MARCH 1ST, 1933
MARCH 1ST, 1933
DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD, — I am interested in your enquiries, and should be glad to render any help that I can on the subject of your exercises though I am at present restricted in ability for writing at length.
“Eternal life” is a distinctive blessing, spoken of in the Old Testament in Psalm 133: 3 and Daniel 12: 2. It is seen in Psalm 133 to be commanded where brethren dwell together in unity as under priestly anointing, and under the divine refreshing of the dew of Hermon. In Daniel 12 it is connected with awaking out of the dust of the earth, clearly a resurrection figure. Both these scriptures give a very exalted and spiritual view of life eternal. The Jews rightly gathered from them that life eternal described the blessedness which those favoured of God would inherit in the world to come — see Mark 10: 17; Luke 10: 25, etc.
The Lord makes plain, by the words to which you refer in John’s gospel, that this great and wondrous blessing is available now, and is the portion of those who believe on Him. Eternal life is the divinely given portion of every believer just as Canaan was the allotted portion of Israel by God’s gift before they left Egypt, but to possess and enjoy it experimentally they had to take the journey and put their foot on the land which was given. So that the Lord’s words are not to be taken merely as words of assurance that we possess something of which we know nothing, but they are intended to move our hearts to go up and possess the land. Eternal life is truly given to us in the Son of God, but as something to be known experimentally now. To have it consciously we must be characterised by eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His blood (John 6: 54), and we must have the Spirit as the Fountain of living water in us springing up into eternal life, John 4: 14. And there must also be a sowing to the Spirit, for Paul says, “He that sows [p. 215] to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life”, Galatians 6: 8.
Mr. Raven sought to encourage the saints to go in for the enjoyment of their portion, and not to be content with title without possession. This is highly important, for otherwise we may be saying that we have eternal life when we are perhaps practically living after the flesh and in the world.
Take some other precious statement of the Lord. “He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”, John 7: 38. “He that believes on me shall never thirst at any time”, John 6: 35. These statements, and many others which might be quoted from John’s gospel, show the immense possibilities that are opened up to men in the love of God, all to be possessed on the principle of believing on His Son. They are there as precious divine proposals, but what they mean is unknown until they become conscious realities by the Spirit. It is possible to find carnal and worldly persons saying that they have eternal life, but such persons do not really know what eternal life means.
As to your second exercise I think we have to learn that Scripture uses the words “saved” and “salvation” in different connections, and it is well to consider each passage separately. We shall find that this will give us a very extended view of the subject. While, in a general way, one would have no difficulty about speaking of believers as being “saved”, meaning that they have come through faith to the value of Christ as God’s salvation, one would be glad if persons knew more definitely and intelligently what they mean when they say that they are “saved”.
Christ is “for salvation to the end of the earth”. There is complete deliverance in Him from every enemy and from every evil. So that we can say confidently to any one who feels distressed about his present condition, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house”, Acts 16. His whole lost condition will be divinely met. But this means a great deal; its completeness will open up more and more to him as long as he lives, for the believer’s whole course as cleaving to the Lord is a continual learning of the greatness of the salvation of God.
It is quite scriptural to say of persons who trust in Christ, “By grace ye are saved”, but this views them as in the completeness of it, so that they are seen as raised up together [p. 216] and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2, And when it is said, “Who hath saved us”, we read that it is “according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began”, 2 Timothy 1: 9. It is salvation viewed in all its completeness according to divine purpose. But then salvation is sometimes looked at as needed all along our course as in Hebrews 7: 25. And sometimes it is future as in Romans 5: 9; 13: 11; Matthew 24: 13.
It is probably a sense of the greatness of salvation, and its many and varied aspects, which makes brethren not use the word “saved” so freely as some do. But we can tell any man that there is salvation in Christ for him, and if he finds salvation there he can say, “The Lord is my strength and my song and he is become my salvation”. But, speaking practically, I am afraid that many believers are not yet fully delivered from the working of their own wills, but salvation would include this, Philippians 2: 12, 13.
With regard to your third exercise I can only say that I am sorry if — you have not found the brethren diligent in gospel service; they ought to be. I can assure you that many brethren do earnestly seek souls, and I am thankful to say that I often hear of persons being brought to the Lord. There may be places where there is not much evangelistic gift, and this is a matter to pray about. I am sure it would be good if we were all more zealous in the gospel. But it must be borne in mind that what is distinctive of the spiritual movement which called saints into separation is the recovery of the truth of the lordship and headship of Christ, and the presence here of the Holy Spirit, and, in connection with these precious realities, the constitution of the assembly, and the divine principles which govern the fellowship which pertains to it, have come out. And it is to be noted that there has been a constant tendency to let these things get into the background through attention being given almost exclusively to evangelising. I believe it was this, conjoined with Baptist principles, which led to the defection of 1848.
I trust you will be divinely led and helped in all your exercises. With true desire for your blessing and spiritual enlargement, I remain,
Yours sincerely in the Lord,
March 1st, 1933.