Produced by Keith G. Richardson
The Lord of Glory
MEDITATIONS ON THE PERSON, THE WORK
AND GLORY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
BY
A. C. GAEBELEIN
PUBLICATION OFFICE OF "OUR HOPE,"
456 Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y.
PICKERING & INGLIS, L. S. HAYNES,
GLASGOW, 502 Yonge Street,
SCOTLAND TORONTO, CANADA
Copyright 1910 by A. C. Gaebelein.
Printing by
Francis Emory Fitch
of New York
Contents
Preface
Dedication
The Lord of Glory
Jehovah. The "I am"
That Worthy Name
The Doctrine of Christ
The Pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ
Ye are Christ's--Christ is God's
The Wonderful
Honor and Glory unto Him
Christ's Resurrection Song
The Glory Song
The Firstborn
The Waiting Christ
A Vision of the King
The Fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord
Out of His Fulness,
The Twenty-second Psalm
The Exalted One
A Glorious Vision
My Brethren
The Patience of Christ
He Shall Not Keep Silent
The Love of Christ
The Joy of the Lord
This same Jesus
The Wondrous Cross
His Legacy
What Have I to do with Idols
The Never Changing One
Be of Good Cheer
Make Haste
Preface.
For a number of years the first pages of each issue of "Our Hope"
have been devoted to brief meditations on the Person and Glory of
our adorable Lord Jesus Christ. Three reasons led the Editor to do
this: 1. He is worthy of all honor and glory, worthy to have the
first place in all things. 2. The great need of His people to have
His blessed Person, His past and present work, His power and glory,
His future manifestation constantly brought before their hearts. 3.
There is an ever increasing denial of the Person of our Lord. In the
most subtle way His Glory has been denied. It is therefore eminently
necessary for those who know Him to tell out His worth. Long and
learned discussions on the Person of the Lord have been written in
the past, but are not much read in these days. We felt that short
and simple meditations on Himself would be welcomed by all
believers.
All these brief articles were written with much prayer and often
under deep soul exercise. It has pleased the Holy Spirit to own them
in a most blessed way. Hundreds of letters were received telling of
the great blessing these meditations have been and what refreshing
they brought to the hearts of His people. Weary and tired ones were
cheered, wandering ones restored and erring ones set right. Many
wrote us or told us personally that the Lord Jesus Christ has become
a greater reality and power in their lives after following this
monthly testimony.
Suggestions were made to issue some of these notes in book form so
that these blessed truths may be preserved in a more permanent form.
We have done so and send this volume forth with the prayer that the
Holy Spirit, who is here to glorify Christ, may use it to the praise
and glory of His worthy Name. We are confident that such will be the
case.
A. C. G.
New York City, October 1, 1910.
Dedication.
"Unto Him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God His Father; to
Him be glory and dominion forever."--Rev. i: 5-6.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."--Rev. v:
12.
"Then they that feared the Lord spake one to another: and the Lord
hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before
Him for them that feared the Lord and that _thought upon His Name_."
--Mal. iii: 16.
"Let us go forth, therefore, unto Him without the camp bearing His
reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to
come. By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is the fruit of our lips, _confessing His Name_."
--Hebrews xiii: 13-15.
"Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so. Come Lord Jesus."--Rev.
xxii: 20.
The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8.
OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom
we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1
Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the
_Lord of Glory_." Eternally He is this because He is "the express
image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed
Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory
was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory
and spake of Him" (John xii:41). All the glorious manifestations of
Jehovah recorded in the Word of God are the manifestations of "the
Lord of Glory," who created all things that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, who is before all things and by
whom all things consist. He appeared as the God of Glory to Abraham
(Acts vii:1); Isaac and Jacob were face to face with Him. Moses
beheld His Glory. He saw His Glory on the mountain. The Lord of
Glory descended in the cloud and stood with him there (Exod.
xxxiv:5). How often the Glory of the Lord appeared in the midst of
Israel. And what more could we say of Joshua, David, Daniel,
Ezekiel, who all beheld His Glory and stood in the presence of that
Lord of Glory.
In the fulness of time He appeared on earth "God manifested in the
flesh." Though He made of Himself no reputation and left His
unspeakable Glory behind, yet He was the Lord of Glory, and as such
He manifested His Glory. In incarnation in His holy, spotless life
He revealed His moral Glory; what perfection and loveliness we find
here! We have the testimony of His own "We beheld His Glory, the
Glory as of the only begotten of the Father" (John i:14). "They saw
His Glory" (Luke ix:32) when they were with Him in the holy
mountain. They heard, they saw with their eyes, they looked upon,
their hands handled the Word of life, the life that was manifested
(1 John i:1-2). In His mighty miracles the Lord of Glory manifested
His Glory, for it is written "this beginning of miracles did Jesus
in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth His Glory" (John i:11).
And this Lord of Glory died. The focus of His Glory is the cross. He
was obedient unto death, the death of the cross. He gave Himself for
us. Without following here all the precious truths connected with
that which is the foundation of our salvation and our hope, that the
Lord of Glory, Christ died for our sins, we remember that God
"raised Him up from the dead and _gave Him Glory_" (1 Pet. i:21). He
was "received up into Glory" (1 Tim. iii:16). "Ought not Christ to
have suffered these things and to enter into _His Glory_" (Luke
xxiv:26). The risen Lord of Glory said: "I ascend unto my Father and
your Father; to my God and your God." He is now in the presence of
God, the Man in Glory, seated in the highest place of the heaven of
heavens "at the right hand of the Majesty on high." He is there "far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that
which is to come" (Eph. i:21). He is highly exalted, the heir of all
things. In that Glory He was beheld by human, mortal eyes. Stephen
being full of the Holy Spirit "looked up steadfastly into heaven and
saw the _Glory of God_, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God"
(Acts vii:55). This was the dying testimony of the first Christian
martyr. Saul of Tarsus saw this Glory; he "could not see for the
Glory of that light" (Acts xxii:11). John beheld Him and fell at His
feet as dead. And we see Him with the eye of faith. "But we see
Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death _crowned with Glory and Honor_" (Heb. ii:9).
But this is not all. The unseen Glory of the Lord and the unseen
Lord of Glory will some day be visible, not to a few, but to the
whole universe. He will come in the Glory of His Father and the holy
angels with Him (Matt. xvi:27). The Lord of Glory will be "revealed
from heaven with His mighty angels" (2 Thess. i:7). He will come in
power and Glory, come in His own Glory (Luke ix:26) and sit on the
throne of His Glory (Matt. xxv:31). His Glory then will cover the
heavens (Hab. iii:3) and "the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"
(Hab. ii:14). The heavens cannot be silent forever and He who now is
the object of the faith of believers, and the One whom the world has
rejected, will come forth in all His Majesty and Glory and every eye
shall see Him. Then every knee must bow at the name of Jesus and
every tongue confess Him as Lord. In that manifestation of the Lord
of Glory and the Glory of the Lord we His redeemed will be
manifested in Glory. He will then be glorified in His saints and
admired in all them that believed (2 Thess. i:10). He will bring His
many sons to Glory (Heb. ii:10). We are "partakers of the Glory that
shall be revealed" (1 Pet. v:1). The God of all Grace hath indeed
called us unto His eternal Glory by Jesus Christ. "And when the
chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of Glory that
fadeth not away" (1 Pet. v:4). "But rejoice inasmuch as ye are
partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His Glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Pet. iv:13).
But ere this visible Glory is manifested over the earth and on the
earth and He comes forth as the King of kings and Lord of lords His
own will be gathered unto Him and be caught up in clouds to meet Him
in the air. Then we shall see Him as He is and be like Him. The
Glory which the Father has given Him as the head of the body will be
bestowed upon the whole body; for thus He prayed "the Glory, which
thou hast given me I have given to them" (John xvii:22). And in the
Father's house where He is, in the Holy of Holies we shall behold
His Glory. We shall be changed into the same image "that He might be
the first born among many brethren" (Rom. viii:29).
And now, dear reader, joint heir with the Lord of Glory, called by
God unto the fellowship of His Son, in meditating on these wonderful
facts given to us by revelation, does not your heart burn within
you? What a blessing, what a place, what a future is ours linked
with the Lord of Glory, one with Him! What a stupendous thought that
He came from Glory to die for us so that He might have us with Him
in Glory!
And these blessed truths concerning the Lord of Glory and the Glory
of the Lord we need to hold ever before our hearts in these dreary
days when darkest night is fast approaching. To walk worthy of the
Lord, to be faithful to the Lord, to render true service, to be more
like Him and show forth His excellencies, we but need one thing, to
know Him better and to behold the Glory of the Lord. It is written
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord." Guided by the Spirit we can look on the
Lord of Glory and His Glory, mirrored in all parts of the Word of
God. And then as we look on this wonderful person and His relation
to us and ours to Him, as we behold His glory both moral and
literal, in humiliation and exaltation, past, present and future, we
are changed into the same image. Our path will be from Glory to
Glory! And some day there will come that supreme moment when we
shall be _suddenly_ changed "in a moment, the twinkling of an eye."
Oh child of God see your need! It is Christ, the Lord of Glory set
before your heart; all worldly mindedness, all insincerity, all
discouragement, all unbelief, all unfaithfulness must flee when we
follow on to know the Lord and daily behold "as in a glass the Glory
of the Lord."
"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present
you faultless _before the presence of His Glory_ with exceeding joy,
to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and
power, both now and ever. Amen."
Jehovah. The "I Am."
WHEN Moses in the desert beheld the burning bush God answered his
question by the revelation of His name as the "I Am." "And God said
unto Moses, I am, that I am: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exod. iii:14).
He who spake thus out of the bush to Moses was the same who in the
fullness of time appeared upon the earth in the form of man. Our
Lord Jesus Christ is no less person, than the I AM. If we turn to
the fourth Gospel in which the Holy Spirit pictures Him as the Son
of God, one with the Father, we find His glorious title there as the
I AM. In the eighth chapter of that blessed Gospel we read that He
said to the Jews, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham
was, I am" (v:58). And the Jews took stones to cast them upon Him.
In the fifth chapter we read that they wanted to kill Him, not only
because He had violated the Sabbath, but also said that God was His
Father, making Himself equal with God (v:18). They wanted to stone
Him because in saying that word "Before Abraham was, I am" He had
claimed that holy name for Himself, which was revealed to Moses. The
Jews then, as the orthodox Jews do still, reverenced that name to
such a degree that they did not even pronounce it, but substituted
in its place the word "Adonai." Little did they realize that the
same "I am" who spoke to Moses out of the bush, saying, "I am;" who
descended before Moses later in a cloud and proclaimed the name of
the Lord (Exod. xxxiv) was standing in their midst in the form of
man. And this is not the only time He used this word. We find it in
the xviii chapter of John. When the band and officers of the chief
priests and Pharisees came with lanterns, torches and weapons, Jesus
stepped majestically into their presence with the calm question:
"Whom seek ye?" When they had stated that they were seeking Jesus
the Nazarene He answered them with one word "I AM." What happened?
They went backward and fell to the ground. What a spectacle that
must have been. The dark night, a company of people, all on the same
satanic errand, with their lanterns, torches and different kinds of
weapons. And then the object of their hatred steps before them and
utters one word and they fall helpless to the ground. What warning
it should have been to them. Once more He asks the question; again
He answers with the "I am" and with the understanding that His own
should be free, He allows Himself to be bound.
He likewise called Himself "I am" in talking with the Samaritan
woman. In John iv:26 we read, "Jesus saith unto her, I that speak
unto thee am he." This does, however, not express the original. This
reads as follows: "I AM that speaks to thee." After this mighty word
had come from His lips the woman had nothing more to say, but left
her waterpot and went her way back to the city. The I AM had spoken
to her. In chapters vi:20 and viii:28 we find Him using the same "I
am" again. In the former passage "It is I" should read "I am."
Besides these passages in which He speaks of Himself as the
self-existing Jehovah, the great "I am," He saith seven times in this
Gospel what He is to His own. I am the Bread of life (chapter
vi:35.) I am the Light of the world (chapter ix:5). I am the Door
(chapter x:7). I am the Good Shepherd (chapter x:11). I am the
Resurrection and the Life (chapter xi:25). I am the Way, the Truth
and the Life (chapter xvi:6); and I am the true Vine (chapter xv:1).
But this does not exhaust at all what He is and will be now and
forever to those who belong to Him. In the Old Testament there are
seven great names of the "I AM" which are deep and significant. In
them we can trace His rich and wonderful Grace. _Jehovah.--Jireh_
--The Lord provides. The lamb provided (Genesis xxii). _Jehovah
Rophecah_--I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus xv). _Jehovah
--Nissi_--The Lord is my banner, He giveth the Victory (Exod. xvii).
_Jehovah shalom_, the Lord is Peace. He is our Peace (Judges vi).
_Jehovah Roi_--The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm
xxiii). _Jehovah-Tsidkenu_, the Lord is our righteousness (Jeremiah
xxiii). _Jehovah shammah_, the Lord is there (Ezek. xlviii).
But this does not exhaust what He is. I AM--what? Anything and
everything what we need in time and eternity.
"When God would teach mankind His name
He called Himself the great, I AM,
And leaves a blank--believers may
Supply those things for which they pray."
Happy indeed are we, beloved reader, if we know Him, who died for us
as the I AM, if we learn more and more to trust Him as the all
sufficient One and know that the I AM will supply all our need. In
these days in which the person of Christ is so much belittled,
attacked; He as the Holy One, the great Jehovah rejected, not by the
outside world alone, but by those who call themselves after His own
blessed name, let us have for an answer to all these attacks of the
enemy a closer walk with Him, a more intimate fellowship with the I
AM; a better acquaintance with our Jehovah-Jesus, our gracious Lord.
Oh what a union is ours, One with Him the I AM, what a happy,
glorious lot. Hallelujah.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come (Rev. ii:8). I am the
bright and morning star (Rev. xxii: 16). What, oh what will He be
for His own in all eternity!
That Worthy Name.
James ii:7.
IN the second chapter of the Epistle of James the Holy Spirit speaks
of our ever blessed Lord as "that worthy Name." Precious Word!
precious to every heart that knows Him and delights to exalt His
glorious and worthy Name. His Name is "far above every Name that is
named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."
(Ephes. i:21.) It is "as ointment poured forth" (Song of Sol. i:3);
yea, His Name alone is excellent (Psalm cxlviii:13). But according
to His worth that blessed Name is far from being fully known and
uttered by the Saints of God. "Thou art worthy" and "Worthy is the
Lamb" shall some day burst from the glorified lips of redeemed
sinners, brought home to be with Him. In that blessed day when at
last we see Him face to face, forever with the Lord, we shall begin
to learn the full worth and glory of that Name, the Name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In a feeble way here below we get glimpses of His
precious, worthy Name, of His beauty and loveliness, and then only
through the power of the Holy Spirit. The aim of the Spirit of God
dwelling in our hearts will always be to tell us more of Himself.
Like Abraham's servant who had so much to say to the elect bride
about Isaac, so the Holy Spirit ever delights to show us more of
Christ, the Christ of God. Oh! how He is eager to tell us more of
His worth, of His glory, of His grace and of all He is and all He
has. How it grieves Him when our hearts do not respond to the great
message He has for us and when instead we turn to something else to
give us joy and comfort. Only Christ can give joy and comfort, peace
and rest to the hearts of those who are His. The days are evil and
the time is short. Is your heart increasingly attracted to that
worthy Name? Do you have a greater burning desire in your heart for
Himself? Does He, that worthy Name, become more and more day by day
the absorbing object of your heart and life? Do you often weep over
your coldheartedness, your lack of real devotion to Him and
communion with your Lord? Do you appreciate Him more than ever
before? Is the Apostle's longing cry "that I might know Him" coming
also from your heart? Dear reader, these are searching questions. A
better knowledge of our blessed Lord, a deeper acquaintance with
that worthy Name and greater devotion to Him, is the only true
spiritual progress which counts. If you live but little in the
reality of all this you lack that joy and rest which is true
Christian happiness and the Spirit is grieved. Oh let Him unfold to
your heart that worthy name and show you from His Word, His
wonderful person, then His power will attract your heart more and
more. This is what all God's people need. "That worthy Name," the
Lord in all His blessed fulness and glorious reality is what we
need.
And what the written Word has to tell us of "that worthy Name"! Oh,
the titles, the attributes, the names, the glories, the beauties of
Himself. And we have discovered but so few of these blessed things.
Perhaps a few hundred of the descriptions of that worthy Name are
known to God's Saints; but there are hundreds, still hidden, we have
never touched. Yes, God's Spirit is ever willing to make them known
to our hearts.
Just for a few moments think of some of the familiar titles and
names of that Name which is above every other name. How these titles
of our blessed Lord, what He is and what we have in Him should fill
our hearts with praise and our lips with outbursts of praise, lift
us above present day conditions and give us courage and boldness.
"That worthy Name"; who is He?
The Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, the living God, the
eternal Life; Emmanuel, the God of Glory, the Holy One; Jehovah, the
everlasting God, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord of Peace, the
Lord our righteousness, the Upholder of all things, the Creator, the
Alpha and Omega, the express image of God. He is the Word, the Word
of God, the Word of Life, the Wisdom of God, the Angel of the Lord,
the Mediator of the better covenant. The good Shepherd, the great
Shepherd, the chief Shepherd, the Door, the Way, the Root and
offspring of David, the Branch of Righteousness, the Rose of Sharon,
the Lily of the valley, the true Vine, the Corn of Wheat, the Bread
of God, the true Bread from heaven. He is also the Light of the
world, the Day dawn, the Star out of Jacob, Sun and Shield, the
Bright and Morningstar, the Sun of Righteousness. Thus we read of
that worthy Name, that He is, the Great High-priest, the Daysman,
the Advocate, Intercessor, Surety, Mercy Seat, the Forerunner, the
Rock of Salvation, the Refuge, the Tower, a strong Tower, the Rock
of Ages, the Hope of Glory, the Hope of His people, a living Stone.
And what else? the Gift of God, the Beloved, the Fountain of Life,
Shiloh, He is our Peace, our Redeemer, He is precious, the Amen, the
Just Lord, the Bridegroom, the Firstborn from the Dead, Head over
all, Head of all principality and power, Heir of all things. He is
Captain of the Lord's Host, Captain of their salvation, Chiefest
among Ten Thousand, the Leader, the Counsellor, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, the Governor, Prince of Peace, the Prince of Life,
the Prince of the Kings of the earth, the Judge, the King, the King
of Israel, King of Saints, King of Glory, King over all the earth,
King in His Beauty, King of Kings and Lord of lords.
All these names and attributes of that worthy Name are familiar.
What dignity, what power, what grace and blessing for us for whom He
died and shed His precious blood they express. Who can fathom these
names? Who can tell out His worth? And hundreds more could be added,
and many, many more, which are still undiscovered in the Word of
God. What a Lord He is! We worship and adore Thee, Thou worthy One.
Draw us O Lord and we will run after Thee. What a joy and delight it
ought to be to follow Him, to exalt Him, to be devoted to such a
One! Oh! our failures! And still He carries us in kindness and
patience. And He also has a Name, which expresses the fulness of His
work and glory. No one knows what _that_ is. "He had a name written,
that no man knew, but He Himself" (Rev. xix:12). That unknown Name
may never be made known.
But oh! the blessedness which is before us His redeemed people. Of
us it is written "They shall see _His face_": That blessed, blessed
face of that worthy Name, we shall behold at last. We shall see His
face! Oh the rapture which fills the heart in the anticipation of
that soon coming event. "And His Name shall be on their foreheads"
(Rev. xxii:4). We shall be like Him, we shall be a perfect
reflection of Himself.
The Doctrine of Christ.
2 John 9-11.
"WHOSOEVER transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath
both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring
not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him
God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
deeds" (2 John 9-11). What then is the doctrine of Christ? It is the
revealed truth concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
He is the Son of God, whom the Father sent into the world. "God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This
is the doctrine of Christ. Anyone who does not hold the doctrine of
Christ that He is absolutely God, one with the Father come into the
world, hath not God. He is without God and hope in the world. He is
an Anti-christ. "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is
that spirit of Anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should
come; and even now already is it in the world" (1 John iv:2-3). Such
a denier of the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is no christian at
all and all fellowship even to the greeting must be denied to him.
This seems severe and intolerant. But it is not if we consider what
the denial of the Person of our holy and blessed Lord means. God
grant unto us, who hold the doctrine of Christ, a divine jealousy
for His honor and glory, manifested by separation from all who in
any way deny the doctrine upon which all Christianity rests.
But how blessed to faith to see in the first Epistle of John the
doctrine of Christ revealed and the blessings and comforts brought
forth, which are for those who abide in this doctrine. In the Gospel
of John the beloved disciple writes by the Holy Spirit about the Son
of God, how He came from the Father and was in the world and how He
left the world to go back to the Father. The Son of God is also the
theme of the Holy Spirit in the first Epistle of John. "Our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His _Son_ Jesus Christ"
(i:3). This fellowship means that we share the Father's thoughts
about His Son and to enjoy with the Son His own blessed and eternal
relationship with the Father. In the measure our faith enters into
the doctrine of Christ in that measure we shall have deeper
fellowship with the Father and His Son. Is your cry, dear reader,
for more reality in this fellowship? There is one way only which
leads to this. It is an increase in the knowledge of the Son of God
and as you abide there, you _have_ the Father and the Son.
And now we shall call to our remembrance other passages in the first
Epistle of John in which our blessed Lord as the Son of God is
mentioned. They are sweet and precious to faith and if read in the
Spirit they will bring the joy, the blessing, the peace and the
comfort of the doctrine of Christ to our hearts.
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (i:7).
That precious blood, His own blood, has cleansed us once and for
all. "For this purpose the _Son of God_ was manifested that He might
destroy the works of the devil" (iii:8). "And this is his
commandment, that we should believe on the name of His _Son_ Jesus
Christ and love one another as He gave us commandment. And he that
keepeth His commandments (which are: believing on Him and loving one
another) dwelleth in Him and He in him. And hereby we know that He
abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us" (iii:23-24).
"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. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He
loved us, and sent _His Son_ into the world to be the propitiation
for our sins." "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love
one another" (iv:9-11). "And we have seen and do testify that the
Father sent _the Son_ to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever
shall confess that Jesus is _the Son of God_, God dwelleth in him
and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath
to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God
and God in him" (iv:14-16). "Who is he that overcometh the world,
but he that believeth that Jesus is _the Son of God?_" (v:5) "If we
receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this
is the witness of God which He hath testified of His _Son_. He that
believeth on the _Son of God_ hath the witness in himself; he that
believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave to _His Son_. And this is the record that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is _in His Son_. He
that hath _the Son_ hath life; he that hath not the _Son of God_
hath not life" (v:9-12). "These things have I written unto you that
believe on the name of _the Son of God_, that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of _the Son
of God_. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we
ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (v:13-14). "And
we know that the _Son of God_ is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him
that is true, even in _His Son_ Jesus Christ. This is the _true God_
and eternal life" (v:20).
May our faith lay hold anew of these simple yet deep and precious
revelations. They are the doctrine of Christ. Into this we must
enter constantly and manifest in our lives the fruits of this
doctrine, love and righteousness. The increasing rejection of the
doctrine of Christ demands the increased appreciation of that
doctrine. The more the enemy attacks the Person of Christ, the more
the Holy Spirit demands of us, who belong to Christ, that we exalt
Him. Everything in the present time seems to be aimed at the setting
aside of the doctrine upon which our Hope rests. Higher Criticism,
the evil doctrines, which reject the eternal punishment of the
wicked, the spurious gospels, ethical teachings and every other
false doctrine strikes at the blessed Person of our Lord. The shadow
of _the_ Anti-christ is cast in our days. Let us heed God's Word.
Let us be separated from those who deny Christ or we are partakers
of their evil deeds. The path of the true believer becomes narrower.
It must be so. But Christ becomes more precious, more real to our
souls.
What awful times are coming upon this age according to God's Word!
With the rejection of the doctrine of Christ this age sides
completely with Satan and that wonderful being is both blinding his
victims and using them for his own sinister purposes. The blindness
is fearful. It will be worse before long. The rush into complete
apostasy and from there into the delusion with the lying wonders and
on into the darkness forever will come next. Let us praise God for
the doctrine of Christ, which is our salvation, and may God give us
faith and courage to walk according to that doctrine. What day of
joy awaits us, when we shall see him as He is and know the depth of
the Love of God by being like Him!
The Pre-Eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
WHAT a blessed theme the Person and Glory of our Lord! How
inexhaustible and unsearchable! How refreshing to the souls of His
redeemed people as well as to the heart of our heavenly Father, who,
loveth the Son! To meditate on Him, to behold the Glory of the Lord
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God, means
spiritual growth and spiritual enjoyment. This only can make the
unseen Person a blessed reality in our daily walk. We pray that all
our beloved readers are drawn closer to Himself through these brief
meditations. Can we truly say the Lord is more precious to our
hearts and that we are living more in His presence than ever before?
Has He become the absorbing object of our hearts and lives? Are we
more devoted to Him? God grant that this may be the case with all of
us. It is the great need we have. It is the good part, which Mary,
resting at His feet, had chosen.
In the great chapter which begins the Epistle to the Colossians,
after that blessed description of the Son of God, stands this word
"_that in all things He might have the pre-eminence_" (Col. i:18).
But who can tell out what a pre-eminence, the pre-eminence of the
Lord Jesus Christ is? Some day we shall see Him in all His Glory. He
Himself will lead us into the Holiest of the third heaven to behold
the Glory the Father has given Him (John xvii:24); then we shall
know His pre-eminence fully. And yet from Scripture we can learn
even now the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In all eternity the Son of God was the object of Love and Glory.
"Son of God the Father's bosom
Ever was Thy dwelling place."
He ever subsisted in the form of God. In all creation He has the
pre-eminence. This is made known to us, as man could not discover
it, by revelation. We accept this in faith. "Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb.
x:3). And all which was called into existence was created by Him and
for Him. "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were
created by Him and for Him" (Col. i:16). What a marvellous survey!
What power and glory belongs to the blessed Son of God! "All things
were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was
made." "The world was made by Him" (John i:3, 10).
He has the pre-eminence in sustaining His creation. All things
consist by Him. He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb.
i:3).
In the Revelation of God He has the pre-eminence. Both books, the
book of Nature and the Book of all books, the written Word of God,
the Bible, tell out His Glory. The Bible may be compared to a living
organism, like the human body. Every book in the Bible has a
specific place and service like the members of the body; the life in
that marvellous divinely constructed organism of the revelation of
God is the Son of God. Apart from Him there is no revelation from
God and no manifestation of God. He reveals God throughout the
Bible, in every part, He holds the pre-eminence. Greater still is
His pre-eminence in redemption. Redemption would be an eternal
impossibility without Him. He came from the Father's bosom to redeem
us. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the
Father but by Him. He gives eternal life. Furthermore as the first
born from the dead He is the head of the body. That body is the
church and every believing sinner is a member in that body. Each is
united to Him and possesses His life. This body with its many
members He keeps, nourishes, builds up, sanctifies and ultimately
glorifies. In all the great and glorious redemptive work He has the
pre-eminence.
As the glorified Man He is the Heir of God and as such He holds the
pre-eminence in heaven. He has been made so much better than the
angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name
than they. Far above all the angelic beings, higher than the
archangel is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man in Glory.
There is a future pre-eminence for Him. The day of His visible Glory
and power is approaching. Now He is rejected, then He will be
enthroned. Upon the holy hill of Zion He will be the King of Glory.
His Glory will cover the heavens and His Majesty the earth. He will
be King of kings and Lord of lords. He will rule as the only
potentate and every knee must bow before Him. The song must at last
rise in heaven and on earth "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and
glory and blessing." Such is, briefly sketched, the pre-eminence of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, in all things He hath the pre-eminence.
Can we do anything less than to give Him the first place in all
things? He is worthy of it. He died for us. He drank the cup of
wrath in our stead. His own self bare our sins in His own body on
the tree. How great has been and still is His love for us, the love,
which passeth knowledge. He is worthy of the first place every
moment of our lives. He is worthy to possess all we have and are. We
are bought with a price, we are not our own. We belong to Him.
What unspeakable grace from God the Father, that He has brought us
into fellowship with Him to whom He has given the pre-eminence. We
please the Father as we delight ourselves in the Son and walk in
that blessed fellowship. We must honor Him whom the Father has
honored, and as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ and accord Him the
first place, the Father will honor us (John xii:26). Our hearts too
can never fully know the blessed peace of God and rest of faith till
we give our Lord the first place. Anything less than that will mean
dishonor to Him. "Not I--but Christ" must be the constant cry of
our hearts. Not I--but Christ in our daily walk; Not I--but Christ
in our service. Oh! that we might realize our great and holy
calling, our wonderful privilege, a privilege which is ours for but
a little while longer to live Him, live for Him, who has in all
things the pre-eminence.
Nothing save Him, in all our ways,
Giving the theme for ceaseless praise;
Our whole resource along the road,
Nothing but Christ--the Christ of God.
"Ye are Christ's--Christ is God's."
ONLY a few words, yet how blessedly full of peace and joy! How
precious they are to faith! If we, to whom they apply, would
remember them daily, how happy in Him we would be. In all our ways,
in good and evil days, yea, every moment the truth contained in
these words ought to be real to the true believer. Is not all our
failure due to the fact that we live not sufficiently in the
consciousness and reality of this wonderful fact, that we belong to
Christ, that we are one with Him? Before these words in the third
chapter of First Corinthians we find the statement "all things are
yours." And after these words it is written "Christ is God's." We
are Christ's and Christ is God's; all things are ours because Grace
has brought us into this marvelous relationship. "Christ is God's"
gives us once more the whole story of God's Love and Grace. As the
Only Begotten He ever subsisted in the form of God, the Image of
God, one with Him, absolutely God. But He came down, took upon Him
the form of a servant, taking His place in the likeness of man. In
the form of man He wrought the great work of redemption on the cross
and now after His resurrection, by which He is proven Son of God and
His presence as the glorified Man in the highest heaven, He is the
one in whom and through whom, God the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ gives all blessing. "Christ is God's," then, means what
we learn from the following scriptures: "The Father loveth the Son,
and hath given all things into His hands" (John iii:35). "Whom He
hath appointed heir of all things" (Heb. i:2). "Christ is God's" is
a word which tells us that He who is the Creator of all things, the
visible and the invisible, came in incarnation, redeemed us and is
now, the beginning, the first-begotten from the dead and the Head of
His Body, which is the Church. This is how God has brought us to
Himself in the person of His own Son by whom he has redeemed us, in
whom He has exalted us and with whom He has given us all things.
To that wonderful person, Christ, the Christ of God, we belong. We
are His, who is One with God, by whom and for whom all things were
created. The Son of God for such as we are, became poor, even to the
poverty of the cross. There He took our place and in His own body He
bore our sins and died for us. He saw us then the travail of His
soul. We can look back to the cross and say, as His Apostle said:
"Who love me and gave Himself for me." We belong to Him, who has all
power in heaven and will have all power before long, as King of
Kings and Lord of Lords on earth. We are Christ's, whom God has
appointed as the second Man, the head of the new creation as Heir of
all things. We are Christ's, who is the Head of the Body, to which
we belong. In Him and with Him we are the Heirs of God. God and
Christ are inseparable and so are Christ and we who have trusted in
Him and have His life. All Christ has belongs to us; all Christ is
we shall be; where Christ is there we shall be in all eternity.
Reader! Child of God, pause! Does your faith lay hold of this? Do
you read it only and enjoy it just for a moment or is this great
fact of your union with Christ and God becoming daily a greater
reality in your life? Is it really so that you enter deeper and
deeper into that love which passeth knowledge? Oh! that it may be so
with the writer and each believer who reads these feeble words on so
great a theme.
"Ye are Christ's." Then we are _not our own_. That is exactly what
is elsewhere stated in First Corinthians. "Ye are not your own; we
are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. vi:20). Our hearts occupied
with Himself, increasingly attracted by the glorious Person of our
adorable Lord, realising by the power of His Spirit our glory and
destiny with the Lord of Glory, we shall act and walk as such, who
are Christ's. Every step of the way it will resound in our hearts
"ye are Christ's." In all we do we shall always remember we are
Christ's. Cares, anxieties, worldly ambitions, all manner of
temptations, will fall before the fact grasped in faith "I am
Christ's."
We are convinced that _only_ the Person of Christ put before the
heart of the believer through the Word of God and the power of His
Spirit can keep the Christian in these awful days of apostasy from
going along with the fearful current of the last days. If Christ and
our blessing in Him become more real to us we will be beyond the
reach of the god of this age with his wiles and sinister purposes.
Furthermore the demand of the hour is for us to exalt Christ. How He
is dishonored is a dread reality. The rejection of Christ was never
so marked and never so satanic as in these days. God, the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ expects from us His children that we
exalt Him in the days of His rejection and thus share His reproach.
Let us do it!
And lastly, if we ever have the Person of Christ before our hearts,
we shall walk in obedience to Him as our Lord. Then if we exalt
Christ and are obedient to Himself we have the fullest assurance
that the Holy Spirit will be with us, upon us and fill us. There is
no need to seek "the power" as some express it, nor a baptism of the
Spirit. He will be with us and in us in the measure as we exalt
Christ and walk in Him.
O gracious Lord, when we reflect
How apt to turn the eye from Thee,
Forget Thee, too, with sad neglect,
And listen to the enemy,
And yet to find Thee still the same--
'Tis this that humbles us with shame.
Astonished at Thy feet we fall,
Thy love exceeds our highest thought,
Henceforth be Thou our all in all,
Thou who our souls with blood hast bought;
May we henceforth more faithful prove,
And ne'er forget Thy ceaseless love.
"Him will I make that overcomes
And stems the advancing flood,
A pillar of might, with glory light,
In the temple of my God.
On him shall the blest Name divine,
And my new name be graven;
And the City's name, Jerusalem,
That cometh down from heaven."
The Wonderful.
Isaiah ix:6.
HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long before
Isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord had
announced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah.
And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that
when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel of
Jehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it
is Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah,
the Person who appeared repeatedly in Old Testament history is an
uncreated angel. Of this Being we read that He is the Redeemer, for
Jacob speaks of Him "the angel which redeemed me from all evil"
(Genesis xlviii:15). He is the angel whose voice must be obeyed, who
has power to pardon transgressions, in whom the name of God is
(Exodus xxiii:20-23). He is the angel of His Presence who saved them
(Isaiah lxiii:9) and Exodus xxxiii:14 must refer to this Being "My
presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest." This angel
of Jehovah speaks in the Book of Judges and declared, "I made you to
go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I sware
unto your fathers; and I said I will never break my covenant with
you" (Judges ii:1). He appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of
the midst of the bush and He spoke to Moses as the I am! (Ex. iii.)
The same One appeared before Joshua and he worshipped in His
presence. With Him Jacob wrestled, with Jehovah, the God of hosts
(Hosea xii:4-6). Malachi iii:1 shows that the Lord Himself is this
Angel, the Angel of the Covenant, who also visited Abraham in the
form of Man (Genesis xviii).
And after all these manifestations, seven hundred years after Isaiah
had announced Him, as the Wonderful, He appeared in human form in
the midst of His people. And now we know by divine Revelation in the
completed Word of God that He is wonderful in His Person and in his
work; but no mind can fathom, no heart can grasp, no pen can
describe, how wonderful He is.
He is wonderful if we think of Him as the Only Begotten of the
Father. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that
was made" (John i:1-3). "By Him were all things created that are in
Heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were
made by Him and for Him; and He is before all things and by Him all
things consist" (Col. i:16-17). He is the image of the invisible
God, the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
Person. How wonderful such a One, who ever was, with no beginning,
One with God!
How wonderful His humiliation. "Who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men, and being in fashion as a man He humbled
Himself" (Phil. ii:6-8). "For verily He took not on Him the nature
of Angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham" (Hebrews ii:16).
Wonderful condescension that He who created the angels should be
made lower than the angels and lay His Glory by, to appear in the
form of man on earth.
Wonderful is He in His incarnation, "that holy thing" as the angel
announced Him, truly God and Man. Born of the woman, resting on the
bosom of the virgin as a little child and yet He is the One who ever
is in the bosom of the Father.
Wonderful that blessed life He lived on earth of which the beloved
disciple bears such a beautiful witness. "That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of
Life. For the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear
witness and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the
Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John i:1-2). Wonderful are
the blessed words which came from His lips, wonderful is His moral
glory, His untiring service, His love, His patience and everything
which the Holy Spirit has been pleased to tell us of His earthly
life. The more our hearts contemplate Him the more wonderful He
appears. But still greater and more wonderful is it that He went to
the cross to give His life as a ransom for many, that the Just One
should die for the unjust, that He who knew no sin was made sin for
us and pay the penalty of sins on the cross. He is the Wonderful in
His great work on the cross, the depths of which have never been
fathomed. And what can we say of His wonderful Glory, His wonderful
Place, His wonderful Power, His wonderful Grace! How wonderfully He
has dealt with us, with each one of us individually. How wonderful
it is that He knows each of His sheep, that He guides each, provides
for, loveth, succors, stands by, restores, never leaves nor forsakes
each who has trusted in Him and belongs to Him. How wonderful are
His ways with us, that He guides with His eyes and that His loving
power and omnipotent love is on our side. In His coming
manifestation He will be wonderful. Wonderful He will be when we
shall see Him and stand in His presence. What a day it will be when
we see Him face to face! Then we shall know all the loveliness and
wonderfulness of His adorable Person and His wonder ways with us.
With what wonderment we shall then behold Him. And when He comes
with His Saints, when the Heavens are lit up with untold glory, when
He comes to judge, to establish His Kingdom, to speak peace to the
nations, to restore creation to its right condition, when He reigns
and all His redeemed ones with Him--Oh how wonderful it all will
be!