CHRISTIAN GROUND
[p. 414] CHRISTIAN GROUND
What I desire to say a little about tonight is christian ground. It is a very important thing; it means the ground on which we are viewed by God here, and the only ground on which God could view us.
On previous evenings I have spoken of resurrection, and how our souls are in connection with the God of resurrection; no one knows the meaning of the death of Christ if he does not know resurrection. The real test of faith is the power of God in resurrection, so in scripture the greatest stress is laid on resurrection. See 1 Corinthians 15. The resurrection is the intervention of God’s power, it is the real test of faith. The point is, whether we apprehend that the power of God has come in in raising Christ from the dead. It has been the principle of God’s ways from Abraham’s time. The God of glory called Abraham out, he was acquainted with the God of resurrection, and he is the father of us all; the whole family of faith are linked with Abraham by One who calls those things which be not as though they were. Everything originates with the God of glory; that means the power to recover, and that is in resurrection. If God raises again from the dead, He will set aside death and the effects of sin in this world. There may be death in the millennium but it will not be dominant. All depends on the great truth that God has raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. We find strength in faith as we lay hold of the strength of God in resurrection, that is where the strength of His power lies. Abraham laid hold of it, and also of acceptance.
I would speak of christian ground tonight. I will say heavenly ground, because christian ground is heavenly ground; heavenly ground belongs to the earth, you will not find it in Ephesians. It is the ground on which christians are on earth. In Ephesians you are united to [p. 415] Christ in heaven and you are in heavenly places, that is the result of the power of God. But in Colossians we get heavenly ground, that is the ground on which christians are on earth. “Circumcised with the circumcision made without hands” and dead with Christ, is the ground which every baptised christian is really on before God. It is very important that we should rightly apprehend the ground on which God regards us. We have to face the great fact that His Son has been rejected here. God was for hundreds of years seeking fruit from man; He sent His Son, and they slew Him. It was impossible for God to go on longer on that line. Where the guilt of man culminated, God was glorified, and now He is seeking the glory of His Son and He is calling out those who are to be companions of His Son. Now that must be on the principle of resurrection; we must be raised or quickened. He is bringing many sons to glory, we are called to be companions of His Son in glory; that is sonship in scripture, and we shall be conformed to His image. We have not reached it yet, but now God is calling out a company to the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, that is the great basis. That is the ground we are on now; we are on earth, but we are on heavenly ground. God could not have to say to us on any other ground. Christ has been rejected in this world and has died out of it. How then could God have to say to me as alive in this world? It could not possibly be. We do not lay it to heart enough that we are left here in the scene where Christ died. The position which I occupy before God is that I have put off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ and I am risen with Him through faith of the operation of God who hath raised Him from the dead; that is christian ground.
Look at chapter 1: 21 - 23. “You ... now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death” — (through the rent veil — the body of His flesh) — “to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”. That is what we are before God. We are [p. 416] reconciled for this. I am in the consciousness that through the death of Christ I can be before God like this. I can approach with a true heart in full assurance. I referred to this passage to shew what reconciliation means in our case; we are not only reconciled, but we are reconciled in order to be presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight. You must keep the two things together. You are reconciled to be suitable to God. How could you talk of entering the holiest if you were not suitable to the holiest? The death of Christ was to make you suitable. You are made meet to have to do with the very holiest things. “We joy in God”; what could be holier than the secrets and thoughts of God? That is our privilege, but suitability is that I am reconciled in order to be presented holy, unblameable, unreproveable, before Him.
Another thought in regard to the christian is that we are called to the fellowship of His Son — to be companions of Christ. He says, “in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee”, that is on earth; it continues to the glory, but it is on earth. It is quoted from Psalm 22. He speaks of what He will do to the great congregation, but He first declares His name to His brethren. It is here, “in the midst of the church” He will sing praise. That was verified in John 20. He takes His place in the midst of the assembly, but He is on resurrection ground. How could we be His companions unless we were on resurrection ground too? When we are brought together in the assembly we are on resurrection ground; we could not be companions with Him otherwise. We have done there with the things of the wilderness here; we often carry a lot in, but we do not know what it is to be His companions in the assembly if we do. We are risen together with Him through faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. Before you can realise it you must recognise that it is the ground on which you are before God. It is christian ground, it is heavenly ground; every christian is on that ground before [p. 417] God, whether he apprehends it or not. People have lost the idea of true christian ground, which is that we are dead, buried, and risen with Christ. The activity of God at the present moment is on the ground of the resurrection. God is calling out a people to be companions of His Son in glory. On that ground Christ takes His place in the assembly. Though not yet in heaven we are on heavenly ground. We are on the ground of the true circumcision. “As many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ”.
In verse 9 we read, “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”. Christ’s body has become the temple of Deity; all the completeness of the Godhead dwells in Him. There is no divine attribute that does not belong to Him, and yet it is “bodily” — as a Man, that the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Him. That could not be said of the Father or of the Holy Spirit. There is a human as well as a divine side in Christ. He altered His form, but He could not alter His Person. And then it says, “ye are complete in him”, that is, in Him as the exalted Man. It is from Him that I derive wisdom and intelligence and everything. If you want wisdom and intelligence how do you get it? In acquaintance with Christ.
Now we come to the other side. (Verse 12.) “Buried with him in baptism”. That is connected with His cutting off. Verse 11 refers to chapter 1: 22. “Reconciled in the body of his flesh through death”, in the language of circumcision, is cutting off. In the Old Testament it was a type; here we have the circumcision of Christ, which is the real thing. That is not a spiritual experience, it involves a spiritual experience, but it is not a spiritual experience, it is the ground we have taken. The flesh has been cut off in the death of Christ, and the flesh must not rule, that is the ground I take. “Putting off of the body of the flesh” is that it is a settled thing with me that flesh must not rule. The profession of a christian is this: I have put off the flesh by the death of Christ, I own that I [p. 418] have adopted the circumcision of Christ. Flesh does rule in this world, and if I want to get on here I must let flesh rule; but the profession of a christian is this, that in consequence of flesh having been cut off in the death of Christ it must now no longer rule. That is an end to your prospects in this world, but God will take care of you. You may have to go to the wall; I have had to go to the wall, but it is not such a bad place after all, for you are under the care of God. If the flesh does not rule you must suffer in this world. We have been buried with Christ. Baptism is that man is out of sight, that is what baptism means. Buried out of sight is the only safe place in this world. It is a dangerous thing for a christian to be conspicuous here. The Lord’s path was one of activity and obscurity, and that is the path for us here. When people lose the sense of God’s approval they seek man’s approval; man, as man, cannot exist without it; but when a christian seeks it it opens the door for the flesh to come in. You will have to adopt fleshly methods if you accept approval here. It is not a question of christian experience, but of christian ground — flesh must no longer rule because it came to an end in the death of Christ. “Buried with him ... raised with him”, you are a companion of Christ, you are on common ground with Him, you are not looking for prospects in this world, but you are risen with Christ, and your place on earth is in the assembly. You are fit for the assembly.
If you were not a companion of Christ you could not be fit for the assembly. The assembly is on earth, not in heaven, but it belongs to heaven. The things spoken of in Hebrews are heavenly things on earth. Their proper place is heaven, and the consummation is heaven, but it is while we are on the earth that we have them. Christ comes and takes His place in the assembly on earth, and He says, “In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee”. A christian by his profession recognises that he is a companion of Christ, on common ground with Him. In having to do with the holiest he is a companion of Christ, as Aaron’s sons were associated with him. Your privilege is the basis of your responsibility, your responsibility flows from your privilege; you cannot have privilege without responsibility. I have the privilege of having put off the body of the flesh, and I am a companion of Christ, suitable to be in the assembly; my responsibility flows from this. If flesh is no longer to rule, I am no longer alive in the world. The apostle challenges them on that ground. If you have put off the rule of the flesh, something else must rule, you cannot rule yourself. The Spirit must rule, and you have the Spirit; and I will tell you another thing, the Spirit will give you understanding. Christians do not covet understanding enough. They are too easily dogmatised. The apostle warns them about dogmatising. If a person comes and says, I must believe this or that in the letter, that is dogmatising. When God dealt with Israel He laid down dogmas for them. They were to obey and to wait to understand. He does not deal with christians like that. He gives me the Spirit of truth, in order that I may understand things. The first consequence of having put off the body of the flesh is that the Spirit rules, and He gives me entrance into the knowledge of God, and intelligence to enter into the mystery of God, where are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Chapter 2: 1, 2.) What a field is laid open to us! How much have your hearts been exercised to get an entrance into the knowledge of the mystery of God? We are so occupied with the things of time, we do not give the Spirit room to lead us into the mystery of God.
Then in chapter 3: 1 there is another thing, we get there the new centre of christianity, “where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God”. There is the great centre; Christ is enthroned. Christ is sitting in the place of supreme honour. What is to flow out of that? All God’s ways start from there. When He moves from that place it is that all God’s will may be accomplished; we have only to await that movement. It is in that way that the heart of [p. 420] the christian is taken out of the world. We have to remember that our treasure is there. The essence of our blessing is that we are associated with Christ in glory. You must be content to be obscure now, your life is hid with Christ in God, it is not yet manifested, it is only known to faith. Then we shall come out in publicity, now we are to be hid.
The world is a false system which God will not go on with. It is not changed, and never will be changed until Christ comes, but the change takes place in us now. We have put off the rule of the flesh that qualified us for living in this world, and we have come into the assembly as Christ’s companions. The great centre of our interests is where Christ is sitting. What if He moves? Our bodies will be fashioned like unto His. It is a great thing to get your thoughts to the right hand of God where Christ is. I believe that we have to go back and learn what is the first principle of the gospel. The whole basis of God’s dealings with man now is that He has made a marriage for His Son, God has made a festivity for His Son, and the first provision for the honour of His Son is that He should have companions in glory. He calls us to be His companions in glory, and in the meantime we are called to be His companions in the assembly now. That is the ground we are on, whether we realise it or not, it is the only ground on which we could be before God. We are associated in the assembly with God’s Son, we are united to Him in glory, which I have not touched on tonight. I know little of it.
May God give us to see clearly that flesh must not rule. It is a subtle thing, and it suits us for this world. We are risen with Christ and we are companions with Christ in the assembly, that is where we are on earth, beloved friends.