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.)

"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!

"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.)

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.)

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.