A MAN FAITHFUL AND DEDICATED TO THE MAN CHRIST JESUS

S. W. Drever

Nehemiah 7: 1, 2; Luke 2: 25; 1 Timothy 2: 5, 6

This man that Nehemiah draws attention to in chapter 7 was a faithful man and feared God above many. As I look on the body of our dear brother who is now with Christ, I can say that unhesitatingly about him; he was a faithful man and feared God above many. I think that is a fitting tribute to a man of his calibre that we loved.

In Luke’s gospel there was a man in Jerusalem and that again has been the hallmark of our beloved brother, a man in Jerusalem. That means that he was dedicated to the interests of Christ down here. He loved Christ’s assembly, the heavenly Jerusalem. He was completely absorbed in the chief interest of our Lord Jesus Christ. I say this unhesitatingly, beloved, because the Lord said to His Father in John 17, “I sanctify myself for them”; that was the personnel of His assembly, Christ’s chief interest, and this was our brother’s chief interest while he remained here. The Lord gave him a good long life and gave him a faithful wife and dear children, but his chief interest was Christ and His assembly.

I have spoken of a faithful man, I have spoken of a man in Jerusalem, now I want to say a word about the Man, Christ Jesus. That is the Man our brother loved and served and honoured and adored and worshipped. It says, “For God is one, and the mediator of God and men one, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all”. It is totally unlimited in this setting. Elsewhere it speaks about a ransom for many, which is true. I wonder if you are among the many, dear friend. But if you are not yet, He gave Himself a ransom for all. Think of the grace of the Lord Jesus. He came down from heaven, not to do His will but the will of Him that sent Him. What it entailed for Him! We have been occupied recently, in the place from which I come, with the sufferings of Jesus in Mark’s gospel. The detail of those sufferings should make us tender, should cause us to love Him more, “the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all”. That was the Man our brother loved and served and followed. I commend His acceptability to every one of us, in His holy and precious name.

Two words at a burial, Seattle

Edited and Published by J. Strachan, 59 Frederick Street, Dundee, DD3 9DE, Scotland Printed by Crystal Stationery, 22 Western Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9DZ, (T) (01277) 650661