⬇ EPUB

CHAPTER III

THE KINGDOM DURING THE

PRESENT PERIOD OF CHRIST’S

ABSENCE

There are many scriptures that speak of the form which the kingdom is to take during the present time, that is the period of the Lord’s absence consequent on His rejection here and His exaltation at the right hand of God.

Instead of being publicly established in power, we have now what the Lord speaks of as “the mysteries of the kingdom” (Matt 13: 11), that is the secrets known only to the initiated.

In the series of the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13, the Lord looked on to its extension beyond Jewish limits. The field where the seed is sown is the world, and the Sower is the Son of man. Under this title which the Lord uses so frequently in the gospels, He stands in relation to all mankind.

Having Himself become Man, He not only entered sympathetically into the sorrows and sufferings of humanity, but He also took up and established the divine thoughts in regard to man by way of the cross, where He took upon Himself the liabilities under which men lie, Matt 20: 28; Luke 19: 10; 1 Tim 2: 5-6; Heb 2: 6-9.

Thus the commission to the disciples after the Lord’s death and resurrection extends to 21

all the world, and the gospel is to be preached to all the nations. All power is now vested in the Lord, and His protection and support are to be counted upon all the way through by those who confess Him as Lord, and seek to serve Him and to maintain the principles of the kingdom, until He returns at the end of the present age. The verification of this power of the kingdom is seen in a remarkable way in the history of the service of the apostles and others as recorded in the book of the Acts, where the testimony which began at Jerusalem, in spite of great opposition is seen extending to Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor and Europe until it reaches Rome.

It is not proposed to give an account in detail of the Lord’s parables, and of His teaching as to the kingdom, but to point out some leading features and general principles, with a few examples of interpretation of the parables, which may assist in the intelligent study of the gospel records in their bearing on the kingdom. We will then proceed to consider the teaching of scripture as to the death and resurrection

Christ,

and

the

accomplishment of the work of redemption as the moral basis on which the kingdom is now established.

TWOFOLD CHARACTER OF THE

PRESENT FORM OF THE KINGDOM

During the present period we have to take 22

account of the kingdom in a twofold way. On the one hand there is that which is real, where the seed sown (the word of God) produces fruit in the true sons of the kingdom, and where the divine thought and intention as to the kingdom is effectuated in the souls of men. This is also connected with the presence and power of the Spirit of God here on earth. See Matt 5: 20; 13: 38, 44-46; 18: 3-4; Luke 18: 17; Acts 20: 25; 28: 30-31; Rom 14: 17; Col 1: 13. The gospel of John shows the necessity for a divine work in men (new birth), both for the reception of the light of divine testimony (John 1: 13), and for a true entrance into the kingdom of God, John 3: 5.

On the other hand, there is that which is outward and public, where the authority of God and the Lord’s name are professedly owned. Here we have a mixture which includes not only what is genuine, but also that which is unreal, the outcome of man’s work and even of the enemy’s activities, and which will come into judgment at the end of the age, see Matt 13: 24-43; 22: 1-14; 25; Mark 4: 30-32; Luke 13: 18-30.

The divine kingdom takes its character from 2 The connection between the public side of the kingdom and Christian baptism by water is referred to in chapters IV and V

Christ Himself, as we have seen in chapter II, and its moral principles are a complete reversal of the natural thoughts of men. The Lord taught His disciples that to enter into the kingdom it is necessary to be converted (that is completely changed in mind, character and conduct) and to become as little children, Matt 18. To “inherit the kingdom”

one

must

moral

correspondence with it, Matt 25: 34; Gal 5: 21. To the disciples who were genuinely attached to Christ, He said. “Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”; and He would have them to be free from anxiety as to things of this life, in the knowledge that they were the subjects of the Father’s care, Luke 12: 29-32. They were to be prepared for opposition, enmity, and persecution for Christ’s sake, but were encouraged to possess their souls in patient endurance.

Faithfulness to Christ in His absence will have divine support, which will make even opposition to turn out for testimony, Luke 21.

The Lord impressed upon His disciples the importance of the things He was bringing to light, and the blessedness of their portion in being favoured beyond many prophets and righteous men of old, who had longed to see and hear these things, Matt 13. Even John the baptist, though more than a prophet as being the immediate forerunner of Christ, was not so favoured as the least one in the 24

kingdom, in view of what the Lord was bringing in, Matt 11. He told His followers that to be truly a disciple one must be prepared to part with natural ties and possessions, even to his own life; and that those who were not ready, for His sake, to follow Him in this path, were not worthy of Him. The way of the cross which was to be the Lord’s own path was thus early indicated, Matt 10; Luke 14.

In the Lord’s teaching as to the kingdom emphasis is laid upon the individual responsibility of each one. The position is compared to a man who having gone out of the country, has left his house and interests in the hands of his bondmen, to each of whom has been allotted his work, and all of them to watch for the Master’s return lest He find them sleeping, Mark 13: 34-37. Those who have taken the outward position of disciples and servants will be dealt with by the Lord according to their profession and the light and opportunity afforded to each one, Luke 12: 45-48. He that has an ear is called upon to hear the word, and also to take heed how he hears, Luke 8: 18. The hearer is warned against deceiving himself with a nominal acceptance of the position of a disciple, merely hearing the word and saying

“Lord, Lord”, but without inward exercise as to doing the will of God. What such a one builds without foundation, upon the sand of an unreal profession, will not stand in the day 25

of testing, and he himself will be disowned and rejected by the Lord, Matt 7: 21-27. We need not be surprised at the solemn character of the Lord’s warnings, such as Mark 9: 43-50, to those who followed Him in the outwardly privileged position of disciples, when we remember that amongst the number was such a one as Judas Iscariot. Not heeding these warnings, and using his favoured position without conscience, as a means of secretly gratifying his covetousness (John 12: 6), he was ensnared by Satan (Luke 22: 3-6) and led on to perdition. For true disciples these warnings like many others in Scripture (see 1 Cor 10) are preservative, opening their eyes to the deceitful character of the flesh and the need of habitually walking in the fear of God and in unsparing self-judgment.

Much confusion and misunderstanding as to the Lord’s teaching has arisen through failure to distinguish the twofold character of the present aspect of the kingdom. For example in the parables of the hidden treasure and the beautiful pearl (Matt 13: 44-46), spoken to the disciples privately in the house, we have the secret of what is precious to Christ in the kingdom, for which He sold all that He had that He might obtain possession of it.

Disciples who have understood these parables will be in accord with Christ in the appreciation of the value and beauty of that which they signify. They allude to that which 26

came to light in the church as a divine formation, which will be considered in chapter IV.

In contrast to this, the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (Matt 13: 31-33) spoken to the multitude on the shore, show the result of the administration of the kingdom in the hands of men. From a very small beginning it grows into a tree, which is the scriptural figure for a conspicuous power on earth. This is clearly seen in the development of Christendom (especially from the time of the Emperor Constantine, in the fourth century), whether as patronised by the State, or in seeking to dominate it as seen in papal Rome. The working of leaven with its permeating influence is a well-known figure in scripture, not setting forth the divine work in the soul consequent on the reception of the incorruptible seed of the word of God, but indicating in the parable how in the hands of men the truth of Christianity was brought down to a human level to make it acceptable to the multitude, being accommodated and adapted to ideas and customs current in Judaism and in the Gentile world, and as thus corrupted it has become publicly recognised as forming a nominal standard of profession and conduct amongst the so-called Christian nations.

In these four parables it is not a question of individuals, but the kingdom is looked at in its results as one whole of uniform character, 27

each parable presenting it from a particular point of view in order to emphasise some special feature. In other parables such as

“the wheat and the tares” (Matt 13: 24, etc.) and “the net” (v 47, etc.), where there is a mixed condition of things, individual persons are in view, and the question is dealt with of discrimination and separation between those approved and those rejected. In the parable of the guests invited to the wedding feast (Matt 22), some refused the invitation, and even of those brought in, not all are approved as fit to be there, for one who had presumed to enter without having put on a wedding garment (Christ as righteousness, Phil 3: 9), is rejected and cast out. In the case of “the ten virgins” (Matt 25) all of them have lamps (profession), but what distinguishes those who are ready to go in with the Bridegroom to the wedding feast is the possession of the oil (figurative of the Spirit, Rom 8: 9; Acts 5: 32) necessary for the maintenance of the light. In the parable of the ten servants and the pounds there is a further discrimination, the approved individuals being rewarded each one in accordance with his personal diligence in trading, Luke 19: 11-27 KJV.

It is instructive to study in detail both the parables and the miracles, in relation to the kingdom. The miracles set forth the power of God exercised on behalf of men in relieving them from the varied disabilities under which they suffer. Their physical needs, defects, 28

diseases, even death itself illustrate the moral and spiritual disabilities in which men have become involved through sin and the power of Satan. The grace and power of the kingdom is present in the Lord to meet every case.

The parables illustrate not only the gracious divine activities, but also the resulting answer to these in men; the varied present moral effects produced in the subjects of the kingdom, and the harvest resulting for God and for Christ. They emphasise also the responsibility of professed disciples and servants in view of the Lord’s return when everything will be tested finally.

The Lord challenged His disciples as to whether they had understood the parables in Matthew 13. Every scribe discipled to the kingdom is likened to a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old; not only the things found in type and prophecy in the Old Testament, but also that which they had seen in Christ Himself, the things now in mystery during the present period of His absence, and the glory of the kingdom when He returns. Compare here the features of a true scribe discipled to the law as seen in Ezra, chaps 7: 6, 10. He first prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and then to teach it.

PRESENT ENTRY INTO THE

KINGDOM ON THE GROUND OF

REDEMPTION

We may now proceed to consider the way in which we enter into the present realisation and gain of the kingdom on the ground of redemption, consequent on the death and resurrection of Christ, and its practical bearing on our life and conduct.

It is important to understand the teaching of scripture as to the kingdom so as to be intelligent in the ways of God, both on the dispensational and the moral sides, and even more so is it necessary for each of us to be established in the principles of the kingdom, so that a foundation of righteousness may be laid in the soul, and we may be found in the present good of salvation and in practical accord with the will of God.

The full perfection of these moral principles is seen as already stated in Christ Himself, both in His life and in His ministry. He was here entirely for God’s will and pleasure, living by every word of God, and expressing His thoughts of grace and mercy towards men.

But His life alone could not bring sinful men back to God. The condition into which man had fallen made the cross a necessity. Not only had it to be said by the Lord in John 3, that “ye must be born again” (v 7 KJV), an 30

entirely new beginning derived not from the flesh but from the Spirit acting sovereignly as the wind blows where it will; but also “thus must the Son of man be lifted up” (v 14), in fulfilment of the type of the brazen serpent in the wilderness, so that the sinful state of man might be dealt with in the condemnation of sin in the flesh, in the Person of the sinless One, Rom 8: 3. This necessity was met by the love of God in the gift of His Son.

Christ therefore in His devoted obedience to the will of God went on to the cross; indeed, His life and teaching were from the beginning in view of His death (Mark 10: 45; Heb 9: 26; 10: 5-10), where sin was dealt with judicially once for all, righteousness was established and redemption accomplished. In addition to the typical teaching of the sacrificial offerings, the Old Testament Scriptures clearly indicated that it was by the way of His death that the kingdom and pleasure of Jehovah would be established, Psalm 22; Isaiah 53.

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS OF

CHRIST

The cross is a wonderful study for the believer. On one side it emphasises the shameful character of Christ’s death at the hands of men, crucifixion being reserved for slaves and the lowest criminals. It was the measure of their hatred and enmity against God present with them in goodness, an 31

appalling disclosure of the heart of man when put fully to the test, John 15: 22-24. It was His enemies’ hour and the power of darkness, Luke 22: 53. But it was also the measure of Christ’s devotedness and obedience to the will of God, accepting all as from His Father’s hand (John 18: 11), and praying for the forgiveness of His enemies, the perfection of suffering love in self-sacrifice. He loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet savour to God (Eph 5: 2), the antitype of the burnt offering, the whole of which was burned as a sweet savour upon the altar, Lev 1: 9.

In regard to Christ’s sufferings at the hands of men, His disciple is called on to be prepared to follow Him; if need be “to suffer for well doing”, “for righteousness sake” (1 Pet 3), “for Christ’s sake” (2 Cor 12: 10 KJV) “to suffer as a Christian” (1 Pet 4), to suffer with Christ, Rom 8: 17. When the two disciples James and John wished for a prominent place with the Lord in the glory of His kingdom (Matt 20; Mark 10) they replied to His challenge, saying that they were prepared to drink of His cup and to be baptised with His baptism. The apostle Paul desired to know “the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil 3: 10), and he even spoke of the sufferings he endured in the fulfilment of his ministry in carrying the truth as to the gospel and the church to the Gentiles, as being a continuation of Christ’s 32

sufferings for those who were the objects of His love, Col 1: 24.

In contrast to this, on the vicarious side of His sufferings as the sin-bearer Christ was entirely alone. That the Son of God, the sinless One, should be forsaken by God when made sin for us (2 Cor 5: 21), indicated what sin was in God’s sight, the antitype of the sin offering on the day of atonement, burnt without the camp, Heb 13: 11. What passed between God and Christ when His soul was made an offering for sin, was veiled in darkness, Matt 27: 45-46. The Lord’s soul trouble, in anticipation of those terrible hours, we have been permitted to see in the agony of Gethsemane.

The two Old Testament Scriptures already referred to have special importance in this connection. By the Spirit of prophecy speaking through the Psalmist (Ps 22), there is given for our reverent meditation the expression of Christ’s thoughts and feelings in His deep soul distress. When suffering at the hands of men, in the presence of their insults and scornful taunts, the righteous One who had ever been God’s delight turned to Him in prayer as His only resource, He was forsaken by the God in whom He had ever trusted. Here we contemplate depths which the intellect cannot fathom, but the believing heart bows in worship, for they are the depths of divine love. The work accomplished by the death of Christ found its answer in the 33

resurrection, and the resulting circle of blessing and praise which begins with His brethren, is to widen out to all the seed of Israel, to all the families of the nations and to all the ends of the earth, the kingdom of Jehovah coming into view in its universal character. It should be noted that there is no call by the Sufferer here for righteous judgment on enemies as in many of the Psalms. In the prophecy of Isaiah (chap 53) we have a clear and definite statement by the Spirit, of the vicarious character of Christ’s sufferings and death as the Sin-bearer, when He stood alone taking His people’s place as Substitute; and also of the blessed results for the pleasure of Jehovah, and for His righteous Servant when He shall see of the fruits of the travail of His soul, and also for

“the many” whose sin He bore.

The whole moral problem that sin had raised was brought to an issue at the cross, and in the putting away of sin sacrificially God was glorified about all the dishonour that man had brought in. “Having sent His own Son in likeness of flesh of sin” (Rom 8: 3), God there condemned sin in the flesh. His love to men was thus manifested in the very place where, in the Person of His Son, there was the sacrificial condemnation and removal of man under sin and death. The life of flesh and blood in which Christ suffered on the cross for sins and bore the judgment in being made sin, was then laid down, the blood shed, or 34

poured out, being the witness of death. The present answer to this is seen in Christ in resurrection life in a new condition of manhood glorified at God’s right hand, and the consequent gift of the Spirit to indwell believers who are now recovered for divine blessing in Christ the new Head, on the ground of redemption and in the light of the full declaration of God both in His nature and in His moral attributes.

In the Old Testament type the blood of the sin offering on the day of atonement, was brought by the high priest into the holiest and sprinkled upon and before the mercy seat where God appeared in the cloud of glory, Lev 16. The teaching of Scripture connected with the fulfilment of this type in Christianity, is developed in relation to the House of God in the epistle to the Hebrews 9 and 10, where we see the perfection of the work of Christ in the accomplishment of the will of God by the offering of His body once for all, witnessed to by His present position at God’s right hand; and also the result for believers in the blessings of the new covenant, the knowledge of God, eternal redemption and eternal inheritance. They are constituted a sanctified company all of one with the Sanctifier, perfected for ever by His work with boldness by the blood of Jesus to draw near to God in the holiest.

Christians are now identified morally with the cross of Christ, this being the way of practical 35

deliverance from the old self, sin, law, flesh, and the world, that they may live to God in Christ Jesus by the Spirit. Their old man has been crucified with Him that the body of sin might be annulled, Rom 6. They that are of the Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts, Gal 5. Paul speaks of always bearing about in the body the dying (or putting to death) of Jesus, 2 Cor: 4: 10.

He can say, “I am crucified with Christ, and no longer live, I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2: 20); also that he glories “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom (or which) the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world”, Gal 6: 14 KJV. The apostle judged the world system in the light of the cross where its true character has been exposed.

Shallow and partial one-sided views of the cross of Christ, His death and suffering for sins, are commonly found amongst those who seek to evade the testimony of scripture as to man’s condition before God as a sinner guilty, and lost, and subject to His righteous judgment. This accounts for the defective and erroneous ideas which are current in much of the teaching of present-day theology: as for instance in regard to the scriptural meaning of sin and sins, as lawlessness in its root principle and its fruits (1 John 3: 4); of redemption, the way in which the rights of God are secured, and we are set free for His will and pleasure; in its present bearing as to justification and forgiveness according to the 36

riches of God’s grace (Rom 3: 24; Eph 1: 7), and its complete and final result in glory (Rom 8: 23; Eph 1: 14); of ransom, the price given for redemption (Matt 20: 28; 1 Tim 2: 6); of atonement or expiation, the way in which sin and sins have been dealt with sacrificially to the glory of God in view of the blessing of men, contrasted in its provisional temporary result in the Old Testament type for Israel (Lev 16: 34; 17: 11) with the complete present fulfilment in Christianity (Heb 9 and 10); of propitiation (Greek, hilasmos) adopted in the New Testament from the word for atonement in the Septuagint (Lev 25: 9), as may be seen in the correct translation of Heb 2: 17, “to make propitiation for the sins of the people”, which clearly refers to the type in Leviticus 16; and of reconciliation, which includes both the removal of moral distance and enmity on man’s side, and the bringing in of divine complacency, now in believers of the Church period, and in the end universally, “whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens”, Rom 5: 10; Eph 2: 16; Col 1: 20-22.

Many modern theologians attempt to limit the redemptive bearing of the death of Christ exclusively to the moral change which it brings about in men, and they deny the fact that expiation or propitiation Godward was effected or was needed. This denial they seek to support by an old ambiguity in the English word “atonement” which was often used with 37

the sense of reconciliation when the authorised version was made three centuries ago, as for instance in its translation of Rom 5: 10-11.

Atonement (Hebrew kaphar and cognate forms) was necessary to meet the claims of God’s righteousness and holiness as against sin and sins. The word in the original does not mean reconciliation, although this also was effected by Christ’s death. God did not need to be reconciled to men for there was no enmity on His part: indeed it was His love that met man’s need by the sacrificial death of Christ. It was when we were enemies that we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, Rom 5: 10; Col 1: 21-22. The doctrine of the Reformation leaders placed an unduly exclusive emphasis on that side of the gospel which deals with the character of God as a righteous Judge, and it was defective in its tendency to forget the love of God in the gift of His Son. Hence the misleading statement in the second of ‘the Thirty-Nine Articles’, that Christ died ‘to reconcile His Father to us’. The more serious error mentioned above, which many modern Protestant theologians have fallen into, deliberately sets aside the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel (Rom 3: 21-26), to make room for erroneous teaching as to His love, which ignores the truth of Scripture as to the cross of Christ, 1

John 4, 10.

Men relying upon their intellectual ability to 38

deal with “the things of God”, have attempted to reduce the statements of scripture into logical systems of theology, which are necessarily limited to the measure of their apprehension of the vast scope of divine truth, and are often defective by placing an exaggerated emphasis upon certain sides or aspects of the truth whilst neglecting others.

Even when such systems have not fallen into grave doctrinal error, they fail to set forth adequately the greatness of the Person and of the redemption work of Christ, the glory which He has brought to God, and the full character of the divine thoughts of blessing which have thus been secured for men. The apostle Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians 2, should be noted in this connection. The things revealed to the apostles by the Spirit of God, they communicated in words taught by the Spirit, and we cannot improve upon the words of scripture. He also tells us that for the reception of these things we require spiritual intelligence.

For the full meaning of the cross we must not only accept the testimony of scripture as to the divine estimate of man’s sinful state, but also the truth as to the Person of Christ. On the one hand His essential Deity, and on the other His true humanity as the one Mediator between God and men; also consequent on His death and resurrection the position He occupies as universal Head.

In the death of the Son of God as a sacrifice 39

for sin, there was the vindication of God’s righteousness and holiness and the conciliation of His moral attributes with His nature as love. There was thus laid an immutable basis for divine blessing, not only at the present time as the result of the revelation

the

gospel

God’s

righteousness as being in favour of men, grace thus reigning through righteousness; and for the millennial world or age to come when righteousness will reign; but also for eternity in the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness will dwell; and when God will be all in all.

THE KINGDOM AS PRESENTED BY

THE APOSTLE PAUL

The present bearing of the kingdom consequent upon the redemption work of Christ is fully developed in the epistles of the New Testament, and specific references to it are found in most of Paul’s epistles and in those of James and Peter, and in the Acts of the apostles; also where the kingdom is not mentioned in terms, it is implied where salvation is spoken of through faith in the Lord Jesus and the confession of His name.

Special attention may be called to Paul’s epistle to the Romans which is mainly occupied with this fundamental subject, the gospel being set forth there from the standpoint of righteousness, with the object of establishing believers in the grace and 40

power of the kingdom, where present salvation is to be realised from day to day in the confession of Christ as Lord.

Without attempting an exposition of that epistle, some leading features of its teaching bearing upon the kingdom may be pointed out. The apostle first demonstrates the guilt and the hopeless state of men, whether Gentiles or Jews, in that all have sinned and all are under sin, bringing in all the world as subject to the judgment of God. This clears the ground for the statement of the truth as to the gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. In chap 3: 21-26, its bearing is stated towards all men, on the principle of faith. Christ came from God on behalf of men to take up the whole question of sin which had involved them in moral ruin.

By His death God’s righteousness is established, so that He may be known through the Lord Jesus as a Saviour God, the believer being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The principle of faith in contrast to works of law is confirmed in the cases of Abraham and David in chapter 4. Abraham believed that God was able to quicken the dead. Christian faith is in God whose power has been evidenced in raising from the dead Jesus our Lord.

The present results in blessing are developed in the first eleven verses of chapter 5: peace with God, access into His favour, rejoicing in 41

hope of His glory, and God’s love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The present experience of what God is towards us reaches its height in verse 11, “we joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ” (KJV).

In the latter part of chapter 5, there is a further statement of the gospel in relation to the one Man Jesus Christ as the divinely appointed Head for all men, who has brought in righteousness and life as the free gift of grace, by the one supreme act which closed His life of obedience to the will of God, in contrast to Adam’s headship in disobedience bringing in the reign of sin and death.

The constant repetition in chapter 5 of the expression “through (or by) our Lord Jesus Christ” emphasises the place of supremacy which He occupies as Administrator in relation to the kingdom of God, where grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.

The results for believers of the headship of Christ are further developed in chapters 6, 7

and 8, which show the way of deliverance from sin, from the law and from the flesh, without which there could not be the enjoyment of the divine favour referred to in chapter 5.

The need for deliverance is illustrated in the latter part of chapter 7, in the case of a God-fearing person, not in the light and liberty of the gospel, whose deep exercises under the 42

law in the realisation of the hopeless character of the flesh and of his bondage to sin within him are vividly described in the person of the apostle himself. Experiences of a similar kind, in varying degree, are gone through by all exercised souls before arriving at the liberty and joy of normal Christian experience.

We see from chapter 6 that freedom from the dominion of sin lies in the appreciation and appropriation of Christ as the new Head, and in conscious identification with Him in mind and affection, in the truth of the Christian position of death and burial with Him, our old man having been crucified with Him, so that we may be able to walk in newness of life, reckoning ourselves dead to the whole sin-system and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are thus secured for the will of God in a pathway

characterised

obedience,

practical righteousness and holiness which leads to eternal life.

Christians who had been under the law (which came demanding righteousness from sinful men) have now been freed from this bond by the death of Christ, that they might be joined to another, viz. the risen Christ, so that they might bear fruit to God, serving in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter, chap 7: 1-6. Service under the new covenant is in the power of responsive affection.

In chapter 8, the Spirit is very prominent as 43

the power to live. The true Christian status as regards headship is not in Adam but in Christ Jesus, and the corresponding subjective condition not in the flesh but in the Spirit. God has condemned sin in the flesh sacrificially in the Person of His own Son, that He might impart the Spirit to believers, so that the new law of love and of liberty might become operative in them, that is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus risen from the dead. To understand this, it is needful to remember that there is presented in Christ on the one hand, the full light of God as made known in His grace and righteousness and love, and on the other hand there is also in Christ a new order of Man brought to light who fully answers to the thought and pleasure of God, responding perfectly to His love. It may be remarked here that in His life of flesh and blood Christ remained alone.

There is no such teaching in scripture as that held by many, of the union of fallen man with Him merely by the fact of His incarnation.

Compare in this connection the Lord’s teaching in John 12: 24. That there might be a harvest of “much fruit” all according to His own order of manhood, the grain of wheat had to fall into the ground and die.

The Holy Spirit, viewed as the Spirit of life in the risen Christ, leads in the way of righteousness. As the Spirit of sonship He brings those who are led by Him into the conscious relationship of children and sons of 44

God. This brings into full view the divine purpose that there should be a company of sons all conformed to the image of God’s Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.

The apostle’s teaching as to the gospel reaches its climax in chapter 8, through which there runs a remarkable note of triumph. He shows that it is possible for believers to be made superior, in the present power of the kingdom, to every element of contrariety both within and without, notwithstanding their actual condition of infirmity, in bodies which form part of a groaning creation, and in which they are liable to suffer from every kind of pressure of circumstances. Having the first-fruits of the Spirit, and knowing the love of Christ and the love of God, and that all things work together for good to those who love Him, they are able to look forward with confident hope to the actual accomplishment of the purpose of God, in full and final salvation, eternal life and sonship, when the mortal body will have been quickened and redeemed. Then the whole creation will be set free in the liberty of the glory of the children of God, when the kingdom will be displayed in glory in the age to come.

It is as knowing God revealed in Christ that the exhortation comes to us in chapter 12, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God in intelligent service.

Having been thus individually established in the gospel, we are prepared to be set in relation one to another, and to appreciate the further truth that “we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one members one of the other”, Rom 12: 5. We would thus be delivered from any high thoughts of undue individualism

and

independence,

recognising our part in the “one body”, each fulfilling his function according to the grace given.

TRUE DISCIPLESHIP

If the gospel has been rightly received it not only brings relief to the conscience by the knowledge of forgiveness of sins, but it would also lead believers first, individually to the full acceptance of discipleship, and then collectively to the realisation of church relations one with another and the true character of the Christian fellowship. In regard to both of these, popular evangelism is often defective.

In the measure in which we are affected by the knowledge of God and of His thoughts for us revealed in Christ, we shall be maintained in right relations with God and with our neighbour in everyday life, for the righteousness and grace of the kingdom are to govern us in our individual pathway in every sphere of our responsible life; private and public, home and business, in relation to 46

our brethren and to our fellow men everywhere, Col 3: 17, 23-24. Thus as a sense of divine grace deepens with us, true discipleship will be realised in an increasing measure on the line of sacrifice and the denial of self, taking up the cross daily (Luke 9: 23-24), not only learning of Christ but following Him in the pathway He has marked out for us, leaving us thus an example that we should follow in His steps. The full measure for the disciple is nothing less than being perfected “as his master” (Luke 6: 40 KJV),

“perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”, Matt 5: 48.

The contrast to this is seen in the governmental dealings of God in the case of the servant who having been the subject of grace and forgiveness, is morally unaffected by it, and is hard and exacting in his dealings with his fellow-servant, Matt 18: 21-35.

It may be noted here that much of the Lord’s teaching in the gospels as to forgiveness, stands in relation to disciples or servants in the kingdom. In such scriptures as: Matt 6: 14-15, Mark 11: 25-26, Luke 11: 4, divine forgiveness is made conditional on our forgiving one another, and difficulty has been felt by many in reconciling this with the absolute

forgiveness

and

complete

justification now offered to all by the gospel of the grace of God on the ground of the redemption work of Christ, Luke 24: 46-47; Acts 13: 38-39; Rom 3: 21-26. It is important 47

that the latter should not be weakened or confused in our minds, and also the consequent present position of the believer, justified and standing in divine favour,

“perfected for ever” as to the conscience by the one offering of Christ (Rom 5: 1-2; Heb 9: 11-14; 10: 1-16; Eph 1: 7), which is little apprehended by many true Christians who are not established in the grace of the gospel.

It is only on this basis that we can rightly enter on the path of discipleship with its responsibilities.

But it is needful also to remember that as disciples we come under the present government of God as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to the work of each, 1 Pet 1: 17, etc. He disciplines those He loves and chastens His sons as the Father of spirits (Heb 12: 5-11, 28-29), and to despise or ignore His discipline and governmental dealings would result in the loss of spiritual joy and the sense of divine support and favour.

Our practical relations with others constitute a searching test as to our appreciation of the grace that has been shown to us by God. The failure of a true disciple in this regard involves the divine displeasure, but does not alter his position and relationship as a believer, for the government of God is not incompatible with His grace. Forgiveness and restoration of joy and communion and the sense of divine favour are found by way of self-judgment and 48

confession, 1 John 1: 9; 2 Cor 7: 9-11. We are called upon to pass the time of our sojourn in fear, and to serve God with reverence and fear for our God is a consuming fire. This does not imply any uncertainty as to the relation in which we stand to Him, but on the contrary these exhortations in 1 Peter 1, and Hebrews 12 are based upon the knowledge that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and that we receive a kingdom that cannot be moved.

There are two things which make the power and grace of the kingdom a reality in the soul.

First, the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as a living Person from whose love nothing can separate us, now at God’s right hand on our behalf, victorious over sin and death and all the power of the enemy consequent on the accomplishment of redemption. Second, along with this, the presence and power of the Spirit of God here in the believer, making deliverance

from

sin

effective

and

maintaining him in living relations with Christ. This leads to the realisation of the kingdom—experience spoken of in the epistle to the Romans: “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (chap 14: 17); and

“the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing”, chap 15: 13. This is the “new wine” of the kingdom, to contain which believers are divinely formed as new vessels, Luke 5: 37-39.

CHRIST AS SEEN IN THE FOUR

GOSPELS

When we have come to know the Lord as Redeemer and Saviour, we are free to return to the gospels and contemplate with growing appreciation and delight the beauty and perfection of the moral character and principles of the kingdom as there set forth in Him. Each gospel begins with the presentation of Christ in relation to God and what He is for the divine pleasure, and in the first three the heavens are opened to declare Him to be God’s beloved Son in whom He found His delight. In the measure in which we are free from occupation with ourselves and our needs, we can contemplate the Lord from this the highest point of view, as the true ark of God where the tables of the testimony found a resting place, the centre of the divine system, the One who has accomplished the will of God and in whom all His counsels and purposes are secured and established. He could say, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart”, Ps 40: 8 KJV.

loved

righteousness

and

hated

lawlessness. He fully declared God’s righteousness,

His

faithfulness

and

salvation, His loving-kindness and truth, Psalms 40 and 45; Hebrews 1 and 10. All this 50

is livingly portrayed in the details of the Lord’s ministry given to us in the inspired records.

The account that each of the four gospels gives takes character from the impression of Christ that the writer received from the Holy Spirit (John 14: 26), being thus guided in the selection of the historical incidents, the Lord’s conversations and discourses, His miracles and parables, and also in their setting and grouping together, and the account given of His sufferings and death, and of His resurrection.

Matthew presents the King promised in the Old Testament, whilst not excluding the Lord’s other official and moral glories or the truth of His Person. As the King He lays down with authority the character and laws of the kingdom

the

heavens,

for

the

establishment of which He endured the suffering and death of the cross in obedience to the will of His Father. Now all power has been given to Him in heaven and on earth, and His presence with His disciples is promised until the end of the age.

Mark gives prominence to God’s Servant-Prophet in His varied activities accomplishing the will of God in the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom of God and in ministering to the needs of men, who bore witness that “He hath done all things well”, Mark 7: 37 KJV. After His death and resurrection, having been taken up into heaven He continued working with His 51

servants in their world-wide mission.

Luke presents the Man in His moral glory, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit as evangeliser, deliverer and healer. Several remarkable incidents and parables are peculiar to this gospel, and there is a specially attractive charm and beauty in Luke’s account of the Lord’s words and His movements amongst men. He was the living expression of divine grace towards men in forgiveness and reconciliation, the good news of the kingdom of God being presented with a view to God finding His pleasure in men; and in the priestly act of blessing He was carried up into heaven.

The gospel of John has a very distinct character, presenting the Son in the truth of His Person, the mystery of the incarnation being definitely stated at the outset. One of the Persons of the Godhead came into Manhood. The Word (Greek logos, including the inward thought or subject matter as well as the expression of the divine mind, not only in spoken words but in a living Person) became flesh and dwelt amongst men, full of grace and truth. The invisible God has been declared in fulness of light by the Son who is in the bosom of the Father. The greatness of His Person lies behind all that He brought in as Mediator, and gives a wonderful character to His official and moral glories which are set forth in the other gospels. His kingdom is not of this world, but all things have been 52

committed into His hands by the Father whose will He came to do. Being rejected by Israel, the light of the love of God in the gift of His Son is to shine out in world-wide testimony. The Lord attaches to Himself a new company, those who believe on His name, who have a new spiritual origin as born of God, and gives them eternal life, bringing them into the closest intimacy with Himself and His own relationship with the Father. He calls them “my sheep”, “my disciples”, “my friends”, “my brethren”; His own who are in the world, given to Him by the Father, and left here during the time of His absence with the new commandment “that ye love one another; as I have loved you”, chap 13: 34.

The truth as to the kingdom, as of every other divine thought, all the promises and purposes of God, are embodied in a living Person, and our progress in intelligence, as in moral and spiritual formation in accord with them, depends upon our appreciation of Christ in His fulness and varied glories. By the ministry of the spirit of the new covenant Christ is written on the heart, and His glory attracts and conforms us to Himself, 2 Cor 3: 18. The way in which this moral transformation is effected is well expressed in J N Darby’s well-known hymn:

Yet sure if in Thy presence

My soul still constant were,

Mine eye would more familiar

Its brighter glories bear,

And thus Thy deep perfections

Much better should; I know,

And with adoring fervour

In this Thy nature grow.

We may be slow in apprehension and our measure be small, but in proportion as we are formed in mind and spirit in accordance with the character of Christ, the great Shepherd who has secured a flock for God’s will and pleasure, learning of Him and following Him, we shall prove increasingly how good and acceptable and perfect the will of God is, Rom 12: 1-2; Heb 13: 20-21.

← Previous Article 4 of 10 Next →