CHRIST THE CENTRE OF A SYSTEM

^[p. 332] CHRIST THE CENTRE OF A SYSTEM

John 12: 27 - 37; Romans 6: 9 - 11

I think it is a great point to apprehend the purpose with which Christ is presented to us. The preaching of the gospel is the presentation of Christ, not merely of the benefits to be obtained by Christ. The gospel is the glad tidings of the Christ, not simply of something about Him. The truth is that Christ is the centre of a system which God has now before Him, and is presented as the light of that system, and, as such, there is virtue in Him. When He was here there went virtue out from Him, and now forgiveness is preached in His name. The setting forth of the virtue that is in Christ is not the end in the presentation of Christ. The point of attraction is Christ Himself. That is why I read John 12: 31, 32. In verse 31 we see one system judged, and in verse 32 another system introduced in the presentation of the Son of man lifted up. When the Lord cast out seven devils from Mary Magdalene virtue went out of Him, but it was to attract her to Himself.

In chapter 9 of this gospel we find that after the Lord had given sight to the blind man, He presented Himself to him and said, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” He gave the man sight that he might be attracted to Himself. I believe that God’s object is to attract everyone to Christ, and forgiveness of sins is presented, not to occupy us with the virtue that is in Him but to attract us to Himself. I dare say all will accept this. When the light came into the world it was largely rejected, but there were those who came to it, and in coming to the light they proved that they were attracted by Christ.

The Lord said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”. That is Jew and gentile irrespective of nationality.

Now God is not only drawing men to Christ but ^[p. 333] attaching them to Him. In 2 Corinthians 1: 21 we read, “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ ... is God”. He does so by the Spirit. He has communicated the Spirit as living water to this end.

Now Christ has been lifted up from the earth, that He might be the point of attraction for all. He attracts to Himself as One who has died from the earth. It has been said that He could hardly have died on the earth, it would have been unsuitable that the righteous One who had glorified God on the earth should die on it. He is lifted up out of it vicariously, and, as lifted up from the earth, draws all to Himself. We have each and all, if believers, in one way or another been drawn to Christ Himself, and He is the Head and centre of God’s system — He is the sun of that system. That system is founded on redemption, and the head of that system is necessarily Christ Himself.

In the coming day that system will be brought out into display; but it is already established for God in Christ. He has prepared it in every part, and will set it forth in due time, and it is in connection with that system that we have been attracted to Christ.

I will ask you now to turn to Romans 6: 9 - 11. I want to give you an interpretation of that passage. Suppose, for a moment, I put ‘the world system’ in the place of “sin” here, and read, ‘In that he died, he died unto the world system’, that would largely convey the idea, for sin is the ruling principle of that system. In the sight of God, every bit of this world system is sin.

I do not deny that man is under responsibility and in a sense entrusted with government here; but the glory of the world is entirely another thing.

The natural man finds pleasure in the glory of the world, but if you take the whole thing morally from top to bottom, “sin” is the one word that describes it. And why? Because Satan is the god and prince of it, and God has no place in it. If I do, at times, take interest in anything that belongs to the world I am ashamed of it,

^[p. 334] for the whole system of this world is enmity against God. The Lord when here would not receive a bit of its glory, though Satan offered the whole of it to Him. Satan got only from Him a rebuke.

People think, and say too, that there is no harm in many things here, but the true way to look at things is in inquiring if this thing or that is of the system of which Satan is the god and prince.

Now the position of the christian is, that he corresponds to Christ. He is the point of attraction, and “In that he died, he died unto sin [the world system] once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God”.

Christ had died to sin and to the whole world system, and we are associated with Him in that death. We reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, that system to which Christ has died. Every christian properly is to reckon himself as crucified with Christ. On the other hand he is attached to Christ, and that by the Spirit of God, so that he can recognise himself as alive unto God in the system of which Christ is the Head and centre. We are privileged to take that place in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“In Christ Jesus” is an expression of wide bearing. It implies our being in Him as the Head and centre of a system, and consequently in correspondence to Him in that system.

Now in the system of which Christ is the Head three things will prevail — righteousness, holiness and eternal life. And these three you find here in Romans 6. They are principles which Christ has brought in, and are in marked contrast to the principles that prevail in the system of the world. These may be described as lawlessness, impurity and death.

Man is naturally lawless, insubject to rule; he may be outwardly moral and orderly, but he is in mind insubject to God. There is another thing that marks him, namely, impurity, and that comes because of the absence of righteousness. And, further, there is death, to which ^[p. 335] men are universally subject. You do not imagine that, apart from Christ, God is going to relieve man of the consequences of his sin — death? I think it is really a mercy that God allows man to suffer the consequence of his sin in sickness and death. What would the world be morally if it were not so?

Now in the system which God has brought in by Christ, the principle that rules is love, and love is really righteousness in practice. You love your neighbour as yourself. Love being the bond between all, righteousness prevails in every circle. Righteousness is fidelity in every divinely appointed relationship. Where fidelity is thus maintained, there is righteousness.

As each planet fulfils its own appointed course in the solar system, so, when the will of God gets its proper place, in every circle righteousness will prevail.

Now where there is righteousness, impurity becomes intolerable. In this world system we are surrounded by it — it is seen in the newspapers, in the placards on the walls, and there has been an immense increase in that way in my time, and the worst is that much is said not to be impurity. Now in the universe, which is according to God, impurity will not be tolerated. The principle which will be present in the day when Christ takes up His true position as the centre of the universe of bliss will be holiness. I am quite sure that the judgment of death in a world of sin, is of the wisdom of God, but in the system which is of God, eternal life will rule as the blessed consequence of righteousness and holiness. Now we reckon ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus, and so are in that system of which He is the Head, the first principle of which is righteousness, and we have to look to it now, that we do not fail in fidelity in our obligations, and love is that by which those obligations are discharged.

We have to see to it that nothing is allowed that hinders our love being in activity towards God and towards Christ, so that He has His proper place in regard ^[p. 336] of the saints. And then that in all the relationships in life every obligation is fulfilled. I love my wife, my children, though this is secondary to the relationships which subsist in Christ. Love to God leads to holiness, and in fact you will never reach holiness but in getting under the influence of God’s holy love. In true love there is no room for impurity.

Our blessing at the present time takes the form of knowledge. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”. And if you want to get into this knowledge the way to it is in being led by the Spirit into the love of God. I believe we can be in spirit entirely outside of this world system in the knowledge of the Father, and of His sent One Jesus Christ.

May God give us to appraise this world system according to its real value, and to be apart from it in mind. On the one hand reckoning ourselves dead to it, and on the other alive to God in Christ Jesus.