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THE GRACE OF CHRIST

R.Johnston

I would like briefly to say a little about these two persons: Timothy, who was a young man, and it should be stimulating to young persons that the features of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, can shine out in them as well as in those that are older; and Stephen, who no doubt, was a young man. He comes on to view at a very critical time in the history of things in the assembly, and his time in the testimonial scene in that respect, publicly, is very short, and yet what shines out so wonderfully and prominently is the grace of Christ.

Timothy was a young man who needed stimulation, as many of us do, to get into things, to take on our responsibility to carry out things for the pleasure of Christ. So, Paul says to him, "Rekindle the gift that is within thee". He needed help to do this, as many of us do, to rekindle what has been in us but may be lying dormant at the present time. But there is in us what is wrought on by God, and we want to take account of that and not make little of what we have, little as it may be. It is the work of God and God would have us make use of what He has given us, and make it available in the testimony into which di vine grace has called us. So that Timothy is called upon here. As Paul says, "I hope to send Timothy to you shortly that I may know how ye get on". Think of the apostle's feelings in relation to these Philippian saints. What a wonderful assembly it was, and yet the apostle's desire was to see how they were getting on. It is a wonderful thing in a locality when you have got persons who are desirous to see how the saints are getting on. There has been much in the way of turning back and going away back as it says in John 6; those that went away back and walked no more with Him. How the Lord feels these things; how the Lord felt them at that time when He was here in His manhood, and yet the beloved apostle had to send Timothy to the Corinthians. Why did he send Timothy to the Corinthians? It was because he set out the features of Christ, the Spirit of Christ. He could have sent Titus there, who was perhaps a little bolder and maybe more strong, a little stronger in the way he would present things; but he sends Timothy, and he sends Timothy here - at least he is about to send Timothy - to see how the saints are getting on. Why? Because he had no one like minded. There was no one like the apostle. Think of t he Spirit of Christ that was set out in the apostle. In every move that he made, his attitude towards the Corinthians was that he should move toward them in the Spirit of Christ. And he recovers things on that line, and I think, beloved, we will be able in our localities to recover things if we are able to display the Spirit of Christ. God is looking for that.

God delights in this wonderful feature of the Spirit of Christ. I do not think we can define what the Spirit of Christ is; rather it is something that is demonstrated. I do not think we can put into words what the Spirit of Christ really is, but I think we know it when we see it displayed and demonstrated in persons. So the beloved apostle was just that; he wanted to display to these persons wherever he went the Spirit of Jesus Christ. So he says that he has no one like him, no one like minded who cares with genuine feeling. Think of the genuineness that entered into Timothy's desires to see how the saints were progressing in their souls. That is how we want it at the present time, we want to see the dear brethren progressing, moving forward in the truth, because the time is short for our entering into these things; but the Spirit of God is able to provide us with everything that is needed in order to get us into them. And so we have persons as examples for us, who set out these features, and he says, "All seek their own things". Think of that, how it must have affected the apostle when he said that "All seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ". Think of the beloved apostle at the end of Timothy, when he could write to Timothy about the persons who had turned away; he says, 'All have left me. Luke alone is with me. Demas has loved the present age'. Well, the apostle felt those things, and we feel it when persons turn away. But think how much more the Lord must feel it when persons turn away and walk no more with Him. So Paul felt it, but then he is encouraged in what he has in Timothy, and so he is looking for this kind of a feature to show itself in one and another. The Lord is looking for it, you might say, currently, that this feature that Timothy displays should be seen amongst us. So he has no one like minded, no one but Timothy that has the same kind of a mind as himself to see how the saints get on; yet Timothy was a very timid person. You might have thought Timothy would be afraid to move into these various assemblies, but he was equipped because he had the Spirit of Jesus Christ. So the apostle encourages Timothy to go on in it (that is what his epistle is all about), in a dark time to stimulate things in Timothy in order that there should be what would be available after Paul's departure for the continuance of the testimony here. So he says, "All seek their own things". May it not be the portion of any of us, all seeking their own things. We were saying already today that Christ is to be the centre. If Christ is the centre as David was, I believe that we will be maintained in the testimony faithful to Christ right through to the end because the apostle says in Hebrews, "Looking unto Jesus the leader and completer of our faith". These features shine out in the saints, (let us keep our eyes on that and not on the failing side because it is so easy to be occupied with the failing side in one and another), but what we need to do, I believe, is to keep our eyes on Christ, the features of Christ as they shine in the saints, and the grace of Christ as it manifests itself among us.

Stephen is a remarkable man. Think of that feature as it was seen in Stephen. He was a man full of things; he was full of the Spirit, full of grace; and he comes on to the scene just at a needed time, and fills out his service in humility and in lowliness and in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And so when the time comes that he is called upon to speak, he is equipped for it. He is prepared for it, and he is able to set out in himself what was set out in Christ, because what Stephen is doing in this indictment of his is leading on to Christ, and showing in himself that this kind of thing is to continue. It is to be seen in persons that it is a thing that is living. You can do what you want in putting persons to death, but you will never put to death the Spirit of Christ. That will continue because God will see to it that it continues in the saints. And so Stephen begins in his indictment with the God of glory appearing to our father Abraham, and he finishes up by seeing the glory of God. What a wonderful thing that is that we get a glimpse of the God of glory and then we see the glory of God. It is that that feature is to shine out in the saints. The glory of God is shining in the face of Jesus . Where does that shine now? I believe it shines in the saints. And so of Stephen, after his indictment, it says that "being full of the Holy Spirit, having fixed his eyes on heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Lo, I behold the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God". This is what brought out the hat red of the enemy, and yet what was really standing out prominently before them was the Spirit of Christ. Well now, I believe if we are to be effective in our movements among the saints it is as this feature is displayed. I believe we will effect more in the souls of persons if we can display the grace of Christ. We can, perhaps, have a thousand words. What Stephen says is very short but to the point in his indictment. He brings them right up to the point where they refuse the Holy Spirit, and then it says, "having fixed his eyes on heaven he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God". It was that feature which shone in Jesus that was being displayed before their very eyes. He sees Jesus standing, that is the way that the Lord Jesus is towards us in His attitude. His disposition towards Israel at this time remained the same. He was unchanged in His attitude towards Israel. He stood there available to them as a Saviour, and so Stephen sees all this, he sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at His right hand, and then he says - the Spirit of God goes farther, of course - said, "Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And they cried out with a loud voice, and held their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul".

Well, in the midst of all that, in the midst of this hatred, the Spirit of Christ shone, even to Stephen's death. You might say, how much like Christ he was. I suppose there is no other one that is spoken of as Stephen is spoken of in this way. Think of the composure that there was in Stephen that he could kneel down and pray, saying, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge". Only Christ, of course, could say, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do", but Stephen, as setting forth this wonderful feature that shone in Christ, could kneel down and say, "Lay not this sin to their charge". Think of the feelings that must have entered into Stephen's soul as he came to this point when he was to be stoned, and he could say, "Lay not this sin to their charge". Well, dear brethren, I believe these things are to be laid hold of by us. Think of the Spirit of Christ that shone in David when the enemy were doing their worst . Yet the wonderful feature of the Spirit of Christ shone out prominently in David, even, you might say, when Eliab comes to David and you might say, Eliab disdained David, and yet David says, "Was it not laid upon me?" 1 Sam 17: 29. That is what David says, "Was it not laid upon me?" In other words, David was carrying out according to the will of God what was put in his hands to do, and carrying it out in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I thought that our hearts could be encouraged to lay hold of these things, to see that we make way for the Spirit of Christ in us so that we become increasingly effective amongst the people of God, and effective too, no doubt, in the world, because the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians was to display the Spirit of the new covenants, which is, I suppose, in one sense grace in activity, the love of God in activity. So, I thought we should be stimulated and encouraged to go on in these things, and may the Lord help us, for His Name's sake.

Toronto

30th December 1972

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