THE WORK OF GOD
[p. 200] THE WORK OF GOD
John 6: 17; 1 Corinthians 15: 57, 58
I have in mind to speak on the work of God, and I hope to connect with it the great fact that we are privileged to have part in that work, recalling the word in 1 Samuel regarding Jonathan, who is said to have “wrought with God”, 1 Samuel 14: 45.
I select John to begin with because he speaks much of the work of God. You will find that the word ‘work’ is employed more frequently by him than by any of the evangelists, for the reason that he would bring forward what would subsist if what was outward gave way; the work of God stands. So the Lord calls attention to it throughout, and indeed, the evangelist mentions not only the fact of God’s work, but he constantly refers to the effect of it and brings in a very practical word in chapter 3, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God”, John 3:21. The Holy Spirit throughout enlarges on the work of God and the evidence of it.
In speaking thus of John, I would mention what one understands to be a distinction that should be made by us in reading the gospels. Before doing so I would remark that as the epistles are understood, they being that section of Scripture which is intended to relieve us and release us from what one may describe as grave clothes, we instinctively turn to the gospels, which present to us perfection in Man. So it may be of service to point out a distinction that helps in the understanding of the gospels. Matthew may be taken up as representing the cherubim in the tabernacle. You will all recall that cherubim were employed in the curtains and also in the veil, and it is said that they were set in artistic work, the work of a designer. The cherubim represent the rights of [p. 201] God, and it may be that the thought of the cherubim has not had the place that it deserves among the saints, but it would be quite apparent to anyone who reads Exodus that it was intended to have a very great place in that which typically represented Christianity. The gospel of Matthew affords instruction in that connection.
You will recall that at the end of chapter 4 when the Lord had accomplished miracles, relieving all kinds of need, a crowd gathered about Him; and it is well to remember that a crowd is not a divine thought. The divine thought is an assembly; that is to say, a body in which each member recognises mutual obligation, and in which indeed there is a common ground on which all the members stand in relation to Him who is Head of it. So the apostle says in dealing with the subject of the assembly: “I speak as to intelligent persons”, 1 Corinthians 10:15. One does not necessarily need to be intelligent to form part of a crowd, nor is there the idea of responsibility attached to a crowd, whereas God would give us to understand that responsibility attaches to each one whilst he remains here in this world as set in the assembly; the cherubim is, so to say, on the curtains. God has rights in regard to each one. The veil, as we all know, represents Christ as in manhood, and nothing can be more interesting than to trace the cherubim in His blessed life here on earth. I do not intend to trace it now, but if you read the gospels you will find how perfectly it is seen. The curtains, also, made of the same material as the veil, had the cherubim.
Well, a crowd coming into view in chapter 4, the Lord ascends a mountain and sits down, and His disciples come to Him. He does not send the crowd away, nor does He test the crowd as at other times by bringing forward that which the flesh would not accept; but seeing the crowds, He ascends the mount, His disciples come to Him, and He sits down [p. 202] and opens His mouth, and legislates. As you follow chapters 5, 6 and 7 you see, as it were, the Lord, particularly in chapter 5, setting up the cherubim. In His own inimitable way He sets forth maxims, the import of which was to govern those who love Him in His absence. Now do we understand this? You may say, Well, of what use is the cherubim without power to enforce it? But is there no power? Is the Holy Spirit not here? Is there no spiritual formation? These questions carry their own answers. Whilst the Holy Spirit is here there is that which acts in relation to the cherubim, and so the inquiry is: What power, in a practical way, exists to enforce the rights of God, which the cherubim represent? I apprehend that John meets that. If Matthew presents the cherubim, I apprehend that John presents the seraphim.
In speaking of these symbols I would endeavour to simplify them by the remark that the seraph carries with it the thought of what is priestly. You will remember how John speaks of the “living creatures” in the book of Revelation. I want you to follow this and do not think of these “living creatures” as some unknown symbol; let your mind rest on the word ‘creature’; it is a simple word. James tells us that we, that is, Christians, are a kind of firstfruits of His creatures, and what does God look for in firstfruits? He looks for the best. Christianity affords the best, and so if I see and hear these symbolic creatures spoken of as living, saying day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty”, Revelation 4:8, is there a response in my heart? Am I watchful in regard of the personal dignity of Christ? The Lord’s dignity is to be watched over and John’s gospel takes care of the dignity of Christ.
You will recall how John speaks of the grave of the Lord, and that when the disciples entered into the sepulchre they found everything in order and angels [p. 203] in white sitting, One at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Love took account of the head and of the feet. He is no longer there, but He has been there, and love lingers at the sepulchre of the Son of God. Think of the solemnity of it, that He lay there! The Lord of glory lying in a tomb! The angels were attending; doubtless they inquired into it. Angels would desire to look into that stupendous mystery, that the Son of God should be there. They had witnessed His birth and celebrated it, and now they are found at the grave with intelligence as to His dignity, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Mary was there; Peter and John entered into the tomb and went home, but we see the seraph character in that devoted woman who remained at the sepulchre weeping. She had seen Him there last, and the spot was endeared to her, and now He appears. We can well understand her delight as the Lord called her “Mary”! How her heart would move at those accents! How she would cherish the dignity of His Person! “If thou have borne him hence”, she had said, “tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away”, John 20:15. That was interest in the Lord’s body and care for Him. John relates all this in contrast to Matthew. If you have the cherubim all round the house denoting the claims of God over our souls, denoting the order that becomes the house, you have also what corresponds with that whilst the Holy Spirit remains down here, namely, the seraphim; that is to say, you have priestly interest and care in the saints in regard of the personal dignity and glory of Christ.
So in regard of the work of God, Matthew and Luke emphasise God drawing near to men. Matthew says, “Emmanuel, God with us”, Matthew 1:23. God has drawn near in Christ. Luke tells us that the Lord, after He appointed the twelve, descended from the mount and [p. 204] came down to the plain with them. It is God coming down to the level of men. In speaking of Luke, I would say a word for the gospel. I believe God would have the character of things presented there to be characteristic of the present time, and it cannot be effective unless we learn how to come down to the plain, and we cannot be effective in the plain unless we are on the mount, but as being on the mount, let us understand what it is to come down to the plain. Christ came down and stood on the plain with the twelve. He had prayed for them, then He had called them and chosen them, and now He commissions them, and He has them with Him, or rather, He is with them, for they are to carry the gospel throughout the entire extent of the plain. The plain is, I need not say, humanity. And so the first evangelist, indeed, the only man who is called an evangelist strictly, Philip, is found alongside the man who has needs. The Spirit had said to him (and it is the day of the Spirit), “Go near, and join thyself to this chariot”, Acts 8:29. Philip was not an apostle, he had been occupying the office of a deacon, but he was well reported of; he had faith and was full of the Holy Spirit. All these things are available to any brother today, for it is the day of the Spirit.
The Spirit says to Philip, “join thyself to this chariot”. He is directed divinely to join the chariot and he does so. What a moment for the occupant of that chariot! One would love to participate in the evangelical spirit. Well, Philip sits down with the eunuch who is reading about Jesus, and he says to him, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” Then he began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. That is the antidote at the present time to the anti-Christian teaching so prevalent in the world. The effectiveness of the service of Philip is seen in this, that the eunuch says, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised?”
[p. 205] And Philip descends with him into the water in accord with the Lord’s example of going down to the plain. That is how Luke presents it. Luke, Matthew and Mark present to us God drawing near to men where they are, but John emphasises our moving towards Christ; that is to say, he brings forward the effect of the work of God, and hence you find movement in chapter 1, and I may say, almost throughout. I speak to you now with the end in view that there may be spiritual movement. John the baptist stood, it says, with two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God”! John 1:36. Is there a response? Yes; the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus; it was the work of God. That is what we have to reckon on, and we may reckon on it, for it is as sure as anything can be that God is working. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”, John 5:17. The work goes on, and as we proceed down the chapter, as you will remember, Andrew is one of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus, and he finds his brother Simon and leads him to Christ.
Now Matthew tells us that the Lord walked by the Sea of Galilee, and He saw Peter and Andrew fishing and called them, but John records that Andrew found Peter, having himself already found the Lord by following, and that he brought Peter to Jesus. When the Lord looks on Peter, according to John, He does not say, ‘I will make you a fisher of men’; not a word about that. He looks on him and says, “Thou shalt be called Cephas”, John 1:42, and John is careful to tell us what that means. It means a stone, and in his epistle Peter himself enlarges upon it and tells us about living stones. Life is the word for the moment. The narrative continues in John 1, and we read that the Lord finds Philip, and Philip finds Nathanael. There is movement. I am speaking thus with the hope that we may be in movement, for [p. 206] the time is short. If the work of God is effective it means that I am to move and find some one, or if I do not find some one, I at least help to keep those whom we have. The Lord gave Paul all who sailed with him, and the nearer we are to the Lord the less we wish to be deprived of the brethren; we want them all. I believe the Lord is working on these lines, keeping together those He has, and finding those that are as yet in the by-paths of this world, and I want to be with Him in that. The Lord knows them. He knows them that are His; some may be sitting under fig trees occupied with earthly comfort like Nathanael. But Philip finds Nathanael. Now mark, it says that when Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him He said, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47) That is to say, He puts a name on the effect of the work of God; He gave him no name while he was seated under the fig tree. Movement is the evidence of the work of God, so the Lord gives him a name. “An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”
Well, it is in that way that John introduces the narrative, and the more you look into it the more you will be impressed with the fact that he is occupying you with the work of God. And now is there anything impeding the work of God in our souls? The work of God will stand, and it has its own effects, but is there, I ask, anything impeding the work of God in your soul? It is for you to say. It is as sure as anything can be that God is working. He is working throughout the whole assembly, but there are impediments, there are hindrances, and I urge everyone here to see to it that the work of God proceeds; it may be in a small way, but the result in that day will be this: “According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” Numbers 23: 23. What I may have done here is one thing, that will come out at the judgment seat of Christ, “that each may receive the things done in the body ... whether it be good or evil”, 2 Corinthians 5:10, but if I look at the man as he will then be, perfect, with his house which is from heaven, what do I see? The work of God! “He that wrought us for the selfsame thing is God”, 2 Corinthians 5:5. So the house I shall occupy is not too great for me; the house that I get from heaven suits me, God has wrought me for this selfsame thing. He is not working in us to fill any position in this world. He has in view, “the selfsame thing”. In the day of display which is now so near it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, “What hath God wrought!”
Jacob is, I suppose, a saint viewed as in the epistle to the Romans. That epistle contemplates you and me in our waywardness and crookedness here; it is the word of righteousness, that in which we need to be instructed. Hence Romans takes up a Jacob and makes an Israel of him. Israel, I apprehend, suggests Ephesians; that is, the saint viewed in that light, the saints viewed as spiritual, as having the Holy Spirit, so that we go directly from Romans to Ephesians; there is to be a complete change, the first order of man disappears. Let us get that definitely before us. Had the Lord come down from the cross after the forsaking, having borne the judgment of sin (I speak with reverence), man would not have disappeared; there must be death. “As many as have been baptised unto Christ Jesus, have been baptised unto his death ... . If we are become identified with him in the likeness of his death, so also we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection”, Romans 6:3 - 4. It is useless to attempt to advance spiritually and retain the man that sinned; he has not only been crucified; in the death and burial of the Lord Jesus we have a complete ending and putting out of sight of the first order of man, and what is to take his place in each of us morally is “newness of life”, not the old Jacob, but newness.
[p. 208] Let us emphasise that word. What is there daily about me that is new? Or am I conformed to this world? Everything connected with me is to be new in the principle of it, so there is the disallowance of all that marked Jacob as a man in the flesh.
In Romans 6 we are entitled to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. What a great thing that is; to reckon oneself dead to sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus! As the apostle says, amplifying it, “I, through law, have died to law, that I may live to God”, Galatians 2: 19. All the grave clothes, so to speak, are left behind and the man is wholly free in mind and heart to live to God. Then in chapter 7 he says, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man”. He is a board for the tabernacle, as one might say, not yet set in relation to other boards, but ready for it. In chapter 8 he has the Holy Spirit, he is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; God’s Spirit dwelling in him. That is Romans, and as I said, Romans takes up Jacob and makes him Israel, but the identity remains, so that it is said of Jacob and of Israel, “What hath God wrought!” Israel is the saint viewed in the light of God’s purpose — glorious thought! The word to Israel was “for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed”, Genesis 32: 28. It is wonderful that such a man comes out; where he had been a weak votary of the world, he now has power with God and as having power with God he has power with men; we may well say, “What hath God wrought!”
I desire now to go on to Corinthians, so that we might see that God would have us working. The apostle says, “Thanks be to God, which [p. 209] giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The victory that God has achieved in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ according to this chapter is given to us. It is not that He has given it, but He giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then it says, “So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord”. If I may be allowed to urge it, I would say there is need for work, for workers with God, and wherever God is pleased to give a victory in any measure, He looks for spoil. Some of us were recently occupied with Acts 6, where, as you will remember, a certain cleavage arose on account of the murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were overlooked, and God came in and gave a victory; Satan was defeated. It is a wonderful thing to see Satan defeated. God loves to give us the victory — that is, to those who depend on Him. So He gave the victory; they chose seven men well reported of and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and having prayed they laid their hands on them, and what resulted was that the word of God increased. Satan little thought that that would be the result. God looks for spoil and the spoil in this case was that the word and work of God increased; Acts 6: 7.
Satan little thinks when he makes an attack how infinitely resourceful God is, and how every attack only yields spoil for God. If God allows an exercise, if Satan has attacked, we have to go through it, but what is the result? What have I got out of the exercise? Have I got any gain to my soul? Has the word of God increased in me? Do I know God more? Is His mind known better in my soul? These are the results of exercise and conflict. In Acts 6 the number of the disciples in Jerusalem were very greatly multiplied. If the word of God increases in our souls, then God can safely add numbers to us; we may safely look for that, but He would employ us in securing the numbers. You may say, Well, I have not gift. The record in the Acts is that those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word; it does not say they had gift, they preached [p. 210] wherever they went and God blessed the word. I believe that God would lay it upon us to be occupied in working with Him in the preaching of the word. Scripture speaks about doing the work; the work has to be done and we are not to sit down beside it. “Lift up the hands that hang down”; Hebrews 12:12 “Say unto Zion, Let not thy hands be slack”, Zephaniah 3:16. These hands that the Lord has given us are to be employed, and so what your hand finds to do “do it with thy might”, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Scripture says. It is the work of God. One sees what God is doing and one wishes to promote it in every way, so if the work is by you, at hand, do it, the ability comes with the doing.
I am not ignoring that one is not to preach if he is not sent. I am emphasising the need of working. Jonathan was not sent, but he was moved with a certain instinct that there was dire necessity in Israel, and he and his armour-bearer came together and went over to the Philistine garrison and wrought a victory, and it is testified that he wrought with God; he discovered that the work had to be done and he did it, and God was with him. So the passage I read in Corinthians is encouraging; the victory is assured to us, God gives it to us, and then it says, “Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord”. It is very encouraging to see God’s people stand fast when the wind blows as Satan attacks; most encouraging! We may thank God for that, it is the work of God. That is said to the saints at Corinth, and then he adds, “knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”. If you bring the Lord in, results are sure to come; He is Lord to that end. Being Lord, He has resources, and our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Be assured of results. I believe the Lord would affect all the saints, and I would not attempt to serve except with that in view.
[p. 211] No Levite is merely local, he is a Levite in respect of the whole house, and his exercise should be in that relation. It is the work of the Lord, and so every Levite should labour with the whole house in view. You want every saint to be affected by your ministry. One may say, It is very little, but the Lord knows how to put all the “littles” together and then you have much and there are large results. Scripture says, “To each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ”, Ephesians 4:7. Do not complain of that measure; it is according to His measure and His measure is a bountiful one. The question is, Am I employed in using the measure that I have received from the Lord? “Take heed to the ministry that thou hast received in the Lord, to the end that thou fulfil it”, Colossians 4:17. The Lord will hold us accountable for what we have, and what is so very encouraging is that “to him that hath shall more be given”, Mark 4:24.
Well, that is what I had in view. I hope I have been clear in what I have said. The work of God goes on. There is a remarkable statement in John 4, which to my mind is intended to humble anyone who thinks he is a success in the service. The Lord says, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”. Anyone that takes up a thing and leaves it unfinished is not in accord with Christ. He came to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work. He looks for completeness. Then He says to His disciples, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields”. What a word that is! It is fields, not a field; it is the extent of the domain the Lord would affect. The fields are white. And now He says to them, “Other men laboured and ye are entered into their labours”; He does not accredit them with inaugurating anything. It is a wholesome thing to be reminded of that; we have to recognise that anyone serving today enters on the labours of other men. The word is fulfilled, ‘One sows and another reaps, so that they may both rejoice together’. I think that is very beautiful. It humbles but encourages you, for it is no question of your importance as a workman, it is the joy of the fruit. One sows and another reaps that they may rejoice together. The time of rejoicing is when the Lord will bring His sheaves with Him. He is coming, and it is a happy thought that we shall rejoice together with those who preceded us, so that the fruit of their labours is ours. Let us not be slack; say to Zion: “Let not thy hands be slack”.