Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

by H. J. Vine.

The Shepherd Seeking the Sheep

Luke 15:1-7

The last verse which I have read to you, dear friends, gives no authority whatever for the thought that there are in this world men and women so good and so respectable that they need no repentance.

The Son of God is showing in this parable that were it so—that if some needed not to repent—still there would be a peculiar joy over the one who had gone astray, and afterward turned in repentance to God, that would be unknown in regard to persons who had never gone astray and, therefore, never needed to repent. But there are no such persons in the race of fallen Adam.

True is that Scripture which says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Consequently we are told in the Scriptures that God “now commandeth all men everywhere, to repent!” (Acts 17:30), and none can afford to ignore that command, for “He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31), and the ordained One is the Lord.

We should observe, dear friends, that it was those who thought they needed no repentance who complained in regard to that which caused joy in heaven! They were the cultured people, the scholars of the colleges of that day: they were the leading religionists of those dark times when the Son of God was upon earth; and we read that, in answer to their taunt when they said, “This Man receiveth sinners and eateth with them,” the Son of God spake this parable to show that God Himself not only received sinners, but that He actually and diligently sought them, that they might be found, saved and brought home to Himself with rejoicing. This is the chapter of divine merrymaking over the returning one.

The three parts of this one “parable” in Luke 15, tell the wonderful story of the great joy of God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, and God the Father over the repentance and home-coming of “one” wanderer. We have the “Trinity” in this chapter. The actual word is not mentioned, but the truth is. The Son is the Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep; the woman illustrates the Spirit, seeking the lost piece of silver; the Father, shows to us God the Father running to meet the returning prodigal—and then we have the feasting the merry-making, the dancing and the great joy! He who said at creation, “Let us make man,” now says in redemption, “Let us make merry.”

Why should there be such great joy in heaven, my dear friends, over one out of the tens of thousands, yea millions, of this world, that turns in repentance and faith to God? Because of the great value that God sets upon your precious soul! The Lord put it beside the whole world, and He said, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). There would be no profit, for one soul is of far greater value. And God, having even one soul saved, will have a worshipper in heaven that will be able to render praise to Him for all eternity, in songs of grateful rejoicing that the mighty sun, moon and all the starry hosts, yea the whole of the vast material universe could never utter to Him.

The Lord shows in this vivid picture that He came out to seek the lost one—the sheep that had gone astray. Moreover, He shows that the Shepherd seeks until he finds that one which was lost. And He tells the beautiful story in the hearing of the vast crowd which was surging about Him. There were the publicans, as the tax-gatherers were called, and the sinners, as those who were ostracised from religious society were called, and such were present to hear this wonderful Preacher of the grace and the love of God: they heard Him gladly.

But the others—the Pharisees and the Scribes—murmured and criticised. They found fault with the very thing that gave joy in the presence of the angels of God, but it was just this, however, which gave occasion, dear friends, for the unfolding of this parable, which shows that the triune God had come out to seek and to save the lost one, to find joy, too, in bringing them home to Himself; and with feasting and music to make merry over him in the Father’s House! As the Father says, “This My son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And all this is over one sinner that repenteth! But there is just this one thing, we are deeply concerned about:—it is that there shall be someone right here and now, who will truly turn in faith to God and be found amidst the rejoicings of the home above. If, as a repentant sinner, you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, accepting Him as your own personal Saviour, as sure as you do this, you will be in the Father’s home above! Oh! do not miss this opportunity! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!” While the Shepherd is seeking and saving the lost, do not miss the opportunity of receiving Him as your personal Saviour!

We are told that the moment He found the stray sheep, He laid it on His shoulders rejoicing, and He never put it down again until He had brought it safe home. He carried it all the way. He sought it, He found it, He saved it, He rejoiced over it, and safely bore it home.

But, notice! It was a “lost” sheep that was found—one “sheep that was lost.” And you must learn that you are lost before you can have the joy of being found by this wonderful Saviour. I am not going to deal with this great matter as if I were addressing a lot of theologians, nor need I dwell upon the fact that as the children of fallen Adam the human race is away from God. Does that need any proving? Look at the world at the present time. Not only in pre-war days, but worse still since the days of war, the lost estate of man is plainly evidenced by the lawless and sinful condition in regard to God. Do you mean to tell me the race is walking with God? It is clearly seen that man is away from a holy and righteous God of love—man is a lost sinner! It is true we have turned every one to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). There is something within man that always turns away from God, and he goes hastily down the broad road that leads to destruction and unless he discovers that he is lost, and turns to the Saviour, it means greater and still greater distress until he is lost irretrievably in everlasting woe where his God-forgetfulness and sin have hurried him and then that word will be true, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he which is filthy let him be filthy still” (Revelation 22:11), and he is lost in his sins for ever. The downward way leads down and deeper down to steeper declines and to ever deepening misery. Thank God however, there is a Saviour for you even at this moment.

That Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God, came over the hills of time. The eternal Son came forth from the eternal Father into a world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall, and He came to seek and to save. He came into the world to save sinners. His heart of love goes out to the needy, and gladly will He make you His now and for ever and ever!

I often wonder what men have against our Lord Jesus Christ that they do not accept Him. What ails you at Him? Has He ever done anything that you can find fault with? Some of you treat your dogs and your pets better than you treat Him! You give attention to your domestic animals, and leave Him out of your life altogether, and yet He came to suffer for us to redeem us, to save us.

See Him as He goes on His journey of suffering love to seek the sinner—the wandering sheep. What deep waters He had to cross in His lonely path and what wastes of weariness had to be passed. See Him, too, scaling those mountains of difficulty on His toilsome way. Look at Him treading through those dense forests of human darkness as He goes onward. And now, behold Him as He stems those tremendous torrents of Satanic opposition which rose up against Him so mightily, and as He went forward forty days and forty nights not one bit of food passed over His holy liPsalm At last we find the Saviour nearing the end of His journey, when in His love for the lost, He would have to bear the sinner’s sins before the work could be completed and in anticipation of having to say to sin we see that holy Son of God bowed in agony and sweating, as it were, great drops of blood, falling down to the ground, and He said to His Father, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done.” There was no other way but through suffering and death, through forsaking and judgment, through His atoning work at Calvary, that the sinner’s sins could be put away and the lost sinner be saved. And so, on He went until at last, reaching the uttermost distance, He hung a crucified Saviour upon the Cross, and cried, “My God My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

“He yielded up His spirit! He died for our salvation! He lay in the tomb, but He arose from among the dead a triumphant Saviour,

“But none of the ransomed ever knew

How deep were the waters crossed,

Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through,

Ere He found the sheep that was lost.”

It is a living victorious Saviour who saves today. He has settled the sin question on the Cross and now He saves the lost ones.

And we desire to bring home to you this stupendous fact, that not only does the Lord receive sinners, and eateth with them as the Pharisees and Scribes complained; but that He is seeking, earnestly seeking, your soul’s welfare, and He will save you and bring you home, and there will be great rejoicing over you, for it is not simply that there was, but we are told, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.”

“Lord, whence are these blood marks all the way

That mark out the mountain track?

They were shed for one who had gone astray,

Ere the shepherd could bring him back;

Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?

They are pierced tonight with many a thorn.

Then all through the mountains thunder-riven,

And up from the rocky steep,

There arose a cry to the gates of heaven,

“Rejoice, I have found My sheep!”

And the angels echo around the throne,

Rejoice for the Lord brings back His own!”

Some one may say, “Yes I do earnestly desire to be saved but I have a little misgiving about the future.” Do you think after the Lord Jesus Christ has suffered as He has done for sinners, that He is going to forsake those who have trusted in Him? No! There is an old theological doctrine once strongly held in the Universities of Scotland called “The final perseverance of the saints.” It means that once a person is really saved he will persevere through everything right to the end and eventually get to heaven. In a certain way that is true enough but let me ask you:Was it the sheep that finally persevered or was it the Shepherd? There is but one answer, and the proper way to state that doctrine would be, not “The final perseverance of the saints,” but “The final perseverance of the Saviour.” It is the great and glorious Son of God who sought until He found us; it is no less a Person than God the Son who laid us upon the shoulders of almighty power with rejoicing and it is our loving all-the-way-home Saviour who will never put us down till He sets our feet upon the land prepared for us. Once the great Shepherd makes us His, He says, “None shall pluck them out of My hand.” He holds the saved sinner with the grasp of omnipotence. This does not mean that the saved one is always joyful. It says the Shepherd rejoices and there is joy in heaven, but it does not say, the sheep rejoiced. One may struggle and doubt and be tempted, but the sheep cannot get away. The Word says, “He shall never perish.” It does not say, “He shall never know a cloud.” One said, “The Saviour saved me many years ago. He has kept me ever since. I have done all the kicking, but He has done all the carrying, and will do till the end.”

“Sinner, ’tis Jesus like the Good Shepherd

Out in the desert to find His sheep,

When He has found it heaven rejoices,

Sinner, thy Saviour can save and KEEP.”

This is a matter of eternal import. If you put it off it may be too late! Are you going to trust the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you going to accept Him as your living, loving, personal Saviour here and now? Oh! my friends, what I have told you is true: I have but emphasized what is told us in that grand old Book of inspiration, God’s holy Word. Notwithstanding what men with modern doctrines and sceptical notions may say about it, I urge upon you the truth of God, showing that Christ came to seek and save us. What then are you going to do in regard to Him? Will you not trust Him? God has entrusted the upholding of the universe to His Son, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand,” and if God can trust Him with everything, cannot you trust Him with your soul? May God help you to do so.

The Sign in the Depth and in the Height

Isaiah 7

Who is it to whom the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi so constantly points, raising in our hearts the very highest expectations, as it speaks of “the Woman’s Seed,” “Abraham’s Seed,” and “David’s Seed”? Who is this through whom all the world is to be blessed? What is His name? Has He come? Is He living?

The first chapter of the New Testament answers these questions. There we are introduced to the only One who could be truly called “the woman’s Seed”—the promised Son of the Virgin (Verses 21-23). The first verse of the New Testament shows Him to us—“JESUS CHRIST, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” The glorious Fulfiller of the promises has come! The “Yea” and “Amen” of them all! Yes, He lives! for though He was slain, He could not be holden of death, He rose from the dead and is alive for evermore!

“The woman’s Seed,” but—meditate on the divine wonder here—He is also “Emmanuel”—“God with us.” He is “Abraham’s Seed,” but, stupendous fact! He could also say, “Before Abraham was I AM”“(John 8:38). He is “David’s Seed,” but He is also “David’s Lord” (Matthew 22:41-46). Yea, “Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from among the dead,” says, “I am the ROOT,” before David, as well as “the Offspring” after David. He is THE FIRST, as well as THE LAST.

We will join Isaiah “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the Fuller’s field” (chap. 7:3). Ahaz the king of Judah comes there also, and is told to ask “A SIGN” of the Lord, and what is most striking is that he is requested to ask it “either IN THE DEPTH, or IN THE HEIGHT above” (Verse 11). The monarch, however, for some ulterior reason, will not do so. Close dealings with God were not congenial to him. Consequently, a marvellous disclosure is made in verse 14. Ahaz, of “the house of David,” would not ask for the sign “either in the depth, or in the height.” God therefore says, as it were, I will give the sign Myself without your asking! I will give it both in the depth and in the height; and, as we see from other Scriptures, in that very “house of David.” Mark then, the wonderful words: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name IMMANUEL.”

What a vast store of divine wealth is laid open to us here. The Virgin’s Son becomes THE SIGN, given of God in “the depth” and in “the height” also. Who but the blessed God, who is infinite in wisdom, could have thought of or given such a sign? Behold in “the depth” of human weakness that wondrous Babe nursed on the Virgin’s lap; but even there His name tells us of “the height” of His glory—“IMMANUEL,” “GOD with us.” He is truly the Sign in “the depth” and “the height.” The Sign in the depth and height is that which the Holy Spirit of God introduces at the very opening of the New Testament. Here in “the house of David” appears the promised Sign!

What a commotion immediately takes place! In the seen and unseen; among the learned and the unlearned; among the great and the small; among the wicked and the pious. Why?

“Unto us a Child is born!”

The Sign in the depth behold!

The break of the glorious morn

By prophets long foretold.

See the virgin mother lair

In yon stable, lowly, meek;

And in the manger cradled there

The Babe whom the shepherds seek.

THE SIGN IN THE DEPTH BEHOLD!

Creation moves at the sight!

Angels cry “Glory to God!”

The star in the heavens shines bright,

To guide wise men on the road;

The faithful behold and sing;

The pious worship the Lord;

They talk of the new-born King;

Come forth to fulfil God’s word.

THE SIGN OF ETERNAL LOVE!

Could the New Testament have an opening more striking and glorious? The wisdom which knows not God may see no glory here, but such wisdom is the folly which led the princes of this age to crucify the Lord of Glory.

The angel of the Lord said, “Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a SIGN unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).

Again, Simeon, a just and devout man, came by the Spirit into the temple and said to Mary, the virgin mother, “Behold this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a SIGN which shall be spoken against … that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:24-35). Surely this Sign in “the depth” of sorrow and woe, and yet in “the height” of the glory of “THE CHRIST THE LORD,” is worthy of God who is “the ALL WISE.” “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a thing. The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable” (Proverbs 25:2-3). Search the Scriptures! “These are they which testify of ME,” said the Son of God! Finding Him we shall fill our treasures with the finest gold and enrich our store with all manner of precious things.

The Son and Life

“God cannot lie.” Every promise of His shall be fulfilled, not a word of His shall fail. And He has promised eternal life and He did it before the ages of time. The promise was made before time began, but it had to be brought into and manifested in time, and when the ages of time have passed away and ceased, full blessedness will abide in glory and love for ever. But this fulfilment of the promise depended entirely upon the coming of the Son out of eternity into time.

The Son has come. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). In a rejoicing and reconciled creation the Son of the Father’s love will be pre-eminent in all things. He will annul “all rule and all authority and power,” and in Him the good pleasure of the Fullness will dwell and find unalloyed satisfaction in the glorious result. And resting on the immoveable foundation of the peace made by the blood of His cross, all the reconciled shall rejoice and glory in the great Reconciler, by whom and for whom all things were created. The Son, the Revealer of the Father will be, as He is now, the everlasting delight of His holy love; and the eternal Spirit will blessedly pervade all that living realm of glad reconciliation; and unfading beauty, order, liberty, light and joy, holiness and glory, life and love will display the wise designs of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in their vital wealth in full fruition.

What was created by the Son of the Father’s love will be reconciled by Him eventually in full, glorious splendour! He has, however, already reconciled the assembly in the body of His flesh through death. He is now the exalted Head of that assembly, and the promise of life in the Son is finally secured. We have good reason to rejoice and to respond to the word, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of THE SON OF HIS LOVE” (Colossians 1:12-13). The sovereign sway of divine love in light and life has prevailed, and freedom from the authority of darkness has been made ours by the Father. Thanksgiving and praise be His.

The Holy Spirit shows that eternal life is connected with the Father and the Son. The assembly, called out from the nations, partakes in the before-time promise. For Israel, the favoured nation, the outlook is the earthly and the promises have to do with time. The Son of God spoke to Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel, of both the earthly and the heavenly. He could do so, for in His “wonderful” Person both are secured. He said, “If I have said the earthly things to you, and ye believe not, how, if I say the heavenly things to you, will ye believe?” Life eternal in divine blessedness was involved in the latter. And the Son from heaven is the bringer of it. Therefore those golden words graced His holy lips, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son; that whosoever believes on Him may not perish, but have life eternal.” Also we read, “He that believes on the Son has life eternal.” Life eternal was brought here by the Son; He became Man and gave His flesh for the life of the world, and those who are taught of God believe on Him, and have life. It was His Father’s will, as He said, “Everyone who sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have life eternal.” “He that has the Son has life.”

When Israel repent of their rejection of Him, and are received according to promise, it will be “life from among the dead.” From their sleep in earth’s dust such will awake to life; and then those in earthly Zion will be specially favoured with the blessing, which is characterized by “life for evermore.” They will be in priestly nearness before Jehovah, and from that good and pleasant unity, of which Psalm 133 speaks, will flow exceptional blessing, while great earthly benefits will spread. All Israel will be saved. The Lord shall be King over all the earth. All the nations shall call Him blessed. Tribes, tongues and peoples shall be blessed in Him. He will fill “the throne of His father David”; and the glorious throne on which He sits will spread far its glad benefits. Those who dwell with Him above in His Father’s house, will reap the ineffable fullness of life eternal in the adorable presence of the Father and the Son.

His loved ones shall also reign with Him, for this is His promise, but they shall dwell with Him too! His royal glory in “the earthly things” is of momentous and deep interest to them, but His eternal glory in the dwelling of eternal love, the dwelling of the Father and the Son, surpasses all else, and the eternal Spirit even now guides those who share “the heavenly things’ to anticipate in faith, affection and deepening understanding, the things that belong to that glory, as His coming draws nigh (John 16). It was as the Son of the Father, He said, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” With Himself in His Father’s dwelling of many mansions and of living splendour and love! What more can be desired by those who know the Father’s eternal love through the Son by the Comforter’s teaching?

He is THE ETERNAL WORD also, and the Holy Spirit tells us, “All things received being through Him” (John 1:3). By and for the Son of the Father’s love all were created (Colossians 1:16). “By me kings reign, and rulers make just decrees; by me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth,” says WISDOM regarding her administration of glory and power; while in pleading grace her voice is heard without in “the chief place of concourse”; and within is the house building. The glorious Speaker in whom Jehovah delighted (Proverbs 8:30), says, “I was set up (anointed) from eternity!” before creation and kings appeared. The same Person is afterwards set (or anointed: same as Psalm 2:6) in Zion; and Jehovah decrees, “Thou art My Son; I this day have begotten Thee.” The anointed Speaker in Proverbs 5 says, “Whoso findeth Me findeth life” (Verse 35); and, “He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul” (Verse 36). Anointed from eternity! Anointed as of Jehovah in time! He “came forth from the Father” to bring life eternal to perishing sinners. “He that has THE SON has life.”

The Son and Life, and Word and Wisdom

“He that believes on the Son has life eternal” (John 3:36).

With all its assuring blessedness, this truth is made known in the Word of God for faith to rejoice in. It is beyond mere human understanding, nevertheless the Holy Spirit, who is the Comforter, has made it known. It is a great and unchanging fact that “He that has the Son has life (1 John 5:12). The Son, who ever dwelt with the Father, and delighted in and responded to His ineffable love, came forth from the Father and brought eternal life for us; something we could not discover or define but which He could give. We write for those who have been baptised to “the Name,”—“to the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” to the revealed Name of the ever blessed triune God; and who have been by this committed to the faith of the Name of the glorious Trinity, the one God.

“No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who IS in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” To Him we delight to sing:

“Son of His bosom come from heaven above,

We see in Thee incarnate ‘God is love.’”

And so great was that love that God gave His Son that we might have eternal life! There was no other way! If life eternal was to be ours, the Son of God must be given! And a God of love has not withholden this stupendous gift! Blessed be His holy Name!

Moreover, the Spirit of Truth, the eternal Spirit, has made known to us what we could never have found out, this “life eternal” was promised “before the ages of time” (Titus 1:2); but according to the commandment of our Saviour God, the proclamation of which has been told out as glad tidings in its own due time. The Jews rejected the salvation brought by Jesus, and refused the glad tidings through Paul, judging themselves “unworthy of eternal life” (Acts 13:46), but those of the Gentiles who “were ordained to eternal life, believed” (Verse 48).

Those who are saved now by this over-abounding grace, are taught, and may we all learn the great truth that, as sin had reigned unto death, so grace reigns through righteousness right on to eternal life in its fullness, through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21). It is God’s gift! There was no other way sinners like ourselves could obtain this priceless possession! The wages of sin is death; but God’s free favour has given us life eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is sovereignly given; not loaned to us on certain conditions. Its full and actual realization however the apostle Paul presents as future—“in hope of eternal life” as he says. It is already given; but grace reigns “unto eternal life.” Then the promise made before the ages, and given to believers now, will be fully known in the coming glory, in hope of which we rejoice.

But it is a present possession and in John’s writings the Holy Spirit has shown this. John had learned of the deep, deep love of Jesus. He leaned on His bosom at supper time. He wrote of Him after—who “IS in the bosom of the Father “who made known that Father’s Name—that the love wherewith the Son was loved “before the foundation of the world” might be ours—and that we might rejoice in that eternal love and eternal life even now. These eternal verities are shown to be vitally connected with the Father and the Son. We are warned that there would be those who would “lead astray” the objects of the Father’s love and tender solicitude, therefore 1 John 2:24-25 says, “If what ye have heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son and in the Father.” And this is THE PROMISE which He promised us, LIFE ETERNAL.” The Son is here named before the Father because He is the Revealer of the Father, and the bringer and giver of life eternal. He has brought life to us in a world of death! He has brought the abiding and eternal to us In the passing scenes of time! Everlasting praise be His. How cheering and comforting are the words of the Spirit, “He that has the Son has life.”

Seen here as Man and for man, He said, “Even as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son also to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is Son of Man” (John 5:26). He knew what was in the Father’s mind before the ages of time. He knew His will and His promise of life, and said, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes on Him, should have life eternal”; also, “He that believes on THE SON has life eternal” (3:36).

John 1 significantly introduces Him as “THE WORD” in whom “was life.” He was in the beginning with God, and was God. Through Him all things received being. Life was in Him; and when He was here “the life was the light of men,” though not apprehended apart from faith. Indeed, men preferred a life-taker, and they slew “the Originator (or Author) of life” (Acts 3:15).

We are told in 1 Corinthians 2:8, they “crucified the Lord of glory.” They knew not the Son who brought life eternal for men. They knew not the Word in whom was life. None of the world’s leaders knew “the Wisdom of God” we are told in verse 8. That “hidden Wisdom” was “predetermined before the ages of time” for the joy and glory of those who believe on Him. Long ago (Proverbs 8:35) “WISDOM” had said, “Whoso finds Me FINDS LIFE, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.” The Son of God has come, and “He that has the Son has life.”

The Son and the Universe

It is indeed great grace which has granted to us the divine revelation of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and made known to us His relation to the whole creation, and also given to us the Holy Spirit to lead us into the understanding of these things.

In speaking of the whole creation, we have in mind that which is so often spoken of in the Scriptures as “all things,” and that which is commonly called The Universe.

This last term is sometimes used to designate what is simply world-wide: it is, however, creation-wide when we read, “All things were made by Him (John 1:3). It is universal in the all-embracing meaning of the term. In one whole is comprehended the most distant ranges, and the most immediate parts, along with the vast and varied interweavings and interdependencies of all the material, the intelligent, and the moral creation; the animate and the inanimate; the breadth and length and depth and height; the UNIVERSE—one—all comprehended in one whole. The hearts of those who know the surpassing love of Christ may well aspire to know the relation of our blessed Lord and Saviour to it all. And God would have us to apprehend this. The Holy Spirit is here to enable us to do so. Liberty, fullness of joy, life and peace, are thus maintained in the soul.

Leading on to the time when our great and glorious Saviour shall shine publicly as the Head and Centre of the universe, we must necessarily pursue our subject in the following order:

(1) His glory as the Creator of all things; (2) His glory as the Reconciler of all things; (3) His glory as Filler of all things. With the last we shall have to notice the peculiar place of the assembly, which is His body, in relation thereto.

1. The Creator of all Things

Two words concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and the universe make known to us the divine purpose for which this wonderful creation has been brought into being—“FOR HIM.”

All things are of God—the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all had their part in the creation. The first name used for God in the Bible indicates this. It is Elohim, a plural name. It involves three Persons—a Trinity; for the Hebrew language has singular and dual as well as plural; not simply singular and plural as in English. When, however, the One who was the active agent in creating is singled out, in the full revelation of the New Testament, it is the Son who is so spoken of: not the Father, as is stated in the so-called Apostles’ Creed. Three Scriptures bring this clearly before us, presenting to us three distinct aspects of Christ’s creation work.

First, in Hebrews 1, the glory of Christ is seen as the Son. God has spoken fully and finally in Him. By Him also He made “the worlds” (Verse 2). Second, in Colossians 1, our blessed Lord is peculiarly and preciously designated as the Son of the Father’s love. Here He is the eternal Son. By Him all the thrones and authorities “IN” the heavens and “UPON” the earth were created (Verse 16). Third, in John 1, He is the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God. He is the Creator of everything, in the fullest sense of the word here, without the limitations expressed in the other Scriptures: “All things were made by Him” (Verse 3).

If the first scripture speaks only of the worlds as being made by Christ, it is because the special dignity of God’s Son is in view as taking the throne of glory in relation thereto. As to the Son it is therefore said, “Thy throne, O God, is to the age of the age” (Verse 8, New Translation). And when entering this habitable world even, it is said, “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” The second scripture recognises other thrones. All of them were, however, created by Him—by the Son of the Father’s love. Now these great and glorious positions in the seen and in the unseen, which are expressed to us as thrones, lordships, principalities, and authorities, all subsist together by Him. The Spirit constantly indicates to us that there are mighty dignities in the heavens, and we see around us very high and exalted dignities upon the earth, in the various nations where authorities are divinely set up. We are to view all these, apart from the disorder which has come in through sin, as created primarily “in” the Son, and also “by” Him, and “for” Him (Colossians 1:16). How all this greatness enhances before our gaze the glory of our adorable Lord. And when, as we shall see, all these glorious thrones and authorities are reconciled, He shall shine in supreme splendour and royal majesty above them all. This place is His already; it will be seen publicly soon. Faith takes it in now. The third scripture embraces not only the worlds mentioned in the first, and not only the thrones and authorities named in the second, but everything—the universe. “All things received being through Him, and without Him not one thing received being which has received being” (John 1:3, New Translation). This work was done, as we have said, by the eternal Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God. HE IS THE CREATOR.

“His almighty power and wisdom

All creation’s works proclaim,

Heaven and earth alike confess Him,

As the ever great I AM.”

2. The Reconciler of all Things

And now, this august Creator, the mighty God, deigns to come into the creation which His own omnipotent hands had made. He stoops to His footstool, and takes a place thereon as Man upon the earth. What a wonderful sight! the Creator amongst His creatures! The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Passing by the holy angels, He came down to us, being made “some little inferior to the angels” (Hebrews 2:7, New Translation). And even then, such His lowly mind, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death—and such a death as it was—a death of shame and ignominy—the death of the cross!

“Yes,” the youngest believer can say, “it was for me He came down; He died for me, to save me—to make me His own.” Another more advanced in the knowledge of the truth can say, “He loved the assembly and gave Himself for it.” Both blessedly true, but in the aspect of His death of which we have just spoken it is the culmination of His pathway of obedience to God, for His glory. We may well bless His holy name when we see such an One come down to the very bottom, to lift us up to the very top!—when we behold the One who was rich, for our sakes become poor, that we through His poverty might be enriched!—we cannot cease to praise the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ! But, oh, how our hearts are moved to adore Him, when we see that lowly, holy One treading the path of perfect obedience (in which we had so sadly failed), and thus bringing glory to our God and Father, where we had dishonoured Him. Blessed Lord! Blessed Saviour! There is none like unto Thee! None so high. None went so low. We adore Thee now and evermore.

We must turn now to the immediate aspect of the death of Christ which is before us. Enmity and alienation having taken hold of man through sin, and disorder having come into the creation through the fall of Satan, one of the great dignities in the heavens, who sinned before man, and who compassed the fall of man, it became necessary, if peace and reconciliation and order were to be established, for the Lord Jesus to undertake the work. And this involved His death;—a death, not only for the salvation of the individual sinner, but to lay a righteous basis for universal peace, reconciliation and order, so that all things might be adjusted in a new way to the Fullness that dwells in Him. We are therefore told, He tasted death for everything (Hebrews 2:9, New Translation); also, “By Him to RECONCILE ALL THINGS to Itself; having made peace by the blood of the cross—by him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens” (Colossians 1:20, New Translation). We have little idea how great has been the disorder brought into the heavens through the irremediable fall of such a great dignity as Satan, who dragged others with him to hopeless doom. We see something of the awful results of sin in this world; and how terrible will be the eternity of those who refuse to repent! But, blessed be God, already the firm foundation of reconciliation has been laid by Christ in His death; and the work of reconciliation has begun already with those who believe. They “have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). Or, as it continues in Colossians 1—You has He now reconciled. Afterwards He will reconcile all things.

There is a new creation in Christ, and the assembly of which He is the glorified Head is brought into reconciliation in a way distinct from the rest. We are told that it is “in the body of His flesh through death”; whereas the things in the heavens and on the earth are to be reconciled “by” Him. We are reconciled “in” Him. When the assembly is glorified, and Christ has that with Him in glory which is a new creation in Himself, then He will reorder the wide creation. What glory and gladness shall then abound in those reconciled realms! What peace and rest and divine direction shall then bless those holy scenes! All confusion shall cease, and contented creation shall sweetly sing the praise of its CREATOR AND RECONCILER.

“Joyful now the wide creation

Rests in undisturbed repose,

Blest in Jesu’s full salvation,

Sorrow now nor thraldom knows.”

How deep will be the joy and satisfaction of God when all is thus reconciled in and by the Son. His rest shall be disturbed no more. If He said, It is meet that We should make merry when we were reconciled, what shall such fullness be?

3. The Filler of all Things

We have spoken of Christ as the Creator of the universe, and also of Him as its Reconciler. The Holy Spirit further tells us, in Ephesians 4:10, that He has ascended up above all the heavens that He might fill all things. And with this object in view, it is made known to us, the assembly which is His body is being formed during the present period. Christ is going to fill the universe, and He will do this by means of His body. It is, however, Himself who does it. We must keep this in mind, or we shall fall into the error of those who exalt the assembly at the expense of Christ’s glory. The hope of our calling is so exalted and so glorious that the very knowledge of it becomes a danger, unless the pre-eminence of Christ is rejoiced in with reverence and love.

The sweet singer of old said, The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The earth is full of His riches. The singers today, when the full revelation of God has been made known, may sing, The universe is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The heavens and the earth abound with His riches.

Now, if in view of the reconciliation of all things He made peace by His precious blood, so, in view of filling all things with divine blessing, He came down to the deepest depths and then ascended to the highest heights, after having overthrown and spoiled the one who had brought in the curse. The language of the Holy Spirit as to this is most expressive, “But that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens that HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS.” Let the thoughts travel up to the highest of the heavens—He is above them all! Let the mind discover the multitudinous marvels of the material and moral universe—He is to fill all things! How great and wise and glorious then is our blessed Saviour. And shall not He who can do this, and whose love for us led Him to die for our sins, fill our hearts?—yea, fill them to overflowing. Oh, that those who comprise His well-loved assembly had simply clung to Him! He is enough the mind and heart to fill! But how early the assemblies left their first love!

The scripture above quoted passes on to tell us that the gifts were given from the ascended Head of the assembly in view of its edifying, that we might grow up to Christ in all things. For from Him the whole body is fitted together, and receives that which is for its good, and growth, and self-building up in love. Now the wonderful thing is that when the assembly is complete, and glorified together with Christ in His exalted place as Head over all things, it will then be the perfected instrument whereby He Himself will fill with order and blessing all things over which He is the glorified Head. This is made known to us in that unparalleled scripture, in this connection, at the end of Ephesians 1, where we are told that Christ is set above every principality, and authority, and power, and dominion, all things being put under His feet; and that He is Head “over all things to the assembly, which is His body, THE FULNESS OF HIM WHO FILLS ALL IN ALL.” What honour then is bestowed upon the evangelist, and upon the shepherd and teacher, to have part now in the edifying of this body of Christ. Could any service be greater or more dignified and gracious? And what is it to be part—even a feeble part, of so blessed and eminent an assembly?—the most eminent and exalted in the universe, because it is the body of Christ. Oh, that we might show our deep appreciation of the love that has taken us up for this, by seeking the exaltation of the Head of the assembly at all times.

It is He Himself who shall fill all things. What would the body be without Him? But how little we grasp what “all things” mean The more we do so, the more the greatness grows before our eyes of Him who is to fill all things. That is if we look at them rightly as in relation to Him who is the exalted Head of all. Psalm 8 tells us of some of these things, “All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” But there is also the earth itself, and the heavens above the earth. There are the peoples in distant climes who have not yet heard of Him; and the nations where thrones and authorities are set up; and then in the heavens there are intelligences with their powers, and authorities, and principalities, and dominions, and thrones—all—all things are to be filled by our Lord Jesus Christ. The place is His already, but He awaits the time when the assembly shall be glorified. And what a response shall be given to all the blessed beneficence, and direction, and gladness, and glory with which He will fill the universe! “To Him shall every heart be love and every lip be praise!” All will redound to the praise of God’s glory. The wicked and all wickedness shall be removed. And in the assembly in Christ Jesus shall be everlasting glory to God. He has revealed Himself to us in the Son—in the One who is the Firstborn of all creation, the Son of the Father’s love. May we know Him and His relation to the universe better. He is its CREATOR, RECONCILER, and FILLER.

“How great our glorious Saviour is,

All radiant on the throne!

The universe He’ll fill with bliss,

And gladden everyone.”

“The Son” in All Supremacy and God “All in All”

“All things” are to be eternally subjected to the Son! This eternal supremacy of the Son in subjection to Him “who put all things in subjection to Him” is beautifully shown in 1 Corinthians 15:28. It could hardly be called a new supremacy, for Colossians 1 shows that “all things” were “by” as well as “for” the Son of the Father’s love. Nevertheless it is His in a new way, for, having glorified God as Man on earth, He is thus glorified in God on high. No one had seen God at any time till “the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father” declared Him here below (John 1:18). The subjection of all things to the Son, and Himself also placed in subjection to Him who “put all things in subjection to Him” is the divinely glorious way taken “that God may be all in all.” This is the result of eternal counsels and Godhead love and wisdom, wrought out in grace and power and righteousness, for the eternal blessedness of men and God’s glory and infinite satisfaction for ever.

Satan the tempter sought to destroy the work of the Son of the Father’s love, and to degrade man,—the highest of the Son’s creation—made in God’s image and likeness. With deception and violence, with lying and destruction of life, he has pursued his evil way ever since against the Son and His works of grace and glory. But through the death of the cross the Son has become the gathering centre for men, and by His work of power from the throne, He victoriously brings man in Himself to higher glory than creation gave him, and He brings a holy God blessedly into His own creation, “that God may be all in all.” Mark, not “all” only but “in all.”

How eloquently then does baptism even now speak of “THE NAME” (singular) “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), for so it reads. Baptism is to “the Name.” That gives weight to the word in the 3rd Epistle of John where those who honour the Name are specially spoken of.

The specially selected signs given in John’s Gospel are that “we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through His Name” (20:31); while what is written in his first Epistle is that we may know that we have “eternal life who believe on the Name of the Son of God” (5:13).

It is said of Him as the Christ, He came of the Old Testament fathers according to “flesh” (Romans 9:5); but divinely He is “over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.” What wondrous grace we behold in the way He came down! What glorious greatness and majesty we behold in His supremacy! What holy rejoicing and loving devotedness become believers whose faith embraces such a Saviour!

Through His first appearing, life and incorruptibility were brought to light (2 Timothy 1:10), His second appearing will show “the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us” (Titus 2:13). First “the kindness and love to man of our Saviour God appeared” (Titus 3:4); second, the Son’s great glory and kingdom, majesty and dominion will appear.

We read of those who “love His appearing”; and what good reason His loved ones have so to do!

It is said “as to the Son, Thy throne, O God, is to the age of the age” (Hebrews 1:8). The Holy Spirit records concerning the Son, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things (to be) in His hand. He that believes on the Son has life eternal and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:35-36, New Translation) The Father has given all judgment to the Son; that all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He who honours not the Son, honours not the Father who has sent Him (5:22-23).

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