THE INCAPABILITY OF THE FLESH TO PLEASE GOD
[p. 145] THE INCAPABILITY OF THE FLESH TO PLEASE GOD
What I have to bring before you at this time connects itself with chapters 11 - 15 of this book. They are remarkable chapters. They bring before us the incapacity of the flesh as regards pleasing God. That is the great point in the instruction. I will bring this out a little, by the Lord’s help.
The result is seen in chapter 14. What is spoken of in that chapter is apparently referred to in Psalm 95. I judge this from Hebrews 3 and 4. The people were debarred from entering into God’s rest. The reason was that they did not believe the glad tidings — the report of the spies. They grieved God for forty years; but my impression is that the point in the mind of the Spirit in Psalm 95 is that of Numbers 14. None save Caleb and Joshua were to enter into the land; but the psalm goes beyond that, for God sware that they should not enter into His rest. Not entering into God’s rest must, I judge, exclude from heaven, for it is difficult to understand that there should be any place in heaven for those who do not enter into God’s rest.
I want to put two things in contrast: on the one side, the incapability of the flesh; and mark this, we have to go through the experience of these chapters. I quite admit we get in Numbers the history of a people after the flesh; but Christians have to go through the teaching of the chapters. But while on the one hand we get the perverseness of the flesh, we see in contrast to it, in chapter 15, the immutability of the purpose of God. God has His own unchanging purpose, and it is impossible for God to be diverted from His purpose.
[p. 146] In chapter 15 God speaks of Israel coming into the land, and what they were to do then. You get the accompaniments of the burnt offering; the meat and drink offerings. When our souls begin to enter into the purpose of God, then it is, I think, that the offering of Christ comes before us in the way in which it is spoken of in chapter 15; we get an apprehension of the offering of Christ, and what accompanied it, which we never had before.
In speaking last time of the tent of the testimony, and of the pillar of fire and of the cloud that rested on it, some may not quite have apprehended what would answer to this in the present time. It is evident that the testimony of God is not carried about in a tent, as with the children of Israel. The tabernacle presented an idea which the temple did not present. The temple was identified with Israel settled in the land. The people carried the tabernacle with them, according to the divine order; and their movements were entirely guided by the pillar of fire or of cloud upon the tabernacle. As long as it rested they remained where they were; when it moved they moved. My concern is only to bring before you what is the answer to it, the anti-type, in the present time. I was speaking of the great importance of the eye of the Christian being fixed upon the tent of the testimony, because it was there that the guidance was vouchsafed. There was no guidance for the people in detail, but in connection with the tent of the testimony.
Where do you think the testimony is now? The answer may be found in considering what was presented to Israel in type in the tabernacle. It set forth, as I understand it, the means by which God would put Himself in connection with the universe; the holiest and holy places both had to do with that, and presented the mediatorial way by which God would place Himself in connection with the world of [p. 147] His purpose. This is all fulfilled, as I understand it, in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the One by whom mediatorially God has in grace placed Himself in connection with the universe — not as it now stands — but the universe of blessing.
Now where do you suppose that the testimony is now? The subject of the testimony is the Lord Jesus Christ; everything is embodied in Him. And where is He to be found now? I know of no place here but in the heart of the believer. If the Lord has the paramount, commanding place there, then you realise divine guidance. I do not expect a man to get much if it is simply a question of his circumstances. God can give mercy, and does; but if you want guidance it is certainly in connection with the testimony of God. If the testimony of God were the great governing principle in the heart of the saint, divine guidance would be realised in all his pathway through the wilderness.
You will remember a passage of the apostle Paul: “God, who commanded that out of darkness light should shine, hath shone into our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. It is in Jesus Christ that God has seen fit to place Himself in relation to the universe. The light of God’s glory has shone forth in Him; and the place of the Lord Jesus Christ at the present moment down here is in the hearts of those that believe in Him.
I plead for this, that the testimony of God should be the commanding principle in the heart of the believer in the wilderness. If you study your own ease or indulgence you will not realise very much of divine guidance. You may have to be held in by bit and bridle. But if the testimony of God has its place in you the guidance of God connects itself with that. The great thing is that the testimony of God should be in our hearts.
[p. 148] I come now to the chapters to which I referred in order to bring before you the perverseness of the flesh on the one hand, and the resources of the saint on the other.
I will take up first the perverseness of the flesh. Four things come out in these chapters: first, the murmuring of the people; secondly, discontent with the manna, the light bread, and lusting after the food of Egypt; thirdly, the outbreak of Miriam and Aaron against Moses; and then fourthly, the unbelief of the report of the spies. The murmuring brought in the fire of God; the lusting after Egyptian food brought in the plague; Miriam and Aaron’s sin brought leprosy on Miriam; the unbelief of the report of the spies brought in the sentence of God that they should not enter into the land. Not one bit of flesh enters into the purpose of God. That is, that you, yourself, as to all that you are after the flesh, are entirely incapable of entering into God’s purpose. We have every one of us to learn this. It is the lesson which the apostle reached in Romans 7, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing”. It is the new man, that is renewed unto full knowledge after the image of Him that created him, which alone is suited to God’s purpose.
I do not want to talk much about the flesh. Two things always mark it. It is ever hankering after Egypt, and it does not care for Canaan. You may be sure of that: the life of the flesh is found in Egypt; its sustenance is there, and it does not care for the land — in other words, for the purpose of God. I can understand this well.
The case represented by the children of Israel is that of a man saved from the judgment of God, and set free from the power of the enemy. Suppose a man in the flesh were brought into such a position, what then? He would perish by the flesh. Israel [p. 149] came short of the purpose of God, because the flesh in its spirit and principle went back to Egypt; it was indisposed to go forward to Canaan. Why? Because flesh is essentially unbelieving. There is no link with God in flesh. We have to learn this in our experience, and it shows the necessity of God’s work in us. It is absolutely true of the unconverted person, but it is true of the flesh for the Christian. The apostle speaks of it in Romans 7. “With the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin”. It is a good thing to take into account that, as far as you are concerned, even after you are free of the judgment of God and the power of the enemy, you are yourself entirely incapable because of what the flesh is. The Christian must be enlightened and know that he is free of the power of the enemy; but if he were left in that way, merely enlightened, he would never come into the purpose of God.
Now what is the refuge? Supposing that I have a sense of the perverseness of the flesh, what resources have I? That is what I want to bring before you. And for that I turn to Hebrews 4 for a moment.
But first, I will read a few verses in Hebrews 3: 15 - 19. It is that last verse that makes me connect the thought with Numbers 15. God sware to those who did not believe the glad tidings of Canaan that they should not enter into His rest.
If you read Hebrews 4: 12 - 16 you will find what I understand to be the true resources of a Christian who has come to know the perverseness of the flesh. He has two things: one is the word of God; the other is the priesthood of Christ. They are exceedingly important, because they are very great resources. They divert you from the flesh, that is their practical working. The first is the word of God. That I understand to be God’s revelation of Himself. It is “living”, that is, in the heart of [p. 150] the believer. You must not confound the ideas of living and life-giving. The word of God is both. It lives in the heart of the believer. It has been said that what is presented to us in the way of testimony — the light in which God has shone out — becomes the living principle in the heart of the believer. We have all the light of God in Christ. All that He has been pleased to make known of Himself becomes thus a living principle in the soul. And the word of God settles everything — brings everything to light. But the first thing is, that it is living in the believer.
It is a common thing for us to say, “We are in the light, as God is in the light”. I ask myself sometimes, Is the revelation of God really the light in my heart? As far as my experience goes, I think we live but little in the blessed consciousness of the light of God so that the revelation of Himself becomes really the vital principle in the heart. The effect would be a division “between soul and spirit, of the joints and marrow”, and the thoughts and intents of the heart would be discerned.
But that is not all; there is another very important principle: you have not merely the word or revelation of God, but you have also a Priest who sympathises. What we have got to is this: that we have to go through the world and to discern between good and evil, and we shall never discern these in the world if we do not first discern them in ourselves. The moment the Christian is started on this path he has the sympathy of Christ. That comes out in verse 15: “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, sin apart”. We get the sympathy and support of the Priest. Have we realised this? The word of God, as the living principle, and the priesthood of Christ — the expression of His sympathy and love.
[p. 151] I think that is the practical divine answer to the perverseness of the flesh. There is another answer, I admit — the Spirit in the believer; but you have to learn the truth of what is here. The word of God has come to me and has been received in my heart. What came to me as light is now in me as life. And we have also the High Priest who has passed through the heavens; once started on the path of discernment of good and evil, we get His support and sympathy. This all runs parallel with the truth of Romans 6, Romans 7. We start on the right path in chapter 6, and in chapter 7 we get the support of “the husband”, the Priest. Christ is law to us. The practical working of all is that though the flesh is not changed a bit — it is just as perverse as ever — yet I am alive to its perverseness. That is a great point. I do not expect any change in it, or any amelioration; but I am diverted from it by the word of God and the priesthood of Christ. These are the great resources which God has given me. In everything, prayer, approach to God, it is a wonderful thing for us to realise how God has shone forth in light, and the soul is kept in His light; and then we touch the sympathy, the love of the Priest who has passed through the heavens, so that we come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
That is our side. The points on which we have touched so far are the perverseness of the flesh and God’s resources for us. There remain with us terrible reminiscences of Egypt. The people brought into the wilderness had been in Egypt; and Christians too have been in the world, and bring the reminiscences of it with them, and this is a standing trial. The flesh is never disposed to go forward or to enter into the purpose of God. We have to accept the truth that it will never be any different.
[p. 152] But I want you to understand what the word of God is, the blessed light in which He has made Himself known to us; and to enjoy the sympathy and support of the High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, so that your affections are drawn out of the world.
Now I come to the next point, to look at the immutability of God’s purpose. For that you may turn to Hebrews 6: 13 - 20.
I think you will admit that the Hebrews had had opportunity of finding out the perverseness of the flesh. The Jews had crucified Christ; and yet after all they were allowed to flee for refuge to the hope set before them. And what was that? The immutability of the purpose of God. That is what I referred to in Numbers 15 in contrast to the previous chapters. God turns away from the perverseness of the people; enough has been brought in to show their perverseness, and now He brings out what the people were to do when they came into the land of Canaan (verse 1, 2, etc.).
To my mind this is most remarkable, as showing God’s superiority to evil. In the previous chapter you get the exclusion from the land of all the people, except the children, and Caleb and Joshua. They were to perish in the wilderness. And yet in chapter 15 God begins to lay down what the people were to do “when you be come to the land of your habitation which I give unto you”. It is an immense thing to see that if all has failed through man’s perverseness, yet nothing diverts God from His purpose. He intended to give to His people the land of Canaan, and He does not waver from His purpose.
Supposing that I recognise and own the perverseness of the flesh, I seek the more to enter into the purpose of God. My soul is encouraged in this way. I have resources, and will seek by God’s grace to [p. 153] go on and enter into the divine purpose. Of course it was literally the land to the children of Israel; to us it is the entering into the purpose of God. Flesh never can; it has no disposition to do so, but we are to enter into the purpose of God in spite of the perverseness of the flesh, and with the knowledge of it. Do not trouble yourself about the flesh, God has given you resources to meet it; and as the effect of the Spirit’s work in you, you will enter into the purpose of God.
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us”. “The hope” depends entirely upon the purpose of God. You find His purpose stands firm all through scripture. God never was diverted from it for a moment. He has used His ways to bring out the contrariety of man, but has never Himself been diverted from His purpose. When once you are set upon that line, I think that you will get an apprehension of the offering of Christ which you never had before.
To illustrate this I turn to John 13: 31: “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him”. That is what Numbers 15 brings before us: the offering of Christ as that in which the glory of God has been completely secured. Not as the ground of expiation for man, but as that in which the glory of God has been completely and eternally secured.
It is the burnt offering that is prominent. Then is no sin offering in the first part of the chapter; but you get, I judge, what is apprehended when the soul is really set upon entering into the purpose of God. I begin to apprehend the offering of Christ in a way in which I never apprehended it before. “God is glorified in him”. That refers to the cross. God’s glory was maintained in every attribute and [p. 154] particular in the Lord Jesus Christ. There was the solution of every moral question — whether of sin, or of law, of good and evil, or whatever it might be — in the offering of the Lord Jesus Christ. God was perfectly glorified in the very place of sin. That is what came to pass; and the Lord speaks of it most remarkably, saying: “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him”. The moral sequence necessarily is, “God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him”. It is an immense point for the soul of the believer to apprehend how the glory of God has been effectuated and maintained in the offering of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then you get prominence given to the meat offering and the drink offering; and I think that these things connect themselves with the land. Corn and wine are not the product of the wilderness but of the land. They bring before us in a striking way the perfect humanity of the Lord down here; but looked at in its moral character. The flour was the fruit of the land. All that gave character morally to the humanity of the Lord Jesus was from heaven. It was mingled with the oil, the Spirit — and the wine was in the same proportion as the oil, exactly equivalent. That indicates, I think, that there was a joy even in connection with the offering of Christ — it was in the maintaining the glory of God in such a way as that it might be the foundation of the vast universe of bliss, not merely the ground of the putting away of sin. That is, I think, what the soul would enter into if it is really set upon the purpose of God.
There are thousands of Christians who have not apprehended the offering of Christ beyond the aspect of a sin offering. They see the work of Christ, but they do not apprehend it as that in which the glory of God has been maintained, so that thus the glory [p. 155] of God and of Christ becomes prominent. Ask nine-tenths of Christians to explain that verse in John 13! The stability of the whole universe of bliss depends upon it, upon the glory of God having been maintained and secured in the offering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are blessed resources placed within our reach when the perverseness of the flesh is discovered and the heart is set upon entering into God’s purpose.
Other things come out in the chapter. We find provision for unwitting failure on the part of the individual, and for restoration for the congregation. The grace of God becomes very prominent when once people are set upon entering into His purpose. He gives them light which they had not before, and makes provision for unwitting failure on the part of the congregation or of the individual. God gives restoration when His people are set in the right line.
Now another point comes in. The congregation was to be jealous as to profanity; a profane person is one who despises the word of God. It is exemplified in the case of the man who went out on the Sabbath day to gather sticks. He had to be stoned by the congregation. The congregation had to mark its sense of his profanity. The apostle arouses the Hebrews to this, and I think that we should be jealous as to it. This man set aside the word of God; did violence to the sabbath; despised the sign of the covenant; and in christian profession we need to be on our guard against a person who does not reverence the word of God.
That is the last thing that comes out in regard to the congregation. We come back to where we started from, the contrariety of the flesh — its reminiscences of Egypt and its indisposition to enter on the purpose of God.
And yet God’s purpose is unchanged. I do not know anything more comforting to the christian [p. 156] heart than to know that God can never be diverted from His purpose. Let your heart be set on that line.
Where do you think you can get an idea of it? In Christ raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. He is the expression of it. The path of faith is illustrated in the Lord encouraging Peter to come out of the ship on the water to Himself. Peter begins to sink; the Lord puts forth His hand and draws him to Himself. That is what Christ does to us, He draws us to Himself; to His side of the sea of moral death; to Himself as the expression of the purpose of God. You cannot learn this except as you learn it in Christ raised from the dead.
I believe that every family will have to be formed from Christ; even as to Israel, where can they learn what a man is that has the law in his heart but in Christ? It is in Christ that we apprehend the purpose of God; and as Priest He draws us to Himself in order that we may be brought into the light of the divine purpose in himself. When you find yourself in conflict with evil in you, then you realise that Christ is with you in that. You have the word of God with you, the light of the soul. Everything is discovered, but at the same time you have the consciousness of the sympathy of Christ, and He draws you into the light of divine purpose as revealed in Himself, for He, and He alone, is the expression of that purpose.
I commend these chapters to you. They show us a people on the way from Egypt to Canaan, and our spiritual course is brought out before us in the history of the children of Israel. Very little that happened is recorded — just enough to impress upon us the lessons that God intends us to learn. It portrays what we find in our own hearts, but shows what blessed resources we have in His word and in the High Priest.
[p. 157] May our hearts be really set, in divine grace, on entering into the purpose of God! If the priesthood of Christ acts for us, it acts for its own special object to draw us to Himself. (That is the hand of Christ.) “He is the true God and eternal life”. You know nothing of eternal life intelligently but what you learn as to it in Christ.