In Isa. 9:6,7 we have one of the most complete prophecies concerning our Lord that is to be found in the Old Testament. "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." In these two expressions we see the humanity and the deity of our Saviour. The child born refers to His humanity. He came into the world as the virgin’s Son, as seen earlier in this book (7:14). He was a true man, spirit, soul, and body, as born of Mary, but without a human father. He was also the eternal Son of the Father who had come from the glory that He had with the Father from all the past eternity, given in grace for our redemption. He linked His deity with our humanity apart from its sin, and thus was God and man in one blessed adorable person.

"The government shall be upon His shoulder." He is destined to exercise supreme rule over all the universe. It has often been noticed that when the Good Shepherd found the lost sheep He put it upon His shoulders (plural), whereas here the government of the entire world is said to rest upon His shoulder (singular). There is surely a beautiful suggestion in the use of the plural in Luke 15 of the security of those who have put their trust in Him.

"His name shall be called Wonderful." It may be that we should link together the two words "Wonderful" and "Counsellor," but if we separate them we may see in this first word a suggestion of the mystery of His Sonship which no man can apprehend, as He tells us in Matt. 11:27, and as we also learn from Rev. 19:12. Under this name "Wonderful" He appeared of old to the parents of Samson (Judg. 13:18 JND). As we read the divinely inspired records of His lowly birth, His sinless life, His vicarious death, and His glorious resurrection, we find our hearts exclaiming again and again, "Is He not wonderful!" He stands supreme, above all the sons of men, the blessed, adorable Son of God, His heart touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His grace is manifested in a thousand ways. His loving kindness reaches down to the utterly lost and depraved. His name is Wonderful because He Himself is wonderful and also because of the work which He accomplished.

He is also called "Counsellor." This is because He comes to us as the revealer of the Father’s will. That is what is implied in His divine title, "The Word." It is by the Word that God makes known His mind; and the Lord Jesus, who was with the Father from the beginning_that is, when everything that ever had beginning began_came into this scene to make God known. So in Him the Father has spoken out all that is in His heart. His words make known to us the path of life and show us the only safe way for a pilgrim people to travel through a world of sin. As the eternal Word He is the revealer of the mind and heart of God, come to earth not only to show us the way to the Father, but also to empower us that we may walk in a manner well pleasing to the One who has redeemed us.

He is "The mighty God." Some would seek to tone this down in order to make Him less than the words imply, but Christ is similarly referred to as "God" in Romans 9:5 and 1 John 5:20. Even when here on earth He was just as truly God as He was man, and as truly man as He was God. He could not have made atonement for sin otherwise. He had to be who He was in order to do what He did.

"The everlasting Father." A better rendering would be "The Father of Eternity," or as some have suggested, "The Father of the Coming Age." The Son is not to be confounded with the Father, though He and the Father are one (John 10:30). But He is the One in whom all the ages meet (Heb. 1:2, margin); therefore, He is rightfully designated, "The Father of the Ages," or "The Father of Eternity."

"The Prince of Peace." As such He was presented to the world and heralded by angels (Luke 2:14); but because of His rejection there can be no lasting peace for Israel or the nations until He comes again. Then He will be manifested as the One who will speak peace to all peoples (Isa. 32:1-18). Meantime, since He made peace by the blood of His cross, all who put their trust in Him have peace with God; and as we learn to commit to God in prayer all that would naturally trouble or distress, peace fills our hearts and controls our lives.

"Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David." God made a covenant with David that his Son should sit upon his throne and reign in righteousness forever (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Jer. 23:5,6). This has not yet been fulfilled. When the forerunner of our Lord was born, his father, Zacharias, declared that God had raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Luke 1:69). These prophetic declarations make clear that David’s throne was to be established forever, and that he should never be without a man to sit upon that throne. Our Lord, on His mother’s side, was from the line of David, and because of her marriage to Joseph, who was heir to the throne, the throne-rights passed to Jesus. But He has never taken His seat upon the throne of David:this awaits His second coming. He declared through His servant, John, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). He is sitting now at the right hand of the Majesty on high, on the throne of Deity. Soon He will return in glory and will take His own throne, which is really the throne of David, and will reign in righteousness over all the earth. This verse (Isa. 9:7) will have its fulfillment literally, for "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

(Reprinted from Expository Notes on the Prophet Isaiah.)

"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:I do not say that he shall pray for it" (1 John 5:16). The implication of this verse clearly is that sometimes_not always, but sometimes_ sickness comes to children of God as divine chastening, as a means of correction and discipline because of waywardness. Sometimes the discipline has the desired effect in the spiritual restoration of the one who had failed and the body is healed also; but at other times it does not seem to be the will of God to raise up the disciplined one and put him in the place of testing again. So we read, "There is sin unto death:I do not say that he shall pray for it." Of course it is physical death that is in question. He is not speaking of eternal death; he is not speaking of the soul, but of the death of the body under divine discipline. I think the indefinite article in this part of the verse might better be omitted. It is not that there is some specific sin that always results in death, but there is sin unto death.

Moses and Aaron sinned unto death when they became angry with the children of Israel and smote the rock in indignation, instead of speaking to it as they had been commanded; and the Lord said, "Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them" (Num. 20:12). Now there came almost immediate restoration. Moses besought the Lord that He would forgive him and permit him to enter the land, but the Lord said, "Speak no more unto Me of this matter" (Deut. 3:26). Moses had sinned unto death. If today every time Christians got angry they sinned unto death, how few of us would be here! I am afraid every one of us, unless there are some exceptionally sweet-dispositioned people here, would be at home in heaven. God would not have trusted us any longer. Why was He so severe with Moses? Moses was one who spoke with God face to face, and the greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. Do not forget that.

Turning to the New Testament, we find the Spirit of God was working in great power in the early Church, and among the professed converts were two, Ananias and Sapphira, upon whose eternal state we are not called to decide inasmuch as Scripture does not pronounce upon it. They sinned against the Holy Spirit in pretending to a devotedness that they did not possess, and when they were faced with the sin they told a lie. The result was that first Ananias and then Sapphira his wife fell down dead. They had sinned unto death. If God were dealing with all Christians that way now, how many of us would be here? How many Christians are there who have never pretended to a devotedness that they did not possess? How many Christians are there who have never permitted others to think that they were holier than they really are? And is there a Christian who has not sometimes so forgotten what should characterize the believer that he has been guilty of a lie? You say, "Oh, but we bitterly repented." But, you see, for Ananias and Sapphira there was no restoration to a place of trust and confidence on earth. They had sinned unto death when they pretended to be more spiritual than they were, and when they lied concerning it.

We find another incident in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. There was a great deal of laxity and carelessness of behavior at Corinth when they gathered together to take what we call today the communion, to observe the Lord’s Supper; and because of the laxity, because of the carelessness that marked them, the apostle by the Holy Spirit wrote like this:"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (1 Cor. 11:30), or are dead. Sleep is the term he used throughout that letter for the believer’s death. If every time a Christian took the bread and cup at the communion table carelessly God were to visit with temporal death, how often tragedy would follow the observance of the Lord’s Supper! So we cannot say of any particular sin that it is the sin unto death, but we say rather that there is sin unto death. God gives His people opportunity after opportunity, but if at last they deliberately go on refusing obedience to His Word, He says, "Now I am going to take you home; I won’t trust you in the world any longer. I will deal with you at the judgment-seat of Christ."

I can look back on my own childhood and remember a group of children playing in the evening, and by and by there would be a quarrel, for children so readily change from having a good time to fussing with one another. A mother would appear in the doorway calling one of her own, "Here, what does this mean? You behave yourself."

"Yes, Mother. I will try to do better."

"Well, if you don’t, you will have to come in." And in a little while there is a fuss again, and again angry voices raised. Once more Mother’s voice, "You come inside."

"Oh, Mother, I forgot myself. We are in the midst of a game. I will promise to be good."

"Very well, but you be careful."

The game goes on, and then once more a fuss, and the mother’s voice says, "Now you come in."

"But Mother

"Not another word; you come inside."

"But, Mother, I will try to behave myself."

"No, I can’t trust you any more tonight; come inside."

So it is with God and His children down here in this world. He gives them so many chances, He is so wonderfully gracious; and after a failure they repent and say, "Now I have learned my lesson." Perhaps a little later the same thing occurs, and then God says, "Now I am going to lay My hand upon you." Perhaps there is a long siege of illness, and they have an opportunity to bring it all to God in sincere confession, but the Lord says, "You have sinned unto death; I am going to take you home."

I once knew a splendid young man who left his home in obedience to what he believed to be the call of God to engage in Christian work in a needy district. He had not been there long before a proposition for a very good temporal position came between him and the Lord. Then too the young woman whom he desired to marry declared that she would never marry a preacher, and so he decided to take the position. He settled down, made money, and got ahead, but inwardly was always very unhappy. He knew that he had sinned against the Lord because he had been called to a different service. By and by tuberculosis laid hold of him. He gave up his position and spent the earnings of years in a sanitarium, where he lay flat on his back. I was near by, and he sent for me and said, "My brother, I want you to pray with me, but not that the Lord will raise me up, unless He should make it very clear to you that it is His will. I have been facing a great many things here lately. I see my failure now as never before. I believe I have sinned unto death." I looked to the Lord asking, if it was His will, to lift him up, but if not, to give him great joy in departing. Two weeks later I saw him again and he said, "I will never see you on earth again. I have had two very wonderful weeks. The Lord has been very near to me, but He has told me that He is going to take me home, that I lost my opportunity, and that inasmuch as I chose my own comfort instead of His will He can’t trust me here any more. But, thank God, I am perfectly resigned to His will. I am going home!" And, sure enough, three days later he died. He had sinned unto death, and it was useless to pray for his healing, but he went home happy in Christ.

(Reprinted from Addresses on the Epistles of John.)

Let us consider some Scriptures concerning the person of Christ our Saviour. In Rom. 1:1-4 we read of "the gospel of God . . . concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." In Matthew also He is said to be the "Son of David, the son of Abraham" (1:1), and then to have been begotten of the Holy Spirit_before He is announced as the Saviour. It is the person that attracts the gaze before we can consider His work. It is otherwise with the sinner. As a rule he first learns the value of the work of Christ before he considers the truth of His person. The blessed Lord Himself, in His conversation with Nicodemus, first declares the mysterious dignity of His person, and then proclaims His rejection and death:"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:13-15).

There are, then, two sides to the person of Christ. He was God manifest in flesh. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The Word was the eternal Son, and the eternal Son became man. He was thus God and man_a union of extremes that was not possible in any other, and that rendered His person so unfathomable, so incomprehensible, that He Himself said, "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father" (Matt. 11:27). But it is essential that we hold fast both His true divinity and His as equally true humanity. For had He not been true man, He could not have been a sacrifice for sin; and had He not been God, His sacrifice could not have been available to all. Satan knows this, and hence, in every age, he has sought to undermine the one or the other of these truths, insinuating doubts sometimes concerning His humanity, and sometimes concerning His divinity. But it is the glory of the person of Christ that He is both divine and human, that He is, in His one person, both God and man. This truth lies at the foundation of, and indeed gives its character to, redemption.

How vast a field is thus opened for our contemplation! Following Christ in His pathway down here, from the manger at Bethlehem to the cross at Calvary, we see the unfoldings both of the human and the divine. As we behold Him, His lowly appearance, "His visage … so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (Isa. 52:14); as we mark Him in companionship with His disciples, and see Him weary and resting, eating and drinking, weeping with those who wept (John 11), and sleeping, too, on a pillow in the rear of the ship (Mark 4:38), we cannot doubt that He was man. It was, indeed, the proofs of His humanity which confounded His adversaries and blinded them to His higher claims.

On the other hand, the evidences of His divinity are no less clear to the anointed eye. Who but God could cleanse the leper, open the eyes of the blind, raise the dead to life, and control the wind and the waves? Hence He said to Philip, in answer to his demand to show him the Father:"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake" (John 14:10,11). And what He was, what He is declared to be in the Scriptures, is still more conclusive. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "No man hath seen God at any time:the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:1,18). He is said to be "the brightness of [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3). In another epistle He is described as "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; 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; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Col. 1:15-17). Consider moreover His own words:"He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). Who can doubt that He claimed to be divine?

We cannot too often bless God for the four Gospels, in which are blended these two aspects of the person of Christ. Hence they are the most profound of all the Scriptures because they contain the unfoldings of a divine-human life. No doubt the narratives are simple on their surface; but as we are led on by the Spirit of God, we begin to discover that there are depths of which we had never dreamed, and into which we must gaze_and continue to gaze_if we would behold the treasures that are contained therein. And the more we become familiarized with their contents, the more we shall be impressed with the majesty of the person of Christ as the God-man, God manifest in the flesh. And it should never be forgotten that there can be no stability where there is any uncertainty as to the person of our Saviour. What strength it gives to the soul to be able to say_to quote the language of another_"The pillars of the earth rest upon that Man who was despised, spit upon, and crucified!" It is the knowledge of what He is, no less (if not more) than what He has done, that draws out our hearts in confidence, adoration, and praise. For indeed He "is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen" (Rom. 9:5).

(From Unsearchable Riches.)

"When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou, and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shall smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them:thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods; so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them:ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire" (Deut. 7:1-5).

Such were the instructions given by Jehovah to His people. They were clear and explicit. No mercy for the Canaanites, no covenant with them, no union, no fellowship of any kind, unsparing judgment, intense separation.

We know, alas! how soon and how completely Israel failed to carry out these instructions. Hardly had they planted their foot upon the land of Canaan before they made a covenant with the Gibeonites. Even Joshua himself fell into the snare. The tattered garments and moldy bread of those wily people beguiled the princes of the congregation, and caused them to act in direct opposition to the plain commandment of God. Had they been governed by the authority of the Word, they would have been preserved from the grave error of making a league with people who ought to have been utterly destroyed; but they judged by the sight of their eyes, and had to reap the consequences.

Implicit obedience is the grand moral safeguard against the wiles of the enemy.’ No doubt the story of the Gibeonites was very plausible, and their whole appearance gave a show of truth to their statements; but none of these things should have had the slightest moral weight with Joshua and the princes; nor would they, if they had but remembered the word of the Lord. But they failed in this. They reasoned on what they saw, instead of obeying what they had heard. Reason is no guide for the people of God; we must be, absolutely and completely, guided and governed by the Word of God.

This is a privilege of the very highest order, and it lies within the reach of the simplest and most unlettered child of God. the Father’s word, the Father’s voice, the Father’s eye, can guide the youngest, feeblest child in His family. All we need is the lowly and obedient heart. It does not demand great intellectual power or cleverness; if it did, what would become of the vast majority of Christians? If it were only the educated, the deep-thinking, and the far-seeing that were capable of meeting the wiles of the adversary, then verily most of us might give up in despair.

But, thanks be to God, it is not so; indeed, on the contrary, we find, in looking through the history of the people of God in all ages, that human wisdom, human learning, human cleverness, if not kept in their right place, have proved a positive snare, and rendered their possessors only the more efficient tools in the enemy’s hand. By whom have most, if not all, of the heresies been introduced which have disturbed the Church of God from age to age? Not by the simple and the unlearned, but by the educated and the intellectual. And in the passage to which we have just referred in the Book of Joshua, who was it that made a covenant with the Gibeonites? The common people? No, but the princes of the congregation. No doubt all were involved in the mischief, but it was the princes that led the way. The heads and leaders of the assembly fell into the snare of the devil through neglect of the plain word of God.

"Thou shalt make no covenant with them." Could anything be plainer than this? Could tattered garments, old shoes, and moldy bread alter the meaning of the divine command, or do away with the urgent necessity for strict obedience on the part of the congregation? Assuredly not. Nothing can ever afford a warrant for lowering, the breadth of a hair, the standard of obedience to the Word of God. If there are difficulties in the way, if perplexing circumstances come before us, if things crop up for which we are not prepared, and as to which we are unable to form a judgment, what are we to do? Reason? Jump to conclusions? Act on our own or on any human judgment? Most certainly not. What then? Wait on God; wait patiently, humbly, believingly, and He will assuredly counsel and guide. "The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way" (Psalm 25:9). Had Joshua and the princes acted thus, they never would have made a league with the Gibeonites; and if the reader acts thus, he will be delivered from every evil work and preserved unto the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

(From Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy, Vol. 2.)

"God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you" (1 Sam. 12:23). Prayer is probably the greatest force we can wield. There is a certain democracy in this, for God has given it to every Christian, however much we may otherwise differ. In the matter of exercising this great force, we are on the same footing. Therefore, no Christian is excusable if he commits the sin of omitting to pray. Likewise, no Christian is powerless or useless when the might and ministry of prayer is within reach.

FRAGMENT "He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). Our Lord’s dependence upon God was expressed in His habits of prayer. He often spent an entire night in supplication. All the great crises of His life down here were preceded or accompanied by prayer:His temptation in the wilderness, the choice of His disciples, His transfiguration, His agony in the garden. On Golgotha He prayed for those who were nailing Him to the cross. Prayer is an expression of dependence.

FRAGMENT
I prayed for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might obey.
I prayed for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I prayed for power that I might have praise of men;
I was given infirmity that I might feel the need of God.
I prayed for things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I received nothing I asked for_all that I hoped for;
My prayer was answered:I am of all men most blessed.

FRAGMENT There comes a time, for those who live long enough, to "retire." You don’t feel really useful anymore_too old or too tired for that little active service you had hoped to do for the Lord. What about a ministry of prayer? The world and its leaders need prayer; the missionaries and preachers of the gospel, Israel, fellow Christians, family, friends, and neighbors need prayer; the list seems endless. How great and effectual can be this ministry!

Scriptural guidelines concerning divorce and remarriage have been presented in the preceding three-part chapter of this series. It was concluded that there is scriptural warrant for divorce and remarriage, but only under a very restricted and extreme set of circumstances. Suppose now that a Christian fails in walking according to these guidelines; suppose divorce and remarriage occurs which is not according to God’s Word, and suppose the nature of the sin is so blatant and extreme as to result in the excommunication of this person from the local assembly of believers. What is such a person to do when once the sin is recognized and repented of? And what is the responsibility of the assembly toward such a person?

Before getting into the specifics of this situation, it might be profitable to review some general principles of Scripture with respect to restoration of a sinning Christian. Another writer, discussing the matter of discipline of a wicked person, writes the following:"Thank God, there is a bright side when, after [the assembly’s] faithfulness in the path of duty, there is the joy of seeing the wanderer restored. We can almost feel the thrill of the apostle’s gladness as he wrote of the recovered brother, ‘I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation’ (2 Cor. 7:4).

"Restoration is what was prayed for, hoped for, expected. While one put away is to be let alone, this does not preclude the thought of prayer for him, and looking after him after the lapse of some time. Especially should this be done if he is weak and untaught, and if he has bowed to the Lord’s judgment. Of course, those who put a bold face on it, or who continue in sin, can only be left in God’s hands.

"Marks of true recovery are very plain. There will be a sense of sin against God (Psalm 51), a judging of the root of it, a submission to God’s governmental dealing, even when undue severity may have been used by the saints; these are some of the proofs of true recovery. If there was trespass against any, the wrong will be righted as far as possible_the dishonest gains refunded, the bitter, false accusations withdrawn; also, we need hardly add, the sin will be forsaken. Until there is restoration to communion with God there can be no true restoration to the assembly. The steps in the reinstatement of the cleansed leper (Lev. 14) to his privileges are interesting and instructive in this connection. It was the priest who was to examine the healed man, and the various rites in his restoration are most suggestive of complete recovery.

"It will be noticed that the leper, even after his restoration to the worship of God, ‘remained abroad out of his tent seven days’; it suggests that even after personal recovery an interval may elapse before the person is restored to his privileges in the assembly. There are many reasons for this:if the offense has been glaring or disgraceful, it is fitting that the world should see the genuineness of the repentance. It will not hurt, but deepen in the individual a sense of his sin. In addition to this, it is well to remember that the tender consciences of the saints have been sorely wounded, and the offender will gladly allow time for the healing of the shock inflicted. Anything like insistence upon his immediate reception after confession, or resentment at delay, would show that the work in his soul lacks completeness.

"On the other hand, the assembly needs to guard against a hard, unforgiving spirit. When the consciences of all are satisfied, there should not be needless delay in confirming their love to their recovered brother. ‘Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him,. . . lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him’ (2 Cor. 2:6-8). How gracious, how loving, and yet how holy, are all these directions!

"And may we not add that when the restored brother is again in his place, his sin is not to be remembered? True, he will not forget it; but shall the others, by look or manner, betray lack of confidence? Ah, we are too much like the world, which ‘forgives, but cannot forget.’ Neither can we say such an one must keep silence, and never again expect to be used of the Lord. It was Peter, the wandering sheep, who was made a shepherd for others (John 21:15,17). When David was restored he would teach transgressors God’s ways (Psalm 51). He will walk softly the rest of his days, a chastened person, but a happy and a useful member of the body of Christ. ‘He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake’ (Psalm 23:3)." (From The Church and Its Order According to Scripture by S. Ridout, Loizeaux Brothers.)

One mark of true recovery of a sinning Christian mentioned by Mr. Ridout is forsaking the sin. Herein lies a difficulty in applying the general principles of restoration to the situation of unscriptural divorce and remarriage. It is held by some that the one who is unscripturally divorced and remarried lives in a continual state of adultery as long as this new marriage relationship exists; and as long as the sin of adultery is not forsaken, such a person_though he may be repentant and restored to the Lord in his own soul_cannot be restored to fellowship with the assembly of Christians.

In the remainder of this chapter, we shall examine this point of view from different angles and consider various options that might be considered with respect to the person who is unscripturally divorced and remarried, has repented of his sin, and desires to be restored to the assembly of believers. The first three options involve physical actions or events which could be interpreted as forsaking the sin of adultery; the fourth is a spiritual action which might be acceptable evidence of forsaking the sin:

1. Living celibately within the framework of the present marriage.

2. Terminating the present marriage.

3. Continuing in the present marriage and remaining excommunicated until the previous spouse dies.

4. Confessing the sin and giving evidence of true repentance and restoration to the Lord.

Option 1. Living celibately within the framework of the present marriage. This is a solution proposed by a major denomination of Christendom today, namely, to enjoin a couple in which divorce and remarriage has occurred to take a vow of celibacy for the rest of their married lives. I believe Scripture opposes this approach. 1 Cor. 7:5 expressly declares:"Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." This approach does not seem to be a very practical solution either as it would tend to put a great strain on the marriage relationship and make for a very unnatural marriage.

Option 2. Terminating the present marriage. This approach might satisfy those who demand the forsaking of the sin of adultery before receiving one back into fellowship. However, we need to examine whether there is scriptural warrant for terminating the present marriage under such circumstances.

I am aware of but one passage of Scripture (Ezra 9 and 10) that supports the purposeful dissolution of unlawful or ungodly marriages. When the remnant of Israel returned from the Babylonian captivity, many men took wives from the local nations (Canaan, Moab, Egypt, etc.). But when convicted that this was wrong, and not according to God’s law (Exod. 34:10-17), they covenanted with God, under Ezra’s leadership, to put away their foreign wives as well as the offspring from these unions (Ezra 10:3,11).

For the Christian there is a similar law against mixed marriages:"If her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord" (1 Cor. 7:39).* But what if this law is violated? What is to be done if a Christian does marry an unbeliever, or if one already married becomes saved and the spouse remains unsaved? Is the example of Ezra to be followed? No, but rather the answer for those who live in the New Testament era of grace is clearly stated in 1 Cor. 7:12-14:"If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. . . . For the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband."

It surely is sin for a Christian to marry a non-Christian. But once the marriage is consummated there is no scriptural call to terminate the marriage in order to give evidence of forsaking that sin. With regard to another sin_that of unscriptural divorce and remarriage_there is no direct instruction in Scripture concerning dissolution or non-dissolution of such a marriage. However, the instruction provided with respect to the foregoing situation_that is, "Let him not put her away … let her not leave him"_might well be applicable to the situation of divorce and remarriage as well.

The instruction given by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 7:12-14 is further emphasized and generalized in verses 18-24:"Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. . . . Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. . . . Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." I believe, from the context of the entire chapter, this is saying that if one has been through a series of unscriptural divorces and remarriages prior to being brought to the Lord, this person is not to change his present situation by terminating the present marriage in order to try to straighten out the past. But does not this principle apply equally to a Christian who has gotten away from the Lord, who has behaved and lived for a time as if he were an unbeliever, and has unscripturally divorced and remarried during that period? When such a one finally heeds the voice_the call_of the Lord and becomes restored in soul and spirit to the Lord, he is to "abide in the same calling wherein he was called."

Thus, there does not seem to be scriptural warrant for terminating the present marriage for the purpose of forsaking the sin of adultery.

Option 3. Continuing in the present marriage and remaining excommunicated until the previous spouse dies. This approach is followed by some Christian assemblies. The rationale is found in Romans 7:3:"If, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an
adulteress; but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man." It is assumed that the one who has unscripturally divorced and remarried is, in God’s eyes, still married to the previous spouse and thus living in a continuous state of adultery. But when and if the previous spouse should die, the bond of the first marriage is broken and the present union can no longer be considered an adulterous relationship. Thus, such a person, or couple, would be eligible for restoration to fellowship in the assembly of believers.

*2 Cor. 6:14-17, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers . . .," also applies in a general way. However, the primary emphasis of this passage is something other than the marriage yoke since the exhortation in verse 17, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate," conflicts with the teaching in 1 Cor. 7 concerning marriage with an unbeliever.

Up to a point, the logic of this option seems reasonable. But upon deeper consideration, it seems to fly in the face of other scriptural principles. Generally, restoration to fellowship following excommunication is based on confession, repentance, and clear evidence of being restored to the Lord and following Him once again. But in the case under consideration, restoration to fellowship is based on an event_the death of the previous spouse_entirely outside the experience or control of the excommunicated person or couple. Is it possible that the death of another person_and that alone_can have any direct bearing on whether I have been restored to the Lord in my soul? Was the restoration of King David to the Lord effected by the fact that the husband of the woman he had stolen was killed in battle, so that David was not continuing to live in adultery? Was he not restored because of true, heartfelt repentance toward God? Consider his confession in the Psalms:"Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight. . . . Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation. . . . The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:2,3,12,17). "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:5).

There is a further disturbing aspect about this option; it could lead to an inconsistency of action by an assembly as illustrated by the following example:The person who murders his/her spouse and remarries upon release from prison has better prospects of being restored to the assembly of believers than the one who merely divorces the spouse and remarries another. Thus, those who espouse the procedure of enforcing the continued excommunication of one who divorces and remarries until the death of the previous spouse are invited to take a fresh look at this practice in light of all Scripture.

Option 4. Confessing the sin and giving evidence of true repentance and restoration to the Lord. This, I believe, expresses the scriptural viewpoint concerning what an assembly should require from one who has unscripturally divorced and remarried. It is true that with this approach there is not the literal, physical forsaking of the sin of divorce and remarriage. However, just as David was restored to the Lord following his heinous sin of adultery and murder, so, I believe, it is possible for any one who has grievously sinned against God by divorcing and remarrying, or committing murder, or any other sin, to truly repent of the sin and be restored to the Lord.

When a Christian marries a non-Christian or unscripturally divorces and remarries, the basic sin is self-will_doing what I want to do rather than what God wants. Guilt continues to hang over the head of the sinner as long as the sin is denied, excused, or justified. But when the sinner puts an end to his denial or excuses for the sin and confesses to God and to others that he has done wrong and that he has sinned against God and man, he is forgiven and on the road to restoration to the Lord. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Just as fire or heat stops the action of yeast in bread dough, so does the application of self-judgment and true repentance toward God and those offended stop the action of sin in our lives (1 Cor. 5).

Now some might argue that just because a person is restored to the Lord in his soul and spirit does not necessarily mean that he can be restored to the assembly of believers. However, such an argument essentially places the servant above his Master (John 13:16) and the body (the Church) above the Head (Christ); it ascribes a higher level of holiness and purity and righteousness to the Church than to Christ.

Having said this, a couple of qualifications must be added:The first is that since a physical forsaking of the sin of divorce and remarriage (such as by termination of the present marriage) does not seem to be warranted by Scripture, other evidences of true recovery to the Lord may be required by the assembly before receiving back the repentant sinner. In other words, the assembly may very well be justified in requiring a longer waiting period in this situation so as to be assured that there has been real recovery of heart and soul to the Lord and that there is sound evidence that the person is now truly walking with the Lord and desirous of doing His will. Also, the divorce may have taken its toll of broken hearts and bitter feelings. Time is needed to heal these hurts. If the divorced partner and members of his/her family are a part of the assembly, they may be reluctant to have the divorcer restored to fellowship. Added time may be needed for God’s grace to work in the hearts of those who have been hurt, and for them to become fully convinced that the divorcer is truly repentant and restored to the Lord.

The second qualification is that while God is gracious in restoring the repentant sinner to Himself, and while such a one may be restored to the assembly, there is no guarantee that the sinner will be preserved from suffering the consequences of his sin. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked:for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). David was forgiven by God for his sin, but yet he reaped the fruit of his sin for the rest of his days_first the death of his infant son, and later on many problems in handling his other children.

In conclusion, unscriptural divorce and remarriage by a believer in Christ results in an adulterous relationship which must be dealt with as such by the assembly with which the believer is associated. However, by virtue of the grace of God, without which none of us would know forgiveness and justification and peace with God, such a person can be restored to fellowship with the Lord and, consequently, to the assembly of the Lord’s people. This restoration is founded on true, heart-felt confession of the sin and repentance toward God, and is manifested to the assembly by a submissive, faithful walk with the Lord in obedience to His Word.

This brings us to the end of our study on the Christian and marriage. The final four issues have dealt with the unhappy topic of divorce and remarriage; it has been needful to address this topic in detail in view of increasing departure from scriptural principles and godly conduct by Christians today. However, let us not forget the topics covered earlier with regard to choice of a marriage partner, preparation for marriage, and elements of a happy marriage. To my mind, these are by far the more important chapters of this study. If scriptural principles with regard to those matters are diligently and prayerfully adhered to, there will be little need to consider questions relating to divorce and remarriage.

As the old year now is waning
And the New Year comes in view,
Blessed Saviour, we acknowledge
Thou hast led us "Hitherto."

"Hitherto" Thy many mercies
Have encompassed every day,
And we have Thy precious promise
Thou wilt be with us alway.

Oh, what peace and joy in knowing
Thou art ever by our side,
And Thy loving hand of wisdom
Will forever be our Guide.

And what blessed reassurance
That Thy mighty arm of power_
That same power that made the heavens_
Guards and keeps us every hour.

What a merciful Redeemer!
What a wondrous Saviour, too!
What a gracious, loving Shepherd
Who has led us "Hitherto."

Entering another New Year,
Pausing, we would contemplate
All Thy love’s accomplished for us,
All Thy mercies, O so great!

And we praise Thee for assurance,
Who has led us "Hitherto,"
That Thy presence will go with us
Every day the New Year through.

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men [or, good pleasure in men]" (Luke 2:13,14).

Here, in a few words, is stated the whole scope of divine purpose. First of all there is "Glory to God in the highest."

Up to the birth of Jesus all had been disappointment in man. The creature had broken down under the best circumstances, and every attempt by any other means to correct it had brought either destruction to men or rebellion against God, growing worse and worse.

But the birth of the Lord Jesus was at once the signal for the angels to say, "Glory to God in the highest." It would not be merely "Glory to God below," but "in the highest," that is, throughout the whole universe of God, and expressly in its highest places. On earth, where nothing but war had been against God, and with man, confusion, misery, and rebellion_"on earth, peace." Nothing less than this would ensue from the birth of the Messiah, though not all at once. The heavenly host gave voice to the magnificent issues of the birth of Him who is Father of the age to come (see Isa. 9:6). That birth, too, was the expression of the fact that God’s complacency and pleasure is in men. There could not be a greater proof of God’s pleasure than this, for the Son of God did not become an angel but a man. He was God from all eternity, but He became man. This bore witness to what an object of love men were to God.

This Babe was the Lord from heaven, the object of contempt to man, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, perhaps as no other babe was. No wonder it drew out the loudest praises of the angels. They saw God’s glory in it; they saw men thus the object of His infinite love and condescension; they anticipated peace for the earth, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. They looked at this event as the scene for displaying in man_the Son of Man_God’s glory and grace; and they were right.

(From An Exposition of the Gospel of Luke by.)

In the third parable of Luke 15 we have not merely conversion or pardon but the full bringing of the soul to God and into fellowship with Him_the new and intimate relationship of a son by grace. Hence it is no longer a sheep or a piece of money, but a man. Here we find intelligence and conscience, and consequently so much the more guilt. Adam had a certain relationship to God. When he was formed out of the dust, God dealt with him in tender mercy and gave him special advantages in Eden, privileges of every suited sort. But man fell from God, as the prodigal here left his father’s house.

"A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living" (verses 11,12). Here is the point of departure, the first and main step of evil. The desire to have one’s own way at a distance from God is positive sin and the root of all other sin. Sin against man is sure to follow; but sin against God is the mainspring. What is a more evident denial of Him than to prefer one’s own will to His? The younger son wished to go away from his father. Likewise, man in general prefers to be at a distance from God in order to be the more at ease to do what he likes.

"And he divided unto them his living." Man is tried_he is responsible_but he is not hindered from having his own way. While God does keep the upper hand for the accomplishment of His own gracious purposes, still, as far as appearances go, He allows man to do what he pleases. This alone will tell what sin means, what the heart seeks, what man really is with all his pretensions, and the worse the more he pretends.

"And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living." There was eagerness to get away from his father. It was, as far as his will was concerned, a complete abandoning of his father to do his own pleasure. He wished to be so thoroughly at a distance as to act according to his own heart without restraint. There, in a far country, he wasted his substance with riotous living. It is the picture of a man left to himself, doing his own will in this world, with its ruinous consequences for the next as well as this.

"And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want." Such, again, is the picture not only of the active course of sin but of its bitter results. Sin indulged in brings misery and want. There is a void that nothing can satisfy, and the selfish waste of all means only makes this to be more felt in the end.

So in the extremity of distress, "He went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine." Now we find the sinner’s degradation; for love is not there, but self is. The citizen did not treat him as a fellow-citizen, but as a slave. There is no slavery so deep or degrading as that of our own lusts. He was treated accordingly; and how must this sound to a Jewish ear? He was sent into the fields to feed swine. "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him." He was reduced to the lowest degree of want and wretchedness; yet no man gave to him. God is the giver; man grudgingly pays his debts, if he pays them at all_never to God and only halfheartedly to man. This the prodigal found_no one gave unto him.

Now we begin the work of God’s goodness. "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" He was convicted of God concerning his state. Hence his feeling was that even those who had the lowest place in his father’s house were amply provided for compared with him.

His mind was made up. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants." The last words betray the usual legal state. It is one who conceives that God must act according to his condition. He had wronged his father, he had been guilty of folly, excess, and lewdness; and he could not conceive of his father doing more for him at best than putting him in the lowest place before him, if he received him at all. He felt that he deserved humiliation. Had he judged more justly, he would have realized that he deserved much worse. He would have seen that the more favored he was, seeing he was so guilty, he must be put away_not merely go away, but be put into outer darkness where should be the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But although there was this wrong reasoning, there was at least a real sense_however feeble_of his sin, and, what was more and better, a real sense of his father’s love. If he could only see him, hear him, be with him! He rose accordingly and came to his father. "But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

It was not the son who ran. But even though he was a long way off, the father saw him, then ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. The son would not have dared to have done so, still less would he have expected his father to do so. But grace always surprises the thoughts of men, and human reason can never comprehend it, but rather denies, opposes, enfeebles, and qualifies it, which only dishonors God and most surely injures man. The father, then, ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Not a word about his wicked ways! and it was the father who had wrought secretly, producing the conviction of his son’s evil and the yearning after his own presence.

It is not true that our Lord implied that the father was indifferent to the evil, or that the prodigal son was not to feel his outbreaks or his fleshly nature. Surely this should have been all the more true since the son was allowed to judge himself and the past in the light of the unspeakable grace of his father.

"And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." He cannot say more. It was impossible in the presence of the father to say, "Make me as one of thy hired servants." It was well, as far as it went, to acknowledge that he was no more worthy to be called his son. It was unqualifiedly right to say, "I have sinned against heaven and before thee." But it would have been still better if he had said not a word about anything of which he could be worthy or unworthy. The sad truth was that he was worthy of nothing but bonds or death. He deserved to be banished for ever_to be driven out from the presence of his father.

Grace, however, does not give according to what man deserves, but according to Christ. Grace is the outflow of love that is in God which He feels even towards His enemies. For this reason He sent His Son, and He acts Himself. All must now be of the very best because it must be in accordance with the grace of God and the gift of Christ. "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry." The younger son had never worn the best robe before; the elder son never did wear the best robe at all. The best robe was kept for the display of grace.

The two sons (of course, the prodigal before his return) do not represent children of God in the sense of grace, but such as have merely the place of sons of God by nature. Thus Adam is said to be so (Luke 3:38). All men_even the heathen_are spoken of similarly in that sense (Acts 17:28) as being endowed with a reasonable soul as men and as having direct personal responsibility to God in presence of His favors and mercy. It is also doctrinally affirmed in "one God and Father of all" (Eph. 4:6).

But sin has completely separated man from God, as we have seen in this very parable. Grace brings into the nearer and better relationship of "children [literally, ‘sons’] of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26). The prodigal only entered this state when he at length came back to his father, confessing his sins and casting himself upon his father’s grace. The best robe, the ring on his hand, the shoes on his feet, the fatted calf all belong solely to the relationship of grace, to him who is born of God by believing in the name of Jesus. It is God magnifying Himself to the lost. "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry."

It is important to note this common joy. It is not only that there is personal blessing for the heart that is brought back to God, but there is the joy of communion which takes its strength from God, whose joy in love is as much deeper than ours as He is above us. Nor is it now only in heaven as we saw before, but there is the effect produced on earth, both individually and also in other hearts. And the great power of it all is communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, which by the Holy Spirit issues also in communion with one another. "They began to be merry."

(From Exposition of the Gospel of Luke.)

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

Here we see a vivid contrast_the contrast between affliction and glory. You have known much of affliction as you have gone along the way. You have not failed to know suffering and bereavement and disappointment. There are times when the tears have flowed. But now God puts in contrast to the affliction which you have known down here the glory that is coming by-and-by, and if the affliction has oppressed your heart, how the glory will overwhelm you when you are at home with Christ.

He speaks of the affliction as "light affliction," but of the glory as a "weight" of glory. You have sometimes felt as though your affliction was very heavy, but it has no real weight at all in comparison with the glory that is coming. Therefore, if the affliction seems to have been very heavy when God calls it light, you can get some idea of the glory that awaits us. He says, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment." It does not seem as though it has been just "for a moment." I was talking to a dear saint who for over twenty years had been sitting in a wheelchair, and I said, "It is good to know that the Lord is coming, and then all this trouble will be over."

"Oh, yes," "she said, "but it is so long, it has lasted so long. I wonder when it ever will come to an end."

It seemed a long time, yet he says it is but for a moment. Suppose that one had spent his whole lifetime in this world in affliction and had lived to be seventy, eighty, or ninety years of age; after all, what is that compared with eternity? Our years pass as "a watch in the night" (Psa. 90:4).

But notice what awaits us on the other side. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." How strongly he puts that! It gives some conception of what is coming, what it will be by-and-by, when earth’s trials are past and we are at last in the glory with the Lord Jesus.

(From Addresses on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians.)

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children [literally, ‘sons’] by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will" (Eph. 1:5). Verse 4 of this chapter mentioned the simple fact that we were chosen in Christ; verse 5 adds the further truth that God had a special destiny in view for those chosen ones. They are predestinated to the adoption of sons. This goes far beyond the mere fact of our being saved or redeemed. There were many dear saints of God in the Old Testament saved by His grace, but they were not sons of God as we are now. God specially predestinated us to that glorious position. A glance at Gal. 4 will show the meaning of this truth of the adoption of sons. Paul there contrasts the saints of the Old Testament with those of the New. In the Old Testament a believer had merely the status of a "child" in the family of God. Paul speaks of the Jewish saints when he states in Gal. 4:3 that "we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world." The Jews were under law, a law that told them, "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not." That is the way we talk to a child. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son. His precious Son redeemed those that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. Because of the work of Christ on the cross, believers are now no longer under the law and thus subject to ordinances, but they are given the place of sons. In our language today the word "adoption" carries the idea of a child taken into a home and given the place of a child by a couple who are not themselves its parents, but in the Bible the word "adoption" has no such meaning. Its literal translation is "the placing of a son." When Rome was in power, adoption was a ceremony in which parents would publicly present their child to society, somewhere at the age of sixteen or so. That child would thereafter take his place in society as the acknowledged son of the family. That is rather the thought presented in Scripture under the term "adoption." Upon the death of Christ believers are no longer under law_under order as a child is_but are given the place of grown-up sons and daughters of God. The passage in Gal. 4 goes on to say that because we Christians are now sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, by which we cry, "Abba, Father." "Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4:7). Thus the precious truth of adoption sets forth the fact that not only have we been redeemed through the death of Christ, but have been given the position of sons in God’s family. In Christianity we are no longer under rules and regulations, as a little child is, but we have the Christian liberty and dignity of sons of God. The Spirit of God Himself indwells us, thus enabling us to walk to God’s glory as we are led and instructed by Him. To enjoy the adoption of sons means to enjoy the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free; we should walk as intelligent, spiritually-educated, free men. And Gal. 4:7 adds, "If a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Thus this predestination to the adoption of sons in this Epistle goes far beyond the mere matter of salvation, but carries with it the thought of our being blessed with all that the heart of God could devise. It is a position that shall be ours throughout all eternity. We are sons of God already; we shall be manifested as such when Christ Himself is manifested. It may be noticed that the apostle John always speaks of the believer as a child of God_a "born-one"_ while Paul speaks much of sonship. The one speaks of our family relationship, the other of our position. He has made us sons "according to the good pleasure of His will." It pleased God to give us this glorious place of honor and privilege.

(From Ephesians.)

FRAGMENT
And here we walk as sons, through grace,
A Father’s love our present joy,
Find, in the brightness of Thy Face,
A rest no sorrows can destroy!

"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed [or ‘transfigured’ as in Matt. 17:2] into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).

Here is true Christian growth in grace. First, Christ has to be revealed to the soul, and then as you go on day after day, as you are occupied with Christ, you become like Him. You never have to advertise your holiness. This will not be necessary if your heart is taken up with the Lord Jesus. If occupied with Him, other people will soon realize that you are becoming more and more like Him as the days go by.

You may have heard of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story of "The Great Stone Face." He tells of a lad who lived in the village below the mountain, and there upon the mountain was that image of the great stone face, looking down so solemnly, so seriously, upon the people. There was a legend that some day someone was coming to that village who would look just like the great stone face, and he would do some wonderful things for the village and would be the means of great blessing. The story gripped this lad, and he used to slip away and hour after hour would stand looking at that great stone face and thinking of the story about the one that was coming. Years passed, and even through young adulthood and middle age he still went to sit and contemplate the majesty, the beauty of that great stone face. Then old age came, and one day as he walked through the village someone looked at him and exclaimed, "He has come, the one who is like the great stone face!" He became like that which he contemplated. If you want to be Christlike, look at Jesus. If you want to grow in grace, contemplate Jesus. You find Him revealed in the Word, so read your Bible and meditate upon it.

We sing the song, "Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord." One servant of the Lord always interrupted when this hymn was given out and said, "Please let me change that first line; let us sing it, Take time to behold Him.’ " As we behold Him we will become holy, for we will be transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

(From Addresses on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians.)

"And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together; for before they were at enmity between themselves" (Luke 23:12).

One of the characteristics of men in their natural state is "living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). What can be expected from the carnal mind which is "enmity against God" but enmity against its fellow also? The violence and the hatred and strife we see in the world are but results of that departure from Him who alone is love. After conversion the sweet and precious fruits of the Spirit are seen; and among the first is love, and all its accompanying manifestations of forgiveness of and reconciliation with our fellows. How can the one who has been forgiven much fail to forgive the little offenses against himself? It would argue that one did not realize it for himself if he failed in its exercise toward others.

Here however, as in many other ways, Satan has a counterfeit of the real, in which a good deal of the outward appearance is preserved but all that gives character and value is missing. This is so in a marked degree with the case before us. Pilate and Herod had been at enmity; they became reconciled. What motivated them to this reconciliation? Sad is the answer:their rejection of Christ. These two, having been specially called upon to decide for or against Him, took their place with His enemies. This gives the occasion for their reconciliation. What a spectacle! The Son of God mocked, scourged, and delivered up for crucifixion; and the men who were responsible for it as it were shaking hands over it! After all, is not this what we see in the world at the present time? Are not the very things which link men with one another often the things which separate them from Christ?

But it is not for the world we are writing. Is there not a lesson for Christians to learn? Are we so absorbed in worldly matters such as business affairs that they have become our object rather than communion with the Lord? If so, this is friendship with the world, and is, in effect, enmity with God. A friendship of this kind is, in measure, of the character of that between Pilate and Herod. Much sociability between saved and unsaved comes dangerously near this. Would those who are now so pleased to have our company like it if we openly proclaimed our loyalty to Him whom they have rejected?

Even between saints there is need to beware of the character of the friendship between Pilate and Herod. That prejudice which separates from some of our brethren and attracts to others is like it. Differences and coolness toward some and drawing closer to others of like mind with us is like it. It is thus that parties and cliques spring up among God’s people.

Another danger point, though not exactly of like character, is the being held together only by rejection of evil. The Lord never intended us to be occupied with evil, never would have us drawn together only by what we refuse and deny. Positive truth is what should attract and hold together_truth which sets the Lord Himself before us. Love to Him and worship of Him are the bonds which the Spirit uses to unite and hold us together. The more we know of Christ in the heart and the more His truth fills us, so much the closer will we be together. This is a friendship which has neither honey nor leaven (Lev. 2:11) to corrupt it, and so abides.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 9.)

The glories of the Lord Jesus are threefold_personal, official, and moral. His personal glory He veiled, save where faith discovered it, or an occasion demanded it. His official glory He veiled likewise; He did not walk through the land as either the divine Son from the bosom of the Father, or as the authoritative Son of David. Such glories were commonly hid as He passed through the circumstances of life day by day. But His moral glory could not be hid:He could not be less than perfect in every thing. From its intense excellency it was too bright for the eye of man; and man was under constant exposure and rebuke from it. But there it shone, whether man could bear it or not. It now illuminates every page of the four Gospels, as it once did every path which the Lord Himself trod on this earth of ours.

It is the assemblage or combination of virtues which forms moral glory. For example, the Lord Jesus knew, as the apostle Paul speaks, "how to be abased, and. . . how to abound" (Phil. 4:12)_how to use moments of prosperity, so to call them, and also times of depression. In His passage through life, He was introduced to each of these.

At the time of His transfiguration, the Lord was introduced for a moment in His personal glory, and a very bright moment it was. As the sun, the source of all brightness, He shone there. Such eminent ones as Moses and Elijah were there shining with Him, in His glory. But as He descended the hill, He charged those who had been with Him not to speak of it. And when the people, on His reaching the foot of the hill, ran to salute Him (Mark 9:15), He did not linger among them to receive their homage, but at once addressed Himself to His common service, for He knew "how to abound." He was not exalted by His prosperity. He sought not a place among men, but emptied Himself, made Himself of no reputation, quickly veiled the glory that He might be the Servant.

But He knew "how to be abased" also. Look at Him with the Samaritan villagers in Luke 9. At the outset of that action, in the sense of His personal glory, He anticipated His being "received (or raised] up." And in the common, well-known style of one who would have it known that a person of distinction was coming that way, He sent messengers before Him. But the unbelief of the Samaritans changed the scene. They would not receive Him. They refused to cast up a highway for the feet of this glorious One, but forced Him to find out for Himself the best path He could as the rejected One. But He accepted this place at once, without a murmur in His heart. He immediately became again the Nazarene, seeing He was refused as the Bethlehemite (the heir to David’s throne). Thus He knew "how to be abased"
As well as “how to abound.”

There are other combinations in the Lord’s character that we must look at. Another has said of Him, "He was the most gracious and accessible of men." We observe in His ways a tenderness and a kindness never seen in man, yet we always feel that He was a stranger. How true this is! He was a stranger as far as the rebelliousness of man dominated the scene, but intimately near as far as the misery and need of man made demands upon Him. The distance He took, and the intimacy He expressed, were perfect. He did more than look on the misery that was around Him; He entered into it with a sympathy that was all His own. And He did more than refuse the pollution that was around Him; He kept the very distance of holiness itself from every touch or stain of it.

Notice how He exhibited this combination of distance and intimacy in Mark 6. The disciples returned to Him after a long day’s service. He cared for them. He brought their weariness very near to Him. He took account of it and provided for it at once, saying to them, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile." But when the multitude followed Him, He turned with the same readiness to them, acquainting Himself with their condition. And having taken knowledge of them, as sheep that had no shepherd, He began to teach them. In all this we see Him very near to the varied need of the scene around Him, whether that need be the fatigue of the disciples, or the hunger and ignorance of the multitude. But the disciples soon resented His attention to the multitude, and urged Him to send them away. However, this would in no wise do for Him. There was immediate estrangement between Him and them which shortly afterwards expressed itself by His telling them to get into the ship while He sent the multitude away. But this separation from Him only worked fresh trouble for them. Winds and waves were against them on the lake; and then in their distress He was again near at hand to help and secure them!

How consistent in the combination of holiness and grace is all this. He is near in our weariness, our hunger, or our danger. He is apart from our tempers and our selfishness. His holiness made Him an utter stranger in such a polluted world; His grace kept Him ever active in such a needy and afflicted world. And this sets off His life, I may say, in great moral glory:for though forced, by the quality of the scene around Him, to be a lonely One, yet was He drawn forth by the need and sorrow of it to be the active One.

Along with exhibiting these beautiful combinations of virtues, with equal perfectness the Lord Jesus manifests wisdom in distinguishing things. For example, He was not drawn into softness when the occasion demanded faithfulness, and yet He passed by many circumstances which human sensibilities would have resented, and which the human moral sense would have judged it well to resent. He did not attempt to win the hearts of His disciples by means of an amiable nature. Honey was excluded as well as leaven from the meal offering (Lev. 2:11); neither was Jesus, the true meal offering, characterized by that honey of human civility and friendliness any more than He manifested that leaven of sin in His holy life. It was not merely civil, amiable treatment that the disciples got from their Master. He did not gratify, and yet He bound them to Him very closely; and this is power. There is always moral power when the confidence of another is gained without its being sought; for the heart so won has then become conscious of the reality of love. Another has written:"We all know how to distinguish love and attention, and that there may be a great deal of the latter without any of the former. Some might say, attention must win our confidence; but we know ourselves that nothing but love does." This is so true. Attention, if it be mere attention, is honey, and how much of this poor material is found with us! We are disposed to think that it is all well, and perhaps we aim no higher than to purge out leaven and fill the lump with honey. If we are amiable, perform our part well in the civil, courteous, well-ordered social scene, pleasing others, and doing what we can to keep people on good terms with us, then we are satisfied with ourselves and others with us also. But is this service to God? Is this a meal offering? Is this found as part of the moral glory of perfect man? Indeed it is not! It is one of the secrets of the sanctuary that honey was not used to give a sweet savor to the offering.

Further, the Lord did not pass judgments on persons in relation to Himself_a common fault with us all. We naturally judge others according as they treat ourselves, and we make their interest in us the measure of their character and worth. But this was not the Lord. God is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. He understands every action fully. In all its moral meaning He understands it, and according to that He weighs it.

In this regard let us refer to Luke 11. There was the air of courtesy and good feeling towards Him in the Pharisee who invited Him to dine. But the Lord was "the God of knowledge," and as such He weighed this action in its full moral character. The honey of courtesy, which is the best ingredient in social life in this world, did not pervert His taste or judgment. He approved things that are excellent. The civility which invited Him to dinner was not to determine the judgment of Him who carried the weights and measures of the sanctuary of God. As soon as the Lord entered the house, the host acted the Pharisee, and not the host. He marveled that his guest had not washed before dinner. And the character he thus assumed at the beginning showed itself in full force at the end. And the Lord dealt with the whole scene accordingly, for He weighed it as the God of knowledge. Some may say that the courtesy He had received might have kept Him silent. But He could not look on this man simply as in relation to Himself. He was not to be flattered out of a just judgment. He exposed and rebuked, and the end of the scene justified Him:"And as He said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge Him vehemently, and to provoke Him to speak of many things, laying wait for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him."

Very different, however, was His way in the house of another Pharisee who in like manner had asked Him to dine (Luke 7). This man, like the one in Luke 11, displayed pharisaical tendencies. He silently accused the poor sinner of the city, and his guest for allowing her to approach Him. But appearances are not the ground of righteous judgments. Often the very same words, on different lips, have a very different mind in them. And therefore the Lord, the perfect weigh master according to God, though He rebuked Simon and exposed him to himself, knew Simon by name and left his house as a guest should leave it. He distinguished the Pharisee of Luke 7 from the one of Luke 11, though He dined with both of them.

As another aspect of the moral glory of the Lord Jesus, He knew how to answer every man with words which were always to his soul’s profit. He perfectly fulfilled that which the apostle Paul urged upon the Colossian believers:"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (4:6) Thus, in answering inquiries, He did not so much purpose to satisfy them as to reach the conscience or the condition of the inquirer.

In His silence, or refusal to answer at all, when He stood before the Jew or the Gentile at the end, before either the priests, or Pilate, or Herod, we can trace the same perfect fitness as we do in His words or answers. He witnessed to God that at least One among the sons of men knew "a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccl. 3:7).

Great variety in His very tone and manner also presents itself in all this; and all this variety added to the fragrance of His perfect life before God. Sometimes His word was gentle, and sometimes peremptory; sometimes He reasoned, and sometimes He rebuked at once; sometimes He conducted calm reasoning up to the heated point of solemn condemnation. It was the moral aspect of the occasion He always weighed.

Matthew 15 has struck me as a chapter in which this perfection may be seen. In the course of it the Lord was called to answer the Pharisees, the multitude, the poor afflicted stranger from the coasts of Tyre, and His own disciples, again and again, in their manifestation of either stupidity or selfishness. And we may notice His different style of rebuke and of reasoning, of calm, patient teaching, and of faithful, wise, and gracious training of the soul. We cannot help but feel how fitting all this variety was to the place or occasion that called it forth.

In a similar way we marvel at the beauty and the fitness of His neither teaching nor learning in Luke 2:46, but only hearing and asking questions. To have taught then would not have been in season since He was a child in the midst of His elders. To have learned would not have been in full fidelity to the light which He knew He carried in Himself, for we may surely say that He was wiser than the ancients and had more understanding than His teachers (Psa. 119:99,100). He knew in the perfection of grace how to use this fulness of wisdom. Strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God upon Him, is the description of Him then as He grew up in tender years; and when a man conversing in the world, His speech was always with grace, seasoned with salt, as of One who knew how to answer every man. What perfection and beauty suited to the different seasons of childhood and manhood!

Let me close by saying that it is blessed and happy for us, as well as part of our worship, to mark the characteristics of the Lord’s way and ministry here on the earth. All that He did and said, all His service, whether in the substance or the style of it, is the witness of what He was, and He is the witness to us of what God is.. And thus we reach God, the blessed One, through the paths of the Lord Jesus recorded in the pages of the four evangelists. Every step of that way becomes important to us. All that He did and said was a real, truthful expression of Himself, as He Himself was a real, truthful expression of God. If we can understand the character of His ministry, or read the moral glory that attaches to each moment and each particular of His walk and service here on earth, and so learn what He is, and thus learn what God is, we reach God in certain and unclouded knowledge of Him. We reach God through the ordinary paths and activities of the life of this divine Son of Man.

(Condensed from Short Meditation on the Moral Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.)

FRAGMENT "According to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body" (Phil. 1:20). Is it our desire to be able to adopt Paul’s language? Do we hold our bodies as vessels for the display of Christ? As we rise in the morning do we look upon the coming day as another opportunity of making Christ great?

Reconciliation is, to use familiar language, making all straight. The term is used, I believe, in money-changing as that which makes the sum even so that there is satisfaction of the parties in the matter. Then it also has the sense of making all smooth between alienated parties, and reconciling one who is alienated or at enmity. But it is not simply the change of mind from the enmity, though that be included; nor is it justification. It is the bringing back to unity, peace, and fellowship what was divided and alienated. There is some confusion in the King James Version between the terms "reconciliation" and "atonement" or "propitiation." In Heb. 2:17, "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" should read "to make propitiation" or "to make atonement." On the other hand, in Rom. 5:11 it should read, "Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation," rather than "received the atonement."

In 1 Cor. 7:11, "Let her … be reconciled to her husband," it is not merely her mind being restored to affection and good feeling, but matters made straight between them_the relationship made good. So it is between us and God; but the alienation was on our part. It was not alienation on God’s part, but righteous judgment against sin in His creature in order to bring back the alienated creature into relationship with Himself. Only now it is much more than bringing back because of the purposes of God in Christ and the infinite value of the work by which we are brought back to God.

Reconciling God to us is quite unscriptural in expression and thought. Reconciliation is the full establishment of all creation in relationship with God according to His nature and according to the nature of that which is reconciled. There is now redemption, a new nature, and a new state of things, so that reconciliation is more than reestablishment. It is reestablishment inasmuch as the old relationship was broken and forfeited, but it is not returning to the old relationship but the establishing of a new one which has the stability of redemption and is the accomplishment of the purpose of God. Still it is a bringing back into the enjoyment of divine favor those who had lost it.

This reconciliation is twofold in Scripture_that is, a reconciliation of the state of things, and of sinners. Thus in Col. 1:20-22 we read:"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 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." This speaks of the bringing of the whole created scene of heaven and earth into its true order and right relationship with God.

A major passage referring to reconciliation is 2 Cor. 5:18-20, particularly verse 19:"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." The passage states that the apostolic ministry had taken the place of Christ’s personal ministry, founded on the blessed Lord having been made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It is the aspect of Christ’s ministry down here; God was in Him reconciling the world, although man would not have Him. He was proposing to the world a return to God in order and blessing, not imputing their trespasses to them. Lawlessness and ease had both proved men to be sinners. But God was in Christ saying,I am not come to judge:return, and I will forgive; return to God and nothing will be imputed.
In Col. 1, already quoted, we find that it is the purpose of God to bring all things in heaven and earth into the order and condition of right relationship with God. All things were created by the Son and for Him, and all the fulness of the Godhead which dwelt in Him will bring all of creation into a normal state of relationship with Himself. But in addition to this, we are reconciled, Christ being our righteousness and we the righteousness of God in Him. We are, as regards the very nature of God, in our normal place with God according to the efficacy of Christ’s work. Since we are moral beings, a new mind is needed for this, and Christ is our life, perfect according to what He was for God. The believer is reconciled in the body of Christ’s flesh through death (Col. 1:21,22). We are before God with our old rebellious nature entirely put away from His sight. Nothing is wanting to our place and standing in Christ. Our old state is gone; the old man is put off and the new man put on; we are quickened together with Him; we are in Christ before God according to the efficacy of His propitiation and work. Thus is it possible for us to be presented "holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight" (Col. 1:22).

In Rom. 5:10 reconciliation is attributed to Christ’s death, not to a change of mind in us:"If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." Note here that the Christian is spoken of as being reconciled. Now it is quite true this does not and cannot take place without a work in man by which peace_that made by Christ_is appropriated, and it cannot take place without faith. The Spirit of Christ works in quickening power in us, makes us know our state, gives new desires, makes us judge our old state, and finally shows us the value of Christ’s death and our standing in Him. It is not that God is changed, but propitiation has been made, and hence, according to righteousness and abounding in love, He can bring back the sinner to Himself. Propitiation is the foundation of reconciliation of the sinner and, in due time, the universe. Therefore the gospel beseeches men to be reconciled to God, to return to Him, in true relationship in Christ who has been made sin for us.

Being reconciled is more than being justified_that is, being authoritatively pronounced righteous by God. It is more than the restoring of the heart to God. It is being with God in joyful and settled relationship with Himself, all being in order between as. There is not an expression more full or more complete, connected with our restoration, than that of our reconciliation with God. It supposes God revealed in all that He is, and man in a perfect place and standing with Him according to this revelation_reconciled to God.

(From Collected Writings, Vol. 10.)

"Ye are… the epistle of Christ. . . written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. . . . 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" (2 Cor. 3:3,18).

The first principle and basis of all Christian truth is that there is a Mediator between man and God. Because man could not come to God, Another has taken up the cause of man and worked out an acceptance for him. One result of this is that we have been made "the epistle of Christ" (blotted ones no doubt in ourselves), or a transcript of Christ, "written . . . with the Spirit of the living God." The Word says that we "are" this, not merely we ought to be. Though in ourselves most imperfect and failing, the definition given by the Spirit of God of a Christian is that he is a transcript of Christ.

The natural thought of many a soul is this:"Well, if that be true, I do not know what to think of myself; I do not see this transcript in myself." No, and you ought not to see it. Moses did not see his own face shine. Moses saw God’s face shine, and others saw Moses’face shine.

The glory of the Lord as seen in Moses’ face alarmed the people; they could not bear that glory. But we see it now with open unveiled face in Christ (verse 18), and yet are not afraid. We find liberty, comfort, and joy in looking at it; we gaze on it and instead of fearing, rejoice. How does this immense difference come about? It is "the ministration of the Spirit" and "of righteousness" (verses 8,9). It is Christ alive in the glory that I see:not Christ down here_sweet as that was_but Christ at the right hand of God. Yet though that glory is in the heavens, I can steadfastly behold it. All that glory_and He is in the midst of the glory and majesty of the throne of God itself_does not make me afraid, because this wonderful truth comes in that the glory of God is in the face of a Man who has put away my sins and who is there in proof of it (Heb. 1:3). I should at one time have been afraid to hear His voice, and have said with the children of Israel, "Let not God speak with us" (Exod. 20:19), or, like Adam with a guilty conscience, have sought to hide myself away (Gen. 3:8); but I do not say so now. No, let me hear His voice. I cannot see the glory of Christ now without knowing that I am saved. How comes He there? He is a Man who has been down here mixing with publicans and sinners_the friend of such, choosing such as His companions; He is a Man who has borne the wrath of God on account of sin; He is a Man who has borne my sins in His own body on the tree.

I could not see Christ in the glory if there were one spot or stain of sin not put away. The more I see of the glory the more I see the perfectness of the work that Christ has wrought, and of the righteousness wherein I am accepted. Every ray of that glory is seen in the face of One who has confessed my sins as His own, and died for them on the cross; of One who has glorified God on the earth, and finished the work that the Father had given Him to do. The glory that I see is the glory of redemption. Having glorified God about the sin_"I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" (John 17:4)_God has glorified Him with Himself there.

When I see Him in that glory, instead of seeing my sins I see that they are gone. I have seen my sins laid on the Mediator; I have seen my sins confessed on the head of the scapegoat, and they have been borne away (Lev. 16). Once my sins were found upon the head of that blessed One; but they are gone, never more to be found. Were it a dead Christ that I saw, I might fear that my sins would be found again; but with Christ alive in the glory the search is in vain. He who bore them all has been received up to the throne of God, and no sin can be there.

Further, I am changed into His likeness. "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." It is the Holy Spirit taking of the things of Christ and revealing them to the soul that is the power of present practical conformity to Christ. It is Christ Himself that I love; Christ that I admire; Christ that I care for; Christ whose flesh I eat and whose blood I drink. What wonder is it, then, if I am like Christ? The Christian thus becomes the epistle of Christ; he speaks for Christ, owns Christ, acts for Christ. He does not want to be rich, he has riches in Christ_unsearchable riches. He does not want the pleasures of the world; he has pleasures at God’s right hand for evermore.

Does the heart still say, "Oh, but I do not and cannot see this transcript in myself"? That may be so, but you see Christ, and is not that better? It is not my looking at myself, but it is my looking at Christ that is God’s appointed means for my growing in the likeness of Christ. If I would copy the work of some great artist, is it by fixing my eyes on the imitation, and being taken up with regrets about my failing attempt, that I shall be likely to succeed? No, but by looking at my model, by fixing my eyes there, tracing the various points, and getting into the spirit of the thing. The Holy Spirit has revealed to my soul Christ in the glory as the assurance of my acceptance; therefore I can look steadfastly, without fear, at the glory, and rejoice at the measure of its brightness. Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, could look up steadfastly into heaven and see the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God_and his face shone as the face of an angel (Acts 7). And look at his death! Just like his Master, he prayed for his very murderers. Stephen died saying, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge"; Christ died saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." In him there was the expression of Christ’s love for His enemies. By the Holy Spirit he was changed into the same image.

The soul at perfect liberty with God looks peacefully and happily at the glory of God as seen in the face of Jesus Christ. And because it sees that glory, and knows its expression, it walks before God in holy confidence. At ease in the presence of God, the Christian there drinks into the spirit of that which befits the presence of God, and becomes the "epistle of Christ" to the world, showing out to all that he has been there. May we more and more make our boast in Him in whose face all this glory is displayed_the Lamb who has died for us and cleansed away our sins by His own most precious blood.

(From Changed into His Image.)

Once as prodigals we wandered
In our folly far from Thee;
But Thy grace, o’er sin abounding,
Rescued us from misery:
Clothed in garments of salvation,
At Thy table is our place;
We rejoice, and Thou rejoicest,
In the riches of Thy grace.

Thou the prodigal hast pardoned,
"Kissed us" with a Father’s love;
"Killed the fatted calf," and called us
E’er to dwell with Thee above.
"It is meet," we hear Thee saying,
"We should merry be and glad;
I have found My once lost children,
Now they live who once were dead."

"And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. . . . And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:17-20).

It is a wonderful moment in the history of the soul when the sense is borne in upon it that the lowest person that has to do with God is infinitely better off than the highest person in the world. This is not a mere notion, like people saying God is good. The reality of the thing comes out when there is a definite turning from everything that constitutes one’s life as in the world, and a turning to God. The moment that point is reached everything is accomplished.

"Sinned against heaven" is a remarkable expression. If my whole course has been contrary to the mind of heaven, and I have been sinning before God, what reception am I to expect? If I have expected good from God, will He be as good as I expect Him to be? The Lord says that He will be infinitely more gracious than the largest expectation that I ever had. In the parable the father saw the prodigal a great way off, he had compassion, he ran and fell on his neck and covered him with kisses, the most ardent expression of affection. And this was before the prodigal had said a word of confession of any sort. This is the God we have to do with; there is no barrier, for as soon as we judge ourselves and expect goodness in God, He will do everything for us, lavish everything upon us, cover us with kisses. The only time that God is in a hurry is when there is a repenting sinner. The covering with kisses gives the consciousness of God’s love; that is bound up in the gift of the Spirit.

It would help us much to get a profound sense of the joy God has in seeing us turned to Himself. Everyone who has judged himself and turned to God has ministered profound joy to the heart of the blessed God. That gives strength to self-judgment. In the far country the prodigal said, "I have sinned against heaven and before thee," but it must have been a ten times deeper self-judgment when the father’s arms were around his neck and he was covered with kisses. The real basis of happiness and vigor spiritually is that we know how to judge ourselves in the presence of divine grace, so that we never look for anything from self but look for everything from God. Have you ever had the indescribable sense of the love of God and the pleasure He has had in turning you to Himself? God delights to give it; we cannot give it to one another. I do not think anyone could tell what it is, the indescribable consciousness that He loves me and that I am an object of delight to Him because I am self-judged and repentant, and I have turned to Him. The sense of that in the soul is produced by the Spirit. All the love concentrated at Calvary is now diffused in millions of hearts by the Spirit, and every one of them is conscious of having been kissed.

The basis of it all is reconciliation which has been effected in the death of Christ. The parable has an intimation of this in the fatted calf being killed, which suggests the death of Christ. There was such a work wrought in the death of Christ that everything unsuitable to God was removed. Here in Luke 15 it is the experimental work in the soul by which we come into the fruit of reconciliation. Colossians 1 says, "Reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight." The prodigal is presented thus "holy and unblameable and unreproveable"; it is the fruit of reconciliation. If reconciliation had not been effected in the death of Christ, we should never have had Luke 15 in our Bibles.

When the father kissed the prodigal nothing could be added on the father’s side; He covered him with kisses. He could do no more_the robe, the ring, and the shoes are all subordinate to the kisses. If a person kisses me ardently, there is more affection in it than in giving me a coat. The kisses are the profound depth of the heart of God breaking out, and the prodigal feels that God loves him with all His heart.

Then things are needed on the prodigal’s side, so the robe, ring, and shoes come in in order that the prodigal might be invested with conscious suitability to the One who had kissed him. The best robe seems to be connected with God’s purposes; we might say it was there from eternity. If one is conscious of being kissed, nothing would satisfy the heart but to be conscious of suitability to the One who has kissed me; so with the best robe one is invested with conscious suitability. The person who has been kissed is now accepted in the Beloved.

In the beginning of Ephesians Paul speaks of God having chosen the saints in Christ before the foundation of the world that they might be holy and without blame before Him in love. Think of such a proposal! Think of the character of holiness and blamelessness that had taken form in the thoughts of God in Christ before the foundation of the world! It is not Adam innocent or fallen, or even Adam restored, but it is the kind of suitability to God that had taken form in His thoughts and heart in Christ before the foundation of the world. This wonderful robe was there from eternity, but it could not be brought out until these precious thoughts had taken form in Christ as risen and glorified. When one is clothed with the best robe one divests oneself of all thoughts of self, either good or bad; and one is invested with the precious thoughts of God that took form in purpose in Christ before the foundation of the world. We start from a new point altogether. One clothed with the best robe is entirely delivered from the world, the flesh, and all the religious, order of things that is found here, because he is invested with something that belongs to eternity, to the eternal thoughts of God in Christ. Nothing is more important than that the saints should be clothed consciously with the character of holiness, blamelessness, and irreproachableness such as God thought of in Christ before the foundation of the world. I must have that or self; it may be good, religious, reformed, or christianized self, but self is not Christ.

The ring in Scripture seems to be connected with public honor. Joseph was given the ring by Pharaoh, and in Esther we read of the king putting his ring on Haman and then on Mordecai. When Pharaoh took off his ring and put it on Joseph he invested him with public honor as administrator of everything in Egypt. Likewise, the sons of God are to appear in a position of great honor with God, so that nothing that is undignified or mean would be suitable in persons who wear the ring. When the sons of God are manifested they will liberate all creation. I wonder what we should be like if we moved in the dignity of that? Paul said to the Corinthians, Do you not know that you are going to judge the world, that you are going to judge angels, and yet you are squabbling about a little money matter? It is a rebuke to them; they had not the ring.

We are sons of God now, and we have the same dignity with God now that we shall have in the day of glory. It will be manifested then, but even now God would invest us with this dignity. God would have us think about ourselves as He thinks about us, as He cherishes in His heart His thoughts which have taken form in Christ.

As far as we can we should like to relieve sorrow at present. When the Lord was here He was the great reliever of every sorrow and pressure_that belongs to the ring. The Lord was here to administer all the wealth of heaven, and in measure we are set up to be representatives of God, to carry His signet. It is humbling to think of how little we stand in the dignity of it; but God is not glorified if we do not.

The shoes or sandals speak of how we are to move in conscious sonship. It was only sons who were allowed to wear sandals in the house. We are to move as sons of God, as persons led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14). The Spirit could never lead me to do anything like a natural man. It was a reproach that Paul threw at the Corinthians_"Ye . . . walk as men" (1 Cor. 3:3). The liberty of sonship is ours; we are invested with what belongs to new creation. It is not Adam made better, or flesh made better, but a new creation in Christ, and every part of it brought about by the death of Christ. The best robe, the ring, and the sandals formed no part of the prodigal’s first inheritance, but he is invested with them, and then the fatted calf is killed and they sit down and begin to make merry. I have no doubt that the blessedness of this is intensified in seeing that it all comes through the death of Christ. That will be our festivity forever when we are in the blessedness of new creation; we shall enjoy eternally with God the thought that it has all been brought about through the death of Christ.

The fatted calf suggests Christ as the One in whom we have seen the tenderness and excellency of love that would secure all the thoughts of God righteously in a way suitable to God; all is secured through death. If we know in any measure what it is to be clothed with the best robe, to have the ring and the sandals, how precious it is to think with God that it is altogether the fruit of the death of His Son!

(From An Outline of Luke’s Gospel.)

It is axiomatic with respect to many physical diseases that prevention is the best cure. The same holds true concerning broken marriages. It is for this reason that an effort has been made in earlier chapters of this series to present ministry aimed at strengthening marriage relationships. If scriptural principles were followed in the choice of a marriage partner, in behavior during the dating and engagement periods of the relationship, and in the marriage relationship itself, the question of divorce should rarely, if ever, arise. Particular attention has been paid in this series to the topic of "elements of a happy marriage." If diligent attention were paid to the attitudes of submissiveness, love, confession, and forgiveness, to maintaining lines of effective communication between the partners, to praying and reading the Scriptures together, and to following scriptural principles with respect to physical intimacy, management of finances, and all other aspects of the marriage relationship, there would be not only much less talk of divorce but more positively happy marriages. So if any of our readers are in the process of casting about in various Christian books on marriage to find out what the authors have to say on the topic of divorce and remarriage, the first bit of advice we have to offer is first go back and review the previous chapters in this series.

If a couple is experiencing seemingly unresolvable problems in their marriage, help and counsel should be sought from their brothers and sisters in Christ. If there is no one in the local church to whom the couple feels free to turn, there are many Christian counseling centers where couples can receive help for their marriage based on scriptural_rather than worldly and humanistic_principles. "In multitude of counsellors there is safety" (Prov. 24:6). Often troubled marriages fall apart in divorce because one or both partners have waited too long before seeking help from counsellors. By the time help is sought the emotional scars may be very deep, making reconciliation a difficult task. Let us each pray that the Lord will raise up more pastors and counsellors among us_those with whom brothers and sisters in trouble will have confidence and liberty to share their problems, and who will have scriptural knowledge and spiritual wisdom and insight to really help those who seek counsel. And may each of us see our responsibility to watch out for and have a godly concern for one another, prayerfully seeking to minister to others in a discreet and gentle way when the Lord shows us needs such as troubled marriages.

As we begin a scriptural consideration of this very difficult and controversial topic of divorce and remarriage we should, perhaps, begin with a statement of a couple of fundamental principles from the Word of God:

1. "I hate putting away [or divorce], saith Jehovah the God of Israel" (Mal. 2:16 JND). "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matt. 19:6).

2. "… First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matt. 3:24). "Let her … be reconciled to her husband" (1 Cor. 7:11).
In this age of great laxity with regard to divorce as with all aspects of morality, there is a tendency for Christians to approach the matter of divorce from a totally wrong standpoint. The primary focus often is seeking to find scriptural reasons to justify divorce and remarriage, trying to define the so-called "exception clause," etc. However, it is the great responsibility of marriage counsellors as well as brothers and sisters of couples contemplating divorce to attempt to get the couple to refocus their attention to the ways and means of resolution of problems and reconciliation. We need to remind ourselves and one another of what God has done for us. He has "reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 5:18). Also, "God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven" us (Eph. 4:32). And is it not His desire that we should in turn forgive one another (especially our spouses!) and be reconciled to one another? He has "given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18). We are exhorted to be "kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). And as we daily confess our sins to God we are to consider that "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14,15). This need to have a forgiving spirit toward others is also graphically depicted in one of Christ’s parables. In the concluding portion of the parable we read:"Then his Lord . . . said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me; shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?" (Matt. 18:21-35).

Many mistakes are made in every marriage. Divorce often comes in through the unwillingness of one or both partners to forgive the other of these mistakes. How easily do we lose sight of the tremendous debt of sin and guilt on our part which God has mercifully and graciously forgiven us, and then proudly, self-righteously refuse to forgive our spouse of offenses which pale in comparison to our own offenses against God!

In the next part of this chapter on Divorce and Remarriage to be published, Lord willing, in the next issue of Words of Truth, we shall be considering what the Scriptures have to say about acceptable reasons for divorce and remarriage. But as we consider such things as the "exception clause" of Matt. 5:32 and 19:9 and the "not under bondage" clause of 1 Cor. 7:15, we need to be careful not to become like the Pharisees who tried to find ways and means of interpreting Scripture to meet their own selfish desires. While there may indeed be scriptural allowance for divorce and remarriage in certain prescribed circumstances, we need ever to keep in focus the fundamental principles stated above that God hates divorce and loves forgiveness and reconciliation.

A Healthy Tongue

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Prov.25:11

There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is health. Prov. 12:18

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Prov. 16:24

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life. Prov. 15:4

A Wise Tongue

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright. Prov. 15:2

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. Prov. 15:7

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! Prov. 15:23

A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger. Prov. 15:1

If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. James 3:2

A Tongue of Few Words

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. James 1:19

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Prov. 21:23

He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. Prov. 13:3

He that hath knowledge spareth his words; and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Prov. 17:27-28

If thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Prov. 30:32

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. Eccl. 5:2

That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Rom. 3:19

A Tongue of Many Words

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Prov. 10:19

A fool also is full of words; a man can not tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? Eccl. 10:14

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matt. 6:7