THE RENOWN OF CHRIST
[p. 202] THE RENOWN OF CHRIST
Acts 3: 1 - 26; Acts 4: 21 - 22; Ephesians 4: 20 - 24
There are three or four points which are apparent at the latter part of chapter 3 (see verses 18, 21, 23, 25). (1) What God had spoken by the mouth of all the prophets that Christ must suffer. (2) Whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things (verse 21). (3) He is a test. (4) God’s purpose is fulfilled, the restitution of all things and all nations would be blessed in Him (verses 23 - 25). These are great points in regard of Christ. Christ has suffered; He has been received up; He has become the test of everyone, and in Him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. I shall give you a little as to these points, and shall then show the witness to Christ meanwhile. The effect of the name of the Man in heaven is that it gives perfect soundness to the lame man in the presence of them all. The witness could not be gainsaid. The man was above forty years old on whom the miracle of healing was shown. God gave manifest witness to the Jews that there was a Man in heaven — the lame man got perfect soundness. God had thus given adequate witness, for in chapter 2 they “began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”. The witness comes out in the new man, which is in correspondence with the Man at the right hand of God. Christ is the “Holy One and the Just”, and that new man comes out created after God in righteousness and true holiness. The man in chapter 3 prefigures that. The new man is in correspondence to the “Holy One and the Just”. Christ is received into heaven, but He has His witness down here to show the power of His name.
Now faith has ever been dependent upon the glorified Man — the last Adam. The lame man was a cripple from the womb, over forty years — the full time of [p. 203] probation. The man is not only made whole, but he becomes a witness to another Man — to a Man in heaven. It was faith in another Man that gave him the soundness in the presence of them all. Now I take up the first point. Christ must suffer. We often get the thought of suffering in connection with Christ. “It became him ... to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”, Hebrews 2: 10. It was all in view of the place that Christ was going to take up in regard of the world to come. Christ accomplished righteousness, that He might be the Sun of righteousness.
Salvation, too, has its first application to Christ, and redemption, too. How could He have taken up the inheritance which belonged to God, except by taking up the liabilities? Being the Sun of righteousness put Him in relation to the universe of bliss. He is placed in relation to others, but how could He without accomplishing righteousness. The same in regard of salvation. Salvation was accomplished, that His glory might be great in God’s salvation. It is important to view all that is accomplished first in their relation to Christ, before we view them in their application to us. All has been accomplished — Christ has suffered; He went into the lower parts of the earth. Now He has gone to the right hand of God, far above all heavens. The Holy Spirit has come, and we are wholly dependent upon Him for the report of His glory, of His renown, of His name. He is Head of all principality and power, and Head of every man, and the Holy Spirit has brought down the report of His renown, of His name. We have to apprehend Christ according to His renown. We have renown brought to us from heaven by the Holy Spirit, of a Man who is Head of every man, of all principality and power, Head of the church, of Israel, and the nations — the Head — the Man at the right hand of God, the place He occupies according to divine counsel, based upon redemption. I feel I need to be impressed with the renown of Christ — the report of it by the Spirit of [p. 204] God; but the truth, the report is there, and the report of Christ should unceasingly engage the attention of His people, and then the colour it would give us here would be brightness. Christ would shine upon us, We want to get away from the obscuring influences of this world, and so show forth the shining of Christ.
The heaven must receive Him, until the moment, the restitution of all things of which God had spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets, since the world began. Many things have been snatched away from God in the history of things. Man was snatched away, the temptation came in, and man was corrupted and became lawless. Then the same thing is repeated over and over again. Whenever a thing became corrupted, God could not go on with it. Israel was snatched away from God; they came under the power of idolatry. Then again, the throne of David was Jehovah’s throne, but it became corrupted, and in that sense was snatched away from God. I might speak of the nations also in that way — they were snatched away. Now, beloved friends, there is restitution to be made — all is to be restored. Christ has tasted death for everything. Restitution is brought about in Christ on the ground of redemption. The heavens receive Him until the time comes, when these things will be effected. Israel will be renewed again in Christ — so too the throne of David, and the headship of the nations, all will yet be renewed again in Christ — all will yet be brought under the moral control of God. The heavens receive Him, until the appointed time, according to the testimony of all the holy prophets. They all testify to the restitution of all things, from the time of Samuel downwards. God had to call out the heavenly company, too, who would be associated with Christ in glory. I ask, have these things occupied your attention? Has what has been transpiring in other parts of the world been occupying your attention, or are you occupied with that of which all the holy prophets testified? — the restitution of all things. We want to [p. 205] fix our eye upon that moment when Christ will be revealed from heaven to bring about the restitution of all things.
Now as to the third point (verse 23). God is God, and Christ is Head of every man, whether men like it or not. As Head of every man, He is the test of every one. The gentile is tested now of Christ just as He was the test of the Jew. People prefer to be lawless, and if they go on as such they will come under judgment. The company I address have answered, I thank God, to the test, and He has become to us “unsearchable riches”. He has led us in the way of righteousness, and in the midst of the path of judgment. A wonderful place to be in, and if in it we ought to be looking for the appearing of the glory, when the restitution of all things will take place.
Now in regard of the fourth point — the literal fulfilment of all nations being blessed is still future. The aged Simeon was called to be identified with Christ, because he had the Prince of life in his arms — He was a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of God’s people Israel (Luke 2: 32). It is looking on to the restitution of all things. Do you not think our attention should be exclusively taken up with that Man? People plead to have a little look at the newspapers to see how the war is going on, while attention should be fixed on that Man, who when He comes again will bring in the restitution of all things. Christ is brought into view, and He is to take up all things, in heaven and in earth — all are to be gathered up in Him. We can afford to leave alone the potsherds of the earth, striving with the potsherds. Our whole attention is to be taken up with the One hid in the heavens, until the moment of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets.
Now I come to the witness. Now there was faith in the world before Christ came, but if God had not had that Man in reserve there could have been no light vouchsafed to man, and consequently there could have [p. 206] been no faith. God had a Man in reserve who could accomplish redemption and impart a new character to everything. Abraham’s faith, and David’s faith, had in view the Man whom God would bring in, and the world which would be brought in through that Man. All along the line they had the Man in view. Abel could not have had witness borne to his gifts except as connected with Christ — or Enoch — or Noah, all faith was by that Man. Peter says here “the faith which is by him” — a Man who is able to introduce an entirely different character to man. The introduction of that Man opened the door of faith to man along the line, it is the faith which is by Him. Now faith which is by Him gives perfect soundness. What is your soundness? Our soundness is that we are in correspondence to Christ, and that is to put us in soundness here — it is by the faith of another Man. The faith of another, who presented the name of that glorious Man, “the faith which is by him” gives soundness in the presence of men down here. Now the significance of that is that we have put off the old man, and “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”, Ephesians 4: 24. God acts in that way to introduce a witness (the new man) to the glorious Man in heaven, and the new man is the witness to Him here. How far is it true with us? The measure of our soundness is our appreciation of Christ — if we appreciate Christ, it is true of us, that we have put off the old man, and put on the new. If so, we can have no crooked things, there can be no lusts, no temper — these things are put off, and the new man is God’s witness, real and effectual, to that Man hid in heaven, till the times of restitution. Now what is it takes up our attention? I should like to labour with all the ability and strength God would give to bring into view of the saints the Man hid in the heavens, and the system and order of things connected with that Man. Stephen saw the glory of God, and Jesus. The glory of God is the shining out [p. 207] of the effulgence of God in the accomplishment of all His purposes. How do you answer to the new man?
How far are we adorned by the new man? Outward appearances cover up a deal of defect with people, but we want to be characterised by the new man, which is after God, and characterised by righteousness (which is the maintenance of fidelity in every divinely appointed relationship) and holiness, by which we repel and shrink from that which is contaminating. The soundness of that man is by the faith of the glorious Man in heaven, and is the witness to Him here on earth, in the meantime, while the heavens receive Him until the times of restitution of which God has “spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”.
I beseech you to abstain from all that contaminates — the new man is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. When He comes out, we shall appear with Him in glory, and in complete conformity to Himself in every way.