FRIENDS OF CHRIST
[p. 121] FRIENDS OF CHRIST
A great part of the New Testament Scriptures refers to what the mind of God is as to what we should be down here. I think I might say that the bulk of the writings of the apostles has that in view. They do not speak of the order of our conduct in heaven, but of our testimony here. The Spirit of God takes care to assure us that we have a place in heaven, because we have no place on earth. If we had a place recognised of God on earth, the Spirit of God would not speak to us of a place in heaven; but a place in heaven is the only place we have. Here we are strangers and pilgrims. We are followers of them who through faith and patience inherit promises. The effect of the promises on Abraham was that he became a stranger and a pilgrim upon earth; he had no place here. Christ has gone to prepare a place for us; and now God has raised us up and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ; but then, the point is, What are we to be down here? And you may be sure that if we answer to the mind of God in what we are down here, it is a true preparation for our place in heaven. I think it is a great thing to ascertain the mind of God as to us here. We can arrive at that; and by entering into it we shall be prepared for our place above.
We get that idea in this chapter. The Lord says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” — that is our object down here. Then He says, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have”, etc. In seeking the kingdom, we are prepared to receive the kingdom. On the other hand, if we apprehend that it is our Father’s pleasure to give us the kingdom, we act here according to the kingdom. We sell that we have and give to the poor, because the [p. 122] first principle of the kingdom undoubtedly is righteousness, and righteousness means dispersion. There is a remarkable passage in Psalm 112: 9, quoted by the apostle in 2 Corinthians 9: 9, as marking the righteous man. “He hath dispersed; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness endureth for ever”. Now if we are affected by the reality that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, we shall lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven, not on earth.
I am going to take up a few details which come out in this chapter, to show what should characterise the friends of Christ down here. That is the position in which, at the beginning of the chapter, the Lord recognises the disciples: “I say unto you my friends”. The disciples were His friends. I suppose the meaning of it is that He made known to them His mind. A man gives his confidence to his friend, and that is exactly what Christ had done to His disciples; He had not treated them as servants, but as friends.
Then the Lord unfolds, in the beginning of the chapter, the position which they were to occupy in testimony down here, and in the latter part, the conditions which are suitable to those in the place of testimony. It is one of the most lovely chapters you can find in the Scriptures, as marking out the conduct and bearing and deportment which is according to the mind of the Lord for those in the place of His friends down here. I think we may accept that place, as the friends of Christ. I quite admit the application to those who were round the Lord at that time, and who were to be the first to come into the place of testimony; but I do not think you can limit what comes out in the chapter to them, and I should suppose that it would be quite according to the pleasure of Christ that we should accept the place in which He puts His disciples as His friends, in the interests of the testimony.
[p. 123] Now I want to go back a little to indicate to you how, in the tenth chapter, we have an entirely new point of departure. I do not think you will understand the succeeding chapters if you fail to apprehend that. The parable of the good Samaritan, as it is commonly called, presents to us an entirely new departure: it is the introduction of a neighbour. There never had been a neighbour before, and it is the beginning of God’s real ways in regard to man. There had been the priest and the Levite; but the law never was a neighbour, nor was it intended to be. It was impossible for the law to show mercy, or to take account of the real condition of man. Moses was not a neighbour; the priest and the Levite pass by; and the real outset of divine ways in regard to man is undoubtedly the introduction of a neighbour.
The earlier part of the gospel is taken up pretty much with the kingdom. Now we get an additional point in regard to the kingdom, that is, the introduction of a man. That is the place which Christ came here to fulfil. Everything that had been, whether it were law or what not, in the dealings of God, was in anticipation of the introduction of a man; and this was the point of departure in the accomplishment of what was according to God’s mind in regard to men. One point as to the neighbour is that he comes in from without. He is not regarded as arising from what was previously recognised. He is not raised up in connection with the pre-existing system; he is a Samaritan, coming from without; but the point of his coming in is to act the neighbour, to show mercy.
Now a few words in regard to the one to whom mercy is to be shown. The moral condition of man is deplorable. To begin with, he is weak. The proof of his weakness is that he has to come down to death. In a sense, man is already half dead, for from the time he comes into the world death lies upon him. The strongest man — a Samson — must come down to [p. 124] death. Samson in his end slew a great many Philistines, but he had to die himself. Then, too, man is without righteousness. The man that fell among thieves was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jericho was not the place to find righteousness. Man is without resources and afflicted of thieves. Satan has really stripped man, and left him without righteousness, without resources, half dead, with death upon him.
And this is not the condition of man at his worst, but at his best. Now the neighbour has come in to show mercy not simply to the Jew, but to man. He has come in from without, in the unconditional goodness of God. Every Christian is conscious at the beginning of his history that he has received blessing from Christ. It is, I suppose, our first impression in regard of Christ. Who, then, do you think has any claim upon you like the One who showed mercy to you? If it had not been for the mercy of Christ, we should have been in heathen darkness. He has come near to us in order that He might make us acquainted with God. This is the beginning of our acquaintance with Christ; but it is only the beginning.
The first point, then, is the apprehension of the neighbour, the relation in which Christ now stands to man, the new departure. All previous to that had been probationary dealings on the part of God, and when we come to the neighbour we come to the real point of departure. But the man who is the subject of mercy has to be formed, to be renewed; he is to be changed in the very texture of his moral being, and that comes to pass in regard to everyone to whom Christ has shown mercy.
There are two principles by which this is effected: one is by being riveted to Christ, so that the ear is entirely attentive to Christ, and the other is in having access to the Father by the Spirit. I have no doubt that those are the two principles by which the man who is the subject of mercy is formed according to God. He becomes “according to God” the new man, created after God in righteousness and holiness of truth. What marked Mary was, that she was riveted to Jesus: she sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha, too, had affection for Jesus, but she was not riveted to Jesus. Mary was; she had no ear for anyone else except Jesus: she heard His word, that is, the expression of Himself, so that He became known to her in that which He is; and she was affected and formed by it.
The Lord indicates thus the first great principle which affects the one to whom mercy has been shown. My impression is that many people allow other things to come in between them and Jesus. Even service, on the part of Martha, might come in between herself and Jesus; but a great many things which are not service at all may come in, and hence it is that the soul is not riveted to Jesus, and does not get the full benefit of His word. The Son of God is expressed in His word, and it ought to be an exercise with every one of us that we are coming to the clear knowledge of the Son of God. The effect of the mercy of Christ is to that end.
Now another point comes in, and that is, that such enjoy access to the Father. We learn what Christ is, but at the same time, through Him, we have access to the Father. If you have access to the Father, it is impossible to enjoy that without being very greatly affected by it. Even in human things we understand that if a man has access to great people in the world, he will undoubtedly be more or less affected by them. If a man keeps bad company, he will be affected by that company; but if a man keeps company morally superior to himself, he will be affected by it. So it is in regard to the Father: we enjoy access by Christ to the Father through the Spirit, and if this becomes a reality to us we cannot fail to be greatly affected by it. The practical result is that we are conscious not only of the mercy of Christ, but are formed according to [p. 126] God by the knowledge of the Son of God, and by the enjoyment of access by the Spirit to the Father. I think those are the two great principles by which believers are formed according to God. God intends that we should take our character from Himself, as made known to us in the Son of God: the new man is created after God in righteousness and holiness of truth.
I want you to apprehend God’s point of departure in the One who has come in to show mercy. It is a great thing to turn your back on other things, and to have your attention taken up with the blessed One who has come in as the vessel of God’s mercy to act the part of neighbour; and the next step is that we sit at His feet to get the knowledge of Himself, and enjoy our privilege, by the Spirit, of access to the Father, that we may be formed in affections according to God. In enjoying access to the Father, you enjoy access to One who loves, and then you get the blessed response to this love on the part of the Christian, “We love Him because He first loved us”. That is the way in which the friends of Christ are formed, and there is no other. His friends must be according to Himself, or He would not care about them: if Christ condescends to have friends, it is clear that they must be according to Himself, otherwise they could not be in the secret of His mind. Even in worldly things, I do not think that any man will be my intimate friend unless there is something in common between my mind and his; and if I am not morally according to Christ, I doubt if I can be His friend; but our privilege is to be in the place of friends of Christ.
Now I pass on to the twelfth chapter. We have seen how the friends of Christ are formed. The twelfth chapter, verses 4 to 12, contemplates them in the place of testimony. The first thing is, that you should not be afraid of man. And you can understand this: If you are afraid of man, you are in danger of playing [p. 127] the hypocrite. A hypocrite is a person who does not come out in his true colour, and I think that would often apply to myself, and to many a Christian: he does not come out in his true colour. His true colour is that he is a friend of Christ. You will come out in your true colour some day, but the point is that in this world we should not act the part of hypocrites, but come out as Christ’s friends.
Another point is that we confess the Son of man. That means a great deal. I do not fear man — man is about me; all his power and glory are in the world, and in spite of that I do not fear him. The secret of that is that I expect nothing from him. I believe many of us are hampered by having expectations from man, and are thus kept in bondage to man. The friend of Christ does not fear man: but fears God, and confesses the Son of man. In the eyes of the world at the present time the Son of man is simply nothing. In the politics of the world the idea of the Son of man does not enter; and yet, after all, God has put all things under His feet, and He is going to overturn everything in the world. His rights are in abeyance for the moment, while He is at the right hand of God; but He has rights in regard to the world here. Everything is put under His feet, and we are not ashamed of the Son of man: we confess Him. It is a great thing for us to apprehend the reality to which the Spirit witnesses — a Man in heaven, under whose feet everything is placed. That Man is known to us. He is not ashamed to call us friends, and we are left here for a moment for the confession of that Man. When I see people prepared to accept the glory of man and to do homage to man in the world, the impression produced upon me is that they do not think much of the Son of man.
Now I come to another point. The same Spirit by whom we enjoy access to the Father is the real power of our witness down here. The disciples were not to [p. 128] be preoccupied with what defence they might make; they were dependent on the Spirit of God for their testimony. I think the Lord marks out simple guides and guards for the pathway. Do not be afraid of man; confess the Son of man. I do not think that means exactly that you should speak of Him to everyone you meet in the street: you can confess Him in a silent way — by separation from the world, its glory and power and tinsel. Then there is entire dependence on the power of the Spirit of God. How can you talk about a Man in heaven except by the Spirit of God? A Man in heaven is contrary to all human experience. If you speak to me about the Duke of Wellington, or some great man who lived here, I have no difficulty in receiving that; but when you tell me about a Man in heaven, it is another matter. Who can enable me to speak about the Son of man in heaven except the Spirit of God? I do not think people know how dangerous it is to take up the things of God in natural ability. You can only know these things and testify of them in the power of the Spirit of God, who has come down to bring the witness to us of the Son of man in heaven. You get an example of this in Stephen: he was full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus. He was called before magistrates and powers, and confessed the Son of man, by the Spirit of God, before men.
That is the one true thing for the moment. The fear of man is morally a low thing. Under the influence of it many a person has done wrong things. The fear of man is ever dangerous, and when divine things are in question it is particularly so. If you are to be kept from it, you must be kept in the power of God, in confidence upon God. It is a blessed thought to me that the Witness to the Man in heaven is as great as the Man, and the Man as great as the Witness. What came to pass in the case of Stephen might in a certain [p. 129] sense come to pass in our experience. If we got our eye steadfastly fixed on heaven and saw Jesus crowned with glory and honour, then we should be prepared to be apart from man’s glory in the world, in the confession of the Son of man, under whose feet God has put all things.
The next thing is, you must not expect Christ to interfere in the affairs of this life. If you do you will get the answer on the part of Christ, Who made me a judge or a divider over you? The Lord will say to you, Beware of covetousness. Men want to get their rights: the man who appealed to Christ wanted to get rights which possibly belonged to him in the providence of God. A man may have a debtor, and go to law to recover his debt. All right enough according to man; but what is the spring and root of that in man? Where did his rights come from? The spring of all man’s rights is the confusion which sin has brought into the world; and when men set to work to recover their rights they really are in danger of covetousness. The Lord goes to the root of the matter. What I understand by covetousness is the love of proprietary possession. It is a very common failing; all would admit that. I do not suppose there is anyone who is entirely free from it. When man was simply as God made him, he enjoyed the benefits which God had placed within his reach; but there was not proprietary possession. When the Lord came here, He had nothing; Peter too could say, Silver and gold have I none — I have no possessions. The Lord says, Beware of covetousness. All that comes out in the remainder of the chapter (verses 22 - 36) is the contrast of that.
The contrast to covetousness is dependence on God; and not only that, but confidence in God; the great point in it is that God is to us a reality. Every man is dependent on the care of God. God is the preserver of all men; all are dependent on Him.
[p. 130] Do you think we cannot count on the care of God? If a raven can count on His care, surely I can; and if a lily is decked in a form with which the glory of Solomon was not comparable, cannot I count on the care of God for my clothing? That is what the Lord brings out. Whatever may be our pathway here, the circumstances into which we have been born, it is a great point that the heart should be free from the love of money, and that the spirit of one’s mind should be that of confidence in God, in the blessed sense that God is a reality, and that He has special regard for those who believe. I have no doubt that God knows perfectly how to order the path of His people who wait upon Him; and though they may not escape exercises, “your Father knoweth that ye have need of such things”. My conviction is that if a man has grace to give himself up to seeking the kingdom of God in this world of man’s influence, God will not fail in His care of that man.
I think it is because people are half-hearted, partly seeking the kingdom of God and partly other things, that they do not prove the care of God in the way they might. If we are to seek the kingdom of God, we are to seek nothing else. It is not that I may not have to take up a business; but business is not my pursuit: it is incidental. My pursuit is the kingdom of God, and God will not fail me. If we are set on the kingdom of God down here, God will be set on our care. I have no doubt that God has endowed us with a large measure of intelligence; but I am sure of this, that if our piety is not according to our intelligence, God will not be well pleased with us. I am not the one to undervalue intelligence; but I want to see piety commensurate with our intelligence. The more intelligent we get, the more simple and confident we should become, and not be carried away by the pursuit of other objects in this world. I do not look for expansion in the world: I want contraction in the [p. 131] world, but expansion in the kingdom of God. I sometimes see people expand in the world, but I do not think they prosper in the kingdom of God. You cannot expand in both things; if you expand in divine things, you will be diminished in the things of this world. You will not get Christ to interfere in the things of this world. If you want Him to interfere to get you your supposed rights in this world, He will expose what is the root of your wish, and that is covetousness. But He marks out the path of piety, which is the suitable path for every saint. All I plead for is that God, and the grace of God, should be a reality to us: having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.
Now there is just another point. “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Suppose a man in this world could own millions, is that to compare for a moment with the kingdom of God? When God’s kingdom is displayed, where will all the wealth of this world be? Tyre has a very poor place in the world to come; you cannot read the prophets without being convinced of that. There may be durable clothing, but the wealth which men accumulated now will be nothing in the world to come. But “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. In view of the greatness of that gift, you can afford to take the path of doing good: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men...”. We shall set the example of doing good in the kingdom; that is what will mark the heavenly city. If we are left here for a moment in the reality of the kingdom, let us sell that we have, and do good. You will get the mind free from the influence of worldly means and wealth, and be set upon what the apostle Paul exhorted the rich to do — to lay hold on that which is really life. This is the path for every one of us. There are not many amongst us who are possessors of wealth in this world; but it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. There is a path marked out for the Christian — not a new one, but a very good one indeed for us.
One thing more. The Lord makes things uncommonly simple. You are to be here free from covetousness, seeking God’s kingdom, so that you have a supreme interest. If you have not a supreme interest, you are listless. Seek the kingdom of God. The Lord will give you understanding to do it, and to rest in the assurance of divine care. Then you are always to be ready to go. You have no link with earth; you are “like men that wait for the Lord”. It is not only that we have the Son of man in glory, but we have the coming Lord. I cannot find my own Lord down here upon earth, but I am waiting for Him. You are all on the alert, so that when He comes and knocks, you open to Him immediately. You are morally prepared, so that He can come in immediately. Then you will know His service in His kingdom. He will make His servants, who have been marked here by fidelity to Him in His absence, to sit down, and will come forth and take the place of servant in regard to them. As has been expressed by another, He will become the minister of our joys above. If we have been faithful a little moment down here, steering clear of covetousness and maintaining fidelity to Christ, that will be our portion. The Lord on His part will give us a time of rest; it will not then be continual exercises. The Lord pronounces a beatitude on those servants whom He finds watching when He comes.
Are our spirits free from the influences of the world, that is, from man’s glory and man’s greatness, so that we are practically dependent on a God who we are quite sure will never fail us? You have His gift. He gives you the kingdom, and we are waiting for our own Lord. You cannot do any good down here unless your affections are linked with Christ [p. 133] outside the scene. The ten virgins in the parable all had vessels and lights. What constituted the difference between them was that the five wise virgins were linked in affection with the bridegroom before He came. The five foolish failed in that. The five wise ones had oil in their vessels, and that indicates to me that they had a link of spiritual affection with the bridegroom before He came, and therefore, when He came; they were ready to go in. “If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema”. We wait for our own Lord; but while our Lord is hid, there is the link of affection between us and Himself, so that we wait for Him, that when He comes and knocks, we may open to Him immediately.
I have endeavoured to show you the great starting-point of God, the beginning of divine ways in mercy, and the principles by which the friends of Christ are formed. Now they are set in testimony, and the Lord brings out in this chapter their dress, what is to characterise them. All I say is, Let it be our dress. I commend the chapter to you, as marking out the conditions which the Lord would have fulfilled in those whom He designates as His friends.