"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. … For we wrestle . . . against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:10,12). How remarkably we are here reminded of Joshua in verse 10, and Israel’s foes in verse 12! To Joshua the word was, "Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. . . . There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee:I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage:for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous" (Josh. 1:2-7; also verses 9,18). Also, it is clear that if the Canaanites were but enemies of flesh and blood, they are types of the still deadlier foes we have to fight_foes whose effort it is to hinder the Christian from taking possession, in present enjoyment, of his heavenly inheritance.

It is not here, note it well, the Red Sea crossed, and then the desert, where we have to learn what God is and to be proved ourselves. The wilderness is the great scene of temptation. Although there are occasional battles, as with Amalek and with Midian, still it is the place where we have to go or stay at God’s bidding, in need of daily, heaven-sent supplies, where there is nothing else to sustain, ever marching onward with the heavenly land before us. But the wrestling here, as in the Book of Joshua, supposes the crossing of the Jordan and entrance into Canaan, where the day of conflict begins rather than that of temptation in the wilderness.

In the Red Sea we have Christ dead and risen for us; in Jordan we have our death and resurrection with Him. The one ushers us into the world as the dreary wasteland of our pilgrimage, while the other puts us in view of our heavenly blessing which we have then to appropriate by victory over Satan. The distinction is important, though both are true of the Christian now. When the glorious day comes for the inheritance to be ours, we shall not have to wrestle with these principalities and powers in heavenly places; the conflict will be closed for us forever. But all the time the Church is here below, our conflict goes on with these spiritual wickednesses in heavenly places.

Has this any instruction for us? Have we consciously laid hold of our union with Christ on high? Do we know our place is there in Him? Is nature, root and branch, a judged thing in us? Do we render a heavenly testimony_not only righteous and holy, but heavenly? Are we advancing on the enemy and making good our title by present victory to enjoy the boundless blessings above which we have in Christ? Or are we still, as far as realization goes, ransomed, but in the wilderness with Jordan uncrossed? Are we merely guarding against the flesh breaking out here or there, against worldly temptations overtaking us in this or that? If so, need we wonder that Eph. 6:12 sounds mysterious, and that we question what is meant by the wrestling with the enemies in heavenly places? It was probably the total misapprehension, or non-apprehension, of the truth here revealed, which led our English translators into the unwarranted change of "heavenly" into "high" places in this passage (6:12) only. However, it behooves ourselves to consider whether our own souls have proved and are proving the whole armor of God in this conflict, where, above all, it is plain that "the flesh profiteth nothing."

(From Lectures on Ephesians.)

Stephen, "being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55,56).

Such is the true place of the believer, rendered capable by the Spirit of fixing his eye on Jesus in glory, and this in presence of the world and its prince, who crucified the Lord of glory. It is not simply nor vaguely his eye opened to glory, but he sees the Son of Man there, and the Spirit forms his heart and mind and walk according to that pattern.

We have heaven opened four times in the New Testament. The first two were when the Lord was upon the earth; there was nothing in the condition of man which God could look on with pleasure until the Man Christ Jesus was seen on earth. That the heavens should open on Him was no marvel. God had found perfect rest upon earth, and said, when the heavens opened, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). On the last occasion, recorded in Rev. 19, heaven is opened for the fourth time, and Christ is seen as coming to judge. In each of these, heaven opened to Christ. But there was a third scene when heaven opened, and not to Christ. He had been rejected from earth and was no longer a link between it and God. Where then is he? At God’s right hand. When He was crucified, the whole world was condemned, and the prince of this world judged. All had joined together_governor, priest, people_against the Lord and His anointed. The world deliberately rejected the holiness of God, and had no heart for the love of God. Yet after this, and in spite of this, we get heaven opened once more before Christ comes to execute judgment. Heaven is opened upon a believer in Christ, upon a witness to His glory outside the world. "Behold, I see the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." Christ Himself was the object on earth upon whom heaven opened. Christ is now the object in heaven presented to the believer on earth.

Stephen’s testimony only drew out the murderous opposition of the world. It had been guilty of rejecting Christ down here. It equally rejected Him, now that He is proclaimed as the exalted One in heaven. But Stephen only thus saw and testified when "full of the Holy Ghost." To have the Holy Ghost is one thing; to be filled with the Holy Ghost is another. When He is the one source of my thought, I am filled with Him. When He has possession of my heart, there is power to silence what is not of God, to keep my soul from evil, and to guide in every act of my life and walk; so that in both I am kept apart from the world.

Are we then looking steadfastly into heaven? Alas! what inconstant hearts we have! how fickle and changing! The Holy Ghost ever leads the eye to, and would keep it fixed on, Jesus. He is the object of the Spirit from all eternity, whether (1) as the Son in the bosom of the Father, or (2) as the rejected Messiah on earth, or (3) as the Son of Man exalted at the right hand of God. To reveal and glorify Him is the habitual aim of the Spirit. When we have not much power for prayer, or even to follow the prayers of others, and our hearts get full of distracting thoughts, and when there is little energy in our souls for praise and worship, we have but a feeble measure of the power of the Spirit; we are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

The heavens, then, can be opened upon a believer here below when Christ, the Son of Man, is up there. What a wonderful truth for our heart! Indeed, it is more than this, for in Eph. 2 we learn the blessed fact that God has quickened us together with Christ, has raised us up together, and seated us together in Christ in heavenly places. He has taken His place at the right hand of God, and we are made to sit there in Him because united to Him who is there. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17).

It is no longer, then, the heavens opening and Jesus acknowledged in humiliation to be the beloved Son of God. It is not the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, the object of service to those who were the most dignified and holy creatures of God. It is not yet heaven opened and a rider upon a white horse coming in triumphant judgment. Rather, it is a precious scene where the disciple on earth sees the heavens opened, and, filled with the Spirit, sees the glory of God and Jesus standing at His right hand. It is the manifest and characteristic picture of the true position of the Christian, rejected like Jesus, because of Jesus, with Jesus, and with his eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to higher hopes and glory than any who are depending on the Lord’s return to and judgment of the earth, and restoration of His ancient people, Israel. Heavenly glory is the portion with which his soul is in present fellowship.

What an effect this sight in heaven should have upon our souls! In Stephen it produced a thorough practical likeness to Christ. He is a faithful follower of the One he sees in heaven. He bears witness to his Master, forgetful of himself or his danger, without a thought of consequences. The Holy Ghost guides and fills him with holy joy that runs over. His heart was filled with Christ to the exclusion of care for his life or what should follow. Christ was the only object before him. He was like Christ in confession, like Him in suffering too, filling "up that which [was] behind of the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24). What a picture Stephen gave of practical conformity to Christ in grace, what strong intercession as he thought of those who stoned him to death:"And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60).

(From "Grace Rejected and Heavenly Glory Opened" in Collected Writings, Vol. 16.)

This relates to the article by W. Trotter in the May-June 1984 issue of Words of Truth. In the first three sentences on page 71 the author is telling us that in order to minister to the needs of the saints one must either be acquainted with the state of those present or else be given direct guidance from God. With this thought I agree fully. However, the next sentence seems to suggest that those who have the more prominent gifts will be the individuals used in ministering to the needs of God’s people.

In the guidelines for an assembly meeting, it is suggested in 1 Cor. 14 that the prophets are limited to two or three, but it also adds that "ye may all prophesy" (verse 31). It would appear to me that to participate in the assembly meeting one does not need to possess one of the more manifested gifts to the Church. He need only be subject to the Spirit to give him the appropriate word at the correct time. I also fully agree that the individuals used will be those who are habitually exercised in the Word of God.

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, perhaps more than any other New Testament epistle, describes the spiritual blessings that God has given to the believers in His Son.

He has "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (1:3).

"He hath chosen us in Him [that is, Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (1:4).

He has "predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself" (1:5).

"He hath made us accepted in the beloved" (1:6).

In Him "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (1:7).

"He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence" (1:8).

He has "made known unto us the mystery of His will" (1:9).

In Him "we have obtained an inheritance" (1:11).

He has "put all things under His feet, and gave [Christ] to be the head over all things to the Church" (1:22).

He "hath quickened us together with Christ. . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:5,6).

"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (2:10).

"He is our peace" (2:14).

In Christ we "are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (2:22).

He has given "gifts unto men . . . apostles . . . prophets . . . evangelists . . . pastors and teachers" (4:8,11).

He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit "unto the day of redemption" (4:30).

"Christ . . . loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (5:25-27).

We are not to take these blessings lightly, or for granted. God intended that we should appreciate them, meditate upon them, enjoy them, use them for His glory, and worship Him because of them. As we grow spiritually, we will find ourselves spending more time meditating upon Christ, seeking to understand and lay hold of our blessings in Christ, seeking to discern God’s perfect will for every aspect of our lives, and attempting to serve God through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Correspondingly, as we grow spiritually we more and more will be reckoning ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11), not allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6:12), fleeing youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22), and gaining victory over the world through faith (1 John 5:4). As we become increasingly victorious in our conflicts with fleshly lusts and worldly pleasures, and as we focus our attention more on the Lord and those things that are pleasing in His sight, we increasingly will be brought face to face with another foe_Satan and His demons.

As long as we are content to live our Christian lives in a lukewarm fashion, on a plane of mediocrity, bestirring ourselves only occasionally to engage in any activity that brings us face to face with God, the presence of Satan and/or his henchmen will not be very evident to us. If we are content to conform outwardly to the customs of Christianity_attending worship, prayer, or Bible study meetings once or twice a week, mindlessly reading a Bible chapter occasionally, saying prayers by rote each night, etc._we are not likely to experience very much of the combat described in Eph. 6. Rather, I suggest, Satan’s activity in our lives will take the form primarily of (1) keeping us content with our lukewarm involvement in the Christian life and keeping us from even beginning any serious meditation upon Christ, His will for us, etc.; or (2) tempting us to sin in such a way as to cause upset among and/or estrangement from our brothers and sisters in Christ; or (3) leading us to behave in ways that will tend to hinder our unsaved friends and neighbors from responding to the gospel. Each of us_even as true believers in Christ_has such a native ability to sin, to be self-willed and self-centered, that Satan and his demons often do not have to exert much effort to keep our hearts on self and off of Christ.

However, once a believer starts taking positive steps to learn more about his God and his Saviour, to know and to do His will, and to be of service to Him, Satan’s cohorts are immediately stirred into a new kind of action_action aimed at putting a quick end to such exercises and activities. In Eph. 6 we find instruction for combatting Satan’s attacks in such instances. This is spiritual warfare of the highest kind. It does not so much have to do with resisting temptations aimed at stirring sinful flesh into activity, but with defending against attacks designed to discourage us from pursuing our course of seeking to honor, obey, serve, and worship God.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:10-13). God does not leave us to our own strength in defending against the host of spiritual enemies arrayed against us (6:12). Every spiritual weapon and piece of armor is provided by God. All He asks of us is to use this armor faithfully and entirely_"Put on the whole armor of God" (6:11); "Take unto you the whole armor of God" (6:13).

Our enemy is wily, shrewd, cunning. He knows the weak nesses of each one of us and exploits these weaknesses to the fullest. And He attacks when we least expect it_often right on the heels of a great victory over sin or Satan (compare Judg. 7:19-22 with 8:24-27; compare 1 Kings 18:40 with 19:1-4). Clad with the whole armor of God, our areas of weakness will be protected and we will be ready to stand against the devil "in the evil day," that is, the moment of special attack.

Our combatants include a whole host of spiritual powers of wickedness. Satan himself, unlike Christ, does not possess the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, self-existence from past eternity, and the like. He is, indeed, extremely powerful, highly knowledgeable, intelligent, and wise, and moves very rapidly. But he does not have the power to be all places at all times. Therefore, he has set up a vast system of under-devils, with different ranks (such as "principalities" or arch-demons, 6:12) and different charges, such as the responsibility to watch over a specific person to keep him from setting his mind too much on spiritual things and from being obedient to God (compare Dan. 10:12,13).

"Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the universal lords of this darkness, against spiritual power [or powers] of wickedness in the heavenlies" (6:12 JND). Note that the battle takes place, at least in part, "in the heavenlies." We have been blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (1:3 JND). God has raised up Christ and "set Him down at His right hand in the heavenlies" (1:20 JND). God "has raised us up together, and made us sit down together in the heavenlies" (2:6 JND). As we find ourselves more and more led by the Spirit to enter into the heavenlies to meditate upon Christ and upon our blessings, we will find our enemies_"spiritual powers of wickedness"_also there in the heavenlies, arrayed against us to keep us from the enjoyment of our Lord and Saviour and the blessings He has imparted to us.

Some of the specific schemes and stratagems used by these satanic powers to attack God’s children, and the specific pieces of armor provided by God to protect His children against these attacks, will be discussed in the next issue, God willing.

We often lose a great deal of the practical value of the teaching that is given us in the Book of Joshua from thoughts that we have probably received from the days of childhood. Thus the crossing of the Jordan is often thought to mean passing the boundary that divides between earth and heaven when we die_that is, entering into the heavenly Canaan through death. I do not doubt that we have in the Book of Joshua a picture of passing over the boundary of death and entering into Canaan; but it is not when we leave this world, but while we are still in the body. It is that which God has given us in the resurrection of Christ, and in His present taking possession of the heavenly places for us. And what will make this plain to all is that when we get to heaven, we do not have to fight with the Canaanites, nor with anything answering to them. Fighting is not the business of heaven; but it was the special business of the people who passed over Jordan. It was more their business than any other thing. It was not so much the work before them in the wilderness. There, the great lesson was dependence upon the living God and the learning of self. There, God was proving what the hearts of His people were; and, what was infinitely better, the people were proving, or ought to have been proving, what the living God was who had taken His place in their midst.

The wars that Israel had in the wilderness were comparatively few, whereas when they crossed the Jordan, for a time there was nothing but war. The crossing of the Jordan, therefore, does not mean the literal death of the body, but the death of Christ and our union with Him. We are even now planted in heavenly places, and that for the purpose of our wrestling "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [or heavenly] places" (Eph. 6:12).

Now there is a good deal of the meaning and power of this lost by the children of God from the idea that the main part of our conflict is with ourselves. That is not at all the case. Self-judgment is a different thing from conflict. Daily self-judgment is most right and needful_the constant review of our ways and judgment of self and of the flesh. But there is a
restless, indefatigable, subtle enemy that makes it his main business, not merely to entice the Christian into sin through the flesh, but, by darkening the truth, to hinder souls from enjoying the fulness of the blessings of God’s grace and God’s glory in His beloved Son. That is the main work of the devil as far as the Church is concerned, and that is the special thing which we have to watch against. We may examine and judge ourselves day by day, and it is a very right thing. But if the soul is ever so careful about that, it is not enough. It may, at the same time, be hindered from the full enjoyment of the Lord Jesus. The main reason is this:the Lord has put before us an inheritance of blessing_"all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). But we are slow to take advantage of it. We think, perhaps, that it is presumption, or that it would be more practical to be dwelling upon our ordinary duties in life. But this would not be enough, because it is not Christianity. It is not the measure of what the Lord has called us to now.

There are certain things that all saints from the beginning of the world have walked in. It never was right at any time for a saint to lie, or to be dishonest, or to do anything immoral. In all dispensations there are certain moral duties that necessarily are inseparable from life in God. But this is not Christianity. A saint may do all that, and yet not enjoy what I call Christianity. To be thoroughly Christian is to enter into the calling that is now ours through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is what is represented by the crossing of the Jordan by the children of Israel. It presents the same death and resurrection of Christ that had been previously depicted in the crossing of the Red Sea, though from a different point of view. The death and resurrection of Christ as seen there is Christ separating us from the world_Christ bringing us out of Egypt. But all that may be, yet we may not have the least enjoyment of our heavenly blessings.

We may thank God that we are delivered_that we are not going to be cast into hell. But is that enough? It is not. If we stop short there, if we do not enter further into our blessings, Satan will be sure, at one time or another, to gain a complete victory over us, as he did over the Israelites. For instead of their conquering and driving out their enemies, we read of Canaanites, Perizzites, Jebusites, etc., who kept their possessions in peace in spite of Israel. And so it is with many a child of God. They are kept in evil that does not appear to be such, and is not considered so because it is not moral evil. There are many so-called religious practices that are sins, and these are what the Christian ought to have his eyes open to. The Lord works this in us by giving us to know that we have a heavenly inheritance.

The Lord Jesus, by His death and resurrection, not only has brought us out of Egypt and into the wilderness, but into heaven itself in spirit. We are even now seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We have now the stamp of heaven upon us, and God desires that we may walk in the sense of this great privilege, making advances, gaining victories, and wrestling what Christ has given us out of the hands of the enemy. We ought to be seeing what the inheritance is that the Lord has assigned to us, and whether our worship and our walk are really according to God and suitable to the place in which He has set us. If you make morality your standard, you will be sure to fall below what you propose. Whatever we put before us as our criterion, there will always be a falling short. If we have Christ risen and Christ in heaven as our object, we shall prove the power of His resurrection, not only in lifting us up when we are conscious of our exceeding shortcoming, but in strengthening us "to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).

In the beautiful scene in Joshua 3, we find that the people passed dry-shod over Jordan. And what made it so remarkable was its being the very time when the river was overflowing its banks; it was fuller then than at any other season. So in the death of Christ there was the fullest possible outpouring of God’s wrath; and upon His beloved Son, sin_our sin_has been judged to the uttermost. And, as in the type, they passed over as if there had been no Jordan at all, so, in the reality for us, there remains no judgment, but fulness of blessing. We are passed from death unto life, and are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

And now, when they have entered the land, what do we find? The manna ceases_they must eat of the old corn of the land. The food that had sustained them in the wilderness does not any longer suffice. And what is the old corn of the land? It is Christ, as the manna also was; but Christ in another way:it is the food of resurrection. The corn of the land was the fruit of the seed that had been sown in the land, and that had died and sprung up again. It was Christ in resurrection. The Lord grant that our souls may feed upon Him thus! To say that Christ thus known is too high for us_to be content without enjoying Him thus_is to be content without Christ.

(From The Bible Treasury, Vol. 3.)

FRAGMENT
Canaan-possessors, safe in the land,
Victors, confessors, banner in hand;
Jordan’s deep waters evermore behind,
Cares of the desert no longer in mind.

Let us look a little at this scripture as showing what our joy in the glory will consist of. We have the warrant of 2 Pet. 1:16 for saying that the scene represents to us the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what we wait for. Our souls are not in a healthy state unless we are waiting for God’s Son from heaven. The Church is not regulated in its hopes by the Word and Spirit of God unless it is looking for Him as Saviour from heaven (Phil. 3:20,21). This passage in Luke, as disclosing to us especially what will be our portion when He comes, is important to us in this respect.

"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering" (9:28,29). It was when Jesus was in the acknowledgment of dependence_"as He prayed"_that this change took place. This, then, is the first thing we have here_a change such as will pass upon the living saints when Jesus comes.

"And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias" (9:30). They were with Him. And this will be our joy_we shall be with Jesus. "So shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17). But in this passage there is not only the being with Christ, but there is also familiar conversation with Him. "There talked with Him two men." It is not that He talked with them, though that was no doubt true; but that might have been, and they be at a distance. But when we read that they talked with Him, we get the idea of the most free and familiar conversation. Peter and the others knew what it was to have such communication with Jesus in humiliation; and what joy must it have been to have this proof that such communication with Him would be enjoyed in glory as well!

Then we are told that Moses, Elias, and Christ "appeared in glory" (9:31). Moses and Elias shared in the same glory as that in which Christ was manifested. And so as to us:"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4). "The glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one:I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me" (John 17:22,23).

But there is another thing still. We are not only told that they were with Him, that they talked with Him, and appeared in glory with Him, but we are also privileged to know the subject of their conversation. They "spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem" (9:31). It was the cross which was the theme of their conversation in the glory_ the sufferings of Christ which He had to accomplish at Jerusalem. And surely this will be our joy throughout eternity, when in glory with Christ_to dwell upon this theme of His decease accomplished at Jerusalem.

"While He thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son:hear Him" (9:34,35). Peter tells us that this voice came "from the excellent glory" (2 Pet. 1:17). Now Peter and the others had entered into the cloud; and thus we get this wonderful fact that in the glory, from which the voice comes, saints are privileged to stand, and there, in that glory, share the delight of the Father in His beloved Son. Not only are we called to the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ; we are called to have fellowship with the Father. We are admitted of God the Father to partake of His satisfaction in His beloved Son.

"And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone" (9:36). The vision was all gone_the cloud, the voice, the glory, Moses and Elias_but Jesus was left, and they were left to go on their way with Jesus, knowing Him now in the light of those scenes of glory which they had beheld. And this is the use to us of those vivid apprehensions of spiritual things which we may sometimes realize. It is not that we can be always enjoying them and nothing else. But when for the season they have passed away, like this vision on the holy mount, they leave us alone with Jesus, to pursue the path of our pilgrimage with Him in spirit now, and with Him in the light and power of that deepened acquaintance with Him, and fellowship of the Father’s joy in Him, that we have got on the mount. Thus we wait for the moment of His return when all this, and more than our hearts can think of, shall be fulfilled to us for ever.

(From Help and Food, Vol. 26.)

FRAGMENT
"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Heb. 12:1,2). The way the apostle encourages us to disentangle ourselves from every hindrance, whether sin or difficulty, is remarkable_as though we had nothing to do but cast them off as useless weights. But in fact, when we look at Jesus, nothing is easier; when we are not looking at Him, nothing is more impossible.

In recent issues, we have been studying the goodness, grace, mercy, and love of God. The attribute of longsuffering certainly stems from and is closely associated with these attributes.

The word in the Greek New Testament for "long-suffering" is macrothumia or literally, "long-tempered." It is the quality of not avenging oneself, or retaliating hastily against an offence, slight, or provocation. It is the opposite of anger.

As we have seen earlier in our studies of the attributes of God, God is holy and abhors sin. If He were not longsuffering He no doubt would have wiped rebellious, sinful mankind off the face of the earth many centuries, or millenia, ago. Let us consider the testimony given by the Scriptures to the long-suffering of God.

In three Old Testament passages we find a close connection between the longsuffering of God and His grace, mercy, and goodness:"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exod. 34:6; similarly, Num. 14:18). "But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth" (Psa. 86:15).

God’s longsuffering with man’s wickedness in the days of Noah, during the 120 years of the building of the ark, is mentioned by the apostle Peter (1 Pet. 3:20). His longsuffering toward sinful man in the present era is likewise proclaimed by Peter:"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. . . . The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" (2 Pet. 3:9,15).

God’s longsuffering is evident even toward those whom He knew would not accept the offer of free salvation through the substitutionary death of Christ. "God . . . endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" (Rom. 9:22). William Kelly, in Notes on Romans, makes the following comments on this verse:"He bore long with the corruption and violence of guilty man. Could man then justly tax God either with lack of compassion for himself or with haste to mark his iniquities? Impossible that a holy God could have fellowship with evil or be indifferent to it! But instead of promptly blotting out of this life the rebellious creatures who make the world a field for incessant warfare against what they know of God, or who at least live negligent of His will though He has revealed it fully, the history of the world since nations began is the fullest proof of endurance on God’s part. He never made them as they are; but the sin of man now fallen He endured spite of countless and constant provocation. They sinned, they transgressed, they despised His mercy, they braved His wrath; but He endured with much longsuffering."

Those who persist in rejecting God’s free gift are said to despise "the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth them to repentance" (Rom. 2:4).

In addition to these references by the apostle Paul to the longsuffering of God toward sinners in general, he makes mention of the longsuffering of Jesus Christ toward himself:"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting" (1 Tim. 1:15,16).

Well might we meditate upon the longsuffering of God toward ourselves in not promptly slaying us because of our sin and rebellion against Him, but sticking with us, repeatedly convicting us by the Holy Spirit until we finally broke down and acknowledged His estimation of us and accepted His free gift of salvation. Such meditations surely lead us to worship the Lord, just as Paul’s thoughts of Christ’s longsuffering toward himself inspired the doxology, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim. 1:17).

Such meditations should, additionally, lead us to manifest this attribute of longsuffering toward one another. If we are filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, longsuffering will be one of the products of such control (Gal. 5:22). If we are motivated by that divine love which God has so wonderfully shown to us, one of the evidences will be, "Love suffereth long" (1 Cor. 13:4).

In the New Testament, several exhortations are given to believers to be longsuffering. In order "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" the attitudes of lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearance must be manifested (Eph. 4:2,3). Also, Timothy was encouraged to "preach the Word" and to "reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:2). In other words, he was not to lose temper and patience with those who might not respond immediately to his words of reproof. Other passages include more or less general exhortations to longsuffering along with other godly attitudes and attributes (Col. 1:9-11; 3:12,13).

A word closely related to "longsuffering" is "patience." While the Greek word, macrothumia, for "longsuffering" expresses patience with regard to antagonistic persons, the Greek word hupomone, usually translated "patience," indicates a bearing up under adverse things or circumstances. Patience is never mentioned in Scripture as an attribute of God; since He is in control of all circumstances, there is no question of His being patient and bearing up under them. On the other hand, as we have already noted, God is longsuffering toward the antagonistic, rebellious people of this world. There are a couple of New Testament references to the patience of Christ which no doubt relate more to His total submission, as perfect Man, to His Father than to His deity. In conclusion, may we grow in the appreciation of God’s longsuffering toward us in so many areas of our lives. May we recognize more fully how often we have brought grief to our Father and how slow we have been and continue to be to learn many of God’s lessons for us, and how longsuffering He has been toward us all the while. Then, in turn, let us seek God’s grace to display the same spirit of longsuffering toward others who are equally apt to grieve and offend us and equally slow to learn their lessons.