THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST
Willie Dickson
Psalm 19: 1-9; 2 Kings 2: 1 ,2,4,8-10; Luke 10: 3842; John 12: 1-3
One would seek the Lord's help, beloved brethren, to say a word as to the importance of being under the influence of Christ. The thought of influence is a very remarkable one. It finds its place in the creatorial sphere and also in the moral sphere, and it can work for good or for ill, but the important thing is to be under the influence of Christ. Influence is a very important factor in spiritual things for good or for ill, and it is sobering to take account of how many actions are motivated by influence rather than by quiet determination in the Lord's presence. That is a fact, and we want to ensure that the influence we come under is the influence of Christ, and the influence of Christ can be radiated and expressed through the brethren. That is where the need for the Spirit comes in on our part, so that we are sure and confirmed that the influence we are under is the influence of Christ.
I want to emphasise that the Lord Jesus is a Person. I am speaking about the influence of a Person. Young people, what you have to guard against is what religious circles speak of as the influence of the Spirit. That is a wrong thought. The Spirit of God is a Person. As the Lord Jesus is a divine Person, the Spirit of God is also a Person and we should have regard to that and dismiss from our minds that the Spirit of God can influence a person naturally, because He does not influence a person naturally. In every believer there is a hidden spring of motivation, and one purpose, among others, of ministry is to nurture and prosper that hidden spring so that it is kept pure and nurtured by the influence of Christ.
We referred to the Holy Spirit earlier, and there is something I should like to say in passing, and that is that the wide tenor of the New Testament up to, and including the first three chapters of Revelation, emphasises that the presence of the Spirit lies in relation to the testimony and the service of God in the present dispensation. Whatever enquiry we may make rightly as to the place and service of the Spirit in eras outwith the present dispensation, it should not becloud our thoughts that the teaching of the presence of the Spirit is in relation to our time, His service and testimony being to exalt Christ. It is important in our conversations not to get mystical, not to get fanciful thoughts as to things that are not in Scripture. I say that because the presence of the Spirit in the present time, appreciated and known, is what helps us to keep the hidden spring of motivation within us pure and constantly under the service of Christ.
The early verses of Psalm 19, as the brethren will know, are a prophetic allusion to the world to come. They relate, prophetically, to the coming day when Christ is in supremacy and the heavens are no longer defiled by the presence of Satan. Think of how wonderful it will be for the whole scene to be under Christ - restful, peaceful, and in the enjoyment of divine blessing, the heavens declaring the glory of God, the assembly there, that great heavenly body casting her influence over this scene. What a scene it will be, beloved brethren! There will be no fear of nuclear warfare, no sickness, death and devastation, but ever resting under the benign influence of the glorious Person of Jesus. It says, "In them hath he set a tent for the sun", the sun being the great influential thought in Scripture. The whole redeemed scene will rest under the influence of Christ in benign harmony and joy and peace. As Isaiah beautifully puts it, the very trees of the field shall clap their hands in joy (see chap 55: 12). You young people, do you ever think of these things? The "bridegroom" is an allusion to the place that Christ will have in relation to the assembly in that order of things, and then the "strong man" is Christ as having brought to pass all the divine purposes, everything for the glory of God. Reference was made in the reading today to David becoming stronger, but a Man will shine in that day as the One who has brought to pass every divine purpose, every divine thought. The sun, the bridegroom and the strong man are all figures of Christ in His influence over the coming scene; and, as we have been taught, the effect of that day to come is to be known now morally amongst the saints, His people.
Then it goes on to the word of God: "The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple". Oh beloved brethren, how good to remain under the influence of Christ and let the word of God reach your hidden springs! How much of what we read and hear just reaches our heads! I know that from experience. I am constantly challenged as I listen to ministry, and read ministry, how much of it is reaching down into my inward parts, into my soul, into my spirit. That is the character of the word of God - "perfect, restoring the soul". Then, "the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes". What a cleansing, beloved, what a purifying of the inward springs of the believer as coming constantly under the influence of Christ! This is the way of divine adjustment. We may seek to adjust and help one another in regard to things, but it is a wonderful soul experience to come into the presence of Christ, under His shadow, and allow the word of God to search your inward parts, to reach the soul, to reach the spirit, to purify them, and, as it says in verse 11: "in keeping them there is great reward. Who understandeth his errors? Purify me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be perfect, and I shall be innocent from great transgression". Oh, beloved brethren, what a delightful lesson to learn in the presence of Christ, just to sit there and let the radiance of His countenance and the strength of His love help us inwardly so that we are in the current flow of the Spirit as He moves amongst the people of God.
In 2 Kings we touch on this. As we said, you cannot run the types too conclusively, but I was much impressed by what Elisha said: "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee!" He was held by the influence of Elijah, the influence of a holy and separate man, an unworldly man; and he said, "I will not leave thee". You think of the journey that he was going to take. Those that were present would try to dissuade him from that journey, but "I will not leave thee", he said. Dear young people, is the influence of Christ over you such that you would say, "I will not leave thee"? Again he says, "I will not leave thee!" How good it is for a brother or sister to have a spiritual influence so that when the test comes such is our answer. We want to be attached to one another in Christian bonds. I feel that what we said as to love in the Spirit is the involvement of one another in Christian bonds, not by partisan links or special friendships or anything like that. In other words, Elisha was affected by the character of man that Elijah represented; and how essential that is. We were reading this passage in Kings in Edinburgh recently and a young brother said, Do you think Elijah was an austere man? No, beloved brethren, a man that could take that boy up to his chamber, stretch himself upon him and express divine feelings, whatever his exterior may have been, was not an austere man. You often find that behind an austere exterior brethren have hearts of gold. How good it is to look beyond the externals of persons and search for the work of God, to try and assess by the Spirit what motivates persons, whether it is coming from the blessed, holy touch of Christ in their affections. So Elisha said, "As thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee!" and then he witnessed one of the most remarkable things in Scripture. It says, "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; and they two went over on dry ground". Now that, beloved brethren, is a complete type of Christ when He faced the Jordan. It was the great triumph of Christ in death, as it was in 1 Samuel in regard to David and his conflict with Goliath; the work was his. He completely overthrew the power of death. And here was Elijah: how Elisha must have been affected, how it must have influenced him to see a man so great that he could smite the Jordan. How glorious Christ is! How it enters into the note of worship after the Supper, that the Lord Jesus has vanquished the power of death as He alone could and opened up the way to the inheritance. No other person but Christ could have done that. How Elisha would be affected by the glory of Elijah as he did this.
After that the question arose, "Ask what I shall do for thee ... And Elisha said ... let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me". That is another allusion to Christianity. It is one of those exquisite touches in the Old Testament as to what Christianity involves. The double portion of the spirit is the great characteristic feature of Christianity. So, as you keep under the influence of Christ, these great spiritual thoughts come to you. Elijah says, "Thou hast asked a hard thing". Why would it be hard? Have you ever pondered that question, young brother and sister? There are two sides to that. There is the sense in which it necessitated the death of Christ in order that the Spirit might become available, but also, for the double portion of the Spirit to be known in power in our souls means making place for Christ, the heavenly Man, the glorious risen Man, in our hearts.
In Luke 10 I want to speak of this delightful passage, so clearly setting forth the thought of a person coming under the influence of Christ. It says of Mary, "having sat down at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word". Have you ever known that experience, beloved brethren? Have you ever reached that in the experience of your soul? We want to be practical, but, beloved brethren, what do we know of resort to an area of things which is beyond circumstances? What is your soul experience? That is what Mary did. Martha, the circumstances overwhelmed her. Dear sister that she was, she was overwhelmed by circumstances, but Mary desired to come under the influence of Christ in an area which was beyond circumstances altogether. Spiritual life depends upon it. At some time or other or in some way or other you locate that area. The conflicts of the testimony, the contrarieties that appear amongst the brethren, the weakness of your own heart, may tend to unsettle you unless you have some experience of an area beyond circumstances, in which you can sit under the influence of Christ and listen to His word. It was "the good part", and the Lord commended her for it. Then consequent upon that holy occupation, in John 12 it says that she, "having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment". I think, as it has been said rightly, the ointment was gathered up in the previous chapters in connection with the death of Lazarus and the experience she had of the Lord, but I also believe that it was gathered up as she sat at His feet listening to His word, under His influence.
We come back to what I quoted earlier from memory by another: Seek knowledge, the fruit of meditation rather than study, and feed in communion, not just to strengthen an opinion you have of the truth. These are spiritual realities, beloved brethren. These are the things that make Christ precious to you because He is there a living, glorious Man to hold you and to keep you in relation to God's glorious thoughts. When we come up to the Supper tomorrow, God willing, we shall have the blessed privilege of having Christ before us, and, even at the Supper, to come under His influence. The Supper itself means that we come under His influence. The bride in the Canticles speaks about "the mountain of myrrh", chap 4: 6. You look at the loaf and the cup on the table on Lord's day morning and you see the mountain of myrrh, the suffering love of Jesus, and the influence of it affects us, and then we proceed into the service of God.
I would encourage all of us, beloved brethren, to seek in that way to keep under the influence of Christ. If you come under the influence of any brother, any sister, make sure that it is the influence of Christ that is reaching you through them. You say, Is it possible? It is possible by getting into the Lord's presence and asking Him to disclose to you the hidden springs that are motivating you in every matter, as to whether it is really love for Christ. May we be assured of these things in our souls, for His Name's sake. Amen.
RICHMOND
5 November 1988