Our readers are doubtless familiar with the passages referred to in our title, and it is our intention to examine them with regard to their typical teaching. The action of Israel with regard to their Messiah is foreshadowed in this historic incident, for Stephen, in Acts 7:5 1, referring to Israel as `stiff
necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears', who always resisted the Holy Ghost as their fathers did, says, `the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him ... and at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren' (Acts 7:9-13).
Hebrews 9:28 tells us that Christ will `appear the second time without sin unto salvation'. When the Lord Jesus
comes again `They shall look upon Me (Him) Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn' (tech. 12:10) even as Joseph's brethren did when they realized that they were in the presence of one who had been so ill-treated at their hands. We do not desire, however, to emphasize the prophetic type so much as to draw attention to one of the sublimer truths of the doctrine of the Atonement which is herein typified, viz. :
THE SURETYSHIP OF CHRIST.
Genesis 43:9 `I will be surety for Him'. What is the meaning of a surety? The Hebrew word comes from a word meaning `to mix'. At first sight this may not appear to throw much light upon the subject, but we believe it will, as we examine one or two passages of Scripture. The Hebrew word for `evening' is literally `the mixture', for then the light and darkness appear to mingle together. The same word supplies us with the `woof' (Lev. 13:48 etc.) in weaving the threads which are intermixed with the warp in the production of the cloth. It further comes to mean `to mix or engage with others in trading', and hence in turn comes to mean `a place for such intercourse' - `a market'.
This helps us to see that the great underlying principle of Suretyship is to become so identified, or interwoven with the cause of another, as to be treated in his room and stead, to be responsible for his debts and failures, to make good his deficiencies; in short, to fulfill to the letter the wonderful doctrine enshrined in the theological term
SUBSTITUTION.
This responsibility is further emphasized by the words of Judah, `of my hand shalt thou require him' (Gem. 43:9). For illustration read Genesis 31:39, `That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee;
I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it'. See also 2 Samuel 4:11. Judah further amplifies this by saying that should he fail in execution of his suretyship `Then let me bear the blame for ever' (Gem. 43:9). The word rendered `blame' is translated `sin' 165 times in the Old Testament. Hence, looking beyond Judah to the Anti-type, we see that if Christ our Surety failed in His work, He must be still bearing sin - a dreadful thought - but, blessed be God, this was effectually disposed of by the resurrection, for He `Who was delivered
because of (not "for") our offences, and was raised again
because of (not "for") our justification' (tom. 4:25). `Death hath no more dominion over Him' (tom. 6:9). The substitutionary character
of the work of the Surety is further emphasized in Genesis 44:33 'Let thy servant abide instead of the lad'. Precious word
`instead'. That One `Who knew no sin' was made sin (and a sin offering)
for us, or on our behalf, with the object `that we might become the righteousness of God in Him' (2 Cor. 5:21 R.V.). Christ dying in my stead and raised from the dead is pledge of :
IRREVERSIBLE SALVATION.
Genesis 44:34 gives us a word which enables us to see that the step downward from Heaven's glory to Earth's shame, taken by the Lord Jesus when He made our cause His own is to be followed by a step upward from Earth's shame to Heaven's glory
with Him. He who identified Himself with our sorrows has identified us with His joys. Oh, the wonder of it all! Truly `By grace are ye saved'; truly (as one has put it) `The saved are in for favour'.
Listen to Judah, but think of Christ, as he says, `How shall I go up (literally, ascend) to
my father, and the lad be not with me?' How can Christ Who suffered, died, and rose again, ever be satisfied, until those for whom He became surety are safely by His side in the Father's home?
`With me'. When we contemplate the ruin - our fall, our sin, our doom - what grace, what love, that He, the Spotless, Peerless, Son of God, should come down and identify Himself with us!
When we contemplate His glory, His fulness, His holiness, the wonders of the heavenly home, the light of His glorious throne, the nearness to the Father, what transcendent grace and unspeakable mercy do we find in the Scripture which tells us that, sinful by nature as we are, we shall, one day, reach the fruition of Redemption by finding ourselves placed securely for all Eternity
`with Him'.
Let it be repeated and emphasized unremittingly that all is of grace, that He `hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works' but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (Age times)' (2 Tim. 1:9).
There are some who are so spiritual (?) that the doctrine of the Atoning Blood is repulsive to them. We can but pity them. In the sight of God that blood is `precious'. On the pages of Scripture we discover that through that Precious Blood we have peace; we are justified; we are saved from wrath. We know Him, our great Surety, not only as the One Who died, but as the One Who was raised from the dead to die no more. Still for us He lives; still for us He intercedes; soon we shall be manifested with Him in glory.
May those who read these words be led to realize the blessedness of the truth contained in the type before us, and unflinchingly and unfalteringly hold fast the truth of Christ our surety.
CLEAN EVERY WHIT.
HE NEEDETH NOT SAVE TO WASH HIS FEET
Some Thoughts on Sanctification from John 13
The thirteenth chapter of John's Gospel marks an important division. They first twelve chapters deal with the Lord's public witness, with its reception on the part of the few and its rejection on the part of the many.
Chapter 1:11 says, `He came unto His own, and His own received Him not'.
Chapter 13:1 says, `Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end'. `His own' of chapter thirteen differ from those in chapter I:11, for these had received Him, whilst His closing words in chapter 12:48-50, are concerning those who had rejected Him.
The incident that occupies the opening verses of chapter thirteen is well known to most of us, and we particularly wish to draw attention to two of the impetuous remarks of Peter and the Lord's answers to them, for our own edification. The Lord, by girding Himself with a towel, took the lowest place of all, that of a menial slave. Truly `He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many' (Matt. 20:28). It will be remembered that Luke 22:24 records at the Supper `There was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest'. Possibly the fact that upon taking their places for the Passover, some must necessarily have been found nearer, and some further from the Lord's Person than others, may have caused this argument to have arisen. The Lord Jesus listened to their words, and in His marvellous love and condescension gave them an impressive rebuke by His lowly action.
Think for a moment of the utter depths brought out by reading verses three and four together. Though Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His Hands, and that He was
come from God (The Apostle) and went to God (The Great High Priest of our profession), yet `He riseth from supper, and
laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. He, `Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery (a thing to be grasped at) 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 found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross' (Phil. 2:6-8).
It seems that no one had volunteered to do the lowly office of washing the feet, and so the Lord Himself stoops down and girds Himself; what a picture of His wonderful grace in our salvation. Not a sound is heard from any until the Lord reaches Peter. He could not keep silent. `Lord, dost
thou wash my feet? ... Thou shalt never wash my feet'! The difference between the unworthy Peter and the gracious Lord was too much for him; he felt, if others said nothing, he must. The Lord Jesus pausing in His lowly work, looked at Peter and said `If I wash thee not, thou halt no part (no portion)
with Me'. All Peter's qualms fled before the prospect of not having a part with his Beloved Master, and he more than undoes what he had previously said by exclaiming, `Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head', rather than forfeit a share with Him. Again he has to learn the lesson of his own ignorance. This time he goes to the other extreme. The Lord answers him with the words `he that hath been bathed
(leloumenos) hath no necessity save to wash (nipsasthati) his feet, but is clean every whit' (John 13:10, see R.V.).
What lessons are here?
Do we not see that only those who have been washed by the Lord have any share with Him? May every trader know the completeness of the cleansing
once and for ever that results from the application of the Atoning Blood of
Christ. Peter's words `Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head' are echoed daily by many believers, who, seeing their own unworthiness, belittle the fulness that is theirs in Christ and do not rest upon the gracious words that they are `accepted in the Beloved' (Eph. 1:6), that they are `complete in Him' (Col. 2:10). To such, the reply of the Lord may come with illuminating power, `HE THAT HATH BEEN BATHED ... IS CLEAN
EVERY WHIT'.
Two most important aspects of sanctification are to be found in verse ten
(1) `HE THAT HATH BEEN BATHED ... IS CLEAN EVERY WHIT'. (2) `NEVERTHELESS, SUC14 AN ONE NEEDS TO WASH HIS FEET'.
We are continually forgetting that these two go together. Not only are we `in Heavenly places in Christ' (Eph. 1:3), but we are also still in the body on the earth. Some, realizing that the Scriptures teach that the believer is `complete in Him (Christ)' (Col. 2:10), isolate and emphasize the first sentence, they are `clean every whit'. These either develop some phase of sinless perfection or irresponsible licence. They forget that there will be a continual need for those who are `clean every whit' to wash their feet, the part that comes in contact with the earth, and associated with the Christian walk.
Others, realizing that since their conversion their feet have strayed from the path of truth, forget their unaltered and unalterable perfectness in Christ, and so not only pray for the washing of their feet, but their head and their hands. They forget that the Lord has forgiven us
`all trespasses' (Col. 2:13); that He has made us `new creatures in Christ Jesus' (2 Cor. 5:17); and that our walk here below cannot alter our position in the heavenlies in Christ, but, rather, that our glorious position `there' should influence our walk `here'. The first class develop spiritual prig; the second, spiritual despair.
Let us remember the perfectness of His cleansing, but also the imperfectness of our walk as believers. We shall then, like Paul, not only say `Oh wretched man that I am' (Rom. 7:24 but also `There is therefore now (i.e. at the selfsame time) no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus' (Rom. 8:1).
`If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate
(Paraclete) with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous' (1 John 1:7 to 2:1).
PEACE WITH GOD.
Peace! What a word this is! How, like a balm, it soothes and mollifies. How often the apostle was inspired in the opening words of his Epistles to wish the saints `peace'!
Peace is one of the LORD's blessings for Hs people (Psa. 29:11). One of the titles of Christ that Isaiah uses early is `The Prince of Peace'. Again, it is in Isaiah that we read that comforting passage, 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JE140VA14 is everlasting strength (margin, the rock of ages)' (Isa. 26:3,4).
A most profitable study would be the consideration of the way in which this word is used by the apostle Paul. In the Epistle to the Romans, we find the word used more than in any other Epistle, There it occurs eleven times. Speaking of man by nature the apostle says, `The way of peace have they not known' (Rom. 3:17) and he prefaces this with the solemn words `Destruction and misery are in their ways'. What a contrast - their ways and the way of peace!
When we look back upon these `ways', what grace, what love it must have been that set our feet in the `way of peace'. How accurate is the Scripture. `They are all gone out of the way' (Rom. 3:12), (the way of peace), singular, whereas `their ways' are plural. Many are the ways of misery and enmity, but one way only is the way of peace. If we would enquire concerning this way, we shall find it stated in chapter 5:1, `Being justified by faith, we have peace with God'. The way of peace is not paved with good resolutions; none enter there because they have turned over a new leaf; the entrance to this road which leads to life and glory is `Justification by Faith'.
This takes us back again to Romans three, and commencing at verse twenty three we read `For all have sinned (in the past) and come (are coming, in the present) short of the glory of God'. Here we have the hopeless and helpless condition of the unbeliever and believer alike, in themselves. Notice the words `coming short', and the word `glory'. Both are closely connected with the thought of approval. God has a standard, but none have attained to it. Not till 4,000 years had rolled their course since the creation of Adam, could the Heavens open upon One in Whom the Father was well-pleased (Matt. 3:16,17).
It is interesting to note that the word `well-pleased' (eudokeo) is connected with the word `glory' (doxa) The Lord Jesus alone of all born of woman came up to the Divine Standard; all else have fallen short. In the case of candidates for government posts, to `fall short' of the required height by half an inch disqualifies as much as a foot; degrees there may be in sins, but not in sin -
`all sinned and are coming short of the glory of God'.
The sentence must not be finished here, for this has no word of peace for sinners. It continues, `Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. Ali! here is the ground of my peace with God. There is no interval between Romans 3:23 and 3:24; no room far improvement. At the same moment that the sinner is `coming short', that same moment he may be `justified'. Romans 4:5 emphasizes the same blessed truth, `But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness'. Surely we can now appreciate the words of the apostle when he says `justified freely'.
The word `freely' is translated `without a cause' in John 15:25. Justified without a cause! Surely this is grace indeed, and it is all `through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. Here then is the ground of our peace; this is the `justification by faith' which brings us `peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Rom. 5:1). This glorious truth is expanded in Colossians 1:20-22, `And, having made
peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies (not knowing peace) in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight'.
The peace, which is the blessed privilege of the believer here, is the anticipation of that final Dispensation of the Reconciliation of all things, when sin and sorrow shall flee away, and peace, perfect peace, will reign and rule (Col. 1:20; Eph. 1:10).
Not only is peace connected with the Cross of Christ, it is vitally connected with His Resurrection. Romans 5:1 reads on from Romans 4:24,25 `Who was delivered for (dia
because of) our offences and was raised again for (dia because of) our justifying; therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God'. There is, however, something more to be learned from this verse. The passage may read, `Therefore being justified by faith let us have peace with God'.
We cannot `make our peace' with God (as some erroneously speak), but we may be exhorted, upon the basis of the perfect justifcation that is ours in Christ, `By faith let us have peace with God'!
Why should anything come between now? Sin has been dealt with, the Sacrifice has been offered and accepted; `the fruit of righteousness shall be peace', `righteousness and peace have kissed each other' (Psa. 85:10); therefore, oh believer, enter by faith into that peace which is yours. Let none say you nay, when the Lord says that the peace has been made by the blood of His cross.
Not only do we find peace through His blood, but we read the glorious words, `But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For
He is our peace' (Eph. 2:13,14). Let us dwell upon this (not doctrine merely, but Christ Himself
He is our peace. Well might the apostle say, as the yearning of his heart, to be `found in Him' (Phil. 3:9).
If He is our peace, how well we can understand the power that binds together the `unity of the Spirit'; it is the `bond of peace' (binding together of the peace). Man-made bonds cause fiction, strife, division; the bond of peace never irritates, never chafes. Oh to know its power more! When men say `peace', sudden destruction may be nearer, but when `He (the Lord) giveth quietness, who then can make !rouble?' (Jab 34:29). Let us notice the Lord's action as recorded in John 20:19, 20. `Then ... came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He hart so
said, He showed unto them His hands and
His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord'. The Saviour not only said peace, but He pointed to the ground of peace - the marks of Calvary, and a Risen Lord.
May we ever see that our peace takes its sole rise from this font of mercy. May we never lean for peace upon the bruised reeds of man's `good works'; peace, true lasting peace, is found only by faith in the Lord, Who, for our sakes, died and rose again. This is `Peace with God'.
We have given prominence in these pages to the great question of Justification and Righteousness. We take this opportunity of presenting to the interested reader an outline that, if studied in relation to context and O.T. parallels, will, it is hoped, give a little light upon a most wondrous consequence of salvation.
TWO ASPECTS OF SANCTIFICATION
`The oil ... upon the place of the blood' (Lev.14:28).
Leprosy cut a man off from fellowship both with God and man, and its cleansing, and the pronouncement that leprosy had departed, is given a large place in the ceremonial of the book of Leviticus. The special feature that is before us at the moment is the teaching involved in the type so far as it throws light upon Sanctification. The quotation given above from Leviticus 14:28 warns us not to stress Sanctification by the Spirit to the omission of the Sanctification by the Blood of Christ, as also it teaches us to place Sanctification by Blood before Sanctification by the Spirit. Some of the excesses that have marred the testimony of some companies of believers is attributable to an undue emphasis upon the `Spirit' without the balancing emphasis upon the `Blood', the super structure more than the foundation.
Let us attempt to put the Scriptural order in which the great effect of the Atoning work of Christ is to be referred.
SANCTIFICATION BY BLOOD.
`For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience' (Heb. 9:13,14).
`We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all' (Heb. 10:10). `For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified' (Heb. 10:14).
`The blood of the covenant, wherewith He was sanctified' (Heb. 10:29).
`Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate' (Heb. 13:12).
SANCTIFICATION BY THE SPIRIT.
`Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ' (1 Pet. 1:2).
`God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth' (2 Thess. 2:13) .
`Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word' (Eph. 5:25,26).
`The oil ... upon the place of the blood' (Lev. 14:28).
NO MORE.
Three occurrences of the phrase `No more' in Hebrews ten may provide us with a little help by the way.
No more conscience of sins. Hebrews 10:2.
What can bring about such a condition as this? Does this mean that the apostle was an advocate of the doctrine known as sinless perfection? A careful reading of Romans 7 and Galatians 5:16-25, 1 John 1:6-10, and 3:9 will
provide evidence that the believer is in possession of two natures, one called
`flesh' and the other called `spirit'; one `begotten of God', the other `begotten of the flesh'; the one ever at war against the other.
How then can such an one attain to the condition of `no more conscience of sins'? The whole verse and context supplies the Scriptural reason and only answer. `FOR THE LAW HAVING A SHADOW OF GOOD THINGS TO COME, NOT THE VERY IMAGE OF THE THINGS, CAN NEVER WITH THE SAME SACRIFICES WHICH YEAR BY YEAR THEY OFFERED CONTINUALLY, MAKE THE COMERS THEREUNTO PERFECT; ELSE WOULD THEY NOT, IN THAT CASE, HAVE CEASED BEING OFFERED, BY REASON OF THOSE RENDERING THE DIVINE SERVICE HAVING
NO MORE CONSCIENCE OF SINS, BEING ONCE FOR ALL
PURIFIED?' (Heb. 10:1-2). Yes, the `no more' depends upon the `once for all'. This blessed state is not brought about by turning over new leaves, by belittling sin, or by reducing God's holy standard; no, it comes into the very light of the Presence of God; it walks in the light as He is in the light; it has fellowship with God, yet never does it say `I have not sinned' or `I have no sin'. The secret of that holy boldness is that ` the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin'.
This is the testimony of the other occurrences of this word `conscience' in Hebrews. The offering of the blood of bulls and goats never touched the conscience, they `could not make him that did the service perfect,
as pertaining to the conscience' (Heb. 9:9). But `if the blood of bulls and of goats ... sanctifieth to the
purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works' (Heb. 9:13,14). Hence Hebrews 10:22 says `Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience'.
The passage under consideration does not mean that the believer will never be troubled by sin any more; this is not the case at all. As he grows in grace, his own unworthiness and defilement appear to deepen, but all through he has the glad conscience that the Blood of Christ has `once for ail' settled the whole question of sin and sins before God
`It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins ... but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God' (Heb. 10:4-12). Fellow-believer,
He sat down, His work `finished'; can you not rest if He does: Surly nothing more is needed; He Who came to save has `sat down ... for by one offering He hath perfected for ever (unto perpetuity) them that are sanctified' (Heb. 10:12,14).
No more remembrance. Hebrews 10:17.
What is the result of this wonderful offering? Ibis verse goes on immediately, `(Wherefore) ... their sins and iniquities will I remember no more'. Oh, the joy of it! The sacrifice of Christ not only breathes its blessed `no more' to our conscience, it also says `no more' to the memory of God. `Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered' (Psa. 32:1).
No more offering. Hebrews 10:18.
Even this is not all. So complete is the offering, so full the forgiveness and the forgetfulness, so perfect the cleansing, that the Lord can add `Now where remission of these is, tyre is no more offering for sin' (Heb. 10:18). No more conscience of sin! No more remembrance of sin! No more offering far sin! This speaks to us of perfection. Never through all eternity will that one offering need repetition. Its efficacy avails to the uttermost. Sins past, present, and even future (which, O Lord, give grace to reduce) are ail met and dealt with by the precious blood of Christ.
BUT NOW. BUT GOD.
The words placed as a heading of this study hardly range as a text, but they are of sufficient importance to justify a consideration of their bearing on the context in which they are found. `But' is an adversative conjunction and marks a contrast, and an otherwise concealed antithesis (see Dr. Bullinger's Gk Lexicon). An adversative places the second sentence or clause in some kind of opposition to the preceding one. There are three species
(I) Exclusive adversatives (viz. not, but, else).
(2) Alternative adversatives (viz. either - or, whether - or).
(3) Arrestive adversatives (viz. but then, still, nevertheless).
Speaking simply, `but' (a) arrests attention, and (b) draws the attention to an opposition or contrast. Some of these antitheses or contrasts are of great doctrinal importance, and without going too minutely into their meaning or attempting to deal with every occurrence, we bring forward a few passages in the hope that readers will be made aware of the importance of this little but arresting word `but' in their own reading. `But God' (Eph. 2:4). `But now' (Eph. 2:13).
First the contrast of time
`In time past' (Eph. 2:2).
`But God' (Eph. 2:4).
`At that time' (Eph. 2:12).
`But now' (Eph. 2:13).
The first passage reveals the doctrinal condition of the Gentile world. The second reveals their dispensational position.
They walked according to the course of this world. Doctrine and Practice.
They were aliens and strangers (foreigners). Dispensational position.
The change introduced by the words `But God' stresses the grace of salvation, the words `But now' the reconciliation of `the both' unto God in one Body. The condition of the earlier reference is that of sin and death, the second reference speaks of distance and nearness.
Passing to the practical section of this epistle we find the words `But ye have not so learned Christ' (Eph. 4:20) set over against the previous walk `in the vanity of their mind', leading on to the contrasted renewal `in the spirit of your mind', and in Ephesians 5:8 we read
`For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light'.
Here we have `sometimes', `walk' and `children', the same words that have already occurred in Ephesians 2:2,3. `But now', in Romans 3:21, brings to a conclusion the argument of the opening chapters.
(1) The statement. `The Gospel ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; ...Far therein is the righteousness of God revealed (a righteousness) from faith (addressed) to faith' (Rom. 1:16,17).
(2) Before going further with this declaration, the apostle sets out to show that this righteousness is required; `For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ... unrighteousness'. The one `revelation' is placed over against the other (Rom. 1:18).
(3) To prove his point, Paul shows that the Gentiles who had no written revelation but only the testimony of creation and conscience, were `without excuse' (Rom. 1 :20). He then proceeds to show that the Jews, who boasted in being those who were entrusted with the oracles of God (Rom. 3:2; 2:17-23) were equally `inexcusable' (Rom. 2:1).
It is here that the `But now' of Romans 3:21 comes in with such force.
`But now the righteousness of God without the law (here, the apostle explains what the righteousness of God means in Romans 1:17) is manifested' (here he explains the meaning of `is revealed' in Romans 1:17).
`Being witnessed by the law and the prophets' (here he reiterates what he has said in Romans 1:2 and 1:17).
Throughout the Scriptures this adversative conjunction `but' is used to cause the reader to stop, to think, to consider contrasts; in other words to arrest his attention, draw attention to the contrasts of grace and works, law and faith, flesh and spirit.
We leave our readers with these few notes and examples, and commend to them the enlightening study of this small but most important word. As an incentive and an exhibition of its use and value, we append a concordance to this brief article.
`But' In the Epistle to the Hebrews one and two.
`But unto the Son He saith'
(Heb. 1:8).
`But Thou remainest'
(Heb. 1:11).
`But Thou art the same'
(Heb. 1:12).
`But to which of the angels `
(Heb. 1:13).
`But one in a certain place testified'
(Heb. 2:6).
`But now we see not yet all things `
(Heb. 2:8).
`But we see Jesus'
(Heb. 2:9).
`But He took on Him the seed of Abraham'
(Heb. 2:16).
We will not set out the complete list of occurrences of this word. The above specimen reveals how closely the doctrine of the epistle is linked with these recurrent `buts', and a patient completion of this concordance will prove these `buts' to be of importance beyond question.
`But this Man'
(Heb. 7:24).
`But Christ being come ... `
(Heb. 9:1 1 ).
`But a body hast Thou prepared Me'
(Heb. 10:5),
point the way tar a glorious conception of the Person and Work of the Saviour, above angels, above Moses, above
Levitical priests or sacrifces, `His Son' (Heb. 1:2).
AS HE IS (1 st Epistle of John).
`as He is' - Christ is the center of all the purposes of God's grace. He is the Author, The Perfecter, The Goal.
Likeness to our Risen Lord is the theme before us now, both during our sojourn here, and in that day when we shall be satisfed upon awaking in His likeness.
First let us briefly consider Him. `If we walk in the light,
as He is in the light' (I John 1:7). Verse five declares that `God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all'. In the full blaze of that glory our Saviour stands. Not only is He there in His own right, but He is there because of the perfectness of His Atoning Work. Nothing but absolute righteousness and perfect holiness could endure the Light in which our Great Advocate and High Priest stands. Yet, fellow-believer, weak and failing as we may be in ourselves, that, and nothing less, is our position in Christ!
Chapter 2:29 tells us `He is righteous'; 3:3 tells us `He is pure', emphasizing that which is involved in the
statement quoted above `He is in the light'. 1 John 1:7 commences with a `But if - a condition is therefore
attached. Before we consider the conditional aspect, let us turn to the verses that reveal the absolute nature of the
believer's sanctification in Christ.
A literal reading would read as follows
`In this hath been perfected the love with us, in order that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that as
he is , we also are (though) in this world' (1 John 4:17).
God's love to us is the subject under consideration in this verse. The words translated `In this' are of constant occurrence in the epistle. In this very chapter they are translated `hereby' verse thirteen, `herein' verse ten, and `in this' in verse nine. To what does the apostle refer when he says `Herein' in verse seventeen? Does he mean that God's love is perfected in this that believers shall have boldness in the day of Judgment ? Yes - and yet no - for this is but part of the glorious goal.
Avoiding the somewhat stilted literal translation given above, the following may be acceptable.
`In this is the love with us perfected (in order that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment); that as He is,
so are we in this world'.
The Love is perfected in this - that the believer in Christ is
as He is. God Himself knows no higher goal for eternity than that the believer shall be
as his Lord, and when these bodies of our humiliation are changed for bodies like unto that of the glorified Lord, then perfect love will have found its goal.
What `grace wherein we stand'! Every believer equally perfect in Christ. The weakest and the strongest, the babe and the full grown, all are equally and altogether complete
in Him. There are no `ifs' here. This is no more conditional upon our walk and life than is our justification. Results will necessarily follow; but let it always be remembered that they
follow not come before. He that is righteous (in Christ) doeth righteousness (as a result)'. Root must come first; fruit should follow.
AS HE IS - WE ARE. I John 4:17.
AS HE IS - WE SHALL BE. I John 3:2.
`We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like him'.
Again we deal with that which is absolute. `We shall
be like Him' - perfect love will have reached its goal. Can we not better understand the reason why the apostle introduces this marvellous subject with the words `Behold,
what manner of love'? What is to be the outcome of this glorious position? `Everyman that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure'. According to many, possibly among them some who will read these words, `certainty' means `licence'. They think it is presumption to `know' that which God hath declared. Scripture does not veil the fact that there will always be those who `turn the grace of God into lasciviousness', but this by no means alters the relations established between I John 3:2 and 3.
The reasoning of the renewed heart will be `am I as He is,
by grace in Christ? Oh, that I may be more like Him in practice. Am I to be like Him in the future? Oh, for grace to be more like Him now'. Keeping I John 4:17 in mind, we turn to I John 2:5, 6. Again we shall read of God's love being perfected; but this time dealing with the conditional side of sanctification. `But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby (in this) know we that we
are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked'.
Even in this conditional setting, the keeping of the Word is a proof of our being in Him; not that the keeping of the Word either places us in that blessed sphere, or secures us when we are there.
By comparing I John 4:17 with I John 2:5,6, it will be seen that God's love to us and our love to God meet together in the Lord Jesus Christ as their goal; both point forward to likeness to Him. The believer's love to God urges him to seek more conformity to the image of His Beloved Son; and God's love to His people has fixed its goal - perfect likeness to Christ in resurrection glory. Be it noticed that this verse does not say,
`We ought to be as He is', but it says, `We ought
to walk as He walked'. Many have gone into all kinds of excesses in their endeavour to `walk as He walked', forgetting that I John 1:7 must be included, and that henceforth we know Christ according to the flesh no longer. I John 1:7 speaks of walking in the light.
This is how the Lord Jesus always walked whilst here on earth.
In the very Presence of God, in the light of the Holiest of All - what a position in which to be foundl What a position to abide in! No creature preparation or perfectness can avail there; in fact, any attempt at such only shows the failure to appreciate the heights of Holiness demanded by that awful Presence. What is our warrant for daring to walk in that light?
As He is - we are. Is this sinless perfection? No. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. If we say we have not sinned we make God a liar. It is not by covering up our sins, neither is it by imagining ourselves to have become sinless that we draw near to the Presence of the Lord. It is by reason of the wondrous grace that has made us `Accepted in the Beloved', that has made us `meet' to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. With all our imperfections still upon us, with all our sins of omission and commission, we may draw near to walk in the light. Do we make little of sin? No! God does not, but He has made provision. It is not our walk or our talk that will ever keep us fit for His Holy Presence, but `if we walk in the light ... the
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from a!1 sin'.
Such is some small fragment of the teaching of these verses. Let us glorify God by believing His Word, and seeing that in His grace
we are, in Christ, as He is, and that
as He is we shall be; let us seek by grace to walk as He
walked, to walk in the light, thankfully to confess the glorious efficacy of the Blood that cleanseth, and to exemplify in some measure the complete sanctification which is ours in Christ Jesus.
BLOT OUT... WASH ME (Psa. 51:1,2).
The first verse of Psalm fifty one has been printed as a heading in the AN. but it is an integral part of the Psalm. It puts the whole of David's predicament, his prayers, and his restoration in its historic association with Bath-sheba and Uriah, and with Psalm thirty two, where his tardy `acknowledgment' is recorded.
Here, in Psalm fifty one, his confession and prayer is the outcome of this acknowledgment `For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me' (Psa. 51:3).
We are limiting our examination in this article to the twofold petition of verses one and two ` Blot out ... Wash me'.
This is not merely a repetition for the sake of emphasis; two vitally associated consequences of redemption are here suggested. `Blot out' envisages a record written in a book, that must be cancelled if peace is ever to be envisaged. `Wash me' rather considers sin in its defiling nature, rendering the sinner `unclean' and so unable to enter into the holy place. `Blot out' looks to justification. `Wash me' to sanctification. David was guilty of both murder and adultery, and he knew only too well that under the law of Moses there was no provision for a murderer.
`Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely
put to death' (Num. 35:31).
Yet David could pray for deliverance from blood-guiltiness, and declared that his tongue should `sing aloud of Thy righteousness' (Psa. 51:14). In the opening of this Psalm, David speaks of God's loving-kindness and tender mercy, but righteousness as a basis for an unforgivable sin looks beyond the law, and is inexplicable apart from the offering of Christ. David's consciousness of the extreme defilement left by his sin is indicated by the emphasis he places on the need, not only for washing, but to be washed
`throughly', the Hebrew reading literally `multiply to wash'. This consciousness o€ great defilement is seen in the different words used:
`wash', `cleanse', `purge', `clean'. `To blot out', as we have already suggested, refers to tire erasure of a record, as in Exodus 32:33
`Him will I blot out of My book' (Ex. 32:33)
`The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water' (Num. 5:23).
`Let them be blotted out of the book of the living' (Psa. 69:28).
`I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions' (Isa. 44:22).
`I, even 1, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins' (Isa. 43:25).
Let us look a little closely at these words that speak of cleansing. `Wash me'. The Hebrew word used in Psalm 51:2 and 7 is
kabas which refers in every passage to the washing of clothes, particularly in the ceremonial cleansing of Leviticus 11 X4,25. In 2 Kings 18:17, lsaiah 7:3; 36:2 and Malachi 3:2 it is translated `fuller'. Wash me
throughly and I shall be whiter than snow. David here looks beyond the cleansing that the law provided to `the precious blood of Christ' that cleanseth from all sin.
`Purge the'. Here the Hebrew word is chata Now
chata is translated `sin' 165 times, yet the selfsame word is rendered purge, purify, cleanse, make reconciliation, offer for sin.
The Companion Bible has the comment against `purge' here
'Thou wilt sin-cleanse me, or un-sin me:
i.e. expiate by the blood of a sin offering'.
So closely associated in the mind of God is `sin' and its `punishment' and `forgiveness' and the `bearing' of sin, that the
A.V. and the R.V. print in the text of Genesis 4:13, as we have earlier observed
`My punishment is greater than I can bear' but in the margin read :
`Mine iniquity is greater than... may be forgiven'.
This double meaning is seen in Genesis 19:15
`Lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city' (Margin punishment).
From Genesis, throughout the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, and from Matthew, throughout the Gospels, Acts, Epistles and the Revelation, the Scriptures testify with one voice that
`Without shedding of blood is no remission' (Heb. 9:22).
In both Hebrews 9:14 and 22 the blood of Christ is linked with `purging'. The purging with hyssop does not refer to the use of the herb as a medicine, but as a `sprinkler'. In Exodus 12:22 `a bunch of hyssop' was used to sprinkle the lintel and the side of the door, at the tine of the Passover. In Leviticus and Numbers, hyssop is used for the cleansing of the Leper, and for uncleanness (Lev. 14; Num. 19).
`Whiter than snow' seems an anticipation of the description of the Transfiguration
`His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them' (Mark 9:3). `Create in me a clean heart, O God' (Psa. 51:14).
Here is no reform, no turning over a new leaf, but rather a new creation. The word `clean' looks back to the `cleansing' of a leper (Lev- 14) which, be it remembered, restored the leper to his place as a worshipper; and also the `pure' gold and the `pure' incense, that was demanded for the worship in the tabernacle. So David can pray far a `clean heart' and a restoration to the `joy' of his salvation. A superficial criticism of Psalm 51:13
`Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee'
says, in effect, `Surely any one who had sinned as David had, is no fit person to teach or to think of the conversion of others' - but this is untrue. The primary qualification for a Teacher and Preacher of God's Word and Gospel is that he himself, the Teacher and the Preacher, should be able to say
`ONCE I WAS BLIND BUT NOW I CAN SEE'.
`Blot out'. This looks to `Justification'. The Law Court. `Wash me'. This looks to `Sanctification'. The Temple.
And both look to the blood of Christ
`Being now justified by His blood' (Rom. 5:9).
`Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate' (Heb. 13:12).
WONDROUS MEETING PLACES
It is not our purpose to discuss the merits of any particular place of worship, nor to advocate the
attendance, or non-attendance at the meeting place of any one sect or denomination; we desire to `Preach Christ', and by so doing we shall strike a more powerful blow at sectarianism than by all the denunciations that we might pour ford, and at the same time feed the Lord's people with the True Bread which cometh down from Heaven.
The wonderful Meeting Place to which we wish to draw attention is found in Isaiah fifty three and symbolized in Exodus 25:21 and 22. Let us turn to Exodus 25:16-22. The Ark of the Covenant had placed within it the
unbroken tables of stone. Let it be remembered that Israel in reality never received the ten commandments - they were broken before they could be given them. God's answer was `Make an Ark', not `Give them another chance', or `Give them an easier code'.
Upon this Ark is placed the Mercy Seat, the propitiatory, which exactly fitted the Ark beneath. Here we have Romans 3:21-26, set before our very eyes. Atonement has a broad base of righteousness to rest upon. The blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat covers the perfect and unbroken law within. `That He might be
just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus'.
This symbol of the perfect work of Christ is the ground of meeting in Exodus 25:22 :
`There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the Mercy Seat'. Fellow-believer, `Let us draw nigh'; none can say us nay if He bids us welcome. With this beautiful type in mind let us turn to Isaiah fifty three.
In Acts 8:35, we read, `Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus'. Isaiah fifty three is `the same Scripture'. It is a part of repentant Israel's confession when they look upon Him Whom they pierced, when the veil shall be removed and they shall say, `Surely He hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows'. `All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid (margin,
made to meet) on Him the iniquity of us ail'.
Let us pause and consider this wondrous Meeting Place. The Sufferer is the Son of God; the Hands which fashioned the Heavens (Hub. 1:10) are nailed to the Accursed Tree; the Brow which is yet to wear `many diadems' is crowned with the thorns that sprang up in consequence of Adam's sin. Why all this? Was there no other way? No! The Lord of Glory stepped down from His exalted throne, became a man, a servant, and died under the imputed guilt which the Lord
made to meet on Him. What a tremendous thought is here; how it calls upon us to remember that we are upon holy ground!
One sin to an infinitely Holy Being must be loathsome; but to think of the combined sin of my lifetime being made to converge upon His Sacred Head is more than heart can conceive. But the writer is not the only one for whom the Saviour died. Thousands more can rejoice in Him as the great Sin Bearer for them. But this is not all. Generation after generation have lived, and sinned and died and for many of each the Saviour's blood was shed. Here, like Paul at the end of Romans eleven (as he goes on to enumerate the multiplied mercy of God), we get out of our depth - we can only bow our heads and say, `O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom, and knowledge of God'.
This is not all, however; there is still a `much more'. At the end of Isaiah 53:12, we read of a second Meeting Place, linked and founded upon the first one in verse six. `He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession
(a meeting place) for the transgressors'. The same Hebrew word, page is used in Isaiah 53:6 `bath laid on Him', and in Isaiah 53:12 `made intercession'. He was first made a Meeting Place for transgressions, and then, having put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, He se. down at the Right Hand of the Majesty on High where He ever liveth to make intercession for us, to Whom we can go at all times by a new and living way. What a glorious Meeting Place!
But even this does not exhaust the depth, nor scale the height, nor comprehend the love that passeth knowledge. We, who by
faith look back to that solemn Meeting Place of Calvary, look forward in
hope to the consummation of it all, as expressed in the words of the apostle to the Thessalonians. Whether I Thessalonians 4 is to be interpreted of the Church of the Mystery is a question with which we have dealt elsewhere, but one thing we know, that the Redeemed of ail ages and dispensations, whether by Rapture or Resurrection; whether before or after The Great Tribulation; whether to inherit Heavenly Places, or the Earthly Paradise;
they shall all meet the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:1?; 1 John 3:1-3; Phil. 3:20,21;
Colossians 3:1-4; Titus 2:13; Revelation 20:4; 22:4.
