UNITY, IN VIEW OF RESURRECTION, AND THE INHERITANCE
[p. 328] UNITY, IN VIEW OF RESURRECTION, AND THE INHERITANCE
I was seeking in a previous lecture to show the concurrence of witness that we get on the part of all the writers of the New Testament. I referred to this in connection with the world and its end, also in connection with the defection and decay of Christianity. I dwelt at the same time on another point which is much more important for us; that is, the order of things which is now before God, of which Christ is the Beginning and Centre. No observant person would fail to notice that this world is wearing itself out; it is not going on as it is for ever, it must come to an end, and Scripture shows what that end will be.
The Lord Himself, before ever the kingdom of heaven existed, tells the end of it in its present character. In the Gospel of Matthew He shows to us the beginning of the kingdom, as small as a grain of mustard seed, but from the outset He foretells its end in the coming of the Son of man. The latter parables in Matthew’s gospel all refer to that.
Jerusalem above is perhaps the truth for this moment. No intelligent person, with faith, could fail to see that it presents that which God has already effected in regard of the system which is to be displayed. For there is a system which is to be displayed, the world to come; and the Jerusalem which is above is a very important item in regard to that display. It has the glory of God, and its light like unto a stone most precious, it becomes the light of the universe, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honour unto it. It is not difficult thus to see the immense importance of the heavenly city in regard of [p. 329] the world to come. The point for us is that Jerusalem above exists. We are children of that city, and that is the basis of our liberty. Liberty is connected with a city. Even in our day men are honoured with the liberty of cities, and the principle holds good as to us. Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother, and we have to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. He has given us the place of the children of God; that is, the children of promise, and that is the basis of the principle of liberty.
Last time I was referring in chapter 1 to the passage, “The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures”. The first-fruits is evidently a pledge of the harvest. The harvest has not yet come to pass, but Christians are the first-fruits. We have the first-fruits of the Spirit, but there must be the harvest. It is only of us, however, that James speaks. He speaks also of the implanted word which is able to save our souls, then of the perfect law of liberty. We are to understand the law of liberty and to continue in it.
I come now to a very important principle in Christianity: the unity of Jew and Gentile. It is that which is effected in the church, and you do not now get unity anywhere else. Jew and Gentile will have their distinctive place in the world to come, the Gentile will be blessed through the Jew, who is, as it were, the channel of blessing. The world will have to confess, “Blessed is the people whose God is Jehovah”, but what marks the present time is, that Jew and Gentile are brought into one. “By one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit”.
Now in the cases cited in chapter 2, you get that unity foreshadowed. Abraham and Rahab are brought [p. 330] by the Spirit together. The unity was in their faith, and we have this fulfilled in the church.
I think I can understand people of the world professing to believe, but their faith never carries them outside the world. The devils believe and tremble, people repeat creeds and the like, and if you were to challenge most in this country they would profess faith in the Bible, but their faith is not evidenced by their works. A man is really justified by works, because they are proof that he is connected with the order of things of which Christ is the Head and Centre. A man may be orthodox in his creed and take the ground of faith, but he is not justified by faith only, because faith does not in itself form his connection with the world of which Christ is Centre.
I am sure of this, that you could not have works without faith. Faith is really light in the soul from God, but you may, in a sense, have faith without works. It is by works that a man is justified, because they prove that he is vitally connected with the order of things of which Christ is the Centre and Beginning. That is the point which comes out in connection with Abraham and Rahab.
I suppose we have all read Hebrews 11. It is a chapter of great interest, in which the Spirit of God brings together the many witnesses of faith, and builds up with them a great structure. The stones are all cut, and fitted into it, Abraham, Noah, Abel and others are stones in the structure which the Spirit rears up. Two very important persons among them are Abraham and Rahab, the latter so much so that when the Spirit of God comes to her He does not bring forward any other individual case; and He dwells more upon Abraham than upon anyone else in the chapter. That shows that great importance must be attached to them, they are two very conspicuous and important stones in the structure.
[p. 331] Now I would like to touch upon their faith to show the moral connection between the two. We read in verse 17, “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure”. Also in verse 31, “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace”. Here you get morally the union of Jew and Gentile on the ground of their faith. Abraham was tested by God in a way in which he had never been tested before, for Isaac, whom he was called upon to offer up, was the son of promise. He was the link between Abraham and the promises, and hence, apparently, if he were offered up the link would be broken. It was a most serious test to apply, but Abraham had to learn this lesson, that no promise of God could be fulfilled in connection with the flesh, not even in connection with Christ after the flesh. Christ came to Israel with the promises: He was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; but no promises of God involving blessing for men could be fulfilled in connection with Christ after the flesh. The reason of that is simple, and it is this — death lay upon man, and the promises could only be fulfilled in connection with a risen Christ. For He had to go into death, and meet it as God’s judgment, if the promises were to be fulfilled and man were to have a part in them. The promises referred to the nations of the earth, and how were they to be blessed when death lay upon them? Hence it is that no promise could be fulfilled in connection with Christ after the flesh. He must needs die if man were to be brought into the promises, and Abraham had to learn in figure that he had to surrender [p. 332] Christ after the flesh. He received him back in figure in resurrection.
Now see what an important point that was in regard to Rahab. The promise was not only that the seed of Abraham should be blessed, but all the nations of the earth. “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”. The blessing could not have gone out to the Gentiles in connection with Abraham’s seed after the flesh. If the grace and blessing of God were to reach out to the Gentile it could be only in a risen Christ. This truth comes out in John 3, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life”. Christ belonged to Israel after the flesh, and He had to pass through death and take up a new position in resurrection in order that the “whosoever” might come in, that in Him the blessing of God might go out to the Gentiles. Abraham had to see the principle on which Rahab could be blessed, and she could only be blessed in Christ risen. In the presence of Christ risen all distinction between Jew and Gentile is gone, and Abraham had to surrender his hopes after the flesh. The truth comes out doctrinally in the epistle to the Galatians, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive sonship”. That is a great principle in the ways of God.
Abraham was called to go out into a country which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, but he never enjoyed the inheritance. He never had a foot of ground in it, hence he could not surrender that; but what he could not do Rahab did. She was in the land and had a place there, and what her faith expresses is this, that she surrenders the land, and recognises the right of God to dispose of it as He sees fit. When [p. 333] God promised the land to Abraham, and made known that His seed should have it for an inheritance, it was in the hands of the Canaanites; but God asserted His right to dispose of the land as He saw fit. Rahab accepted this.
In a way the works of the one bear upon those of the other. What Abraham apprehended in his work, the God of resurrection, applied to Rahab, and what Rahab recognised, the right of God to dispose of the land, applied to Abraham. The explanation of it all is that faith and works have reference to the world of which a risen Christ is the Beginning and Centre. If you do not see that, you will not apprehend the reason for which these two are brought together in this chapter. We have often read the chapter only with the idea that faith is expressed in works; but if you judge of the works according to man’s judgment they were evil works. Abraham was about to kill his son, and Rahab was a traitress to her country. You can only rightly judge of their works, in reference to the world of which Christ is the Beginning and Centre. If you look at them in that light you can understand how the works of both had reference to Christ and to each other.
These two principles are cherished in the church, and we have to hold them in faith, the result being that they govern our conduct. What governed Abraham was faith in God, and in His ability to raise the dead. What governed Rahab was God’s right to dispose of the land. The principles of the world to come governed their conduct. Abraham was a man specially called of God, and Rahab a poor Gentile. You must lose sight of all question of time, and see that their faith interlocked them. Abraham’s faith was necessary for Rahab, and her faith was necessary for Abraham in connection with the promises. Abraham’s faith in the God of resurrection was of vital moment to her. She could have no blessing in Christ [p. 334] after the flesh; and the right and title of God to dispose of the land as He saw fit was of vital moment to Abraham. The power and blessing of God are set forth in Christ. The risen Christ is the vessel of God’s blessing universally, that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We get the gift of living water in connection with Christ risen. Repentance and forgiveness of sins were to be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem; and He is the giver of living water to all who come to Him. The only condition necessary to receiving from Him is to thirst. That is the position of things now.
As regards the earth, the nations are struggling to obtain it as a possession, and we see the pride and might of man coming out on every hand; but the great principle to be recognised by us in connection with the world to come is that the inheritance belongs to God, who will dispose of the world as He sees fit. When the Lord comes again He will entirely ignore any right, on the part of man, to the world. He takes up the world on two grounds — first, as its Creator; secondly, that He has effected redemption. Man claims the earth, and would exclude God: that is the temper of man which will come out fully in antichrist. But, on the other hand, God claims the earth, and He will have it. As Creator He is entitled to it and on the ground of redemption. Christ takes up all things on the behalf of God, therefore the inheritance is disposed of according to the will of God, and we want to be in the light of that: in the light of God as the God of resurrection in a world of death, and in the light of Christ risen: the Beginning, Centre, Sun and Head of the universe of bliss. Our works are to be in relation to that scene.
[p. 335] I see, too, in regard to the right of God to dispose of the world as He sees fit, that one cannot greatly regard those who have a great place and possessions in the world. They have it in the providence of God (and I do not complain of the providence of God), and they keep it by providential title; but things will be taken up on different ground by the Lord. The apostle’s prayer in Colossians 1 is “That ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing ... giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light”. And in Ephesians 1, “That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”. Everything in the world to come is headed up in Christ, and we receive the inheritance in Him. We are like Abraham, perhaps without a foot of ground in the world; but we get all in Christ. It is there you see made good the right of God to dispose of all as He sees fit. But the inheritance is for those made meet.
The apostle prays that the Father of glory may give unto us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that we may know what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. That is a great point to know. The soul of the believer is connected with the God of resurrection, with Christ the Sun of Righteousness, the Centre of God’s world, and with His right to dispose of the world as He sees fit.
Now the knowledge of this results in unity. Abraham and Rahab are brought together in Scripture on the ground of faith and works. The one was the complement of the other. At the present time, people, most diverse in this world, are brought together in unity; and what is the basis of our unity? It is the God of resurrection and Christ risen, and the knowledge of God’s title to dispose of the inheritance. If that is accepted on the part of a rich man and of a poor one [p. 336] they are brought together. The rich man holds as a steward what he has in the providence of God, and the poor man has food and raiment and is content therewith, but this is because they know the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints, and that they will come into greater inheritance than ever was enjoyed in this world. They will come into the inheritance of Christ, for He is the Heir of the world and we are joint-heirs with Him.
These things are to govern our conduct. If we confess what Abraham recognised, the God of resurrection, and Christ risen from the dead, it will prove that we are conscious that there is no hope after the flesh. It is no good thinking that the world is going to be any better than it is; there is no improvement in man after the flesh. Many people work purposing to improve man here on earth, but man is not to be improved in regard of God. Man after the flesh is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. The law of God does not refer specifically to the ten commandments, but to the principle of the moral authority of God. Man is not subject to such a principle. The principle of the flesh is that it puts itself in the place of God, answering to the temptation of Satan in Eden, “Ye shall be as gods”. Whatever may be effected by any of the great movements afloat today nothing will be effected for God, and therefore I cannot take much interest in such movements.
The place for the Christian is to be here in the will of God, and in works which spring from the knowledge of that will. The path of the Christian is marked out in Romans 12. I cannot see anything for the Christian except that. I cannot undertake to regulate my conduct according to the view of man. The point is to have the God of resurrection, and Christ risen in view, so that our conduct is ordered in the light of God’s will and in the power of the Spirit of God. That is the first lesson we get here.
[p. 337] Another lesson, is as to the place of the Christian. He has to stand apart in spirit from the order and disposition of the world in the recognition of God’s right to dispose of the inheritance as He sees fit. We must take into account what marked Abraham and Rahab, the principle of their works, to see how they were affected by faith. We get these things now in much clearer light and ought to understand them better. God gave Rahab light, and she felt that the fear of Israel had fallen upon the people of her country, and that Jehovah had given to them the land of Canaan for an inheritance. God had given her that light.
Jew and Gentile are one body in Christ, not after the flesh, and if we are one body in Christ the point is, that we walk in the light of Christ. People do not seem to me to take in the idea that He is the Beginning and Head of another order of things which is going to supersede the present order. Abraham and Rahab will have their part in that, but meantime Jew and Gentile are one body in Christ, for we are in the light of the God of resurrection. The day has dawned and the day star has arisen in our hearts. We have Christ in our hearts, and being one body in Christ we are to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are regulated by the will of God in the power of the Spirit of God, and recognise His right to dispose of the world as He sees fit. These things have great practical bearing upon us. Our works should justify us, in having reference to the world to come. Our faith will thus be vindicated.
May God give to us to walk in the light of Himself as the God of resurrection. He has come out in the revelation of Himself in love and power, and now we have Christ set before us as the One who has ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things. He is for the moment quiescent in regard of things in the world. We are to walk in the light of Christ [p. 338] here, prepared to stand in the conflict for the inheritance. The Lord Himself rode into Jerusalem as Zion’s King, and in a sense claimed the inheritance. The earth belongs to Him, and we are to stand apart from the world.