Biblical Essays
MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as God though did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that ye might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:18-21).
Among the weightiest sections of Inspiration, the closing lines of 2 Corinthians 5 contain the special thesis of this essay. But before proceeding, we must call attention to some interesting and important points presented in the course of the chapter.
First, let us briefly dwell on the opening sentence, “We know.” In it we have the language of Christian certainty. It does not say, “We hope.” Still less does it say, “We fear,” or “We doubt.” No; such language would not express that unclouded certainty and calm assurance which it is the privilege of the feeblest child of God to possess. And yet how few, even of the children of God, enjoy this blessed certainty – this calm assurance. Many look on it as the height of presumption to say, “We know.” They seem to think that doubts and fears argue a proper condition of soul – that it is impossible for anyone to be sure – that the most we can expect is to cherish a vague hope of reaching heaven when we die.
Now, it must be admitted that if we doubt our ground of certainty or assurance, then it would be the height of folly to think of being sure – our hope would certainly be vague. But, thanks be to God, it is not so. We having nothing whatsoever to do with the ground of our certainty; it lies entirely outside of ourselves, and it must be sought only in the eternal Word of God. This renders it blessedly simple. It makes the whole question hinge on the truth of God’s Word. We are sure of this because God’s Word is true. A shadow of uncertainty or misgiving on our part would argue a need of authority or security in the Word of God. It really comes to this. Christian rests on the faithfulness of God. Before we can shake the former, we must shake the latter.
We can understand this simple principle by our dealings with one another. If our fellow man makes a statement, and we express the smallest doubt or misgiving, or if we feel it without even expressing it, we are calling in question his truthfulness, or credibility. If he is a faithful competent authority, we have no business entertaining a single doubt. Our certainty is linked with his credibility. If he is a competent authority, we may enjoy repose regarding the matter concerning which he has spoken. Now, we all know what it is to receive the testimony of man in the most unqualified way, and to repose with calmness therein. It is not a question of feeling, but of receiving without a single question, a plain statement, resting on the authority of a competent witness. Well, then, as we have it in the First Epistle of John, “If we receive the testimony of man, the testimony of God is greater.” So also our Lord said (John 8) to the men of His time, “If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” “Me” appeals to the truth of what He says as the reason why, or the ground on which He expected to be believed.
This is a weighty principle, and one which demands special attention on the part of all anxious inquirers, as well as on the part of all who undertake to deal with such. There is a strong and constant tendency to look within for the ground of assurance; to build on certain feelings, experiences and exercises, either past or present; to look back at some special process through which we have passed, or to look in at certain impressions or convictions of our own minds, and to find in these the ground of our confidence – the warrant for our faith. This will never do. It is impossible to find settled peace or calm repose in this way. However true and real, feelings change and pass away; however genuine, experiences may prove defective. Impressions and convictions may prove utterly false. Therefore, none of these things can form a solid ground of Christian certainty. This latter must be sought and found in God’s Word alone. It is not in feelings, not in experiences, not in impressions or convictions, not in reasoning, not in human traditions or doctrines, but simply in the unchangeable, eternal Word of the living God. That Word which is forever settled in heaven and which God has magnified above all can alone impart peace to the mind and stability to the soul.
True, it is only by the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can properly grasp and ever hold fast to the Word of God; but still it is His Word and that Word alone that forms the ground of Christian certainty, and the true basis and authority for the Christian in the entire range of life and action. Regarding this we cannot be too simple. When we take God’s Word as the all-sufficient ground of our personal confidence, we can only adopt the opening sentence of our chapter and say, “We know.” It will not do to be propped up by human authority. Thousands of the people of God have been made to taste the bitterness of leaning on the commandments and doctrines of men. Sooner or later it is sure to end in disappointment and confusion. The edifice built on the sand of human authority must fall at some time or other; whereas that founded on the rock of God’s eternal truth shall stand forever. God’s Word imparts its own stability to the soul that leans on it. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Is. 28:16)
As is the foundation, so is the faith that builds thereon. Hence the solemn importance of seeking to lead souls to build only on God’s precious Word. Look at the anxiety of the apostle Paul, in reference to this matter. Hear what he says to the Corinthians who were in danger of being led away by human headship and human authority. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1-5).
Here is a grand model for all preachers and teachers. Paul declared the “testimony of God,” nothing more, nothing less – nothing different. And not only so, but he delivered that testimony in such a way as to connect the souls of his hearers immediately with the living God. Paul did not want the Corinthians to lean on him. No, he “trembled” lest they should be tempted to do so. He would have done them a grievous wrong, had he, in anywise, come in between their souls and the true source of all authority – the true foundation of confidence and peace. Had he led them to build on him, he would have robbed them of God, and this would have indeed been a wrong. No marvel, therefore, that he was among them “in fear and in much trembling.” They were evidently prone to set up and follow after human leaders, and thus miss the solid reality of personal communion with, and dependence on, the living God. Hence the jealous care of the apostle in confining himself to the testimony of God; in delivering unto them only that which he had received of the Lord1; lest the pure water should suffer in its passage from its source in God to the souls of the Corinthians – lest he should, in the smallest degree, impart the color of his own thoughts to the precious truth of God.
We see the same thing in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. The faithful servant of Christ says, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but, its it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).
Had he been seeking his own things, he would have been glad to obtain influence over the Thessalonians, by linking them to himself, leading them to lean on him. But no; he rejoices in seeing them in living connection – in direct and realized association with God Himself. This is always the effect of true ministry, as it is always the object of a true minister. Unless the soul is livingly linked with God, there is really nothing done – nothing accomplished. If it be merely following men; if it be merely receiving what they say, because they say it; if it be merely having an attachment to certain preachers or teachers because of something in their style and manner, or because they seem to be holy, separated, or devoted – all this will come to nothing. Those human links will soon be snapped asunder. The faith that in any measure stands on the wisdom of men will prove hollow and worthless. Nothing will prove permanent – nothing will endure, but that faith which rests on the testimony and in the power of the only true God.
We earnestly invite attention to this point. We feel its importance in this present age. The enemy is diligently seeking to lead souls away from God, away from Christ, away from the Holy Scriptures. He is constantly seeking to get them to build on something short of the truth. He does not care what it is, provided it is not Christ. It may be reason, tradition, religiousness, human priesthood, fleshy pietism, holiness in the flesh, sectarianism, morality, good works, service so-called, human influence, patronage, philanthropy – anything short of Christ, short of God’s Word, short of a lively, personal, direct, faith in the living God Himself.
It is the sense of this pressing home on the heart that leads us to urge with earnestness the necessity of being thoroughly clear regarding the ground on which one is standing. We want him to be able to say in the face of all around him, “I know.” Nothing less than this will stand. It will not do to say, “I hope.” No; there must be certainty. There must be the ability to say, “We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This is the language of faith – the language of a Christian. All is calm, clear, and sure, because all is of God. There may be an “if” with regard to “the earthly house.” It may be dissolved; it may crumble into dust. All that belongs to this scene may bear the stamp of death; it may change and pass away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever, and the faith that grasps and rests on that Word partakes of its eternal stability. It enables one to say, “I know that I have.” Nothing but faith can say this. Reason can only say, “I doubt”; superstition, “I fear”; only faith can say, “I know and am sure.”
An infidel teacher once said to a dying woman, whom he had indoctrinated with his infidel notions, “Hold fast, Mary.” What was her reply? “I can’t hold fast because you have never given me anything to hold by.” A cutting rebuke. He had taught the poor woman to doubt; but he had given her nothing to believe; and then, when flesh and heart were failing, when earthly scenes were passing away, and the dread realities of eternity were crowding in on her soul’s vision, infidelity totally failed her. In view of death and judgment, its wretched cobwebs afforded no refuge, no covering. How different the condition of the believer – of the one who, in all simplicity of heart and humility of mind, takes his stand on the solid rock of Holy Scripture. Such a one can calmly say, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
Some may find it difficult to reconcile the calm certainty expressed in the first verse of our chapter with the groan of verse 2. But the difficulty will vanish the moment we are enabled to see the true reason of the groan. “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”
Here we see that the certainty of having a building of God, “an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens,” makes us groan to possess it. The apostle did not groan in doubt or uncertainty. He did not groan under the weight of guilt or fear. Still less did he groan because he could not satisfy the desires of the flesh, the mind, or because he could not surround himself with this world’s perishable possessions. No; he longed for the heavenly building – the divine, the real, the eternal. He felt the heavy burden of the poor crumbling tabernacle; it was a grievous hindrance to him. It was the only link with the scene around, and, as such, it was a heavy clog of which he longed to be rid.
But clearly he would not and could not have groaned for the heavenly house if there had been a single question on his mind with respect to it. Men are never anxious to get rid of the body unless they are sure of possessing something better; nay, they grasp this present life with intense eagerness, and tremble at the thought of a future that to them is all darkness and uncertainty. They groan at the thought of quitting the body; the apostle groaned because he was in it.
This makes all the difference. Scripture never contemplates such a thing as a Christian groaning under sin, guilt, doubt, or fear; or sighing after the riches, honors, or pleasures of this vain, sin stricken world. But, some groan through ignorance of their true position in a risen Christ, and their proper portion in the heavens. But such is not the ground or character of the groan in the Scripture now before us. With distinctness, Paul saw his house in the heavens; and, on the other hand, he felt the heavy burden of the tabernacle of clay; and he ardently longed to lay aside the latter and be clothed with the former.
Hence, there is the fullest harmony between “we know” and “we groan.” Not knowing for sure that we have a building of God keeps us clinging to and holding on to our earthly house as long as possible. We see this constantly. Men cling to life. To keep body and soul together, they leave nothing untried. They have no certainty regarding heaven. They cannot say, “We know” we have a home there, or that “we have” anything there. On the other hand, they have a terrible dread of the future, which to their vision is wrapped up in clouds and thick darkness. They have never committed themselves in calm confidence to God and His Word; they have never felt the tranquillizing power of His love. They have viewed Him as an angry Judge instead of seeing Him as the sinner’s Friend – a just God and Savior – the righteous Justifier. Therefore, no marvel if they shrink with terror from the thought of meeting Him.
But it is a totally different thing with a man who knows God as his Father – his Savior – his best Friend; who knows that Jesus died to save him from his sins, and from all the consequences thereof. Such a one can say:
I have a home above
From sin and sorrow free;
A mansion which eternal Love
Designed and formed for me.
The Father’s gracious hand
Has built this blest abode;
From everlasting it was planned
The dwelling-place of God.
The Savior’s precious blood
Has made my title sure;
He passed through death’s dark raging flood,
To make my rest secure.
These are the breathings of simple faith, and they harmonize perfectly with the groans of a spirit “that looks beyond its cage and longs to flee away.” The true believer finds his body of sin and death a heavy burden, and longs to be free from the encumbrance, and to be clothed upon with a body suited to his new and eternal state – a new creation body – a body perfectly free from every trace of mortality. This cannot be until the morning of resurrection, that glorious, long looked for moment when the dead in Christ shall rise and in a moment the living saints be changed; when death shall be swallowed up in victory, and mortality shall be swallowed up by life.
It is for this we groan, not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon. The unclothed state is not the object, though we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord; and to depart and be with Christ is far better. The Lord Jesus is waiting that glorious consummation, and we wait in sympathy with Him. Meanwhile, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Rom. 8:22-25).
Thus, before us is a distinct answer to the question, “Why does the believer groan?” He groans, being burdened. He groans in sympathy with a groaning creation, with which he is linked by means of a body of sin and death – a body of humiliation. He sees around him, day by day, the sad fruits of sin. He cannot pass along the streets of our cities and towns without having before his eyes a thousand proofs of man’s sad state. He hears on one side the wail of sorrow; on another, the cry of distress. He sees oppression, violence, corruption, strife, heartless villainy and its victims. He sees the thorn, and the briar. He notes the various disturbing forces that are abroad in the physical, moral, and political world. He marks the varied forms of disease and misery around him. The cry of the poor and needy, the widow and orphan, falls sadly on his ear and heart; and what can he do but send up from the deepest depths of his spiritual nature a sympathetic groan, and long for the blissful moment when “the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God”? It is impossible for a true Christian to pass through a world like this without groaning. Look at the blessed Master Himself; did not He groan? Yes, verily. Note Him as He approached the grave of Lazarus, in company with the two weeping sisters. “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept” (John 11:33-35).
Where did those tears and groans come from? Was He not approaching the grave of His friend as the Prince of Life – the Quickener of the dead – the Conqueror of death – the Spoiler of the grave? Why, then, did He groan? He groaned in sympathy with the objects of His love, and with the whole scene around Him. His tears and groans emanated from the profound depths of a perfect human heart that felt, according to God, the true condition of the human family and of Israel in particular. He beheld around Him the varied fruits of sin. He felt for man, He felt for Israel. “In all their afflictions he was afflicted.” He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He never cured a person without bearing on His spirit the reality of that with which He was dealing. He did not; He would not, lightly bid away death, disease, and sorrow. No: He entered into it all, as man; and that, too, according to the infinite perfections of His divine nature. In the reality of it all He bore it on His spirit before God. Though free from it all, and above it all, yet, in grace He voluntarily and thoroughly entered into it – tasting, proving, and knowing it all, as none else could.
All this is fully expressed in Matthew 8 where we read the following words: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (vs. 16, 17).
We have very little idea of what the heart of Jesus felt as He passed through this sorrowful world; and we are far too apt to miss the reality of His sufferings by confining them merely to what He endured on the cross, and also by supposing that because He was God over all, blessed forever, He did not feel all that a human heart is capable of feeling. This is a sad; an incalculable loss. As the Captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus was made perfect through sufferings. See Hebrews 2, where the inspired writer distinguishes carefully between “the suffering of death,” and the “sufferings” of the Captain of our salvation. In order to save sinners from wrath, “he tasted death for every man,” and having done so, we see Him “crowned with glory and honour.” But in order to “bring many sons to glory,” He had to be “perfected through sufferings.” And now all true believers have the unspeakable privilege of knowing that there is One at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens who, when in this world of sin and woe, tasted every form of suffering and every cup of sorrow which it was possible for any human heart to know. He could say, “Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none” (Ps. 69:20).
How deeply affecting; but we cannot pursue this subject here. We have merely touched on it in connection with the question, “Why does the believer groan?” We trust that we may clearly see the answer to this inquiry; and that it will be evident that the groans of a Christian proceed from the divine nature he actually possesses, and therefore cannot be occasioned by doubts or fears on one hand, nor by selfish desires or insatiable cravings of nature on the other. But that, on the contrary, the fact that through faith in the faith of Christ 2, we possess everlasting life, and the blessed assurance of having a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, causes us to long for that blessed, indestructible building, and to groan because of our connection with a groaning creation, as well as in sympathy therewith.
If any further proof were needed on this deeply interesting question, we have it in verses 5 and 6 of our chapter (2 Cor. 5), where the apostle goes on to say, “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident [not doubting or fearing], knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight), we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (vs. 5-8; emphasis added).
Here we have two marvelous and glorious facts, two cardinal truths, laid down: the believer is God’s workmanship; and God has given him the earnest of the Spirit. Everyone who simply and heartily believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s workmanship. Through the new birth, God creates him anew in Christ Jesus. Therefore, clearly there can be no possible ground for questioning our acceptance with God, because God can never call in question His own work. He will, assuredly, no more do this in His new creation, than He did in the old. In the opening of the Book of Genesis, when God looked on His work, it was not to judge it or call it in question, but to announce it very good and express His complacency in it. So now, when God looks on the feeblest Christian, He sees in him His own workmanship, and most assuredly, He is not going, either here or hereafter, to call in question His own work. God is a rock, His work is perfect, and the true believer is God’s work; and because he is His work He has sealed him with the Holy Spirit.
The same truth is stated in Ephesians 2, where we read, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” This, we may truly say, is indeed a weighty point. It claims the grave attention of all who desire to be thoroughly established in the truth of God pertaining to what a Christian – what Christianity really is. It is not a ruined, lost, guilty sinner seeking to work himself up into something or other fit for God. It is the reverse. It is God, in the riches of His grace, on the ground of the atoning death of Christ, taking up a poor, dead, worthless, condemned thing – a guilty, hell deserving sinner, and creating him anew in Christ Jesus. It is, as it were, God beginning de novo – on the new, as we may say – to form man in Christ, to place him on a new footing altogether, not as an innocent being on a creation basis, but as a justified one, in a risen Christ. In no way is it man’s old condition improved by human effort or description; but it is God’s new workmanship in a risen, ascended, and glorified Christ.
It is not man’s own garment pierced or patched by human device in any shape or form whatsoever; but it is God’s new garment introduced in the person of Christ, who, having in infinite grace, gone down into the dust of death, and on man’s behalf, endured the judgment to sin, the righteous wrath of a sin-hating God, was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, and is become the Head of the new creation – “The beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 3:14).
It must now be clear that if our Lord Jesus Christ be in very deed “the beginning” of God’s creation, then we must begin at the beginning, or else we have done absolutely nothing at all. We may labor and toil – we may do our utmost, and be sincere in our doing – we may vow and resolve – we may seek to improve our state, to alter our course, to mend our ways, to live in a different way – but all the while we are in the old creation, which has been completely set aside, and is under the judgment of God; we have not begun at “the beginning” of God’s new creation, and, as a necessary consequence, we have gained nothing at all. We have been spending our strength for nothing and in vain. We have been putting forth efforts to improve a thing which God has condemned and completely set aside. To use a feeble figure, we are like a man who is spending his time, his pains, and his money in painting and papering a house that has been condemned because of a rotten foundation, and which must at once be taken down.
What should we say to such a man? No doubt we would deem him foolish. But if it be folly to paint and paper a condemned house what shall we say to those who are seeking to improve a condemned nature – a condemned world? At least we must say they are pursuing a course that must, sooner or later, end in disappointment and confusion.
Oh that this were understood and entered into; would to God that Christians more fully entered into it – that all Christian writers, preachers, and teachers would distinctly set it forth with pen and voice. We are fully persuaded that it is pre-eminently “truth for the times.” It is truth to meet the need of thousands of souls – to remove their burdens, relieve their hearts and consciences; solve their difficulties and chase away their clouds. Throughout the length and breadth of Christendom, there are countless multitudes engaged in the fruitless work of painting and papering a condemned house – a house on which God has pronounced judgment, because of the hopelessly ruined condition of its foundations. They are seeking to do little repair jobs here and there throughout the house, forgetting, or perhaps not knowing, that the whole building is shortly to be demolished by order of the divine government. Some are doing this with the utmost sincerity, amid sore exercise of soul and many tears, because they cannot succeed in satisfying their own hearts, much less the claims of God. For God demands a perfect thing not a patched-up ruin. There is no use in seeking to cover with paper and paint old walls tottering on a rotten foundation. God cannot be deceived by surface work, by shallow outside appearances. The foundations are bad, the whole thing must come down, and we must put our whole trust in Him who is “the beginning of the creation of God.”
Briefly pausing here for calm and serious reflection, let us ask ourselves the question, “Are we seeking to patch up a ruin? Are we seeking to improve the old nature? Or have we really found our place in God's new creation, of which a risen Christ is the Head and Beginning?” Remember, we cannot engage in a more fruitless toil than seeking to make ourselves better. Our efforts may be sincere, but, in the long run, they must prove worthless. Our paper and paint may be good and genuine enough, but we are putting them on a condemned ruin. We cannot say of our unrenewed nature that it is “God’s workmanship;” and our doings, our good works, our religious exercises, our efforts to keep the Ten Commandments – in short, nothing that we can do, could possibly be called “God’s workmanship.” It is ours, and not God’s. He cannot acknowledge it. He cannot seal it with His Spirit. It is all false and good for nothing. If we cannot say, “He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God,” we really have nothing. We are yet in our sins. We have not begun at God’s beginning. We are yet “in the flesh” and the voice of Holy Scripture declares that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8).
This is a solemn and sweeping sentence. A man out of Christ is “in the flesh”; and such a man cannot please God. He may be religious, moral, amiable, benevolent, a generous friend, liberal giver, genial companion, patron of the poor, upright and honorable in all his dealings, he may be an eloquent preacher and a popular writer, and all the while not be “in Christ”, but “in the flesh”, and therefore he “cannot please God”.
Can anything be more solemn than this? Think about how far a person may go in all that is deemed excellent among men, and yet not be in Christ, but in his sins – in the flesh; in the old creation; in the condemned house. And be it noted that it is not a question of gross sins, of scandalous living, in all its varied, hideous shapes of immorality, in its deeper and darker shades. No, the declaration of Scripture is, that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Truly, this is soul-subduing, calling for deep and solemn reflection on the part of every thoughtful and earnest soul.
But to one it may be that difficulties and stumbling blocks still surround this weighty subject. He may still be at a loss to know what is meant by the expression, “In the flesh.” If so, it will hopefully help to remember that Scripture speaks of two men – “the first man” and “the second man.” These two men are presented as the heads of two distinct races. Adam fallen is the head of one race; Christ risen is the Head of the other race. The fact of there being “a second man” proves that the first man had been set aside: for if the first man had proved faultless, no place would have been sought for the second. This is clear and unquestionable. The first man is a total wreck – an irreparable ruin. The foundations of the old edifice have given way; and, in man’s view, the building seems to stand, and to be capable of being repaired, yet, in God’s view it is completely set aside, and a second Man – a new edifice set up, on the solid and imperishable ground of redemption.
Hence, we read in Genesis 3 that God “drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” In other words, the first man was driven out, and every possible way of return was closed. He could only get back by “a new and living way” – through the rent veil of the Savior’s flesh. The flaming sword “turned every way” so that there was positively no way by which the first man could ever get back to his former state. The only hope was through “the seed of the woman” – “the second Man.” In symbolic yet impressive language, the flaming sword declared the truth, which comes out in the New Testament divested of all symbol and shadow, i.e., that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” – “Ye must be born again.” Every unconverted human being is part and parcel of the first man, fallen, ruined, set aside, and driven out. He is a member of the first Adam – the old race – a stone in the old condemned building.
Thus it stands, if we are to be guided by Scripture. The head and his race go together. As is one so is the other; what is true of one is true of the other. In God’s view they are absolutely identical. Was the first Adam fallen when he became the head of a race? Was he driven out? Was he completely set aside? Yes, if we are to believe Scripture; then the unconverted –unregenerated person is fallen, driven out, and set aside. As is the head, so is the member – each member in particular; all the members together. They are inseparable, if we are to be taught by divine revelation.
But further, was every possible way of return finally closed against the fallen head? Yes, Scripture declares that the flaming sword turned “every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Then is it utterly impossible that the unconverted – unregenerate person can improve or make himself fit for God. If the fallen head could not get back to the tree of life, neither can the fallen member. “They that are in the flesh cannot please God.” That is, they that are on the old footing, in the old creation, members of the first Adam, part and parcel of the old edifice, cannot please God. “Ye must be born again.” Man must be renewed in the deepest springs and sources of his being. He must be God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath “before prepared that we should walk in them.” He must be able to say, in the language of our text, “He that has wrought us for the self-same thing is God.”
But this leads us to another point. How is anyone to get into this marvelous position? How can any soul take up such language? How can one whose eyes have been opened to see his hopeless ruin, as connected with the first man, as standing in the old creation, as a stone in the old edifice – how can such an one ever reach a position in which he can please God? The Lord be praised, Scripture gives an answer, full, clear, and distinct, to this serious question. A second Man has appeared on the scene – the seed of the woman, and, at the same time, God over all, blessed forever. In Him all begins afresh. He came into this world born of a woman, made under the law, pure and spotless, free from every taint of sin, personally apart from every claim of sin and death, standing in the midst of a ruined world, a guilty race, Himself that pure, untainted grain of wheat. We see Him lying as a babe in the manger. We see Him growing up as a youth beneath the parental roof. We see Him as a man working in a carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. We see Him baptized in Jordan, where all the people were baptized confessing their sins – Himself sinless, but fulfilling all righteousness, and, in perfect grace, identifying Himself with the repentant portion of the nation of Israel. We see Him anointed with the Holy Spirit for the work that lay before Him. We see Him in the wilderness faint and hungry, unlike the first man who was placed in the midst of a paradise of creature delights. We see Him tempted of Satan and coming off victorious. We trace Him along the pathway of public ministry – and such a ministry; what incessant toil; what weariness and watching; what hunger and thirst; what sorrow and travail. Worse off than the fowls and foxes, the Son of man had not where to lay His head – the contradiction of sinners by day, the mountain-top by night.
Such was the life of this blessed One. But this was not all. He died. Yes, He died under the weight of the first man’s guilt, He died to take away the sin of the world, and completely alter the ground of God’s relationship with the world, so that God might deal with man and with the world on the new ground of redemption, instead of the old ground of sin. He died for the nation of Israel. He tasted death for every man. He died, the just for the unjust. He suffered for sins. He died and was buried, according to the Scriptures. He went through all; met all; paid all; and finished all. He went down into the dust of death, and lay in the dark and silent tomb. He descended into the lower parts of the earth. He went down to the very bottom of everything. He endured the sentence passed on man. He paid the penalty, bore the judgment, drained the cup of wrath, went through every form of human suffering and trial, was tempted in all points – He sinned not once. He made an end of everything that stood in the way and, having finished all, He gave up His spirit into the hand of His Father, and His precious body was laid in a tomb on which the smell of death had never passed.
And this was not all. He rose. Yes, He rose triumphant over all. He rose as the Head of the new creation – “The beginning of the creation of God” – “The first-begotten from among the dead” – “The first-born among many brethren.” And now the Second Man is before God, crowned with glory and honor, not in an earthly paradise, but at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. This Second Man is the last Adam, because there is none to come after Him; we cannot get beyond the last. There is now only one Man before God. The first is set aside. The last is set up. And as the first was the fallen head of a fallen race, so the last is the risen Head of a saved, justified, and accepted race. The Head and His members are inseparably identified – all the members together, and each member in particular. We are accepted in Him. “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). There is nothing before God but Christ. The Head and the body, the Head and each individual member are indissolubly joined together – inseparably and eternally one. God thinks of the members as He thinks of the Head – loves them as He loves Him. Those members are God’s workmanship, incorporated by His Spirit into the body of Christ, and in God’s presence, having no other footing, no other rank, position, or station whatsoever but “in Christ.” They are no longer “in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” They can please God because they possess His nature, and are sealed by His Spirit, and guided by His Word. “He that hath wrought them is God,” and God must always delight in His own workmanship. He will never find fault with or condemn the work of His own hand. “God is a rock, His work is perfect,” and hence the true believer, as God’s workmanship, must be perfect. He is “in Christ” and that is enough – enough for God – enough for faith – enough forever.
To those who might ask, “How is all this to be attained?” Scripture replies “by faith.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
Anyone who has intelligently traveled through the opening lines of our chapter will be in a position to understand something of the solemn and momentous subject to which we now approach – the judgment-seat of Christ. If it is true that the Christian is God’s workmanship – if he is actually a member of Christ; associated with the second Adam; and bound up in the bundle of life with the risen and glorified Lord. If all this is true (and God’s Word declares it is) then it must be evident that the judgment-seat of Christ cannot touch the Christian’s position, or in any wise prove unfriendly to him. No doubt it is a solemn and serious matter, involving the weightiest consequences to every servant of Christ, and designed to exert a salutary influence on the heart and conscience of every man. But it will do all this in proportion as it is viewed from the true standpoint, and no further. We should not suppose that a Christian can reap the divinely appointed blessing from meditating on the judgment-seat, if he is looking forward to it as the place where the question of his eternal salvation is to be settled. And yet many regard it in this way. Far too many of God’s true people do not see the simple truth revealed in these words, “He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God,” but are rather anticipating the judgment-seat of Christ as something that may, after all, condemn them.
This is greatly to be deplored, both because it dishonors the Lord, and because it completely destroys the soul’s peace and liberty. How, we ask, is it possible for anyone to enjoy peace as long as there is a single question about salvation to be settled? We conceive it is impossible. The peace of the true believer rests on the fact that every possible question has been divinely and eternally settled; and as a consequence no question can ever arise, either before the judgment-seat of Christ, or at any other time. Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says in reference to this question: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [or judgment]; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24; emphasis added).
It is important to understand that the word used by our Lord in the above passage is not “condemnation” but “judgment.” He assures the believer that he shall never come into judgment; and observe this, too, in immediate connection with the statement that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (v. 22). And, again, “For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man” (vs. 26-27).
Thus, the One to whom all judgment is committed – who, by the Father’s just decree, alone has authority to execute judgment – this blessed One assures us that if we harken to His Word, and truly believe on Him that sent Him, we shall never come into judgment.
This is clear and conclusive. It must completely tranquillize the heart. It must roll away every cloud and mist, and conduct the soul into a region where no question can ever arise to disturb its deep and eternal repose. If the One who has all judgment in His hand, and all authority to execute it – if He assures us that we shall never come into judgment, we are perfectly satisfied. We believe His Word, and rest in the happy assurance that whatever the judgment-seat of Christ may prove to others, it cannot prove unfriendly to the true believer. We know that the Word of the Lord endures forever, and that Word tells us we shall never come into judgment.
But it may be that some still find it difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile this entire exemption from judgment with the solemn fact stated by our Lord, that “for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” But there is really no difficulty in the matter. If a man has to meet judgment at all, he must give account for every idle word. How awfully solemn is the thought. There is no escaping it. Were it possible for a single idle word to be let pass, it would be a dishonor to the judgment-seat. It would be a sign of weakness and incompetency which is utterly impossible. To suppose that a single stain could escape His scrutinizing gaze is blasphemy against the Son of God. If one comes into judgment, that judgment must be perfect, and, hence, his condemnation must be inevitable.
We would press this serious matter on the attention of the unconverted. It imperatively demands immediate and earnest consideration. There is a day rapidly approaching when every idle word, every foolish thought, and every sinful act will be brought to light, and it will have to be answered for. As a Judge, Christ has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass – eyes to detect, and feet to crush the evil. There will be no escape. There will be no mercy then: all will be stern and unmitigated judgment. “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15).
Note here the difference between “the books” and “the book of life.” The entire scene sets forth the judgment of the wicked dead – of those who, from first to last, have died in their sins. “The book of life” is opened; but there is no judgment for those whose names are written therein by the hand of electing and redeeming love. “The books” are opened – those awful records written in characters deep, broad, and black – those terrible catalogues of the sins of every human being, from the beginning to the end of time. There will be no escaping in the crowd. Each one will stand in his own intense individuality in that appalling moment. The eye of each will be turned in on himself, and back on his past history. All will be seen in the light of the great white throne, from which there is no escape.
The skeptic may reason against all this. He may say, “How can these things be? How could all the dead stand before God? How could the countless millions, who have passed away since the foundation of the world, find sufficient space before the judgment-seat?” The answer is simple to the true believer, whatever it may be to the skeptic; God who made them, will make a place for them to stand for judgment, and a place to lie in everlasting torment. “God hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts. 17:31).
Keep in mind that “every man will be judged according to his works.” The solemn session of the judgment referred to in Revelation 20 will not be an indiscriminate act. Let none suppose this. There are “books” – rolls – records. “Every man” will be judged. How? “According to his works.” Nothing can be more precise and specific. Each one has committed his own sins, and for them he will be judged and punished everlastingly. We are aware that many cherish the notion that people will only be judged for rejecting the Gospel. It is a fatal mistake. Scripture teaches the contrary. It declares that people will be judged according to their works. What are we to learn from the “many stripes” and the “few stripes” of Luke 12? What is the force of the words “more tolerable” in Matthew 11? Are we not plainly taught by these words that there will be a difference in the degrees of judgment and punishment? And in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 the apostle distinctly teaches us that the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience (or unbelief) “because of” certain sins against which he solemnly warns the saints.
No doubt the rejection of the Gospel leaves people on the ground of judgment, just as the true belief of the Gospel takes people off that ground. But, in every case, the judgment will be according to a man’s works. Are we to suppose that the poor ignorant savage, who has lived and died amid the gloomy shades of heathen darkness, will be found in the same “book,” or punished with the same severity as a man who has lived and died in the total rejection of the full blaze of Gospel light and privilege? Not for a moment, as long as the words “more tolerable” stand on the page of Inspiration. The savage will be judged according to his works, and the baptized sinner will be judged according to his works, but assuredly it will be more tolerable for the former than the latter. God knows how to deal with people. He can discriminate, and He declares that He will give to each according to his works.
Think deeply and seriously on this. The unconverted soul needs to think of it because it personally concerns him. And those who are converted must think of it for others, as the apostle says, “Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” It is impossible for anyone to reflect on the great and awful fact of judgment to come, and not be stirred up to warn others. We believe it is of the last possible importance that the consciences of men should be acted on by the solemn truth of the judgment-seat of Christ – which they should be made to feel the seriousness of having to do with God as a Judge.
The Gospel declares that the One who before long will act as Judge, is now revealed as Justifier – a Justifier of the ungodly sinner that believes in Jesus. This completely changes the aspect of things. It is not that the thought of the judgment-seat loses a single jot or tittle of its gravity and solemnity. Quite the contrary. It stands in all its weight and magnitude. But the true believer looks at it from a totally different point of view. In place of looking at the judgment-seat of Christ as a guilty member of the first Adam, he looks at it as a justified and accepted member of the Second. In place of looking forward to it as the place where the question of his eternal salvation or perdition is to be decided, he looks to it as one who knows that he is God’s workmanship, and that he can never come into judgment, because he has been taken off the ground of guilt, death, and judgment, and, through the death and resurrection of Christ, placed on new ground – the ground of life, righteousness, and cloudless favor.
It is needful to be clear regarding this fundamental truth. Many Christians are clouded in reference to it, and hence, when thinking of the judgment-seat, they are afraid. They do not know God as Justifier. Their faith has not grasped Him as the One who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. They are looking to Christ to keep God out as a Judge, much the same as the Israelites looked to the blood to keep out the destroyer 3. As far as it goes, it is true and real enough; but it falls far short of the truth revealed in the New Testament. There is a vast difference between keeping God out as Destroyer and Judge, and bringing Him in as Savior and Justifier. Above all things, an Israelite would have dreaded God coming in to him. Why? – Because God was passing through the land as a Destroyer. On the contrary, the Christian delights to be in the presence of God. Why? Because He has revealed Himself as Justifer. How? By raising up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
There are three forms of expression used by the inspired apostle in Romans 3 and 4 that should be carefully pondered. In Romans 3:26, he speaks of “believing in Jesus.” In Romans 4:5, he speaks of “believing in Him that justifieth the ungodly.” And, verse 24, he speaks of “believing in Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
There is no distinction in Scripture without a difference; and when we see a distinction it is our business to inquire regarding the difference. What then, is the difference between believing in Jesus, and believing in Him that raised up Jesus? We believe it to be as follows. It is not uncommon to find believing souls who deep down in their hearts dread meeting God. It is not that they doubt their salvation, or that they are not really saved: but still there is this latent fear or dread of God and shrinking from death. They know that Jesus is friendly to them, because He died for them; but they do not clearly see the friendship of God as expressed in the act of His raising up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
That is why we find so many of God’s people in uncertainty and spiritual distress. Their faith has not yet laid hold of God as the One who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. They are not quite sure of how it may go with them. At times they are happy, because, by virtue of the new nature of which they are partakers, they get occupied with Christ: but at other times they are miserable, because they begin to look at themselves, and they do not see God as their Justifier, and as the One who has condemned sin in the flesh. They are thinking of God as a Judge with whom some question still remains to be settled. They feel as if God’s eye were resting on their indwelling sin, and as if they must, in some way or other, dispose of that question with God.
We feel persuaded this is so with hundreds of true saints of God. They do not see God as the Condemner of sin in Christ on the cross, and the Justifier of the believing sinner in Christ rising from the dead. They are looking to Christ on the cross to screen them from God as a Judge, instead of looking to God as a Justifier in raising up Christ from the dead. Jesus was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. Our sins are forgiven; our indwelling sin, or evil nature, is condemned and set aside. It has no existence before God. It is in us, but He sees us only in a risen Christ; and we are called to reckon ourselves dead, and by the power of God’s Spirit, to mortify our members, to deny and subdue the evil nature that still dwells in us, and will dwell until we are passed out of our present condition and find our place forever with the Lord.
This makes all clear. We have already dwelt on the fact, that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God;” but the believer is not in the flesh, though the flesh be in him. Regarding his existence, he is in the body and on earth; but regarding the ground or principle of his standing, he is neither in the flesh nor of the world. “Ye,” says the Holy Spirit, “are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit” (Rom. 8). “They,” says our blessed Lord, “are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17).
What a relief to a heart bowed down under a sense of indwelling sin, and not knowing what to do with it. What solid peace and comfort flow into the soul when we see God condemning our sin in the cross, and justifying us in a risen Christ. Where are our sins? Blotted out. Where is our sin? Condemned and set aside. Where are we? Justified and accepted in a risen Christ. We are brought to God without a single cloud or misgiving. We are not afraid of our Justifier. We confide in Him, love Him, and adore Him. We joy in God, and rejoice in hope of His glory.
Hopefully, in some measure, this will help clear the way for the true believer to approach the subject of the judgment-seat of Christ, as set forth in verse 10 of our chapter, which we shall here quote at length in order that we may have the subject fully before us in the veritable language of Inspiration. “For we must all appear [or rather, be manifested] before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad” (emphasis added).
In reality, there is no difficulty or ground of perplexity here. In order to see it clearly, we simply need to look at the matter from a divine standpoint. This is true in reference to every subject treated in the Word of God, and especially regarding the point now before us. We have no doubt that the real secret of the difficulty felt by so many with regarding to the question of the judgment-seat of Christ is self-occupation. That is why we so often hear such questions as the following, “Can it be possible that all our sins, all our failures, all our infirmities, all our naughty and foolish ways, shall be published in the presence of assembled myriads, before the judgment-seat of Christ?”
In the first place, Scripture says nothing of the kind. The passage before us containing the broad statement of the truth on this weighty subject, simply declares that “we must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ.” But how shall we be manifested? No doubt, as we are. But how is that? – As God’s workmanship; as perfectly righteous, holy, and accepted in the Person of that very One who shall sit on the judgment-seat, and who Himself bore in His own body on the tree all the judgment due us, and made a full end of the entire system in which we stood. As sinners, all that we should have had to meet, Christ met in our stead. Our sins He bore; our sin He was condemned for. He stood in our stead and answered all responsibilities that rested on us as men alive in the flesh, as members of the first man, as standing on the old creation-ground. The Judge Himself is our righteousness. We are in Him. We owe to Him and to His perfect work all that we are and all that we have. If, as sinners, we had to meet Christ as a Judge, escape would be impossible; but, because He is our righteousness, condemnation is impossible. In short, the matter is reversed. The atoning death and triumphant resurrection of our Divine Substitute has completely changed everything, so that the effect of the judgment-seat of Christ will be to make manifest that there is not, and cannot be, a single stain or spot on that workmanship of God, which the saint is declared to be.
But from where comes this dread of having all our naughtiness exposed at the judgment-seat of Christ? Does He not know all about us? Are we more afraid of being manifested to the gaze of men and angels than to the gaze of our blessed and adorable Lord? If we are manifested to Him, what does it matter if we are known by others? How far are Peter and David and many others affected by the fact that untold millions have read the record of their sins, and that the record thereof has been stereotyped on the page of Inspiration? Will it prevent their sweeping the strings of the golden harp, or casting their crowns before the feet of Him whose precious blood has forever obliterated all their sins, and, without spot brought them into the full blaze of the throne of God? Absolutely not. Then why need any be troubled by the thought of being manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ? Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? May we not safely leave all in the hands of Him who has loved us and washed us in His own blood? Cannot we implicitly trust ourselves to the One who loved us with such a love? Will He expose us? Will He, can He do anything inconsistent with the love that led Him to give His precious life for us? Will the Head expose the body, or any member thereof? Will the Bridegroom expose the bride? Yes, in one sense He will. But how? In view of all created intelligences, He will publicly set forth that there is not a speck or flaw, spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, to be seen on that church which He loved with a love that many waters could not quench.
Can we not see how that nearness to the heart of Christ, as well as the knowledge of His perfect work, completely rolls away the mists that enwrap the subject of the judgment-seat? If we are washed from our sins in the blood of Jesus, and loved by God as Jesus is loved, what reason do we have to fear that judgment-seat, or to shrink from the thought of being manifested before it? None whatsoever. Nothing can possibly come up there to alter our standing, to touch our relationship, to blot our title, or cloud our prospect. We are fully persuaded that the light of the judgment-seat will chase away many of the clouds that have obscured the mercy-seat. Many, when they come to stand before that judgment-seat, will wonder why they ever personally feared it. They will see their mistake and adore the grace that has been so much better than all their legal fears. Many who have hardly ever been able to read their title here, will read it there, and rejoice and wonder – they will love and worship. In broad daylight, they will then see what feeble, shallow, and unworthy thoughts they had once entertained of the love of Christ, and of the true character of His work. They will perceive how sadly prone they were to measure Him by themselves, and to think and feel as if His thoughts and ways were like their own. All this will be seen in the light of that day, and then the burst of praise and hallelujah will come forth from many a heart that, when down here, had been robbed of its peace and joy by legal and unworthy thoughts of God and His Christ.
But, while it is divinely true that nothing can come out before the judgment-seat of Christ to in any way disturb the standing or relationship of the feeblest member of the body of Christ, or of any member of the family of God, yet it is the solemn and weighty thought of that judgment. Yes, truly, and none will feel its weight and solemnity more than those who can look forward to it with calmness. And remember, in order to enjoy this calmness of spirit there are two things indispensably needful. First, we must have a title without blot; and, secondly, our moral and practical state must be sound. No amount of mere evangelical clearness regarding our title will avail unless we are walking in moral integrity before God. It will not do for a man to say that he is not afraid of the judgment-seat of Christ because Christ died for him, while, at the same time he is walking in a loose, careless, self-indulgent way. This is a dreadful delusion. It is alarming in the extreme to find persons drawing a plea from evangelical clearness to shrink from the holy responsibility resting on them as servants of Christ. Are we to speak idle words because we know we shall never come into judgment? The bare thought is horrible; and yet we may shrink from such a thing when clothed in plain language before us, while, at the same time we allow ourselves to be drawn, through a false application of the doctrines of grace, into culpable laxity and carelessness regarding the claims of holiness.
All this must be sedulously avoided. The grace that has delivered us from judgment should exert a more powerful influence on our ways than the fear of that judgment. And not only so, but we must remember that while we, as sinners, are delivered from judgment and wrath, yet, as servants, we must give account of ourselves and our ways. It is not a question of being exposed here or there to men, angels, or devils. No; “we must give account to God” (Rom. 14:11-12). This is far more serious, far weightier, and far more influential than being exposed in the view of any creature. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” (Col. 3:23-25).
This is serious and salutary. It may be asked, “When shall we have to give account to God? When shall we receive for the wrong?” We are not told, because that is not the question. The grand object of the Holy Spirit in the passages just quoted is to lead the conscience into holy exercise in the presence of God and the Lord Christ. This is good and most needful in a day of easy profession of Christ, like the present, when there is much said about grace, free salvation justification without works, our standing in Christ. Is it that we want to weaken the sense of these things? Far be the thought. Yea, we seek to lead souls into the divine knowledge and enjoyment of those most precious privileges in every possible way. But then we must remember the adjusting power of truth. There are always two sides to a question, and we find in the pages of the New Testament the clearest and fullest statements of grace, lying side by side with the most solemn and searching statements regarding our responsibility. Do the latter obscure the former? No; neither should the former weaken the latter. Both should have their due place, and be allowed to exert their molding influence on our character and ways.
Some who profess Christianity seem to have a dislike to the words “duty” and “responsibility”; but we invariably find that as a necessary consequence those who have the deepest sense of grace also have the truest sense of duty and responsibility. We know of no exception. A heart that is duly influenced by divine grace is sure to welcome every reference to the claims of holiness. It is only empty talkers about grace and standing that raise an outcry about duty and responsibility. God deals in moral realities. He is real with us, and He wants us to be real with Him. He is real in His love and real in His faithfulness; and He would have us real in our dealings with Him, and in our response to His holy claims. It is of little use to say “Lord, Lord” if we live in neglect of His commandments. It is sham to say “I go sir” if we do not go. God looks for obedience in His children. “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
May we bear these things in mind, and remember that all must come out before the judgment-seat of Christ – “We must all be manifested” there. This is unmingled joy to a really upright mind. If we do not unfeignedly rejoice at the thought of the judgment-seat of Christ, there must be something wrong somewhere. Either we are not established in grace, or we are walking in some false way. If we know that we are justified and accepted before God in Christ, and if we are walking in His presence in moral integrity, thought of the judgment-seat of Christ will not disturb our hearts. The apostle could say, “We are made manifest to God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” Was Paul afraid of the judgment-seat? No; and why? Because he knew that in a risen Christ he was accepted; and, regarding his ways, he “laboured that whether present or absent he might be acceptable to Him.” Thus it was with this holy man of God and devoted servant of Christ. “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:16). Paul knew that he was accepted in Christ, and therefore he labored to be acceptable to Him in all his ways.
These two things should never be separated, and they never will be in any divinely taught mind or divinely regulated conscience. They will be perfectly joined together, and, in holy harmony, exert their formative power over the soul. It should be our aim to walk, even now, in the light of the judgment-seat. This would prove a wholesome regulator in many ways. It will not, in any wise, lead to legality of spirit. Shall we have any legality when standing before the judgment-seat of Christ? Assuredly not. Well, then, why should the thought of that judgment-seat exert a legal influence now? In point of fact, we are certain there is, and can be, no greater joy to an honest heart than to know that in the perfect light of that solemn day approaching, everything shall come clearly and fully out. Then we shall see all as Christ sees it – judge of it as He judges. We shall look back from amid the blaze of divine light shining from the judgment-seat, and see our whole course in this world. We shall see what blunders we have made; how badly we did this, that, and the other work; mixed motives here; an undercurrent there; a false object in something else. Then, all will be seen in divine truth and light. Is it a question of our being exposed to the whole universe? By no means. Should we be concerned, whether or no? Certainly not. Will it, can it, touch our acceptance? No, we shall shine there in all the perfectness of our risen and glorified Head. The Judge Himself is our righteousness. We stand in Him. He is our all. What can touch us? We shall appear there as the fruit of His perfect work. We shall even be associated with Him in the judgment He executes over the world.
Is this not enough to settle every question? No doubt. But still we have to think of our individual walk and service. We have to see to it that we bring no wood, hay, and stubble into the light of the coming day, for as surely as we do we shall suffer loss, though we ourselves shall be saved through the fire. We should seek to carry ourselves now as those who are already in the light, and whose one desire is to do what is well pleasing to our adorable Lord, not because of the fear of judgment, but under “the vast constraining influence” of His love. “The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.”
This is the true motive spring in all Christian service. It is not the fear of impelling judgment, but the love of Christ constraining us; and we may say with fullest assurance, that never shall we have so deep a sense of that love as when we stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.
When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon radiant sun
When I stand with Christ on high
Looking o’er life’s history,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
There are many other points of interest and value in this marvelous chapter; but we feel we must bring our essay to a conclusion; and we could not do this more suitably than by unfolding, as God’s Spirit may enable us, that theme which has been before us all along, “The Ministry of Reconciliation,” to which we now briefly direct attention.
We may view it under three distinct heads: the foundation on which this ministry of reconciliation rests; the objects toward whom it is exercised; and the features by which it is characterized.
The foundation on which this ministry of reconciliation rests
This is set before us in the closing verse of our chapter. “For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (emphasis added).
We have here three parties: God, Christ, and sin. This latter is simply the expression of what we are by nature. There is in “us” nothing but “sin,” from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, the whole man is sin. The principle of sin pervades the entire system of fallen humanity. The root, trunk, branches, leaves, blossom, fruit – all is sin. All of us have not only “gone astray,” but “we have turned every one to his own way.” Each has pursued his own specific path of evil and folly; and all this is the fruit of that thing called “sin.” The outward life of each is but a stream from the fountain – a branch from the stem; that fountain is sin.
And what is sin? It is the acting of the will in opposition to God. It is doing our own pleasure – doing what we like. This is the root – the source of sin. Let it take what shape, or clothe itself in what forms it may; be it gross or be it most refined in its actions, the great root-principle and the parent stem is self-will, and this is sin. There is no necessity for entering into further detail; all we desire to emphasis here is that by nature we are sinful. Where this great and solemn fact takes full possession of the soul there can be no settled rest until the soul is brought to lay hold on the truth set forth in 2 Corinthians 5:21. The question of sin had to be disposed of before there could be a single thought of reconciliation. God could never be reconciled to sin. But fallen man was sinful in nature and by practice. The sources of his being were corrupt and defiled, and God was holy, just, and true. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity. Hence, between God and sinful humanity there could be no such thing as reconciliation. True, God is good, merciful, and gracious. But He is also holy; and holiness and sin could never coalesce.
What was to be done? Hear the answer: “God hath made Christ to be sin.” But where? It is vital that one looks well at this. Where was Christ made sin? Was it in His birth; in Jordan’s flood; or in the Garden of Gethsemane? No; though in that garden the shadows were lengthening, the darkness was thickening, the gloom was deepening. But where and when was the holy, spotless, precious Lamb of God made sin? On the cross, and only there. This is a grand cardinal truth – a truth of vital importance – a truth the enemy of God and His Word is seeking to darken and set aside in every possible way. In the most specious manner, the devil is seeking to displace the cross. He cares not how he compasses this end. He will make use of anything and everything in order to detract from the glory of the Cross – that great central truth of Christianity around which every other truth circulates, and on which the whole fabric of divine revelation rests on an eternal foundation.
“He hath made Him to be sin.” Here lies the root of the whole matter. On the cross, Christ was made sin for us. He died, and was buried. Sin was condemned. It met the just judgment of a holy God who could not pass over a single jot or tittle of sin. No, He poured out His unmingled wrath on it in the Person of His Son, when that Son was “made sin.” It is a serious error to believe that Christ was bearing the judgment of God during His lifetime, or that anything save the death of Christ could meet the question of sin. He might have become incarnate – He might have lived and labored on this earth – He might have wrought His countless miracles – He might have healed, and cleansed, and quickened – He might have prayed, and wept, and groaned; but not any of these things, nor yet all of them put together, could blot out a single stain of that dreadful thing “sin.” God the Holy Spirit declares that “without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).
If the holy life and labors of the Son of God – if His prayers, tears, and groans could not put away sin; how could our lives, labors, prayers, tears, and groans; our good works, rites, ordinances, and ceremonies could ever put away sin? Fact is, the life of our blessed Lord only proved man more and more guilty. It laid the top-stone on the superstructure of our guilt, and therefore left the question of sin wholly unsettled.
This was not all. Over and over again, our blessed Lord Himself declares the absolute and indispensable necessity of His death. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12). “Thus it is written, and thus it beloved [or was necessary for] Christ to suffer” (Luke 24:46; emphasis added). “How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be” (Matt. 26)? In other words, death was the only pathway of life, the only basis of union, the only ground of reconciliation. All who speak of incarnation as being the basis of our union with Christ, deny in the plainest way the whole range of truth connected with a dead and risen Christ. Many may not see this; but Satan sees it, and he also sees how it will work. He knows what he is about, and surely the servants of Christ ought to know what is involved in the error against which we are herein warning.
The enemy does not want souls to see that in the death of Christ, sentence was passed on fallen human nature and on the whole world. But this was not the case in incarnation – not at all. An incarnate Christ put man to the test – a dead Christ put man to death – a risen Christ takes the true believer into union with Himself. When Christ came in the flesh, fallen man was still under probation. When Christ died on the cross, fallen man was wholly condemned. When Christ rose from the dead, He became the head of a new race, each member of which, being quickened by the Holy Spirit, is viewed by God as united to Christ, in life, righteousness, and favor – he is viewed as having been dead, as having passed through judgment, and as now being as free from all condemnation as Christ Himself. “He hath made Him to be sin for us, [He] who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (emphasis added).
It is hopefully plain to anyone bowing to Scripture, that incarnation did not, and could not accomplish all this. Incarnation did not put away sin. Need we stop here to dwell on the glories of the mystery of incarnation? Will anyone imagine that because we deny that it puts away sin or forms the basis of our union with Christ, we take away from the value or mar the integrity of that priceless fundamental truth? We trust not. That incarnation was essentially necessary for the accomplishment of redemption is plain to all. Christ had to become a man in order to die. “Without shedding of blood is no remission.” He had to give His flesh for the life of the world. But this only goes to prove the absolute necessity of death. It was the giving of His flesh, not the taking of it, that laid the foundation of the whole fabric – life, pardon, peace, righteousness, union, glory, all. Apart from death, there is, and could be, absolutely nothing. Through death we have all.
The objects toward whom it is exercised
But we cannot pursue this profound subject any further now. Enough has been said to set forth its connection with our special thesis – the ministry of reconciliation. When we read that “God hath made Christ to be sin for us,” we must see that this involved nothing less than the death of the cross. “Thou,” says that blessed One, “hast brought Me into the dust of death” (Ps. 22). What an utterance. Who can fathom the mighty depths of those words – “Thou” – “Me” – and “death”? Who can enter into the question, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Why did a holy, righteous God forsake His only begotten, well-beloved, eternal Son? The answer contains the solid basis of that marvelous ministry whereof we speak. Christ was made sin. He not only bore our sins in His own body on the tree; but He was made sin. He stood charged with the entire question of sin. He was “the Lamb of God bearing away the sin of the world.” As such, in the very scene where He had been dishonored, He gloriously vindicated God. He glorified Him in respect to that very thing by which His majesty had been insulted. He took on Himself the whole matter – placed Himself beneath the weight of the whole burden, and completely cleared the ground on which God could lay the foundations of the new creation. He opened those eternal flood-gates sin had closed, so that the full tide of divine love might roll down along that channel which His atoning death alone could furnish. As long as sin was in question, reconciliation was out of the question. But being made sin, Christ died and forever put it away, and thus entirely changed the ground and character of God’s dealing with man and the world.
As we have seen, the death of Christ is the basis of reconciliation. That divine work has opened the way for placing men and things in their right relationship to God, and on their proper footing before Him. And remember, this is the true sense and meaning of reconciliation. Sin had alienated “men” from God, and set “things” astray, and hence both men and things needed to be reconciled are set straight – the death of Christ has cleared the way for this.
It is well to clearly see the distinction between “atonement” and “reconciliation.” They are often confounded, through inattention to Scripture. The translators of the Authorized Version did not sufficiently mark this distinction. For example, in Romans 5:11, they have the word “atonement” where it should be rendered “reconciliation” (as in the NASB); and in Hebrews 2:17, we have the word “reconciliation” where it should be “atonement” or “propitiation” (the NASB renders it “propitiation”).
Nor is the distinction by any means unimportant. The word “atonement” or “propitiation” occurs, in one or another of its forms, six times in the Greek New Testament. 4 The word “reconciliation” occurs, in one or another of its forms, thirteen times in the New Testament. 5 If one takes the trouble to examine and compare these passages, he will see that atonement and reconciliation are not the same thing, but that the former is the foundation of the latter. Sin had made man an enemy and thrown things into confusion; and in Colossians 1:20-21, we read, “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross [here is the foundation], 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 unblamable, and unreprovable in His sight” (emphasis added).
Here we have the death of Christ set forth as the ground of the reconciliation 6 of both men and things.
Now this leads to another point of immense importance. We often hear it said that “the death of Christ was necessary in order to reconcile God to man.” This is a pious mistake, arising from inattention to the language of the Holy Spirit, and indeed to the plain meaning of the word “reconcile.” God never changed – never stepped out of His normal and true position. He abides faithful. As far as He was concerned, there was and could be no derangement, no confusion, and no alienation. Hence there could be no need of reconciling Him to us. In fact, it was exactly the contrary. Man had gone astray; he was the enemy, and needed to be reconciled. But this was impossible if sin were not righteously disposed of; and sin could only be disposed of by death – the death of One, who, being a man, could die; and being God, could impart all the dignity, value, and glory of His divine Person to the atoning sacrifice He offered.
Wherefore, then, as might be expected, Scripture never speaks of reconciling God to man. There is no such expression to be found within the covers of the New Testament. “God was in Christ reconciling the world [in its broad aspect – men and things] unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (emphasis added). And again, “All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” In other words, it is God, in His infinite mercy and grace, through the atoning death of Christ, bringing us back to Himself, and not merely placing us in the original place, on the original footing, or in the original relationship; but, because of the work of Christ, giving us back far more than we had lost, by introducing us into the marvelous relationship of sons, setting us in His presence, in divine and eternal righteousness – in the infinite favor and acceptableness of His own Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amazing grace; stupendous, and glorious plan – what a ministry. And yet when thinking of the death of Christ as the foundation of it all, need we wonder? When we remember that “Christ was made sin for us,” it seems a necessary counterpart that “we should be made the righteousness of God in Him.” It would have been no adequate result of such a work as Christ accomplished, to have brought men and things back to the Adamic or old creation ground. This would never have satisfied the heart of God – not in any way, whether as respects Christ’s glory or our blessing. It would not have furnished an answer to that omnipotent appeal of John 17: “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me, with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was” (vs. 4-5). Who can gauge the depth and power of those accents as they fell on the ear of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?
But as much as we would like to do so, we must not enlarge. Little remains to be said regarding the objects of the ministry of reconciliation, because in a measure, we have anticipated them by speaking of “men and things,” for these are the objects, and they are included in that comprehensive word “world.” “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” We would merely add here that it is impossible for any creature under heaven to exclude himself from the range of this precious ministry. Before anyone can shut himself out from the application of all this grace to himself, he must prove that he does not belong to the world. This he cannot do, and hence he must see that God is beseeching him to be reconciled.
The features by which it is characterized
This leads us to briefly look at the features characterizing this glorious ministry. Consider briefly God’s attitude. He is beseeching sinners. What a thought. It seems too much for the heart to conceive. Think of the Most High and Mighty God, the Creator of the ends of the earth; the One who has power to destroy both soul and body in hell – think of Him beseeching and praying us to be friends with Him. It is not a question of Him hearing our prayers. No: but the very reverse – He is praying us. And for what does He ask us? Is it to do anything or to give anything? No; He simply asks us to be friends with Him because He has befriended us at the cost of His own Son. Think of this. He spared not His only begotten and well-beloved Son, but bruised Him in our stead. He made Him to be sin for us. He judged our sin in the person of His Son on the cross in order that He might be able to reconcile us. And now He stretches forth His arms and opens His heart to us, and prays us to be reconciled – to be friends with Him. What surpassing grace. Truly human language can only tend to weaken and impoverish this grand reality.
We would only further suggest that the force of 1 Corinthians 5:20 is weakened if one concludes that the apostle used the word “you,” as though he were beseeching only the Corinthian saints to be reconciled. In reality, he is setting forth the terms and style adopted by all “ambassadors” for Christ wherever they went through the wide world – the language in which they were to address “every creature” under heaven. It is not, “Do this or that” – “Give this or that.” It was not command or prohibition; but simply, “Be reconciled.” The NASB translates it: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
What encouragement to the poor, trembling heart that feels the burden of sin and guilt – to be assured that God will not impute, will not reckon, one of his sins. This is another precious feature of the ministry of reconciliation. “Not imputing their trespasses unto them.” This must set the heart at rest. If God tells us that He will not count one of our trespasses to us, because He has already counted them to Jesus on the cross, this may well tranquillize our spirit and emancipate our heart. If we believe that God means what He says, perfect peace must be our portion. True, it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can enter into the power of this glorious truth; but what the Holy Spirit leads us to believe and rest in is that God does not, and will not impute a single sin to the true believer, because He has already imputed all to Christ.
But this leads us to the third feature of the ministry of reconciliation.
If God will not impute the true believer’s trespasses to him then what will He impute? Righteousness – even the righteousness of God. We cannot attempt to unfold the nature and character of this righteousness. We may attempt to do so on another occasion, if the Lord permit; but here we confine ourselves to the statement contained in the passage before us, which declares that God has made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us who were all sin, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. What a glorious truth. Regarding the true believer, sin is made an end of. Christ lives before God as our subsisting righteousness, and we live in Him. There is not one single entry to our debit in the book of divine justice; but there is a risen and glorified Christ to our credit. This is not all. Not only are our sins gone, our guilt cancelled; our old self completely ignored – not only are we made the righteousness of God in Jesus; but we are loved by God as Jesus is loved; accepted in Him; one with Him in all that He is and has – as a risen, victorious, ascended, and glorified Man at God’s right hand. It is impossible to go higher than this.
And now we must reluctantly close. We do so with a certain painful consciousness of the feebleness and poverty of our handling of this lofty and comprehensive theme. But all this we must leave in the Master’s hand. He knows all about the subject and treatment thereof. To Him we commit all, while we make one solemn, closing appeal to one who might now be unconverted, unawakened.
Let us never forget that this glorious ministry we have considered in this essay will very soon close. The acceptable year, the day of salvation, shall before long come to an end. The ambassadors shall soon be all called home and their embassy shall forever be closed. The door shall soon be shut, and the day of vengeance set in terror and wrath on a Christ-rejecting world. We earnestly pray that all will flee from the wrath to come. Remember that the One who is now praying and beseeching all to be reconciled, has uttered the following awful words, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded. But ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh” (Prov. 1:24-26).
May each of us escape the unutterable horrors of the day of wrath and judgment.
