APPEARANCES OR REALITIES
[p. 455] APPEARANCES OR REALITIES
My point on a previous occasion was the passing of the soul from appearances into realities. If christianity does not mean that, it is nothing. The world system would be impossible apart from appearances. The maintenance of appearances is not of God, and yet man lives in appearances (Psalm 39: 6). In any condition of things set forth in divine light we must get realities. The moment God shines out in divine light there will be an end of appearances. Christianity professes to be founded on the revelation of God, and thus leads out of appearances into realities. I have no doubt that the first principle of the departure of man from God was lawlessness. Another thing follows upon this, namely, uncleanness. But God did not allow man to be without a conscience at the fall, and so it has come to pass among men that lawlessness and uncleanness cannot be allowed to come out publicly. Hence these things have to be covered up by appearances. Man is both lawless and unclean. Romans 6 shows this: “as ye have yielded your members in bondage to uncleanness and to lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now yield your members in bondage to righteousness unto holiness”. (New Trans.) Realities must, on the other hand, be built up on righteousness and holiness. In having our fruit unto holiness we come into realities. You could not get them otherwise. Society is founded on appearances not on realities. The light of God in the soul brings one under rule. We see this brought to pass in the case of the blind man in John 9. He came into realities in believing on the Son of God. Now we get two things in chapter 10 — the knowledge of God in connection with Christ as the door and the knowledge of Christ as the Good Shepherd. A great deal is bound up [p. 456] with the door, and a great deal with the Shepherd. If a man gets into realities things in the world become revolutionised to him. Judaism was maintained in appearances, and so too was heathenism; people did not think they were sacrificing to demons. The light of God coming in to bring in realities must necessarily make a breach in the great world systems of religion. Everything hinges on our having come to righteousness and holiness. We must find out what these things mean from scripture.
The blind man entered in by the door, he believed on the Son of God. We are entirely dependent on Him for all light as to God. We know nothing at all of God’s attitude towards men save as it is revealed in Christ. There can be nothing more important for man than to know what God’s attitude towards him is. If God had not found peace in Christ as regards man, man could not have peace with God, nor forgiveness of sins. God’s righteousness towards all means the rights of His mercy. The grace of God brings salvation to all men — the door is opened to all, Christ is the legitimate way for entering. He is presented to us as the revelation of God. Then the witness of the Spirit makes things personal to the believer, you cannot get things in personal application any other way. Now into what do you enter? You enter into the region of realities, or of divine influence. That is a great point. Being saved and finding pasture is all dependent on divine influence. The influence of the sun on the earth is beneficial; so is the influence of God on those that enter in. This sphere can only be apprehended by faith. All christians have come under divine influence, and it is the way in which God has made Himself known to us, and hence we get the effect in Titus, “that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world”. No [p. 457] one can find salvation except in the sphere of divine influence, nor liberty either, nor can pasture be got except in this way. There is none in the world. Christ came out that we might go in to the sphere and scene of divine influence. Do not be content with anything short of that. To realise blessing depends on the knowledge of God, and of His attitude towards us in Christ.
Now turn to verses 11 to 16: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ... there shall be one flock, one shepherd”. Here is another important question, How are you to get character? This entirely depends on the knowledge of Christ — no one really gets character save in that knowledge. Orthodoxy is mainly in appearances. Many people pass muster as orthodox without much reality. But character has to be got from Christ. The sheep ought to be like the Shepherd. This is the moral idea. Israel took their character from David. The word “good” describes the Shepherd, and the sheep should have this character. “I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine, as the Father knows me and I know the Father”. Paul apprehended the love of Christ to himself by the Spirit and could say, “Who loved me, and gave himself for me”. The Lord had His own proper knowledge of each of His disciples. He knew each according to what each was — John, Peter, Mary Magdalene, Paul. The Spirit gives us to apprehend the knowledge of Christ in personal application. Nothing will stand against the assaults of evil save the personal knowledge of Christ. Mere orthodoxy is useless here. The fruit of the knowledge of Christ is that you know His goodness. Let me press not only the importance of the soul being within the sphere of divine influence, but that it might know Christ as the good Shepherd. Do we appreciate the gift of living water?
[p. 458] Then there is one flock, one Shepherd. This sets us in unity down here. A flock does not give the idea of ecclesiasticism; but I refuse to be identified with anything here which tends to deny practically the one flock and one Shepherd. Then we get eternal life, the first element of which is divine influence, and the second the knowledge of the Shepherd. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”. Christ is not quiescent in heaven, He is doing great things down here. He is the Minister of the holy places. He knows every one of His sheep — in their dangers and proclivities. The Lord knew John and Peter better than they knew themselves. So he knows us and serves us that He may conform us to Himself. If christianity is worth anything at all, it means the passage from appearances to realities. Anything that is of God must have that effect. The universe of bliss of which Christ is the Centre and the Sun will set this forth.