Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

The New Man

If the New man were better known by us, there would be less of that which characterises the old man in evidence.

If the ONE new man were better known in the power of the one Spirit, less would be seen of the enmity and division of religious antagonism which belongs to the old man.

If the one new man IN CHRIST were better understood in a spiritual sense, there would be less allowed of that which was judged at the cross, where our old man was crucified with Christ.

If the one new man in Christ which is created BY, IN AND AFTER CHRIST were better understood, then there would be more of Christ’s character and grace in evidence.

If the one new man where CHRIST IS EVERYTHING AND IN ALL were rightly known and appreciated in a divine way, then exactly that would be seen as to life and character with those who have put off the old man and put on the new.

When our blessed Lord Jesus Christ appears publicly, “HE SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, AND TO BE ADMIRED IN ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE.” May it be more so now with us for His Name’s sake.

The Oil of Gladness

“I seem to be different to other Christians. I don’t seem to rejoice as they do. I would like to be always overflowing with gladness.”

But that is exactly what you are always going to be! You have received Christ as your Saviour. You rightly call upon God as your Father; that cry of relationship has been brought into your heart by the Spirit. You belong to the Lord, and with unspeakable gladness you are going to rejoice in Him for ever.

That is one reason why He died to put away our sins: that our happy lot might be in Him and with Him, amidst the song and splendour of God’s eternal glory. Nothing can alter that. Neither sorrow, nor suffering, nor tears can come there.

“Yes, I know that, thank God. But I would like to be always overflowing with joy and gladness NOW.”

You cannot mean that you wish for nothing but joy in this world, where our blessed Lord endured so much sorrow and suffering. It is written, “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). It is true that in chapter 4 those same saints are exhorted to “rejoice in the Lord alway.”

There is, however, nothing contradictory in these two scriptures. We may indeed rejoice in the Lord always; but we live in a world which would rob us of this joy. Therefore it is essential for the preservation of our joy in Him, that we be ready for emergencies like the soldier serving his king on the field.

We must not forget that Christ is still rejected, and that we are left in a world where sin abounds, and where Satan’s snares are set to trip us up. We are therefore exhorted to be “sober” and “grave.” That joyful servant of Christ, the Apostle Paul, tells us that he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”

“Well, that is what I would like: to be always rejoicing in the Lord, and yet not to shirk any suffering that comes upon me for His sake.”

Very good. Seek, and ye shall find. Only see to it that you seek in the right way.

We are all apt to think so much about our own joy, that we give little thought to the joy of others and to the joy of the Lord. To the Corinthians Paul said, We are “helpers of your joy.” As we promote the gladness of others our own is increased; as we water we are watered; as we share with others the oil of gladness it flows richly upon ourselves. It freely flows down from our blessed Lord in His heavenly glory, for the cheer of those He is “not ashamed to call brethren”; for the encouragement and blessing of those who are His “companions.” How good to be able to pass a little of this along to another!

But think of His own joy in the glory of God. He is “anointed with the oil of gladness” above His companions (Hebrews 1:9). Nor would we have it otherwise. No heart that knows Him would be so engrossed with its own gladness as not to rejoice that He who is so worthy has the greater measure thereof. His gladness must necessarily be above ours. He is pre-eminent in this, as He is also in glory. Our hearts say, He is worthy! Nevertheless, though the measure is greater, the character of the gladness is the same. It is the same excellent oil which anoints Him in glory that flows down to us here. The same Spirit that rests on Him has come to all those who belong to Him. We share in the same gladness with Him.

“In him and with him ever

Is found by grace our lot.”

The One Foundation

Notes of an address given in Edinburgh in April, 1921

It was by the apostle to the Gentiles the Spirit of God said, “Other Foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” In these days, therefore, when every fundamental truth is vehemently assaulted, those who are of the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, do well to see to it that they allow nothing to move them away from Him, but rather have diligence to build one another up in Christ Jesus.

In the Scriptures which we have read (Genesis 49:24; Isaiah 8:13-16; 28:16; Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-7 Daniel 2:34-35) the recurrence of the word “Stone,” a title of our Lord Jesus Christ, indicates that construction or building is in the mind of the Spirit; just as when He is spoken of as the Shepherd, a flock is in view. In the former case, however, He Himself is a part of the structure—the most important and the pre-eminent part truly, yet still a part of the building—whereas the Shepherd is distinct from the sheep although He cares for them, and sees that not one of the flock shall perish (John 10).

Our verses cover a wide field, showing that Christ, and Christ only, is the Foundation for the nation of Israel, for the assembly, for the nations of the whole earth and for the individual. All national, ecclesiastical, imperial or individual building that has not our Lord Jesus Christ as its Foundation and Corner-stone must utterly fail sooner or later, but that will abide which is constructed upon and in Himself.

There are many other Scriptures which speak thus of the Lord. The first we read shows us His origin. He is from “the hands of the mighty God of Jacob,” not from Joseph, as some might suppose, for, as our last Scripture tells us, He is “cut out without hands,” that is, human hands. He is altogether Divine. He is directly from God’s hands. What a stay for the souls of those who trust in Him! From the other verses we learn first the wonderful fact that He is “Jehovah of hosts Himself,” also that He was tested before He became the Foundation-stone, and that when He was rejected by Israel’s religious and political builders He became the Cornerstone of the assembly of God and the Head of the corner exalted in glory; finally, that He eventually overthrows the world-system—“the great image”—and fills the whole earth with His beneficent administration. The knowledge of such an One, Who is so great, so capable, so perfect and so glorious, gives true stability to the soul.

A Sure Foundation

In Isaiah 28, where our Lord Jesus Christ is introduced as the sure Foundation, woe is pronounced upon the pride of man and upon the excesses of his inebriation: his covenant of lies and agreement of falsehood shall be swept away! The crown of pride shall be trodden under feet and his glorious beauty become as a fading flower! And in that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty to the remnant who trust in Him. “Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a Foundation a Stone, a tried Stone, a precious Corner-stone, a sure Foundation: he that believes on Him shall not make haste” (verse 16).

It is the Supreme Ruler who lays this Foundation—the Lord God. He establishes it in Zion. There He sets the only Foundation of lasting order and blessing. The context shows that national establishment is specially in view, but more also is in the mind of the Spirit, for we read of His dealing with “the whole earth” (verse 22). This “cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working” (verse 29). All building owned of God rests upon the Foundation laid in Zion. There is none other. Sovereign grace is established in Christ, Who, though rejected of men, is exalted to the right hand of God.

What certain hope for eternity can anyone have apart from the only Foundation which God Himself has provided? To ignore it is to court the indignation of God! To refuse it is to secure His judgment! to own any other is presumption, the pride of which will be Divinely punished. Apart from this Foundation all must perish eternally.

“On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.”

The individual who rests here is safe. He is on a “Sure Foundation.”

This Foundation has been tested, and it has proved itself to be Divinely perfect. The Stone has been “tried” as the prophet foretold. When we read the Gospels we see the tremendous testings He passed through, testings, however, which only brought into relief His intrinsic perfectness. Did Satan tempt Him in the wilderness—in three tremendous assaults seeking to move Him from dependence on God, to tempt God’s care of Him, and to take the world-kingdoms and glory before God’s appointed time? The devil was severely defeated, and he left Him Victor on the field alone, where the dependence, trust and patience of the Son of God shone in holy splendour. Was He oppressed and afflicted? No violence marked Him, neither was any deceit in His mouth: He committed no sin, neither did any guile proceed from His liPsalm Was He provoked, reviled and questioned? He meekly endured, reviling not again, but answered all with grace and wisdom; and, then, enquiring concerning the Messiah that which His questioners could not answer—nor could they propound any further questions to Him—He remained victorious—the sinless, perfect, patient, meek and wise Lord and Saviour, the tested and triumphant Stone, the Divine Questioner who triumphed over His questioners, and the perfect Answer in Himself to His own enigma which they failed to explain; He was David’s Son and David’s Lord: David’s offspring truly, but David’s Root as well; and they were silent in His presence.

Did He suffer instead of reigning in royal greatness? He threatened not, but left Himself in the hands of Him who judges righteously. Did unrighteousness surge around Him? it caused Him sorrow, but His own personal righteousness was evidenced the more, for He was consistent in every relationship. Did unholiness and harshness abound? He was grieved, but the Holy One was untainted and Divine love showed itself in all His ways. Did falsehood and cruelty obtain? Truth and grace in blended beauty combined in Him. Did merciless injustice characterize men? In Him was expressed the mercy and justice of God. Did unhappiness, trouble and unrest fill the souls of men? His joy in communion with His Father was full, and His own peace was undisturbed whilst He invited others to come to Him to find rest for their souls. In contrast to the corruption and oppression which displayed the debasement of fallen man, His tested perfections’ were seen to be flawless in their moral beauty.

The dreadful onslaughts of the power of darkness did but bring additional lustre to the excellencies of Jesus, just as the afflictions which beset Him from sinful man manifested the infinite worth which was already His, but when we see Him in the depths of suffering which came upon Him directly from the hand of God—when He took our place, bearing our sins and the judgment which was our due on account of them, when He endured the cross, we may well wonder that He could scathelessly come through such a fiery testing as that, and adore also the love that moved Him to bear it for our sakes and for the glory of our God and Father! And when we behold Him arise immortal and incorruptible from the tomb, the Victor over death and the grave, praises, everlasting praises, must fill our hearts, songs of rejoicing break forth from our tongues, and His worthiness our mouths must utter; for this “tried Stone” which bore all and failed not is our “Sure Foundation,” and the ““Precious Corner-stone” of the building of God.

On Him our souls may recline without misgiving! Founded upon the Rock of Ages no tempest can overthrow us! The floods may break and the storms of time rage, thunders may roar mightily and the lightnings flash fearfully, thrones may fall and the nations be moved, men, great men may call to the rocks to hide them—fear may overtake them because of what is coming upon the world—but the tested Foundation upon which the feeblest believer rests in faith abides unshaken, unmoved and immovable! Our Lord Jesus Christ is a “Sure Foundation,” and this has been fully proved, for He was the “tried Stone,” and He has triumphantly manifested His intrinsic perfection amidst the severest trials. Who can doubt? How stable is this precious Ground of our faith! What stability is imparted to our souls by the knowledge of Himself!

“His Name’s a Rock which winds above

Nor waves below can ever move,

Christ is our everlasting tower,

He braved the mighty tempest’s roar,”

A Rejected Stone

It must, however, be remembered that the One who is everything to the assembly was rejected when presented to men. As “the Stone of Israel” He was cast away as worthless by the nation. This was foretold, as our Scriptures along with many others show. To the political and religious heads of the nation, Peter said, “This is the Stone which was set at nought by you builders, the same is become the Corner-stone, neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:11-12). In writing afterwards to those of Israel who had believed on the rejected One, He says, “To Whom coming, a living Stone, cast away as worthless by men, but with God chosen, precious, yourselves also, as living stones are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4).

It is the apostle to the Gentiles who writes thus to those who believed at Ephesus, “In whom all the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord, Jesus Christ Himself being the Corner-stone” (Ephesians 2:21). The One who was rejected and crucified has been raised from among the dead by the power of God, and glorified at His right hand. Now for those called out from the Jews and those called out from the Gentiles the rejected Stone has become the Corner, where both meet and grow into one building in Him. Although rejected, He is, however, the chosen of God. Israel stumbled at the Stumbling Stone. Man refused Him, but God glorified Him: man treated Him as worthless and cast Him away, but to God He was precious and He honoured Him in heaven; and now to us the Corner-stone is precious also. Religious structures that are not fitted together in Him cannot be owned of God, for the assembly, the house of God, which is being formed today, is “a spiritual house” and Christ is the Corner-stone.

Moreover, this rejected Saviour, whom men despised and rejected, is not only the Sure Foundation of the building of God, and the Corner-stone into which believers from amongst the Jews and from amongst the Gentiles are fitted together, but He is also “the Head of the corner”—the crown and glory of the building! What an answer God has given to man’s treatment of Him by thus exalting Christ! He has made Him everything to those who believe! The preciousness of Christ is theirs! He is the Ground of all their confidence—the “Sure Foundation”; the bond of their holy unity—the “Corner-stone”; and the grace and glory of it also—the “Head of the corner.” How great is the loss of those who reject Him! How infinite is the gain of those who believe on Him! Exalted above every range of dignity in the universe, whether principalities, authorities, powers or dominions, He is Head over all things to the assembly, which He will soon call to share with Himself in the heavenly glory where He already is.

“Then with Him shall our rest be on high,

Where in holiness bright we’ll sit down,

In the joy of His love ever nigh,

In the peace that His presence shall crown.”

The Stone Divine

The story does not end when the assembly is glorified with her Bridegroom in heaven, for Christ is the Stone from “the hands of the mighty God of Jacob”—He is “the Stone of Israel,” thus—therefore, He must return to make way for Israel’s national supremacy on earth after the assembly is taken to heaven. He must come as the Stone of Divine origin—from God’s hands—as the Stone “cut out without hands”—not of man’s providing at all. Of this our last Scripture (Daniel 2) speaks.

But, let it be marked well, the first action of this Stone is to smite the great image (which is the symbol of the present world-system) upon its feet and break it in pieces. The interpretation is given to us in verse 42. The Stone was cut out without hands, and it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold. The great God has made known what shall come to pass hereafter: and “the interpretation thereof is sure.” The book of Revelation shows us how this will be carried out in detail, and the second Psalm tells us when He takes the kingdom and the dominion and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession, He will first of all dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Kings and judges of the earth are therefore urged to own fealty to Him before His wrath is kindled but a little, for, it is added, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Happy indeed are they that truly do so in view of that which hastens to come upon a Christ rejecting world.

After the Divine displeasure has been executed, and the Stone which was refused has ground to powder the godless systems of men, we are told the Stone “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). This is the symbol of Christ’s glorious administration when God sets up the kingdom in His hands (verse 4), when His earthly throne shall be established in Jerusalem, the city of the great King, in connection with Israel, and the law shall go forth from Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem to the nations and peoples of the earth (Isaiah 2:3). Like showers upon the mown grass His blessing will fall, “Men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.” “The whole earth shall be filled with His glory.”

Our place—the assembly’s place—which was formed in Him during the time of His rejection, will be in scenes of heavenly glory, though we shall share too in His reign over the earth. But, as we said, He will take us to heaven to be with Him first.

“Jesus Thou King of glory,

We soon shall dwell with Thee,

And sing Thy love’s bright story,

When we Thy glory see.”

Meanwhile, before that longed-for day arrives, the high and holy honour is granted to those who belong to the “spiritual house” which is built upon the “Sure Foundation” to draw near to God by Him, for the Word reminds us that we are “a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” The house is for God to dwell in, and the stones that form that house are also priests, and the priesthood is to offer thanksgiving, praise and worship to God. Such spiritual sacrifices, “the fruit of the lips,” are pleasing to God as we offer them to Him by His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the one Leader and High Priest of His providing. Having Him as our Foundation, the Corner-stone and glory of the building of God, and the One by whom we may boldly draw near as worshippers, we can offer with confidence and gladness our worship, for it is “acceptable to God” by Him.

“By Him our songs of praise ascend

To God whose love shall never end.”

The One whom God Delights to Honour

Of all the circles which God has counselled and planned for glory, order and blessing, that into which the church, the assembly, is brought is the chiefest, for the assembly is the body of Christ who is the Head of all things. The members of His body are out-called from the world by God’s grace, but they are also called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and it is the mission of the Spirit who indwells them to show to them the glories of Jesus (John 16) and the breadth and length and depth and height of the vast range of blessedness which He will soon manifest in glorious order and joy. They are saved by grace, they are introduced into present favour, and they rejoice in hope of the day of glory (Romans 5).

But along with all this rich present and eternal blessing, it must be remembered that there are “the sufferings of this present time” also, and these sufferings are very real, for, said the apostle, “Even we who have the first-fruits of the Spirit groan within ourselves” (Romans 8); and again, “To you it is given on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1). Now suffering of this sort is not without profit to ourselves personally, nor is it without benefit to others, and it results in the furtherance of divine designs as 1 Peter 1:6-8 indicates: “Though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,” that is, the glory soon to be displayed with Christ the Centre of it all! It fills our hearts beforehand while we await His coming!

We remember the story of the two disciples, who on the Resurrection day were going to their home disappointed and sad, and how Jesus found them and talked to them until their hearts burned within them as a holy joy glowed there. He talked to them of the sufferings first and the glory to follow, saying, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” He endured the atoning sufferings for us alone, but others now share in “the fellowship of His sufferings”—His sufferings from man in the path of devotedness to God on the way to the glory; and they also taste the bitter trials which are common to us all in a world like the present.

But what are these sufferings in the estimation of a man whose heart is set on the glory? Paul could say, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us”; and again in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Wherefore we faint not, but if indeed our outward man is consumed, yet the inward is renewed day by day. For our momentary and light affliction works for us in surpassing measure an eternal weight of glory” (New Translation). In all that he suffered he found consolation and comfort, in all he saw profit resulting in glory, yea, “IN ALL THESE THINGS”—not as being out of them or evading them—“We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:7). Christ was near to him in the trials! The love of Christ filled his heart in his afflictions! He was more than a conqueror through Him! He knew present joy and satisfaction in the love of Christ, who gave Himself for us. It was a love that He knew well and which we may know well, and yet it passeth knowledge, for it made Him ready to suffer for us beyond all others, and what none other could suffer, and so enter into His glory. Now the One who suffered is He whom God delights to honour, He is the One of whom it is decreed that all should “honour the Son even as they honour the Father.”

Joseph was honoured after his rejection and affliction. He was exalted and made very high after his humiliation and after the iron had entered into his soul, and this resulted in salvation and blessing for his brethren and the whole earth. Mordecai, the man whom the king delighted to honour (Est. 6:6-7, 11), was first of all the man for whom a gallows was made of fifty cubits high (5:14). But the Agagite (a type of sin in the flesh) was hanged thereon, and the king’s wrath pacified (7:10). Mordecai’s exaltation resulted in rest and blessing and gladness to God’s people (9:18) as well as eventual peace and prosperity for all. Then what shall be said of the greater than Joseph and of the greater than Mordecai? He passed through the time of His sorrows, He left the prison-tomb of death for ever behind, He rose from among the dead and ascended to God’s right hand. There He is crowned with glory and honour upon the throne. To Christ is given the first place in every created position of dignity in the heavens and on the earth, and by Him all shall be reconciled and set in beauteous order for God’s own satisfaction. But in that supreme place of honour, He is the Head of His assembly, holding the pre-eminence as such. Therefore we said that the subjects of God’s saving grace today are called into the very highest circle of favour. “He is the Head of the body, the assembly, who is the Beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, that He might have the first place in all things” (Colossians 1:18, New Translation). If Mordecai’s people were blessed and honoured in his exaltation, how much more is the body of Christ, the assembly, blessed and honoured in the supreme glory of her exalted Head!

Joseph was dearly loved of Jacob his father. Jesus is the Son of the Father’s love. The many-coloured coat which Joseph wore was his father’s gift, but it was dipped in blood when he was rejected by his brethren. The many-coloured glories which encircle our Lord Jesus Christ are the outcome of the Father’s counsels, but through the blood of redemption the rejected One shall shine forth amidst them all as supreme for the Father’s delight. Asenath, the bride given to Joseph when he was exalted, shared in Joseph’s glory, the bride of the Lamb shall share in His. How wonderful to us are His own words, speaking to His Father, He said, “The glory Thou hast given Me I have given them.” If Joseph’s administration resulted in all being brought under Pharaoh, the glorious administration of Christ will result in God being “all in all.” What an eternal day of rejoicing and love will that be! What deep and eternal delight will it yield to our God and Father!

In the presence of such heights and depths of infinite blessedness and majesty, we do well to turn our thoughts simply to the One who will bring it to pass, to the One whom the prophet calls “WONDERFUL.” We sometimes sing to Him,

“Royal robes shall soon invest Thee,

Royal splendours crown Thy brow!”

In public display shall that be seen! but don’t let us forget that Pilate, the Representative of Imperial Rome, brought Him out to the people wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and said, “BEHOLD THE MAN.” What a sight! There stood the Man of the eternal purpose and counsels of God, the Man who is to be first in universal majesty and dominion, the Man whom God delights to honour! Derision and contempt were being hurled at Him by men then, though even the judge declared Him to be faultless, yet the glories typified in the blue, the scarlet, the purple and the gold of the tabernacle of testimony shall find their beautiful and displayed fulfilment in Him. The priestly crown and robes of Exodus 28, the royal crown of Judah’s King only point on to His excelling distinctions. In the Gospel of the King we are told that Pilate’s soldiers mocked Him with a short “scarlet cloak” of royal military design, putting a reed in His right hand and a crown of thorns upon His holy brow (Matt. 27:27-29). They added the “purple” in the Gospel of Jehovah’s devoted Servant (Mark 15:17); Herod’s troops put a shining or “splendid robe” in mockery upon the Son of Man in the Gospel of the perfect Man (Luke 23:11) and send Him back to Pilate. The “purple robe” (John 19:5), indicating imperial glory, is prominent in the Gospel of the Son—the Word who was GOD become flesh. But God will see to it that the royal, imperial, and universal honours derisively put on the rejected Messiah by His sinful creatures, shall be His in reality; and it shall publicly be seen that

“Heaven’s royal diadem adorns

The mighty Victor’s brow.”

In all that He passed through His divine perfections shone out! The pressure and the suffering but caused the sweet perfume of His holiness, love, meekness, majesty, gentleness, strength, grace and truth to flow forth! He has glorified God here and God has glorified Him in Himself there. On the cross He upheld the throne and upon the throne He upholds the victory of the cross! From heaven He came and suffered vicariously on earth, and from heaven He’ll come again and victoriously fill the earth with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea! All the thrones, authorities, principalities, dominions and powers on earth and in heaven shall find their Centre in Him who is pre-eminent! He is already set over all as Head, and the assembly, His body, is livingly united to Him even now where He is, and she awaits the day of His glorious outshining; then when Christ who is our life shall be manifested, we shall also be manifested with Him in glory. Suffering now, reigning with Him then, our deep joy in Himself and the high favour of faith’s present portion will give place to the exceeding joy of being actually with and like the One whom God delights to honour.

The Overcomer’s Riches, Reward and Rest

Earnest religionists, in their endeavours to flee from the flagrant corruptions of the world, have often fallen into worse forms of lust and pride by entering monasteries and nunneries. The true believer in the Son of God, on the other hand, is to be “in the world” and yet “not of the world.” The place of the children of God, as regards the world, is the same as Christ’s, “the world knows us not because it knew Him not.” They are known in the matters of everyday life, but in their true nature and relationship with the Father the world is incapable of rightly knowing them. It is because of this nature and the faith which belongs to their new relationship that overcoming the world marks them. “For all that has been begotten of God gets the victory over the world; and this is the victory which has gotten the victory over the world, our faith” (1 John 5:4: New Translation). This is the one place where the Spirit uses the word “faith” by John. It is “our” faith, and it is centred in the Sort of God.

While the world remains in ignorance of the children of God in their new relationship, it has its religious leaders and teachers today just as distinctly as it had in Judaism. Of them we are told in 1 John 4:5, “They are of the world, for this reason they speak as of the world, and the world hears them;” and in verse 19 an arresting contrast is given, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the wicked one;” but this need not cause despondency to God’s children, for we read “Ye are of God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (4:4). The nature, the faith, the Son of God on Whom they believe and the Spirit given, all unite in securing victory for them, through the water and the blood which flowed from the Saviour’s side. And what a present abiding place is theirs in the Father’s love! “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God” (3:1).

Seven times the overcomer is addressed in the prophetic verses of Revelation 2 and 3. He is encouraged by divine grace and wisdom to be loyal amidst the varied phases of danger which beset the assemblies! Great are the riches and rewards the Lord holds out for the stimulation of faith and faithfulness!

1. “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (2:7).

2. “He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death” (2:11).

3. “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it” (2:17).

These first three were all preceded by a word to each one who had an “ear to hear” telling him to hear, not what the churches say, but “What the spirit says to the churches” or “assemblies.” In the last four (where the return of Christ is immediately in view) this word follows instead of preceding as in the first three. In view of the soon coming of Christ how we use the ear is of the last importance!

4. “And he that overcomes and keeps My works unto the end, to him will I give power [authority] over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star” (2:26-28).

5. “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels” (3:5).

6. “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the Name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new Name” (3:12).

7. “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I ALSO OVERCAME, AND AM SET DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE” (3:21). What a glorious climax!

Let the Lord’s own possessive pronoun “MY” be observed in these final four words of encouragement!—“MY works”; “MY Father” three times; “MY God”—four times; “MY new Name”; and “MY throne.” How great are the riches and rewards of the one who overcomes! How infinitely blessed his rest! What a wealth of splendour, what a divine abiding place is opened for him!

The perfect Overcomer is no less an One than the Son of God Himself. He is now seated on high with His Father on His throne. He cheers on the overcomer through the deceptions or direct attacks of the world with the promise of sitting with Him in His throne. “Press faithfully forward and upward!” He seems to say to us. “Overcome evil with good.” “Follow that which is good.” As we respond to this exhortation, present peace within and power without will mark us all the way. And how exceedingly stimulating is the word of Revelation 21:7—“He that overcomes shall inherit all things.”

Those who are born of God—the children of God—are encouraged by the Lord, and they avoid what is said of some who only outwardly take up the path, “for if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world … they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” Such however, are illustrated by the Spirit as unclean animals—the dog and the sow (2 Peter 2:20-22), and not as the sheep of Christ. The children of God overcome, as we have seen, by reason of their nature, faith and object—the Son of God.

Jeremiah shows that even Israel shall at last be enriched, and be rested gloriously through Christ, in the two glowing prophecies which directly designate Him (22:5-8; 33:14-16). Israel shall dwell safely in their own land. Jerusalem shall dwell safely also; while both she and her Saviour, her Messiah, shall be called JEHOVAH TSIDKENU.

If this shall soon be the rich and restful portion of the earthly nation, what of the heavenly family—the children of God? After Jesus had uttered the words, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!”—He lifted up His eyes to heaven and addressed His Father! HEAVEN, and not earth, is where ineffable blessedness and glory await those who are called according to God’s eternal purpose. Said the Son of God, “In My Father’s house are many mansions … I go to prepare a place for you.”

“High in the Father’s house above,

Our mansion is prepared,

There is the home, the rest we love,

And there our bright reward.”

Words must necessarily fail to describe the rest and rejoicing of that glorious home where Jesus is. Fully conformed to the very image of God’s Son, we shall dwell with Him for ever. Where He abides we shall abide eternally, for he said, “I will … receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

“All taint of sin shall be removed.

All evil done away;

And we shall dwell with God’s Beloved,

Through God’s eternal day.”

The prophet said, “His rest shall be glorious,” and ours will be likewise, along with Him. Indeed, to behold His glory will be the crowning of all glory. We shall be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. The riches and rewards of the overcomer in the Kingdom will be wonderfully great, as types, prophecies and promises so truly declare; but, ah, to be with Jesus, who bled and died to redeem us—who gave Himself for us—who loves us with a quenchless love—to be with Him in His Father’s house of changeless love, rejoicing, holiness and beauty, surpasses all telling, exceeding our highest thought.

Yet even here the great Overcomer had peace and rest which naught could disturb; and He gave rest to others. The Father’s bosom was well-known to Him. He kept His Father’s commandments and abode uninterruptedly in His Father’s love, and He said to the Father in regard to His own, “I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” Here is the love which fills His Father’s house, made ours now. The glory we shall share soon. The love is ours to rest in already. Eternal praise be to our God and Father!

The snares or onslaughts of the world—of its “god,” “ruler” and “deceiver”—of Satan, who even appears “as an angel of light”—would turn us away from our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus spoil our being like Him as overcomers. Therefore it is repeated in 1 John 2—“ABIDE IN HIM.” In verse 27 this is said to the babes among the children of God, and in verse 28 it is reiterated to the oldest as well as to the youngest—“The same Anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as has taught you, ye shall ABIDE IN HIM. And now, children [i.e., the whole family], ABIDE IN HIM!” As we abide in Christ all is well.

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