HOW THE LORD WILL COME
[p. 160] HOW THE LORD WILL COME
1 Corinthians 15: 51 - 54; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 - 18
These scriptures should be studied prayerfully. They are so clear and explicit as to require no expounding.
Some of the believers at Thessalonica had died. The others were sorrowing because they were afraid that those who had died would miss the Lord’s coming. Paul writes to comfort them by assuring them that the believers who had died would have part in it as much as those who were alive when He came. The spirits of all departed believers are with Christ, though their bodies are still here in the grave. When the Lord comes, the very first thing that will take place will be the raising of “the dead in Christ”. That which was sown in weakness, dishonour and corruption will be raised in power and glory, and invested with the splendour of immortality. As it is said in 1 Corinthians 15: 42 - 44, “It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruptibility. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body”. Then we who are alive, upon whom death has not laid its hand, we who have not descended to the grave, shall be changed and “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord”.
That assembling shout may be heard today. Oh! what a soul-transporting thought it is, that in the twinkling of an eye we may be caught up into glory with the One who loves us and who gave Himself for us! The last message that has come down from the glorified Saviour is a thrice-repeated declaration, “Behold, I come quickly”, “Behold, I come quickly”, “Yea, I come quickly” (Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:12; Revelation 22:20). Are we ready to look up now, and say with the beloved John, “Amen; come, Lord Jesus”?
We may now look at the twofold character of the Lord’s [p. 161] coming. Scripture plainly indicates that there are two events — two acts, as it were — in the Lord’s coming, and if we confound these two events we shall come to wrong conclusions. We gather from Scripture that Christ will come firstly, for His saints, and secondly, with His saints. We have seen that the Lord Jesus is coming again to receive His own to Himself, that where He is they may be also. This is the true scriptural hope of the church. But the second event has a very prominent place in the Holy Scriptures, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in great power and glory to judge and reign over the earth. It is this event which is the grand theme of prophecy throughout Scripture. The great mistake which the Jews made, and in which, as a nation, they are still involved, was that they were so occupied with the scriptures which spoke of Christ coming in glory and power that they overlooked those which spoke of His humiliation and suffering. They lost sight of the fact that Christ was coming in humiliation to suffer, just as Christians now are in danger of losing sight of the fact that He is coming in glory to reign.
Yet all the prophets testify that the Lord is coming to judge the nations, and to rule the earth in righteousness. They speak largely of a time of future blessing for Israel and the whole world: a time when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea; a time when swords shall be forged into ploughshares, and the nations shall not learn war any more. How are all these things to come about?
At this point we must be warned against a common mistake. Many Christians fail to see the difference between Israel and the church, and they apply to the church Old Testament promises and prophecies which belong exclusively to Israel. The Old Testament is the record of God’s past and future dealings with people on earth, and of those dealings Israel is the centre. In the Old Testament there is not a line about the church of God. The church is [p. 162] composed of Jews and Gentiles, formed into one body, and united to Christ in glory by the Holy Spirit. It is thus a complete contrast to everything we read of before.
All the prophecies concerning Israel’s future glory will yet be fulfilled. On account of idolatry and unbelief, and finally because of the rejection of Christ, Israel has been set aside for the present. But the day is coming when Israel will be brought from exile, and from wandering, to that promised land where the glory of God shall be her light, and the presence of the Lord her everlasting joy. See Isaiah 11: 11 - 16; Jeremiah 16: 14, 15; Ezekiel 20: 40 - 44; Isaiah 60; etc. The prophetic period of future happiness and peace on earth, commonly spoken of as the millennium, is always connected with the restoration of Judah and Israel to their own land.
This present period of grace in which we live is a gap in God’s dealings with Israel. He has laid them aside “until the fulness of the nations be come in” (Romans 11: 25). God is not now dealing with Israel as a nation: He is gathering out a bride for Christ — the church — from among both Jews and Gentiles. But when the church is complete and caught up to meet the Lord, God will resume His dealings with Israel. A number of Jews will be convicted of their sins, and will repent deeply of their individual and national wickedness. They will be brought to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, and they will look out for Him to come as their Deliverer and King. They will have to pass through the great tribulation spoken of in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, and will look out for the signs which are there spoken of as preceding the coming of Christ in power and glory.
Many students of prophecy have not distinguished the two parts of the Lord’s coming, and have supposed that these things are to happen before He comes for the church. It is an utter mistake for Christians to look for signs. Before this time of signs, wonders, earthquakes and tribulation [p. 163] begins, the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and will be happy in His presence during the time of all these terrible disasters and calamities on earth. His own word to the church is, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of trial, which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth”. (Revelation 3: 10).
The period of great tribulation is described in Revelation 6 - Revelation 18. To read those chapters is enough to make the heart quake: what will it be to go through the terrible realities which are there so vividly described? But where is the church during that fearful time?
She is seen on earth up to the end of Revelation 3, but in chapters 4 and 5 she appears in heaven under the figure of twenty-four crowned elders round about the throne. God has taken pains to let us see that the church will be complete and in glory before a seal is opened, a trumpet sounded, or a bowl poured out.
Then after that great tribulation shall all the tribes of the earth see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24: 29, 30). Then shall the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who know not God, and those who do not obey the glad tidings of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1: 8). This is the event proclaimed in Revelation 1: 7, “Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they which have pierced him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of him”.
[p. 173] NOTES OF A READING 1 Corinthians 15: 51 - 58 What is the difference between this and the special communication made to the Thessalonians?
CAC The point here was, what we have noticed before, a new order. To the Thessalonians that was not touched upon, it was a question of dead persons there. If man was to be recovered from death, resurrection must come in. This is the bringing out of the new and heavenly order and that could not be brought out until there was a heavenly One. Until Christ had taken His place in resurrection there was not a heavenly one. Martha’s thought was a pretty general one, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day” (John 11: 24). In Old Testament times there was very little light as to what is outside life on earth. All this chapter turns on Christ being risen and being now a heavenly Man, He is the heavenly One. This chapter is not to establish the fact of resurrection, but the new order is what gives it its importance; it is what gives character to christianity. The point is, risen with Christ. If you get association, it is of His order. I think Christ as He is is so little known by any of us. Certain historical facts are believed, but have we got a present, living Christ for our hearts today? If so, what sort of a Christ is He? He is a risen Christ. To reach a risen Person one must go through death; there is no other way.
Ques. What do you mean?
CAC It is just a simple fact that a risen Person does not belong to this side of things at all; He can only be reached the other side of death. We see it in figure in the children of Israel; they had to go through the Red Sea and they had to go through the Jordan.
Ques What is going to help one to reach Christ?
CAC Do you not think we need to know a little [p. 165] more of the attraction of Christ? He is God’s great attractive Centre. It brings a new Object before us altogether, and it engages our affections with Himself. The power of God is needed just as much in this as for a sinner in his sins. We must begin by learning Him as Lord. He administers all grace and blessing. If we truly learn that, we should soon apprehend what Christ is as Head; there is a new beginning for God’s pleasure. It has been said that the fear of the Egyptians moved Israel much more than the attractions of Canaan. Then there is a great deal of self-interest in seeking God. It is really when we begin to seek the pleasure of God that we begin to see things rightly. It is a very blessed thing for us to see that He has taken us up to be bound up in “the bundle of the living” with Him for His pleasure.
Ques When does the call of God take place?
CAC I think there must be a sense of being called of God very early in the soul’s history. I think normally a soul would be conscious of having the Spirit. There would be the full consciousness of being called of God when he has the Spirit. No one could taste the joy of grace without being conscious that it is all of God. There is very little apprehension of Christ as Head. It is very remarkable how God has brought it out in recent years.
Ques What is the difference between this scripture and 1 Thessalonians 4?
CAC Thessalonians is for those just converted; it was given to comfort their hearts as to some who had died. The subject is the same here, but more in its own proper bearing. This is the complement of the other, it fills it out. There is one point in Thessalonians that goes further than here, “caught up”. It is the “Lord himself” that shall descend. There is nothing here about the saints being caught up. Death is swallowed up in victory. He does speak of being at home with the Lord. That gives the nearest to what people think of going to heaven. There is nothing here [p. 166] that would lead us to suppose that we are taken off the earth.
There is a remarkable expression used here, “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin the law” (verse 56). It is remarkable coming in in a place where you would not expect to find it. It is not the same as the law of sin and death in Romans 8: 2. It is Moses’ law here, I suppose.
Ques Does he mean the law of sin in its condemning power?
CAC Romans 7 speaks of law. “I was alive without the law”, etc. That brings in the sense of condemnation of the law. This is experimental, the bitter sting of death, and the strength of sin is the law. The victory is over everything connected with sin and death. It is very interesting to see how he begins the chapter (1 Corinthians 15) with the gospel, and he comes back to the gospel again at the end. Many true Christians are afraid to look death in the face. This chapter shows how the Christian can look death in the face; it is not so much to give us light as to the future. It is of importance as placing the Christian in his true position of triumph and victory. It is very encouraging to see what is in Scripture because it is there for us; no one need be discouraged by thinking there is so much there that he knows nothing about; if I am not in it, it is all there for me. It is like a man coming into an estate, and after some years he finds it is a great deal larger than he knew of; but he would not be despondent about that; he would perhaps be humbled to think that he had not travelled over his estate a little more quickly.
Ques Why does it say victory by our Lord Jesus Christ, not, as Romans puts it, deliverance “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7: 25)?
CAC I think as to victory over sin practically one has really to find that He alone is the source of power. It is so important to see that we have a resource. Our responsibility is to use our privileges. It seems to me it is [p. 167] like this: there is virtue in Christ and it has to come out of Him to us, like the woman who came to Jesus and touched the hem of His garment and virtue went out of Him to her; it is like that. There must be virtue come out of Him, and it is the virtue that comes out of Him that helps. I think it is a wonderful moment for a soul engaged in conflict when he comes to it that Christ can never fail. You are like a cork on a big billow. You are amid a tempest of evil and He has stood by you. Not only have you escaped the evil but you have positive gain, because you would not have known Christ in that way if you had been without it. I think there is many a soul that is walking in victory without [p. 168] much doctrinal knowledge.
NOTES OF A READING 1 Corinthians 15: 48 - 58 We have to do with the last Adam.
Ques What is the meaning of the last Adam?
CAC I thought it was God’s Head. The first man was head of creation in a way, but he was not really capable of being the head, and as soon as he was tested he failed, and God went back to His original thought. The last Adam is never superseded. Just as the inbreathing of God gave man natural life so the inbreathing of Christ — of His Spirit — into the disciples gave them spiritual life in connection with the new creation. A wonderful new order of things has begun for God, and the great thing is to live in that order of things; and how are we going to live in those things unless we have the Spirit of Christ? We are to know Him as the life-giving Spirit, as the Head. My own impression is that the Son of God as presented in the gospel of John is the last Adam. As I apprehend Him as the Head I get the blessing which attaches to Him in that character. It is a great thing that the Son of God has called us to Himself that He might quicken us. Quickening in the scriptural sense means made to live, and to live in a new sphere of things — to live spiritually in new things, in a new order of life altogether, in association with Him as the risen One. All these things, as to getting the good of them, are matters for exercise and prayer. The mischief is that people have taken it for granted that because they are believers they have everything. It is a great thing to know the Lord as the life-giving Spirit. Every blessing lies in the apprehension of Christ; it is not something I have in myself. Every blessing in christianity is that I have some fresh apprehension of Christ. We have a great deal in our minds that we have not in our souls. It is so very attractive when you know that the Father has given you to Christ. Getting to know Him better — that is growth.
[p. 169] I think life is connected with the presence of the Spirit. If a man has the Spirit, in one sense he has everything. Exodus 15 is an illustration of this.
They were in the joy of redemption and singing the song, “My strength and song is Jah, and he is become my salvation: This is my God, and I will glorify him”. They speak of a habitation, and if you look at the Darby Translation you will see that all is in the past tense: “Thou by thy mercy hast led forth the people that thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them by thy strength unto the abode of thy holiness. The peoples heard it, they were afraid: A thrill seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the princes of Edom were amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling hath seized them; All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. Fear and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they are still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, Jehovah, till the people pass over that thou hast purchased” (verses 13 - 16). In that sense they were in the land. For a brief moment they tasted it, but they had not taken possession. They were in spirit in the land, enemies all gone and singing the song. That is like a soul in the joy of redemption. In the Spirit he is in the land, but then he has a long journey to take and there are many exercises on the way. There is not only life in a new sphere of things but there is life in power.
Ques. In what sense?
CAC The body is to be presented a living sacrifice. Christ is to come out in the body of a believer, and that is a very practical expression of life. The qualities of the heavenly Man are to come out in the saints. What marks the new order is that it is heavenly and spiritual. The saint waits for the fulness of it until he gets his glorified body; spiritually we belong to that order now. The true character of saints will be brought out in display. There is no outward display now; it is all known in the Spirit; but at that moment the saints will be seen truly as heavenly ones. We [p. 170] now bear the image of the man made out of dust, the heavenly is spiritual.
Ques What is that “changed” in verse 51?
CAC In spirit we anticipate the rapture. In Ephesians “raised ... up together” and seated in heavenly places is all spiritual and anticipative of the rapture. We await the rapture to bring us into it actually.
Ques What is the mystery?
CAC It is what had not been made known before. The Spirit has let us into the secret now. The mysteries in Scripture can be well understood by those who have the Spirit. People in flesh and blood on the earth will be subjects in the kingdom, but the heavenly saints will reign with Christ. It is men after a new order that will inherit the kingdom. There are the two sides of the kingdom, the reigning side and the subject side. The earthly saints will be the subjects in the kingdom and the heavenly saints will be reigning. You are prepared to reign in the kingdom by suffering now. There will be three nations in special blessing, Egypt, Assyria and Israel, but others will come into the light of the city. The truth of the kingdom of God has a very great place in Scripture.
Ques Which, did you say, were the nations that will be blessed?
CAC Egypt (Gentile), Assyria (Gentile), and Israel His inheritance. “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; whom Jehovah of hosts will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance!” (Isaiah 19: 24, 25). So that even in that day God acts in sovereign right, He does His own will and pleasure. The light of God shines for the church in Christ mediatorially. It shines for Israel in the church and it shines for the nations in Israel, so that it comes down step by step mediatorially. God has lighted a candle to give light to everyone in the house, and the church is the light of God [p. 171] for the world today. It will come out in the city, the city is the light of the Lamb to the nations below. The light shines out from the city, “The glory of God has enlightened it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk by its light” (Revelation 21: 23, 24).
“We shall all be changed” (verse 51) shows what the power of God can do in a moment. It is victory now. God has apparently been sustaining defeat for many years. The victory has been won but it has not been displayed yet. What the saint can say now is, “Thanks to God, who gives us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ”. That is, we are so in the light of all that marvellous work that the saint can be in the joy of it all now, but there is going to be outward victory too. Death is swallowed up by our Lord Jesus Christ. You get the thought of putting on the new order in verse 53: “put on incorruptibility ... . put on immortality”. It is like 2 Corinthians 5: 4, “but clothed”. It seems to me it is the best robe in the full sense of it. We shall never have the best robe in its completeness until we have our glorified bodies — until we have “put on”. It is like the psalmist says, “All glorious is the king’s daughter” that is within, and by and by the outside will match with the inside, “Her clothing is of wrought gold” (Psalm 45: 13). He speaks of a wonderful treasure in an earthen vessel in 2 Corinthians 4, and in chapter 5 he speaks of how the heavenly treasure will be in a heavenly vessel. It is the entire setting aside of the earthly, nothing left but what is of Christ. “So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (verse 58). (Note it is, “So then”.) Every saint is called to work and stand and walk in the light of resurrection. It is what the Lord had before Him Himself. He went through everything in view of resurrection. If you do that, people do not take any account of you, you are nothing, you go down now, but you will go up by and by; go on in the light of resurrection, having this glorious future [p. 172] before you, and you do not go down then. Not one bit of labour for the Lord is going to be lost. The Lord laboured in vain and for nought; He says, “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain” (Isaiah 49: 4). The apostle Paul seemed to labour in vain as to present result, for all in Asia forsook him. You do not find a servant of the Lord in Scripture who laboured and was made much of in this world. Every bit of labour for the Lord is gathering up for that day. We get our eye on today instead of on tomorrow. Keep your eye on tomorrow — the resurrection morrow. Nothing is going to be lost, you have the certainty of results then, we are on the winning side, all that is of the Lord will stand. Paul always had tomorrow in view. Labour is not in vain in the Lord. J.N.D. said, ‘Christianity is marked by what it brings, not by what it finds’.
NOTES OF A READING 1 Corinthians 15: 58; 1 Corinthians 16: 1 These doubts and questions that had come in at Corinth had evidently an unsettling effect on their minds, and what affects the mind would naturally affect the activities.
Ques Does verse 58 not show too that all labour is in view of resurrection? It is not by looking at present results that the servant is encouraged.
CAC He may not see much now. The labour is in the Lord. Everything that is for God is really the work of the Lord. It is labour in spiritual things. Those who labour in spiritual things do so in view of resurrection; it is in that sphere, so that if the truth of resurrection is enfeebled the work of the Lord is enfeebled also. The Lord supports what is of Himself, He sees to it that what is of Himself will not fall to the ground. The “work of the Lord” is a great work, it is not a superficial thing. And what the Lord does there is no mistake about. When the Lord takes a soul in hand He makes a good job of it. You see an example of that in this epistle. The apostle was faithful to the Corinthians, and the Lord supported it. He brought the Lord in and then he was steadfast and unmovable. He says about Timothy, “He works the work of the Lord, even as I”. The epistles to Timothy show what is to characterise the servant of the Lord and his work. It is nice to recognise the Timothys as well as the Pauls. The note to chapter 16: 15 (J.N.D.) reads ‘appointed themselves’. It is good to see that there is room for volunteers. The gifts are in a way pressed men. I suppose “what was lacking on your part” (verse 17) was probably temporal things. It is no small service to care for the saints in a temporal way, caring for the poor. There might be a good deal of need where there was not actual poverty; that is where we are tested in a practical way, and I [p. 174] am sure practical care one for another and practical help as we have opportunity is an important thing as to the saints. And that comes out in the collection for the saints. He is pressing a good deal the practical side here. J.N.D. thought that consideration and care for the poor and the needs of the saints were very much more important than we had any idea of; it shows what the care of the house of God is. The natural selfishness of the heart has to be corrected; naturally we are selfish and like to keep what we have to ourselves. I think the apostle was greatly exercised as to the collection. He writes two chapters about it in the next epistle. It was the moral side, the seal of his ministry; the grace in the Gentile ministering to the poor Jews and the grace in the Jews taking it from them. So that the Jew was actually thanking God for the Gentiles. It accomplished more a great deal than the conference at Jerusalem. That was only the Gentile let in on sufferance. This practical ministry did far more than the discourse of Acts 15. There is the practical binding of saints together; we all admit the doctrine, but there is to be the practical working out. The great thing is to open the heart and let grace shine in, and then it will produce its fruits. All the practical side of christianity flows from that. The word of God is like the seed and it grows up and brings forth fruit. The apostle speaks of the word effectually working in those that believe.
Where the Lord is working the activity of the enemy is sure to be found (chapter 16: 9). I think that whatever the Lord is doing, there is always some kind of adversary to defeat that particular thing. There is something very fine in the way the apostle speaks of his coming to them and about Apollos coming to them. He does not allow any coldness of affection to come in on his part. It shows how his whole spirit was in the fulness of grace. When things are not as we like we turn away and feel annoyed, but not so with the apostle. It only shows how entirely superior to what was [p. 175] natural the servant could be. Though they had been speaking evil of his ministry, he was thinking only of their spiritual good. He was pained for their sakes; he was a true parent, he was laying up for the children. He was gracious enough to wish Apollos to go to them and he was gracious enough not to go himself. Apollos, like the apostle, was waiting his opportunity. Every servant has to wait sometimes until his course is clear.