about it that are to be consulted, but His. Nothing can be more important than to keep before the soul the great question, ‘Whom did you offend?’ If a child offends against his father, should he not think of his father’s feelings towards him? You may so occupy a person with his own relief that he will scarcely touch the solemn ground of what his offence towards God is. The gospel is frequently put thus: Did not Christ die? Will not faith in His blood save you? Have you not got relief by accepting it? Such is the formula. But what about God? The great question is, How does He feel?
Now it is very marked that in these verses we have read, the distinct beginning is with God. Acts 9 begins with God. The mark and power of an evangelist is, “To open their eyes”, in order to see the light.
[p. 461] That is his first and great characteristic. Here light shone out of heaven. It begins with God. That is an immense comfort to my soul. I refer to this light out of heaven as supplying us with a direct proof of how in the apostle’s case the work began immediately with God, and the reason of its beginning with Him, and the blessedness of it, is in the fact that He was the One offended.
It is not here as in the Jewish offerings, or even as with Abel’s where it began with man; Abel brought an offering. But here the grace began with God. That is the marvel; grace begins with the One who was offended. Take as an illustration a father saying to his children, If either one of you breaks that clock, you must stay in your room until it is mended. Well, one of them does break the clock, and he retires to his room to try and mend it; but he cannot, all his attempts are in vain. At length the father, who does not like the distance between him and his child to continue, proposes to mend the clock himself. What a feeling that awakens in the child! He must feel: how good is my father, and as he has mended it, he cannot find fault with the way it is done. That is a feeble illustration. Were I to speak for hours, I could not open out the greatness and the blessedness of the fact that it is God Himself who has removed the distance from His own side. Wonderful goodness! The distance is removed on God’s side. He is the first relieved. He rent the veil. God has found One who relieved Him; His eye rests with delight on the MAN who has done it.
The great thing to get hold of is this simple fact, that God has removed the distance from His own side. The great defect in many souls is, that they do not apprehend that the distance is removed from God’s side. It is an immense thing to get clearly hold of the truth that God is and must be the first to establish the blessing of man. What is lacking in [p. 462] many a soul is that they do not understand the nature of the distance that existed between God and themselves nor how it has been removed. You will never have solid peace and rest with God till you see that every atom of the offending man who did the offence has gone in judgment. The light came out of heaven in this chapter, and there is not a soul converted since, but by that light out of heaven.
The second thing with Paul was that he was three days without sight, and he neither ate nor drank; he saw no man. Every man and everything was shut out; he lost his eyesight by the glory of that light. A soul converted apart from man, in private, it is wonderful the way that soul has laid hold of God. In the case of Saul such was the glory of the light from heaven that on its reaching him he is blind, does not see man for three days and neither eats nor drinks. What was Paul doing in those three days? He was practically walking through death, as the Red Sea prefigured — learning the effect of the death of Christ — how it had cleared away everything. There was no song in the Old Testament till after the people had crossed the Red Sea. You may know you are under the shelter of the blood, and that is a very good beginning; but until you know you are brought to God, you are only clear of the Judge. In the profession around us the prominent thought (as is found in the Prayer Book of the Church of England) is that Jesus is the One who softens the heart of God; there is no reaching up to what is so beautifully displayed in the case of the prodigal, who is brought to the heart of the father. He is conscious that he has offended the father, and he finds the father has removed everything that caused the distance, and that his father is on the very best terms with him; and then it is not his own feelings which rule, but the feelings of the one whom he has offended, and who now restores him; he has to learn the terms on which his father can be with him. This is reconciliation, and then “we are making our boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom now we have received the reconciliation”. It is reconciliation because God on His own side puts away the offence and brings me to Himself. He has removed the distance completely, never to revive it. An immensity is unfolded to you when you become acquainted with the heart of God, and learn that His grace is not merely the measure of your need, but the measure of His own love.
As I have said, Paul was three days learning this wonderful work, walking through the Red Sea, learning the cross. As a man under law he could say, “touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless”. He was blameless as to the law, and according to the thoughts of man; but the light from heaven had declared to him that he was unfit for the presence of God. Next he learns that he is clear of everything by the death of Christ, and he passes out to God; and the testimony of the Lord is, “Behold he prayeth”. In the Psalms it is said, “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found”. Saul has to do with God; he receives his sight, and is filled with the Holy Spirit; he sees everything now in a new way; he has an entirely new power, and comes out in a new way; he knows that he has a Saviour in glory, outside of everything hem, and he has received the Holy Spirit in himself. Thus you see the wonderful nature of the conversion. I want to give you an idea of true conversion. My desire in dwelling on this is that you should all see the great importance of preaching the gospel in the closest accordance with the revelation God has given at the present moment. If you present to a soul a revelation that is passed, that soul receiving it will as a consequence not get beyond it. It has been said by another, ‘It is easier to build on the edge of a knife than on a revival conversion’.
[p. 464] Now I desire in connection with the gospel to bring before you another subject of the deepest importance in this day, and it has been a very helpful discovery to myself. It is, that while the word of God is quoted as the only authority, it is limited to man’s side, and consequently God is left out. It is so with the gospel, and all the truth. As far as I know, there is not a Christian doctrine in Christendom that is not limited to man, to man’s benefit, and consequently God is left out. And I may ask, Have not we quoted Scripture, and confined it to man’s benefit, to his side of things? I would exercise your hearts about this. If you have begun with God it is God that is before you, and not man. If we begin with God, we have to do with Him, His heart and mind are before us, and His thoughts will be prominent. Take, for instance, the doctrine of Holiness by Faith. It is all man’s side, and it is simply legal holiness not God’s holiness. I could quote numberless examples of how the truth is limited to man’s side, and God is left out. It is the chief thing to contend for in Christendom. It is said, We have the Bible, and nothing but the Bible.
Now note that in Matthew 13 there are six similitudes of the kingdom of heaven: three, of the word of God in man’s hand; and three of the word of God in the hand of Christ, the Spirit’s work. The first three parables show us what man has made of the word of God in the Latin kingdom. A huge system on earth is built up by the word of God in man’s hand. This I deprecate. The word of God exalts and advances man immensely if it does not supersede him. If the word of God is appropriated by the human mind, man is intellectually advanced; but if the word of God is wrought in his soul by the Spirit, he is on divine ground. This is the difference between the two. In the first three similitudes we see what man has been made by the word of God; that is man’s [p. 465] side; in the last three we have Christ’s side. When the Lord sent the multitude away, “He” went into the house (see verse 36); the disciples follow Him into seclusion. There He opens out to them that His treasure is here; when you go into seclusion with the Lord He will open out to you that His treasure is here. It is an immense cheer to the true heart to know that Christ’s treasure is on the earth. When I look around at the terrible system called Christendom my heart rejoices that His treasure is here; but you will learn this only in seclusion with Him.
Having said so much as to the true interpretation of the word of God, I now turn to Romans 5: 1 - 11, which sets forth the terms on which God is with you. Chapter 8 is how you are in Christ before Him. Many are occupied with chapter 8 who are not established in chapter 5. You must take them in divine order. When you look up to God you see everything gone to His endless satisfaction; but when you look at yourself you are troubled with the working of sin. Why is this? You must change your man, that is the only solution to the difficulty. In the first eleven verses of chapter 5, you see that everything has been established for you to God’s own satisfaction. In the latter half of the chapter it is, you must change your man; it is to be not Adam but Christ. I ask, With which man are you connected, Adam or Christ? You will never know that you are dead to sin till you have changed from Adam to Christ. You see all this in Romans 5, and in verses 1 - 11 is the statement of the terms on which God stands with you, and the rest of the chapter is your transference from Adam to Christ: and until you understand chapter 5 you will never enter into chapter 8. You can never rise up to how you are before God till you are enjoying the terms on which God is with you. The prodigal was brought in to share in the joy of the father. How much is really lost by not seeing that the love of God has brought us [p. 466] to God; that is the true beginning. We have not begun aright if we do not see this.
Paul says to Timothy, “the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also”. He knew how things would be brought down to the human level; I believe John resuscitates Paul’s teaching; he puts it beyond imitation; he brings in God’s side; with Him there is no darkness at all, for all is light. How were Jannes and Jambres defeated? Their opposition was imitation, but they could not produce life. John brings in life.
To return. If we look at Christendom we shall find that every doctrine is brought down to a human meaning. Take the word ‘church’. What is the definition of it in Christendom? That it is ‘a congregation of the faithful where the sacraments are duly administered, and the gospel faithfully preached’. It is all limited to man’s side, and God is left out: and if I look around at ourselves, who meet in separation from evil, we are often not beyond it. How many think of the assembly as a company of believers, rejoicing in the presence of their Saviour; simply a believers’ meeting! They are thinking only of their own benefit. The divine side is not understood. At the Lord’s supper it is just the same thing; it is our benefit that is before us, relief to ourselves. In system they say, “Take and eat this bread in remembrance that Christ died for thee”. There is no remembrance of Christ there. Let us beware of this leaven. Hymns are often given out dwelling exclusively on our benefit. If you are in the holiest you will be thinking of Him. In the holiest you are as Christ Himself. The antitype of the holiest is the Lord of glory. You come to Him. You could not be in the holiest and not be settled about yourself. If you refer to your sins you are not settled as to yourself; when you are settled you are not occupied with [p. 467] yourself or your sins; you are clear of sins, flesh, self, and everything, and pass into the holiest to be occupied with Him. If you are walking in the Spirit, you are occupied with Christ, and not with the flesh; you have entered on new ground outside of everything here. In the Lord’s supper you are calling Him to mind. He died on this earth, and you are occupied with that great fact. In conclusion, the great mark of God’s favour in Old Testament times was, “I will be with thee”, and that is not withdrawn. He says to us, “I will never leave thee”. But besides this great favour there is a greater favour now, and that is, You shall have “part with me”. You do not lose the first because you have the second; but you are brought into another and greater favour.
How easy to learn the things of the Lord if we know “part with me”. The Lord shows the deepest interest; He has removed everything that would hinder your having part with Him. There could be no greater proof of love than to remove what would detain you from that, “PART WITH ME”. There is a great deal said of the help of God. Many understand His help who know nothing about the sympathy of Christ. You must go to Christ to learn His sympathy; and if you go to Him you must enter a new order of things; this I would press on you. Many think, What could be greater than that Christ should be with me? It is infinitely greater for you to be with Him, and in an entirely new order of things. I cannot conceive anything more magnificent than that.
The Lord grant that we may each of us be more awakened to the danger of accepting the word of God with the mind of man, and thus limiting it to man. In receiving the word of God, there is firstly, light; then exercise of conscience; thirdly prayer; you are cast on God; fourthly, the work of the Spirit to lead you into it. Not one of us is beyond the work of the Spirit in us. Many think that because [p. 468] they have the light of a truth that they are in the power of it. No! you may know all the Bible, have much light, but there is no growth beyond the measure of the Spirit’s work in you.
The Lord grant we may not only begin with God, but keep with God; begin, continue, and end with God. It is an immense thing to remember that it is with God we have to do.