BAPTISM

^[p. 344] BAPTISM

Romans 5:1-12; Romans 5:20,21; Romans 4: 23-25

FER God is not dealing now on the ground of dedication. All are dead, and there must be burial. All now is on the principle of resurrection. “That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”. God looks on this scene as a scene of death, and He is going to set aside this order of things in resurrection. Christ both died and revived that He might have dominion over the dead and the living. The church comes in, and so will Israel, in resurrection. God is working in resurrection to set aside the state of things which is characterised by death.

Ques To bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, is on the ground of resurrection.

FER Yes, I think so. They are dead, and they must be buried. If people only saw the great principle of resurrection on which God is working, it would simplify matters. God can only work on the principle of resurrection now, because sin has come in. Romans 5 is helpful. It does not touch the matter literally but it does in principle. Read Romans 5:1-12; Romans 5:20,21, also Romans 4:23-25. The point is that in resurrection God has obtained the most complete triumph over all evil. Chapter 5 shows what is established in the Lord Jesus Christ as risen. Then we have the light of that in chapter 6. He brings in death, that is burial, but not until we have the light of what is established in the Lord. People would not accept death, until they see something outside of it. The raising of Christ from the dead (chapter 4) is the beginning of everything. In chapter 5 you have what is established in Christ; and in chapter 6 you accept death, because ^[p. 345] you have the light of what is in the Lord. I want my children to see that there is something in the world in the power of God that is superior to everything here. The greatest thing in the world is spoilt by sin and death, a queen or a duke does not escape. I do not covet a title or means, because death is in it all. I see this, that God has wrought in the power of resurrection, and has gained the victory over every enemy. Christ has been raised from the dead; in that I see what God’s thoughts are in regard to the world, not simply in regard to Christians. There are three great things in chapter 5: peace, reconciliation, and eternal life. These are better than sin and death. I defy any reasonable person to gainsay what I say, that everything here in the world is spoilt by sin and death. Death is upon man in an exalted position, as well as on the beggar. Is that the best thing God has in the world? No. God has raised Christ. He has shown His power over all evil, and what is established in the Lord, is peace, reconciliation, and eternal life. As Christians we come into the light of it before it is displayed, because we are in the light of the Lord. What I see is this, if we are in the light, we shall know how to make our children conscious that we are in the light.

Ques We have to reckon on the work of God for them, as well as for us!

FER Yes, the great thing is to impress your children with the fact that you are in the light: we are in a scene of death, but we have something better, because we are in the light of the Lord.

Ques It is wonderful to bring up our children for the Lord, because they belong to Him!

FER Yes, if the Lord claims me, He claims all belonging to me.

Ques I suppose we get the same thought in Isaiah 24 and 25, death and resurrection?

FER Yes, exactly so; it is a great thing to see that God has the desire in His mind to upset everything ^[p. 346] here. God will allow two things to work, death and resurrection. He allows death to work, and the triumph is resurrection. Whatever God brings in will be in resurrection. Israel will be raised from the dead. When the time comes for Israel to be on the scene again, then the whole order of the world will be set aside, weakened by death, but what will overcome it will be resurrection. It is a great thing to apprehend the power of resurrection. The world, and sin, and Satan, every enemy is overcome, and there is a great moral victory. In resurrection God will bring in His power. In the meantime we have the light of what is established in the Lord in contrast to sin and death, peace, reconciliation and eternal life. They are established. They are the great blessings God has for man, and which He is going to introduce into the world. We are in the light of them, because we are in the light of the Lord. Christ has made peace, not simply for the Christian, and reconciliation will prevail in everything. All things are to be reconciled. “That as sin hath reigned unto death even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord”. That is not simply for the Christian, but everywhere. It brings out the completeness of what is established in the Lord, in this scene. Meanwhile we have it by faith.

What a thing it is to be able to say to people, ‘What you dread, I accept’; you dread to die, because when you die you lose everything. I accept death, and by it I gain everything. The acceptance of death to the Christian means deliverance from everything down here. A dead man is free from all he has been in. If I accept death, I am free of it all. I would not accept death, if I did not see something the other side of it.

Ques. Is that Romans 6?

FER Yes. You will not accept death, until you have the light of the Lord; chapter 5. A man who accepts ^[p. 347] death, gets free from sin. Death is the only way of deliverance. It is a wonderful thing! I would like to have the courage to tell people, ‘What you dread, I accept’. What God has for man is peace, reconciliation and eternal life. It is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is God’s triumph.

Ques You think we ought to live it out?

FER The great thing is to live in the brightness of it. A man is brighter in the day, than in the night. At midday a man is bright: all his faculties are bright. A Christian’s moral faculties would be bright if he were conscious of being in the day, instead of in the night. It is interesting to see the power of God coming in. In chapter 4 we have the power of God in raising Christ. In chapter 5 we get what is established in the Lord. In chapter 6 we get what is the other side of it. Resurrection is a great point in Christianity. The gospel not only saves you from hell, but it brings you to the Lord.

Ques Our children should be another link with the Lord!

FER Yes. We often allow more licence to our children than to ourselves. It is a great test to me, looking for success in my children. If they are successful, one feels a sort of satisfaction in it, but one ought not to. If we look at things aright, we simply use the world as a means of subsistence. It is an immense thing to see that the Christian has another sphere than this, with regard to himself and his children. If we look at things in the light of the truth, we can see things clearly, and it is at once plain sailing. There is one sphere where the Lord is supreme, and then there is the world.

Ques We ought to be able to discern where the Lord is!

FER Yes. We accept death for our children, and we bury them, because we know there is another sphere where the Lord is. The platform now is the ^[p. 348] glory of the Father — resurrection. We have to regard that with regard to our children. Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, and we have to walk in newness of life.

Ques What is newness of life?

FER It is the newness that comes from life; we walk in newness, not in oldness; but as alive unto God, in the recognition and the light of what God is. There must be life there.