Iii) "FEAR NOT
C.R.Byng
The Lord Jesus would cause every one of us to be conscious at this time of His own personal word of strengthening to us. As we have already rightly said, we are here as those that feel deeply the homegoing of our beloved brother, but it is at such a time as this the Lord would say "Fear not". The Lord's own touch was over our brother as to the manner and the time of his going. It does not take away from the reality of death, but it brings into it a glory which the Lord Jesus alone can bring in. The Lord personally, as putting our brother to sleep, had His own touch of glory in it, and I think He would connect our hearts with Himself in a fresh and deep way as a result of what He Himself has done.
So as we think of the reality of death, we think of the Lord Jesus saying "I became dead". No other man has ever been able to say that. Our beloved brother did not become dead, the Lord put him to sleep, but the Lord became dead. The infinite love of the Lord Jesus for each of us as entered into that, but also something of the mystery and glory of His own person, and yet the reality of His manhood, as it says "having bowed His head, he delivered up his spirit", (John 19: 30). Let us be strengthened in the very presence of the solemnity of death, by the Lord Jesus saying to us individually and yet together, "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the living one".
How pre-eminent indeed He is, for He is the First, and how supremely He gathers up everything for God because He is the last, and yet through it all He remains the living One who "became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages. Perhaps we shall need the experience of the Lord as the living One more as the hours proceed than we yet know. Our beloved sister and the family can be comforted and strengthened as the Lord would say to each of them "Fear not; I am the... living one". We shall miss our brother in his readiness of spirit as we have said, to be just available as the Lord directed him; but there is not to be any lack. There may be the element with us of wondering how things are going to proceed, but the Lord would say, "Fear not; I am the... living one". We would affectionately think of our brother's son as with this act of the Lord he has passed from one generation to another. The Lord is available to each of us as He says "I am the first and the last, and the living one: and I became dead". What majestic dignity there is in that, beloved brethren, as we think of Jesus, in the reality of His manhood and yet with the mystery and the glory of His own person, going into death and coming out of death having the keys of death and of hades. We are among the vast living throng of those who live because He lives, those who are going to be with Him, near at hand in His glory because He has gone into death and has risen again.
Our brother has gone just a little ahead of us, and we are to follow so soon as the Lord calls us. May we be ready, and in the meantime be strengthened by the preciousness of the love of the Man who would say to us today, "Fear not; I am the ... living one". For His Name's sake.
LONDON
9 December 1974
SOME FUNDAMENTALS - THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
All that we really need to know about the Christian faith has been written down for us in the Bible, which is a collection of books written by different people of different occupations over a period of many centuries, but wonderfully unified and combined in one volume. It differs from all other books because it is divinely inspired and carries the authority of the Holy Spirit, so its teachings are the word of God (2 Tim 3: 16). Unless we accept the inspiration of the scriptures we have no common basis for the working out of the truth of Christianity. They carry their own authority over the soul and are not to be disregarded or departed from. They are the standard by which all else must be judged.
The Lord Himself constantly quoted the Old Testament scriptures and on one occasion reminded His hearers that "the scripture cannot be broken " (John 10: 35). In facing Satan at the temptation He said three times, "It is written... " showing how the word of God is to be used by a dependent man in conflict with the enemy. The scriptures were fulfilled in Him, so in the gospels there are constant references such as "that the scripture might be fulfilled". There is a solemn warning at the end of the Bible against adding to the words written or taking from them.
Although we need the Holy Spirit for the proper understanding of scripture we have to accept it in simplicity as it is, without any attempt to twist it into moulds of our own. As the Psalmist wrote, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Ps 119: 105), so we shall find that God 's word from the scriptures will guide us in this world of difficulty. Moreover, whenever opposition comes, the faithful Christian will find that one of the most important weapons in his armoury is the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. Hence we need to know the scriptures well.
From a child Timothy had known the sacred letters, which were able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Godly women today will wish to ensure that their children and grandchildren have a good grounding in the scriptures. The personal reading of the Bible is essential for spiritual prosperity, and daily household reading has proved to be a vital custom in pious houses for many years. The gathering together of brethren for reading the scriptures and enquiring into the truth has resulted in a constant flow of blessing during the recovery of the past 150 years or so.
The great theme of the scriptures is the way in which God has operated in Christ and by the Spirit to secure a universe for His own pleasure and the blessing of man eternally. As in each part of the Bible we look for references to Christ either typically or personally we have the key by the Spirit to unlock the great wealth which lies hidden, and other things fall into their place. May we value increasingly the privilege of having the open Bible, read it constantly and be governed by its teaching.
W.E.Ellis