THE MAN OF GOD
W. Schubert
I would like, with the Lord’s help, to say a few words on this thought of the “man of God”.
This expression has been misused in the past but it remains. Mr. Taylor once said as to this that it is not a matter of gift but of faithfulness, and it is within the reach of each one of us. In the German translation it is not the masculine, “man of God”, it is more ‘mankind’, so it would include both brothers and sisters. The masculine is used in the German in the Old Testament, where we get distinctive persons such as Moses the man of God. David, and the prophets, and some unnamed.
I feel we need encouragement as to this feature, the “man of God”. The world has its own men; it builds up its men and will finally end in the man of sin. But God has His own men, and we should all be amongst them, and should feel arrested by this word, each one of us. It is wonderful that God has His own way to reach His thoughts and to maintain them. We get in this part of Scripture the thought of the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the end; not the rapture, but His appearing, and that should be more upon our hearts. We think much of the rapture, and it is a very, very blessed matter, but His appearing, I think, is greater, because He will be vindicated, the One whom we love. We wait for this great moment, and He waits for this; not only His coming for us but His coming with the assembly. What a great day! So men of God have this in mind.
The first thing that the man of God shows in these verses is that he is able to flee. He is not a coward, but he is able to flee; that is a feature of the man of God. We should not flee from the devil—it says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4: 7); he is a coward. But the man of God flees some things; he does not touch a certain area that men of the world are occupied with. It speaks here of the great power of money, the love of money, and other things. In the second epistle we again get encouragement to flee, “But youthful lusts flee”, 2
Timothy 2: 22. Do not waste time in talking about such matters or in being occupied with the things that the world is occupied with, but flee. Joseph is a good example in Genesis 39; he fled; he had power to flee; that is true power.
“But thou, O man of God”; it is personal here to Timothy, but Scripture allows us to apply it to each one of us. We are spoken to in a personal way. The expression “the man of God” in the second epistle is more general. He gets every thought and every help from the word of God, “that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work”, 2 Timothy 3: 17. So it is good for us to see that the thought of “man of God” in the first epistle, which relates to an unbroken condition of things (Timothy remained in Ephesus), is also found in the second epistle, where publicly things are as they are now. We should each ask ourselves. Are we in this category, this condition? Are we those who flee, or are we bound up with the world’s condition, the character of life in this world, the outlook of people in this world? I would encourage each one to consider this scripture and keep to this word, to “flee”—flee as far as you can. God has another realm for us; His thought for us is that we are to be in His testimony, that we are here for Him, and that we represent Him. I think a man of God is one who represents God. All His work and all His skill, all that He has taught us, should come out in us and we should thus represent Him. What a fine thing it is that in this country, and other countries, there are men of God, and we can discern them; we find them because they have certain features.
The man of God is not only to “flee”, he is also marked by spiritual energy. He is able to flee, but he has a lot of other things to do. He has to pursue, he has to strive, he has to lay hold, and he has to confess. But we can only do these things when we flee from the wrong things.
The first thing to pursue is righteousness. I think verse 11 is really the equipment of the man of God which enables him to be here for God. He is to pursue righteousness, that is the first thing; he has strength for it. In a world of unrighteousness and lawlessness we have to pursue righteousness day by day. It is not a matter done once for all; it is an exercise day by day; then it is also a matter in which we are supported by God; He loves righteousness. How pleased He is when He finds that we pursue righteousness. The second thing to pursue is piety. It is not like the second epistle where we get righteousness first, then faith, love, and peace (2 Timothy 2: 22); it is a little different here. The man of God is to have a personal link with the Lord. He is not governed by others; he would not be wilful, or do things independently. What we need is to get things individually, and not be governed by our surroundings. We should be governed by the Lord, and get His personal valuation of matters. That is what marks a man of God. So piety is a great subject in this epistle, which brings before us practical things relating to our life here. So the first matter is righteousness and the second is piety; everything we do, we should be able to bring God into. Anything that is doubtful as to whether you can bring God into it you had better stop and leave it. When we start our life at school, and so on, let us look to piety.
It is not that we pursue only one thing, there are six features we have to pursue, and the man of God is marked by this—he pursues. I think we have to come back to piety. We are so accustomed to the things around us that many of us have lost it. When you meet brethren in some isolated places you are impressed by their piety. But why should we not all be marked by this? Have we, who have so many privileges, more brethren, more meetings, lost this feature of piety? I would encourage all of us, but in particular the younger brethren, to look into this matter and to begin early in your life with piety. How sad it would be if you left it until you got older to come round to the Lord’s thoughts, to come round to this great matter of piety, and had to admit to your children that you started Christian life without piety.
We have to stop certain things, brethren. I think one thing that is shocking brethren in many places is some of the weddings among us, which do not express piety. It is not righteousness either. Righteousness is not only that we pay for our needed things, but that we are righteous in relation
to God. We have to stop a certain line of things because it is not piety, not a feature of the man of God. Think how serious it is to start upon such an important part of your life without being able to bring God in. Do you think in John 2 the Lord Jesus would be at that marriage there if there was not piety, if there was not righteousness? You cannot bring the Lord into conditions which are not suitable to Him. Jesus was there at Cana and He provided wonderful joy. It says in the book of Revelation, “for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (Revelation 19: 7, 8). That is the clothing. We went to a wedding some time ago and a brother wrote in the invitation, ‘It will be in great simplicity, because of the absence of the Lord’—that is piety. Let us think about it, and let us give up what is unsuitable. Brethren who love the Lord Jesus Christ and who long for His appearing are much exercised as to these things, and it will not be for your gain if you go on with the world and the world’s habits.
So piety is a great thing in this epistle. It says that men should lift up pious, or holy, hands (1 Timothy 2: 8). This links holiness with piety. Then women should be here as those making profession of the fear of God (1 Timothy 2: 10). How wonderful is the sphere where the Lord would have us! There is salvation in the assembly, but that is only if there are assembly features. It is not that we can take it for granted. There is no salvation if we allow these worldly customs; it will be disaster for us and for others. So the man of God has to pursue these things. Let us take courage afresh, dear brethren, to pursue these features, because we are here to witness for God, to give expression to what is in our hearts.
The next thing to be pursued is “faith”. How we need this day by day! We are not so much tested in relation to what is eternal, but faith is tested in the daily things of life, and also in our assembly affairs. Let us not be discouraged. The enemy is surely against the saints and wants to weaken every locality, but a man of God pursues faith. Faith means that we believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them who seek Him out (Hebrews 11: 6). I am tested if a critical situation faces me. Have I faith that God is? Not that God was, or will be, but that He is; at this very moment He is.
Then we have to pursue love. This is another great feature; it does not come in first here, but it has to be there anyway. We need love. If there is no love there is nothing of divine expression. Everything that we enjoy has come out of a realm of love. God is light, and God is love. This realm remains, and everything that comes to us from God comes from there, and we have to give expression to it. We are very much tested in this.
Then endurance; do not give up. Things may become difficult; men will resist the truth, they may try to weaken a local position, but let us pursue endurance. God gives strength for it.
Then there is “meekness of spirit”, that is what we have to pursue too. We do not have these features naturally, we have to pursue them. They have always to be before us as our object, and we are to get the gain of them. So the man of God is marked by meekness of spirit. He is not a fighter as men would see it. He is in meekness of spirit because he has such a rich background, such a rich inheritance, such rich resources, that he can be here and strive in meekness of spirit. That is a great thing; that is how the Lord Jesus was here. It says in the second epistle that a bondman of God acts in meekness—“in meekness setting right those who oppose (1 Timothy 2: 25); we should never act without this feature.
Then the man of God has more things to be occupied with—“Strive earnestly in the good conflict of faith”. There is a combat going on, and we have to be earnestly in it. Then, “Lay hold of eternal life, to which thou hast been called”. It is wonderful what a sphere is open to the man of God—much more than anything the world could offer. We need to give thanks for this, but we shall not enjoy it without exercise. Eternal life is presented to us in many ways, but Paul says here, “Lay hold of eternal life”, as if we have to embrace things, to get on our feet and reach this wonderful sphere where we can enjoy eternal blessings, “to which thou hast been called”.
Then Paul brings up the great matter of confession. He brings the Lord Jesus Himself before us as a great and wonderful example, “Christ Jesus who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession”. Think of the blessed Lord, how He was there witnessing the good confession. He said that His kingdom is not of this world—what a confession! Our confession should be similar. Whatever we may bring before men, this should colour every confession—that His kingdom is not of this world. It means that there is a great sphere outside of this world, which we enjoy. Eternal life is not of this world; we enjoy it now, but it is an out-of-the-world condition of relationship with Him. What a joy! What great things!
Think of men of old, how they confessed, how they witnessed. You think of Daniel; he is not mentioned literally as a man of God, but he was a man of God. How he confessed; what power he had, he and his friends; even the king had to come round and acknowledge the truth.
I was thinking too of Jacob in Genesis 47; which is a chapter really of witness. Five sons of Jacob were set before Pharaoh and they witnessed that they were shepherds, yet shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians. But they had been recovered to be men of God; they were shepherds, righteous, pious; they had all these features. Think of Jacob coming in to Pharaoh and giving witness. He came in to that great king, he an old man of a hundred and thirty years, always a shepherd, and wandering without any special abode; he came in before this great man, and when he came in he blessed, and when he went out he blessed. He was not even dismissed; it says, “Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from Pharaoh”. Jacob was superior; he was in great dignity; he is an example of a man of God; he had all these features—righteousness, piety, faith, love, and meekness of spirit through the exercises he had to go through in the discipline of God. But what dignity marked such persons—how they could bless! Paul said, as to his standing before the emperor, “That through me the proclamation might be fully made, and all those of the nations should hear”, 2 Timothy 4: 17.
His attitude was one of blessing to the whole government of the Roman empire, he himself being in such dignity. When he was before Agrippa, who came in with all his greatness and pomp, this poor prisoner came up, but he was superior because he followed righteousness, piety, and all these features which mark a man of God. We should take courage from this, brethren. We need more power and strength, and we can find it if we keep this secret link with the Lord Jesus. We all know in our lives what hinders us from being marked as men of God. The Spirit shows each one, sister and brother, what is hindering, and He gives us at this time the power to judge it, to finish with the matters which hinder, and to go on in this bright and wonderful way.
We look forward to “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What a day it will be when He appears; when He comes in all His glory and the saints with Him. Oh may the Lord help us and encourage us, that we may be among those who, as Paul says, “keep the commandment spotless, irreproachable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. It shows that Paul had in mind that there should never be a time when the commandment was not kept. It is not the law of Moses, it is “the commandment”, the divine word. All that governs the truth of the assembly, what governs our life, is included in “the commandment”. I think that for the apostle there was no question about the will of God; there was no discussion about it; nobody could take something away from it, or add something to it. It is like Genesis 1, God spoke and it stood. So now for us; if we want to be right in the presence of the Lord Jesus, we should accept what has come to us in Scripture, and the application of the Scripture in the good teaching. It should be for us the commandment, and we should keep it spotless, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. The few days which are left should be filled out by persons who are in spiritual energy, because the Holy Spirit would never have us to be lazy in divine things; He makes us alert and energetic; He is the source of a wonderful power. It is a wonderful thing if the brethren get encouraged to live in these things and to take them on in a full way, because the coming of the Lord is so near, and we shall be ashamed if we have neglected His things.
Then as to the appearing of our Lord, there cannot be any doubt about it, because Paul brings in the greatness of God in relation to this. He speaks of the “blessed and only Ruler”, and of “the King of those that reign, and Lord of those that exercise lordship”. Whatever may appear on this earth, the God whom we know is superior and above it, and He is the source of everything for the believer. Have we any conception of the source we are linked with? We know God in revelation, but here it goes really beyond that; it shows that God is there in an absolute way, which no man can penetrate, “whom no man has seen, nor is able to see; to whom be honour and eternal might. Amen”. Yet we worship this God. It is the same God who has revealed Himself, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the God who is among us here in the Spirit.
God is among us and He would give us an impression of His greatness, and He would show us that there are resources available to us which are inexhaustible. The saints for two thousand years have drawn from these resources, and we can do so now. Do not speak only about the breakdown; it is a fact, but let us look to God; with Him there is no breakdown; there is every help available; the resources are still the same. Well, may the Lord help us; may He encourage us, and may it be the longing of each of our hearts to be among those who can be spoken of as being men of God. May the Lord bless the word.
Address at Spaldwick
11 April 1987