THE POWER OF GOD
[p. 298] THE POWER OF GOD
Exodus 7: 14 - 17; Exodus 14: 15 - 18; Exodus 17: 9 - 13; Numbers 11: 16 - 17; Numbers 10: 33 - 36
In reading these scriptures, dear brethren, I have in mind to speak about power, but in thinking of ‘power’ we have to be discerning so as not to mistake the power of Satan for the power of God. The antichrist coming in presently — the way being prepared for him now — will be marked by power, but the power that is from beneath; nevertheless, such power as shall deceive men, except the elect of God. All shall be deceived, for he comes “with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2: 9, 10). These lying wonders are apparent at the present time in a limited way, so that the world is becoming accustomed to them and admires them. Hence in undertaking to speak on this subject of power, it is perhaps excusable if I warn the brethren, so that we may be able to distinguish between the power of God which works in us, and the power of Satan which works in the world.
We learn in 1 Corinthians that the christian assembly was invaded, even in those early days, by the power of the devil, so that the apostle had to give instruction to the saints as to how that power was to be discerned, and how the power of God was to be discerned. He says, “no one, speaking in the power of the Spirit of God, says, Curse on Jesus; and no one can say. Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit”, 1 Corinthians 12: 3. We do well to become accustomed to the Spirit in this respect, so that, in addressing the Lord, we do so feelingly and with affection. The Spirit will never fail us as we are thus governed in speaking to the Lord, and in speaking to Him He ever comes in to lend power to our use of those adorable words, “Lord Jesus”!
In speaking of this power — the power of God — I [p. 299] am obliged to allude, not only to what is called dynamic power — actual, active power — but also to power in the sense of authority. The adoption of official terms or references denoting power must be a dead letter aside from the actual power that God furnishes to support those terms; so that in Scripture the two thoughts run together; that is to say, the idea of conferred or delegated authority here upon earth, and the idea of actual power by which it is supported. Hence the Lord says, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralysed man, I say to thee, Arise, and take up thy little couch and go to thine house”, Luke 5: 24. The two ideas run together there, and they should never really be separated with us. God has furnished us with power in an unlimited way. The Corinthians, as I remarked, were setting it aside in the bringing in of human ability, and that principle has grown until it has completely set aside the Spirit of God in the public profession. The official terms to some extent remain, but they are not supported by the power of the Spirit of God, and so we need the word, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4: 20), and as the apostle says, “my word and my preaching, not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith might not stand in men’s wisdom, but in God’s power”, 1 Corinthians 2: 4, 5.
I have the New Testament, I need not say, in mind, as my remarks indicate, but I find liberty in turning to the types because they amplify, as we have often remarked, that which is presented in the New Testament. So I selected these scriptures, all relative to the great servant who stands out in the Old Testament without an equal in this respect; a man who is spoken of in the New Testament as faithful in all God’s house (Hebrews 3: 2), a remarkable honour conferred on this great servant. No one else is thus spoken of, and we may well take him up as an example. But then, I have [p. 300] him in mind more as a type of how power is exercised, whether on the part of the Lord Jesus or of His servants, for the same principles apply; the principles that governed our Lord Jesus Christ in His service in this world remain, and are to characterise all who are in the service until the end. So that what I have to say will be applicable particularly to those who are in active service, as we speak. The service is within the range of all; no believer should hold himself exempt from the responsibility of service, and I may add what may perhaps be new to some, that in this service, however small, the idea of being representative of God should never be out of sight. This, I need not say, lends dignity to the service, a dignity proper to it. The very youngest may thus find himself or herself representative of God in service, and from what I hope I may be able to say, you will see that for this you must make room for the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is viewed as coming into the believer, indwelling him for inward power and enjoyment, and also as coming upon him for dignity, far different from that which marks so-called religious power in this world.
I want to show how this power works, firstly, against the power of Satan in the world; secondly, against the power of Satan in death; thirdly, against the power of Satan in the flesh of the believer; and fourthly, in the government of God in the ordering of His house, in the exercise of which, as I have already said, Moses was the great and honoured instrument; and then finally and collaterally with what I have been saying, there is the exercise of power, as seen in the ark, in patient love without the assertion of any official authority. Without this last — named feature, the former ones must be of little value. So I wish you to bear in mind, as to the subject before us, that there are two collateral lines; that which is connected with official authority and that which is connected with self-sacrificing love, the love that will serve without a commission where need exists.
[p. 301] First of all, Moses, like each of us, had to be disciplined and educated into the exercise of his great office; and it is in the understanding of what he went through, that you will follow what I have been saying, and what I hope to say. He had experience on the mount with God. As he was about to be commissioned and sent into Egypt, he had peculiar experiences. He is directed by Jehovah to cast his rod upon the ground — a very remarkable thought — a rod which he had been accustomed to use in his varied experience with sheep, but which being cast upon the ground, became a serpent. What an extraordinary thing that I have been using that which is capable of being turned into a serpent! The capabilities are sorrowful — that one may be engaged in service or in some employment that can be thus turned into a directly adverse power. This is very solemn; but it was an educational matter, and the direction was to take the serpent by the tail, which Moses did, and it became a rod in his hand. It is something first of all released — and who is there here that has not experienced something of being released from the control of God? The desire for it is natural with us, and so the colt of which we have often heard was well tied, referring to young christians or the young children of christians. The position is irksome, and the desire for release is strong, but God would remind us that release from legitimate, wholesome, godly control means that I may come under adverse control — satanic control.
But the rod is taken back by Moses; it is taken by the tail, and becomes a rod again — what it had been, something useful. It is thus taken back as recovered and brought under divine control, to be used of God. It is manhood restored — again in the hand of God, in subjection and dependence. This is in Christ, and now in the believer through redemption. Henceforth this very rod is to be the symbol of the authority of the great Mediator. It is humbling but wholesome to have [p. 302] to admit that one has been under the power of Satan, but how great the moral victory that, as taken back by the hand of God in Christ, one is now a vessel of His power. And so Moses has to say to Pharaoh with this power. Each of us has to say to the god of this world. It is a question of having to do with satanic power in the world. We are released from its control through the gospel, and in coming under the authority of Christ we get the Holy Spirit. All this is implied in the rod taken back, and hence it is a symbol of the power by which Satan’s power in the world is overcome.
It is an experimental matter, not merely theoretic. The power of Satan in the world is a very real thing, and believers have to do with it, and can only hope to cope with it as overcoming it on this line. The details are well known to most of us, if not all, as to how Pharaoh’s power was broken. Young believers do well to notice this, that it is a question of overcoming the power of Satan in the world; then as regards servants, they should see that in their service they are not to encounter the enemy in a timid or hesitating way; they approach by the front door, so to speak. Moses is directed to face Pharaoh as he came down to the river. The river was the source of his strength and glory, and in the very presence of it Moses faces Pharaoh and declares that the issues are between God and himself, and that the rod that he had in his hand, would cause the river to become blood — a gruesome and terrible thought, which in result became a fact. One could say much about it; it is alluded to even in the book of Revelation, but I only refer to the exercise of the power of God in the saints against the power of Satan in the world.
The next thing is the power of Satan in death. I fear many christians are afraid of death. In speaking of death thus, I include the Jordan, for the Red Sea and Jordan coalesce in this respect, but it is still a question of power in the believer. Power in Christ, of course,
[p. 303] for it was through Him as entering into death that Satan’s power by death was annulled. But the power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that works in us; so that the overthrow of Satan’s power in death depends for its realisation by us on the power of the Spirit. It is not a mere matter of light. Light points to it, but it is in the power of the Spirit that I am free, and I see that Satan is overthrown in it. At the Red Sea, while a way through was made, the waters — death — were still visible; but when I come to the Jordan they are out of view. There was no ark at the Red Sea. Not that Christ was not there; typically, He was there. But it was the exercise of divine authority in Christ that overcame there; in Christ risen the believer sees a way out. Death has invaded the rights of God, but the resurrection of Christ has overthrown its power, and Satan’s power through it, so that a way through is made for faith; hence Israel crossed the sea by faith, but at the Jordan death is not in view at all. The believer, in the power of the Spirit, apprehends that he shall never see death, as the Lord said in John 8: 51. He shall neither taste it, nor see it. It is a very great matter, especially for us who are getting on in years, but for us all — to become accustomed to the immensity of the overthrow of Satan’s power in death.
The Red Sea alludes to death in its extendedness. It reigned, we are told, “from Adam until Moses”, Romans 5: 14. That is the idea. It is a great extended thought; its long hold upon man seemed to give it a power that could not be broken. We see in the history from Adam to Moses a man living nine hundred and sixty-nine years, but he dies; the power of Satan in death seemed to be without dispute, but, extended as it was, it gave way typically before the power symbolised in Moses’ rod — it was the power of God. The Jordan is not an extended idea; it is a rather condensed one. It is death overflowing its banks, but it is invaded, not by Moses’ rod; but by the “ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth”. I cannot pursue that; the scriptures which treat of the crossing of the Jordan are familiar to most of us, I only wish to indicate the line upon which believers are to learn the power of God in relation to Satan’s power in death.
The next thing is the power of Satan in the flesh. This is something that many of us suffer from, and we do not know just what is the occasion of the suffering. Amalek represents, as we have often heard, and we do well to be always reminded of it, the power of Satan in the believer’s flesh. It is really a hidden affair. Joshua comes into view at this point; Christ Himself is beginning to appear in a spiritual way. It is a great day when a believer begins to be spiritual, to get a spiritual glimpse of Christ in this hidden way. The Israelites had tempted the Lord; they had said in effect, Is the Lord among us or not? How often such a query as that arises, especially in young believers, as much as to say the Lord is not among us, and that is exactly what Satan wishes to convey. He wishes to create that sort of atmosphere amongst the people of God, and young ones are, alas! very prone to be on his side in this. The spirit of complaint, the spirit of temptation, the enquiry as to whether the Lord is among us or not — what a poor state of soul that is! Anyone in such a state needs to see to himself, for Satan is working in his flesh; that is the truth. So we have the rod of Moses again.
Now, whether it be Moses as a type of Christ, or whether it be the intercession of the brethren, especially of the servants who watch over the souls of the saints, it is the same thing, it is a question of authority, of the rod. It is a question here of patient intercession for the young, for all indeed, but especially for the young amongst the people of God. It is a most exercising matter. There is no military glory attached to the service of Moses in this type; military glory attaches to Joshua, who is the leader in the conflict, Moses being a priest on high with his rod. As you are allowing the [p. 305] flesh thus to tempt and provoke you, leading you to complain, the Lord would speak authoritatively to you; He would reprimand you. Not indeed that there is much of this in this section of Exodus, but I am speaking practically now. The rod means that in those circumstances will is at work, there is a want of subjection; the authority of the Lord is involved, and we are not stronger than He. But then, His strength here is not against us, but against Satan in our flesh. The great war at Rephidim is that between Joshua, the spiritual leader of the saints, and Satan in the saints — in this sense. It may seem anomalous to have to speak of Satan in us in any way, seeing we have the Spirit in us, but Satan gets in through the spirit of complaint, and very often through ignorance or want of teaching as to how God has dealt with sin in the flesh. The grand analytical lesson of Romans 7 is required in order to understand what I am speaking of. But what I am stressing is the power of intercession, the great need for intercession. Moses’ arms were weak indeed and needed the support of Aaron and Hur; and that may be the case with most of us, but the intercession for the young is to be persevered in. It is not weakness in Christ; He intercedes continually for us and the testimony depends upon it. If we are not preserved, what will become of the testimony? I mean, looking at it from the point of view of needed material, and hence the need for unceasing intercession for the saints that Satan may not succeed. It is an undulating matter, as we well know, but Joshua prevailed. Let no one be discouraged; the intercession of Christ is unceasing on high, and we may reckon on the intercession of the saints; only let our prayer meetings be indeed prayer meetings, places where prayer is wont to be made, prayer for the young, that they may learn to use the Spirit of God indwelling them, against Satan, according to the word “ye are not in flesh, but in Spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit dwell in you”, Romans 8: 9.
Those of you who have read this chapter 17 of [p. 306] Exodus carefully, will have observed that it does not say the people drank of the rock here. In Numbers 20 it says they drank and their cattle, but not so here. It would appear that the Spirit of God would hardly give us credit for drinking, when there is such a state with us that the enemy can invade us and cause complaining and questioning, as to whether the Lord is among us. But then the principle is that the Holy Spirit is there, and we should be touched by this that it is the Holy Spirit come in, not here through a glorified Christ, but through a suffering Christ. It is through the sufferings of Christ that the Holy Spirit comes in in Exodus 17; Moses is to take the rod, and stand by the rock and smite it. This ought to touch our hearts, that the Holy Spirit which we have as power to overcome the flesh, to put to death the deeds of the body, has come to us as the result of Christ suffering for sin. It is solemn to recognise, but He suffered for that very thing that I am allowing the enemy to use within me.
The next thought, as I remarked, is the power that is available for the government of God, the order of God in the assembly. I can only touch on it, but it enters into Numbers 11. That chapter is one of complaint; and we have to see with sorrow that even Moses is not exempt from the spirit of complaint, reminding us that the most honoured servant of the Lord may at times join in with the complainers against Him. The complaint of Moses brings out what I wish to note, namely, that God measured the requirements exactly, in furnishing him with power for the great service entrusted to him in the house of God. God has measured the exigencies of the testimony, in the assembly. He measured what was needed at Pentecost, what was needed under Paul, what has been needed for every phase of the assembly’s history up to the present time, and He has measured what is needed now — He has made no miscalculation. The error of Moses here, was in assuming that God miscalculated, and that in [p. 307] His miscalculation He was unfair. How sorrowful that was! And yet we are not immune; the most spiritual of us is exposed to coming under the influence of the enemy in this way.
So God says, Now I am testing this matter out. But in doing this how considerate He is of His servant! He said, Gather seventy men known to you to the door of the tabernacle and “I will come down and talk with thee there”. That is, God will always make the most of His servant. He may have to humiliate him or rebuke him, but He will duly respect him. He will be the last to say an unkind word as to a servant; He will be the first to defend the servant. The knowledge of this saves us from looking elsewhere and encourages us to leave ourselves entirely in His hands. So He says, “I will ... talk with thee there”. He does not say He would speak to him and the seventy, although they are to be the joint sharers of the power; He says, I will speak to you. That is like God and very beautiful. But while He honours His servant, He would show that He has furnished him liberally for the service; that His measurements were exact; they must be exact. The physical universe is a testimony to the exactness of God’s measurements — and so, too, the tabernacle. So, in meting out to Moses what he needed for his service, God measured with the utmost accuracy, and, we may be sure, gave him more than was necessary; it was, indeed, the Holy Spirit as the passage shows. As to ourselves the power that works in us is the same power that wrought in Christ when God raised Him from the dead. So, the power is taken from Moses and put on the seventy elders. We cannot assume that these seventy men were equal to Moses; they were not, but the power given them was taken from him. It is as if God were to say; Moses, you have misjudged Me, I am not bringing in one atom of power more than I gave to you at the beginning. So it is, beloved, we must not misjudge God, He has furnished us with all [p. 308] that is necessary — and more — to carry us through. The power He took from Moses was not theoretic, it was real, so that immediately it comes on the seventy they begin to prophesy. God never intends His power to be dormant in His people. He expects it to be active in us, and so they prophesied — even the two in the camp prophesied.
In conclusion, I want to say a word about the ark. I have already touched upon it. It is one of the greatest subjects in Scripture, for it is a type of no less than Christ, but Christ in a peculiar way. Its measurements are governed by a half; it is a small vessel comparatively, but always suggesting something more, and how true that is of Christ! However He is presented, there is always something more in Christ. But I want to show that the first movement of the ark is recorded in this passage in Numbers 10. Here it does not move by rule or by prescription like the directions given in relation to the tabernacle. It formed part of the great system, and its dignity required that it was to be carried carefully on the shoulders of the Kohathites; not to be leading forward, but in the midst of the camps as they moved. But instead of that prescribed movement we have here a beautiful witness, I may say, to the informal activity of the love of Christ. His love is too great to be merely formal. The Lord would love to bring Himself before our hearts in this way, that His love moves aside from what I may call ordinary formality. Formality may be right, of course, but love must go outside of bounds of order. I mean to say, love is itself, and the more we give it scope and leave it to itself, the better off we shall be! As the bride says in the Canticles, Do not awaken love “till it please” (chapter 2: 7). That is literally how it should read — it is personified. Were we to know the Lord better in this light, we would be more restful, and more ready to give Him opportunity to serve according to His own way. He said to His own, “I am among you as he that serveth”, Luke 22: 27.
[p. 309] I do not suppose you could put one single limitation to that. I believe the Lord Jesus would do anything for His disciples that was to be done; and He will do anything that is to be done now for us. It is a question of letting Him move as He may please, and so it says that as Israel moved from the mountain of Jehovah, “the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting-place for them”.
It is a very beautiful passage, as showing how divine love moves before us and with us as we journey according to the will of God. It is a principle with God that, as we move, He moves. Of course, He moves before we do, or we should not move at all according to Him, but as we have light indicating that we should go forward, and we do so, He goes before us. Thus, under given circumstances, it is your move next. When Israel was to go out of Egypt, God had chosen the time, and made it plain that they were to go; but the next move was theirs, and as they made it, the cloud moved, and not before. Many are waiting for the cloud, and it is right in a sense, but if your way is plain, take it; and, as soon as you take it, you will see, not the cloud only, but the pillar of cloud, a volume of testimony that God is there and that He is clearing the way for you. The pillar is the symbol of His presence, and what could be more comforting than the sense that God has moved into your path. You are moving in it, and God moves into it, and leads to a sure issue. And so here, Israel journeyed. Moses would ask Hobab to be eyes to them in the wilderness, but that was a poor thing. How great and glorious it is under such circumstances, as we see the way and move, to see the love of Christ showing itself. For indeed, it is a question not only of guidance and power, but also of love; but then power is there indeed, for the ark is said to have been the power of God and the glory of God. The glory of God is leading. How beautiful is the shining out of God in [p. 310] the movements of Jesus! So I would say to anyone, if you have a little bit of light, move in it, and the ark will go before you, so to speak. What company you will be in! What a Leader!
How beautiful is the well-known corresponding passage in the New Testament, in Gethsemane, as Judas came with his band, the Lord knowing all that was going to happen. He knew well what was before Him, but He moved out; He came out to them; and we note sorrowfully that “Judas ... stood with them”. The once disciple now stands with the enemies, and when the Lord said, “I am”, they “went backward and fell to the ground”. He said, “if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way” — that is the love of Christ expressing itself, but it is the power of Christ, too. It is the glory of God and the power of God, and so here, as they journeyed, “the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting-place for them”. I know of no passage, in a way, like it. It is a symbol, as I said, of Christ in His love going out unsolicited, but because you are moving, because I am moving, He moves, and if He moves, the enemies have to go. Thus we need not fear, as we are in the path of the will of God.
Moses comes into priestly function here. As the ark set out, he said, “Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee”. That is a priestly service by the Mediator. Then, consequently, the ark rested — where can it rest save in a satisfied heart? I can conceive of no resting-place today for the ark save in the satisfied hearts of those who love Christ. Moses said, “Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel”. Let us not be afraid of the thousands! God is accustoming us to the thought, we are coming into numbers. Let nobody have any fear as to that, for “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?” Numbers 23: 10. We are coming into numbers, but then,
[p. 311] what kind of numbers? Those that love God, the thousands of those that love God. How glorious they are! What a company! What society! Very largely the enjoyment of heaven will be because of the presence there of those that love God. What an atmosphere it will be! Christ the centre, and around Him the myriads of those who from Him have learnt how to love, and are formed in it! They are lovers of God, and the lovers of Christ, and the lovers of one another! We shall go up together, as the scripture says: “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”, to be with Christ, full of holy love, and to be free for ever in that love! As we often sing:
“Nor what is next Thy heart
Can we forget;
Thy saints, O Lord, with Thee
In glory met”. (160:8)
God would accustom us to these things and teach us how the Lord Jesus, having done everything that love could do, comes into His resting-place even now, and as Moses, our Priest says, “Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel”.
May God bless these thoughts to us.