CHRIST IN CONTROL OF THE POWERS OF GOOD AND EVIL
[p. 256] CHRIST IN CONTROL OF THE POWERS OF GOOD AND EVIL
Revelation 1: 13 - 17; Revelation 3: 7.
It is important to bear in mind that in all the obligations that may rest upon us here we have to learn how to fulfil them from Christ, and every christian obligation may be seen exemplified in some way in the Lord. Our attention has been directed to the responsibility attaching to Aaron and his sons: they were to abide at the door of the tabernacle seven days, Leviticus 8: 35. This was a complete period, and throughout its duration there was a weighty responsibility resting upon the priests — they were to keep the charge of Jehovah. Now this I take to represent the responsibility which attaches to Christians down here. It may be that you have not accepted this responsibility, but nevertheless it is there for you, and if you take it up you have to learn from Christ how to discharge it according to God. We have to learn everything from Him, and particularly what appertains to the sanctuary. Notice that it was said to Aaron and his sons, “That ye die not”. Leviticus 8: 35. It was most serious to come short in the fulfilment of the obligation.
In this book the Lord is presented as “the faithful and true witness”. Revelation 3: 14. In coming into this world Christ charged Himself with all that referred to God, and He maintained it all absolutely and perfectly in every detail. I would notice two salient features of the Lord’s ministry: the first was the absolute maintenance of the testimony. The Lord would not deviate for a moment from the testimony of God. He “witnessed”, as the apostle tells us, “a good confession”. 1 Timothy 6: 13. He witnessed for the truth in the presence of Pontius Pilate. He was there for the truth for that He had come into the world, and He [p. 257] would die rather than surrender it. The other feature of the Lord’s service that I would call attention to is His earnest solicitude for the saints. He says, “Those thou hast given me I have kept”. John 17: 12. They were the Father’s, and so the Lord kept them. In the presence of His enemies and of His death He says, “If therefore ye seek me let these go their way”. John 18: 8. Speaking generally, these two features indicate that in which we are to serve Christ here, and I allude to them to show that the service we are called to came out in the Lord, and that it is from Him we are to learn how to fulfil it. In the reception of the Spirit, Christians are set in relation to a divine system of things which is set up in the presence of what is antagonistic; it is in this connection that “the charge of the Lord” (Leviticus 8: 35) has to be kept, and we have to learn from Christ how this is to be accomplished. We must know what priesthood involves — what it is to have the ear, hand and foot consecrated in the service of God by the death of Christ and the gift of the Spirit.
In turning to the scriptures I have read, what I wish to enlarge upon, by God’s help, is that everything now, whether good or evil, is under the direct control of Christ. It is of all moment that believers should understand that in the fulfilment of their obligations here, everything they have to do with, whether adverse or favourable, is really under the Lord’s hand.
It may have been thought that Christ administers in connection with the good only, but the first passage read shows that He controls also what is evil, and what we may account as antagonistic to us. He says to John, “I have the keys of death and of hades”. This was doubtless a wonderful encouragement to John, who, as in the presence of the failure of the church, would feel all the more the power of the wicked one. Defection had set in, and when this obtains all [p. 258] around us the heart is disposed to give way, and the enemy would do all that is possible to induce us to surrender. He would engage you with the failure, and he would engage you, too, with his own power; he would magnify his resources and ability in your eyes so as to weaken and depress your heart in order that you might falter and give up. In the days of His flesh the Lord encountered Satan in this way, and hence He is capable of sympathising with us. His ministry came in at the close of a dispensation; all was failure in Israel, and defection was found even in those who had been associated with Him in His testimony. In Gethsemane Satan brought death, in all that it really meant as God’s judgment, to bear upon His spirit, and at the cross the whole power of the world was arrayed against Him. In the midst of all the Lord stood firm: He laid down His life rather than surrender the truth of God. He established all immutably in resurrection; but I do not dwell on this, but rather on the fact that in the presence of all Satan’s power, and in Satan’s own domain, the Lord maintained, single-handed, all that was due to God. At that time death and hades were in Satan’s hand, as well as all the elements of evil in this world, and all in their fullest power were marshalled against Christ. But He, AS MAN, met all and came out victorious To the overcomer in the church at Laodicea He says, “I also overcame”. Revelation 3: 21. Hence Christ can enter fully into all that we may, as identified with the truth, encounter in this world.
But our circumstances are very different from what His were: Satan now cannot bring all the power against us that he brought against Christ; he cannot bring death and hades, for instance; for the Lord has the keys of these. He has the keys by right of conquest. We do not need to fear anything which is under the control of Christ in standing for the truth of God down here. In fact, so complete is His [p. 259] victory that He has not only the keys of death but death itself is said to be ours, 1 Corinthians 3: 22.
It is of all importance that Christians should rightly understand the present situation, and this is particularly patent in view of the failure of the church. Defection in the assembly has not diminished the power of Christ, and this power is not only positive, but also negative, that is, He not only supports us against evil (and in this respect He is almighty), but He also restrains, as He may think fit, the evil itself. The unfaithfulness of the church has served as an occasion to the enemy to re-assert his power; he would lead us to believe that it is as extensive as ever; but the Lord assures John that this is not so: He says, “I have the keys of hades and of death”. Revelation 1: 18. What the Lord says to John implies that Satan has really no power at all against us. Satan is a conquered foe; he is permitted to remain for God’s wise purposes, but he may be removed at any time; in the meantime he is used for the humbling and chastisement of God’s people. It is wonderful to see that a Man has thus gained the mastery over Satan. Any one can see that if a man has the keys of anything he has the control of it — has right of way there. As possessing the keys of hades Christ can shut up Satanic power, or He can limit it.
In Revelation 20 we read of an angel coming down from heaven with a great chain, with which he binds the devil, and casts him into the bottomless pit. The power by which this will be accomplished is already in Christ’s hands. The Lord’s authority and power will never be any greater than they are at the present moment. At the end of Matthew He says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”. Matthew 28: 18. It is well to see that God is ever almighty, but it is a more precious thought that all power is now exercised by a Man — He who laid down His life for us.
No doubt many of us have, at times, observed the [p. 260] hand of Christ stretched forth to restrict the forces of evil when they have been marshalled against the truth. What we need to see, therefore, is that whatever may be used against us is really under the hand of Christ — it cannot move unless He allows it. If the Lord permits Satan to act, it is for discipline, and when sufficient discipline has been administered — when with chastened spirits we turn to Him — the enemy will be turned aside and we shall have peace. Of course Satan is still in the heavenlies, and there is conflict in Canaan, and this will continue while we are down here, but this is all really by divine appointment, and it affords us an opportunity to prove our faithfulness to Christ.
In endeavouring to dwell on the administration of Christ in regard to what is evil, I wish also to keep in view the other side — that He has the key of David. The key of David suggests what is good, for David introduced good and blessing in his day. One great principle in David was recovery. In 1 Samuel 30 this is vividly set forth. Ziklag had been smitten, and the Amalekites had carried all away as a prey. But we are told that “David recovered all”, and what was recovered was called “David’s spoil”. 1 Samuel 30: 19,20. In resurrection Christ has abundant “spoil”, and He takes pleasure in distributing it. You remember how David sent of what he had taken to the elders of Judah, saying, “Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord”, 1 Samuel 30: 26. No doubt what he had taken from the Amalekites had been his before, but it was now the spoil of conquest — it had been captured from “the enemies of the Lord”. It is really Christ who has overthrown the enemies of the Lord, and He is now dispensing to His “friends” the spoil of victory.
Do you not like to consider Christ in that light? We are well assured in our souls that He is a divine Person — that He is the true God; on this everything [p. 261] rests but I delight in contemplating Him entering as Man into conflict with the enemy, and overthrowing him in his own domain, and recovering everything in resurrection. We may say that Satan had carried all away — man, government, Israel, the temple, and the earth itself had been captured by the enemy; but Christ has recovered all through death and resurrection. As God, Christ has title to all as Creator, but as Man everything is His by right of conquest. Hence it is His spoil. It is immensely strengthening to the soul to get upon this ground. Here defeat is impossible, for what we may fear most is really under the Lord’s hand, and so can be disposed of by Him according to His pleasure.
Turn to Psalm 68:18 (New Translation), “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive thou hast received gifts in man”. Christ has gone to the right hand of God, and He has received gifts as Man. Now what is He going to do with the gifts? He gives them to men down here. This will, doubtless, hold good in the future in regard to Israel, but during the present time the Lord’s administration is wholly taken up with the church. He has given all the gifts to the church. The Lord shows His great interest in the church by giving her the gifts, and He has provided for her in this respect during the entire period of her sojourn down here. You must not think for a moment that the gifts are not here: they are here in the Spirit. When the Spirit came from Christ in heaven He brought them all with Him. Those who have gifts fulfil their service for the perfecting of the saints, “for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”. Ephesians 4: 12.
Psalm 68: 18 continues: “And even for the rebellious, for the dwelling there of Jah Elohim”. Here we have indicated another most important feature of the object the Lord had in view in giving gifts unto men. Although Christ had annulled Satan [p. 262] in death, He had not as yet overthrown rebellion in the hearts of men: this would be a protracted work, and would be effected by the work of the Spirit by means of the gifts. When the Lord was here man’s rebellious heart was manifested, and when He went to heaven He left all, save disciples, in revolt; Jews and Gentiles were all in rebellion. Nevertheless God would dwell among His people, and hence the gifts were given. Gifts are powers; they are capable of overthrowing rebellion in the hearts of men. And what for? That God might dwell among men. The foundation of the assembly had been laid at Corinth, and God found a place there; but His dwelling-place was disturbed by the activity of man’s will in that assembly. On this account Paul had to bring forward the gifts he exercised. In 2 Corinthians 10: 4,5, he says, “The arms of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful according to God to the overthrow of strongholds; overthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ; and having in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience shall have been fulfilled”. God’s dwelling and man’s will are incompatible, and in order that God should dwell undisturbed among men the gifts are here to be used effectively, in the power of the Spirit, for the suppression of will as well as “for the perfecting of the saints”. Ephesians 4: 12. The Lord has placed the gifts here, and their efficiency goes on to the end. It is the privilege of the church to understand that the Lord provides for her in this way. He is in supreme control of all that is good, and the church comes into the benefit of this at the present time.
Now I think that Philadelphia involves that the church has been awakened to this; at any rate, the Spirit had wrought, and the saints were learning to look to the Lord, and to lean on Him instead of [p. 263] resting in the ecclesiastical institutions which would pretentiously occupy the ground in that day. The Holy Ghost is ever true to His mission — He glorifies Christ, and wherever He has liberty He brings Christ forward, and also all the things that are Christ’s. He will give Christ His proper place in the affections of the saints. That is what the Spirit will do for you but not only that — He will take of the things of Christ and show them to you, John 16: 14. If you love Christ, you will be interested in His things, and you will desire to know about them, If the enemy cannot prevent you from hearing about Christ personally, he will endeavour to hide from you the things of Christ. I rejoice if there are those who contend for Christ personally; if we love Christ we can but thank God when He is well spoken of, even though the speakers do not speak well of us. But then, when you speak well of Christ personally do not obscure Christ’s things. The Spirit of God glorifies Christ, but He also speaks of the things of Christ. Do not overlook that Christ is the Owner of a vast system. The Spirit is here to take of His things and to show them to us. As the apostle Paul says, “To me, less than the least of all saints, has this grace been given, to announce among the nations the glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of the Christ”, Ephesians 3: 8 (New Trans.). Do not miss the “riches”. You can never get a full view of Christ if you do not see Him in relation to His own system of things. The apostle Paul in the epistle to the Romans presents Christ in relation to things here, that is, as coming in flesh so as to take up the liabilities which rested upon us, and to remove them all in His death; but the gospel does not stop there: it goes on to the “unsearchable riches of the Christ”. The Spirit says the riches of Christ are unsearchable, but they are there for us — they were announced as glad tidings among the nations. The Lord says, “All things that the Father hath are mine” John 16: 15. All that the Father hath is given to the Son, and the Spirit is here to make all known to the saints. In this way Christ is glorified, as we read, “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”. John 16: 14.
Well now, it seems to me that the Spirit had succeeded in making this known to Philadelphia. Note in the address to the overcomer in this church the recurrence of the pronoun “my”: this indicates unmistakably that there was affection for Christ, and hence interest in all that was His — the temple of His God, the name of His God, the city of His God (new Jerusalem) and His new name. The Spirit had glorified Christ and He had thus obtained a place in the affections of the saints; hence Philadelphia appreciated Christ and the things of Christ. The Holy Ghost is ever true to His mission, and He finishes with that with which He began. He began by glorifying Christ among the saints, and He ends with this. You may say things begin brightly but they end in failure. But no: God secures for Himself a bright finish. God began with Israel as a son He says, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn.... Let my son go that he may serve me”. Exodus 4: 22,23. The nation failed and did not answer to sonship, but the Book of Malachi shows that the remnant did at the close. They feared Jehovah, and thought upon His name; also, they spake often one to another. And — “They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”. Malachi 3: 17. That was indeed a bright finish for God, and I think that is, in a way, a counterpart to what is said to the Church in Philadelphia, and Revelation 22:16, 17 shows that it will be repeated in the church’s history. The Spirit of God glorified Christ at the beginning, and the effect was that the church loved Christ. Christ had been ministered by Paul to the Ephesians,
[p. 265] and the Ephesian saints loved Christ, and the Lord knew that they loved Him, and He knew, too, when their love for Him waned: He says, “Thou hast left thy first love”. Revelation 2: 4. The church, viewed as a whole in responsibility, has turned aside; but through a fresh presentation of Christ in the energy of the Spirit there has been a revival of affection; to this Philadelphia corresponds. The Lord speaks in terms which unmistakably indicate this: He speaks of His love for her, and of His things, etc. Well, it is wonderful to have the Spirit indwelling us, and that He makes Christ known to us. And how encouraging to know that the One thus made known, as He who loves us, holds the key of David in His hand! The saints in Philadelphia were to know that Christ administered all that for which David stood figuratively. David brought in the kingdom and wielded its power. This is seen fully in Christ — an irresistible arm of power. David stands for the kingdom — the power of God down here active in behalf of men. The Lord presents Himself as “He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth”. Revelation 3: 7. He who went into death for us lives in heaven unchanged, and He wields all this power on our behalf down here. Will He not see to us? There can he no question but that He will.
It seems to me that Christ will be known in this light until the end, and I will tell you why I think so. When He says, “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star”, the Spirit and the bride say, “Come”. Revelation 22: 16,17. The church says, “Come”, and this fact shows that she has affection for Him, and that she recognises Him in relation to God’s purpose. It is to One who announces Himself in connection with David, and the bright day of blessing, which is now very near, that the church says, “Come”. This desire that Christ should come, no doubt, characterised, more or less, those who possessed [p. 266] the Spirit from the beginning, but it is seen especially at the close, and this is cheering in the extreme.
The bride has intelligence and affection. She knows who the Root and Offspring of David is. How have Christians come to know these things? The Holy Ghost has told them of them. We may be assured that the Spirit will not give up instructing us. The Spirit and the bride not only say “Come” to Christ, they think also of the thirsty world around, and they say, “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”. Revelation 22: 17. The Lord had said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink”. John 7: 37. This was at the close of a dispensation, and when there was no water in Israel; but Christ had water to offer. At the close of this dispensation the Lord has water to offer, and the cry is, “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely”. It is there to be taken.
Well, I have alluded to all these things in seeking to make clear the position of Christ as in supreme control over the powers of good and evil. May we be enabled to apprehend Him fully in this light!