THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN THOSE WHO SERVE HIM
[p. 247] THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN THOSE WHO SERVE HIM
Philippians 1: 16 - 19; 1 Peter 1: 10, 11; 1 Peter 3: 18, 19
I have been thinking of the Spirit of Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of the supply of it in the first scripture read. There is a supply of it. It is now formally in Christ as a Man, and it is there in abundance. It is to be drawn upon so that it may be in us — the most important necessity, for it is said, “but if any one has not the Spirit of Christ he is not of him” (Romans 8: 9). Whatever he may be, he is not of Christ; and so he is shut out from Christ. Whatever his profession may be, whatever place he may secure in this world, or society he may keep, however successful he may be in the pursuits of this world, or honoured in it, he is shut out from Christ. He has elected to shut himself out. “If any one has not the Spirit of Christ he is not of him”. And in the final reckoning under God, one who has not the Spirit of Christ will have no place, no place in Christ — a most solemn consideration, for all in God’s world are to be filled with the Spirit of Christ.
God had indicated in the creation how the Spirit, His own Spirit (which indeed is identical with the Spirit of Christ, for it is the Spirit of God, only the Spirit of God taking up this relation of the Spirit of Christ), garnished the heavens. He is the Spirit of God, He is the Spirit of the Father, He is the Spirit of God’s Son, and the Spirit of Christ. It is the same Spirit always under God’s hand in His operations, so that we may apprehend Him as garnishing the heavens. “By his spirit the heavens are adorned”, we are told in Job 26: 13. The heavens evidently were formed before the earth. Angels, too, according to the book of Job, were formed before the earth, because they shouted with joy as its foundations were laid: “all the sons of God shouted for joy”. So that literally the heavens that [p. 248] we see in all their varied glories were garnished by the Spirit of God. What we see is the fruit of His workmanship. Such was His place in the work of creation.
And then, as sin came in — destruction, dislocation, and general ruin ensuing — He is seen hovering over the waters, as if He would bring order out of chaos, which He has done. Later He is seen striving with men, for a limited time. The garnishing of the heavens would be for a limited time; it was not continuous. The hovering over the waters was not continuous, nor was the striving with men. “My spirit shall not always plead with Man”, God says, (Genesis 6: 3). His days were to be one hundred and twenty years. God would strive with him during those years. That was the work that God took up, having a suitable workman, one in whom the Spirit of Christ could operate, namely, Noah. He is honourably mentioned in the Scriptures, as we know. Noah, Daniel and Job are mentioned together — a remarkable trio of men; the Spirit having operated in all three.
Noah is said to have been a preacher of righteousness. It was a kind of preaching that was needed in his time, because unrighteousness abounded. God always meets current evil by what is effective, and has His instrument or vessel to use. So that Noah was available to God, but was to be used by the Spirit of Christ.
And so the passage I read in 1 Peter 3 alludes to that: a comparatively short period of one hundred and twenty years, seemingly, at the end of the antediluvian world. At the end God would give this fine testimony, not simply in gift that Noah may have had from God (he surely was endowed for his service), but in the Spirit of Christ. And that is the first point to be noted, dear brethren. We are now at the end of a period, of the greatest of all periods in the ways of God, either before or after. I am not, of course, alluding to the eternal state of things, we cannot call that a period, we cannot measure that by time at all, it is final. Time must cease [p. 249] from necessity, so that we cannot include that in the periods or dispensations of God. This is the greatest of them all, “upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1 Corinthians 10: 11).
Now Peter alludes to Noah in relation to the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ must have a vessel suitable, and Noah was that vessel. As I said, he is called a preacher of righteousness by Peter in his second letter. No one has any moral title to preach righteousness who does not practise righteousness. That is clear enough. Noah did both. He was a practiser of righteousness, and he became heir of it, as we are told, as if he would be thus constituted for time and eternity. He became heir of the righteousness which is by faith; and as a practiser of righteousness he was qualified to preach it. We have to be exemplary of the thing we preach, or our preaching must fall short in effect and representation of God.
So it is said that Noah was perfect in his generations. That is to say, he was there as representative of God. Persons who knew him, his relatives and acquaintances, could say, There is Noah, the preacher of righteousness. But he was a practiser of righteousness too, and this involved the saving of his house. “By faith, Noah, oracularly warned concerning things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house” (Hebrews 11: 7). No result of righteousness is more important than the saving of one’s house. The devil is specially attacking the young in this present time. The states of the world are laying claim to the young, even reaching over the heads of their parents. It is most important, therefore, dear brethren, to have them under our hand so that the state has no need to search for them. It is humbling that the state has to come in between God and our children. The mediatorship between God and the children is the parents.
So that Noah was a practiser of righteousness in [p. 250] preparing an ark for the saving of his house. You may say, he saved the cattle as well. So he did, but the ark is definitely said to be for the saving of his house. So the world had evangelical testimony borne to it, in the Spirit of Christ, by this man during the period of his preaching. The link with the present time is very beautiful and strong, and points to the universal domination of the Spirit of Christ: “for Christ indeed has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in which also going he preached to the spirits which are in prison, heretofore disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3: 18 - 20). Disobedience did not begin then; it had been going on hundreds of years before, but to be disobedient in the days of Noah was more serious; and so it is that disobedience today, when God is furnishing special light for His people, is most serious. As we come under its power and continue in our disobedience, it is most serious. These were “heretofore disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing”. So that it is not only a matter of the practising of righteousness and the preaching of righteousness, but of the building. Anyone could see the building all those days and years of that wonderful vessel called “the ark”. It was a testimony in itself, “by which he condemned the world” (Hebrews 11: 7). However men might jeer at what he was doing, Noah was condemning them. And so it is that those who seek to go on with the preaching and the building and the practising of righteousness, however weak and obscure, they are condemning the world. Let us rise to the magnitude of the position of Noah! What the population of the antediluvian world was, who can say? It was, I believe, very large. But there they would come during those years to examine what this great servant of God was [p. 251] doing. He was preaching righteousness. And he was not only preaching the terms of righteousness, he was doing it in the Spirit of Christ: “in the Spirit, in which also going he preached to the spirits which are in prison”, verse 19. They have been in prison all these thousands of years and they are in prison tonight. They had this service rendered to them, but still they did not accept it, and they are now in prison.
But I am stressing that it was in the Spirit of Christ that Noah did it. And if we are preaching, this is the line to take: the practising of righteousness, the preaching of righteousness, and the building of the ark — “by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11: 7). That is our work, but it is a question of doing it in the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit of Christ is the Spirit in a moral sense, working out in a man in holy feelings of sympathy, compassion, longsuffering, etc. It worked out in Christ as He entered into death: “who by the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God” (Hebrews 9: 14). It was His own act in the power of the Spirit, and it was “in the Spirit, in which” (that same Spirit) “also going he preached to the spirits which are in prison”. Those spirits that are now in prison. Well, you cannot compassionate them. They have had this wonderful testimony in their days here on the earth, and so the Lord says of them, “For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came and took all away” (Matthew 24: 38, 39). Can you compassionate them? I would compassionate a man whilst his breath is in him, but after he dies, having heard the testimony of Noah or the testimony of the Spirit of Christ, whether through Noah or anyone else, I would not compassionate him. His doom is sealed and the righteousness of God enters into it.
[p. 252] They carried on without Christ and without God, and perhaps jeered at the building of the ark and the preaching of Noah, for there is not any evidence that any single person was saved through his preaching. Such was the condition of things, the hardness of heart in that day. And the Lord Jesus says with His own lips that all these things they were going on with continued until the very day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and drowned them all. Very summary, but how terrible!
That is the first point I make, and it applies to our meeting in this town, and in hundreds of other towns and cities of the world. What magnitude of importance attaches to them in the sense of carrying on patiently, but always in the Spirit of Christ! No mere religious effort, but always in the Spirit of Christ, by vessels who are practising righteousness, preaching righteousness, and building the ark. That is the example; and it is a question of love, that love is in the circle where the preaching goes on. That is the exemplary side of it that is intended to affect others — the Spirit of Christ working out in the preachings and in those who listen, and in those who support the preaching and would have persons come and hear. It is in this sense all a question of the Spirit of Christ.
Now secondly, we come to the Spirit of Christ in the prophets. That is in 1 Peter 1: 10, 11: “Concerning which salvation prophets, who have prophesied of the grace towards you, sought out and searched out; searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out, testifying before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these”. This is a question of prophecy. I have spoken of the gospel services, may God bless them and increase them, increase the zeal they evince! If not in hired rooms, let it be under the canopy of heaven that this work is carried on,
[p. 253] trusting in God to use His word, for the word of God is not bound. It must have scope in the universe. Let each voice carry as far as it can go in the testimony of Christ in the gospel.
But now we have the prophetic meeting to consider, which is number two, and these meetings are represented in the prophets of old. It is said by Peter, or by the Spirit of God through Peter, that they were “searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out” (1 Peter 1: 11); that is, they searched as they ministered. We cannot just tell how many prophets there were; God is said to have risen up early to send them, one of the most touching words you can get. He fitted them to serve and gave them the Spirit of Christ. The prophets were not exactly indwelt, but they were imbued with power by the Spirit of Christ. They were not nearly so intelligent as those of us who have redemption, those of us who are sealed with the Spirit. It does not say they were sealed. One of them says, “take not the spirit of thy holiness from me” (Psalm 51: 11). No intelligent christian would say that now because we are ‘sealed for evermore’. He who has called us has sealed us. He that “has anointed us, is God, who also has sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1: 21, 22). It is an eternal matter. There is no possibility of the Holy Spirit being withdrawn from any one of us and I would appeal to anyone who is not sure if he has the Spirit, to get to God about it and make sure. Do not be without it.
But the prophets had not the Spirit of Christ in an indwelling sense, in a sealing sense, because redemption had not yet come. Even Balaam was acted upon by the Spirit of God. The Spirit took hold of Balaam and used him in a most remarkable way. Others too, unconverted men, were used by the Spirit of God. Even Judas performed works of miracles. Paul says, “Lest [p. 254] after having preached to others I should be myself rejected” (1 Corinthians 9: 27). That is possible, but it is not possible for one who has been sealed to lose the Holy Spirit; and, as I said, that is one of the most important matters, because we cannot truly serve God or His people unless we have the Spirit. Now the prophets were used by the Spirit of Christ and testified “before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these”. What a theme they had, the sufferings of Christ and the glories after these! “Searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out”. And so Peter goes on to say, “To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves but to you they ministered those things, which have now been announced to you by those who have declared to you the glad tidings by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, which angels desire to look into”, verse 12. These words speak for themselves and one feels one’s own shallowness in speaking of them, the things which were ministered to us through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the others. It was expressly told them that what they were ministering was not to themselves. It is a question of the gospel that is now preached to us by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
Well, all this enters into the ministry meeting. They searched out “what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out”. Now if we search out we shall usually find out. If there is a ministry meeting in this town the first in mind to be ministered to are the saints who reside here. When the apostle laboured in Corinth his first consideration was the people residing there. The Lord had told him He had much people there and he stayed for eighteen months preaching to them and teaching them. The first concern of those who rightly minister is to minister to the persons who are in the town in which they are [p. 255] ministering. These have the first place. And in view of ministering what is needed the Lord would have the minister to know something of the characteristics of the place. Undoubtedly the Lord Jesus informed Paul more about Corinth than is mentioned in Scripture. The city had notoriety for profligacy, and the Lord would direct His servant in ministry to meet this, and so Paul says to them, “I did not judge it well to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2: 2). Do you not think the Lord laid that on his heart? Paul in preaching to them would go into the presence of the Lord, and would get his impressions from Him. What is the history of this city and what is the history of the saints meeting here? Like towns, meetings are apt to have traditional characteristics. I have known this city for fifty years, and I do not think there is anyone left that I met when I first came; but then certain traditional conditions may remain, and they may need attention. We must be on our guard against a mere traditional outlook. It is sure to be inimical to the truth. Paul at Corinth evidently observed this and the Lord helped him.
So that the ministry meeting involves the prophets searching, as Peter says here, “Searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed out, testifying before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these. To whom it was revealed, that not to themselves but to you they ministered those things”. Isaiah ministered in the days of Hezekiah, and other prophets did, too. But he would say, I must not confine myself to meeting Hezekiah’s position, I must be thinking of the future, perhaps thousands of years from now. It is Isaiah who tells us that Cyrus was selected by God before he was born. Well, if he was selected before he was born to do a great service, then Isaiah would have in mind that [p. 256] some little bit of his ministry must slip along the line down to Cyrus. I am only citing that as an illustration. But look at what John says about Isaiah, “These things said Esaias because he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12: 41). Christ’s glory! Isaiah was ministering in the power of the Spirit of Christ, and he saw beyond the current moment. He saw the glory of Christ. It was a question of the sufferings and the glories. So that John says, “These things said Esaias because he saw his glory and spoke of him”. That is a good example for any little effort we put forth in our prophetic meetings: not only to take account of the present — though we must take account of the present, as I was saying — but then, let us be in the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ has a long outlook. He is thinking of Christ; He is thinking of the coming generations in relation to Christ. So that as the testimony proceeds, it will be found that the Spirit of Christ has provided what it needs; and it is largely that the young might take on the truth and carry forward the witness of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow.
What a wonderful theme we have, dear brethren, in the Spirit of Christ! So that our meetings should take on the character of searching. No one will ever be effective unless he does search for the truth. And who is the Searcher, really? The Spirit of God. He “searches all things, even the depths of God”. And if we are to minister at any given time, at any given place, as in us, He knows the hearts of the saints who are there. There is a link between the saints and the depths of God. “Man’s spirit is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the inner parts of the belly” (Proverbs 20: 27). There must be the searching of the inner parts; so that the Lord in preparation for the prophetic ministry would have in mind on the one hand the depths of God, the wonderful possibilities there are to be brought forward, and on the other hand, the measure of the saints. Then, also,
[p. 257] God has an inlet into our inner being by His Spirit, so that He searches out the inward parts and knows what to bring out of the depths of God into the depths of our souls. How wonderful! From one Source, an everlasting reservoir of spiritual things, something brought into the depths of the saints of God! And it is that we might be formed inwardly, embellished, garnished, as we might say, for the testimony as it proceeds! Hence the great importance, as I have been saying, not only of the gospel services, but of the prophetic services; the importance too of how the prophets’ searching affected what they were doing, as to whether what they were ministering applied to the then present time only or to the future. It was to the future. Think of Isaiah ministering to us here at this time! Let us rise to the greatness of what we are dealing with, the greatness of christianity: “but to you they ministered those things, which have now been announced to you by those who have declared to you the glad tidings by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven”.
Then, thirdly, there is this matter of the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. That is spoken of in Philippians. The assembly there was the door into Europe, as we have often noted. The testimony rolled westward through the great vessel that God had provided for this service. He was called into it. Indeed, he saw the man of Macedonia in a vision calling for help, and the Philippian assembly was formed, leading into the western world. The western world involves this city that we are in now, this country and continent. This continent is the western extremity of the western world, and the Spirit of God had in mind through Paul to bring forward here this thought of the Spirit of Christ, the supply of it. Most of us who have come to this country came to better our temporal circumstances, not that there is any discredit in that. Some have not, but most have. God’s mercy is seen in the wonderful [p. 258] physical provision in this continent. But what God would do now, and what He has been doing, is to fill a people with the Spirit of Christ; and surely everyone here would be affected by this great thought. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of God, but taking that character. And He is in us in that form, so that there may be the reproduction of Christ in us and through us in this great continent. Think of the greatness of God’s thoughts! Let us get into the current of them. The assembly in Philippi started by a river. Women went out to pray by the river-side. It suggests the current of life started in Europe and spread out to these countries in the west and south, and what is it but that that same Spirit should be in us. In these vast countries, or continents, far away from Philippi, the Spirit of Christ is expressed and operative.
And so we get one person in Philippi to exemplify what I am saying in a special way. Her name was Lydia, and she was a seller of purple. Mercantile employ is not out of order. It marks this country in an extensive way. Farming, of course, is a great industry, largely so because everything depends on the field. “The king himself is dependent upon the field” (Ecclesiastes 5: 9). The cities cannot supply the country, the country supplies the city. “Prepare thy work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house” (Proverbs 24: 27). So that if Lydia were to come over here she would probably find a market for purple. The Spirit of God opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul. She would have to pay her bills when she bought the purple if she were to be like Noah and be righteous, for when you are paying your bills you are attending to righteousness. That is quite obvious, and she would pay her bills, you may be sure. But the Lord opened her heart to attend to other and greater things — more important than selling purple, farming, insurance work or whatever it may be. I do not like to use that word ‘insurance’ much, as applying to material things, because it really belongs to God. The great insurance institution belongs to God and depends solely on Him. There is none of any value morally outside of what is in God. It is quite apropos that I should use the word ‘insurance’ in speaking to the brethren here — because we are apt to forget that the word belongs to God and is only borrowed. The fire or the bomb will destroy any material, but not what is in God, what is in Christ. We are established up there. So that there is not much in the use of that word in industrial things. Lydia is not called a merchantess, she is called a seller of purple, as I said, meaning that she had selling transactions, and if she bought the purple she would have to pay for it, and she would expect her customers to pay her, which no doubt they did. But the Lord would say, Now Lydia, you have been doing all this, but I want you to attend to something else. There is a man in this city who has been out to your prayer meetings by the river-side, and he has things to tell you that far excel anything you have. They are eternal. They never perish, nor shall we, as having them, ever perish. It is said that those who believe on Christ should never perish but have everlasting life. So the Lord would say to Lydia, You attend to the things spoken by that man. He did not say, the things spoken by Silas or by any others; but the things spoken by Paul. That is what she did. There is no suggestion that she should give up her business. She had a household and she would need to provide for her household, but she attended to the things spoken by Paul.
That river may be regarded as a symbol of the Spirit of Christ. It is what has run over to this continent and the Lord intends to keep it here until He comes for us. He has intended that our children should carry on what we have got, that they should be possessed of the [p. 260] Spirit of Christ and carry on as their fathers did, or better, because the generations should certainly improve. One generation passes away and another comes, and the generation that follows has the advantages of what could be learned from the one passing away. So that dear brethren, this is the word — the Spirit of Christ in Europe and its outgoings. Whatever be our earthly callings, do not forget the things spoken by Paul. The depths of God are involved in the things spoken by Paul and we must attend to what he says, take it into our souls and make use of it. It is a truth that you can trade with, that is, getting returns by working it out. So that you prosper as your soul prospers. If you prosper in any other way you will be in danger of being caught by the world. But if you prosper as your soul prospers there will be perfect balance, and you will be found with the Spirit of Christ, and in the testimony of God while you are down here.