Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

Salvation and Reconciliation

Oftentimes when gathered together in assembly character as worshippers in the presence of God, a wonderful sense of His own greatness, and also of the greatness of His salvation, have moved us to sing with glad hearts and with good reason:

“How rich is Thy mercy,

How great Thy salvation!

We bless Thee, we praise Thee!

Amen and Amen.”

We might also continue in our praise-offering to Him—who has not only given us to know His great salvation, but also the marvellous reconciliation secured through the death of His Son—and happily sing:

“O God, we delight in Thy love and Thy favour!

For unto Thyself we are reconciled now.

In grace failing never, and for Thy good pleasure:

In deep adoration before Thee we bow.”

The Spirit of God makes clear for us in the inspired volume the difference between these two inestimable benefits; and, in such wise, that the One in and through whom they are made ours, becomes endeared to our rejoicing hearts; for if the “salvation be in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10), and “neither is there salvation in any other,” it is equally true, through Him alone “we have received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:11, New Translation). In and through the One who came into the world to save sinners—the One who made peace by the Blood of His Cross to reconcile to God—we have both, thanks be to Him for ever and ever!

An illustration might help some to see that which distinguishes the one from the other, and enhance in their souls the sense of the Divine favour which has made each ours. A merchant overtaken by serious losses has got into distressing financial difficulties. There is one person he knows who could easily aid him, and save him from his trouble, and from ruin. There is a matter, however, which keeps him from turning to his old friend. Some while before, he grievously offended him, and though he had often longed for reconciliation, he felt that it would appear mean to seek it now he was in need, and look as if it were his money more than restored intimacy which he prized.

Without any approach on his part, however, his old friend, having heard of his difficulties, comes at once to his assistance. The deep need of the merchant yields the opportunity to his friend of showing his unchanged love. He saves him from commercial disaster, and the desired reconciliation also takes place. Salvation from ruin and reconciliation to the one he had offended are both his now, and yet they are distinct things. “God commendeth His love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Without any approach from our side, He acted from His own side for our blessing. We had sinned against Him, and He delivered Christ for our offences. We were ruined sinners and needed salvation; we were the offenders and needed reconciliation; and we read, “Being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son”—through that death which disclosed God’s great love to us!—the death which met far deeper needs than our illustration speaks of!—the death of Christ which secured eternal salvation and reconciliation for us!

It was in a person the merchant found salvation from his distress. It was in a Person—a Babe received into his arms—Simeon saw God’s great salvation, and he blessed God, saying, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke 2:28-32). Though Israel was favoured by His coming to that nation, in the line of King David, yet the salvation of God could not be confined to Israel. Zacharias might speak of Him as “a horn of salvation (or deliverance) for us in the house of David” (Luke 1:69); but in chapter 3:6, it is said, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (see Isaiah 52:10). Even the woman of Samaria was surprised that Jesus—being a Jew in her eyes—spake to her; but when His words of grace were heard by others of that city, they said, “We know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world”! In the first Epistle of John, we also read, “The Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world”! (4:14, New Translation). It is truly for the nation of Israel, but it is also for the world. At the present time, however, as we shall see, the call to salvation is not national but personal.

It is spoken of in various aspects in the Old Testament. It is mainly from something, whereas reconciliation is to the God of our salvation. The first meets our need, while the second meets the desires of God’s love. This latter was only unfolded after the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross was finished, and after He had been exalted to the right hand of God, therefore it is brought out in Romans 5 and 11; 2 Corinthians 5; Ephesians 2; and Colossians 1. In the Old Testament we read of salvation from trouble, enemies, low condition, transgression, judgment, ruin, death, reproach, distresses, uncleanness and unhappy circumstances. Jehovah proved Himself to be a Saviour to them in these things, nevertheless Moses complained of Israel that he “lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation” (Deuteronomy 32:15). David prays, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12). We read also, “He will beautify the meek with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).

This goes beyond being simply saved from something, just as we read also of His priests being “clothed with salvation” (2 Chronicles 6:41), and of the walls of the Lord’s city being called “Salvation” (Isaiah 60:18). As he contemplates the mercy and goodness of God, Isaiah joyfully breaks forth with singing, “Behold, God is my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song: He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”! (12:2-3). All is found in a glorious Person—in El Jah Jehovah!—in God, everlasting and sublime, “which is and which was and which is to come!”

Passing to the New Testament, we find this glorious and eternal God manifested in flesh—we see “Emmanuel”—“God with us”—in its opening pages. Born of the virgin, as Isaiah had foretold, His Name was called JESUS. This means Jehovah the Saviour. And in connection with that Name, in this very first chapter, salvation is first spoken of in the New Testament, and we are told that this is the reason why the Name was given, “for He shall SAVE His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Now Israel are the Lord’s people, and here, as elsewhere, we find salvation is for the Jew first. It is for “His people.” Israel are Jehovah’s people, and He had come in this way to save them; but, notice carefully, it is “from their sins” they are to be saved. Those sins, therefore, necessitated His death for them. His Blood must be shed for their remission. He must be wounded and bruised for them on the Cross as Isaiah 53 shows. This atoning work having been finished, a day is drawing near when “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). There will not be one Jew on the earth unsaved in that day! Nearly all of them are now enemies of Jesus, their true Messiah, and they are unsaved; but a change will take place when, as Jehovah said, “They shall look upon ME whom they pierced” (Zechariah 12:10), when He comes again, “having salvation” (9:9), as their King.

Jehovah their Lord, their King, their Saviour and their God will put them in the full good of the salvation Jesus righteously secured for them by His death at Calvary. From their enemies, from their sins, and from all their distresses He will save them; and they will become the means of spreading the benefits of God’s salvation to all the nations and to all the peoples of the earth. Israel’s national salvation having taken place, world-wide blessing through them will follow, even as the Lord Himself said, “Salvation is of the Jews”! (John 4:22). Their Messiah, the Son of God, is the Saviour of the world, as we have seen. He will save them first, and then “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our [Israel’s] God” (Isaiah 52:10). Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for Gentile or Jew. Already the responsible rulers and elders of the nation of Israel have been told that “Salvation is in none other” (Acts 4:12)! Jehovah is their Saviour!—Where is He to be found? God is their salvation!—How is He to be revealed to them? Their Saviour is their King!—Where can the nation discover Him? He must be of David’s royal line!—David’s Son and David’s Lord!—David’s Offspring as well as David’s Root! Apart from Jesus, Israel is hopeless!—Where else can they find one of David’s line? They shall “see” yet—they shall “look” upon their pierced Jehovah, and like Thomas, exclaim in faith, “This is our Lord! This is our God!” He will become their salvation.

If, as we have seen, the salvation of the world awaits the salvation of Israel, it is equally true that the nation of Israel awaits the complete salvation of those who form the assembly, the body of Christ, before her salvation can take place. Those who form the assembly—those who by one Spirit are baptized into one body—must be translated from earth to heaven first, to be with their exalted Head and Lord; all Israel will afterwards be saved, and then all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God, for our Lord Jesus Christ is truly “the Saviour of the world.” At the present time the saving grace of God is offered freely to all, but its call is quite un-national. Instead of calling nations as such to salvation, it is rather to call “out of the nations a people for His Name” (Acts 15:14), and the church—rightly rendered the assembly—is the ecclesia—the out-called. This is the character of the present work of grace before the day of Israel’s national salvation.

Indeed, every circle of counselled blessing awaits the complete salvation of those who are out-called in this day of grace, as we read, “That they without us should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40). We say complete salvation, for, though the true believer is saved by grace, and is being daily saved as he abides in Christ, he is nevertheless awaiting the redemption of his body (Romans 8:33). This will be glorified at the coming again of the Saviour and in this sense we understand the Scripture, “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (13:11). Our salvation will then be complete indeed, and the assembly will be for ever with the Lord—glorified together with Him. In Revelation 21 she is seen as the heavenly city, with which not only Israel has immediate connection (verse 12), but all the nations shall walk by its light (verse 24), for the glory of God shines from it, and so all the earth shall then be filled with His glory. Great indeed is God’s salvation.

Meanwhile, the gospel of God’s grace, which is truly sent to all, and which is His power to salvation to everyone that believes (Romans 1:16), reaches men and women as individuals, and that in view of their being brought into the assembly—to walk with those who are the out-called—the out-called now from the nations, the out-called soon from earth to heaven (like Enoch of old) at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is important, therefore, for us to understand the present character of the salvation which is brought to us in the gospel. Unlike the national character which will yet come to Israel, it is individual and personal today, even though it has the assembly, the collective, in view, now as we have pointed out, as well as the glory to come.

Reconciliation has the glory in view also, but there is this difference. While salvation delivers sinful man from his ruin and distress, to share in the coming glory, reconciliation sets him before God Himself in Divine favour, and with alienation and enmity removed, unblameable and holy in His sight, so that when the positions of dignity “on” the earth and “in” the heavens are reconciled also—“the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities,” and Christ, the Firstborn of all creation and the Firstborn from among the dead, takes as the Head of the body, the assembly, the first place in all that vast domain of majesty, might and splendour—then all shall be for God’s own good pleasure. The one frees man from everything to share the glory, the other brings all to pass for God’s own satisfaction and pleasure.

Again, it is by the word of the gospel He brings both about today, for that is the “power of God unto salvation,” as we have seen; and we read in 2 Corinthians 5:20 of “the word of reconciliation” being put in the servants of Christ, so that they entreat on His behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” Although they are different things, God uses the proclamation of the word to bring them to pass at the present time in regard to men. And just as salvation is a personal matter in this dispensation, so also is reconciliation. The bearing of the latter is truly worldwide (Romans 11:15), and the offer of salvation by the gospel is likewise; but both are entered upon through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ individually, and both the one and the other set the believer apart from the present course of things obtaining in the world, even as Jesus said twice in His prayer to the Father, “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14-16).

The personal character of present salvation should therefore be laid hold of by us. It is of the last importance to do so in these days of departure from the truth, and apostasy from the faith. To be saved, is to be saved! To be unsaved, is to be lost! The final issue is fast approaching! The coming of the Lord draweth nigh! The lights of the oil-less lamp-holders are going out! Those who “have not received the love of the truth that might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) will soon be carried away by the strong sweeping currents of error, “that they should believe what is false, that all might be judged who have not believed the truth, but have found pleasure in unrighteousness” (verse 12). God has no pleasure in this, but desires rather that “all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The Son of God came not to judge the world, “but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17 and 12:47). Upon the cross He bore the believer’s sin, and the judgment that those sins deserved; moreover, He was raised again from among the dead for their justification. On the basis of that work the believer is saved, for it is on account of this God righteously forgives sins, and the gospel brings “the knowledge of salvation … by the remission of their sins” (Luke 1:77). The first person outside of Judaism to be reached by the glad tidings was Cornelius. He heard words whereby he and all his house were saved (Acts 11:14). Those words pointed him to Christ, through whose Name everyone that believes on Him receives remission of sins (10:43). Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, for grace alone could meet the need of such; and while It is truly by the grace of God such are justified freely, through the great redemption which is in Christ Jesus, it is likewise true, we are “saved by grace” (Ephesians 2:5, 8); not on the principle of works, so that none might boast. Grace is in Christ Jesus, and so is salvation (2 Timothy 2:1, 10). This latter is obtained there through faith, whether in regard to judgment, enemies, state, adverse influences, this present evil world or age. “Neither is there salvation in any other.”

It should be pointed out, too, that not only have we been saved as sinners to be of the assembly, and “saved in hope” (Romans 8:24, New Translation) to share the glory, but there is salvation for us as “worshippers”—as those who “approach to God” (Hebrews 7:25) by Jesus, our living High Priest; for by His priestly grace and power, He is able to save such to the uttermost, or completely. We should always bear in mind that this aspect of salvation is for those who draw near to God, assembling together for this purpose being in view. The custom is increasing with some to give this up, but the real are to seek it more and more as they see the day of Christ’s return approaching. The word for “assembling” in Hebrews 10:25 is better rendered “complete assembling,” so in 2 Thessalonians 2:1; and our gathering together unto Him will indeed be complete then, for not one of His own will be left outside at His coming again! Meanwhile, according to the Word, all should get together now, in assembly character, and each of us should seek this “complete assembling” of all! Numbers of those who profess the faith are falling away! Scripture is being rapidly fulfilled in those who are turning from the truth! It behoves all those who hold fast to it, therefore, to get together so “much the more” and reap the full benefit of the uttermost salvation of our great High Priest, for a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation awaits the apostates of Christendom.

To neglect in any way God’s great salvation is a dangerous thing (Hebrews 2:3)! The nature of the salvation of which Jesus has become the Author is eternal, “to all them that obey Him” (chapter 5:9), for He Himself who secured it for us is eternal, though, notwithstanding the fact that He is the Son of God, He “learned obedience from the things which He suffered,” having become Man. None need doubt that the salvation which is in Christ Jesus is for them. Jude speaks of it as our “common salvation” (verse 3). It is common to us all, and in its widest scope it is open to all, for “every one whosoever who shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13, New Translation)!

It is a great salvation truly! In Christ having come for all it has reached down to the chief of sinners! In Him, too, the most wayward of saints have been restored to its wonderful joy! In all its parts, and in all its bountiful benefits, it is open for us. The meek are beautified with it! The holy and royal priests are clothed with it! The most spiritual rejoice in the joyful sound of its proclamation! It was of the Saviour of the world the prophet spake, “I have set Thee for a light of the nations, that Thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth!” It was the Apostle Paul who thus heralded Him (Acts 13:47)! Soon the glory of it shall be ascribed to God by a numberless multitude on earth, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10), and by a great host in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah; the salvation and the glory and the power of our God” (Revelation 19:1)! And we who are of the assembly shall worship Him, immediately surrounding the throne of glory, for we shall then have reaped the fullness of His great salvation, judicially, livingly, corporately; spirit, soul and body.

“We lift our hearts and voices

In blest anticipation,

And cry aloud, and give to God

The praise of our salvation.”

Past telling are the rich results of reconciliation! Soon shall we dwell in scenes of splendid majesty, with Christ our Head! When He is owned in His pre-eminence, where all the reconciled thrones, lordships, principalities and authorities yield fealty and honour and glory to the Son of the Father’s love, in whom the fullness of the Godhead resides! When we, and they, and all the blest in Christ, shall be for the satisfaction and good pleasure of our God and Father, for ever and ever.

May we be adorned even now with the beauties of salvation, and carry in our hearts the gracious sense of God’s own deep joy in reconciliation.

Serving A Saviour

When soundly converted the language of the soul is. “Now I am saved I would like to serve the One who has saved me!” “That is right! Only, find out first what is “that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2); and then serve Him accordingly.

We have been saved to serve truly; but we are also saved daily that we might serve rightly; and we shall be saved finally and fully when the Lord comes again. Then He will “transform our body of humiliation into conformity to His body of glory”; consequently it is said of those who have been saved by grace, and are now being saved by a living Saviour, “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Then, without weariness, in realms of eternal glory and joy, “His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face.” The salvation which is ours in Christ Jesus is an eternal salvation, and covers past, present and future, so we serve from salvation through salvation and to salvation. We serve a Saviour, who is our Lord.

“Let My son go, that he may serve Me!” were the Lord’s words to Pharaoh, who oppressed Israel. The blood of the lamb was shed and sprinkled; the people were brought out of Egyptian bondage; and “thus the Lord saved Israel that day” (Exodus 14:30). Then they began to serve by singing TO HIM who had saved them; and they sang, “The Lord is my Strength and song, and He is become my Salvation!” Like a refrain, these words resounded again and again from psalmist and prophet afterwards (Psalm 118:14; Isaiah 12:2), but Jehovah soon had to say concerning the national “son” He had liberated from Egypt, “Thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things” (Deuteronomy 28:47). Their singing gave place to murmuring and backsliding; but they were under the law.

It is said of us today, “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace”; and grace reigns now that the One who died for our sins is upon the throne above; and, being blessed in Him according to the riches of God’s grace, we may serve in liberty, as we look unto the day, when the exceeding riches of that grace will be displayed in glory. Israel soon lost their blessing: not one who is blessed in Christ Jesus can lose his; and abundance of grace is given, so that we may serve our living Saviour acceptably in communion, being preserved in the sense of His favour, and of the glory soon to come; for the Holy Spirit given to us is the earnest of our inheritance.

The two epistles, written to the bright young Thessalonians, speak much of their Saviour’s coming again; and are the only two which address the assembly as “in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace had set them in that known position and relationship; and at once the apostle desires for them the necessary favours of at grace and peace,” to keep them continually for God’s praise and pleasure. Israel was placed before Jehovah under law; we are set before the Father under grace.

The salvation which is ours in Christ Jesus brings us into this holy freedom, for even the babes in God’s family know the Father. When the Lord rose from the dead, having secured eternal redemption for us, He said, “My Father and your Father, My God and your God.” How glorious it is to serve a living Saviour, who has brought us into such a near relationship along with Himself.

“Through Him we know a Father’s love,

And serve in liberty.”

Doubtless the fervent Thessalonians had much still to learn, which would enrich their valued service for the Lord; but from the start they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and “to await His Son from the heavens, JESUS, OUR DELIVERER from the coming wrath” (New Translation).

Service is varied, it is not just one thing. If you had asked an Israelite in the wilderness what all the order and detail of their life meant, he would have told you they served Jehovah. Romans 12 shows us the beautiful variety of our service for a Saviour-God; and how our bodies as living sacrifices are to be presented to Him, in intelligent service, for the particular thing given to each one to do, which we prove to be “good, perfect and acceptable,” as it says. All are not preachers, or teachers, but all are given their suited place to fill, and grace is given to do so. We are to prove what that is, and do it. True to his post, a solitary sentry serves his king. An officer does no more. The former might be specially honoured, and the latter not.

It is a Saviour-God we serve, made known in Christ. Even the wrath to come upon this world will not touch the saved; for we read, “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” who is coming soon, and is “our Deliverer from the coming wrath.” The grace of salvation (past, present and future) in Him gives a spring of freshness to our service of love for Him. We cannot go through the great tribulation, but we may serve Him faithfully now, during the present time of His rejection below and His acceptance above.

“Though earth disowns His lowly Name,

God honours it in heaven.”

At any moment His shout may summon us to meet Him in the air. It is as Saviour from the heavens He is coming to give us bodies of glory like His own. He will do this according to the power which He has to subdue all things to Himself. What a mighty Saviour Jesus is!

Those who have fallen asleep will be raised from their graves first. Then, along with the living, all will be caught up together to meet the Lord, and so we shall be for ever with the Lord.

Viewing the sure and certain hope, shining ahead of our path of service, the apostle of the Gentiles exhorted and encouraged with these words, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” And our Saviour Himself said, “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, HIM WILL MY FATHER HONOUR.”

Show us the Father

These words expressed the height to which the desires of the Lord’s disciples rose.

They had seen His wonderful works, they had heard His gracious words, they had observed His perfect life, and they had contemplated His glory—as an only one with a father;—and now, Philip says to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us” (John 14:8). After all the disclosures which the One who had come in the Father’s Name had made to them, if this were added, then satisfaction would be theirs.

The revelation of the Father is made that our “joy may be full,” and that in spite of the failure of men in the assemblies on earth, as well as in every other position in which they have been placed—but Jesus replied, “He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” It is vain to look elsewhere therefore, or for some advance on what has been made known in Him. We are limited to the Son for the knowledge of the Father, and in Him He is fully revealed.

Creation may declare a measure of God’s glory, and manifest His eternal power and divinity, rendering inexcusable those who do not seek Him; but no one had seen God Himself at any time, until the One who is in the bosom of the Father declared Him (John 1:18). Indeed, in Matthew 11:27 we are told, no one knows the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal Him. This clearly confines us to the Son for the revelation of the Father, and that too, according to His Divine pleasure. “No one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6).

Those who are begotten of God and have the Holy Spirit—those who are “the children of God,”—are enabled to appreciate this Divine favour of the Son. In beholding Him they behold the Father; in hearing His words,—recorded for us in the Gospels—they hear the Father s words (John 14:10; 17:8); in seeing His works they see the Father’s works (9:4; 14:10); and in knowing Him they know the Father (14:6). The Spirit gives the power for this, and the favour is indeed both high and holy; nevertheless, it must be pointed out, even the babes in the family of God know the Father (1 John 2:13), for they have, as begotten of God, the nature and the life for this, as well as the power.

Seeing, therefore, the revelation of the Father and of the things of the Father is for all God’s children, we may proceed with confidence in our consideration of this. It is truly great and glorious, but the anointing which we have received is all-sufficient to guide into all truth. The Spirit of truth has come for this purpose. May we therefore on our side be diligent in responding to His leading, and thus become enriched in spiritual understanding, being filled with the wealth of the disclosures which have been made by and in the Son. To this end we will look first at that which has come from the Father, then at that which is with the Father, and afterward at the Name of the Father, for that tells us what He is in Himself,

That Which is From Him

We speak of what proceeds from Him first of all because this will provide us with clear evidence of that which distinguishes the Father and of the eternity of His most glorious Person. In the inspired writing by John, we are told over and over again that the Father sent our Lord Jesus Christ—that He came from the Father—that He came in His Name—to represent Him, and to be the world’s Saviour. Varied and subtle as are the many attacks upon the Person of our Lord Jesus today, nevertheless the incomparable greatness of Christ is admitted even by those who would rob Him of some of His distinctions. They own the moral superiority of Jesus as towering above all others! What then must be predicated of the One He represented? the One from whom He came?—“I came out from the Father and have come into the world” He said (John 16:28);—and, speaking as a man amongst men, He also said, “My Father is greater than I” (14:28).—The exalted perfections of the Representative necessarily therefore enhance the glories of the One represented. How great is He who came from the Father! How great, then, must be the Father from whom He came! We will not follow this further at present.

Among other things which have come into this world from the Father are His words—words of vital and surpassing import—words which bring eternal blessing and present comfort to those who receive them in faith,—words which nevertheless contain depths of meaning which the strongest minds fail to fathom. These words were given to us by the Son as the anointed Prophet of God, and the voice which spake from the excellent glory upon the holy mount, when He received from God the Father honour and glory, said, “Hear Him.” They asked John the Baptist. “Art thou that Prophet? What Prophet? The Prophet promised by Jehovah, of whom He said, I will put “My words” in His mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18). That One was Jesus, not John. He said of Him, “He whom God has sent speaketh the words of God”; and Peter said to Him, “Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Many of the people, too, exclaimed—when he fed the five thousand in the desert and spoke God’s words to them,—“This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world!” Moreover He Himself said to the Father concerning His disciples, “Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee, for I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me” (John 17:7-8). These Scriptures clearly identify the Father with Jehovah of the Old Testament, just as others identify the Lord Jesus with Jehovah. The words are Jehovah’s in Deuteronomy and they are called the Father’s in John.

Along with the words were the wonderful works of the Father, and they were works of such a nature, that never had the like been seen in the world before. They also bore witness to the Divine origin of the words. The words and the works were together. The Son, by whom both came, said, “If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not; but if I do, though ye believe Me not, believe the works that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:37-38). When they sought to stone Him He said, “Many good works have I showed you from My Father; for which of those works do ye stone Me?” They replied, it was not for the works, but the words! Surely the origin of the one bore evidence to the origin of the other! They were too blind to see this; and, having referred to both, the Lord showed that their sin was inexcusable, for in these things they had seen and hated both the Son and the Father (John 15:24). This was a serious matter, for so awful does it reveal the condition of man to be, that, even along with the outward advantages of religion, he nevertheless hates God. Yet, in spite of that hatred, the works of the Father done by the Son showed forth the mercy, the kindness, the grace, the compassion, the tenderness and the love, as well as the power of the Father, in a way that faith could appreciate and rejoice in. The Lord was desirous that His own should fully recognize this, for it was to them He said, “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake” (John 14:11). Surely they amply expressed the abounding goodness of the Father.

The Apostle Paul spoke of Him as the Father of mercies or of compassions, as well as the God of all comfort or encouragement. These things find their source in the Father, and flow from Him. James, too, reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from Him who is the Father of lights, and who Himself knows no variableness nor shadow of turning, whatever may be said of the lights He has given. Again, however great may be the splendour and the magnificence which shall yet fill all things, with Christ as the Centre—as the Epistle to the Ephesians discloses—He Himself is said to be “the Father of glory” (1:17). All comes from Him. Moreover, the Lord spoke of the promise of the Father,—the gift of the Spirit (Acts 1:4). All these things eloquently proclaim His infinite grace and His Divine greatness; but how vast must be the durable riches and wondrous wisdom of the Father also, for has He not given constitution and distinctive being to every family in the heavens and on the earth? therefore all are separately named of Him, as Ephesians 3:15 tells us. Finally, does not 1 Corinthians 8:6 clearly show that He is eternal, when it says, “There is one God, the Father, of whom are all things”? Elsewhere we are told that “all things were created by the Son of His love (Col. 1:16); and the Holy Ghost is said to be the eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14); yet this Scripture plainly declares the eternity as well as the deity of the Father, for how could “all things” be of Him were He not before all? The Father’s counsel, the Son’s work, and the Spirit’s power, explain for us the relative activities of Him who is first called in the Bible by that Name of plural majesty,—“ELOHIM” (Gen. 1:1). This is He who said, Let us make man; and again we read in Luke 15, “Let us make merry”. There the relative activities of the Son, the Spirit and the Father in relation to redemption are vividly and beautifully illustrated for us. Great and eternal are the joys resulting from the Father’s counsel of blessing.

That Which is With Him

We have seen that all things are of the Father, but the Holy Spirit in 1 John 2:16 excepts two things: “Because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (N.Tr.). These two world-energies—lust and pride—have not—nay, could not—have their origin in Him, for with Him are righteousness, holiness and love in infinite perfection. Such things, therefore, could not have their source in the Father.

In John 17, our Lord Jesus Christ addressed Him as righteous Father (verse 25), and as holy Father (verse 11). We read, too, of the love of the Father (1 John 2:11). In all three passages the world is contrasted and exposed. First as ignorant, then as evil, and finally as that which excludes the love of the Father.

Constant familiarity with terms is apt to cause us to lose the sense of the importance of that which they express. In a world of unrighteousness and ignorance of the true God, it should surely be a strong stay to be assured that the One to whom we belong is righteous. Amidst the unholy scenes, too, through which we pass, how comforting to our trusting hearts it is to know that He is holy! And, if the love of the world shuts out His love, we can surely rejoice that the love of the Father filling our hearts expels the other. Nor need we allow the sense of our sinful condition as children of fallen Adam to cause fear and distance. It is rather a cause for thanksgiving that the truth has enabled us to discover this, and to behold the grace which has provided a perfect Saviour and Deliverer in the Son, giving us to avail ourselves also of His all-prevailing sacrifice, so that the righteousness and holiness and love, which are with the Father, are all for us, who through. the Son have access to the Father by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). The work of perfect love casts out fear (1 John. 4:18).

In speaking of that which is with the Father we must again remind our hearts, only One who knew what was there could tell us. The Son alone could “all its secrets tell.” And it is in the abiding ministry of the Spirit through John, given after failure had invaded the assemblies, that these riches are fully unveiled for us. It is there “THE FATHER” is so named 88 times: 72 in the Gospel and 16 in his epistles; whereas Matthew gives but 3 (11:27; 28:19), Mark 1 (13:32), and Luke 2 (10:22). It is also in John’s writings we have” THE SON” so named 22 times, and only ONCE in the Old Testament (Psalm 2:12), and but to times in the rest of the New. These figures speak for themselves, and are consistent with the fact that the Spirit gives us the perfect revelation of the Father and His things in and by the Son through John. The Son was with the Father, and shared along with Him in Godhead glory before the world was (John 17:5). He came forth from the Father, and, as a Man, the Son of the Father, declared what was with Him from whom He came.

Pre-eminently He made known the love which was there, and though He Himself was truly a man, nevertheless He was still the Son in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18), and the Father who sent Him was both with Him and in Him (16:32; 14:11), as He too was in the Father; therefore, that love which He knew so well could be revealed by Him in perfection; and when He speaks of it as that which the Father had for Him before the foundation of the world (17:4), we may well rejoice; but when He further says that the Father loves us, who have believed on the Son, as He loves Him, we can only bow in adoration. How marvellous! and yet how true! for the Son has disclosed the fact—The Father loves us as He loved the Son before the world’s foundation!

With the Father was also life—eternal life. This, too, He would have made ours along with the love; therefore He sent the Son in view of this, and the Son came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (10:10). This, however, necessitated His death, for we were sinners. He therefore died that we might live, and all who appropriate His death have eternal life; but the life itself, “which was with the Father (1 John 1:2), has been shown in the Son for our contemplation and delight—in Him, “the Word of life,”—its embodiment and expression,—who was seen and heard by the disciples, What they saw and heard they passed on to us, and it is in that way we who have believed receive the truth, and with that abiding in us, we “abide in the Son and in the Father; and this is the promise which He promised us, life eternal” (1 John 2:24-25). “He that has the Son has life” (1 John 5:12), for in having the Son we have the Father also. The Son brought the life which was with the Father into manifestation here, as well as the love, and both are now the portion of His own. This is surely heaven upon earth. No wonder it is said to be made known to us that our “joy may be full” (1 John 1:4).

We are told, too, that glory was with Him before the world was. In that glory the Son shared, for in John 17:5 He speaks of it to the Father as “the glory which I had along with Thee before the world was.” That surely was Godhead glory. But all true glory finds its source there; and counselled glory through redemption shall soon be fully established. “The Father of glory,” “the Lord of glory,” and “the Spirit of glory” shall be all in all in a suitable realm of “eternal glory.” “The God of glory” shall rejoice eternally in the glorious results of Divine counsel, service, power and love. Foreknowledge (1 Peter 1:2) too, being with the Father, along with perfect wisdom, He could elect and predestinate accordingly without flaw.

There is one undisclosed secret, which remains with the Father. It concerns the time of the Son of Man’s return in majesty and power (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). This is by Divine arrangement clearly, and only emphasizes the Son’s Omniscience, for it was He who told us of it, and how could He have done so had He been less than He was?

Moreover, all the Father’s things are the Son’s! This is twice mentioned (Isaiah 16:15; 17:10). The Spirit makes them known to us. Here again we find evidence of the eternal relations of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Speaking of the Son as man we read of the Father giving Him to have life in Himself, as the Father had; also of Him giving all judgment, and all things, into His hands (John 5:26-27; 3:35). And it was the Father’s will that those who saw the Son and believed on Him should have eternal life (John 6:40). This was His promise, as we have seen, and His commandment too (John 12:50). How unspeakably wealthy then are those who “continue in the Son and in the Father”!

Space and time fail us to speak of the home, the best robe, the ring and the shoes of Luke 15; and of the music, the dancing and merry-making, where light and love and life and glory dwell.

The Father’s Name

Anticipating His ascension as a man to His Father, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke certain things in the world in the hearing of His own, that they might have the peculiar joy which was fulfilled in themselves (John 17:13). Among other things, they heard Him tell the Father He had manifested His Name to them (verse 6); and again He said, “I have made known to them Thy Name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them and I in them” (verse 26). Of all the disclosures which the Son made when here on earth, none surely surpassed the supreme blessedness of this.

After He had opened the way of life for us through His death, and when He was about to ascend to His Father as the risen man,—the Son of God,—He made it known to those He called His brethren, that a new relationship was now theirs,—His Father was their Father, and His God was their God (chapter 20:17). In the life and power of this wonderful relationship, we shall be in liberty to rejoice in the revelation of the Father’s Name. Nor must we overlook the fact that though Christ is here seen in John 20:55 the risen man, yet in verse 28 He accepts homage as LORD and GOD, because He never ceased to be the Son who was one with the Father (10:30). Had He only been man, His very perfection as such would have refused this; but He saw that the faith of Thomas had taken in who He was, and He therefore received from him this expression of the dignity and of the deity which were truly His. Moreover, had He not been one with the Father, how could He have fully manifested His Name?—told out what He is in Himself, for that is what it means.

There is an elevated sense of apartness from the world in the truth made known concerning the Father, so Jesus prayed to Him thus regarding His own: “Sanctify them by Thy truth, Thy word is truth.” Here in John 17 we have what may be truly called “the Lord’s prayer”; but in the prayer after the “manner” of which He taught His earthly disciples to pray in “secret,” and not with “vain repetitions,” He expresses the same thought of sanctity, “Hallowed be Thy Name” (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). That which energizes and glorifies the world in its own eyes is in no sense of the Father, and the love of it is exclusive of the love of the Father, as we have seen. The Son said to Him, while He was in the world, He kept those whom He had given to Him in the Father’s Name. Here lies the great truth of preservation as we go through a world of moral evil. So Jesus asked, “Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given Me.” If in the Name “Holy Father” we have preservation from the world, so in the Name “Righteous Father” we have the exposure of its ignorance—“the world has not known Thee” (verse 25). Judaism was worldly, so is Christendom; where then is righteousness to be found?—With the Father!—With God! and for the revelation of it we are dependent on the Son. He has made known His Name. The voice from heaven said, “Hear Him,” He came in His Father’s Name, and the religionists of that day received Him not (John 5:43), but in the same verse we are told of “another,” He will come “in His own name” and the world-religionists will receive Him, but only to be led into blackness and darkness and wrath. From the present tendencies in this direction there is preservation as we have seen, thank God, in the knowledge of the Father’s Name.

To pretend to honour Jesus Christ, as many do today, and yet to remain indifferent to the supreme revelation made by Him, does not savour of genuineness. When He Himself drew near to the hour of the great expression of His love to the Father (16:31)—when He was about to lay down His life according to the Father’s commandment—when in lowly obedience He would drink the cup given to Him by the Father, He said, “Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour. But for this cause came I to this hour. FATHER, GLORIFY THY NAME.” That is what filled His thoughts amidst the scenes of rejection and betrayal through which He was passing, and can a true believer today be callous as to the glory of that holy Name? The crowd that stood by thought it thundered when the voice from heaven answered, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again,” while others thought an angel had spoken to Him; but it was the response of the Father to Him who at all costs to Himself sought the glory of His great Name. We do not wonder, therefore, that—after He had laid down His life to this end, as well as for our eternal blessing—He was raised again from among the dead by the glory of the Father (Romans 6:4), for He thus expressed His deep delight and satisfaction in the One who had fully sustained the honour of His Name.

It was the Father who sent the Son, to be the world’s Saviour (1 John 4:14); and, in keeping with this, although men crucified Him between two malefactors, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And when risen, He sent the Gospel to every creature, telling the disciples to baptize in the Name of the Father as well as that of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Grace, therefore, beams forth in the Father’s Name—forgiving grace—saving grace—grace for the guilty—grace Divine, as well as holiness and righteousness and love. It has been said, The Father is God in grace. What a proof of this we have in Luke 15: “I have sinned,” confessed the prodigal! “Let us make merry,” said the father, “for this my son was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found!”

Infinite and varied are the moral splendours that combine to show forth the living glories of that Name of sanctity and grace. Jesus spoke of Him as “the living Father” (John 6:57); and the eternal life, the eternal glory, and the eternal love known in light and liberty, as we “continue in the Son and in the Father” by the Spirit’s grace and power, are more than sufficient to make our cup run over in the darkest days of the assemblies’ failure; but what will it be when “God is all in all”?—when all that the Father counselled, all that the Son secured, and all that the Spirit gave power for, is fully established in eternal blessedness?

Do we read of Him being addressed as “Father, Lord of heaven and earth (Matthew 11:25)? and again, in James 3:9, of Him who is “the Lord’s Father” (NT.)?—Do we confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9, New Translation)? and “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3).—Do we also read of “the Lord the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)? Do not these and many other Scriptures identify these three ever-glorious Persons, not only with “ELOHIM” (Genesis 1:1, etc.), but also with the “LORD our Lord” (“JEHOVAH our ADONAHY”—plural) of Psalm 8:1, 9? His Name of excellence is to be spread abroad over all the earth, and His glory is above the heavens. “In that day shall there be one Jehovah and His Name one” (Zechariah 14:9); but this is HE who put all things under the Son as Son of Man (compare Psalm 8:6; and 1 Corinthians 15:27-29); and He came to do the work necessary that God might be all in all, and also to show us the Father as we have seen. Moreover, consequent upon His ascension to the Father, the Spirit has come to make good to our adoring hearts that which has been revealed in and by the Son. Even in this we see the mutuality and oneness of the Persons of the Godhead the Spirit has been sent by the Father as the Comforter in the Son’s Name (John 14:26); He was sent by the Son from the Father as the great witness (chap. 15:26); and He came Himself to guide us into all truth (chapter 16:13). It was concerning the very day in which we live—the day of the abiding presence of the Spirit—Jesus said, “In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you” (chapter 20).

Redeemed by the Son, it is in Him as man we are brought to the Father, whom He has revealed; and the Father has received us with rejoicing in life and light and love and liberty where there is fullness of joy; and the Spirit ungrieved leads us into all truth and deepens our joy in the Father and the things of the Father.

Some Distinctions of the Son of Man

Notes of an Address in Edinburgh on Psalm 8, and other Scriptures

We will now briefly look at some of the peculiar distinctions which belong to our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of man, and turn successively to various Scriptures which show development of teaching in relation to His glory in this character from Psalm 8 and onward. We have already had very helpfully set before us many glories that belong to Him in other characters.

The human race, a race of sinners since Adam fell, was subject to judgment and banishment from God, but the Son of man, as promised, came; and He, who was also the Son of God, settled upon the cross the stupendous question of sin. He harmonized all the marvellous attributes of God in regard to the blessing of men, and God was glorified in Him. Hence, when Judas had gone out into the night, He said, “Now is the Son of man glorified.” Yes, glorified in the very place where He glorified God, and God has, as a consequence, exalted the Son of man to the throne. God was glorified in Him at the cross; the Son of man is now glorified in God Himself in the highest pinnacle of glory!

But that One, now glorified, brought to us the revelation of God—He is the Revealer. And, then, on the other hand, He has redeemed us by His precious blood—He is the Redeemer. Not only are we redeemed from sin, but to the God whom He has revealed. He has set us thus in His holy presence as reconciled now, so that we can joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the reconciliation.

Now let us think of Psalm 8. David, you remember, looked abroad at night, and as he considered the heaven, the moon and the stars that God had established, he raised this question in his mind before God—“What is man that Thou art mindful of him? and the Son of man that Thou visitest Him?” It is sometimes said in answer to that question—man is a sinner; he has dishonoured God, degraded His holy Name, and dragged His glory in the dust; thus showing up the awful state into which he had got. Now, while that is true, it is not the answer of Psalm 8, neither is it the answer of Hebrews 2. Jesus crowned with glory and honour, and set over the works of God’s hands is the answer.

This being first indicated in the 8th Psalm, we are there specially pointed to the beasts of the earth, the fowls of the air, and, what is a step further, the fish of the sea, as being under His dominion. Of course, the further statement that all things are put under His feet involves far more than that. Truly, all the earth was to come under His dominion as well as the cattle, the fowls, and the fish of the sea. Even when He came down on earth and a question was raised about paying the temple tax, He could command a fish and it obeyed Him (Matthew 17:37). Dominion over the fish of the sea was not said by Daniel (2:38) to be given to imperial Nebuchadnezzar!

But what did David know about the fish of the sea? He was accustomed to look after the sheep! That is how the Modernists and Higher Critics talk. Rather should they ask, what does David’s God know about them? Far more than the best of scientific scholars! He made them all, and He made David write those words, “The paths of the seas,” long centuries ago, and men have only just found out that fish have heir paths in the seas, just as we have ours on the land! God has set the Son of man over all. He has put everything under His feet.

This gives a general statement which is extended from (1) Psalm 8 to (2) Hebrews 2:5-10, then to (3) Ephesians 1:22, and to (4) 1 Corinthians 15:27-28. These extensions from the creatures of the earth to the millennial redemption glory, and then to the heavenly and universal, also, finally, to the eternal, with the distinctive place of the Son, may be illustrated by picturing to ourselves an ivory box suitably crowned; this, when opened, discloses first a copper box, which may be taken to signify the earthly dominion of the Son of man, as brought before us in Psalm 8.

Now notice how the Spirit of God carries us on to something further in Hebrews 2. There it is said, He has not put under angels the administration of the next age, “the age to come,” but under Man. We are told in the end of Hebrews 1 that angels are servants on behalf of the heirs of salvation in the present age. They are created a little higher in order than man; and we are told that Jesus was made a little inferior to them as Man, in view of redemption. But mark how afterwards angels are seen to be attendants upon man, for when the Son of man comes in His glory all the holy angels will come with Him. The redemption of Israel will then have come, and the millennial kingdom will then have been set up.

This brings us to a further box within the copper one, to a silver box signifying this, for all is placed under His feet. Not only the cattle, the fowls, and the fish, but His kingdom and dominion will be complete. He will be the “Prince of the kings of the earth.”

“Kings shall fall down before Him,

And gold and incense bring.”

From Him the law shall go forth as Administrator of the whole world. He shall “judge the world in righteousness,” and what will He do? He will make men sing for very gladness! “Shall He die, and His Name perish?” Hallelujah! The answer is given in Psalm 72, “His Name shall endure forever: His Name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed … and, blessed be His glorious Name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory: Amen, and Amen.”

We must, however, go a step further. Within the silver box we discover a golden one, and, to arrive at the centre of all, that, too, must be afterwards opened. The Spirit of God carries us to heavenly heights in Ephesians 1, where again Psalm 8 is quoted. Our Lord Jesus Christ is there seen as raised again from among the dead by the surpassing greatness of the power of God, and set at His right hand in the heavenly places above every range of authority in the universe; all things being put beneath His feet in this age, as well as the coming one. To what heavenly majesty does this take us?

But now, let us notice a glorious fact. He is Head over all these things to the Assembly which is His body. Not only Head of the assembly, but Head over all this vast range of glory to the assembly. Do you often ponder this fact, that being saved, sealed by the Spirit and brought into the body of Christ, you are livingly linked up with the Man at the right hand of God, who is set over all? You are vitally united to Him, and to share with Him in the glory over which He is the Head. Yes, you are, through grace and power Divine, a member of His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

We come now to our last Scripture. We might imagine that we could not get beyond the golden glories just spoken of! We opened the covering box of crowned ivory, also the copper and silver boxes; and now within the golden box we discover a resplendent diamond of surpassing beauty—the Person Himself, who is set over all! It says in 1 Corinthians 15 that there is but One in the vast universe who is not put under the Son of man. What? Is there then an exception to the completeness of His supremacy? Of necessity, “He is excepted, which did put all things under Him.” Who is that? The eternal God Himself! He is the only exception.

What a place for Man! But that Man first settled the great question of sin at the cross, and glorified God in so doing, when, as Son of man (which Adam, the first man, was not) He came to seek and to save. Though He suffered, and was spitefully entreated by the religious and political leaders of Israel, yet He spoke of the time when He would come in His kingdom in glory, it is striking that among the precious stones connected with the Assembly the diamond is not named (see Revelation 21:19-20). It is the first of minerals, the hardest and most beautiful, and is therefore reserved as a symbol in relation to Christ (see Exodus 28, etc.).

“His beauty shineth far above

Our highest note of praise.”

For He who became Man is none other than THE SON. This is the Person in whom all centres.

We are told in 1 Corinthians 15:24, that the end will come when He will give up the kingdom to Him who is God and Father, having brought everything into subjection unto Himself, and into order through His mediatorial work. There will not be a disturbing element then for ever and ever, blessed be God! Not a thought or motion contrary to Him who is holy, and who in His nature is love. God Himself shall be “all in all.” “ALL,” objectively and subjectively. “ALL,” transcendentally and responsively. The ever-blessed GOD Himself all to us and in us all.

Finally, let us replace the boxes; but retaining the diamond, we place it upon the crown of the ivory box, which covers those of copper, and silver, and gold. His glory is set “ABOVE THE HEAVENS.” All things are put under Him! To this height of supreme majesty are we brought, and we find all centring in the Son, who became Man—the Son of man—now the Head of the vast universe of bliss, resplendent in His personal glory.

But now, mark! as we behold Him supreme in that heavenly splendour, having as Man upon earth taken the place of subjection to God (though still the Son), we see Him retaining that wonderful place eternally. In His life here He added, we may say, a fresh distinction to Himself by the things that He suffered, for He “learned” one thing in this world, as Hebrews 5:8 tells us, “though He were Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (New Translation). We, too, necessarily suffer; but we learn much in and by the suffering. It is the school of moral instruction, the university where we study at the present time. But the Son, having as Man taken the lovely place of subjection to God, is seen as Head of the universe and yet a Man subject to God for eternity, retaining that distinction for ever and ever.

What a thought! But why subject? Why should the Head of that vast universe be in subjection? Because all under Him is now answering to the mind of God without one single thing to disturb, and God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is all in all. What could tell us the story of the devotedness of Christ like this? The story of the glory of His rich grace will be declared as no saint or angel could tell it, as we see Him there, subject to God for ever and ever. Eternal praise be to His great and holy Name!

This ends our reading for this session. Until next time, have a great day, and God bless.