The Gospel According to Paul # 14
In His Letter to the Philippians
Continuing our inquiry into what the Apostle means by his words "the gospel which I preach", we take in our hands the little letter written by Paul to the Philippians. Although this was one of the last writings of the Apostle - it was written from his imprisonment in Rome shortly before his execution, at the end of a long, full life of ministry and work - we find that he is still speaking of everything as "the gospel". He has not grown out of the gospel, he has not got beyond the gospel. Indeed, at the end he is more than ever aware of the riches of the gospel which are far beyond him.
Here are the references that he makes in this letter to the gospel.
"I think my God...for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel..." (Phil. 1:3, 5).
"...it is right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace" (1:7).
"...the one (preach Christ) of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel: but the other proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds. What then? only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and therein I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice" (1:16-18).
"But ye know the proof of him, that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel" (2:22).
"Yea, I beseech thee also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the gospel..." (4:3).
"I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me. Howbeit ye did well, that ye had fellowship with me in my affliction. And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but ye only..." (4:13-15).
You see there is a good deal about the gospel in this little letter. I say "little" letter. This letter is like a beautiful jewel in the crown of Jesus Christ, or like a beautiful pearl whose colors are the result of exquisite pain and suffering. It is something very costly and very precious. So far as actual chapters and verses are concerned, it is small. It is one of the smallest of Paul's letters, but in its intrinsic values and worth it is immense; and as a real setting forth of what the gospel is, there are few, if any, things in the New Testament to be compared with it. What we really come to in this letter is not only a setting forth of what the gospel is in truth, but an example of what the gospel is in effect. Look at it again, dwell upon it with openness of heart, and I think your verdict will be - it surely should be - 'Well, if that is the gospel, give me the gospel! If that is the gospel, it is something worth having!' That surely is the gospel, it is the effect of reading this little letter. It is a wonderful example of the gospel in expression.
The Letter of the Joy of Triumph
But as we read it, we find that it resolves itself into this. It is, perhaps more than any other letter in the New Testament, the letter of the joy of triumph. Joy runs right through this letter. The Apostle is full of joy to overflowing. He seems to be hardly able to contain himself. In the last chapter we were speaking of his superlatives in relation to the great calling of the Church in the gospel. Here the Apostle is finding it difficult to express himself as to his joy. I leave you to look at it. Look just at the first words, his introduction, and see. But it runs right through to the end. It has been called the letter of Paul's joy in Christ, but it is the joy of triumph, and triumph in a threefold direction. The triumph of Christ; triumph in Paul; and triumph in the Christians at Philippi. That really sums up the whole letter: the threefold triumph with its joy and exultant outflowing.
The Triumph Of Christ
First of all, triumph in Christ and of Christ. It is in this letter that Paul gives us that matchless unveiling of the great cycle of redemption - the sublime course taken by the Lord Jesus in His redemptive work. We see Him, firstly, in the place of equality with God: equal with God, and all that that means - all that it means for God to be God. How great that is! - how full, how high, how majestic, how glorious! Paul here says that Jesus was there equal with God. And then, 'counting it not something to be held on to, to be grasped at, this equality with God, He emptied Himself'. He emptied Himself of all that, let it go, laid it aside, gave it up. Just think of what He was going to have in exchange. These are thoughts almost impossible of grasping: God, in all His infinite fullness of power and majesty of might, in His dominion of glory and eternal fullness, allowing men of His own creation, even the meanest of them, to spit on Him, to mock and jeer at Him. He laid it aside, He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a man, was found in fashion as a man; and not only that, but still lower in this cycle - the form of a bond-slave, a bond-slave man. A bond-slave is one who has no personal rights; he has no franchies, he has no title. He is not allowed to choose for himself, to go his own way, and much more. Paul says that Jesus took the form of a bond-slave.
And then he goes on to say that 'He humbled Himself, became obedient unto death': and not a glorious death at that, not a death about which people speak in terms of praise and admiration. "Yes", says the Apostle, "death on a cross" - the most shameful, ignominious death, with all that that meant. You see, the Jewish world, the religious world, of that day, had it written in their Book that he that hangs upon a tree is cursed of God. Jesus was obedient to the point of being found in the place of one who is cursed of God. That is how they looked upon Him - as cursed of God. And as for the rest of the world, the Gentile world, their whole conception of that which should be worshiped was one who could never be defeated, one who could never be found in a situation which should cause him shame, one who could stand before the world as a success - that was their idea of a god. But here is this Man on the Cross. Is He a success? That is no sign of success. That is no indication of human strength. That is weakness. There is nothing honorable about that - it is disgraceful. That is humanity at its lowest.
And then the cycle is reversed, and the Apostle breaks in here, and says: "Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow"- sooner or later, either gladly to acknowledge Him Lord, or forcedly to do so, sooner or later, in the determinate counsels of Almighty God, it shall be: "and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". What a cycle! What circle! What a triumph! You cannot find triumph fuller or greater than that: and Paul calls that the gospel. It is the good news of Christ's tremendous triumph. He has triumphed in that circle, and all that is included in the triumph is the gospel. We cannot stay to dwell upon it, what He has secured in it. All that is the gospel. But the fact is that in that way Christ has accomplished a tremendous victory. In the whole circle of Heaven and earth, from the highest height to the lowest depth, He has triumphed. Paul finds unspeakable joy in contemplating that. That is what he calls good tidings, the gospel - triumph in Christ.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 15 - Triumph In Paul's Own Spiritual History
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
The Gospel According to Paul # 13
The Gospel According to Paul # 13
A Superlative Vessel and A Superlative Calling
Now this superlative vessel or instrument or people has a superlative or transcendent calling. The Jews had an earthly calling to serve an earthly purpose, a vocation of time on this earth. many believe very strongly that they are yet to serve such a purpose. There are others, and among them outstanding Bible teachers, who believe that the day of the Jew is finished as in the economy of God, and that everything has been transferred to the Church now because of the Jews failure. I am not going go argue that; that does not come into our consideration at all. The fact remains that the Jews were raised up to serve an earthly and temporal purpose in the economy of God. But this Church, eternally saved - eternally chosen, as the Apostle says, in Christ Jesus before the world was - this has a superlative calling to serve the purposes of God in Heaven. It is something timeless, superlative in calling, invocation. It is a tremendous thing that is here.
We have often put it this way, and indeed it is what the Letter to the Ephesians teaches - we have to touch on this in another way presently - that this world, as to its conduct, is influenced by a whole spiritual hierarchy. Even men who have not a great deal of spiritual discernment, men whom we would hardly think of as Christian men, in the essential sense of being born again children of God, have recognized this and admit it: that behind the behavior of this world there is some sinister force, some evil power, some wicked intelligence. They may hesitate to name it, to call it satan, the devil, and so on, but the Bible just calls it that. Behind the course of this world's history, as we know it - behind the wars, the rivalries, the hatred, the bitterness, the cruelty, all the clash and clamor of interests, and everything else - there is an evil intelligence, a power at work, a whole system that is seeking to ruin the glory of God in His creation. And that whole system is here said to be in what is called "the heavenlies", that is, something above the earth, in the very air, if you like, in the very atmosphere. Sometimes you can sense it: sometimes you can almost 'cut the atmosphere with a knife', as we say: sometimes you know there is something in the very air that is wicked, evil. You cannot just put it down to people; there is something behind the people,something about it is very real - sometimes it seems almost tangible, you can almost smell it - something evil and wicked. It is that which is governing this world system and order.
Now what is here in this letter is this, that this Church, eternally conceived, foreknown, chosen, and brought into existence in its beginnings on the day of Pentecost, and growing spiritually through the centuries since - this Church is to take the place of that evil government above this earth. It is to depose it and cast it out of its domain, and itself take that place to be the influence that governs this world in the ages to come. That is the teaching here: a superlative calling, a superlative vocation, because of a superlative people in their very nature. There is something different about them from other people. That is the
secret of the true Christian life - of the true ones in Christ: there is something about them that is different. To this world, Christians are a problem and a conundrum. You cannot put them into any earthly class. You cannot just pigeon-hole a Christian. Somehow or other, they elude you all the time. You cannot make them out.
Now, in this letter Paul speaks first of all of that superlative calling, and then he says that, because of the greatness of that calling, this Church must behave itself accordingly. "I...beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called" (Eph. 4:11). Conduct has to be adjusted to calling. Oh, that Christian people behaved correspondingly to their calling - to their great, eternal, heavenly vocation! But because of this calling, this destiny, this vocation, this position, that mighty evil hierarchy is set to its last ounce to destroy this vessel called the Church, and therefore there is an immense and terrible conflict going on in the air over this thing, and Christians meet it. The more you seek to live according to your calling, the more you realize how difficult it is, and what there is set against you. It is fierce and bitter spiritual conflict.
Superlative Resources
Now, mark you, this is what Paul calls the gospel - all this is the gospel! Did you ever get an idea of the gospel like that? Did you ever think of the gospel in such terms? Yes, it is still the gospel, the same gospel, not another, the same. Now, because all this is true as to the gospel, surely the demands are very great. The reaction of so many, when you say things like this, is" 'Oh, I cannot rise to that - that is altogether beyond me, that is too much for me, that is overpowering, that is overwhelming! Give me the simple gospel!' But I wonder if we realize what we involve ourselves in when we talk like that. For it is just there that the true nature of the gospel comes in, in this whole letter. Yes, the calling is great, is immense; the conduct must be on a high level; the conflict is fierce and bitter. And that makes tremendous demands. If that is the gospel, then how shall we stand up to it, how shall we face it, how shall we rise to it, how shall we get through?
Well, we come back to the phrase to which I am gathering the whole of this letter. It is here: 'goodnews' the unsearchable riches of Christ." It is translated "preach" in our Bibles, but it is the same word, as you know, in the verb form. "To good news the unsearchable riches of Christ." The good news is that the riches are unsearchable! Oh, this is something for us in which to rejoice, being hard pressed, hard put to it; feeling we shall never rise to it, never go through with it. The superlative riches are for a superlative vocation and for a superlative conflict and for superlative conduct.
"Unsearchable riches". Now that is a characteristic word that you find scattered through this letter. Riches! Riches! In chapter one, verse seven, it is "the riches of His grace." That phrase is enlarged in two, verse seven, - "the exceeding riches of His grace." And then in one, verse eighteen, it is the inheritance - "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." That just means that the saints are the inheritance of Jesus Christ and in them, in His Church, He has a tremendous wealth. Now, if He is going to have wealth in this Church, it is He who must supply the wealth, and it is "according to the riches of His grace" that He will find "the riches of His inheritance" in the Church. There is much more said about that. In three, verse sixteen, the word is used again - "the riches of His glory". Riches! Riches! Very well: if the demands are great, there is a great supply. If the need is superlative, the resources are superlative. All this sets forth and indicates the basis and the resources of the Church for its calling, for its conduct, and for its conflict.
So what is 'the gospel according to Paul' in the Letter to the Ephesians? It is the gospel of the 'unsearchable riches' for superlative demands, and when you have said that, you are left swimming in a mighty ocean. God to the letter again, read it carefully through, note it. Yes, there is a high standard here, there are big demands here, tremendous things in view here; but there are also the riches of His grace, the unsearchable riches of His grace for it all. There are the riches of His glory:it is put like this - "according to the riches of His glory." Now, if you can explore, fathom, exhaust, God's riches in glory, then you put a certain limit upon possibilities and potentialities. But if, after you have said all that you have tried to say in human language, as the Apostle did here, you find that you have not got enough superlatives at your command when you are talking about the resources that are in God by Christ Jesus, then everything is possible - according to the riches of His grace and of His glory.
That is a gospel, is it not? Surely that is good tidings, that is good news! And, dear friends, we shall get through - and we ought not just to scrape through. If it is like that, we ought to get through superlatively. The Lord bring us into the good of the superlatives of the gospel, of the good news.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 14 - In His Letter to the Philippians
A Superlative Vessel and A Superlative Calling
Now this superlative vessel or instrument or people has a superlative or transcendent calling. The Jews had an earthly calling to serve an earthly purpose, a vocation of time on this earth. many believe very strongly that they are yet to serve such a purpose. There are others, and among them outstanding Bible teachers, who believe that the day of the Jew is finished as in the economy of God, and that everything has been transferred to the Church now because of the Jews failure. I am not going go argue that; that does not come into our consideration at all. The fact remains that the Jews were raised up to serve an earthly and temporal purpose in the economy of God. But this Church, eternally saved - eternally chosen, as the Apostle says, in Christ Jesus before the world was - this has a superlative calling to serve the purposes of God in Heaven. It is something timeless, superlative in calling, invocation. It is a tremendous thing that is here.
We have often put it this way, and indeed it is what the Letter to the Ephesians teaches - we have to touch on this in another way presently - that this world, as to its conduct, is influenced by a whole spiritual hierarchy. Even men who have not a great deal of spiritual discernment, men whom we would hardly think of as Christian men, in the essential sense of being born again children of God, have recognized this and admit it: that behind the behavior of this world there is some sinister force, some evil power, some wicked intelligence. They may hesitate to name it, to call it satan, the devil, and so on, but the Bible just calls it that. Behind the course of this world's history, as we know it - behind the wars, the rivalries, the hatred, the bitterness, the cruelty, all the clash and clamor of interests, and everything else - there is an evil intelligence, a power at work, a whole system that is seeking to ruin the glory of God in His creation. And that whole system is here said to be in what is called "the heavenlies", that is, something above the earth, in the very air, if you like, in the very atmosphere. Sometimes you can sense it: sometimes you can almost 'cut the atmosphere with a knife', as we say: sometimes you know there is something in the very air that is wicked, evil. You cannot just put it down to people; there is something behind the people,something about it is very real - sometimes it seems almost tangible, you can almost smell it - something evil and wicked. It is that which is governing this world system and order.
Now what is here in this letter is this, that this Church, eternally conceived, foreknown, chosen, and brought into existence in its beginnings on the day of Pentecost, and growing spiritually through the centuries since - this Church is to take the place of that evil government above this earth. It is to depose it and cast it out of its domain, and itself take that place to be the influence that governs this world in the ages to come. That is the teaching here: a superlative calling, a superlative vocation, because of a superlative people in their very nature. There is something different about them from other people. That is the
secret of the true Christian life - of the true ones in Christ: there is something about them that is different. To this world, Christians are a problem and a conundrum. You cannot put them into any earthly class. You cannot just pigeon-hole a Christian. Somehow or other, they elude you all the time. You cannot make them out.
Now, in this letter Paul speaks first of all of that superlative calling, and then he says that, because of the greatness of that calling, this Church must behave itself accordingly. "I...beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called" (Eph. 4:11). Conduct has to be adjusted to calling. Oh, that Christian people behaved correspondingly to their calling - to their great, eternal, heavenly vocation! But because of this calling, this destiny, this vocation, this position, that mighty evil hierarchy is set to its last ounce to destroy this vessel called the Church, and therefore there is an immense and terrible conflict going on in the air over this thing, and Christians meet it. The more you seek to live according to your calling, the more you realize how difficult it is, and what there is set against you. It is fierce and bitter spiritual conflict.
Superlative Resources
Now, mark you, this is what Paul calls the gospel - all this is the gospel! Did you ever get an idea of the gospel like that? Did you ever think of the gospel in such terms? Yes, it is still the gospel, the same gospel, not another, the same. Now, because all this is true as to the gospel, surely the demands are very great. The reaction of so many, when you say things like this, is" 'Oh, I cannot rise to that - that is altogether beyond me, that is too much for me, that is overpowering, that is overwhelming! Give me the simple gospel!' But I wonder if we realize what we involve ourselves in when we talk like that. For it is just there that the true nature of the gospel comes in, in this whole letter. Yes, the calling is great, is immense; the conduct must be on a high level; the conflict is fierce and bitter. And that makes tremendous demands. If that is the gospel, then how shall we stand up to it, how shall we face it, how shall we rise to it, how shall we get through?
Well, we come back to the phrase to which I am gathering the whole of this letter. It is here: 'goodnews' the unsearchable riches of Christ." It is translated "preach" in our Bibles, but it is the same word, as you know, in the verb form. "To good news the unsearchable riches of Christ." The good news is that the riches are unsearchable! Oh, this is something for us in which to rejoice, being hard pressed, hard put to it; feeling we shall never rise to it, never go through with it. The superlative riches are for a superlative vocation and for a superlative conflict and for superlative conduct.
"Unsearchable riches". Now that is a characteristic word that you find scattered through this letter. Riches! Riches! In chapter one, verse seven, it is "the riches of His grace." That phrase is enlarged in two, verse seven, - "the exceeding riches of His grace." And then in one, verse eighteen, it is the inheritance - "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." That just means that the saints are the inheritance of Jesus Christ and in them, in His Church, He has a tremendous wealth. Now, if He is going to have wealth in this Church, it is He who must supply the wealth, and it is "according to the riches of His grace" that He will find "the riches of His inheritance" in the Church. There is much more said about that. In three, verse sixteen, the word is used again - "the riches of His glory". Riches! Riches! Very well: if the demands are great, there is a great supply. If the need is superlative, the resources are superlative. All this sets forth and indicates the basis and the resources of the Church for its calling, for its conduct, and for its conflict.
So what is 'the gospel according to Paul' in the Letter to the Ephesians? It is the gospel of the 'unsearchable riches' for superlative demands, and when you have said that, you are left swimming in a mighty ocean. God to the letter again, read it carefully through, note it. Yes, there is a high standard here, there are big demands here, tremendous things in view here; but there are also the riches of His grace, the unsearchable riches of His grace for it all. There are the riches of His glory:it is put like this - "according to the riches of His glory." Now, if you can explore, fathom, exhaust, God's riches in glory, then you put a certain limit upon possibilities and potentialities. But if, after you have said all that you have tried to say in human language, as the Apostle did here, you find that you have not got enough superlatives at your command when you are talking about the resources that are in God by Christ Jesus, then everything is possible - according to the riches of His grace and of His glory.
That is a gospel, is it not? Surely that is good tidings, that is good news! And, dear friends, we shall get through - and we ought not just to scrape through. If it is like that, we ought to get through superlatively. The Lord bring us into the good of the superlatives of the gospel, of the good news.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 14 - In His Letter to the Philippians
Sunday, July 16, 2017
The Gospel According to Paul # 12
The Gospel According to Paul # 12
A Letter of Superlatives, continued -
Further, this letter is the letter of the superlative in content. How to approach and explain that is exceedingly difficult. You see, some of us have been speaking, giving talks, giving addresses, about this letter to the Ephesians - and it is only a little letter so far as actual chapters or words are concerned - for over forty years, and we have not got near it yet. I defy you to exhaust the content of this letter. It does not matter how long you go in with it - you will always feel, 'I have not begun to approach that yet'. I know what some of you think about me over this letter. I am almost afraid to mention the very name of "Ephesians"! Even as I have once again meditated over this letter at the present time, I have been saying to myself: 'I would like to start now to give a long, long series of messages on the Letter to the Ephesians, and I should not touch much of the old ground!' It is like that. But when you look into it and consider it, you find that you are in the realm of superlatives so far as contents are concerned, and it begins with 'hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ". Can you get above or outside that. You cannot!
Again, it is in the realm of the super-mundane. The earth here becomes a very small thing, and all that goes on in it. All its history and all that is here becomes very small indeed. The earth is completely transcended.
It is super-racial, as we shall see in a moment. It is not just dealing with one or two races. It is all one race here.
It is super-natural. Look again, and you find that everything here is on a plane that is altogether above the natural. You cannot naturally grasp it, comprehend it, explain it. It is Divine revelation. It is by "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation". That is super-natural. The knowledge that is here is super-naturally obtained.
And what more shall I say about the 'super'? The list could very easily be extended. Have I said enough? Can I go on pointing out in what a realm this is, what a range? You see, you have some very great words here. I give you three of them.
"Unto me, who am less than least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ".
This letter is written in terms of the unsearchable, the untraceable.
"...and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God" (3:19)
"The knowledge-surpassing love of Christ". Here we have the incomprehensible.
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." (3:20).
Here is the transcendental. These are big words, but you need big words throughout for this letter, and I am seeking to make an impression upon you.
The Greatest Crisis to Religious History
Now, let us come more to the inward side of this. This letter, in its content, represents perhaps the greatest crisis in religious history. That is saying a great deal. There have been many crisis in religious history, and very big ones, but this letter represents the greatest of them all. Before the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven, and the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, there were only two classes of people on the earth. The whole of the human race was divided into two classes of people, the Gentiles and the Jews. When the Holy Spirit came,a third class came into being which, from God's standpoint, is neither Gentile nor Jew: it is the Church of God. They are taken out of the nations of Gentiles and taken out from among the Jews, but, so far as God is concerned, they are neither Jew nor Gentile, or as Paul puts it, "neither Jew nor Greek" (Gal. 3:28). "Greek" was a representative word comprehending the Gentiles. When the Lord Jesus comes again, as He is coming, and takes the Church away, the two others will remain here. There will be a reversion in the earth to what was before. The whole world will be divided again into Gentiles and Jews.
So this that came into being on the day of Pentecost, this third and spiritually quite separate class of people called the Church, represents the greatest of all crises in human history for this reason, and in this way - that that Church is NOT something just of earthly history. The Apostle makes it perfectly clear, right at the beginning of this Ephesian letter, that this Church had its existence in the foreknowledge of God before the world was. This Church is a super-temporal thing, transcending all time and transcending the earth. This Church, the Apostle makes clear, will be there in the ages of the ages,still super-temporal, super-earthly, when Jews and Gentiles go on. Yes, there will be saved nations in the earth: but this other goes on in a relationship which is altogether outside of this world and outside of time; and it is concerning this particular class, this people, this Church, that all these things are said in this letter. It is this Church which takes the character of all these superlatives. This is itself something superlative, this is the supreme thing in the economy of God, this is the supreme thing in all God's sovereign activities from eternity to eternity. We live in the dispensation of something absolutely transcendent - God taking out of the nations, both Jew and Gentile, this people called the Church, which is "the body of Christ."
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 13 - A Superlative Vessel and A Superlative Calling
A Letter of Superlatives, continued -
Further, this letter is the letter of the superlative in content. How to approach and explain that is exceedingly difficult. You see, some of us have been speaking, giving talks, giving addresses, about this letter to the Ephesians - and it is only a little letter so far as actual chapters or words are concerned - for over forty years, and we have not got near it yet. I defy you to exhaust the content of this letter. It does not matter how long you go in with it - you will always feel, 'I have not begun to approach that yet'. I know what some of you think about me over this letter. I am almost afraid to mention the very name of "Ephesians"! Even as I have once again meditated over this letter at the present time, I have been saying to myself: 'I would like to start now to give a long, long series of messages on the Letter to the Ephesians, and I should not touch much of the old ground!' It is like that. But when you look into it and consider it, you find that you are in the realm of superlatives so far as contents are concerned, and it begins with 'hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ". Can you get above or outside that. You cannot!
Again, it is in the realm of the super-mundane. The earth here becomes a very small thing, and all that goes on in it. All its history and all that is here becomes very small indeed. The earth is completely transcended.
It is super-racial, as we shall see in a moment. It is not just dealing with one or two races. It is all one race here.
It is super-natural. Look again, and you find that everything here is on a plane that is altogether above the natural. You cannot naturally grasp it, comprehend it, explain it. It is Divine revelation. It is by "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation". That is super-natural. The knowledge that is here is super-naturally obtained.
And what more shall I say about the 'super'? The list could very easily be extended. Have I said enough? Can I go on pointing out in what a realm this is, what a range? You see, you have some very great words here. I give you three of them.
"Unto me, who am less than least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ".
This letter is written in terms of the unsearchable, the untraceable.
"...and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God" (3:19)
"The knowledge-surpassing love of Christ". Here we have the incomprehensible.
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." (3:20).
Here is the transcendental. These are big words, but you need big words throughout for this letter, and I am seeking to make an impression upon you.
The Greatest Crisis to Religious History
Now, let us come more to the inward side of this. This letter, in its content, represents perhaps the greatest crisis in religious history. That is saying a great deal. There have been many crisis in religious history, and very big ones, but this letter represents the greatest of them all. Before the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and went to heaven, and the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, there were only two classes of people on the earth. The whole of the human race was divided into two classes of people, the Gentiles and the Jews. When the Holy Spirit came,a third class came into being which, from God's standpoint, is neither Gentile nor Jew: it is the Church of God. They are taken out of the nations of Gentiles and taken out from among the Jews, but, so far as God is concerned, they are neither Jew nor Gentile, or as Paul puts it, "neither Jew nor Greek" (Gal. 3:28). "Greek" was a representative word comprehending the Gentiles. When the Lord Jesus comes again, as He is coming, and takes the Church away, the two others will remain here. There will be a reversion in the earth to what was before. The whole world will be divided again into Gentiles and Jews.
So this that came into being on the day of Pentecost, this third and spiritually quite separate class of people called the Church, represents the greatest of all crises in human history for this reason, and in this way - that that Church is NOT something just of earthly history. The Apostle makes it perfectly clear, right at the beginning of this Ephesian letter, that this Church had its existence in the foreknowledge of God before the world was. This Church is a super-temporal thing, transcending all time and transcending the earth. This Church, the Apostle makes clear, will be there in the ages of the ages,still super-temporal, super-earthly, when Jews and Gentiles go on. Yes, there will be saved nations in the earth: but this other goes on in a relationship which is altogether outside of this world and outside of time; and it is concerning this particular class, this people, this Church, that all these things are said in this letter. It is this Church which takes the character of all these superlatives. This is itself something superlative, this is the supreme thing in the economy of God, this is the supreme thing in all God's sovereign activities from eternity to eternity. We live in the dispensation of something absolutely transcendent - God taking out of the nations, both Jew and Gentile, this people called the Church, which is "the body of Christ."
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 13 - A Superlative Vessel and A Superlative Calling
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
The Gospel According to Paul # 11
The Gospel According to Paul # 11
The Work of the Holy Spirit Within, continued -
The Apostle speaks about the fruit of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22,23). The Spirit, you see, is inside, and He is the Spirit of Christ within to cause that the fruits of Christ shall be born in us, or, shall we say, the fruit of Christ which shows itself in all these many ways. The fruit of Christ is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control," the fruit of the mighty energy of the Spirit of Christ within.
And what about law? Yes, the Spirit works according to law. Before he is through, the Apostle says that tremendous thing, that terrible thing: 'Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall be also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life' (Gal. 6:7, 8). The law of the Spirit, you see, is this. Sow, and you reap: what you sow, you reap. Sow to the Spirit, and you reap life everlasting. If you sow to the Spirit - that is only saying, in figurative language. If you conform to the Spirit's energy, the Spirit's law, the Spirit's government, or to Christ in you - you will reap Christ, you will reap life. There is a law here, and 'free from the Law' does not mean that we are set free from any necessity for recognizing that God has constituted His universe, our bodies and souls, upon principles; but it does mean this, that Christ in us makes it possible for us to obey the principles, whereas otherwise we should be violating them all the time.
"The gospel which I preach", says Paul: 'after all, it amounts to this - after all your arguments about legalism and Judaizers and the rest, it amounts to this: "Christ liveth in me". That is good news, that is hope - everything is possible!
In His Letter to the Ephesians
Read: Ephesians 1:13; 3:6,7; 6:15; 6:19, 20
When we come to consider the Gospel according to Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians, we find that we have the word "gospel" in the noun form four times. We have it also, on one or two other occasions, in verb form, as in chapter two, verse seventeen -
"...and He came and preached peace to you that were far off..."
You notice the margin says "preached good tidings of peace". Now that is just an English way of juggling with a Greek word. The Geek word is the verb of which 'the gospel' is the noun; and, as I have tried to point out before, what it really says - it cannot be translated literally into English - is: "came and good-tidinged or good-newsed peace". That is impossible in English, but it is just the verb of the noun "gospel". It occurs again in chapter three, verse eight -
"...to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ..." - that is, "to good news unto the Gentiles, "to proclaim unto the Gentiles the good tidings of..." It is the verb again for "gospel". I think that gives us ground for saying that this letter is about the gospel!
Many people have the idea that when you reach the Letter to the Ephesians you have left the gospel behind, you are further on than the gospel, you must really now have got a long way beyond the gospel. I do not think we can get further than this letter, so far as Divine revelation is concerned: as we shall see, it takes us a very long way indeed in Divine things; but it is still the gospel. The gospel is something very vast, very comprehensive, very far-reaching indeed.
A Letter of Superlatives
This leads us to note that the Letter to the Ephesians is the letter of superlatives. An expressive adjective has come into vogue of recent years, by which people try to convey the idea that a thing is very great, or of the highest quality. They say it is a "super." Now here, in this letter, everything is - may I use the word? - "super!" The whole letter is written in terms of what is superlative; and I must take it for granted that you can recall something of what is here. Superlatives relate to almost everything in this letter.
There is the superlative of time. Time is altogether transcended: we are taken into the realm of timelessness. By this letter we are taken back into eternity past, before the foundation of the world, and on into eternity to come, unto the ages of the ages. It is the superlative of time - transcending time.
There is the superlative of space. One phrase runs through this letter - "in the heavenlies". When you come into the heavenlies, you are just amazed at the immensity of the expanse. In the natural realm that is true, is it not, even of the very limited 'earthly heavens', as represented by the earth's atmosphere. If you travel a good deal by air, you pas through the airports and see the planes coming and going, coming and going, every few minutes, all day long and all night long and day after day - and yet when you get up into the air you rarely meet another plane. It is quite an event to pass another plane in the air, so vast are the heavens in their expanse. And this letter is written in the realm of the superlatives of space, in the spiritual heavenlies, altogether above the limitations of earth.
Again, it is written in terms of the superlative of power. There is one clause here, to familiar to us, which touches that: 'the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe" (Eph. 1:19). There is much about that power, superlative power,and its operation, in this letter.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 12)
The Work of the Holy Spirit Within, continued -
The Apostle speaks about the fruit of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22,23). The Spirit, you see, is inside, and He is the Spirit of Christ within to cause that the fruits of Christ shall be born in us, or, shall we say, the fruit of Christ which shows itself in all these many ways. The fruit of Christ is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control," the fruit of the mighty energy of the Spirit of Christ within.
And what about law? Yes, the Spirit works according to law. Before he is through, the Apostle says that tremendous thing, that terrible thing: 'Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall be also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life' (Gal. 6:7, 8). The law of the Spirit, you see, is this. Sow, and you reap: what you sow, you reap. Sow to the Spirit, and you reap life everlasting. If you sow to the Spirit - that is only saying, in figurative language. If you conform to the Spirit's energy, the Spirit's law, the Spirit's government, or to Christ in you - you will reap Christ, you will reap life. There is a law here, and 'free from the Law' does not mean that we are set free from any necessity for recognizing that God has constituted His universe, our bodies and souls, upon principles; but it does mean this, that Christ in us makes it possible for us to obey the principles, whereas otherwise we should be violating them all the time.
"The gospel which I preach", says Paul: 'after all, it amounts to this - after all your arguments about legalism and Judaizers and the rest, it amounts to this: "Christ liveth in me". That is good news, that is hope - everything is possible!
In His Letter to the Ephesians
Read: Ephesians 1:13; 3:6,7; 6:15; 6:19, 20
When we come to consider the Gospel according to Paul in the Letter to the Ephesians, we find that we have the word "gospel" in the noun form four times. We have it also, on one or two other occasions, in verb form, as in chapter two, verse seventeen -
"...and He came and preached peace to you that were far off..."
You notice the margin says "preached good tidings of peace". Now that is just an English way of juggling with a Greek word. The Geek word is the verb of which 'the gospel' is the noun; and, as I have tried to point out before, what it really says - it cannot be translated literally into English - is: "came and good-tidinged or good-newsed peace". That is impossible in English, but it is just the verb of the noun "gospel". It occurs again in chapter three, verse eight -
"...to preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ..." - that is, "to good news unto the Gentiles, "to proclaim unto the Gentiles the good tidings of..." It is the verb again for "gospel". I think that gives us ground for saying that this letter is about the gospel!
Many people have the idea that when you reach the Letter to the Ephesians you have left the gospel behind, you are further on than the gospel, you must really now have got a long way beyond the gospel. I do not think we can get further than this letter, so far as Divine revelation is concerned: as we shall see, it takes us a very long way indeed in Divine things; but it is still the gospel. The gospel is something very vast, very comprehensive, very far-reaching indeed.
A Letter of Superlatives
This leads us to note that the Letter to the Ephesians is the letter of superlatives. An expressive adjective has come into vogue of recent years, by which people try to convey the idea that a thing is very great, or of the highest quality. They say it is a "super." Now here, in this letter, everything is - may I use the word? - "super!" The whole letter is written in terms of what is superlative; and I must take it for granted that you can recall something of what is here. Superlatives relate to almost everything in this letter.
There is the superlative of time. Time is altogether transcended: we are taken into the realm of timelessness. By this letter we are taken back into eternity past, before the foundation of the world, and on into eternity to come, unto the ages of the ages. It is the superlative of time - transcending time.
There is the superlative of space. One phrase runs through this letter - "in the heavenlies". When you come into the heavenlies, you are just amazed at the immensity of the expanse. In the natural realm that is true, is it not, even of the very limited 'earthly heavens', as represented by the earth's atmosphere. If you travel a good deal by air, you pas through the airports and see the planes coming and going, coming and going, every few minutes, all day long and all night long and day after day - and yet when you get up into the air you rarely meet another plane. It is quite an event to pass another plane in the air, so vast are the heavens in their expanse. And this letter is written in the realm of the superlatives of space, in the spiritual heavenlies, altogether above the limitations of earth.
Again, it is written in terms of the superlative of power. There is one clause here, to familiar to us, which touches that: 'the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe" (Eph. 1:19). There is much about that power, superlative power,and its operation, in this letter.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 12)
Friday, July 7, 2017
The Gospel According to Paul # 10
The Gospel According to Paul # 10
Christ Within - The Knowledge of the Will of God
We would like to have all understanding in our mind, all knowledge and intelligence in our reason. We have not got it, but we have another kind of intelligence. The true child of God has another kind of intelligence, altogether different from that which is of the reason. We do not know how to explain and interpret it, but somehow we know. We can only say, "We know". We know what the Lord does not want where we are concerned. We find it impossible to be comfortable along any line that the Lord does not want, and we come to the position so often. We put it in different ways, but we have to say, 'I know the Lord does not want me to do that, to go that way, it is as deep in me as anything. To do it would be to violate something that relates to my very life with God.'
That is on the negative side. And on the positive, if the Lord really wants something, we know it, in spite of everything, we know it. If only we will wait for that, it will be so sure. The trouble is that we cannot wait for the Lord; we get into such tangles over these problems of guidance. But when the Lord's time comes, there is no question about it at all: we know. How do we know? It is spiritual knowledge, it is spiritual intelligence. It is Christ dwelling within, in possession of all the mind of God.
Now, here are these poor Galatian Christians, torn between the Judaizers and Paul. They do not know what to make of this. These, on the one side, are so strong about their line of things; and on the other hand, here is Paul,saying that they are all wrong! What are they to do? The answer comes: 'If Christ is in you, you will know - you will know what you ought to do'. And that is the only real way of knowing what you ought to do - what is right, and what is wrong: Christ in you. But you WILL know.
Christ Within The Power of Endurance
Now you say, 'I have not realized that. I do not feel that, I do not see that; I have not got all that intelligence. I do not sense all that power'. You see, as Paul is always trying to point out, there is such a great difference between the human kind of knowledge and spiritual knowledge. We have knowledge of this kind, not by information, but by experience.
Some of us have been on the Christian way for many years. If it had been left to me, should we be still going on with the Lord? If we had had to carry on struggle through, fight it out, on our own resources, should we still be here? I think I can say for you as for myself, Certainly not! We would not be here today; we should not be rejoicing in the Lord, going on with the Lord. If satan could have had his way, we should not be here,for both in ourselves and in satan we have found every conceivable thing inimical to Christ, to make it impossible for us to go on with the Lord. Everything in our own selves is against us, and everything that he can use is thrown into the battle for our undoing.
But we are here, and that is the proof that Christ in us is a living power, and it is found - thought not yet in fullness - in experience, in fact, and not just in our sensing it. We would like to have the sensations of this great power, to feel it; but no, there is often the hiding of His power, and it only comes out in facts - often in quite long-term facts.
The Disposition of Christ Within
Power, intelligence, knowledge: and then disposition. This is one of the realities of the Christian life. When Christ is within, we have a different disposition altogether. We are disposed to new things, disposed in new ways. Yes, our disposition has changed. The things which we once found to be our life no longer draw us to them. We are not disposed to them any longer. This is the world's problem with the Christian: 'Why do you not do this, that and the other?' And the only answer we can give, but which never satisfied them, is, 'I have lost all disposition for that sort of thing: I am no loner disposed that way: I have a disposition in another direction altogether.' It is like that: another disposition - Christ within. That is Christianity!
You see, Moses says, 'You have got to do this,and you have got to do that, and you must not do this, and you must not do that'; and my disposition is altogether against Moses. Moses says, 'You must do this' - I do not want to do it; it may be quite right, it may have come from God, but I just do not find it in my nature, in my disposition to do it. Moses said, 'I must not do this', and my disposition says, 'I want to do that - that is just the every thing that I do want to do!' Somehow or other, in myself I am just across God in every way.
What is the solution to the Law? Christ in you. If Christ is in you, then you will be disposed to do what God wants you to do, and you will fulfill the Law. If Christ is in you, you will have no disposition for doing what God does not want you to do, and you will again fulfill the Law. But, you see, you fulfill it on another basis altogether. You fulfill it, not because Moses said it, but because Christ is in you; not because you must, but because Christ gives you another disposition. This is the gospel, the good news, of the indwelling of Christ.
The Work of the Holy Spirit Within
Now, when you turn to the teaching about the Holy Spirit in this letter, you find that it comes to the same thing. Christ in you is the Holy Spirit's standard, and He is working in you on the basis of the indwelling Christ to bring you into line with Christ, to build you up according to the Christ Who is in you. The Holy Spirit is the energy of Christ within, the energy to make us Christ-like, to enable us to be like Christ, and therefore to be fulfillers of everything that is right in the sight of God, and shunners of everything that is not right in the sight of God. There is an energy by the Holy Spirit to do this.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 11)
Christ Within - The Knowledge of the Will of God
We would like to have all understanding in our mind, all knowledge and intelligence in our reason. We have not got it, but we have another kind of intelligence. The true child of God has another kind of intelligence, altogether different from that which is of the reason. We do not know how to explain and interpret it, but somehow we know. We can only say, "We know". We know what the Lord does not want where we are concerned. We find it impossible to be comfortable along any line that the Lord does not want, and we come to the position so often. We put it in different ways, but we have to say, 'I know the Lord does not want me to do that, to go that way, it is as deep in me as anything. To do it would be to violate something that relates to my very life with God.'
That is on the negative side. And on the positive, if the Lord really wants something, we know it, in spite of everything, we know it. If only we will wait for that, it will be so sure. The trouble is that we cannot wait for the Lord; we get into such tangles over these problems of guidance. But when the Lord's time comes, there is no question about it at all: we know. How do we know? It is spiritual knowledge, it is spiritual intelligence. It is Christ dwelling within, in possession of all the mind of God.
Now, here are these poor Galatian Christians, torn between the Judaizers and Paul. They do not know what to make of this. These, on the one side, are so strong about their line of things; and on the other hand, here is Paul,saying that they are all wrong! What are they to do? The answer comes: 'If Christ is in you, you will know - you will know what you ought to do'. And that is the only real way of knowing what you ought to do - what is right, and what is wrong: Christ in you. But you WILL know.
Christ Within The Power of Endurance
Now you say, 'I have not realized that. I do not feel that, I do not see that; I have not got all that intelligence. I do not sense all that power'. You see, as Paul is always trying to point out, there is such a great difference between the human kind of knowledge and spiritual knowledge. We have knowledge of this kind, not by information, but by experience.
Some of us have been on the Christian way for many years. If it had been left to me, should we be still going on with the Lord? If we had had to carry on struggle through, fight it out, on our own resources, should we still be here? I think I can say for you as for myself, Certainly not! We would not be here today; we should not be rejoicing in the Lord, going on with the Lord. If satan could have had his way, we should not be here,for both in ourselves and in satan we have found every conceivable thing inimical to Christ, to make it impossible for us to go on with the Lord. Everything in our own selves is against us, and everything that he can use is thrown into the battle for our undoing.
But we are here, and that is the proof that Christ in us is a living power, and it is found - thought not yet in fullness - in experience, in fact, and not just in our sensing it. We would like to have the sensations of this great power, to feel it; but no, there is often the hiding of His power, and it only comes out in facts - often in quite long-term facts.
The Disposition of Christ Within
Power, intelligence, knowledge: and then disposition. This is one of the realities of the Christian life. When Christ is within, we have a different disposition altogether. We are disposed to new things, disposed in new ways. Yes, our disposition has changed. The things which we once found to be our life no longer draw us to them. We are not disposed to them any longer. This is the world's problem with the Christian: 'Why do you not do this, that and the other?' And the only answer we can give, but which never satisfied them, is, 'I have lost all disposition for that sort of thing: I am no loner disposed that way: I have a disposition in another direction altogether.' It is like that: another disposition - Christ within. That is Christianity!
You see, Moses says, 'You have got to do this,and you have got to do that, and you must not do this, and you must not do that'; and my disposition is altogether against Moses. Moses says, 'You must do this' - I do not want to do it; it may be quite right, it may have come from God, but I just do not find it in my nature, in my disposition to do it. Moses said, 'I must not do this', and my disposition says, 'I want to do that - that is just the every thing that I do want to do!' Somehow or other, in myself I am just across God in every way.
What is the solution to the Law? Christ in you. If Christ is in you, then you will be disposed to do what God wants you to do, and you will fulfill the Law. If Christ is in you, you will have no disposition for doing what God does not want you to do, and you will again fulfill the Law. But, you see, you fulfill it on another basis altogether. You fulfill it, not because Moses said it, but because Christ is in you; not because you must, but because Christ gives you another disposition. This is the gospel, the good news, of the indwelling of Christ.
The Work of the Holy Spirit Within
Now, when you turn to the teaching about the Holy Spirit in this letter, you find that it comes to the same thing. Christ in you is the Holy Spirit's standard, and He is working in you on the basis of the indwelling Christ to bring you into line with Christ, to build you up according to the Christ Who is in you. The Holy Spirit is the energy of Christ within, the energy to make us Christ-like, to enable us to be like Christ, and therefore to be fulfillers of everything that is right in the sight of God, and shunners of everything that is not right in the sight of God. There is an energy by the Holy Spirit to do this.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 11)
Sunday, July 2, 2017
The Gospel According to Paul # 9
The Gospel According to Paul # 9
The Answer to the Situation
Now, in the letter we may feel that there is much mysterious material. For instance, in drawing upon Old Testament types, Paul uses an allegory the incident of Hagar and Ishmael. We know the details; we are not going into that at all. There seems to be a lot of mysterious material that Paul is using for his argument. But when we have read it all through and considered it and felt the impact of it, what does it all amount to? When we have studied this and been impressed with its seriousness, what is it that we are left with? Is it that a dispensation of liberty in that respect has been introduced, and that its principles are no longer binding upon us? Is that just the position? Is it that Christianity is something without obligations as to truth and as to practice? Is it that grace will override all our breaking of laws and violating of principles? - a false interpretation of grace indeed! - but is it that? What is it?
You see, it is possible to grasp very truly the value of a letter like this, but for it to remain, after all, just a theological matter, a mere matter of doctrine. Yes, the Letter to the Galatians teaches that we are no longer under the Law of Moses, and that we are free as children of God. Very nice, very beautiful! But where is that going to lead you? What does it amount to? All that is negative.
I wonder - and this is the whole point just now - I wonder how many of us are really living in the enjoyment of the secret and heart of the gospel, as it is presented in this letter. Paul is saying much here about the gospel or the good tidings. What really is the gospel, or the good tidings, as found here in this letter and in this particular connection? After all, it is not just that Christians want to be 'liberated' - freed from all restraints, from all bondage and all obligations, just to do as they like, follow their own inclinations. That is not it at all. You and I want to know something more positive than that. We cannot be satisfied with mere negatives.
Christ Within
What does the gospel amount to here? Paul says, 'This is the gospel'. It is summarized in one fragment of this letter, a very well-known passage of Scripture, at which we all rejoice - Galatians two, verse twenty: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." This is the gospel, the good tidings, of the INDWELLING CHRIST. This is the heart of the whole matter, this is the answer to the whole argument, this settles all the questions, this deals with all the difficulties - the gospel, the good news, of the indwelling Christ.
And when you think of it, this is the most vital and fundamental factor in Christianity. No wonder Paul saw that, if this was sacrificed, Christianity went for nothing: the Judaizers had carried everything away; Christianity had become of no meaning at all. He was fighting, therefore, for Christianity on one point only - but one which included the whole. The whole was wrapped up and bound with this: 'Christ 'liveth' in me." If that is true, you do not need to argue about anything at all; all the argument is settled.
"Christ liveth in me." CHRIST! Who is Christ? What does Christ mean? What does He embody? Why, everything that satisfies God is found in Christ! In His Son Jesus Christ, God has His full,final, complete answer. Christ can stand up to every demand of God, and has done so. Christ can bring the full and complete favor of God wherever He is. Oh, we could stay long with that - what Christ is, how great Christ is, how wonderful Christ is! And "Christ liveth in me"! Christ, that Christ of the eternal glory, that Christ of the self-emptying, humiliation, that Christ of the triumphant life, that Christ of the mighty Cross, of the resurrection, of the return to glory, and of the enthronement now, is in you and in me! What more can we want - what more could we have - what greater thing than that?
The Power of Christ Within
Now Christ is an actual, living Person: not an abstract idea, an historical figure, but an actual, living Person. "Christ liveth in me". I do not wear a crucifix of a dead Christ on the outside. I have a living Christ within, the good news of a living Christ inside. You can read that, or hear it said, and you can nod your head and say, 'Yes, Amen': you agree with that! But I have known people to hear that for years, and agree with it as heartily as you do- and then one day to wake up to it. 'You know, after all I have heard about that, I have only just come to realize that it is true that Christ really lives in me! It is something more than the doctrine of Christ in me!' It is something more than the doctrine of Christ within - it is the "experience."
Paul focuses his whole story as a Christian and as a servant of God upon that one thing. 'God has shined in my heart' (2 Cor. 4:6). 'It pleased God, Who separated me from my birth, to reveal His Son in me' (Gal. 1:11-12). How did it come? Not only objectively and outwardly, but inwardly. 'God has shines within'. "Christ liveth in me". The most startling thing that has ever happened to a man in the course of human history was that which happened to Saul of Tarsus on that noonday when he realized that Jesus Of Nazareth, Who he thought was done with, dead and buried, was alive, "alive", "alive", actually alive. Remember how very alive He was. And Paul says: "That One liveth - and not only in the glory - He liveth in me, IN ME!' A living Person, a living actual power with, yes, a real power inside, is Christ.
The Intelligence of Christ Within
Furthermore, He is a real Intelligence, Who possesses the full knowledge of all that God wants, and, possessing that, dwelling within me, is the repository and vehicle of God's full will for my life. Full intelligence by Christ within! All the knowledge that Christ possesses is within, and if that is true, if Christ is within - the Apostle, of course, is speaking here not only about Christ within, but much about the Holy Spirit, to which we will come presently - if the indwelling Christ has His way, then that which He is becomes actual in the life of the child of God: the fact that He is a living Person, the fact that He is a mighty power, the fact that He is a full, Divine Intelligence.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 10 - Christ Within - The Knowledge of the Will of God
The Answer to the Situation
Now, in the letter we may feel that there is much mysterious material. For instance, in drawing upon Old Testament types, Paul uses an allegory the incident of Hagar and Ishmael. We know the details; we are not going into that at all. There seems to be a lot of mysterious material that Paul is using for his argument. But when we have read it all through and considered it and felt the impact of it, what does it all amount to? When we have studied this and been impressed with its seriousness, what is it that we are left with? Is it that a dispensation of liberty in that respect has been introduced, and that its principles are no longer binding upon us? Is that just the position? Is it that Christianity is something without obligations as to truth and as to practice? Is it that grace will override all our breaking of laws and violating of principles? - a false interpretation of grace indeed! - but is it that? What is it?
You see, it is possible to grasp very truly the value of a letter like this, but for it to remain, after all, just a theological matter, a mere matter of doctrine. Yes, the Letter to the Galatians teaches that we are no longer under the Law of Moses, and that we are free as children of God. Very nice, very beautiful! But where is that going to lead you? What does it amount to? All that is negative.
I wonder - and this is the whole point just now - I wonder how many of us are really living in the enjoyment of the secret and heart of the gospel, as it is presented in this letter. Paul is saying much here about the gospel or the good tidings. What really is the gospel, or the good tidings, as found here in this letter and in this particular connection? After all, it is not just that Christians want to be 'liberated' - freed from all restraints, from all bondage and all obligations, just to do as they like, follow their own inclinations. That is not it at all. You and I want to know something more positive than that. We cannot be satisfied with mere negatives.
Christ Within
What does the gospel amount to here? Paul says, 'This is the gospel'. It is summarized in one fragment of this letter, a very well-known passage of Scripture, at which we all rejoice - Galatians two, verse twenty: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." This is the gospel, the good tidings, of the INDWELLING CHRIST. This is the heart of the whole matter, this is the answer to the whole argument, this settles all the questions, this deals with all the difficulties - the gospel, the good news, of the indwelling Christ.
And when you think of it, this is the most vital and fundamental factor in Christianity. No wonder Paul saw that, if this was sacrificed, Christianity went for nothing: the Judaizers had carried everything away; Christianity had become of no meaning at all. He was fighting, therefore, for Christianity on one point only - but one which included the whole. The whole was wrapped up and bound with this: 'Christ 'liveth' in me." If that is true, you do not need to argue about anything at all; all the argument is settled.
"Christ liveth in me." CHRIST! Who is Christ? What does Christ mean? What does He embody? Why, everything that satisfies God is found in Christ! In His Son Jesus Christ, God has His full,final, complete answer. Christ can stand up to every demand of God, and has done so. Christ can bring the full and complete favor of God wherever He is. Oh, we could stay long with that - what Christ is, how great Christ is, how wonderful Christ is! And "Christ liveth in me"! Christ, that Christ of the eternal glory, that Christ of the self-emptying, humiliation, that Christ of the triumphant life, that Christ of the mighty Cross, of the resurrection, of the return to glory, and of the enthronement now, is in you and in me! What more can we want - what more could we have - what greater thing than that?
The Power of Christ Within
Now Christ is an actual, living Person: not an abstract idea, an historical figure, but an actual, living Person. "Christ liveth in me". I do not wear a crucifix of a dead Christ on the outside. I have a living Christ within, the good news of a living Christ inside. You can read that, or hear it said, and you can nod your head and say, 'Yes, Amen': you agree with that! But I have known people to hear that for years, and agree with it as heartily as you do- and then one day to wake up to it. 'You know, after all I have heard about that, I have only just come to realize that it is true that Christ really lives in me! It is something more than the doctrine of Christ in me!' It is something more than the doctrine of Christ within - it is the "experience."
Paul focuses his whole story as a Christian and as a servant of God upon that one thing. 'God has shined in my heart' (2 Cor. 4:6). 'It pleased God, Who separated me from my birth, to reveal His Son in me' (Gal. 1:11-12). How did it come? Not only objectively and outwardly, but inwardly. 'God has shines within'. "Christ liveth in me". The most startling thing that has ever happened to a man in the course of human history was that which happened to Saul of Tarsus on that noonday when he realized that Jesus Of Nazareth, Who he thought was done with, dead and buried, was alive, "alive", "alive", actually alive. Remember how very alive He was. And Paul says: "That One liveth - and not only in the glory - He liveth in me, IN ME!' A living Person, a living actual power with, yes, a real power inside, is Christ.
The Intelligence of Christ Within
Furthermore, He is a real Intelligence, Who possesses the full knowledge of all that God wants, and, possessing that, dwelling within me, is the repository and vehicle of God's full will for my life. Full intelligence by Christ within! All the knowledge that Christ possesses is within, and if that is true, if Christ is within - the Apostle, of course, is speaking here not only about Christ within, but much about the Holy Spirit, to which we will come presently - if the indwelling Christ has His way, then that which He is becomes actual in the life of the child of God: the fact that He is a living Person, the fact that He is a mighty power, the fact that He is a full, Divine Intelligence.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 10 - Christ Within - The Knowledge of the Will of God
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