THE WORK OF GOD
THE WORK OF GOD
CAC This man is viewed simply and wholly as the subject of the works of God which were to enable him to apprehend Christ, so that when he came to the knowledge of the Son of God and worshipped Him the works of God were patent.
Ques Is it not well to see that the eyes of the Lord were set upon this blind man in the first place? “As he passed on, he saw a man blind from birth”.
CAC It is a question of the greatness of what has come in by God — by the Lord in His own greatness, “before Abraham was I am”. In John’s gospel it is not so much the thought of meeting the state of sin but the greatness of what has come in in the person of Christ and that man should be rendered capable of apprehending and appreciating this.
Ques Would you say this will be the normal process in every one of us?
CAC I am sure of that. This man does not ask to have his eyes opened. The Lord moves from the divine side. God is pleased to come in in the fight of revelation. On man’s side there is total inability to see the character of the light that is shining. The Lord referred to Himself in chapter 8 as the Light of the world. The most glorious Light that could shine was shining there. But man’s state is such that he does not appreciate the light. The light may be shining but the blind man has no capacity to see it. So the giver of Light of chapter 8 has to become the giver of Sight of chapter 9.
Rem Man’s condition is just what makes him the subject of the works of God.
CAC There is obedience with the man. He is in subjection to the Lord. But everything moves from the [p. 130] divine side. It is good to see God operating. Every man who is subject to the works of God gets into trouble because he moves contrary to the whole course of things in this world.
The Lord’s action in leaving him was intended to bring out the work of God. The work of God can be trusted. In this gospel particularly the Lord is seen as having no confidence in anything else. It is the only thing in man that can be trusted. All the advantages that we may have in an external way do not enable us to be trusted. The work of God can be trusted.
Ques Can we hinder the work of God in us?
CAC A solemn responsibility rests with us in regard to it. The only scripture which speaks of the work of God is that which speaks of the possibility of it being destroyed, showing what a serious thing it is to undervalue the work of God. It is most precious and is the most valuable thing there is in this world; we should view the brethren as the subjects of the work of God, and it should make us very careful of the influence we bring to bear upon each other, lest it has the character of being destructive of the work of God. I do not mean that the work of God could be actually destroyed.
The work of God cannot be separated from the principle of obedience; it brings that principle into action and it is characterised by the principle of obedience and by the principle of purity which is involved in the washing. The principle of purity comes out in chapter 2 and light comes out in chapter 3.
There are certain persons in chapter 1: “The Word became flesh”, “but as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God”; all such are beloved of God. That is where the gospel begins, and it ends in chapter 17 with fully matured men. The work of God has reached its full development and maturity. In chapter 17 there is a company of men given by the Father to the Son, and they can be trusted with everything that is of God.
[p. 131] Ques Would Nicodemus be an example of one who is at the beginning of the work of God?
CAC Yes. There is more suggested here than the initial work. The complete result is a company of people who are not of the world even as Christ is not of the world. They are in complete separation from the world and they can be entrusted with all that is of God. The Lord could say, “I have made known to them thy name”, the Father’s name; they were trustworthy.
Everything was coming in as sent from God; it involved the whole mediatorial position and glory of the Son of God. It was all coming in in its blessedness from God. God was not working, as it were, on old material and the capacity to appreciate His work was as much of Himself as the revelation. It is the work of God to bring us to see the greatness of it. The proper correspondence with it is the attitude of worship.
Ques The man seems to be presented as one who goes through his exercises and reaches a most desirable end. Does it suggest the necessity for obedience and subjection on our part?
CAC This man became a confessor step by step; when challenged he confessed; he witnessed a good confession. He was helped by the opposition; and if we are true to what is brought in we shall grow in heavenly grace. It is significant that he says, “If this man were not of God he would be able to do nothing”. Is not that a good test? It is the simplest possible test and the most complete test there could possibly be. If we come to that, to test everything by the one test, ‘Is it of God?’, it would bring us into complete separation from everything that is of man.
Rem What is of God goes back to eternity, “before Abraham was, I am”, it connects you with eternity.
CAC The Lord is confessed by him first as “a man called Jesus made mud and anointed mine eyes”; He told [p. 132] him what to do, and then in verse 17 he says “He is a prophet”; then he says He is of God, “If this man were not of God he would be able to do nothing”; finally he believes on Him as the Son of God. The Person has become known to him.
Rem It must have been a remarkable experience to come into such brightness of light. Has the preaching of the gospel the same in view? Paul was sent to open blind eyes and so on. Is that how the work of God is being carried on in souls today?
CAC Paul’s mission was to do that, he opened their, eyes. That is not exactly a sovereign act of God, but the setting before them the truth of the situation so that they might turn from darkness to light. The turning would be the result of the work of God in them. But the mission of Paul was to open their eyes. Every brother who stands up to preach stands up to open the eyes of every person who is listening.
Rem The sovereign movement of God and the work of God develops in the soul. He speaks for himself.
CAC When you come to the exercise of gift, a certain moral process goes on; exercises go on and the light of God comes out; morally the two things coalesce. The object of all gift is, “Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God”, Ephesians 4:13. The Lord operates with that in view.
Luke shows how Christ meets every kind of need and disability that exists. It is God’s favourableness to man in his actual condition. If he is sinful there is forgiveness; if he is helpless power comes in for him. Actual conditions are met. It is our business to enlighten men. This is our responsibility. We cannot actually do the works of God, but we can enlighten, and we find out where the works of God are.
The work of God is seen here as moving on from one; stage to another without any complication, and without any, failure on the part of the subject.
[p. 133] Jesus heard they had cast him out. It seems there was a circle of sympathy that made it known to the Lord. You would not find the man in the synagogue — you would find him cast out.
Ques Would you say a word on verse 6 as to the particular way in which the Lord deals with the man?
CAC The Lord seems to adopt, as we might say, a strange way to open a man’s eyes. I thought it was a suggestion of the condition in which the Lord was found. He had come into manhood; but what He was in Himself was there.
Ques Does it suggest the Lord’s death as the only way in which blessing can come to man?
CAC I think the washing certainly would be an allusion to His death. I think the spittle carried with it the essential virtue of the Person. Though the Lord was there personally there was nothing outwardly to distinguish Him from another man, but all the value of His own blessed Person was there.
It would make the man’s condition more obvious, but everything depends on the recognition that he was sent. “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”, the recognition in it of what was sent. Chapter 17 refers to the Lord as the Sent One. The great characteristic of this gospel is ‘sent’. They have to recognise the greatness of what is sent.
Ques Do you mean that the washing would involve the soul of the man recognising the need of the death of Christ?
CAC The need for purification on his side, but with a view to the recognition of all the greatness of what was there in the Son of God. Here was One in manhood who was the Sent One. It is His mediatorial glory. It is bound up in it. “We know that the Son of God has come”. I think the man who had been blind would have said that. He could have said, “We know that the Son of God has come”. I think the point of that is not merely that the Son of God has come historically, but that He has come into the consciousness of those who have received understanding. He ... “has given us [p. 134] an understanding that we should know him that is true; and we are in him that is true”. I think that is John’s commentary on the 9th chapter of his gospel. The Person comes into our lives, that is what it means. He has come into His proper place in our appreciation and affection. The opening of the eyes means that. I believe the rabbis believed that the opening of the eyes was a mark of the Messiah. It sets forth a process which is purely divine in its character. They should have known who was there.
Rem Some of them are made blind in this chapter. That is a solemn side of the chapter.
CAC Is there that in regard of the last verse but one of the first epistle of John? That those who have understanding are able to make a confession that “He is the true God and eternal life”? He stands out alone in all His greatness and glory to those who have this sight, and He is identified with God.
Ques How does this knowledge of God help us as to separation from the world?
CAC You come into the appreciation of that which has no place in the current religions of the day. It is astonishing how little place there is for the Person of Christ in this world. The present state of things publicly is very much like the position of the ark in the days of King Saul. It was disregarded. Saul represents what is fleshly as predominating. There is no place for what is spiritual. The work of God is of no account. They do not enquire at the ark. So it is as to the glorious Person of the Christ, the Son of God; He is disregarded.
Rem The Son of God is outside. The man was cast out. It is far more testing to be cast out than to go out. Ultimately the world will know that “thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me”.
CAC There is something particularly precious about this manifestation of the Lord to the man. He is the Son of [p. 135] God in all His greatness as on God’s side, what He is in relation to God. We all begin by thinking of what He is in relation to us, the wonderful grace in which He came down to meet us in our need, but it is a wonderful thing to get over to the divine side. We should learn to think of Him in relation to God.
Ques Is that salvation from a judged scene according to John 3?
CAC Yes. We learn to see the place that He has with God. It is really what separates the heart from the present world in every aspect. The true mark of believing is that he did homage. No other attitude could be taken in view of the greatness of this Person.
Rem There was no need for him to go out. They had cast him out. The compensation that the man gets as having been cast out is that the Lord makes Himself known to him as the Son of God.
CAC How delightful it is to the Lord to look down upon us this afternoon and take note of the work of God in each soul. We may deceive ourselves and we may deceive one another, but the Lord takes account of the actual progress of the work of God in our souls and He values it most intensely.
We may be quite sure that all opposition and conflict and ministry is in view of the work of God in our souls.