Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

 

On the back cover of this booklet it reads, this booklet expounds an insight into the subject of suffering, As well as the existence of evil, In fact a vast search of many writings on the subject has not found one that takes this approach. To God be the glory for this treasure in Jars of Clay. He gave the author this insight at a time when his beloved wife was suffering excruciating pain, And for a long time the cause and remedy seemed The medical profession. this led him to do a great deal of deep and serious pondering of the subject he was simply unable to be satisfied with the stock answers to the question which tells us that’s suffering serves to:

•  chasing us when we’ve sinned
•  purifies us
•  teaches us patience new line prepares us to sympathize with someone else who’s going through a similar trial

 No, there just had to be a deeper and more positive encouraging purpose to suffering and God certainly must have a good reason to permit the existence of evil.

The author, John Sinclair, has  been engaged in an interim preaching ministry, mostly among those commonly known as “brother assemblies,” since 1986. He and his wife, Suzanne, live in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. Of all the subjects on which John has ministered over the years this seems to be the one that the Lord has chosen to bless most. It is his prayer that the Lord will use this booklet to extend that blessing to many more who are puzzled and troubled by the questions treated. 

THE BASIC ISSUES

Many theologians have said that we just can’t answer Those questions. a young man came to a 19th century British evangelist named Brownlow North after one of his gospel meetings, and said, I have a question for you. If you can answer it, I’ll get saved. “Why does God permit the existence of evil?” Mr. North answered, doubtless in a manner of his own, because he chose to. And if you continue to question and criticize God’s dealings vainly puffed up by your cardinal mind and strive to be wise about what’s written I’ll tell you something more that God will choose to do he will someday choose to put you in hell! That was quite an answer! Then Mr North told The Inquirer to read Romans chapter 9 the great chapter which says that it’s not for us to question God– which asks whether the clay will argue with the Potter about what he is doing with it. The young man got saved! However, Mr North’s answer was about as far as many theologians have gone towards the explanation of why God permits evil. 

We don’t deny that there are many Mysteries that we must leave in God’s hands. Yet I don’t find that God has forbidden us to, nor prevented us from answering the above questions more thoroughly than has been commonly supposed possible. I’ve taken a great deal of inspiration for my personal life in ministry from Jonathan Edwards– perhaps at least partly because of the Great Men of God written from the past, he seems to have been the one whose temperament was most like mine. In a biography of him, John Gerstner says: “Edwards believes in Mysteries too and was quite content to await heaven for the complete and perfect explanation, but he was more inclined to go further in his explanation of mysteries then we’re most other theologians.” I have the same tendency. Though I readily agree that there are many questions that we must leave as mysteries, yet I think we can take these questions a little farther than the way they have commonly been answered.

To God be the glory for what I consider to be an insight that He has given me; and I’m sure I’m not the first one to discover at least many parts of it. It came at a price, and it wasn’t I who paid the price. It was my “Better Half.” It was at a time when she was suffering excruciating pain day-in day-out. It continued for about a year-and-a-half, during which we were referred from specialist to specialist, and could see that we just weren’t getting anywhere. If it hadn’t been for some dear Christian friends who were personally acquainted with the “top brass” of specialists in Montreal, and who interceded to get us in faster, it may well have taken us twice as long to get help. There were many-many Christians praying for my Better Half, including Christians of a variety of theological persuasions, united in prayer. During that time, when I would watch “the dearest on earth to me” writhe in pain by the hour and feel so helpless to do anything about it, I was driven to do a great deal of deep and serious thinking about why God allows saints to suffer. Of course, this applies to any kind of suffering– not only sickness. I was just unable to be satisfied with the “stock answers,” which tell us that saints’ suffering serves to:–

• Chastise them when they’ve sinned. That’s the only answer that Job’s friend was able to come up with.
• Refine and purify their character. That actually isn’t too far removed from the answer of Job’s friends, because it implies that there’s impurity in them, needing to be removed.
• Teach them patience
• Help them sympathize with others who suffer the same kind of trial.

When my Better Half was enduring such dreadful pain, it seemed to me that just had to be some deeper and richer purpose in suffering. One particular problem with the stock answers is that, if God’s purpose in suffering is always to refine and purify the saint, how is it that so often the Saintliest believers seem to be suffering the most? Shouldn’t it, in that case, be the other way around?

While I was pondering the issue, I remembered a recorded Discord I’d once  listened to. Don Richardson, a missionary with the Regional Beyond Missionaries Union delivered it at praise Bible Institute telling of the beginning of his ministry in West Iran. He is the author of several books of which the best known is probably The Peace Child. He also wrote Lord of the Earth, and Eternity in their Hearts. In the recorded discord he pointed out that the central issue in the book of Job is the question: can God win our love without appealing to our selfishness? Satan had contended that he couldn’t. He said I’m not surprised that Job loves God. Who wouldn’t love God who gave him so much? But take it away and see what happens. so God gave Satan permission to try job out and see whether it would result in job’s turning against God as he predicted

 I think many  teachers of the Book of Job have missed that question. They learn from the book that suffering isn’t always chastisement for sin, and that there are unanswerable Mysteries in the ways of god. Yet I don’t remember ever hearing this issue about how God wins our love, raised by anyone but Mr Richardson, who I believe saw it clearly and correctly.

 To each of the stock answers I say, sometimes, but not always; and I’d even go so far as to say, usually not. Furthermore, it seems strange that certain of the stock answers get much attention when the light from The Book of Job gets so little, considering the respective proportion of space they’re given in the Bible. It’s true that God sometimes puts Saints through suffering to refine and to purify their character; but when scripture passage deals with that reason, apart from first Peter 1:6,7? God may send afflictions to teach us patience; but  where is that taught, other than Romans 5:3 and James 2-4? God may send afflictions on us so that we can later sympathize with someone else who’s enduring the same afflictions; but  where do we read of that reason, besides 2 Corinthians 1:3-6? On the other hand, what part of God’s word deals with the reason for our suffering that the present Treatise points out? the entire Book of Job! It will show us that, in most cases of a Saints suffering, the reason had nothing to do with changes needed in the Saints personal life.

 The Book of Job throws tremendous light on the questions of why God created the human race, why he permits evil, and why saints suffer. I think God wants us to pay special attention to that book and that he highlighted for us for that reason. however Scholars tell us that the excellent language in that book, with its vast and Powerful vocabulary and fine literal Style makes it a masterpiece. They have called  its Anonymous author ( with a job himself or somebody else) the “Shakespeare of the Old Testament Hebrew.” I think that God was framing this book so that we would pay peculiar attention to it because it tells us why we’re here.

 Job is also one of the oldest books in the Bible as we would gather from the fact that job offered sacrifices for his family when his children had their birthday party, told of in chapter 1, and job feared that they may have indulged in excess, he offered sacrifices and ask God to forgive them if they had sinned. that’s what fathers did for their family in the times of the patriarchs. we read about (Genesis 12:7,8;13:18;22:12:31-54; 46:1). However, once the law of Moses was enacted, it was the Leviticus priest who offered all sacrifices. That factor therefore seems to date the story of Job as taking place during the time of the patriarch, which makes it one of the oldest books in the New Testament. This book is also one of the longest books in the Bible. There are only five books in the Bible that  contain more chapters than Job Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Many chapters in Job are very long chapters. I’m sure that God didn’t put such a lengthy book in his word to be ignored! we need to  pay a lot more attention to it.

 Yet in spite of the book’s length, its literal excellence, how long we’ve had it, and how much it has been discussed in Bible colleges and seminars and even in secular schools, so few people seem to have fully grasped its message, which tells us why  we are here. Furthermore, even many people who claim to have understood what is commonly deduced from The Book of Job that suffering is not necessarily chastisement for sin– shows inclination towards that error all the same. That is surprising!  

 The puritans, Who are usually so deep, thorough, and accurate theologians,taught that wellbeing Was God’s smile and that trials were his frown. Analyze that for a moment. doesn’t it boil down to the same error that job’s friends made? 

 Sarah Edwards (Jonathan’s wife), when she learned of her husband’s death, wrote to one of her daughters, “May we learn to kiss the rod and lay our hand on our mouth.” Evidently she thought her husband’s death was God’s rod chasing her.

 Look at a couple of well-known hymns. In the hymn, “How firm a foundation,” one stanza speaks of passing through fiery trials and says:  “The Flames shall not hurt thee, I only designed a dross to consume and thy gold to refine. Really? Is that God’s only purpose in putting us through fiery trials? It again boils down to the same error that job’s friends made removing impurities from us. 

Or, you may be familiar with the him peace peace is mine which begins with God’s Almighty arm around me. and the third stanza which speaks of every trial  bringing Christ near, it says, blessed i, then, the hand that’s made it gently, and to heal delighted: is against my sins he fighteth.  Is that right? It is only a matter of God’s fighting against our sin that leads him to put us through trials? Again, this shows how widespread this error is even among those who claim not to believe it, and who recognize that job’s friends made an error! they make the same error, apparently unconsciously.

WHY ARE WE HERE?

Why, then– to answer our most basic question– did God create the human race? We discover it by considering the Book of Job, and the question of whether God can win our love without appealing to our selfishness. before his creation of our universe, God has plenty of opportunity to demonstrate and most of his attributes to angels. he did so in order to inspire them to worship him for whom he was, and for all of his character. he had opportunities to demonstrate his power, his wisdom, his holiness, his justice, his love, and many other attributes. Yet, how could he demonstrate his grace? grace had  no application without sin. and God wanted to demonstrate what Grace can do; but how could that be demonstrated when there was nothing to be gracious about?

Some have challenged the idea. a certain preacher referred to the idea that God permitted sin to enter the world so that he could demonstrate his grace and he explained. “That’s wicked!”However, no less a man than J. N. Darby seems to have realized that Grace couldn’t be exercised when there is no evil. He wrote a book that I’ve only seen in French, which Darby knew very well, and in which he wrote considerably. the English translation of the title of this book would be, new collections of thoughts (“Nouveau recueil de pensėes”). On page 9, about grace, I found this clear statement, “grace cannot be exercised where there is no evil.” 

This tells us that entrance of sin into the world was NOT— as often taught– and an unfortunate interruption of God’s plan which he successfully overcame. rather, it was part of his plan. that does not make God the author of sin, as God didn’t make Lucifer revolt against him and become satan. nor did he make Adam and Eve yield to Satan’s Temptation. Yet it was part of his plan to allow that to happen. We find that very idea in Isaiah chapter 10, where God called the Assyrians “ I’m using you to Jason Israel, but you don’t see it that way.”All that the Assyrians were thinking about was their  imperialism, Wanting to conquer nations. Yet God had allowed Assyria to attack Israel in order to  chastise Israel for their sins.  That shows God sometimes makes the wicked. Another example is God allowing the Persians who were every bit as heathened as the Babylonians, to conquer Babylon in order to free Israel and allow her to return to her own land after the Babylonian captivity. wasn’t God making use of wicked people then? The fall of Man was then a part of God’s plan. and here again some theologians don’t accept the idea. I’ve read a book by a little known author claiming that most Christians put too much attention on  “redemption truth,” and that we ought to be paying more attention to “heritage truth.” he claimed that God’s reason for creating the human race was to have a big family, And that the fall of Man was in unfortunate interruption to the formation of that family, though God and successfully overcame it. I would ask one who makes such a claim, “Why, then, are the four gospels all centered on Christ road to the cross? That’s Redemption truth. Why is it that in Revelation we read of the celebration in heaven that doesn’t say anything about “heritage truth?” I’d rather tell us that the lamb who was put to death is worthy to receive all the praise of the universe because he redeemed Souls from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation. doesn’t this show very clearly that Redemptive truth is  central? No, God’s purpose in creating the human race was for an opportunity to demonstrate the power of His grace. That demonstration would show the devoted love that his grace was able to win from us, as he wanted from job. 

SPIRITUAL CONFLICT AND VICTORY

To make God’s demonstration of Grace possible requires Christ atoning death and Satan tried to keep it from happening. Satan doesn’t like this subject because it shows his Doom he therefore got to work as soon as God had promised that the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 would solve the sin problem; and he tried to prevent it’s fulfillment. he tried twice to cut off the  the Messianic lineage, the human ancestry of Christ, who was to be born to the household of David. he made his first attempt when the wicked Queen Athalian  tried to assassinate the entire Royal family, but Jewish was spared when Jehoiada, the priest, hit him in the temple for 7 years and then made him King (2 Kings chapter 11 and 12.) So, if Hezekiah had died when Isaiah told him he was terminally ill, the Messianic lineages would have been cut off. Satan was trying to prevent Christ from ever being born incarnated. 

Then once Christ was incarnated and born, Satan tried to have him killed. He tried to use King Herod, who was jealous when he learned that a new king had been born. In his attempt to eliminate that king, haired ordered that all the boys in Bethlehem two years old and under be put to death. However God defeated Satan’s Purpose By telling Joseph to take the family to Egypt until Herod’s death (Matthew 2:13- 23.)

I think Satan also attempted to prevent Christ from going to the Cross by Drowning him in the storm at sea. When Christ was crossing the lake of Galilee with his disciples, there came a horrendous storm. Different gospels Call It by different Greek terms and by putting together the terms they used we deduce that it was a tsunami(seismos, Matthew 8”24) and tornado (lailaps, Mark 4:37) combined in one. Here’s why I think Satan sent the storm. The language that many translations use makes Christ’s words to the storm sound very gentle, like the King James version’s peace be still. According to Mark’s account the expression that Christ uses  in addressing the storm was an idiomatic equivalent of “shut up!” (siõpaõ phimoõ, “be muzzled, become dumb.”) I hasten to add that Christ never used the expression when he was addressing human beings he only used it twice in the gospel records. he used it in addressing a demon when a man possessed by it was in the synagogue (Mark 4:39), and in addressing the storm since the storm itself had no moral responsibility, I’m led to think that Satan had sent the storm. and that Christ was addressing Satan through the storm. Of course that does not authorize us to talk that way to Satan or to demons, because the book of Jude warns us not to do that (Jude 9.) Christ could talk that way to Satan and to Demons because he’s God, it could handle them. Herod’s murder of young children in the storm then, are too attempts of Satan to increase life before he went to the cross. 

Satan also tried to disqualify Christ for making atonement for us by inducing him to sin (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13.) Evidently Satan didn’t know that Christ can’t and won’t sin because he wouldn’t have bothered to tempt him. Satan doesn’t know Anymore than of the future God has chosen to reveal to him; :he’s in the same boat as we are in that respect. He’s not omnipotent like God.” 

 Even Satan’s entering into Judas IscariotWas not for the purpose of taking Christ to the cross it was a final desperate attempt to cut him off before he would go. Judas had made an  arrangement with the Jewish religious leaders to betray Christ but the religious leaders had said, not on the feast day, Lester be an uproar among the people (Matthew 26:5.) So Judas wanted to have Christ eliminated secretly by the Jews in a way that  nobody would notice. However, at the fellowship meal proceeding the last passover Christ showed that he knew all about  Judas’s plan; so Judas realized that his betrayal had to be now or never. For that reason he betrayed Christ, but in  a way that spoiled his plan because it led to Christ’s crucifixion by the Romans, a public spectacle. 

This is how all those satanic attempts to have Christ cut off before he went to the Cross failed;  Christ did go to the cross. In doing so, he won the struggle with Satan and died for our redemption. That’s what I believe to be referred to in the reference in First Peter 3:19 to Christ preaching to the spirits in prison. That’s a subject that has been much debated, and many theories proposed. Some say it simply means that the spirits had been disobedient in Noah’s day, and that Christ was in Noah when he preached warnings of the coming judgment to them. it’s bad exegesis, Though to come up with a theory that is made to fit an idea– And yet, “when all is said and done,” it seems like a strange way to “preached to the spirits in prison” in order to communicate that Christ in Noah preached to the sinful world in Noah’s day? Some point out that it’s unthinkable that Christ would have preached to those who had resisted Noah’s warning, and give them a second chance after their death. That’s true. Some say that the preaching was of a condemning nature.Yet the word translated “preach” basically means to proclaim like a herald spreading good news.

Furthermore, while the Scriptures teach us that a human being has a spirit, they never call humans “spirits.” They only call angels–both holy and fallen ones–”spirits.” The “spirits in prison” must therefore be demons. I conclude that what Christ “heralded” to the demons was good news, not to the hearers, but for angels and the redeemed. After Satan had tried so long to keep Christ from going to the Cross, but Christ had gone, Christ went down, between His death and resurrection, to the part of the spirit world where the demons were held (called Tartarus) and announced to them. “I Won!” He had won the battle against Satan and his army, who had been trying to prevent His death to redeem sinners. Satan had again failed in his attempts to prevent the demonstration of what God’s grace could do.

However, though Satan had lost the battle to prevent God’s demonstration of the wonders of His grace, he tried to spoil it. That’s what he tried to do regarding Job. (though Christ hadn’t yet suffered on the Cross in Job’s day–yet because God had already determined that He would, it was “as good as done” in God’s sight). God was presenting Job as a trophy of what His grace could do. Satan tried to spoil that presentation by insisting that Job only loved God because God had blessed him so much. He was saying, “Yes, God won Job’s love by His grace; but that’s not so wonderful after all. Take away all those blessings, and Job will curse God to His face.” So God gave Satan permission to try that out and see whether it would work that way.

GOD’S DESIGN IN SALVATION BY GRACE

The salvation That Christ came to provide is often on the basis of Grace alone, as the true Christian knows. Let’s think about some facts related to that. Basically there are only two religions in the world. I like to tell this to unconverted people who ask,” with all the religions in the world, how can we know which one is true?” They all boil down to two.One of them says, “try hard enough and you’ll have hope of “making it”– to whatever you want to “make it” to. What their followers want to “make it” to, mayVery a great deal–Weather heaven, nirvana, or a utopian society on earth;  but it’s basically the same idea. The truth, on the other hand, says, “Trust in the merits of Christ atoning death.”  We could call all false hopes  “Do religion,”whereas the truth is the “DONE religion.”  Man-made religion say, “do this, do that, in order to earn God’s favor”–Whereas the truth says, “what needs to be done in order for you to obtain God’s favor has already been done for you: Christ did it all by his suffering on the cross.” 

Now, let us consider the effects of the two. Most followers of man-made religions only do the minimum that they think is required. They’ll do whatever they think their salvation, or their favor with god, depends on– but not one iota more. In absolute contrast, followers of the truth are always seeking, what’s more can I do for God to show gratitude towards him? That’s the devotion that he wins by his grace. man-made religion produces what’s in it for me? attitude, where the  truth produces ever increasing devotion. 

Human reasoning expects it to be the other way around. People who follow man-made religions often ask us, do you mean to tell me that I can just repent and Trust in Christ’s sacrifice, and then go out and do whatever I want, live however I please, and I’ll still get to heaven? Christians who evangelize on the streets get asked that question very frequently. The truth is that it works exactly the opposite way; but it took God to see that. That’s why no man made religion ever came up with anything that resembles the true gospel– it took God to see what Grace could do.

 Here are some examples of the effects that man-made religion has. they fit in with Paul’s question, shall we continue in sin that Grace May abound? far from it! Romans 6:1. I’ve known many Christians who were following one of the major man-made religions before their conversion. Even those who were fervent in the religion have told us that when they returned home from their religious exercises every Sunday they were thinking, I’ve done my religious duties for another week. they wouldn’t miss those exercises for any reason in the days when it was taught that missing them could result in their condemnation to hell; but they were glad when it was over.

My father belonged to a church which taught a false gospel, for twenty-three years. He came out of it when I was six years old. Thank God, that meant I was raised with the truth. The most notorious error of that church is that baptism is a requirement for salvation. My father told me that many many people in that church mock evangelicals, asking, “If you believe you can go to heaven without baptism, why do you bother getting baptized?”  Do you see the attitude there?– “What’s in it for me?” They do whatever they think their salvation depends on, but not a bit more. 

At one time I was going door-to-dore with a friend who was preparing to become a missionary to Peru. One man was very friendly and invited us in, and asked us about our lives. We had already explained the Gospel to him, but he hadn’t grasped it yet. My friend told him about all he had to do to prepare to be a missionary–learn a new language, adjust to a new culture and climate, etc. The man’s reaction was, “Whew! All that to save your soul!” But my friend answered, “Oh no! My soul is already saved.” The man hadn’t grasped that truth the forest time, because to the unconverted it seems incredible that a Christian would make such sacrifices all out of love and gratitude toward God.

One more example. a young man who wasn’t a Christian as the young lady who was a christian,  why ever do you continue attending your meeting now that your parents are no longer around and make you go? her answer was, I love the meeting and particularly the Lord’s supper. Those who already have the Assurance of their salvation are always seeking to do more to please God so as to show their gratitude; they’re never satisfied with what they’ve already done. Salvation by grace alone, wins a much greater devotion then requirements of Works to obtain God’s favor could win; but it took God to see that. That’s what Grace can do, and that’s what God wants to demonstrate to angels in the spirit world. 

 That’s what we see taking place in the book of Job. There was a gathering that we could call an angelic conference, or congress. God was saying to the angels, see that man? see how he loves me? see how devoted he is to me? That’s because my Grace has won him. and Job did grasp that Essentials of God’s work of Grace even though he didn’t have New Testament light, his offerings of sacrifices for sin, showed that he grasped the need of shedding of blood for forgiveness Hebrews 9:22. God had won Job by his grace, and he was pointing him out as a trophy in a spectacle of what his grace could accomplish. That basically answers the question of why we are here.

 We read in God’s word not only of the Angelic conventions in the Book of Job but also of God’s choice to use the Christian to give a demonstration to principalities and Powers– that is, angelistic beings that is done in high places( meaning the spirit world or the heavenlies)– to show angels the variegated  wisdom of God( Ephesians 1:3 and 3:10). Also 1st Corinthians 4:9 says that we are a spectacle to the world, both two angels and two men. The purpose of this spectacle is to inspire creatures to worship God because of the wonders of what his grace can do. 

Because we’re called to be a spectacle particularly for Angels( it is they who were at the conference in the account of  Job),  Angels take a great interest in our salvation. they are not objects of it. the Holy Angels don’t need salvation as they never send; and God doesn’t offer salvation to Fallen angels. yet they take a great interest in our Salvation because it gives them subjects for worship that they didn’t have before the human race was created. That’s why when God had driven Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden he kept them from getting back in by placing cherubins( a type of angel) Holding flaming swords at the entrance to the garden( Genesis 3:24). Before showing angels the wonders of what his grace could do, God first impresses them with the depth of the horrors of sin, and its cost. That shows them why God couldn’t simply forgive the sins of humans without satisfying his Justice; he made Angels Aware of how Deeply mankind needed Grace.

Then, when God instituted the law of moses, he filled it with types of grace. that ought to show us the error of considering that law to be something harsh and ungracious! The Ark of the Covenant– a wooden chest overlaid with gold– had a goal lid called The Mercy Seat or propitiatory .  The Hebrew term includes the idea of covering  because an atonement is what covers. There was a chairman at each end of the golden lid,  looking down at the mercy seat as those saying it and what it represented. Most probably, 1st Peter 1:12 alludes to that golden lid and the cherubim at its ends, saying that angels desire to look into our salvation. they’re studying our Salvation to see what God’s grace can do, because it inspires them to worship Him for that reason. The idea also appears in Psalms 103, which says that God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. His Mercy is as high as the heavens are above Earth, and he has removed our transgressions from us as far as the East is from the West( versus 10 to 12). it isn’t without reason that, right at the end of the same some we find an exhortation to angels to worship him. they have observed what God’s grace can do– removing our sins completely out of his sight. It’s for the same reason that Angels were sent to announce the birth of the savior, to Shepherds( Luke 2:9 through 14). the Savior had come to make it possible for God to exercise grace. It also mentions twice in Luke’s chapter 15, composed of three successive Parables about salvation( Parables of the lost sheep, the Lost coins, In The Prodigal Son), that there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents( verse 7 and 10). verse 10 specifies that the rejoicing takes place before the angels of god. Again, angels are studying God’s grace towards humanity. 

In 1st Timothy 3:16,We find the expression the Mystery– that is, the secret– of godliness referring to what Christ did to Bringing salvation. the verses that God was revealing in the flesh [ by Christ incarnation],  justified in the spirit [ when he’s born our sins and made atonement for them], “And seen of angels, after which he was preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up to glory.” That is the secret of how God brings Sinners back to himself. It was presented to Angels because they were studying his work of salvation. at these Angelic  conventions in the spirit world, then, Angels observed Christians to see what the effect God’s work of Grace had on  us. We have two glimpses of such conventions in the first two chapters of job.

 We get another glimpse of such a convention– though we’re not given a spectacle of Grace in it when Wicked King Ahab  and recapture Ramoth-Gilead  from the  Syrians (1 Kings chapter 22). He consulted all 400  false  profits he could find, and they all said, go ahead; you’ll succeed. but King Jehoshaphat was with Ahab,  and asked, isn’t there a true prophet of the Lord whom we could consult? they have answered, there is but I hate him because he always prophecies something bad to me. Jehoshaphat objected, I’d like to hear what he has to say. So the prophet’s name Micaiah, told Ahab not to go, saying that he’d seen an angel convention at which God had asked various holy and fallen angels for suggestions of how to get Ahab killed in battle. Yes, God even made use of Fallen angels. One spirit, doubtless of Fallen Angel, said, I’ll arrange for all the false prophets to tell Ahab to go to the battle, assuring him that he’ll succeed. God said to that spirit, I permit you to go, your idea will work. God wasn’t the author of the lie told by the false prophets, but he chose to allow it because he could use it to bring an end to the reign of Ahab, who’d been such a wicked king.

We get still another glimpse of the spirit world when  Elisha and his servants were in the city of Dothan, and they saw that the Syrian Army was surrounding them to capture them. Elisha ‘s servant panicked and cried, what will we do? Elisha answered, those on our side are more than those on the Syrian side. Yet he and his servants were the only two servants of God  in Dothan. but Elisha prayed, lord, open up the young man’s eyes. God then gave  the servant of you of the spirit world, when he saw an army of horses and chariots of Fire Second Kings 6:15, 17. Who was it who were writing in those horse-drawn Chariots of Fire prepared to defend him? Angelic beings.

At those angelistic conferences in the spirit world, God teaches angels about the wonders of what his work does and sinners saved by grace. He used the church to give angels that demonstrate Ephesians 3:10 above. He calls us to the spectacle of his work of Grace to all creation. in 1st Corinthians 4:9, there may be an illusion to an Earthly spectacle; but that Earthly spectacle would in turn be a picture of the spectacle in the spirit world. When Paul wrote that God  seems to have said the apostles last of all, he may have been thinking of the gladiatorial games, at which people were brought to fight with wild animals to  entertain Roman citizens. In the morning, the fighters were provided with armor. but as the day advanced they tried to make the spectacle more entertaining by making it more  glorious. The last people brought into the arena were naked and defenseless, in that part of the show was considered to be the most entertaining of all for Heathen people. but saying that God had set the apostles last of all, He may have meant, we’re in for the worst treatment from the world.

 Yet if the spectacle that Paul speaks of was the kind of spectacle in the arena, it serves and it’s turn as a contribution to the spectacle for angels. It shows the angels that the Apostle loved God enough to endure such treatment for his sake. it says, there that devoted to God because his grace had won them. In Hebrews 12:1 and 2 were presented as being in the spectacle of the race, probably the witnesses watching us are both angels and Christians in heaven who are cheering us on as we run the race. We must lay aside everything that would weigh us down in order to show angels that God’s grace has won such devotion from us that we’re willing to pour every effort into doing our best for him.

 Still another example is found in 1st Timothy 1:16, Paul has just said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Then in most translations, Paul is quoted as saying that God designed for him to be an example to those who were going to believe. That would be saying that Paul was to be an example to Future Christians of what Christ can do in a life. However, most of the more literal translations have Paul saying that God has designed to make him an example of those who would believe that Paul would be an example of the work of Grace that God can do in a person. but if Paul is an example of those who believe, then to whom is the example addressed? Who is God setting an example for? I believe the answer is, angels. Angels would look at Paul, who had formerly been a persecutor of Christians, even putting them to death. they’d seen how God’s grace has so transformed them that he has become a devoted servant of god, and even endured suffering frequent  threats on his life and all kinds of hardship– All For the Love of god. God’s grace had won his heart to that extent. He was an example of those who believe, but two angels. 

SETTING THE ARGUMENT

 Back again, then, to Job. At the Angelic conference, at which God pointed to Job as a spectacle of what his grace could do, he pointed to Job’s upright life and his piety, which were not in the purpose of earning his favor, but to show devotion and love for him.  As we pointed out earlier, job had a certain grasp of grace, as shown by his offering of sacrifices. He knew that shedding of blood was required for forgiveness of sin. God was pointing to Job as a demonstration of what his grace could do. 

That brings us back to the question of Don Richardson’s: can God win our love without appearing to our selfishness? The answer is, yes he can: and that is what he is demonstrating to Angels in the spirit world. but Satan had been contesting  that God couldn’t win our love without appealing to our selfishness. That’s why God gave Satan permission twice to try to get a Job out. Notice that Satan couldn’t put job through those tests without God’s permission. and in both cases God put a limit on what he gave Satan permission to do. the first time, God said, you may take away all his possessions, but don’t touch his body.

 Then Satan came up with the argument that resembled something we quite often hear. He said, as long as Job still has his health explanation point how often we hear people talk about things in their lives that aren’t the best but they say well as long as your health is good, that’s what counts. I remember a time when a visitor to the shop where I worked got into a discussion with the foreman about what really mattered in life. they argued that it wasn’t necessary to be wealthy to be happy then the performances, if your health is good, even if you don’t have much money, you can at least walk to the park and amuse yourself feeding the squirrels. their idea was that, if your health is gone everything is gone. That’s what Satan’s argument at this point amounted to. He said, as long as Job’s health is good he loved God; but take his health away, and see what happens. so God again allowed Satan to try Job out and see.

Even this is Comfort to Saints. it assures us that, even if God allows Satan to put us through suffering to prove whether he can win  our love without appealing to our selfishness– he’d always put a limit on what he allows Satan to do. This is also a reminder that Satan is not omnipotent like God–Otherwise he’d have known in advance that job would not curse God to his face, no matter what he suffered. Even in the conversation between Job and his friends, we sometimes find Job saying things that he really shouldn’t have said. He never rejected God. he never stopped loving God. he passed that test with flying colors. 

 In the question, can God win our love without appealing to our selfishness, there are some very critical issues at stake. If God couldn’t win our love without appealing to our selfishness, it would mean that Satan had scored a moral victory over God– since it was Satan who had put selfishness into our hearts. That would be a very serious insinuation.  it would also mean that human worship would be mechanical. it would be as though we were machines on which, if one pressed the blessing button praise would come out; but if we press the suffering button curses would come out. What value would that kind of worship have to God? 

Worse than that– if God couldn’t win our love without appealing to our selfishness, it would mean that God’s demonstration of what his grace could do, had failed. it would have shown that God’s grace hadn’t been able to win any better devotion than a what’s in it for me attitude. it would be, give me what I want and I’ll show what appears to be devotion. yet Nothing did God undertakes could fail; otherwise he wouldn’t be God! So again, what Satan was claiming was a very serious insinuation. furthermore, it would actually  imply that Satan had successfully overthrown God, and that God would no longer be sovereign! it would mean that God had to bow to something that Satan had put into our hearts in order to win our love. therefore, has Don Richardson said in his recorded discord, if God had to give a moral Victory to Satan to win our love, he is not glorified in your life; he is dishonored. in fact, overthrowing God was exactly what Lucifer had tried to do, and that caused him to become satan. but he failed. God’s demonstration for which he used job, was an argument that Satan couldn’t refute. It proved that God can win our love without appealing to our selfishness. Yet Satan didn’t give up after losing the argument concerning Job. He tried to apply the same argument to every saint, including you and me. That’s why we’re engaged in the same spectacle, which is also a war in the  spirit world. The imagery and Spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:10-20 to use in the war fought in the spiritual world, the heavenlies, serve to settle this argument. This question is the ideology that the war is all about.

THE VALUE OF OUR SUFFERING

Going back to the stock answers about why God allows Saints to suffer– all of them are sometimes true.  Yet this study of the subject has led me to conclusions that, in the vast majority of cases in which a saint suffers, the reason why God allows him to suffer has nothing to do with the changes needed in his personal life. and even when the stock answers are true, they’re never the main reason for the suffering. The main reason is to give that Saint an opportunity to participate in  that spectacle for the Angels– showing that God has won his love without appealing to his selfishness. To the stock answer, we can’t say, sometimes but not always, and usually not at all! As you can see, this can be a great comfort to those who are going through great trials and suffering. They demonstrate the love that God has won from them, by enduring their suffering patiently and cheerfully. furthermore, Saints who are not suffering physically, as from sickness but from some other kind of trial, can show the same devotion at the spectacle for Angels they may show it by working hard to serve god, as Paul indicated when he said, I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls 2nd Corinthians 12:15. That is I’ll use all the strength and resources I have to serve God. That also is a way to demonstrate that God has won our love without appealing to her selfishness. And yet another way is by suffering persecution for his sake. Yet, when a saint is suffering sickness, can we say he is suffering for Christ’s sake, just as when he’s suffering persecution? absolutely! In either case the suffering is part of the spectacle for angels, and is therefore a means of accomplishing Christ’s purpose in our existence. it is not in vain. it is not a mere unfortunate part of life in this world, which we must learn to live with. It is an opportunity to show that God has won our love by his grace.

This can be a great comfort to Christians who are chronically sick, handicap, or shut in. The way the Christian is often tried to comfort such people, is only a negative comfort, though we grant that it has some value. they say, here are some things that you can do for God in spite of your condition. For example, I know an aged lady who had to spend most of her day sitting on her bed with her feet up; she therefore couldn’t go out much, nor go far. workers with Christian missions would bring her papers with which two stuffed envelopes to be mailed out and she spent hours doing that. they tell her, here’s something that you can do, even in the condition that you are in. true we don’t doubt that her work was very useful to Christian admissions, and that it gave her a certain comfort to be participating in the Lord’s work, even in her condition. get all the same, that was a negative comfort– you can do this for the Lord in spite of your physical limitations. it’s similar when Christians say to someone  who’s in a real pitiful physical condition, you can still pray! In fact, that makes it sound as though prayer were our last resort, where it should be our first resource! and on top of that, it is another way of saying this is what you can do for God in spite of your condition.

 Once we have understood God’s purpose in our existence, with the  spectacle for Angels, we can tell the chronically sick, the handicapped, and the shut-ins, that they can serve God in a special way because of their condition. it enables them to make a special kind of contribution to the spectacle for Angels that people with all their faculties and perfect health wouldn’t be able to make– or at least not as effectively. they can show that, even in their condition, they still love God with all their hearts. He hasn’t had to appeal to their selfishness by healing them of their condition and giving them perfect health, to win their love. They can demonstrate their loving Devotion to God in a new way that would not be so impressive on the part of the one who has all his faculties and perfect health. that gives them a positive condition– certainly is much greater consolation than a negative one. it tells them that they’re suffering and limits are an asset to their usefulness to God in a special way.

 John Milton seemed to have this truth in mind when he wrote his poem on his blindness. He was an author During the 12 years when Oliver Cromwell, a true Christian of prudent persuasion, ruled England just like a king. Milton is best known for his books Paradise Lost and Paradise regained. He became blind in his early forties and wrote this poem about his blindness. the language is somewhat old and heavy; but if red slowly and carefully, we can see that it expresses the very truth that we have been expounding– 

EFFECTS ON OUR LIFE AND SERVICE

A very important lesson to learn is that God is Not unitarian. by Unitarian we mean he gets done, and is of obvious practical value is what counts. therefore we must find the most effective way possible to get everything done– the most achieved with the least effort and expense. Whatever is most practical, must be used. God does not value our service that way– according to its visible practicality, how useful it appears to be. whatever we can do for god, he could do it infinitely better himself—-Except for one thing– worship. God was longing for worship on our parts; but anything else that we can do for God he doesn’t need us to do. Whatever we do that is a demonstration of worship, that’s what he wants. the worship on our part of the redeemed, is simulated by the worship of what his grace does. here’s the passage that I think brings this out more strongly than any other passage in the Bible:–

Listen, my people and I will speak: Israel, and I will witness against you. I am god, your god.
 I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices. your burnt offerings are continually before me.
 I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pins.
 because every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills.
 I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the fields are mine.
 if I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it.
 will I eat the Flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
 offered to God the sacrifice of praise. pay your vows to the Most High. 
Whoever offers a sacrifice of praise glorifies me. Psalm 50:8-14, 23.
 God is saying, do you think your sacrifices have any practical value to me?– as though I need them to get my work done? I don’t need your livestock because all the livestock in the world belongs to me.

 It’s from verse 10 in this Psalm that comes the chorus, he owns a cattle on a thousand hills, by John peterson. Yep, edifying as the chorus is, the author didn’t get the right slant on this first. He took it to mean that since God owns all that the verse says he owns, he’s able to provide all our needs, never be in short of anything. and even so great a man as Hudson taylor, understood the verse that way. he wrote that, since God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, we’d needn’t be vegetarians! But what does this verse really mean? it isn’t saying that because God owns everything in the world, he can provide for her needs (though that’s true). It’s rather saying that God doesn’t need us to provide his needs. He already has everything he wants; and if he ever wants anything in addition, he could speak it into existence in an instant. therefore he doesn’t need us to do anything for him. The one thing he wants from us is worship, because  if we may so say, that the one thing that he can’t do for himself. it takes a heart that loves him to produce worship. That leads me to make a very bold, sweeping statement semicolon but I believe with all my heart that it is true. all human Service to God of any kind is worthless unless it is done as a means of expressing worship. if we do our service as a way of showing to God a devoted love that he has won by his grace– that’s what gives value to our service. If not, it’s worthless because God could do it infinitely better without us. 

 An excellent and famous statement Westminster catechism says, the chief end (purpose) of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. the particular way in which we were designed to glorify God, is by serving as a demonstration of what His grace can do, showing the devoted love that it can win.

There is a certain deed mentioned in the Bible, of which the mention in two of the Gospels quoted Christ as saying, “This deed will be made known everywhere where the Gospel is preached” (Matthew 26:13; Mark 14:9). Christ didn’t simply mean by these words that the deed would be mentioned in His Word; the very fact that it’s recorded would make it unnecessary to say that! He meant that its importance would be greatly emphasized. No such statement is ever made about any other deed in the Bible. What was that deed? It was Mary of Bethany’s pouring the perfumed ointment on Christ as an act of worship. Now, let us ask, “What were the visible, utilitarian results of pouring that ointment on Christ?” How many people were brought to salvation as a result of that act? As far as we know, none. How many local churches got planted as a result of that act? As far as we know, none. How many parachurch institutions contributing to God’s work were founded as a result? We know of none. But, was God glorified by the act? Very highly@ Mary was showing that Christ meant so much to her that no price was too great to pay to show it. She was basically getting the same message across in the spirit world as C. T. Studd, the famous missionary, when he said, “If Jesus be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” Though Mr Studd labored intensely and saw many souls saved and assemblies planted, the ultimate purpose of it all was to show that no price was too great to pay to show his devotion to Christ. The value of his work was not in its utilitarian accomplishments, but in the message that it communicated to Christ and to angels.

A magazine article written by a missionary, quoted the above statement from the Westminster Catechism, questions the truth. The missionary said, “We’ll have all eternity to glorify and enjoy God; but this present life is the only time we’ll have to lead people to salvation.” She even said that bringing souls to salvation is the only thing for which we’re limited to this life, that it will be too late to do it in heaven. However, she was in error in saying that leading people to salvation is the only work that can only be done in this present life. To suffer for Christ’s sake, whether by sickness or persecution, can only be done in this present life because there won’t be any suffering in heaven.

Also, to “spend and be spent” in serving God, can only be done in the present life. That expression indicates working to the point of exhaustion, because that also is a form of suffering. In fact, in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, there was a day and a night, and we read of the “cool of the evening” and a night, and we read of the “cool of the evening” (Genesis 3:6). We may gather that at the end of each day, Adam and Eve felt a healthy fatigue. It wasn’t the kind of fatigue that caused one to feel that he “can’t take anymore.” It was rather a healthy fatigue like what we feel after a day of pleasant outdoor activities, which makes us feel that the moment we relax, we’ll “sleep like a log.” Who would call that suffering?” Yet in heaven, we won’t even know that kind of fatigue, because there won’t be any night there (Revelation 21:25; 22:5).

However, suffering, whether by sickness, persecution, or labouring for Christ to the point of exhaustion, is something for which we must seize the opportunity in the present life, because it’s how we can contribute to the spectacle for the angels. It shows that we’re willing  to devote ourselves to Christ to that point, because His grace has won us. We won’t have that opportunity in heaven. Yet it serves to settle that argument in the spirit world- or, we could say, it’s the ideology over which the war in the spirit world is being fought.

Sometimes we hear Christians speak of the absence of suffering in heaven, in a way that implies, “Whew! I’ll be so glad that’s over!” Let’s rather look at this life as being an opportunity to settle this argument in the spirit world, as Job’s suffering did. I’ve also heard people complain: “Why did I have to be born with a sinful nature that inclines me to sin and got me into all the struggles of life? I didn’t choose to be born that way!” We can’t give a complete answer to that question, but we certainly have an adequate answer. Consider what a privilege it is to those who love God because He has won them by grace, to demonstrate our loving devotion to Him by fighting the good fight! We would never have had that opportunity if we hadn’t had a sinful nature!

Furthermore, understanding God’s purpose of using us as a demonstration of what His grace can do, will have a great effect on what we’ll seek to accomplish in serving God. Which kind of approach to service demonstrates that devotion better? Would it be large numbers of visible results in professions of salvation, or of multiple churches that are planted, which may give a fine impression? Or would it rather be genuineness and depth in our work? We certainly can’t fool God by a fine facade. He’ll see through it.

I find only one detailed passage in Scripture concerning what rewards in heaven will be based on. It’s 1 Corinthians

3:12-15:-

If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day [i.e. the Bema, or “Judgment Seat of Christ”] will announce it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what SORT of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work which he built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; yet he himself will be saved, but as through fire. 

Where does that passage say anything about figures or statistics? Yet it certainly insists on quality and genuineness. A certain man in French Canada, who would have wanted to be called a missionary, talking to a friend of mine about a very faithful servant of God, said, “That man has never accomplished anything useful in all his years of service.” My friend asked, “What basis do you have for saying such a thing?” His answer was, “He never built any chapels!” My friend retorted, “No! He built Christians!” Now, which of the two is going to last eternally?- chapels, or Christians? And that wasn’t the only time that that “missionary” said things which seemed to imply that, if you really serve God properly, you’ll leave a change on the earth’s landscape by the work you’ve built. Well, you may make a change in the present world’s landscape; but what will happen when the “new heavens and new earth” replace that landscape?

Proper understanding of God’s purpose, also explains the frequent, but apparently illogical callings of God’s servants. What God calls them to do, may seem illogical to natural human reasoning; but we’ll understand their callings better if we really grasp why we’re here.

For example, the Japanese language is commonly rated to be the most difficult language to learn on earth. Many missionaries have laboured an entire lifetime in Japan without ever getting beyond speaking “broken Japanese.” Yet I knew a young lady whose parents had been missionaries to Japan, and who’d therefore grown up in Japan and mingled among the Japanese. She could speak Japanese as well as if it were her own language, besides being thoroughly familiar with Japanese culture. Wouldn’t one have expected the Lord to call her to be a missionary to Japan when she grew up? But instead, the Lord called her to become a missionary to the Middle-East. That required her to learn Arabic, which is commonly rated as the second- hardest language in the world to learn! Does that make sense? Not according to natural human logic.

God has called many Canadians to be missionaries to aboriginal tribes in South Africa and Australia, even though there are many Christians in those countries. Why wouldn’t He rather call Christians from those countries to b missionaries to the aborigines in their homeland? They wouldn’t even need to obtain permission to reside in another country other than their own. They wouldn’t have any problem with passports and visas.

During the decade when Russia was quite wide open to missionary work, I knew a couple from Kansas whom God called to Russia as missionaries. Wouldn’t we expect God to call Canadians, especially from our northern regions, to Russia, since they’d have less difficulty to adjust to the Russian climate? On the other hand, God has called Canadians to be missionaries to the tropics, though people from the southern United States would have less difficulty to adjust to the tropical climates.

Because of such factors, certain Christians I have known have questioned whether such missionaries may have mistaken God’s callings for them. However, if a Christian has sincerely sought God’s will, with no ulterior motive, an there’s no clear scriptural basis for saying he’s mistaken- then who are we to suggest that he has mistaken the Lord’s guidance?

Furthermore, we find at least two such apparent illogical callings in God’s Word. All the apostles were Jew but if there was one of them whom we’d naturally expect God to use to bring the Gospel to Gentiles, it would be Matthew. Before Christ called Matthew, he was a tax collector; and tax collectors worked for the Roman government. Matthew had therefore had daily dealings with the Gentile world, and would be expected to understand the Gentiles and know how to relate to them. Yet God called Matthew to write the Gospel that was specifically for the Jews! Matthew’s Gospel was addressed specifically to the Jews, Mark’s to the Romans, Luke’s to the Greeks, and John’s to everyone in general.

What about the apostle Paul? He would seem to us to be perfectly suited to reach Jews with the Gospel. He was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews”- that is, born to Hebrew parents, not a proselyte. He’d been circumcised the eighth day of his life, as was expected of thoroughgoing Jews. He had studied under Gamaliel, who was a highly respected professor of Jewish law. (See Philippians 3:4-6). Yet God called Paul to a ministry that consisted mostly of reaching Gentiles with the Gospel! In fact, in Galatians 2:8, Paul comes right out and says that God called him and Barnabas to minister to the uncircumcision, whereas He called Peter, James, and John to reach the circumcision. These are two biblical examples of God’s calling men to the very reverse of what we’d naturally have expected.

Why would God do such a thing as this? Though I don’t have a complete answer- yet if we properly understand why we’re here, we’ll get an adequate answer. God’s purpose in calling us to serve Him, is not primarily to “get the job done.” If it were, He could do it infinitely better Himself, without us. His purpose is rather that we show that no price is too great to pay to express loving devotion for Him, and gratitude for His grace. Could it not be that, in an apparently illogical calling, a servant of His has more opportunity to show devotion as a spectacle of gratitude for God’s grace, than in an apparently logical calling? Consider, for example, the young lady referred to, who knew Japanese like Japanese person. Would not her effort to learn Arabic have given her a particular opportunity to show devotion to God, that she wouldn’t have had opportunity to show simply in using her knowledge of Japanese that she had acquired the natural way from early childhood? Or, missionaries who have to make a greater adjustment to the climate, or have greater distances to travel, have extra opportunity to display loving devotion to God. That’s what matters to Him. If someone is ready to object, saying, “Isn’t that a waste of time and resources?”— remember who it was, in the Bible, who asked, “Why this waste?” (Judas Iscariot, Matthew 26:8, 9; Mark 14:4). He was referring to Mary of Bethany’s anointing of Christ, which we noted on page 26.

Sometimes also, what God does with His servants seems illogical to us. As we’ve said, Japanese is commonly rated as the most difficult language to learn. Yet I knew a missionary who had almost mastered it, even though he’d learned it as an adult. He could speak it almost like a Japanese person. But he had to leave the mission field in his early forties because his wife’s health broke down. Natural human reasoning would say, “What a waste! Think of all he could have done; but because his wife’s health broke down, he had to quit that early in life!” Well, think. Do you believe it’s a problem for God to enable someone to learn a difficult language? Of course not! God could raise up anyone else He wanted, to learn such a hard language as Japanese. Furthermore, God had used that missionary’s effort to learn Japanese, to demonstrate his loving devotion to Him, won by His grace. That missionary hadn’t considered it to be too great a price to learn Japanese to demonstrate devotion to short time. God, even though he had only used it for such a relatively short time.

Due to cases like that of this missionary, I once heard a single missionary say rather dogmatically that missionaries should never get married! Her reasoning was that, if that missionary to Japan had stayed single, he could have continued his missionary work until his old age. One error of that single missionary, or course, was failure to consider the many advantages of being married. But even more than that, she apparently had forgotten, or hadn’t realized, that God isn’t utilitarian. When God allows a missionary career to be cut short by an unexpected breakdown of health, He has a reason for it. That missionary showed that he didn’t consider it a waste to learn the language, and then have his career terminated so soon, because it was for God’s glory.

Furthermore, why is it, as Christ said, that the gate and the way that lead to life are narrow, and that there are few who find them (Matthew 7:13, 14)? Some, we fear, have seen this as an unfortunate limit to the success of God’s work- just as some have seen the fall of the human race as an interruption to God’s plan. On the contrary, the small number of those who find the way to eternal life is part of God’s purpose, as is the fall of the human race. We’ll see how, if we properly understand why we’re here. Yes, God loves everybody, and offers salvation to all; yet it was part of His plan that the way to life be narrow. Isaiah 53:11 says, “He shall see [the fruit] of the toil of His soul, and shall be satisfied. Universalists sometimes point to that verse, objecting that God would not be satisfied if only a small number of His creatures came to salvation. But, yes, He will be satisfied. Part of the spectacle of loving devotion that He desires us to participate in, consists of enduring persecution for His sake. If the entire human race were saved, where would the persecution be? Where would the suffering of rejection by the world, be? There wouldn’t be any worldly “world” if everybody were saved. Christ reminds us that “the servant is not greater than his Lord,” and that part of how we are to show loving devotion to Him is by accepting to be treated as He was treated in this world (John 15:20). God displays to angels that saints are so devoted to Him as to be willing to bear such treatment for His sake. For there to be such persecution, it was necessary that the gate and the road to life be narrow, and that only a few find them. That leaves many questions open, which we cannot answer; but it shows that the salvation of only a few is not an “unfortunate limit” to the success of God’s work. It’s unthinkable that anything undertaken by God would be of only a limited success. God was determined to give the spectacle for angels a maximum effect, so as to inspire a maximum of worship; and that maximum effect required our endurance of persecution from the majority of the world.

CHRIST’S NON-ATONING SUFFERINGS

One more issue that ties in with this spectacle by which we are to show loving devotion, is Christ’s non-atoning sufferings. Should this idea be entirely new to certain readers, here’s the essential of it. Christ suffered to make atonement for our sin on the Cross only. God’s Word says that “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). It’s only on the Cross that Christ shed blood. Even His blood-like sweat in Gethsemane, is not to be considered bleeding; it didn’t come from wounds.

Yet that isn’t all the suffering that Christ underwent. He endured a great deal of it during His life on earth; but that suffering didn’t make atonement. It’s what we call His non- atoning sufferings. Concerning Christ’s bearing of sufferings that didn’t make atonement, H. A. Ironside wrote: “Do we not rejoice in a great High Priest who suffered being tempted? Is that atoning? Do we not adore Him for His tender human sympathies, which could not but cause Him to suffer greatly in a world like this? Did such sufferings make atonement? He suffered in the garden [Gethsemane] in view of the Cross; but was that atonement? If so, why go to the Cross at all?” We could add that Christ sustained rejection on earth when “He came to His own, and His own didn’t receive Him.” And consider His frequent grief over people’s slowness to grasp spiritual truth. Did those sufferings make atonement? No, they didn’t. They enabled Him to make intercession for us on the basis of experience. It’s not that Christ needed the experience in order to know what we suffer on earth. He’s omniscient. He went through the experience to assure us that He understands us. “Because He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

There have been many great theologians who have failed to make this important distinction between Christ’s atoning and non-atoning sufferings. For example, a popular Catechism says that in all that Christ suffered throughout His life on earth, but especially His suffering on the Cross, He bore God’s wrath against the human race mankind, in order to make atonement and redeem us and restore us to God’s favour. All of that statement is correct except for the idea that Christ made atonement throughout His life on earth, but especially on the Cross. That is to say, every form of suffering that Christ endured throughout His life on earth, made atonement; but the bulk of His atonement was made on the Cross. That is not true. Such theologians failed to distinguish between His atoning and non-atoning sufferings. How could God’s wrath have been on Christ when He said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17; 17:5)?” It was only when Christ was on the Cross, and God hid His face from Him, and He cried out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” that God’s wrath was on Him.

Without the distinction between Christ’s atoning and non-atoning sufferings, we’d face a serious theological difficulty in explaining the following two verses:-

• I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church (Colossians 1:24). If we insist that all Christ’s sufferings made atonement, we’ll be led to the inevitable conclusion that Paul had a part in making atonement for the sin of the world- which would be a dreadful conclusion!

• Rejoice to the extent that you have a part in Christ’s sufferings, so that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy (1 Peter 4:13). To insist that all Christ’s sufferings made atonement, would lead to the conclusion that we have a part in atoning for our own sin- which, again, is unthinkable! Only He “who knew no sin” could be “made sin for us,” and therefore make atonement. Furthermore, Christ had to be not only holy, but infinite, to make atonement for sin. That would exclude even the holy angels from making atonement.

It is the non-atoning sufferings of Christ that we can share. For what reason? It provides a means by which we are bonded to Him by what He calls “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). We endure what Christ endured on earth because “a servant isn’t greater than his Lord.” We contribute to the spectacle for angels and men by showing willingness to be treated as our Lord was treated on earth, because we love Him. We’re willing to pay the price of sharing His rejection. That bonding is yet another form of service that we can only accomplish in this present world. In heaven, we’ll continue to enjoy the bond that was formed on earth by “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings;” but we won’t be able to add to it in heaven. Our desire to form this bond by sharing Christ’s non-atoning sufferings demonstrates in the spectacle for angels what a devoted love Christ has won from us by His grace.

HOW TO RESPOND TO SUFFERING

What, then, is the purpose for which God created us? It’s that we may glorify Him by demonstrating what His grace can do which is to win such loving devotion from us, whom He has saved by His grace. Also, concerning the secondary issues that tie in with why God created us:-

–

• Why does God permit evil?
• Why did He create Adam and Eve, knowing in advance that they’d sin?

The answer is that grace wouldn’t have any place without sin. It’s only toward sinners that God could exercise grace. So, though God is not the Author of sin, He allows it because He can use it to show the devotion that He wins by His grace toward sinners. And to the remaining secondary issue-

• Why does God permit saints to suffer?-

Much more than the “stock answers” that we so often hear- it’s their opportunity to participate in the spectacle for the angels, showing that God doesn’t have to appeal to their selfishness to win their love. They love Him simply because of who He is and what He is. They’re happy to give that demonstration of loving devotion.

Therefore, when we suffer in any way for which we have no other explanation- and also when we “spend and are spent,” labouring with all that is in us, even when visible results are few- instead of wondering:-

• What have I done?
• What impurities is God trying to purge me of?

• What is God trying to teach me?

• What is God preparing me to endure, for which I’ll need more patience?
• What sufferings of others is God preparing me to sympathize with?-

Let us rather respond by exclaiming: “I LOVE Thee, Lord; and NO amount of suffering will ever change that!! How could I not love Thee so, after all Thou hast done for me by Thy grace?” Even if we make that exclamation silently, God will pass it on to the angels, or somehow tune them in so that they can pick it up. Then, on hearing that response to our suffering, angels in the spirit world (the “heavenlies”) will shout, “Glory to God, who has won such loving devotion from sinners by saving them by His grace!” That’s how the purpose for which God created us will be fulfilled, and God will receive the glory of which He is worthy because of His grace. Amen and amen!!

On hearing this explanation of the reason for most suffering of saints, one Christian responded by saying, It’s truly a high and holy calling to suffer for Christ!

 

GRACE DEMONSTRATED
The God of all glory, Jehovah, 
His antes ever played 
To a multitude of holy angels 
Himself in all splendour arrayed- 
His infinite power and wisdom, 
His holiness, justice, and love 
And the angels, inspired to adore Him 
Exalted His glory above.
But how to display grace and mercy, 
Additional praises to win?
Twas the challenge to God three-times holy- 
Grace could not be shown without sin.
So the thrice-holy Sov reign created 
A race that possessed its own will 
And permitted that Satan induce them 
The Lusts of the flesh to fulfill 
God’s only holy Son paid their ransom, 
And satisfied justice divine;
On repentance and faith He receives them; 
“I’ve bought them,” He says, “They are Mine 
God won a much greater devotion 
Through pardon and life free and sure 
Then could ever be won by requiring 
His favour by works to procure
Ye Soton had tried his devices 
To thwart such a marvellous plan 
He had tried to cat of David’s Lineage 
Or Kill the young Child Son of Man 
Or tempt Him to sin in the desert, 
Dissuade Him in Gethsemane,
But the Lamb on the Cross made atonement; 
“My work is now finished,” said He. 
“I WON!” was His glad shout of victory 
To demons in Tartarus bound 
To the conquering Saviour now risen 
The heavens with praises resound
But Satan, not quickly discouraged, 
Protests at the congress of heav’n 
That the ransomed would not love their Saviour 
Without all the blessings He’s giv’n. 
God answers, “Behold all My faithful 
Who, when in affliction they’re laid, 
With a confident patience still love Me; 
My trophies of grace they are made. 
And oh! what a wondrous devotion- 
For Me, ’tis a glorious crown- 
They who spend and are spent in My service, 
And martyrs who lay their lives down!
Now all creatures on earth and in heaven 
Sing praise to the Faithful and True 
In a new song of glory and worship- 
They’ve seen what divine grace can do. 
And hark! how their glad hallelujah’s 
Ascend to the Lamb on the throne, 
His Name above all names exalting, 
His worthiness ever to own. 
Forever this grand celebration 
Of grace demonstrated on men 
Shall inspire all the saints and the angels 
To worship again and again.
(This song is available with music in the book New Songs to the Lord, by John and Suzanne Sinclair. Order from address below).

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