-------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHORS
PREFACE PAGE 7
INTRODUCTION
PAGE 9
CHAPTER
1. LET US LOOK UNTO JESUS! PAGE 13
The three main New Testament writings concerning the
glory of Christ.
The chief message of Hebrews
12.
2. CHRIST -
THE EXAMPLE IN THE RACE PAGE 18
Christ as steadfast Hero, Leader, and perfect Exponent
of faith, triumphal Victor, Example for His followers.
3. THE ANCIENT GREEK
RACE-COURSE
AND THE
SPIRITUAL WARFARE PAGE 30
(as
compared in the New Testament)
The Gymnasium. The Palaistra. The Academia.
The Olympian and Isthtnian
games. Circus
Maximus and Colosseum in
4. THE RACE
THAT IS SET BEFORE US PAGE 68
Three main reasons for our conflict. The attitude of the runner necessary to reach
the goal.
5. THE
CHRISTIAN RACE AS AN OBSTACLE RACE PAGE 85
The
Christian and suffering. The sevenfold
blessings of suffering. Seven reasons
given in the Sermon on the Mount against the spirit of anxiety.
6. PRESSING
ON TO THE MARK! PAGE 103
Paralysing
powers. Quickening powers. The problem of the third generation. The necessity and possibility of a revival.
7. WASTED PRIVILEGES PAGE 125
Christ
the Firstborn. The rights of the
firstborn in
8.
LISTEN! GOD SPEAKS! PAGE 167
The
heavenly riches of the Church. Three chief mountains of God. The holy obligations of the redeemed. The heavenly glory.
* *
*
PREFACE
WHAT we need is revival, a spiritual awakening of Gods
people, a powerful testimony to the world, a new vision and a fresh experience
of the saving and keeping power of Christ through His word and the Holy Spirit.
This
experience is possible, for Christ is living today! He is the eternal Victor, the Exalted One,
the spring of all life and strength for everyone who puts his trust in
Him. Christ never disappoints.
But
God grants His free gifts only to faith.
Only where there is trust and devotion, will Gods fountains be
opened. Only upon a life, fully
surrendered, will He pour out His abundant blessings.
Where
there was failure, He can give restoration.
All weakness can be overcome. New
joy and hope can fill our hearts.
That
is the message of this book. It is at
the same time my personal testimony. It
differs from my previous books, The Dawn
of World Redemption, The Triumph of the Crucified and From
Eternity to Eternity in that those dealt with the
general lines of development
of Gods plan of redemption, but this bears testimony chiefly to our personal experience of salvation. For the deeds of God are not only around and
above us, they should be in us at the same time. The
general plan of salvation must centre in a personal experience of salvation in
the individual.
I
am indebted very much to my friends Dr.
and Mrs. A. E. Wilder Smith for
their very great and most valuable share in the work of translation. Without their keen interest and united
efforts this English edition would not have come to pass.
The
book was published first in German in 1952.
In this English edition there is added a special treatise on The
ancient Greek and Roman Racecourses and the Spiritual Warfare, as compared in
the New Testament. We have given this
discussion in a more detailed form because the knowledge of these Greek and
Roman customs illuminates greatly the figurative language of many New Testament
Scriptures which refer to them. At the
same time it gives us a clearer understanding of the [page
8] surroundings
and some most important features of the outward conditions of the early
Christian church. By elaborating the
description of this special side of ancient culture in its relationship to the
New Testament, we also hope to render a certain service to such students of
Scripture who might want to make use of this book for the preparation of
messages in their ministry, and therefore might be glad to have a more detailed
view of these ancient customs and their history. Such readers may also value the Greek terms
of these institutions as well as the references to certain Greek expressions in
the Biblical text that are occasionally given in the book when this seemed
helpful for a more exact understanding.
The
chapter on the Races has been translated by Mr. G. H. Lang, the translator of my three previous books. To him I wish also to express my sincere
thanks.
The
book is written in a simple style. It
sets out to express its message in a language understandable to all. It is designed as an appeal to heart and mind
for new spiritual zeal and devotion, for new confidence and hope. It bases its teachings on the truths of Hebrews 12.
Therefore at the head of each chapter is given the relevant quotation
from Hebrews
12 SO that the word of
the Scripture and the meditation thereon may hang closely together, and the
reading and understanding of the whole be facilitated.
May
the Lord bless the testimony of this book.
May He lead us all more and more into a real experience of His
blessings. His promises are to all those who in holy earnestness reach
out towards the prize, those who lift up their eyes to Him, those who do His
commandment. In the arena of faith
let us look unto Jesus.
- ERICH SAUER Wiedenest,
* *
*
INTRODUCTION [Pages 9-12]
GODS
people have heard Gods call. For only by this call has a People of God
come into being, since faith
cometh by hearing (Rom. 10: 17).
By means of this call Gods miraculous dealings with His church
began. We cannot think or speak highly
enough of the redeemed of the Lord. They
are saved and reconciled, freed and blessed (Col.
1: 13, 14; Eph. 1: 3). They are elect of God, holy and beloved (Col. 3: 12). They are vessels of His grace, sons of the
mighty Father, royal children, citizens of heaven. Even though many imperfections and weaknesses
are indeed still present, we may be of good courage and have firm confidence as
to the work of the Holy Spirit in His own.
We are able to see Christs image in His followers, yes, we can see
Christ Himself in our brother and with all our heart we can rejoice in Him seen
in one another. The saints that are in the earth, they are
the excellent, in whom is all my delight
(Psa. 16: 3).
And yet - !
Gods
[redeemed]
people need a new awakening! It is an
alarming fact that, in spite of the mighty voice of God in the momentous
happenings of recent years, there has been no really great lasting general revival, not in a single European
country!
Certainly
in not a few towns and districts the [Holy] Spirit of God has been able to work in local
movements. The general public has been
spoken to with power by the gospel.
Christians have been quickened and non-Christians won, triumphant songs
of thanks and salvation have been heard in churches and tents, in halls and
homes. For all these works of grace in
town and country we cannot sufficiently bless the Lord.
And
yet, amongst [regenerate] believers, we see so much earthly-minded so much love of the world,
so much anxiety, so much narrow egoism, so much exclusive concern for ones own
little circle, so much firm holding fast to old
forms which have long since been dead and which, not seldom, never had any
solid warrant in Scripture, so much over-emphasis on secondary matters, and so
much neglect of the true values that really matter.*
[* Where can we go today to hear faithful ministry,
which makes a clear distinction between what we receive as a free gift (Rom. 6: 23,
R.V.), from what we hope to attain
(Phil. 3: 11) - if accounted worthy
by Christ, (Luke 20: 35)?]
[Page 10] We must
seriously ask ourselves the question:
Have our ears become so deaf that we are not able to hear the voice of
God for the thunder of the battlefields, the roaring of the bombers, the
crashing of walls, the collapsing of houses, the dying of millions of men and
women, old and young?
Without
a doubt, sin has been at work here. Not
God but the demoniacal powers of world kingdoms separated from Him have caused
all this. But in this thunder of
catastrophies God has spoken, secretly controlling them and, in the last
analysis, mightily ruling by them (cf. Jer. 51: 20; Isa. 45: 1-7): Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He has made in the earth (Psa. 46: 8).
How
could God speak yet more impressively? First-class world powers have been smashed,
towns have been changed to fields of ruins, irreplaceable works of art,
centuries old, have been destroyed, millions of men have been killed. Under
the judgment of God the estrangement of sinners from Him has worked itself out
in a most terrifying manner to their own disaster.
How
clearly ought Gods [redeemed] people to have recognized Gods voice in the midst
of this Satan-driven whirl of history!
To what a large extent should there have been power-filled witness,
missionary energy, readiness to sacrifice, zeal to be sanctified, and
willingness to show brotherly love, showing forth thus the fact and the fruit
of really living for eternity!
And
yet in general one has seen so very little of all this.
How
can we expect non-Christians to awake if we ourselves are not awakened? How can fire arise if we ourselves do
not burn? How shall
life be begotten if we ourselves are not truly filled with life?
Things
must be altered. Gods people must awake.
You must awake and I too! We must let ourselves be clothed anew by
life-giving power from on high. The
living Christ must become again the reality of our souls and take possession of
all we are and have.
We
must forsake all false quietism and reach out into a holy activity. We must learn anew to regard our Christian
life as a race, as a running (1 Cor. 9: 24), as combat in the arena of faith
(cf. Phil. 3: 14; Heb.
12: 14). I therefore so run (1 Cor.
9: 26). Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so
that I might finish my course with joy (Acts 20: 24; 2 Tim. 4: 7), that I have not run in vain (Phil. 2: 16).
The
prize is waiting to be won (1 Cor. 9: 24). I Press [page
11] toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3: 14).
Know ye not that they which run in a race
run all, but one receiveth the prize? So
run, that ye may obtain (1 Cor.
9: 24).
But
he alone has the victory who looks to Christ.
For Christ also was a warrior. He
was both pioneer and victor. For this
reason He is also our example and source of power, our umpire and rewarder.
What we need is
a renewed vision of the person of the Redeemer, a vision of the cross and a practical obedience to the ways of
the cross, a thankful recognition of Gods grace abundantly bestowing its
blessings upon us. We must be taken hold
of and flooded through and through by
the power of His Spirit so that we may run in His strength unto the goal of our
calling. This implies in detail that
we must stand the test in difficulties, in sorrows, we must be able to dismiss
the spirit of worrying and overcome all spiritual weariness and symptoms of
fatigue, we must be ready to bear witness and must have a missionary
spirit. Brotherly love and sanctification, prayerfulness and hearkening to the
Word of God, must characterize us.
All this will enable us to run steadfastly towards heaven and [the coming] glory.
Such
is the purpose of this book. In the
main, this is the message of the 12th
chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. And thus the message of God in those bygone
days will become a message of admonition
and warning for us today, a message of revival from the past for the people of
God in the present.
It
is these truths that I feel of the
greatest importance. In fact, in
them lies the fulcrum, the secret of our own intimate heart relationship to the
Lord: that is, in personal experience of the crucified and resurrected Christ,
in faith in a present full salvation, in the realization of the heavenly
standing of the redeemed, in the spirit of joyful gratitude for the richness of
blessing which we have received in Christ by the Holy Spirit.
On
the other hand we must not fail to
confess our very great imperfections.
We must see our obligation to
strive for practical holiness, the necessity for sacrificial readiness in vital
missionary testimony, for steadfast standing of the test in all the trials of
the present time. There must be
intercourse with the Lord through prayer and through [obedience
to the teachings of] His Word, devotion and
dedication, freshness in faith and pressing
forward to the goal, realization of responsibility, holy earnestness, and, at
the same time, joyful expectancy of His glorious coming again.
[Page 12] All this is possible only through Him, who is Himself
the fountain of all salvation. From Me is thy fruit found (Hos. 14: 8). Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and
today, yea and for ever (Heb. 13: 8).
Only an actual God working in the actual experience of man can help us;
there must be faith for a realized experience of His person, a reckoning upon
His presence. He is at hand (Phil. 4: 5). He is here where I am. His presence is my salvation. He is the ever-ready helper at any moment in
my own personal experience and He helps in every situation joyfully, the
present living Christ here and now. Jesus saves me now.
*
* *
CHAPTER 1[Pages
13-17]
LOOKING UNTO JESUS
THE greatest joy in life is to make Jesus
Christ known. I read this in large letters on the wall of
the Moody Hall in
This
is the fundamental essence of all New Testament spiritual life. To
show forth and practise the truth and the life of Christ is the content
and message of the whole New Testament.
Jesus Christ is for all the New Testament writers the living and only
panacea for all illness, weakness, and distress. Every one of them is perfectly sure of
it: Jesus never disappoints: Jesus only
wonderfully surprises. He never does less than He promised. On the contrary, He exceeds His own word, so
that everyone who really trusts in Him can join in the happy exclamation of the
Queen of Sheba: Not the half
had been told me.
[Page 14] It is not a rhetorical
phrase but my most serious conviction when I state: If anyone were to offer me
a ball of gold as big as the sun, that is a ball more than one million two
hundred thousand times greater than our whole earth - all pure gold - saying,
however, at the same time, You must exchange your
faith in the Lord Jesus for this, I should not have to hesitate for one
moment. There can be only one answer: Away with your golden ball into outer space. I despise it.
Jesus is of infinitely greater value to me. And I know that I should not be the only one
to give this reply. Every real disciple
of Christ would give the same answer.
Every true believer would so reply, just as promptly, without any
hesitation. All created lights of this
world are eclipsed to the man for whom Jesus Christ is risen as the sun of
righteousness. A greater than all is here!
The
whole New Testament speaks of this greater one, of Him who is
indeed the greatest of all. For this
reason the central message of the whole book is the call: Let
us look unto Jesus!
Three
New Testament writings out of a total of 27 books form a special constellation
in this sense: the Gospel of John, the Colossian letter and that to the
Hebrews.
In
Johns Gospel the glory of Christ is radiated as seen from above. He is the Son who came down from heaven into
this world. He was sent from the
Father. Thus we see Christ as viewed
under the aspect of heaven. This is salvations
basis.
In
the Colossian letter we view the glory of Jesus from within, i.e., from within Himself, as the
living, active Saviour and Redeemer, because of the exceeding greatness of His
person (especially in ch. 1), and the all-inclusive sufficiency of His
work (especially in ch. 2). Thus
we see Christ as viewed under the aspect of His own person and His own
work. This is salvations centre.
The letter to the
Hebrews shows us the glory of Christ compared with earlier times, i.e., the times of the preparation for
salvation in Old Testament history. So
Christ is here shown as the One Who not only fulfilled Gods greatest
revelations but infinitely exceeded them (especially in chs. 1-10).
Thus we see Christ as viewed under the aspect of preparation and
fulfilment. This is salvation history.
Therefore, while
we call, Let us look unto
Jesus! is the motto of the New Testament
in general, how much more is it the motto in this radiant constellation of
these three Spirit-given divine
messages!
[Page 15] This message, as indeed the message of the whole New
Testament, aims at life and reality.
Looking unto Jesus must justify itself in practice. The message is not concerned with enthusiasm for Christ but with being filled with the Spirit of Christ, not with mere admiration of His greatness, but with practical experience of His all-sufficiency
in the trials and tribulations of this everyday life of ours; not only
intellectual, spiritual vision, but spiritual action; not only songs of
triumph, but a real practical victory; not only worship, but discipleship. Both aspects belong inseparably together: the
sanctuary and everyday life, heaven and earth, the exalted Christ and His sanctifying practical life-power to be
experienced here below.
The
twelfth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews is that portion of the New Testament in which
this relationship between the vision of Christ and victory in battle is
especially emphasized. We shall consider
this chapter from the following chief points of view:
Let us
look unto Jesus!
For He is our example in conflict. Verses 1-3.
Let us look
unto Jesus!
For thus we can attain practical victory. Verses 1-3.
Let us
look unto Jesus!
For thus we remain steadfast in suffering. Verses 4-11.
Let us
look unto Jesus!
For thus we shall not become wear in the race. Verses 12-15.
Let us
look unto Jesus!
For thus we can live up to the privileges of our birthright. Verses 16-17.
Let us look
unto Jesus!
For thus we shall attain unto the crown and the heavenly City. Verses 18-29.
This
looking unto Jesus is at the same
time a looking away from everything else.
For this reason a word is used for looking in Hebrews 12 which includes both these
meanings.* It means a purposeful looking
away from those objects which automatically catch the eye, to those other objects which have to be concentrated upon. By this means all lack of concentration will [page
16] be
overcome. Our eyes will be directed on
one object, Christ, and the heart will thereby be held by His glory. Thus the whole inward man experiences in ever-increasing
measure the depths and the riches of the Scripture: They saw no one but Jesus only.
[* Greek ap-boran from the Greek apo = from, away from and boran = to
look. Cf. Greek apo-blepein, Heb. 11:
26.]
All
the blessings of God are so devised that they can increase. That is, every fulfilment is at the same time
a promise of something greater. God
never reaches the end of His possibilities (John 1:
16; Eph. 2: 7). Thus the best and most glorious is ever
before us and to come. All is of glory,
in glory, and, according to His own plan, from glory to glory (cf. 2 Cor. 3: 18).
With
the world and sin it is otherwise. It
starts with mock joy and ends with disappointment. At the beginning there is a deceptive glitter
and at the end night.
Many
years ago I visited a Press Exhibition in
How
different is Jesus Christ! His worth for
us increases the more we get to know Him.
He proves Himself true even in the severest testing of everyday
practice. He faileth never. For this reason our whole thought and
endeavour should be directed towards Him.
He leads us from faith
to faith (Rom.
1: 17), from strength
to strength (Psa. 84: 7),
from glory to glory (2 Cor.
3: 18). In Him there is opened an inexhaustible fountain of
salvation (Isa. 12: 3; Zech. 13: 1).
[Page 17] Yet we
experience this increase in heavenly blessings only when our souls strive
forward. Only those who are hungry
get satisfied, only those who are thirsty are refreshed (Matt. 5: 6), only
those who take their discipleship to be a race
attain the prize of their calling (Phil. 3: 14;
2 Pet. 1: 10).
Therefore
let us look unto Jesus! Only so can
we be winners and reach in the arena of faith the goal of [both age-lasting and] everlasting glory (Heb.
12: 1-3).
* *
*
CHAPTER 2
CHRIST - THE EXAMPLE
IN THE RACE
Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that hath endured such
gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your
souls. (Hebrews 12: 2, 3.)
ALL depends on how one looks at life.
He who would live aright, must see aright. He who would live aright as a Christian, must
look upon Christ. If you wish to be
disappointed, look upon others. If you wish to be encouraged and to experience victory, look
upon JESUS CHRIST. He, Jesus alone, is the source of power for
all who run in the arena of faith and who would reach the goal of their
calling.
The
writer of the letter to the Hebrews shows us
in chapter 12. a magnificent picture of the
Crucified One. Christ endured the
cross. Without this central event in the
history of revelation there would be no [eternal] salvation.
For this purpose the message of Christ and His sacrificial death, in
connexion with the triumph of His resurrection, must occupy the central place
in the foreground of all true and Scriptural and effective preaching of the
gospel.
In
the arena of faith:
Let us look unto Jesus! He endured the cross:
1. As
the steadfast Hero with an unflinching will to attain unto Victory.
What
outwardly appeared to be weakness was in fact inward power and strength. How easy it would have been for Him to have
come down from the cross and freed Himself.
Without any difficulty He could have prayed the Father for twelve legions of angels, which surely would have been granted Him (Matt. 26: 53).
We can hardly imagine what that would have meant. When God in the days of Hezekiah saved
Jerusalem which was attacked and much oppressed by the Assyrians, He sent only
one angel out against this strong military might of the Assyrians, and this one angel
destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers and officers
in one night (2 Kings 19: 35). Now Jesus declares that, had He only wished
it, whole legions of angels would have come to His aid to destroy His
enemies. The word legion
is taken from Roman military use. The
Roman legion. on a war footing, consisted of 6,000 soldiers. So this would mean, if we express ourselves
in modern military terms, that heavenly armies to the order of brigades and
divisions would have come to His aid.
And only a single member of these ten thousands of heavenly warriors
could have destroyed in one single night hundreds of thousands of His enemies!
If
only Christ had wished it! But He did not wish
it. He knew that the vicarious
redemptive sacrifice could be offered only by holding firmly on His way of suffering and so bringing
redemption to the world. And therefore He remained on the way of suffering. Therefore He held out until the goal was
reached and until in the hour of death on Golgotha He could cry victoriously, It is finished! (John 19: 30).
The
Hebrews letter most strongly emphasizes this
steadfastness and unflinching will to conquer on the part of Jesus. This amazing situation on
He,
the Lord of the Universe, endured contradiction of earth-born
creatures, indeed great contradiction, yes, even so
great contradiction.
He,
the King of Glory, allowed Himself to be despised and put to shame, and then,
in the midst of all this shame, in true kingly dignity, He despised the
shame. And finally:
He,
the Perfect and Holy One, endured all this at the hands of sinners. Sinners treated Him thus. Sin is in reality the dishonouring of the
creature. That means that creatures who
had lost their own honour through sin robbed Him, the holy King of glory, of
His honour. They even expelled Him from human society by
executing Him as a criminal, as they regarded Him.
To
bear all this without being compelled to do so; to make no use of all the power
which could have helped; to allow oneself to be conquered when one is in
reality vastly superior to ones enemies, and all this only in order to reach a
high goal - this is [page 20] indeed unflinching will to conquer, unequalled
steadfastness, this is real genuine heroism of indescribable, unrivalled
greatness. Of a truth, Christ, the greatest
of all endurers, was the greatest hero-warrior just
in this, His enduring.
In the arena of faith:
Let us look unto Jesus! He
endured the cross:
2. As Leader and perfect Exponent of the faith.
Christ
is the Author and Perfecter of
faith.
Scripture does not speak here only of our faith in the sense
that Christ is the creative basis of our personal faith through His sacrificial
death, His resurrection, and the preaching of the gospel through the Holy
Ghost, or in the sense that He keeps us in the faith, perfects our faith and
brings His own people to the goal. The
Scripture here speaks of faith in general The same word (Gk. archegos),
which is translated in Hebrews 12 by the
English word author, occurs in Hebrews 2: 10,
where it is translated captain, i.e., leader
of an army of faith. The Object of our
faith had Himself practised faith. This,
in the sense of trusting, He did even before His incarnation, indeed, before
the creation of the world, in an eternal Divine manner. For there can never have been a moment when
the Son did not trust the Father. Thus
He originated
the principle of faith (trust) in God, and He
perfected the development and display of faith by
surrendering His original glory, by stepping down to the state of manhood, by
walking on earth as a dependent being and above all by surrendering Himself
unto the death of the cross (G.
H. Lang). Inasmuch
as the Son must have from eternity trusted the Father, He was the first to have
exercised faith, and so is its Author.
On the cross He brought faith to its highest conceivable development,
and so became its Perfecter.
Thus
He, as pioneer of faith, goes before His own, showing them the way by Himself
believing, and thus His faith becomes the most perfect example of faith. The true Son of God and of man showed in
Himself how faith may be raised to the highest degree of perfection. Jesus showed perfect faith. In this way He is at once Author, Pioneer,
Forerunner, full Exponent and Perfecter of faith.
This
is most wonderfully shown in His cry of victory: It is finished! If this cry had been uttered
on the resurrection morning or after the ascension to the throne of Gods
glory, one [page] would perhaps have understood it - we say this in all
reverence. But Christ uttered this cry
at
At
the same time the perfect humanity of the incarnate Son of God shines before our eyes (John 1: 14).
It
is our habit, and rightly so, to regard the deity of the Redeemer and His eternal
relationship as Son of God as the central point in our spiritual thinking. Of a truth, Jesus of Nazareth, who made His
pilgrim way through this world and then was crucified for our sakes on the
cross, was God manifested in
flesh (1
Tim. 3: 16), God
blessed for ever (Rom. 9: 5).
But we should never forget that He was God revealed in flesh, that is, truly as a man in
life and nature. Or as one of the early
church fathers expressed himself: He remained what He was.
He became what we are. He was at once in His own world and nature as equally
in our
own world and nature. To
try to clear up this mystery would be foolishness. The mystery of His incarnation is for ever
unfathomable. Christ did not only work
miracles, He was himself a miracle, He is the miracle of all miracles, the original
archetypical miracle. We must recognize
the truth of His humanity and the truth of His deity. In Christ we have a man on this earth who
perfectly carried out the will of God. In
Him it became clear what God meant when He said: Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness (Gen.
1: 26). Christs life on earth is
the perfect explanation of the meaning of the creation of man.
[Page 22] How encouraging and refreshing it is to know
that this perfect Man has given us the proof that it is possible to live in
faith here on earth, in our present circumstances, in such a way as perfectly
to glorify God. When we look at His
heavenly priesthood from this point of view, how effective and vital it
becomes. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin (Heb. 4: 15).
For
this reason meditation on the humanity of the Incarnate One is not a
speculative problem of Christian theological philosophy, but a subject for
serious contemplative thought for the believing heart, so that it may be
encouraged to go on in the way of practical sanctification. Our Lords example is given to form and
educate us. The picture of Jesus given
us in the Gospels should not be used exclusively for evangelistic purposes,
that is, chiefly for those who are without in order to win their
souls; it should be used just as much for ourselves to teach us practical faith
in life and sanctification. This applies
both for the regular devotional Scripture readings of the individual and for
public ministry in the church.
The
true humanity of the Redeemer and His life of faith on earth give us the reason
why the author of the letter to the Hebrews does not introduce Him in our verse
by His title as Christ; he does not say, Let us look unto Christ, but he names
Him by His name Jesus to emphasize His humanity and does not even add the
word Christ, or any title belonging to His deity, such as Kyrios (= Lord). He says
quite simply: Let us look unto
Jesus.
This is done purposely, just as in other parts of the New Testament the
two names Jesus and Christ are carefully
distinguished.
Jesus
is the name which was given to the Son at His incarnation (Matt. 1: 21).
This name is therefore connected in a special manner with the period of
His life on earth, His true humanity and His humiliation. It is the name which He has in common with other
men (e.g., Jesus Sirach, Jesus Justus: Col. 4: 11).
Christ
is His title as Messiah, into the
full meaning of which He entered later by His ascension and exaltation. Therefore let all the house of
Thus the reason is clear why the Gospels speak mostly of [page 23] Jesus
while the Epistles use mostly the title Christ. For the Gospels treat mostly of the time of His
humiliation, while the Epistles testify of Him as the raised and exalted
One. It is only in the places in the
Epistles where the past humiliation of the Incarnate One is emphasized that the
name Jesus appears alone (2 Cor.
4: 10; Phil. 2: 10; 1 Thess. 4: 14; Heb. 2: 9; 13: 12). The passage which we are now considering also
treats of the time of humiliation of the true Son of Man, and thus the use of
the name Jesus here shows again how perfect
and exact is the inspired Word of God.
In
the arena of faith:
Let us look unto Jesus! He endured the cross:
3. As triumphal Victor in unwavering hope.
For the joy that was set before him He took upon Himself the suffering. What was this joy? Not the glory of the Logos which He had as
the everlasting Word before His incarnation; not the joy in the world,
which the Tempter would have given Him if He had only taken all the glory of
the kingdoms of this world out of his hand, instead of going the way of the
cross (Matt. 4: 8-10); not even the simple joy
in mere freedom from earthly human sufferings in general which He could have
had, had He only avoided the cross; but the future joy is meant which
Christ beheld ever before Him: the completed redemption, the Ekklesia which
one day should be won, the glorifying of the Father, His own personal position
as Victor in the glory after a completed work - in fact just the joy which He
would have if He held out steadfastly right on to the end.
In
the statement, He endured the
cross for the joy that was
set before Him, the Greek word anti, just as its English equivalent for,
could indeed also mean instead
of, so as to mean that Christ had the
choice between the enjoyment of heavenly or earthly blessings on the one hand and
humiliation unto the death of the cross on the other hand, and that he endured
the cross instead of this joy.
But in our connexion the word must have its other meaning in order to in order to bring in something valuable for which one must do or
endure something. In order to gain or attain it; Christ endured the cross in order to attain the joy which lay before Him. The word anti
is used here with the same meaning as
in Hebrews 12: 16, where it says that Esau
sold his birthright in order to attain
the pottage. The [page 24] decisive factor, however, that anti means here in
order to is the context, which in the
symbol of the race speaks of the athlete keeping the eye set wholly on the reward, and at the same time
places the word set before Him (Gk. prokeimenos) in connexion with the word joy. One must also remark that this Greek word prokeimenos for
set before is often used with respect to public gifts intended
to honour a person. These gifts were
used as prizes in the Greek races and were publicly exhibited, i.e., set before the eyes of
all onlookers. Professor A. Tholuck, the well-known
German theologian, calls this word prokeimenos even the technical
term for such rewards when these were exhibited as prizes before the
races to those who took part in them.
So
Jesus in His race looked steadfastly upon the coming [millennial]
joy. He did not allow Himself to be turned aside from the future [glory] to anything
connected with the present. His
suffering took place in the anticipation of joy. His faith as He was adorned with the crown of
thorns was at the same time a sure hope of the kingly crown of heavenly glory.
And
God gave His approval to this attitude of faith and hope in the Crucified
One. Therefore we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour for the very
reason that He suffered unto death. The
words in Hebrews 2: 9, for the suffering of death refer to crowned and not to made a little lower. The text here does not mean that Jesus was
made a little lower than the angels in order to be able to die, as the King
James Version takes it, but that He was exalted because He had
been willing to die, as the Revised Version rightly translates: crowned
because of the suffering of death. The text does not speak of the incarnation
but of the ascension. The thought is the
same as that behind Phil. 2: 9:
Wherefore [because of His obedience unto the death of the
cross] God also has highly
exalted Him. Christs way went through humiliation to
glorification, through rejection to recognition, from cross to crown. His self-humbling is the reason why He is now
in the midst of the throne, in the glory as the Lamb as it had been slain,
bearing the marks of the wounds of His love (Rev.
5: 6). And for this same reason
the new song is sung there: Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof [the book of the consummation of Gods ways of
redemption with mankind and the earth], for thou wast slain and hast redeemed unto God by thy blood men of
every tribe, and [page 25] tongue, and people, and nation; and madest
them unto our God a kingdom and priests: and they shall reign upon the earth (Rev. 5: 9-10). Jesus as the Lamb of God is, by the glory of
the Father, the highly exalted and triumphant Perfecter of the world.
When
Paul speaks of this exaltation of the One Who was formerly humiliated, he feels
that it is almost impossible to find a word which expresses the full measure of
this
exaltation and glorification. As
is so often the case, he is confronted here with the fact that the otherwise so
rich and manifold Greek language does not possess a word adequate to express
that which must be expressed here. The
fact is that the language of men does not possess a suitable word simply
because human experience does not rise to the matter to be expressed. So Paul invents a new word and says that God
did not simply exalt or highly
exalt Jesus, but that He super-exalted Him (Gk. hyperhypsosen). All
other exaltation is nothing compared to His exaltation. All mountains are but plains compared with
the summit of this high mountain
range to which God has hyper-exalted Jesus.
Compared to His greatness all other greatness is a sheer nothing. This is the answer of God to the unflinching
faith and hope of the Crucified One.
But
all these words are found in the Scriptures in order to serve a practical
end. When we are exhorted to look unto
Jesus, and when He is presented to our eyes in this connexion in His heroic
steadfastness, His perfect faith, and His purposeful hope, all this is written in Gods Word to encourage us to genuine. actual
discipleship in life and practice.
Christ endured the cross:
4. As the Example that should encourage and
empower His followers.
The
purpose of the exhortation Let
us look unto Jesus! is, in the context
of the letter to the Hebrews: Let us, looking unto Jesus, gain courage to
follow after Him in the arena of faith.
The look unto the Crucified One gives us new courage in every
situation. Even suffering is brought by
the cross into its right perspective. In
order to weigh up our own difficulties aright we must consider what Jesus
suffered and think over what a contradiction of sinners He endured. That is the encouragement which arises out of
looking unto Jesus. The exact meaning of
the Greek word for consider (analogizesthai) is to [page
26] reckon, to count the
cost, to check a calculation, to calculate carefully. It occurs
e.g., III Macc. 7: 7; 1 Clem. 38: 3. So we have to calculate
what Jesus suffered, and just as He was unflinching we also would be
unflinching. He exercised faith,
therefore let us also live in faith. He hoped while suffering and looked onward
to the crown; so let us also keep our eyes fixed on the goal. Christ, the Crucified One, is not only our Saviour but also our
Example. We are not intended merely
to cast a glance after Him but to follow
after Him. We are not only to
meditate upon Him, but we must respond
to Him; not only to admire Him, but to
obey and in practice to respect Him.
Let us not forget: The cross
brings not only redemption but also obligation, it not only frees us but binds
us, it not only looses us from our former sins but takes possession of us in order
to make possible a new, holy life. One cannot in truth believe on the
Crucified One without at the same time making His experience on the cross the
principle of ones own life and behaviour.
For to this end Christ
died and lived again that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living (
During
my travels I have often visited places well known through the life of Martin Luther. In fact, I have visited most of them: Eisleben, where he was born and died; Eisenach,
where he went to school and studied the classics; Erfurt,
where he visited the university and then later in the monastery cell sought a
merciful God with many a sigh and a tear; Wittenberg, where he was Professor
and where he nailed up his Theses and burnt the Bull of his excommunication by
the Pope; Wartburg, where he translated the New Testament; Worms, where he
confessed his good confession before the Emperor and the Imperial Diet; Matburg, Coburg, and Halle. In most of
these places one sees the so-called Luther-Rose
on the doors and walls of these houses or in the collections of the letters and
documents of the great Reformer.
This rose represents Luthers coat of arms and was
designed [page 27] by himself. By
means of this rose Luther wished to express the main principles of his own
faith and of his personal experience of salvation. It is the symbol of
my theology, he once said. In
the centre is a black cross in the midst of a red heart, and the whole is
surrounded by a white rose on a blue background, surrounded by a golden
ring. With this form of seal Luther
wished to express symbolically in form and colour what he once wrote in a
letter to Lazarus Spengler,
the clerk of the city of
On roses walks the Christian heart,
Een though the cross be here its part.
Holy joy, heavenly nature, and everlasting glory is
our blessed lot where faith in the Crucified One is the true possession of our
heart and the centre of our life. The
cross is not a symbol of destruction but of life. It is
inextricably connected in Scripture with the [first] resurrection.
For Christs death is at once the death of our death and therefore life
and eternal bliss. Let us look unto Jesus. In the cross
is our [eternal]
salvation.
But if Jesus is to be your example, He, the Crucified One,
must first have become your Saviour.
Before the cross can be our sanctification we must have experienced it
as our justification. Before the new
can begin the old must disappear.
[Page 28] Some years
ago an artist painted a remarkable, highly symbolical picture. It showed a spitting mouth, a flaming eye, a
clenched fist, and - nothing else: No representation of Christs person - not
even any other fully represented human figure.
Under this picture are the words: Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who it was that struck thee?
The
meaning of this picture is plain. It
says to us: All you who regard Me, fill in the parts of this picture which are
lacking with yourself. You are the one
who struck Christ. This spitting mouth
is your mouth. This flaming eye is your eye.
This clenched fist is your fist.
You are the one who brought Christ into this, His deep suffering. Do not look around yourself, but look into
yourself. Strike your own breast, and
confess in humility and shame:
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine:
Thy grief and Thy compassion
Were all for sinners gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.
Bernard
of Clairvaux, 12th century A.D. (translated by I. W. Alexander).
How
marvellous and all-inclusive is the redemptive power of the Crucified One! Our sins were innumerable. How unfathomable our guilt! How absolutely impossible it is to make our
crooked life-story straight before God by our own unaided strength.
In
a very impressive manner this was made clear to the disciples by the Lord in
His parable of the wicked servant. He
spoke of a king one of whose slaves owed him ten thousand talents, and he
forgave him the whole debt (Matt. 18: 23-24). Ten thousand talents would have a value of
about three million pounds sterling in gold.
The buying power would be, however, much greater, needing to be
multiplied many times.
We
must compare these values with the monetary and wage values of those times in
order to understand the great force of this parable. One talent consisted of 6,000 denarii. This means that 10,000 talents were equal
to 60 million denarii. Two chapters further on, in the parable of the workers in the vineyard
we, [page 30] learn that
the daily wage for a worker in the harvest amounted to one denarius, i.e., not quite a shilling (Matt. 20: 2-10, 13). This means that the servant concerned, had he
had to earn his money in the harvest-field as a labourer, would have had to
work 60 million days solely to work off the capital amount which he owed his
king and lord. Or shall we put it even
more plainly: He would have had to work 164,000 years without holidays, without any Sundays or other furlough. And even then he would have worked off only
the capital amount without having paid the interest, simple or compound
interest, which of course would have to be reckoned up and added. Even if the rate of interest had been very
small it would have cost much more than the few denarii
which the debtor would have been able to earn.
So that the more he worked to decrease his debt, the more his debt would
have been increased from day to day.
Thus it becomes clear why the Lord used this tremendous, almost alarming
comparison.* He purposely names such a
huge figure. He wants to make it clear
to us that our guilt before God is so immensely great! It is impossible to pay it off by our own
efforts. Self-redemption is absolutely
insufficient and out of the question. On
the other hand, Gods mercy is so wonderful that it exceeds all earthly
relationships and comparisons. Jesus
paid the [full]
ransom price for our huge guilt of sins of omission and commission. He did it on
[*Cf. similar figures
of speech used by the Lord when He speaks of the beam
in the eye of the hypocrite (Matt. 7: 3), of
the eye of the needle, through which a camel should pass (Matt. 19: 24), or of the plucking
out of the right eye and of the cutting off
of the right hand, which would be better than to sin (Matt.
1: 29, 30).]
But
then we must remember what duties this brings with it, even to
serve Him in love and to show the same attitude of mind which corresponds to
Gods nature and Gods forgiving goodness.
Therefore,
if you have not yet taken Him as your personal Saviour, do not hesitate any
longer. Do it now. He does not want to rob you of anything. He only wishes to give you something [- eternal life]. He does not wish to impoverish you but to
enrich you. Faith does not make poor,
but rich.
There is life in a look at the Crucified
One,
There is life at this moment for thee!
Let us look unto Jesus!
* *
*
CHAPTER 3 [Pages
30-67]
THE ANCIENT GREEK
RACECOURSE AND THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE
(as compared in the New Testament)
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? Even so run, that
ye may attain! (I Cor.
9: 24.)
Not that I have already obtained: but I press on. ...
Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the
things which are before, I press on toward the goal (Phil 3: 12-14.)
PEOPLES are organisms with soul and body. They are more than a mere sum total of
individuals. They live a common corporate life through generations. Therefore each, according to its natural
character, had definite ideals and goals.
1. GREEK AND ROMAN SPORT LIFE IN GENERAL
Freedom, beauty, and wisdom were the
three chief ideals of the Greeks. They
were therefore the goal of all Greek education.
According to the ideal Greek conception a properly sound spirit can
dwell only in a sound body. The Greek
could scarcely think of a beautiful spirit in an ugly body. Mens
1. The Greek ideal for soul and body.
For the Greek, beauty and virtue were
inseparable. They saw the ideal man in
the conjunction of a noble soul with a beautiful body. In his language the word for beautiful (Gk. kalos) meant also good. Everything
beautiful must be also good. Indeed, for
this duality he coined a special double word, which comes in no other human
language, kalokagathia. This
is a union of the [page 31] three words: kalos beautiful, kai and agathos good; meaning thus equally the beauty of goodness, or reversed, the goodness of beauty. This word expressed his highest goal of ideal
manhood, and was therefore of great significance in the Greek language. It indicated the harmonious and full
cultivation of man in body and spirit.
The
whole Greek life of sport served this goal.
Both beauty of mind and strength and dexterity of body should be
developed and directed to this harmonious ideal. Therefore the Greeks esteemed the cultivation
of the body as not less important than that of the soul, and as early as the
time of the poet Homer (about 900
B.C.) not to be experienced in gymnastics was considered a disgrace. Later the cultivation of gymnastics was made
a State institution and was regulated by strict laws. These exercises, with graded degrees of
difficulty, were carried on from the seventh year of life, until manhood was
reached. They took place, if possible,
every day. They were connected with
bathing and swimming in cold river-water, and with a simple natural manner of
life. This was all well-qualified to
produce that beauty of body at which we still wonder in the old Grecian statues. In
At
all times gymnastics flourished among the Greeks, and were nurtured and
celebrated. Only later did a manifold
degeneration set in, so that by the practical Romans the whole system was not
regarded with favour.
Into
that Greek-Roman Mediterranean world the apostles carried the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Jesus is Saviour was their message.
It is He who frees from the guilt and the power of sin. Faith
in Him creates new life, solves all problems, gives joy and strength, grants a
victorious life, a living hope, and an eternal glorious goal. Therefore Christ is the revelation of the
saving power of God. Where He reveals
himself the powers of darkness are conquered.
The gospel is the power
of God (Rom.
1: 16).
But
this power is not mechanical. Only by continuous union with Christ, as
Himself the fount of power, will it be revealed in this world in the life of
the redeemed. But the efficient working
of the Holy Spirit, Who is the imparter of this power, is bound up with the
personal devotion, [obedience (Acts 5: 32b),] and
earnest striving of the [page 32] believer. It will call forth in us [the redeemed people of God,] a holy zeal, a stretching forth of oneself after holiness and victory.
Right and power were
the two special and chief ideals of the Roman people, who at that time ruled
the Mediterranean world. Right
and power were likewise two prominent verities and possessions
of Christian truth. Especially in Pauls
teaching were they central. For the
gospel is the fulfilment of all human longing.
What Greeks and Romans strove after, what in general slumbered in the
soul of each man as the goal of his innermost desire, became in Christ a living effective spiritual reality. But at the same time this gift of God
surpasses all conception of men in general, even as heaven is higher than
earth, as Gods mercy is greater than our need, as His strength is more
glorious than all we could wish or hope for, even our greatest and highest.
To
proclaim this salvation of God to men, and to help them to understand these
mighty truths out of eternity, the apostles and evangelists of the Lord
constantly used pictures and comparisons drawn from the civil, social, and
cultural life of their time. And because discipleship to Christ is at the
same time a holy war they often took their comparisons from the life of a
soldier or an athlete. Each hearer
of their message, each reader of their letters should be made to perceive clearly that faith in Christ implied
entrance into a conflict. Now it is for us, in the power of God, to
press towards the heavenly goal. Now must we concentrate every power which
God grants upon a divine aim. Now must
we fight and wrestle, not indeed in our own strength, but by the faith that
makes use of the power of grace. Only so
can complete victory be secured.
Therefore
it is important to be acquainted with the chief features of athletic practice
of that period, so as to understand the numerous references to it in the New
Testament.
2. The Creek Gymnasium. The Palaestra. The Academy
at
At
first Greek gymnastics consisted of only a few exercises of the simplest
type. Thanks to the sunny climate of
[Page
33] At
great cost the gymnasia were adorned with statues and other works of art.
Later,
special covered wrestling places were erected.
These were termed Palaestra, which word is derived from the Greek word
pale, wrestling contest. The word (from pallo, to sway, swing, whirl) pictures the wrestlers
locked in each others arms and swinging to and fro, each straining to throw
the other. It is employed by Paul in the
description of the armour of the Christian: Our wrestling (pale)
is not against flesh arid
blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the
world-rulers of this darkness (Eph. 6: 12).
In
Racecourses
were introduced (Gk. stadion). A stadium was about 200 yards in length. In the golden age of Greece, before the
Peloponnesian war (431-404 B.C.), there arose many large and well-appointed
gymnasia and palaestrae which in addition to the
special rooms for oiling and dusting ordinary arrangements, had special rooms
for oiling and dusting the bodies of the Wrestlers, baths, sweating chambers,
and cloakrooms. Near
According
to their ideal of kalokagathia, the beauty of goodness, however,
exercise of the body and training of the spirit were inseparably
connected. This is the reason why just
in these gymnasia there developed a powerful intellectual life. They were furnished with special rooms (Gk. exedra) for learned intercourse, in which
philosophers, rhetoricians, and other scholars gathered for discussion, and
which were provided with stone benches round the wall. The activity of Socrates, as described by Plato
and Xenophon,
gives a lively view of the mental life which developed in these schools, in
addition to gymnastics.
One
of the most celebrated of these schools was a gymnasium dedicated to the
legendary hero Akademos
and therefore called Academy. This Akadernos is
mentioned in a by no means insignificant passage of the legend of king Theseus of Athens and the Dioscuri
(the twin sons of Jupiter, Castor and Pollux. (See Acts 28: 11). The king had stolen Helen, the sister of the
Twins, but Akademos had revealed to the two brothers
the spot where she was kept, so that they could recover her. Later, on account of this legend, the Lacedaemonians, who especially revered the Dioscuri, whenever they invaded
Because
the schools of sport, the gymnasia, were devoted to the mental training of
youth, and not to the bodily training alone, the Humanists of centuries fifteen
and sixteen applied the term Gymnasium to their schools, since these were
devoted in the first place to the cultivation of the ancient languages. This became the general title of high
schools, especially in
The
significance of the gymnasia and palaestra was heightened by the national
games, for they were a field in which the dexterity gained in the palaestra
could be displayed before all
3. The
Olympian and Isthmian Games.
Because
gymnastic exercises by their very
nature were often competitive, every opportunity was used for arranging
contests, especially at military triumphs, harvest festivals, and the
dedication of temples. These contests
were at first quite simple in style, but in the course of time they developed
in sundry places into great, popular, national festivals. These were visited not only by the Greeks of
the motherland, but also by the Hellenes of the Islands, and the Greeks
dwelling on the western coast of Asia Minor, in south
Throughout
Around
these contests there developed also great fairs, with exchange of various
wares. At the same time these festivals
were used for all kinds of advertising.
Especially after the 80th Olympiad (456 B.C.) Poets, orators
and artists sought to make their productions known before so select an
audience. Even the renowned Greek
historian Herodotus is reported to have read here in public a portion of his
history of the Persian wars.
In
addition to the Olympian games there were three other great national contests,
but these never gained the same importance as the Olympian.
The
Isthmian games were a festival of Ionians, and
stood at first under the oversight of
Know ye not that they who run in a race run all, but one [page 36] receiveth the prize? Even so run, that ye may attain. And every
man that striveth in the games is temperate in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown
[lit. wreath]; but we an
incorruptible. I therefore so run, as
not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air. But I buffet my body and bring it into
bondage [lit. enslave it]: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I
myself should be rejected (1 Cor. 9: 24-27).
The
Isthmian games were held in honour of Poseidon the god of the sea. Their site was a spruce grove dedicated to
him.
The
Pythian games
were held near Delphi, in the region of Phocis, near
the foot of
The
Pythian games commenced in the year 586 B.C. At first they were musical competitions, and
were songs accompanied by playing the cithara, lute, and lyre (a form of the
guitar), and later the flute. Afterward
gymnastic contests were added, such as chariot and horse races. As the laurel was sacred to the sun god
Apollo, the victors garland at
The
fourth chief Grecian games were held at
In
Pauls time athletic games were held in most Roman provinces. Almost every city had its regularly recurring
contests, the organization of which belonged to the most important duties of
the local authorities.
[*
Some of these Asiarchs had friendly relations with
Paul (Acts 19: 31)]
Such
sporting festivals were held in almost all the cities to which the seven letters
in the book of Revelation were addressed, [page 37] for example,
Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis,
Philadelphia, Laodicea (Rev.
2 and 3). Thus these customs and practices were known
in the whole world surrounding the early Christians, so that it is easily understood
why the writers of the New Testament so often refer to them as pictures and
comparisons to make their message clear and
comprehensible to their Christian readers.
4.
In ancient times
The
festival fell in the time of the new moon after the summer solstice, about the
beginning of July. When to the simple
races other contests were added, the duration of the games was gradually
extended from one day to five.
In
the year 776 B.C. a certain Koroibos won the race. Thenceforward the name of the victor
was registered. This year was also the
beginning of the reckoning of the Olympiads.
An Olympiad was the four-year interval from festival to festival. But this reckoning did not apply to the
common civil life.
The
most flourishing period of the Olympian games was in the sixth and fifth
centuries B.C., until the Peloponnesian war (431-404). But in spite of all the conflicts between the
Grecian tribes they continued, and even under the Roman rule. Indeed, Roman
Emperors, as Nero, sought to
gain the honour of the Olympian Victors wreath.
Right at the entrance to the central sacred circle
stood the holy wild olive tree (Gk. elaia kallistephanos) from which were taken the twigs for
the victors wreath. Close by was the
vast temple of the Olympian Zeus.
Floors, columns, and statues were found in place and are now in the
In the temple was the greatest and finest example of
Hellenistic sculpture, the statue of Olympian Zeus. According to the
description of Herodotus it was the handiwork of Phidias,
of gold and ivory.
The
Olympian games continued in changed
form until the [page 38] fourth century after Christ, when they were forbidden
by the emperor Theodosius, as a
relic of heathendom. This was in A.D.
394, that is, after the 293rd Olympiad.
An
Englishman,
5. Amphitheatres
and circuses of the Romans: Circus Maximus
and
Colosseum at
The
games and contests of the Romans bore another stamp. With them the amphitheatre and the circus
were the characteristic places.
The
Roman amphitheatre was an oval or circular building, without roof, with
surrounding rows of seats forming ascending steps. The interior space was separated by a wall
from the area of seats. It was strewn
with sand and was the scene of the contests.
It was therefore called the arena (Lat., arena, sand). It was surrounded
by cages for the beasts and rooms for the combatants. The lowest row of seats was for the umpires
of the games. The place of honour was
the Podium. Here sat the Institutor of
the games, and likewise the vestals, the priestesses of the State and of the
goddess Vesta.
Next above were the seats of the senators, the knights, and the
people. For protection [page
39] from the sun and rain large
awnings (Lat. velaria) could be drawn over the heads of the onlookers. The author has seen in the amphitheatre at
Vast
crowds gathered to these games in the amphitheatre. Even the night before the games the people
streamed there to secure seats: for though the space was so vast it was
nevertheless difficult to find room. The
Flavium Amphitheatrum,
built by the Emperors Vespasian and Titus, the so-called Colosseum, in
Such
an amphitheatre must have been a splendid sight. Every seat would be occupied. Beneath, the nobility, senators, senior
officers, ladies in richest apparel sparkling with gold and jewels. The Vestal
priestesses of the State in priestly attire.
Far above sat the common people, the peasantry, the soldiers - even
slaves had free access. High over the
arena an awning was spread; coloured carpets decorated the balustrades; flags
flew on their staffs; garlands of roses climbed from pillar to pillar. Between were shining statues of the gods,
before which stood bowls of incense.
Often figs, dates, nuts, and cakes were thrown among the people, as well
as roasted fowls and pheasants.
Lotteries were distributed, by which could be won garments, furniture,
gold, silver, even houses and estates.
In one day a lucky man could become rich. Everything breathed of pleasure and
happiness. They laughed and joked, spun
love-stories, and made bets for or against each contestant: yet what a horrid
spectacle it was that the crowd awaited!
The
other place of the Roman games was the circus.
The name comes from the Latin word circus = circle; but its form was not
a circle, but a wide far-stretching racecourse.
There was racing, boxing, and wrestling at the great Circensian
Games (Lat. Ludi Circenses), which were known everywhere in the
Mediterranean world. It is these contests which Paul not seldom
uses as pictures of the conflicts of the spiritual life.
The
largest circus was the Circus Maximus in
Rome. According [page
40] to
tradition it was built by king Tarquin Priscus about 500 B.C. in the valley between the
Palatine and the Aventine hills. Caesar completed the arena, which was some
700 yards in length and 140 in breadth.
It was enclosed by three tiers of arcades. Within there were the rows of seats for the
spectators. Here also the lower rows
were for the senators and the higher classes.
The royal box was beneath. In the
time of Caesar the number of seats is reported to have run to 150,000. In the time of Titus, the conqueror of
Among
the Romans, besides foot-racing, wrestling, and boxing, horse and chariot races
played an important part, and to a large extent also fights of wild
beasts. They were more prominent than
foot-racing. Indescribably ferocious and
lustful spectacles took place in both the circus and the amphitheatre of the
Roman world in the time of the Emperors.
In
the great Hellenistic cities, the manner of life of the masses, who did little
or no work, became more and more degenerate.
Panem et circenses - Bread and games! - these they
demanded from their rulers. By day they stood about idle: in the evening they
went to the amphitheatre, this disgusting invention of Roman brutality. In addition to this there came a senseless
exaggeration of sport. The mad emperor Caligula could without risk think of nominating his favourite horse
Incicatus to be Consul (!), and thus the chief
officer of State. The emperor Nero himself appeared as
charioteer, singer, musician, and poet, and touted the provinces with a
senseless display of splendour as an actor and stage performer.
In
the amphitheatre, before thousands upon thousands of spectators, the gladiators
(Lat. gladius, sword) fought for
life or death. If one spared himself he
was driven on with red-hot rods. Great
was the enthusiasm when one picturesquely fell in the battle, while thousands
applauded. Caesar caused not only that
man should fight with man but that bands should encounter bands; 300 horsemen
against 300 horsemen, 500 footmen against 500 footmen, 20 elephants against 20
elephants. After the completion of the
amphitheatres, especially after the time of Caesar, [page
41] the wild beast conflicts
were more often performed there, rather than in the circuses.
Water
was let into special basins, and the spectators were treated to regular
sea-fights. Whole flotillas
contended. The emperor Claudius (mentioned in Acts 11:
28; 18: 2.) gave on the Fucin lake a
spectacular sea-fight between galleys with three banks of rowers and those with
four, seating altogether 19,000 men. Domitian, the
contemporary of the apostle John, caused a new and still greater
lake to be dug, on which fought fleets in full war array. All this was not mimic war, but real fighting
in which thousands fell or were drowned.
If
these displays might in some sense have given a certain impression of
magnificence, the execution of criminals, which also took place among the shows
in the amphitheatre, could offer only the exhibition of the horrible and
vulgar. Bound to stakes, the condemned
were completely defenceless against starving wild beasts. Sometimes they were allowed weapons, but only
to the prolonging of their torment. Robbers, hanging on crosses, were torn limb
from limb by bears. Often these
executions were given a theatrical, mythological and dramatic form, wherein the
condemned played the part of some dying hero of heathen legend or stories of
the gods. One saw Mucius
Scaevola hold his hand over a bowl of burning coal or
Hercules mount the pyre and burn.
Later, very possibly in the time of
Nero, and so of Paul, this dramatic, mythological form of execution was applied
also to Christians. The crowd delighted when the martyrs were
made to play the part of Hercules, who was burnt, or of Ixion,
who was broken on the wheel, or of Marsyas, whose
skin was stripped from his living body.
Women must appear as Dirce, who according to
tradition was tied by the hair to a bull and dragged to death. Such suffering is reported of the renowned
martyr Perpetua near
Usually
the bloody spectacle began with a parade of gladiators in full armour. Before the Emperor and his suite they laid
down their weapons and cried, Ave, Caesar; morituri te salutant! Hail, 0
Caesar; those about to die greet thee!
First
came a mimic battle. Then the trumpets
gave the signal, and the fight with sharp weapons began. Gladiators stepped
forward, singly or in bands, with sword, dagger, or net. [Page 42] Horse-men with long lances charged one another. Others fought from chariots.
If
one fell alive into the hand of his opponent, the spectators decided for life
or death. If they waved their kerchiefs
or held their thumbs upward, then life was granted. But if they turned their thumbs downward that
was the order for the death-stroke. Even
light-minded and frivolous women and girls gave the sign that sent a man to
death.
In
all parts of the world wild beasts were hunted to provide for the
amphitheatre. From
When
the first blood flowed there rose the roar of the crowd and their cries of
approval. There was downright thirst for
blood. Even before the defeated had time
to appeal for mercy the cry for blood resounded and the stroke followed that
ended life. Slaves, in the garb of the
god of the underworld, dragged the still convulsing bodies into the room of the
dead. This was done by hooks thrust into
the breast. The victors received palm branches, gifts of money, and costly
foods. They were, satiated, made rich, and
treated as the kings of the day (cf 1 Cor. 4: 8).
In
the intervals the bloodsoaked sand was shovelled from
the arena. Negroes scattered fresh sand,
scented water was sprinkled. Then the bloodshedding began afresh.
To
keep up the nervous excitement by ever keener stimulus, the items of the
programme became ever sharper and bloodier. The last conflicts
were the most terrible and exciting.
All this must one keep in mind to
understand certain expressions of the picture language as it is employed in the
letters of Paul, especially in his first epistle to the Corinthians when he
warns them against self-security and self-exaltation.
6. The Roman Amphitheatre and Pauls
figurative language.
For I think that God hath set
forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle
unto the world and [page 43] to angels and men. We are fools for Christs sake, but ye
are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong: ye have glory but we have
dishonour. ... Already ye are filled (satiated), already ye are become rich, ye have reigned without us (1 Cor. 4: 9, 10, 8).
Observe
the words spectacle (Gk. theatron), filled (satiated), rich, reigning as kings (feeling as if one were [now] a king), set forth as the last. In this
particular bringing together of the terms may there not lie a special
view-point of the apostle? Indeed, in these
remarks of Paul, in which, by use of holy irony, he contends against the pride
of the Corinthians it appears that he has in mind the proceedings in the games
in the arena. He compares the
Corinthians and himself with those who step out into the circus or
amphitheatre. At the start came the
lighter and less dangerous combats. The
last items on the programme became the fiercest contests when it was a matter
of life and death. Also the execution of
criminals condemned to die took place, as we saw, in the arena in broad
theatrical publicity.
Paul
compares the Corinthian Christians to those who entered the arena at the
beginning, who had the easier battles, and thus, of course, had usually
finished their contests first. Thy
apparently had already won their victory, while he had still to fight. So in holy irony he says: You have already
received your gifts, even as the victorious combatants in the arena were richly
rewarded by coins flung down by the lookers on: you are rich. You have
already had your feast, even as the fighters in the arena who conquered had a
great meal: you are filled (satiated).
You have been already honoured and feel yourselves to be kings: ye have reigned as
kings.
But
all this did not alter the fact that these so haughty, self-conceited
Corinthians had faced only the easier battles. Therefore their wrestlings and apparent victories were only like the first, the easier part of the programme of
the spectacle (theatron) in the arena. But Paul and
his fellow-workers had to maintain the harder battle. Theirs was like the last items of the programme.
They were epithanatioi, that is, gladiators, whose contest
ended in life or death, or those who were adjudged to die, and so to experience
the worst. Their battle was more serious than that of those who suppose all is so
simple, so matter of course, so secure.
His devotion was more definite; he did not shirk the hardest fight. Therefore he goes on to say: Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, [page 44] and are buffeted, and have no certain
dwelling-place; and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we
bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat; we are made as
the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now. I
write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children (1 Cor.
4: 11-14).
There
is another reference to the spectacles in the arena of circus and amphitheatre
in this word of the apostle in the same letter: If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at
[*The Resurrection (of both
the bodies and souls) of the righteous dead, will happen sometime
in the future (2 Tim. 2: 15-18; Luke 14:
14; John 14: 3); it will not be one at a time (when death takes
effect upon each); but, all together and at
the time of the second advent of Christ Jesus, ( 1 Thess. 4: 16); and only
after being judged by Him as, worthy to attain
that age
- the Millennium and the resurrection [out] from the dead, (Luke 20: 35). cf. Matt.
5: 20; 18: 3; Phil 3: 11-14; Heb. 11: 35b, 40; Rev. 6; 9-11; 20: 4,
etc.).]
Doubtless
Paul had not literally had to fight with wild beasts in the amphitheatre at
So
that the expression can only be figurative.
In
In his letter to the Romans, Ignatius of Antioch similarly described the heathen
crew of the ship on which he was taken from Syria to Rome there to be tried and
then executed in the Colosseum (about A.D. 112). He wrote: From
Furthermore,
by his remark, I have fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, Paul cannot
have meant the uproar of the silversmith Demetrius and the stupid, unbridled raging
of the thoughtless, excited mob in the theatre (Acts
19: 23-34). For Paul had indeed written the first
letter to
Therefore
that letter must have been written
earlier, and his reference to fighting with wild beasts must refer to previous [page
45] experiences. The passage can only be understood either
that Paul had in mind some special single attack in Ephesus of which we do not
know, or that he desired to indicate in
general that everywhere raging enemies had surrounded him, so that he himself
had always afresh risked his life for Christs sake. But all
this he had been enabled to do and suffer only in view of the resurrection
and perfecting, the triumph of the work of Christ and the
glory of the world [age] to come. Therefore only faith in the resurrection
gave him the strength to devote himself so fully and wholly to his Lord and
Redeemer.*
[* Paul knew that, - Life lost (as a martyr in the service
of Christ) = life won and a Crown
during Christs Millennium: (2 Thess.
1: 4, 5; 2 Tim. 4; 8. cf. Rev. 3: 21; 6:
9-11; 20: 4.).]
Without
the amphitheatre that world of the apostle is simply not to be imagined. Also as regards the names of the twenty-five
brethren and sisters of the church in Rome found in the salutations of the
apostle at the close of his epistle to the Romans, we shall certainly not be mistaken if we say that not a few of those
greeted ended their earthly life in the arena.
The persecution of the Christians by Nero (A.D. 64) broke out only a
very few years after the letter to the Romans was written. Now it is always the faithful who are the
first to be persecuted, so that it may be taken for granted that not a few
became martyrs for Christ whom Paul described here as fellow-workers in Christ Jesus ... beloved in the Lord
... fellow-prisoners
... approved in
Christ ... who laboured much in the Lord (Rom.
16: 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12). Over Romans 16
flames the awful glare of the burning of
But
let us never forget that the witnesses of the martyr church of the first centuries
would not have been vigorous enough to offer up their lives in full devotion to
Christ even unto death unless they had
previously lived a life of consecration and testimony. They would never have been able to die and
conquer in the arena of the amphitheatres had
they not proved steadfast and true in the arena of faith.
Only he who proves faithful in the
practical tests of daily life can stand fast in the great tests and trials of
special situations. Only he who conquers
in the ordinary will be able to conquer in the extraordinary. Only he who is faithful in the small things
can be faithful in the great (Luke 16: 10). But such an one will then also have the
blessed experience as thy days, so thy strength (Deut. 33: 25).
To the faithful the Lord will grant special accessions of His strength
in special circumstances. But [page 46] faithfulness and devotion are prerequisites
for all Divine gifts and blessings.
Therefore
despise not the commonplace. Do not
underestimate the need of being victorious in the small burdens and tests. Mere admiration and enthusiasm for those
heroic martyrs in the time of the ancient Roman emperors does not help us
today. We should not only look on and
admire but be practical followers of their faithfulness and devotion to
Christ. Faith in final victory involves responsibility to live victoriously
today. The heroism of Christs
witnesses in the arena of circus and amphitheatre should be to us an unforgettable spur to self-denial, endurance, and
steadfast striving towards the goal, in the arena of faith. This is the reason why in our present
exposition we have given so detailed a description of the circus and
amphitheatre. We obtain insight into the
surroundings of the early Christians. We
understand certain New Testament allusions and references to those
conditions. But we are thereby also impressively called to unreserved
devotion of our own life to Christ.
Thus shall we be runners in the race, followers of Christs witnesses of
former times, and shall together with them become partakers of the coming final
glorious victory. Therefore seeing we are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses ...
let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Heb. 12: 1), Let
us consecrate our life to Christ! Let us
press on in the arena of faith (Heb. 6: 1).
7.
The Cross in the Colosseum.
Years
ago we were in the Colosseum. It is the
site where formerly the Golden House (Lat. Domus Aurea) of Nero stood, a vast palace with many
villas and gardens, fountains and lakes, and halls adorned with gold, marble,
and ivory. It was the scene of Neros
persecution of Christians, where shortly after Pauls time they were killed in
the most horrible ways. Fifteen years
after Nero the emperors Vespasian and Titus, of the Flavian
house, built the vast Flavian amphitheatre, the
greatest example of Roman construction.
The name Colosseum was given only later in the Middle Ages because of
the nearness of a colossal statue of Nero (Lat. Colossus Neronis).
By night the mighty ruins rear against the
sky like a spectre. The most important
walls, rows of seats, boxes, and doors can still be plainly recognized. We entered the former Imperial box and gained
an impressive view. We saw the box where
sat the Vestal priestesses in white robes, the priestesses of [page
47] the
State, who had the chief decision for life or death of the defeated
gladiators. We saw the great chambers
with the railed cages where some 2,000 wild beasts were kept, lions, bears,
elephants, giraffes, tigers, and other beasts of prey from Africa and
But
what did we see in the arena, in the very centre, directly in front of the
ruins of the royal box? A CROSS!
A plain high cross! About the
year 1300 a cross was erected here in memory of the martyrs. In the course of time it was lost. In the year 1927 it was again erected by
order of the Italian Government, with this most significant inscription on its
base: Ave crux spes unica, that is Hail
to thee, 0 Cross, the only hope!
A
cross in the Colosseum! Exactly where
formerly believers on account of
their testimony to the Crucified suffered a bloody death, exactly there a cross
stands erect today, bearing this so simple but mighty inscription! The seats of the heathen mockers, the walls
of the Colosseum itself, lie in ruins.
On the place where Gods witnesses died, in the middle of the arena,
stands, like a sign of triumph, a victorious and lofty cross.
Three
times I have been in the Colosseum: three times have I stood long and
thoughtfully before this cross and its inscription.
Immediately
before we had been in the Forum Romanum, the splendid
market-place of ancient
But
the band of the persecuted remain victors.
Their faith in Christ was stronger than all the hate of their
enemies. The cross, on account of which
they suffered, became the symbol of triumph.
The
temples of the heathen, and the palaces of their rulers, have sunk in dust; but
the temple of the church remains. How is
this?
It
is because Christ, the Crucified, is also the Risen One: because in this His
temple, the temple of the church, the true God dwells: because this house,
though outwardly plain, is the royal house of the Eternal!
Thus
history testifies: thus will at last eternity testify: and thus we also join in
the testimony of the Colosseum cross, crying:
Hail to the, 0
Cross, the only hope!
From
this confidence of victory we can draw fresh incentive to hasten joyfully
forward to the heavenly goal. Because
Christ has triumphed we also can conquer.
His cross is at once the sign of victory, of duty, and of promise for
all who believe on Him. Therefore faith
in Him is both hope and assurance, and looking unto Him we can run with
steadfastness the race of faith.
2. THE RELIGIOUS
CHARACTER OF PAGAN SPORT AND ATHLETICS
The
Roman conflicts in amphitheatre and circus, like the earlier Greek sports, were
intimately connected with faith in the heathen gods. The gymnastic games of the Greeks, as well as
the later brutal and degenerate contests of the Romans, were instituted in the
name and to the honour of the pagan godheads.
1.
Gymnastics as part of heathen worship in Greek and Roman life.
The
Olympian games were in honour of Zeus (Jupiter), the Isthmian games near
The
crowns of the victors corresponded. From
the olive, sacred to Zeus, was taken the olive spray which crowned the victor
at
Religious processions were connected with the contests
at [page 49]
The
central object in
By
the Romans also the chief games were held in honour of particular gods,
especially of Jupiter, Apollo, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Pluto, and Proserpine, as
well as in honour of Flora, the goddess of Spring, and to the Syrian Magna
Mater (Great Mother), whose symbol, a stone fallen from heaven (a meteor), was
brought in 205 B.C. to
Some
days before taking part in the games and contests men prepared themselves by
prayers, sacrifices, and adorning the altars.
2. Religious processions before the beginning
of the Roman athletic combats.
There
was often a parade before the games. At
the Circensian games in
3. Introduction of Hellenistic Games in
Because
the Greco-Roman world combined athletics with religion, the [page
50]
conquerors sought, especially from the second century before Christ, to employ
them to break the religious strength of Judaism by the forcible introduction of
such games in
4. The
New Testament writers and their detailed knowledge of Greek and Roman sport
life and Games.
In
the New Testament it is especially the writings of Paul, John, and the writer
of Hebrews,
that contain essential allusions and comparisons to the Greek games. On one occasion Paul employs even an
expressly technical sporting term hypopiazo, I
hit under the eye with the fist, I
smite my opponent (1 Cor.
9. 27).
But
the early Christians did not obtain their knowledge of heathen sporting customs
by visiting these institutions, or by personal participation in the games, after their conversion to Christ. For Paul even before his conversion a visit to these
festivals was completely excluded. For
every orthodox Jew, to which company Paul as an earnest Pharisee belonged, such
participation was forbidden in advance.
And John belonged to the remnant of
The
ground for this lay in the religious character of these institutions. The contests were indeed one with heathen
religion. During the festival the
combatants were regarded as darlings of the gods. Even Philo of Alexandria, the celebrated
contemporary of Christ and the apostles, who so much sought to [page
51]
combine Greek thought and faith in Jehovah, mentions that only once in his life
did he attend the games.
Therefore
the New Testament writers did not gain their knowledge of these customs
directly but indirectly, not by personal observation but by general hearing
about them, not through participation but through the widespread knowledge and
daily talk of their contemporaries.
Nevertheless it is evident that scarcely a single essential feature of
the whole course of the games has escaped their notice and not been employed in
the New Testament figurative speech, especially with Paul. Here again is seen how the writers of the New
Testament endeavoured to present their message to their hearers and readers in
the most understandable form.
3. THE CHIEF
DIFFERENT KINDS OF GAMES
1.
The Race (Gk. stadion). Of the different games the New Testament
mentions three: racing, boxing, and wrestling.
The race is mentioned most frequently.
There
were also three other chief games: throwing the discus (Gk. diskobolia); throwing the spear (Gk. akontismos); and
jumping (Gk. halma). Often jumping,
spear-throwing, quoit-throwing, racing, and wrestling
were united and formed the so-called five-fold
contest (Gk. pentathlon). He who conquered in this
was especially honoured.
With
the 25th Olympiad began chariot racing, with two or four
horses. Then horse racing was introduced. There was also a race in armour (Gk. hoplites
dromos). The stadium was 600 feet in length.
In
each of the three pictures of athletic life as employed in the New Testament there
is prominent a special view-point of the spiritual life and effort.
The
race looks forward to the heavenly goal, to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, to the realm above (Phil.
3: 14)
Boxing
points to our opposition to the enemy in us. Paul at least so
employs it: so fight (lit. box) I, as not beating the air: but I buffet my
body, and bring it into bondage
(1 Cor. 9: 26, 27).
Wrestling
refers to our fight with the powers of darkness around and
beneath us. Thus Paul says: Our wrestling (Gk. pale) is against the principalities, against the
powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness (Eph. 6: 12).
[Page
52] Thus
these three comparisons, in spite of their great similarity, nevertheless
picture three different directions of our Christian warfare.
The most important truths illustrated by the race are:
[1] All can reach the goal. Therefore, according to the will and by the
power of God,
it is possible for you also.
[2] All must run
and hasten with all available strength. Therefore you also.
[3] All must concetitrate on
the goal. No one must be drawn aside by
things passing or external.
[4] All must persevere
to the winning-post. No one must yield
to fatigue on the way.
Therefore you must be purposeful and hold out
also.
[5] All must press forward without pause. No one must permit himself to be detained.
[6] All must be
careful not to stumble in this obstacle-race.
For Christ can preserve us.
[7] All must be determined to
win the noblest and highest,
and in no
case be content with reaching only lesser aims.
Therefore you also.
Thus
will be richly supplied to us the entrance into the eternal [age-lasting]
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1: 11). Thus will be apportioned
to us the victors prize, the full glory in the day of our manifestation before
the judgment seat of Christ, the great heavenly Umpire (2 Tim. 4: 8; 2 Cor. 5: 10).
We conceive that the picture of the race is
particularly adapted to represent chief essential truths of Christian sanctification
and the fight of faith, and therefore
in the New Testament it is more used than any other comparison from the life of
sport: (1 Cor. 9: 24;
Phil. 3: 14; 2 Tim. 4: 7; Acts 20: 24; Heb. 12: 1, 2; perhaps also Gal. 5: 7).
The
direction of a mans thoughts is always the decisive factor in his
personality. His whole outer life will
be determined by the inward inclination of his mind. Therefore that spiritual renewing of man which
Christ will effect consists in the inner movements of the will, the cogitations
of the heart, the thoughts and endeavours of the soul being directed towards
things heavenly and divine, to eternity, to Christ Himself.
Whether the heart so directed really strives wholly
towards the right goal is shown as a rule when something meets us which would draw us aside, when we are tempted to
look away from the goal, either sideways or even backwards. Therefore Paul referring to the racecourse, says that in the fight of faith
he ran as [page 53] one who forgot the things behind and stretched forth
unto that which was ahead (Phil. 3: 13).
And
as a threefold brilliantly illuminated motto it shines forth from Philippians 3, this incomparable self-testimony of
the apostle in which he applies the picture of the race to his own spiritual
life and service, as he does in no other portion of his epistles so extensively
and emphatically:
The calling and strength of
the racer -
given entirely by Christ! (vv.
4-7).
The ideal and
the inward object of the racer -
living only
for
Christ! (8-14).
The blessed
hope of the racer -
to be for ever in
glory with Christ (20, 21; comp. 14).
For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (20).
Therefore I press on toward the goal unto the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (14).
2. Boxing (Gk. pux, pugme).
This
was one of the hardest contests, in which the combatants struck each other
heavily, especially in the face. As
early as Homer (about 900 B.C.) the hands were bound with thongs, leaving the
fingers free. Later the Caestus was introduced. This,
especially among the Romans, was a leather thong set with metal knobs, of lead
or iron. This often inflicted terrible,
indeed dangerous wounds. On this account
the head, particularly the temples, was partly protected by a woollen or
leathern cap (Gk. amphotis). The
contest was decided when one of the boxers by lifting the hand acknowledged
himself defeated. Thereupon the other dared not further attack him. In 684 B.C.
boxing was introduced in the Olympian games.
Not
seldom boxing and wrestling were united.
This was the so-called all-in (general)
battle (Gk. pankration). In
this contest the hands were without thongs, and therefore the wounds were less
dangerous than in boxing alone. Later
this contest became a specially admired show-piece of the athletes. In
The
decisive blow was the fist blow under the eye,
for which there was a special technical term (Gk. hup-opiazo,
i.e., hupo, under, ops,
the eye). In the terminology of stadium
and amphitheatre it [page 54] ment the
same as the present term knock-out. In his use of pictures from the sport life
Paul goes so far that in his reference in his first epistle to the Corinthians
to the contest, especially to those that took place near Corinth, the Isthmian
games, he plainly applies the technical expression, I buffet my body (hup-opiazo): I
give it the fist blow under the eye: I beat my body and defeat it. This means
that the Christian has to pay no heed to himself. If his own I, its wishes and longings, its
convenience and enjoyment, are a hindrance to winning the victory in his
spiritual war, then he must say to
them a decided No! He dare not beat the
air, so sparing himself, his real opponent.
Certainly such boxing will never win the prize. Or as Paul, taking farewell of the elders of
Ephesus, applied the figure of the race, saying, I hold not my life of any account as dear
unto myself, so that I may accomplish my (race) course, and the ministry which
I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20: 24).
Obviously
Paul is far removed from in any way recommending monasticism or
asceticism. Much rather will he say
that, as a racer he had to bend all his powers without reserve, including his
body and whole outer man, to the one great purpose, to conquer in the battle for holiness and finally to receive
in the glory the conquerors crown from the heavenly Umpire.
3. Wrestling (Gk. pali)
[Wrestling] consisted in each combatant exerting himself to throw
down the other and pin him to the ground.
When picturing the armour of the Christian Paul applies this figure to
our conflict with the powers of darkness.
Here his picture passes from the realms of sport to military life: Our wrestling (pali)
is not against flesh and blood, but against
the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this
darkness (Eph.
6: 12).
This
comparison shows how sober and true to life was the apostles message. Paul knew that the enemy is not to be ignored. He who does not take the powers of darkness
seriously will soon be a prey to fanaticism.
But fanaticism is very often a near neighbour to grave defeat. It makes us self-secure, deceives us as to
the danger, obscures the vision, and weakens moral determination. The enemy, who narrowly observes all this,
will attack quite suddenly, and not seldom very severe defeats, even sins of
the flesh, are the open evidence of fanaticism and lack of balance.
[Page 55] Therefore
Paul says: You must not lose sight of the foe.
You are in close contact with him.
You have to wrestle with him. He
will seek to pin you down. Take
seriously his dark reality. Be a
wrestler!
But
in spite of everything do not despair,
for Christ also is present. He is
stronger than the foe. Therefore put on
the whole armour of God and you will conquer.
In this wrestling with the demonic powers the enemy will at last lie on
the ground, but you will share the triumph of Christ.
THE RULES
OF THE GAMES
1. Qualifications for entry in the Creek
games.
Certain definite conditions
were attached to taking part in the contests and gaining the victory. No slaves, but only free men were admitted;
no foreigners but only citizens; no impious men nor criminals, but
only those without reproach. Freedom,
citizenship, and civil honour were indispensable. And naturally bodily strength and practice
were required.
For directing the games one or more umpires were
chosen (Gk. agonothetes, atblothetes). Before these the combatants had to appear
to be tested (Gk. dokimasia).
Before the
contest each individual underwent an often long and special training which sometimes lasted ten
months. To this training there belonged
also a general outward sobriety of life.
In addition, only such were admitted to the Greek games who had for a
certain time practised in a gymnasium.
Before the games started the combatants cast lots as
to the order of place. Then they took an
oath before the statue of Zeus binding
themselves to fight honourably.
Now the Leader gave the signal to begin. A herald stepped out and read the rules of
the contests, and called the contestants to enter the lists. A trumpet sounded and the fight began.
This is all symbolical of the Christian
warfare, even if a few of these
details are not made use of in the figurative speech of the New Testament. For who may enter the arena of faith? Who may run and wrestle, so as to win the
victors crown? Only such as have become
free from the power of sin, such as are citizens
of the
In 1 Corinthians Paul calls to mind the self-control
and training of the Grecian competitors. In this he sees a picture of the [page 56] necessity for Christian self-mastery and
self-denial. Obviously he thinks here especially of the
Isthmian games, held near his Corinthian readers. Every man that strives in the games is temperate in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown
(wreath); but we an incorruptible. ... I buffet my body and bring it into bondage (subjection) (1 Cor. 9: 25, 27).
For
a victorious Christian life it is a
presupposition that we are ready to deny self, to refrain even from lawful
things for Christs sake, to offer spiritual and material sacrifices, to
say No to self, so as to be able truly to say
Yes to the Lord. He
who is not prepared to sacrifice will not be honoured to gain the crown. He who has regard to his Ego, will one day,
when Christ appears, have a great disappointment. He who holds fast to his own convenience, to
an earthly mind, to enjoyment of sin, to pride, renders himself unequal to racing.
Only serious training in
practical holiness, in self-denial, in true discipleship can strengthen spiritual
muscle. Only so shall we run and not
be weary. Only so shall we be able in the race of faith to hasten from the
starting-post to the winning-post. Only so will the heavenly Umpire crown
us at last.
At
the same time Paul sees a great danger for each preacher [and teacher] of the
gospel, even that he may be only a herald, not a racer; one who does indeed
read out the rules of the contest, sounds the trumpet, calls others to the
conflict, proclaims the start, but does
not himself take actual part. Indeed,
he reckons with the serious possibility
that he himself, the apostle of Christ, may be only a proclaimer but no runner,
and therefore also no victor, a caller forth of others but himself not a
competitor for the victors prize.
But in no case and by no means must this be! Never!
Therefore he exercised himself in self-control and self-denial:
Therefore will he be a runner and a wrestler, so as at last to receive a crown
in the day of Jesus Christ.
Have
we this same attitude of heart and mind?
Let us grasp the situation quite clearly: He only who loses his life for Jesus sake will win it (John 12: 25; Matt. 16: 25). Christ never sought the favour of the masses
(Luke 9: 57-62). He has declared beyond misunderstanding that
discipleship is a serious battle, that only
they can follow Him really who count
the cost and are ready to pay it (Luke 14:
26-33). No battle, no victory no cross, no crown!
2. The Regulations of the Games: The
Racecourse.
Each
combatant was under strict obligation to keep the rules. As regards [page 57] the races,
including the horse and chariot races, the very lay-out of the construction of
the course had been drawn up to make it almost impossible in advance to
transgress these laws. It was in
particular needful to prevent any racer or runner from gaining an unfair
advantage by shortening certain curves.
Therefore the track of a circus was skirted for the whole of its length
by a wall (Lat. spina, backbone). This was
adorned with images of the gods, small altars, statues, and towers. At both ends were three pillars (Lat. metae) which
showed the direction in which to run. In
the Circus Maximus to mark the finish there was a mighty obelisk.
At
each end of the wall were always seven dolphins or seven bowls (Lat. ova,
eggs), for the racer, rider or charioteer must cover the course seven times,
and as each circuit was made one of the bowls or dolphins was removed, to show
the spectators the position of the contest.
At
the Circensian games of the Romans, horse and chariot
races took a more prominent place than foot-racing. The Emperor Augustus added six-horse chariots
to the two - and four-horse (Lat. biga, quadriga). There were also chariots drawn by
stags. Usually there were 25 races in
succession. In each race (Lat. missus)
there were four teams. The chariots and
drivers were distinguished by different colours, white, red, green and
blue. Each had his own supporters among
the crowd. Often among these circus
parties there came the wildest, fiercest scenes. The Emperor
Domitian, the contemporary of the apostle John,
added the golden and the purple; but it appears that these lasted only a short
time.*
[*
At the end of the third century after Christ, of the four circus parties named
after the chief colours, the red and the blue merged, and the white with the
green. On this account in the late Roman
and Byzantine period they were mostly spoken of as the Blue and the Green.]
3. Ancient Egyptian Obelisks of Pharaoh Rameses II in the Circus Maximus
and
the Circus of Nero.
Today
the great obelisk of the Circus Maximus stands on one of the most crowded
squares in
There stands today before St. Peters in
Whoever
after rounding the course seven times crossed the starting line even one step,
indeed one foot, ahead of the rest carried off the prize.
In
all this, however, keep clearly in mind: He
only received the prize who had carried through the full requirements of the
contest. No relief was allowed. Not the slightest shortening of the
course. Only he who had accepted the whole contest, with all that was
involved, could count on the prospect of being crowned as victor.
Therefore
dedicate your life unreservedly to
the Lord! Shun no difficulty connected
with a holy walk and faithful witness.
God never compromises with sin.
Therefore also you must never do so.
Be ready to perfect a full devotion.
Practise sobriety and
self-control, deny profit and enjoyment, advantage and convenience so far as
these can be a hindrance to your course in the race of faith. Christ gave Himself up entirely for you:
therefore [if the prize is to be won] must
your life be dedicated entirely to Him
(John 17: 19).
The crown worn by King
George V at his fathers coronation in 1902 bears a tuft of feathers of the
ferivah, the rarest species of the bird of
paradise. The bird had to be caught and
plucked alive, for the feathers lose their lustre immediately after death; as
it frequents the haunts of tigers its capture involves great danger; and the
Prince of Wales crown took twenty years to collect. It
cost the lives of a dozen hunters. What
a wonderful parable of the martyrs crowns!(D. M. Panton). And what a wonderful parable of the crowns of
all those who have not loved their own life but have consecrated themselves
wholly to Christ their Lord! Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will
give thee the crown of life (Rev. 2: 10).*
[* NOTE. That is, a
position of rulership - (after the First
Resurrection) - in the age to
come; it does not refer to eternal life, which we presently have - (by grace through
faith in Christ as our Saviour) - as a free gift
(Rom. 6: 23). Ed.]
And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except he have contended
lawfully, that is, according to the
rules of the contest (2 Tim, 2: 5). Let us remember that they who run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize. Even so [page
59] run that ye may attain (1 Cor.
9: 24). Let us press on
unto perfection (Heb. 2: 1).
5. THE PRIZE
1. The Wreaths and Gifts of honour for the
Victors.
To be victor in the games was the height
of ambition. A city could scarcely have
a greater honour than that one of its citizens should be the victor in the
great games.
The
victor was permitted to erect to himself a statue in the sacred grove at
At
the crowning on the last day the name of the victor was ceremoniously
proclaimed by the herald, the name of his father and his country were announced
at the same time, and a palm was handed to him.
Great
was the honour granted to the victor (Gk. olympionikes, cf. nike, victory) when he returned to his
native city. He was carried in a chariot
with a festive procession. Statues and
tablets were erected to him. He was accorded a place of honour on the City
Council, and a seat of honour at games and feasts. The victors were free from all State taxes,
and enjoyed other notable privileges.
Even in later times the thank-offerings, processions, and banquets
instituted in their honour were very brilliant.
The
prize that beckoned at
The
olive twig at
The
twig of laurel of the victors wreath at
2. Lists of Victors names.
The
names of the victors were recorded. It
is reported that Eusebius, the renowned historian of early Christianity, gave a
complete list of the victors at
3. The Umpire.
The
conduct of the games lay in the hands of judges specially appointed for this
(Gk. hellanodikes; cf.
When
the race ended and the name of the victor was announced by the herald, he had
to appear before the raised seat of the Umpire.
From his hand he received the victors wreath. In this the judge acted in the name of the
god in whose honour the festival was held.
4. The famous statue of Zeus in
At
As
a sign of his dignity the left hand held the royal sceptre, with an eagle at
the tip. His garment was a golden robe,
full of folds, which fell around the foot of the throne. It was adorned with figures of animals and
plants, representing the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The kingdom of metals was represented by the
golden material of the sceptre, the mineral kingdom by the precious
stones. Thus all the kingdoms of nature
were shown. [Page 61] For Zeus is the Lord of the world. All things are through Zeus and in Zeus, who
fills the whole creation. We are also his offspring. In Zeus we live and
move and exist. Thus and
similarly, praising Zeus, had the Grecian poets expressed themselves, for
example, Aratus of Cilicia,
and Kleanthes of Assos
(Troas), whom Paul quoted in his speech on Areopagus
(Acts 17: 28) [Aratus:
tou gar kai genos esmen. Kleanthes: ek sou gar genos esmen.]
In
the outstretched right hand of the seated god stood the goddess of victory,
Nike (Gk. nike, victory), a daughter of Zeus, her figure likewise made of ivory
and gold, her wings and robe also of gold.
She waited before the god with the victors crown. For Zeus was the protector of the games and
it was he who granted success; therefore Nike had the victors wreath in her
hand, to be handed to the winner in the name of the god.
5. Five wreaths (crowns) of victory as mentioned
in the New Testament.
Is
not the whole an astonishing, many-sided picture of the race and completion
of the spiritual life? The arena of
faith, the training, the self-control, the ruthless denial of self, the herald,
the entrance to the racecourse, the different kinds of contests, the racing to
the goal, the boxing, the wrestling, the rules of the combats, Christ the
Umpire, the danger of [the participant] being disqualified, the appearing of the
victor before the exalted throne of the divine judge on the great coming
day of the distribution of prizes! It is out of His hand the victors will receive the
wreath and palm. The lists of the
victors (book of life), the triumphal entry in the homeland, the banquet,
the festival, the gifts, the place of honour - in fact, scarcely one essential
feature of the whole course of the games has escaped the writers of the New
Testament and not been employed in their figurative speech.
In the
[* Inscription at
[Page 62] This wreath is unfading and imperishable (1 Cor. 9: 25). Christ our Lord is the righteous Umpire. Therefore the allotting of the wreaths will be just. Only those, however, who pass the test will receive the victors prize -[the crown of life] (Rev. 2: 10).
How
manifold are the forms in the pictorial language of the New Testament which
describe the glorification of the
victors. To be exact one must say garland
(wreath) rather than crown
(Gk. stephanos). The faithful will be garlanded:-
The Victorious Fighter with the wreath of righteousness (2
Tim. 4: 8);
The Steadfast
Runner with the unfading wreath (1 Cor.
9: 25, 26);
The One
Faithful unto Death with the wreath of life (Rev. 2: 10; Jas. 1: 12);
The Unselfish
Labourer with the wreath of honour (1 Thess.
2: 19; Phil. 4: 1);
The Example to
the Flock with the wreath of glory (1 Pet. 5: 3, 4).
At
times the comparisons pass from the athletic world to the military. The reasons for this can be easily
understood. In Ephesians
6 Paul uses the sport figure from wrestling (Pali) in his description ot the Christians armour, and thus in a section which
takes its chief comparisons from military life (vv. 10-20):
our wrestling (pali)
is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities,
against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness (v. 12).
Likewise it is quite possible that also in some other places the picture
of the victors wreath taken from the athletic world, refers at the same time
to military life. For Roman soldiers as
well the decorations consisted for the more part of wreaths (garlands). There were diverse wreaths for different
heroic deeds: one sort of wreath for the soldier who saved the life of another;
another kind of wreath for him who first stormed into an enemy fort; yet
another form of wreath for an act of exceptional bravery which saved the
fatherland.
In
1 Peter the picture of the wreath
of glory quite apparently comes from
country life. There the apostle
encourages the elders in the church to self-denying service as shepherds. He names Christ the Chief Shepherd. When Christ shall appear they
will receive the eternal* glory as reward for their faithful service as
shepherds: When the chief Shepherd shall be manifested ye shall receive
the wreath of glory that fadeth not away [page 63] (1 Pet. 5: 4).
[* Or, as A. L. Chitwood
points often out in his writings, that the Greek word, which translated eternal in most English translations, can also be translated age-lasting if the context demands it.
For example Heb. 5: 9: He (Christ) became the source
of eternal [age-lasting]
salvation for all WHO OBEY HIM, N.I.V.
The salvation here, which depends upon
the disciples obedience, must refer to the future salvation of souls (1 Pet. 1:
9), at the time of the first resurrection, when the
chief Shepherd shall be manifested. - Ed] -
Here
also in the original the term stephanos denotes
garland (wreath), not crown. This is
shown not only
By the context (shepherd, flock) which
evidently points to simple country life, but also by the addition that fadeth
not away, does not wither. For no metal crown can wither, only a wreath
of flowers, leaves, or twigs. The
picture the apostle employs is not of a sparkling diadem of gold and jewels,
but of a simple wreath, living, beautiful, remaining in freshness for ever.
6. The White Stone in the letter to
Another reference to athletic contests lies at the
base of the promise to the overcomers in the church at
This
promise is understood differently. We
mention two explanations.
One
refers to a custom of voting in ancient legal practice, which must have been
used in
In
this explanation, however, a difficulty remains unsolved. In Roman legal procedure these stones were
never inscribed with a name. They were
simply smooth stones, black or white, or small clay tablets, dark or
clear. But the promise deals with a
stone on which a name is written, and
the name of a victor. Moreover, this
white stone is not placed in an urn, but given to the victor personally, and this on the day of perfecting, the great coming day of glory.
The other explanation, which is certainly right, refers to a [page
64]
custom of the Greek games. The victors
prize at the games was not only garlands of olive, wreaths of laurel, or palm
sprays, but also of objects of value and gifts of gold; indeed, at times gifts
continued for life. According to Plutarch, as early as the fourth
century B.C., Solon,
the lawgiver of Athens, had ordered that to the victor in the Isthmian games
should be given 100 drachmas, and in the Olympian games 500 (one drachma = 1s.
6d). This made necessary that the Leader of the games (agonothetes) should give to the home-going victor a
certificate of his victory.
Corresponding to the festal occasion this took a durable and artistic
form. It was a small tablet of white stone
in which the name of the victor was inscribed by an expert carver.
The
promise to the overcomer attaches to
this custom. Here we have in fact the
white stone, and on it a name written, the name of the overcomer, and this
stone is given to the victor himself, and all
this is to take place in the coming day of glory when he enters his
eternal home* after having conquered in the
racecourse.
[* Better to have written,
- When he
enters his inheritance in the
Thus
this picture of the white
stone with the victors name declares that
the combatant will be acknowledged by the Lord [in
that coming day] as a conqueror.
The despised and persecuted [now] will attain to
honour [then]. The sentence of rejection by man will be
reversed, and those here hated and expelled will be granted heavenly riches and
eternal glory. In the race for the prize
faith wins the victory.
And as
regards the names of the believers, despised,
and dishonoured for the sake of their testimony to Christ, let them know
that the Lord will give them a new name, holy and noble, a name of honour, which answers to the
greatness of the triumph and the brightness of the glory: And the nations shall see thy righteousness,
and all the kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the
mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt
also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the
hand of thy God ... for the Lord delighteth in thee (Isa. 62: 2-4; 65: 15).
At the same time the honouring of the runner will
correspond to his individual relationship to Christ. Each will receive a new name which no one knows save he who receives it. Each has his
particular history. God is not only God
of the community but also of the individual.
There exists a mysterious bond which binds the redeemed soul to Christ,
the Redeemer. Each soul has its own most holy place, to which only the Lord has access. Therefore, in the perfecting, each member of [page
65] the
church will be in a fellowship with
Christ which no other will share in the same manner, and which therefore no
other will fully perceive. However
inward and deep is the union of the members with each other, yet no one of them
will receive in the glory his new name through the mediation and channel of another
member, but each only directly from the Head; so much so that each has his own
portion in Christ, his own gift, his own calling, which belong to him
alone. Thus the church [out calling] of the overcomers will retain its inexhaustible
manifoldness, through which it will reveal the riches of the Divine grace.
The
great basic law of individuality shall be fully displayed in the glory. Each victor will receive a name which is
granted to him alone, which will fully
and clearly express his personal characteristics, his special relation to
Christ, and his special calling in the service of God. There will be no extinguishing of the
personality, no submergence in the mass, no kind of Nirvana in which the
individual billow melts away into the ocean flood. No; God intends character! - an organism of
distinguishable personalities; men with a Thou and I relationship with
Himself, who in the great We of the organic kingdom of God possess a
transfigured, holy I Therefore can
each praise Him for the particular relationship of love which He has to him, for the wonderful ways which He has
taken with him.
Yet each his own sweet harp will bring,
And his own special song will sing. (Gerhard Tersteegn).
7. The peril of being disqualified.
But
with all this we must not forget that the
entrance upon the race does not guarantee the prize. The
garland is not given at the beginning but only at the end of the race. It
will be bestowed on those only who have contended according to the rules of the
contest and have gained the victory.
Without
doubt [initial]
salvation and eternal life are free gifts of the grace of God, granted to faith
on the basis of the sacrifice of
The Wreath of Incorruption -
In a race all run, but one receiveth the prize. Now
they do it to receive a corruptible wreath; but we an incorruptible (1 Cor.
9: 24, 25).
Can
the racer be crowned who failed in running?
The Wreath of Rejoicing-
What is our hope or joy, or wreath of glorying? Are not even ye before our Lord Jesus at His coming? (1 Thes.
2: 19).
Can
he be crowned for turning many to righteousness (Dan.
12: 3) who never turned one?
The Wreath of Glory-
The elders therefore among you I exhort. ... Tend the flock of God ... and when the chief
shepherd shall be manifested ye shall receive the wreath of glory (1 Pet. 5: 1-4).
Can
a disciple be rewarded for shepherding the flock of God who never did it?
The Wreath of Righteousness-
I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the wreath of righteousness ... and not to
me only, but also to all them that have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4: 7, 8).
Can
the wreath of watchfulness be given to him who never watched?
The Wreath of Life-
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when
he hath been approved, he
shall receive the wreath of life (Jas. 1: 12).
Can he be
crown d for resisting temptation who succumbed to it?
When Roumania became a kingdom in
1881, King Charles, as there was no crown, said: Send to the arsenal and melt
an iron crown out of the captured cannon, in token that it was won on the field
of battle, and bought and paid for with our lives (D. M. Panton).
[Page
67] 8. The
Heavenly Glory
Christ will
grant to the victors eternal glory. They will see the king in His beauty. They
will reign with Him for ever. They will
worship Him as His priests in the heavenly sanctuary. They will radiate brightness as the stars in
the kingdom of their Father.
As
regards the majesty of God,
their portion will be holy worship.
As regards the nature of God,
His image will be perfectly revealed in them.
As regards the life of God,
their sonship will be made manifest in glory.
As regards the creation of God,
they will rule over the universe for ever.
He that overcometh, I will
give to him to sit down with Me in My
throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne (Rev. 3: 21).
This
is the full content of the victors
prize. It is the inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, which by
Gods power is reserved in heaven for faith to attain (1 Pet. 1: 4).
As yet we live here below in weakness and imperfection: It is not yet made manifest what we shall be. But: We know that, if He shall be manifested, we
shall be like Him; for we shall see Him even as He is (1 John 3: 2). And when Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye
also with Him be manifested in glory (Col. 3: 4).
Having therefore these
promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7: 1). And every one that hath this hope
set on Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3: 3).
*
* *
CHAPTER 4
THE RACE THAT IS SET
BEFORE US [Pages 68-84]
Therefore let us also seeing we are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of faith; who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners
against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls (Heb. 12: 1-3).
THE
whole gospel is full of life. Its source
is God the Living One. Its mediator is
Christ the Risen One. Its power is the [Holy] Spirit of God,
the Spirit that maketh alive.
For
this reason Gods salvation is not something which has only historically
happened and was completed in the past, but it is a continual process. It is not a present received once and for
all, but a giving which increasingly presents us with something more. Every grace is a vital dynamic action given
to us by God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
There is nothing static but everything is dynamic. There is no standing still but a marching
forward, no looking aside or backward, but a
striving towards the goal.
Everything is alive and active, a spiritual working, a holy motion,
pulsated and animated by waves produced by Spirit-wrought heavenly powers.
Gods
gifts are not like an anchor which holds the ship of our life firm, but they
are rather to be compared with the sails of a ship into which the wind of the
Spirit of God can blow mightily, thus carrying the boat forward.
1. THE APPOINTMENT OF THE RACE
The
author of the Hebrews letter declares that we should run with patience [perseverance] the
race that is set before us (Heb. 12: 1). This [page 69] does not only
mean the race as lying before us
from the viewpoint of time or, so to speak, space. What is meant is something dynamic. The race (Gk. agon) is set before us as our task. It
is our duty to run. The race
is God-appointed (Gk. prokeimenon). The
phrase Prokeitai agon!
(Lat. Propositum est certamen), The battle lieth before! was the usual Greek (answering to the Latin)
expression for the race which was to be run, and which was publicly announced
by a crier, together with the rules of the race and the prize.
You cannot separate your own personal
life of faith from being a runner in a race. God has appointed that you should run. True
sanctification can be experienced practically only in a life of a
Spirit-energized dynamic effort, and this
effort involves our whole being, spirit, soul, and body. He
who will not run in the race has from the very start abandoned the crown and
the prize of victory. And as Satan, the great adversary, never
admits being beaten until his final overthrow (Rev.
20: 10), the battle and the race will never end for us until we have
reached the goal of our course.
This
means that you must take your personal responsibility very seriously. You must
reckon in confident faith with the victorious powers of Christ the
Saviour. But on the other hand do not overlook the reality of the
enemy. Weigh seriously all the
paralysing powers which emanate from him.
Concentrate on the goal. Live in
the holy energy of a consecrated life.
We can never make peace with sin.
Never forget that a real life of
faith means a running in the race.
Remember: And if also a
man contend in the games, he is not
crowned, except he have contended lawfully (2 Tim. 2: 5). The new birth is
not the finishing-post but the starting-post.
If you would reach the finishing-post you must run.
The
race is a very serious affair. Demons surround
us. Powers of darkness block our
way. And these powers are not only
around us but endeavour to work in us (Eph. 6: 12). Let
us therefore be hard on ourselves. Let
us bring our own bodies into subjection (1 Cor. 9: 27).
Let us control our own souls. Let
us concentrate and fix our spiritual eyes on Jesus Christ. Only
those who strive will be crowned. Only victors will be exalted. Christ Himself says: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne (Rev. 3: 21).
What
is the background of this battle? Our
answer is as follows:
[Page 70] 1. We must be
warriors because the whole universe is involved in a mighty revolution, the
mightiest indeed, which has ever taken place - it is the battle between Satan
and God; and because, according to the testimony of the whole Scripture, the
central battle area of this conflict is this our earth, the habitation of
mankind, so that here the decision will be reached. This is the cosmological and super-historical background of our conflict.
2.
We must be warriors because, although Christ by His death and His resurrection
has won the victory fundamentally, yet historically the full practical
outworking of this His victory has not yet been secured. Thus, in the development of Gods redemptive
plan, our present dispensation lies in
the tension between the hiddenness of the
3. We must be
warriors because it necessarily corresponds to the combined divine and human
character of the
For
these three main reasons the race is God-appointed.
2. THE ATTITUDE WHICH
IS NECESSARY
TO REACH THE GOAL
What
attitude of mind must we have if we wish to win the race? A poet has rightly said:
To
fight is not enough alone;
Tis only victors mount the throne!
In
order to be a conqueror a very definite spiritual attitude of faith is
required. The author of the Hebrews letter gives us four main points of view:
1. Looking to the Victor.
He
who would be victorious must look to Christ.
Let us look unto Jesus. The battle
which He fought out on
It
was during the first world war. In the
German cities was every kind of suffering and need. Many housewives had great difficulty in
giving their loved ones enough food from the small rations obtainable. One day
a simple woman arrived at the seaside from a north German city. It was the first time in her life that she
had been able to enjoy a sight of the vast ocean. She was quite overwhelmed with the
magnificence of the view and with the endless waters. In her astonishment she cried out: At last after all something which they cannot ration!
We
smile at this woman. And yet one can
understand her when one considers her circumstances. But the inexhaustible heavenly resources are
a thousand times greater, and these the Lord in His grace has placed at the
disposal of His children. Here we find
truly a fulness which exceeds all earthly measure, riches which God does not
distribute in small portions but in mighty overflowing heavenly gifts. Gods children are royal children, for which
reason they should live royally by enjoying these spiritual riches in their
life of faith. Their heavenly Father proves
Himself to be a generous royal Giver in all His blessings.
About
thirty years ago I took part in a Christian Conference in
How
does our God act? Does He only give us out of
His riches? Here a little joy and there
a little victory? Today a little help
and tomorrow perhaps an occasional answer to prayer? No, He the all-sufficient One gives according to His riches. His standard is
not our daily needs - even though if this only were the case that would make us
very happy: As thy days so
shall thy strength be (Deut. 33: 25), but He uses the measure and
criterion of eternity for our temporal needs and gives us His blessings according to His fulness.
This
is the reason why the word abound is one of Pauls favourite expressions (Gk. perisseuein). He speaks of abounding faith (2 Cor. 8: 7), of
abounding love (2 Thess.
1: 3), abounding liberality (2 Cor. 8: 2), abounding diligence and knowledge (2 Cor. 8: 7), abounding
hope (Rom. 15: 13).
Another
word which he uses again and again is the word hyper = super.
The
apostle has a tendency to build up words using super (Gk. hyper) and he does it so often that this is
one of the characteristics of his literary style. Of a total of 29 combinations using the word
super which occur in the whole New Testament no less than
19 belong to him alone and 4 are shared with other biblical authors.
Thus
he speaks of
a super-growth in
faith (2 Thess. 1, 3).*
a super- victory and conquest (Rom.
8: 37).**
a super- exceeding
grace of God (2 Cor. 9:
14).***
a super- fulness
of riches (Eph. 2: 7).****
a super- exceeding greatness of His power (Eph. 1:
19).*****
a super - exceeding glory (2 Cor.
3: 10).******
* hyper-auxanei he
pistis.
** hyper-nikomen,
we hyper overcome.
*** dia ten hyper-ballousan
charin.
****hyper-ballon ploutos.
***** hyper-ballon megethos tes dynameos.
******heineken tes hyper-ballouses doxes
[Furthermore
he speaks of -]
[Page
73] a
knowledge of a super-exceeding
love of Christ (Eph. 3: 19).*
a peace in Christ which super-exceeds all understanding (Phil. 4: 7).**
a super-excelling
joy even in tribulation (2 Cor.
7: 4).***
The foundation of this is however
the super-exaltation
of Jesus (Phil. 2: 9).****
the exceeding super-abundant presence of grace (1 Tim. 1: 14).*****
the super-abounding
of grace just where sin had formerly abounded (Rom. 5: 20).******
* ten hyper-ballousan
tes gnoseos agapen tou Christou.
** he eirene ... he hyper-echousa panta noun.
*** hyper-perisseumai
te chara.
**** ho theos auton hyper-hypsosen.
***** hyper-pleonasen
de he charis.
****** hyper-perisseusen
he charis.
Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord
(1 Cor. 15: 58).
Astounding,
indeed, is the fulness which the apostle describes in 2
Cor. 9: 8 in a very few words, in fact in a
sentence of less than four lines: God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency, in all things, may abound unto every
(= all) good work.*
[* Greek pasan, panti, pantote, pasan, pan.]
In
Christ is not only a full measure but a super-full measure of divine
all-sufficiency. His giving more than
meets the needs of our daily life.
Therefore we do not need to worry ourselves miserably in everyday life
but we have the right to be victors in Him, yea to be more than conquerors, to
be super-conquerors in Him (Rom. 8: 37).
In
the benediction of the second prayer in the Ephesian letter the apostle
combines these his two favourite words abounding (Gk. perisseuein) and super (hyper) and thus coins a new word which he then further strengthens by the addition of a second
word (Gk. ek): Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above (Gk. hyper-ek-perissou) all that we ask or think ... unto Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all
the ages Amen (Eph. 3: 20).
We can perhaps come closest to the surprisingly rich and deep meaning of
the Greek word by translating. Exceeding abundantly more or: Far beyond all measure [page 74] more,
More than overflowingly, Far
beyond all that we need, and even then exceeding abundantly more than that.
God
does not merely wish to fill the vessel of your life up to the brim. He does not only even pour in His fulness of
blessing so that it just comes to overflowing.
No, even the word overflowing is not adequate.
God makes us to more
than overflow. Such a super-mighty redemption is
given us in Christ.
And now, my reader, place your own experience against
these, God-given possibilities. Must we not humble ourselves before the
Lord - you and I and be ashamed of ourselves that we have drunken so little
from these fountains? How often we
are like a foolish beggar who should stand before a wealthy benefactor begging
for gifts which this generous man had already offered and held out to him! And yet at the same time this beggar
complains of his misery, bewails his poverty, begs and begs, but does not
stretch out his hand to take the gift which has been long proffered him, in
fact immediately after he had begun to beg!
So the bewailer continues bewailing and the giver remains the profferer; but in spite of all the begging on the one side
and the willingness to give on the other side the situation remains
unchanged. How different the situation
would be if we adopted the attitude of faith: And if we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions
which we have asked of Him (1 John 5: 15).
But this can be experienced only
by looking unto Christ in genuine faith.
Let us look unto Jesus!
The moment however we look away from Christ
our experience of His fulness ceases.
There is no power to overcome. Things become important for us which, seen in
the light of eternity, are of no consequence.
Then the deceiving power of sin bewitches us. And if, in our opinion, we are not properly
honoured or respected, if our own self-will, our desire to possess, our own
presumed importance does not receive satisfaction enough, then we slip into
sin. We are easily hurt, become
loveless, are filled with an earthly mind, or become fretful and anxious. We have lost our sense of proportion because
of not looking unto Christ. The centre
of gravity has been changed and is no longer in God but in ourselves. We have
lost our way because we have lost our sense of direction in Christ.
In this condition only one thing can help us: Looking
afresh to Jesus Christ. Repentance and
humiliation before Him and [page 75] then
continuing steadfastly to keep our eyes upon Him. This purifies and restores us, and only this
attitude of mind brings with it growth in grace and blessed happy
sanctification.
In
a West European city there was once a royal visit and the streets were lined
with crowds of people. In the foremost
line, waiting to see the royal visitor, stood a mother and her little boy. At last the royal guest arrived, and with him
the pomp of his court, and drove by.
Everything happened relatively quickly.
Suddenly the young mother stretched out her arm and enthusiastically
pointed to the king as he drove by, so that her little boy should see him. And with a loud voice she cried: Look at him and never forget it all your life!
How
do we act in respect of Christ, the King of all kings? Let us take for our motto in life: Look at Him and
never forget it all your life!
Let us look unto Jesus! He is our
salvation, our helper, our example, our strength.
2. Looking to the comrades in arena.
The author of the Hebrews letter founds his
admonition: Let us ... run the race on the example of the heroes of faith in the Old
Testament. Wherefore seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses ... let us run
(Heb. 12: 1). This means: Ye witnesses of Jesus Christ in
these New Testament times of the church, look back into the history of the Old
Testament. Think of all that has been
endured, suffered, and fought for: think also of the victories. Always, at all times, there have been heroes
of faith. Ye are not alone. Ye are not the first to have suffered for the
truth.
This
is the real meaning of Hebrews 11, this
mighty and imposing chapter on the victors of faith. If we had to invent a title for this chapter
to express that which the author of the letter obviously wishes, we could think
of no better one than the three short words: Faith is able. Hebrews 11 is nothing less than a proof from
practical experience, covering more than four millenniums, that men and women
of all times, in various lands, in all positions, exalted and humble, in the
most varied situations, in war and peace, have been able to stand the test and
prove the reality that living faith is the power of God. This however means at the same time that what others have been able to do, you
also can do. Your God is not only a
God of yesterday but the very God of today.
Your God.
And if Hebrews 11
introduces such a long list of heroes of [page 76] faith, this
is done in order to give the proof that true faith has not only been exercised
in exceptional times of revival or a relatively short period, but also in the
long periods between these special times of blessing. In fact it is a power giving spiritual
victory at all times, in fact in your times, in your life and my
life, in your circumstances and all your trials and testings, so that
there is no excuse if you fail.
Thus
looking to our fellow runners brings us encouragement and at the same time a
deep consciousness of our
responsibility. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses ... let us run!
When
it is pointed out that this large number of men and women of faith compasses us about (Gk. perikeimenon), and when they are compared with a thick
cloud of witnesses, it is intended that their large number should be
emphasized. Just as the historical frame
of more than forty long and weary centuries during which these battles of faith
were fought should serve to emphasize the time factor, so the expressions compassing about and cloud
should emphasize the great number of these heroes of faith and this at the same time, so to speak,
under the view-point of spiritual space and region. Wherever
you look you will see witnesses of faith.
They compass you about.
That, however, means you are encouraged from all sides. You are actually surrounded by irrefutable
proofs that true faith never fails.
The
expression witness scarcely means that these men of God are spectators, from a position outside the earth and
its affairs, of our present race and strife.
It is not as though they watch from their exalted seats the battle in
the arena here below. There
are no scriptures which tell us that those who have left this earthly life take
an active conscious part in the things concerning the church militant. They are characterized here as people who
gave witness to their generation, and, who when we examine their life, are an
example for us today of faith in action
winning victories in God. Although death
has taken them away from this scene, their testimony remains. So that by this means and in this sense these
heroes of faith of yesterday are, as it were, present with us today. In fact, they compass
us about and encourage us in the faith.
Finally,
the high dignity of all active service and sacrifice for Christ is, thus
brought into its true Biblical light.
The witnesses of faith of the present are thus brought together with the
[page 77] witnesses
of the past, which, so to say, raises the confessors of the present to the
peerage attained by the prophets of the past.
They are made members of the great army of Gods heroes, of those who
bear Gods highest honours and whom God Himself confesses (Heb. 11: 16).
They are people who indeed went through shame and who were despised, but
of whom, of a truth, the earth is not worthy (Heb.
11: 16). And this, too, is a
reason why we should take courage, even though the doings of our personal life
are incomparably smaller and most unimportant compared with these heroes, and
even though our service and witness, and the whole frame of our life, according
to the appointment and the leading of God, is but very humble.
3. Looking
to the enemy.
In
all this the Bible is exceedingly sober.
It nowhere favours unhealthy eccentricity. For this reason the Scriptures speak quite
honestly of the opposing enemy forces which stand in the way of the race of faith.
The Scriptures never utter things which one sometimes hears from fanatical
over-spirituality, such as You do not need to fight
against sin any more. Only look to
Christ alone. Then all will be well. Not at all, in fact, just the opppsite. Perfectly
clearly and in detail the Scriptures warn us that our wrestling is not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers
of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places (Eph.
6: 12). The Bible directs our
attention to both sides: to the victor and to the enemy, to heaven and to
hell, to Christ, Who gives us all things, and to Satan who denies and opposes
all things intended for our good.
But
with all our faith in Christ we should not think too lightly of the power of
the enemy. He is a sombre reality who
would interfere forcibly in our life.
Without question, the enemy is great.
But thanks be to God, Christ, the Victor, is greater. Luther was right in saying of the ancient foe:-
The ancient prince of hell
Hath risen with purpose fell;
Strong mail of craft and power
He weareth in this hour;
On earth is not his fellow.
[Page 79] But he was just as right when he triumphantly added:-
With force
of arms we nothing can
Full
soon were we down-ridden;
But for us fights the proper Man
Whom God himself hath bidden.
Ask ye, Who is this same?
Christ Jesus is his name,
The Lord Sabaoths Son;
He, and no other one
Shall conquer in the battle!
(translated by Thomas Carlyle).
This
state of war will continue until the fulness of the times. For the flesh is a rebel. It is not subject to the law of God (
Therefore
resist sin from the beginning. Never play with sin. To be tempted by sin is indeed not yet sin
itself. Thinking of evil things is not
the same as evil thoughts.
But in no case must we permit sin to find a lodging in our mind. Learn to say no right in the moment sin
approaches you. Only thus is victory
possible. Think of the truth of the proverb: Sow a thought, reap a
deed: sow a deed. reap a habit, sow a habit, reap character; sow character,
reap destiny.
The
spiritual mind is always on the watch, for it knows the dangers and watches and
prays. The spiritual mind knows that our
way is not a bed of roses but an arena, a racecourse. The
full [page 80] victory is yet
future. We do not dwell at the moment in
Immanuels land but in a foreign country.
We are strivers, fighters, wanderers who are hurrying away. We have been brought into a holy
movement. Our Christian life is a way (Acts 9: 2; 18: 26; 19: 9), a course which we have
to run. We are on a pilgrimage to the
heavenly
Three
hostile powers can hinder us in the race of faith: the world, sins, and
burdensome weights.
The world
with her contradiction,
Sin with her power to entice,
Burdens with their paralysing pressure.
The
world hated
Christ. Her contradiction
brought Him to the cross. As Christs
disciples we should therefore expect to
be rejected. Intimate friendship
with unbelievers, marriage between converted and unconverted, striving after
earthly goods or to attain recognition and human honours at the cost of a clear
confession of Christ - all this may indeed lessen the contrast between the
world and Christs followers, but at the same time it makes it impossible for
us to be real runners in the race. In the end every one who compromises - [especially with
scriptural truths] - is in a serious measure a
loser. He will never reach the goal and will never be crowned
(2 Tim. 2: 5).
Sin
strives to encircle us from all sides.
Its strategy of war is exceedingly skilful. The Hebrews letter uses a very impressive
word saying that sin is completely enclosing us (lit. standing well around us
from all sides, Gk. eu-peri-statos).
It
is as though the runner finds himself in a crowd of people and must clear
himself a way before he can run. Sin
blocks the way for us inwardly and outwardly, and if we are not to be brought
to a stop it requires a manly and earnest effort. It is
possible that the author when using the expression - sin
being around thinks of the long heavy robe which would have to be
laid aside if the runner is to run unhindered.
This would also fit into the context. In any case the sense is the
following:-
Sin
wishes cunningly to encompass and to lay siege to us. It attacks us concentratedly
from all sides, tries to effect a kind of military encircling
movement, and is exceedingly skilful.
The Greek word peri-istamai, which is etymologically related to the
word eu-peri-statos, which the writer of the Hebrews letter
uses [page 80] here for beset, is, as Professor Franz Delitzsch
remarks, a common military word used in war, sieges, and in hunting, meaning to encompass.
Sin
has two chief methods of procedure:
It
pretends to be the generous friend and promises gain or at least the
prevention of a loss, a pleasure or at least the possibility of avoiding a
difficulty. It offers an advantage or at
least the lessening of an inconvenience.
Sin uses sensuousness, tyranny, avarice. or white
lies. Sin is able to adopt ever new
forms and to transform itself with regard to its tactics in a remarkable
manner. It can completely camouflage
itself and can even deny the existence of its own master, Satan. The gate of hell is
decked with garlands. If this
were not the case no man would be seduced to sin. The Wicked One clothes himself in the
clothing of something useful or good. Every
lie lives from a certain element of truth which is in fact contained in it and
which it misuses. A mere lie, that is a lie
which is only a lie, cannot
exist.
The
second method of procedure used by sin tactically is the following. Before the deed has been done its wickedness
is minimized. Afterwards
however it is magnified so as to rob us of our courage in order
that we may lose hope that we can ever again become pure and free. My sin is greater than can be forgiven me (Gen. 4: 13 lit.). So sin deceives us first of all into
frivolity and then into melancholic depression.
Its aim is to make us give up the battle so that we may serve it in
worldliness and slavery. Thus it is first of all a friend and then a tyrant,
first a liberator (Psa. 2: 3) and then a jailor, first of all it dazzles us and then surrounds us with
darkness. These are its tactics in cunningly encircling us
But
what a strong encouragement! There is a
still greater power which surrounds us!
This power is God and the power of His salvation. Although it is true that sin is always ready
to attack and is most skilful in lurking in most unlikely places and
surrounding us from all sides, that is even more true which the psalmist exultantly
confesses of his Saviour God: Thou
shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance (Psa. 32: 7).
It is a fact:
He,
the Lord our God, is round
about His people (Psa. 125: 2).
The name of the Lord is a strong tower (Prov. 18: 10). The redeemed are kept safe therein.
The
Lord our God rules over us in perfect love.
As an [page 81] eagle
that stirreth up her nest, that fluttereth
over her young, the Lord alone did lead him
(Deut. 32: 11-12).
The
Lord our God protects us from below, that we may not fall; for: The eternal God is thy dwelling
place, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut.
33: 27). He bare them on His pinions (Deut. 32: 11).
The
Lord our God is by our side. I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right
hand, I shall not be moved (Psa. 16: 8). A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten
thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee (Psa. 91: 7).
The
Lord our God goes before us as our
Leader. He is our Forerunner and Pioneer
in the battle. He is the One Who has
enrolled us as His soldiers (2 Tim. 2: 4). The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and
passed on to the gate. ... Their king
is passed on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them (Micah 2: 13, cf. Ex.
13: 21).
The
Lord our God protects us from behind as our rearguard. And the angel of God who went before the
camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed
from before them, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of Egypt
and the camp of Israel ... and the one came not near the other (Ex. 14: 19-20). And finally:
The
Lord our God - [if we seek to obey
Him, (Acts 5: 32, cf. John 15: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10,
etc. ] - dwells in us as the power from on high. If a man love me he will keep My words: and My
Father will love him and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him
(John 14: 19-20). Christ in you, the hope
of glory (Col.
1: 27).
So
Christ is the Lord on every side of our life.
He is above us and underneath us.
He is before us and behind us. He
is at our side and in us. He is all, and in all (Col. 3: 11), the
foundation and the goal, the author and perfecter. For this reason we may have at all times a
perfect certainty of victory: As
the mountains are round about
In
the book of the Prophet Zechariah we read of a remarkable night vision of the
prophet. Four horns appeared. Then four smiths followed, each obviously
armed with a heavy hammer. [Page
82] These
four smiths smash with their four hammers the four horns to pieces (Zech. 1: 18-21).
The
interpreting angel shows the prophet the meaning of this vision: The four horns represent the hostile
world-powers which attack the people of God from every direction. The horn is a symbol of strength. The four
smiths are the powers of God which the Lord uses to save His tried elect.
Let
us note: It is not a case of three powers of God against four of the enemy but
four against four. No power of the enemy
is forgotten and no adversary is omitted.
All of them are to be destroyed.
The triumph must be a total one.
Further:
it is not the case that four scribes or tailors or businessmen arrive on the
scene but four workmen (smiths). This
means: Gods measures against the enemy are not without strength. They are most powerful. He is not merely equal to His adversaries but
far superior. For this reason the city
of
And
all this by Gods power. He won the victory. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly (Psa. 118: 15, 16).
Remember:
You are without power; the enemy is a strong power, but God has
all
power. Therefore come with your utter lack o power to Him Who as the Almighty has
eternal abundance of power, and you will be able to conquer the enemys strong
power. Gods omnipotence is able to
make your impotence triumph over all the energy of the adversary.
Burdens
are not the same as sins. But even burdens hinder us in the race and
must therefore be laid aside.
Cares are burdens; for they exhaust
spiritual strength. They are an unnecessary
load foolishly taken up by ourselves, and they make real running in the race
impossible. Certain claims or pretensions are burdens and
cripple our activity for Christ. False claims on money hinder missionary
sacrifice and practical love and charity.
False claims on time
encourage selfishness, indolence, make us lazy in going to church, especially
to prayer-meetings, in visiting the sick, or in exercising other activities of
love. False claims on honour weaken our witness and make us cowardly. They hinder us in the happy confession of our
faith and in the willingness to take upon us the shame of Christ.
Without doubt earthly things are a necessity. Time,
money, as [page 83] well as civil and personal honour, are certainly of value
for our human existence and are in no wise to be denied on principle. But true spiritual-mindedness will be able to
draw the line in each case and to decide what is good and allowable and what
can be a burden when over-emiphasized. The decisive factor is that our inward life
should be apprehended (laid hold of) by Christ (Phil.
3: 12), so that our heart is an occupied area. Then we receive a delicate sense for all
these differences, so that we remain free as well as bound, realistic with regard
to this world as well as ready for sacrificial action for Gods Kingdom,
natural and spiritual at the same time.
Then earthly things will receive their share and heavenly things their
fuller portion. Everything depends on temporal things being seen from the
standpoint of eternity.
This
brings us to the fourth aspect of the right vision of a runner in the race.
4. Looking to the Goal.
Only
if the runner keeps his gaze fixed and concentrated on the goal has he any
prospect of victory. For this reason
Paul says (and the Hebrews letter moves in just the same lines of thought as
the apostle Paul): Forgetting
the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are
before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus (Phil.
3: 13, 14).
Men
are not only formed in character by
their past (family descent, education) and present circumstances
(environment, work and profession), but also very markedly by their future. Man
inwardly grows the higher his ideals are.
So also in spiritual life hope
and sanctification belong
together. And every man that hath this hope set on Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3: 3).
Thus
Christ suffered on
This
attitude of heart must be ours too. When you suffer shame for the sake of your
testimony, rejoice over the future crown of glory. Every one therefore who shall confess Me before men, him will I also
confess before My Father who is in heaven
(Matt. 10: 32). If you renounce the enjoyments of
the pleasures of sin for the sake of
sanctification and holiness, you may be sure that one day you will be privileged to enjoy [page 84] the hidden heavenly manna (Rev.
2: 17). If you sacrifice money or goods for the sake of the spread of the gospel be assured that God is no
mans debtor. Everything which we take
out of our earthly account for His sake
is paid into our heavenly account. Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for
the fruit that increased to your account (Phil. 4: 17). All such expense is in reality income.
This
striving towards the goal thus comprises every outward and inward realm of
life. The prize is indeed such as to make it well worth while to give
ourselves up wholly to attain it.
In
the opening words of Hebrews 12 the writer
uses in the original Greek three remarkable words: Therefore ... we also! (Gk. toigaroun kai bemeis). The first of them is especially impressive (toigaroun). In
other places the New Testament writers, expressing a very similar thought, use
a shorter word for Therefore (Gk. only ara or oun or dio). But in our context a strikingly emphatic
intensification is added to this word (Gk. toigar
which serves to emphasize oun). The idea is to emphasize as heavily as
possible the necessity that we New Testament believers shall draw the practical
consequences of the example of the Old Testament heroes of faith, and
especially of the example of Jesus Christ our Lord. As if the idea of the word therefore
were expressed by three parallel terms following immediately one upon the
other: Therefore, on this account, for this reason, we also!
Since
the Old Testament saints dedicated
themselves fully to the faith, Therefore ... we also! Since
victory was possible in previous history
at all times, even in times of suffering and trial, Therefore ... we also! Since
in the long gallery of faith our
forefathers showed heroic courage and endurance in keeping their eye on the
goal, Therefore ... we
also!
And
above all: Since Christ our Saviour proved
it possible to be victor amidst the sufferings of the cross, and hoped and
endured and sacrificed Himself to the end, Therefore
... we
also!
And
now we must change the plural into the singular, the we
must become a thou. Because
others have been enabled, Therefore thou also.
Since Christ is thy example, Therefore thou also! And finally we must get quite personal and
change over from thou to I. Since Christ has prepared the way for me, Therefore ... I also!
In
the arena of faith:
Let
us look unto Jesus!
* *
*
CHAPTER 5 [Pages
85-102]
THE CHRISTIAN RACE
AS AN OBSTACLE RACE
THE CHRISTIAN AND
SUFFERING
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin:
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with you as with sons, My
son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
reproved of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every
son whom he receiveth. It is for
chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is
there whom his father chasteneth not?
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers,
then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave
them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us
as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his
holiness. All chastening seemeth for the
present to be not joyous but grievous: yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable
fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of
righteousness (Heb. 12: 4 - 11).
PERSEVERE! Keep running! Hold
out to the end! Do not give up or be disheartened!
Never look back, but press on
towards the mark! With the same freshness as you began at the
starting-point, remain steadfast until the goal. Only
thus is it possible to gain the prize in the arena, only thus to be crowned. This
is the message of the whole Hebrews letter, especially of Hebrews 12.
God
is the heavenly Umpire of the race. In
His infinite wisdom He has placed obstacles in our way, not indeed to hinder
our course, but to test our devotion, to keep us earnest, watchful and
persevering, to strengthen our spiritual energy.
Thus
the runners race in the arena of faith is an obstacle
race. There are difficulties and
sufferings. Hindrances block [page 86] our way. But
everything is overruled by the perfect love, wisdom and power of the Divine
Umpire. And the harder the conflict, the more glorious the prize for the victor!
Suffering
must be regarded from the view-point of eternity. Only thus can one recognize its high value.
Suffering is not something superfluous or even something that disturbs or
restricts our real life and eternal profit.
My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord (v.
5). We must pay due regard
to all the dark mysteries and perplexities of life, for in all of them, in the
last analysis, we find GOD!
He who does
not view suffering from Gods standpoint, feels himself hindered by
difficulties and extremities. By him
suffering will be regarded as mere ballast to keep him steady in the race, and
indeed it will actually work itself out as such in his life. Therefore it is essential for the runner in
the arena to have the right vision of the
God-intended meaning of his sufferings, even if he does not understand all His
purposes in detail. Only then can the
sufferings be changed into a help instead of a hindrance, into an encouragement
instead of a discouragement. The
difficulties of life will support him in his struggle forwards. That which otherwise appears to paralyse
gives him new power. That which
seemingly holds him back will really help him to hasten forward. That which presses him down helps him in fact
to look up. Let us look up unto Jesus.
Hebrews 12, in the verses
just following the opening exhortation to run in the race, shows us in only a
few sentences, but in mighty fulness, the blessing of suffering (vv. 5-11).
This is done in a sevenfold manner.
In
the obstacle-race of faith the true believer:
sees in the difficulties of this life proofs of the Fatherhood
of God: (Heb. 12: 5 a, 6b, 7b, 8);
regards distresses and trials as ways of the love
of God: (Heb. 12: 6a);
trusts in the midst of all suffering in the infallibility and
fruitfulness of all the decisions of the wisdom of God: (Heb. 12: 10a);
reckons, in the whirl of events, with the ordering hand of
the all overruling government of God: (Heb. 12: 7a);
subjects himself without criticism, even in inexplicable darknesses, to the sovereign authority of God: (Heb. 12: 9);
values suffering as a necessity of education, so that our lives are
being changed into the image of the holiness of God: (Heb.12: 10);
estimates [page 87] the darknesses of life as Gods means of reaching the bright
eternal goal of God:
(Heb. 12: 11 b).
1.
True faith sees in the difficulties of this life
PROOFS
OF THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD.
Sufferings
bear witness to out sonship. God dealeth with you as with sons; for what
son is there whom his father chasteneth not?
(v. 7). Where discipline is lacking, true fatherhood
is wanting. If our
earthly fathers, who gave us our bodily life, had to discipline us, how much
more God, the Father of spirits, who gave us our intellectual and, above all,
our spiritual life?
Therefore
it would be wrong and pointless if we should complain by asking: Why does God
allow us, His own children, to suffer so much?
On the contrary, just because we are His sons, God cleanses and educates us. Not in spite of His fatherhood but because of His fatherhood is His discipline
necessary. Thus the sufferings of His children are no ground for disappointment
but rather for certainty and thankfulness that He, the eternal God, in Jesus
Christ His Son, has become our father.
Sufferings are indeed the very proofs of our nobility and standing as
belonging to Gods family. God speaks to
us as unto children (v. 5 a): He
treats us as sons (v. 7): He
scourges every son (v. 6). Otherwise ye are bastards and not sons (v. 9). The word here used in the original language
for to scourge is related etymologically to the Greek word for child
(Gk. paideuein, derived from pais, child, boy, girl: Matt. 2: 16; John 4: 51; Luke 8: 51, 54). It means to bring
up someone as a child and, when necessary, to
punish as a child.
And,
with all this, keep in mind that you are
not the only son who is being led through dark valleys. God scourges every
son (v. 6).
Thus nothing very extraordinary is happening to you. This, too, may help you not to over-estimate
your sufferings. Knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren who are in the world (1 Pet. 5: 9). This makes us careful and reserved in
weighing our own burdens, and it can at the same time encourage us, for if the others have been able by the power
of the Lord to endure in difficulties and sufferings, then I can do
likewise. I am not alone, but find
myself marching in the midst of a multitude of brothers and sisters who are
treading the same path and running in the same obstacle race as myself. Their heavenly Father is also my heavenly
Father and He will bring us all to the goal.
[Page
88] 2. True faith regards the distresses and sufferings of
this life as
WAYS OF THE
LOVE OF GOD.
For
whom the Lord loveth, He
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth (v. 6).
Sufferings prove that God is interested in us, that He is moulding us, that He loves us. Yea, He loveth the peoples; all His saints are in Thy hand:
and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words (Deut. 33: 3).
What
a most astonishing fact! the Almighty God is
interested in our infinitesimally small life!
This should suffice us! All the
love of our heavenly Father concerns itself with advancing our sanctification
and blessing us on our way through time to the land of eternity.
Gods heart loves us -
We are His elect.
Gods hand holds us -
We are under His protection.
Gods mouth teaches us -
We possess His living Word.
At Gods feet we are resting -
We enjoy His peace.
Thus
every child of the heavenly Father can be confident even in suffering. He knows that nothing can separate me from
the love of God (Rom. 8: 38, 39). Yea, even more: All things, and especially
the difficulties, are a proof of His love.
Therefore
the runner in the race is not discouraged by obstacles. He trusts the love of God and presses on to
the goal, unburdened by cares and sorrows.
Cares
are therefore a contradiction of our standing as children of God. In the Sermon on
the Mount, the Lord Jesus warns so emphatically against all fear and anxiety,
that one might rightly call this part of His discourse a real campaign against
the spirit of worry. The Christian
should avoid worry for seven reasons:
(1)
Cares and worries are useless. With all your worrying you
are not able to add a single cubit to the length of your earthly
pilgrimage. Our earthly pilgrimage is,
so to speak, many thousands of miles in length but we cannot even add as much
as a yard to it (Matt. 6: 27). The translation stature
is not clear because it could lead to the idea that the size of the body is
meant. But the Lord wants to point out
here that we cannot do even the smallest things. If, however, we could add a
cubit to our [page 89]
stature that would be an astonishing and remarkably great thing. It would also not at all be desirable, so
that nobody would wish or take much care and thought to be able to do it! For this reason the text in question can be
understood only in the sense that a cubit here would indeed be something very
small. We cannot lengthen our life even
for a few minutes however much thought or worrying we might take.
(2) Cares and worries ale injurious. They are unnecessary and foolish
hindrances. For if one worries one
experiences each difficulty twice: the first time in ones imagination and the
second time in reality, the first time in expectancy, the
second time in the actual event. But
once would suffice! Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matt. 6: 34). Therefore: Never
worry worry till worry worries you. Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.
(3)
Cares and worries are unworthy. The lilies of the field
and the fowls of the air do not worry and yet are looked after. Art thou not better than they? The pictures used by the Lord are very apt.
Food and raiment are the main objects of worry. The fowls refer to food and are a picture
from the animal world; the lilies refer to raiment and are a picture from the
plant world. Sowing and reaping is mens
work, while sewing and spinning is especially womens work. All these points of view are summarized as
follows:
the
question of food and raiment,
the
picture from the animal world and the plant world;
sowing
and reaping and sewing and spinning,
the
sphere of mens and that of womens work
all this
unites in the impressive harmonious demand: Be not anxious for your life (Matt. 6: 25). Worrying is a
denial of the nobility of man. For man
is better than a flower or an animal. He is the crown of creation and destined
for a kingdom.
All worrying is undignified. He who worries is forgetting his high
calling, as well as the willingness and power of our great God to help. He is forgetting Gods all-sufficiency and
perfect wisdom as well as His eternal love.
(4)
Cares and worries are unfilial. It being already true from
the view-point of creation, that man as man is much higher than the plants and
animals, how much more must it be true from the [page 90] view-point of
salvation! As children of our heavenly
Father we can happily and thankfully trust that: Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have
need of all these things (Matt. 6: 32).
The spirit of worrying in a child of God means, therefore that he is
leaving his heavenly rank out of account.
It belongs to the privileges and obligations of a practical realization
of our standing as sons of God that we happily trust our Father.
(5)
Cares and worries are earthly. They direct our
questionings and thoughts far too much to things here (food and raiment); but
the attitude of mind of the believer should have a heavenly direction: But
seek ye first the
(6)
Cares and worries are idolatrous.
They concern themselves too much with the question of having or not
having earthly things. And that is a
service of Mammon. In the Sermon on the
Mount the Greek text leaves out the definite article the
before the word mammon, thus purposely treating this word as a personal
name. Mammon is, so to speak
the name of a god as Apollo or Diana are names of
heathen deities. No man can serve two masters (two gods): God Jehovah and the false god Mammon (Matt. 6: 24)
(7)
Cares and worries are heathenish. For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek (Matt.
6: 32). The spirit of worrying represents an attitude
of mind which is foreign to the
For
all these reasons cares and worries must be avoided by the Christian. Cast all your anxiety upon Him; for He careth for you (1 Pet. 5: 7).
In
his pithy manner of expression Luther
once said: Oh, that we could learn this sort of casting!
But he who does not learn it will remain a man downcast, outcast, cast
off, cast behind, cast away.
On
the other hand living faith will recognize the truth of that other saying of
the great Reformer:
To count out money from an empty purse,
To bake bread from the clouds,
This is the art of our God alone.
He makes all things out of nothing
And He doeth it daily.
[Page 91] Two passages
of Scripture express strikingly opposite aspects of truth. Both refer emphatically to the question of
providing for the outward life. The
second is given in the chapter immediately subsequent to Hebrews 12 and thus is in a certain, indirect
connexion with our chapter (Heb. 13: 5). The first is the most positive and the other
the most negative sentence of the whole New Testament. In a very small space the first passage contains
five affirmations and the second five negations. Here is the first passage:
God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every (lit. all) good work (2 Cor. 9: 8). In the Greek the root word for all
occurs five times in this one passage (Pasan, panti, pantote, Pasan, pan).
The
other Scripture reads: I will in no wise fail thee,
neither will I in any wise forsake thee
(Heb. 13: 5).
In
both cases it is hardly possible to give the literal order of the Greek words
in the original text, especially in the second passage. The first part of this sentence contains a
double and the second part a triple negative, so that the sentence contains a fivefold
negation, as if the text should read: Not will I
fail thee! Nevermore! No!
Never and by no means
will I forsake thee.
Thus these two Scriptures show in their harmonious
contrast, positively and negatively expressed, the same precious message:
Will God give me all things which are
necessary and good? Yes! Five times yes! All
grace! In
all things! Always! All sufficiency! All good work!
Will God ever forsake me? - No! Five times no! Never! Nevermore! Never and by no mcans! In no circumstances!
Therefore: Have
faith in God! His
love and His faithfulness rule over our life.
The
obstacles in the race are appointed and overruled by His perfect Divine
wisdom. All arrangements in the
racecourse are made by Himself Who is both our wise
and just Umpire and our loving heavenly Father.
3. True faith trusts in the midst of all
suffering in the infallibility and fruitfulness of all the DECISIONS OF THE
WISDOM OF GOD.
Earthly
fathers, even though they may be very experienced, and full of love and wisdom
in the selection of their methods of upbringing, can, nevertheless, make
mistakes. They must always [page
92] act only
within a certain more or less restricted horizon of their outlook and are
always liable to error common to man. The best and highest they can do is to
take all their decisions according to their best knowledge and conscience. But the heavenly Father never makes
mistakes. His discipline never
errs. In His loving treatment of His
children He never takes a wrong measure.
Everything is chosen to serve His ends. Everything is planned to reach
the great, ideal goal, and this goal is indeed the highest possible, namely to
transform His child into the image of His own holy nature. For they verily for a few days chastened us as seemed good [or meet] to them; but He for
our profit that we may become partakers of His holiness (Heb. 12: 10). Thus faith can rest not only in Gods love
but also in His wisdom. Faith knows, I am Gods child and not His counsellor (Tersteegen). Even when I am in the midst of tribulation
and trial and see no way out, I can say: His hand holds me fast. My Father rules over everything and He knows!
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of
grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and
provide;
In every change He faithful
will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best thy heavenly
Friend
Through
thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still,
my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let
nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His
voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Katharina von Schlegel
(Tr. Jane L. Borthwick).
The
whole situation is however completed, and becomes a matter of actual comfort
and help for troubled redeemed ones, when they remember that it is not only the
perfect love and wisdom of the Father which rules here but also His Divine
omnipotence. Our heavenly Father wants
to help, knows how to help and
is able to help. This trinity of Divine powers gives us, in
their working together, the guarantee that, in spite of the difficulties and
hardships on the way, at the end everything will come out for our good. In fact, looking at the matter from [page 93] Gods point of
view, we can say that, because everything is under His overruling hand,
everything is profitable and good even today.
4.
True faith reckons in the whirl of events with the ordering hand of the
ALL
OVERRULING GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
The
leading thought of our passage in Hebrews 12
is, no doubt, that the sufferings of the redeemed have a deeper meaning than
their outward appearance (Heb. 12: 11), that
with all the activities of the enemies, God in reality is the acting One, that although the persecutors of the
Christians aim at their destruction, the real God-intended aim in all these
events is their glorification, their profit, the peaceable fruit of righteousness. What ye endure is for your upbringing (v. 7a): God dealeth with you ... for your profit (vv. 7 and 10). For afterward
suffering, even the suffering of persecution of which the verses under
consideration chiefly speak, will give to those who are exercised
thereby a peaceable fruit of righteousness (v. 11). This means that God overrules even the actions of His enemies. They thought evil against us but God meant it
unto good (Gen. 50: 20). God
uses the aims of the godless to reach and attain His own Divine aims. He acts in a mysterious veiling of Himself in
such a manner that even faith can recognize it only to a limited degree. In all the manifold single events He never
loses His outlook over the whole. He is
not only the God of all collectively, but also the God of each individual. In all the great events He never forgets the
small matters, in the universal history never the personal life-story, in the
course of centuries never the happenings of seconds. He holds all the reins of events in His hand,
in all the complicated network of happenings of time and space, of men and
history.
Faith
can therefore take the actions of unbelievers as being sent to him from
God. They would not have been able to place the disturbances and obstacles
in our racecourse if they had not been allowed to do so by the heavenly
Organizer of the contest, and if the mighty Divine Umpire, in a mysterious, yet
most effective way, were not acting Himself behind and in all their endeavours.
This
gives us a remarkable sense of independence of man and of superiority in all
the changing scenes of life. So now it was not you that sent me hither,
but God (Gen. 45: 8) were
the words of Joseph to his brethren, although he knew perfectly well what had
happened and although he had just presented himself to [page
94] them
with the words: I am Joseph,
your brother, whom ye sold into
For
this reason the Scriptures never speak of a mere permissive
will of God. God is never a mere
spectator. His attitude is not passive
in the happenings of this world, but definitely active. He is not beside the events, but in them. He is not only the
One Who lives above the world, He lives also in the world: for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17: 28). This was not stated by the apostle in a
purely spiritual sense, as though
thereby he meant exclusively believers; no. he is speaking, here of men in
general as the creatures of God, in fact even of heathen also.
Gods
eternal plan for the Kingdom governs our life.
All the happenings of human history are scaffolding for the happenings
of the history of salvation. Heaven and
hell, angels and demons, faith and infidelity, church and world, great and
small, the general and the personal things of this life, everything must serve,
consciously or unconsciously, willingly or unwillingly, to fulfil the will of
God. He ruleth and doeth all things
well.
For
this reason we know that to
them that love God, all things work together for good, to them who are the
called according to His purpose (Rom. 8: 28).
In this verse is expressed the servitude of all earthly relationships to
the will of God. Everything worketh together (literally).
All earthly things serve heavenly ends.
By means of all things, even by means of the
worst things, the best shall be
reached, i.e., the transformation of the redeemed into the image of Christ the
Redeemer, so that they may become conformed to the image of [page 95] His
Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8: 29).
It
is expressly declared, however, that this happens only in the case of those who love God. For earthly things must be known before we can love them; but
Divine things must be loved before we can get to know them (Pascal). And not in vain are these who love God
characterized at the same time as those who are the called according to His purpose. This means
to say: An eternal plan governs our life.
Our short life on earth lies between two eternities: the eternity before
the time of the world, with its Divine election, and the eternity after this
world, with its glorious perfection. All
the circumstances of time have been considered and allowed for in Gods eternal
planning. If therefore all the
happenings and relationships of time here below serve together to work out the
final realization of the Divine plan, this means that no circumstances which
appear from time to time are unprepared for, or mere coincidences, or even matters
of chance in each existing situation, but are rather evidences of the eternal
forethought in the counsel of our gracious God.
Thus our assurance of faith that everything temporal is but a link in
the chain of the eternal, is founded on a firm
rock. And confidently reckoning with the
omnipotent government of a loving God and Father we can pass along even dark
and dangerous roads in life without anxiety or fear.
5. True faith even in inexplicable darknesses subjects itself without criticism to the SOVEREIGN
ROYAL AUTHORITY OF GOD.
This
is also emphasized in our passage in Hebrews: Furthermore we had fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we
gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father
of spirits, and live? (Heb. 12: 9).
This means: it is a
condition of real life [now and in the age
to come]
to be subject to the Father of spirits.
To subject oneself
and to live are two things which belong inseparably together. Should we not be able to bow to the
disciplinary and educational measures of our heavenly Father without
contradicting, without inward rebellion, and with thankful, quiet and happy
hearts? Are not His thoughts infinitely
higher than our thoughts? (Isa. 55: 8-9).
Is He not able to judge the situation better than we, He living in the
High and
Does
He, the Divine Organizer of the race, not
know better what arrangements are necessary and profitable for the runner than
the runner himself, who is always only one individual participant in the
contest, but can never have the complete survey of the whole? Is therefore the racer not under the obligation simply to acknowledge the
superiority and authority of the Divine Umpire and, without any arguing, to
undertake the running with all its arrangements and obstacles, just as this
race by the heavenly Organizer has breen set
before him?
But if we complain
and worry and distrust our heavenly Father, it means that we regard Him less
and give Him less reverence than we did our earthly fathers. For our earthly fathers we did trust, even if
they sometimes corrected us. And is it
right to rebel against our heavenly Father if He takes us into His school of
discipline and leads us through difficulties and trials only in order to
further our spiritual life, and. indeed, to show us in the very experience of
suffering His loving-kindness and care?
Moreover
He is far superior to all earthly fathers.
They were our fathers after the flesh; but He is the Father of
spirits. Therefore He, our heavenly
Father, is as much superior to our earthly fathers as the spirit is more than
the body and as the inward spiritual personality is more than the external
bodily appearance.
Therefore
away with all grumbling! All spirit of complaint and dissatisfaction
is rebellion against God. God is always
right. Love your destiny, for it is Gods way with your soul. Even if a
thousand enigmas surround you, even if you can see no way out and everything
appears senseless, faith can wait. Gods books must be read backwards, that
is, from the end to the beginning. But
having once reached the goal, looking back, we shall see that all darknesses of our path will have become radiantly bright.
Until
eternity dawns God dwelleth in darkness.
The nearer the priest came to the centre of the symbolical
dwelling-place of Jehovah in the tabernacle and approached the throne of grace,
that is, the ark of the covenant with the mercy-seat,
and the shekinah, the darker it became round about
him. The
God dwelleth
in the light unapproachable (1 Tim. 6: 16).
His earthly symbolic dwelling-place was meant to bear witness to this
fact. In the symbolic language, however,
of tabernacle and temple His invisibility could be represented only by the lack
of all created light. The absolute
eternal light could only be expressed by mystical symbolical darkness.
In the eternal city of
One thing especially will be revealed: Gods dealings with us in suffering were
always designed to be a help to our spiritual growth.
6. True faith
values suffering as a necessity of education, so that our lives should be
changed into the IMAGE OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD.
The heavenly Father chasteneth us for our profit in order that we might be partakers of His holiness (Heb. 12: 10).
Needs are often needful because many things prosper
only in times of need. Gods measures to help must sometimes be onerous
or even severe. For it
is true that Small trials often make us beside
ourselves, but great trials bring us back to ourselves. It was when the prodigal son came to himself that he said, I will arise and go to my father,
and this was caused by hunger (Luke 15: 14-18).
[Page 98] In all times
of visitation God is endeavouring to visit us. He is
seeking us and is striving to persuade us, the fugitives from God, to return
home, to comeback to the Fathers house.
In this sense even the disappointments in life are intended to awaken us
out of all illusions into which sin has led us, for instance, as if we
ourselves were so important and as if in our life earthly things were the true
values that really matter.
The
sufferings of this world are a means in the hands of God for the realization of
His plan for mans redemption. Precisely
the fact that the earth cannot give what man seeks and desires, delivers him
from his false expectations and stirs up his yearnings for
Thus
the obstacles in our race are intended by Gods purposeful love to further our
inner development, to strengthen our spiritual muscles, to give us
opportunities for victory, to help us to be more and more transformed, in
character and conduct, into practical accordance with the holy nature of the
eternal goal. Finally:
7. True faith
estimates the darknesses of life as Gods means of
reaching the BRIGHT, ETERNAL GOAL OF GOD.
Pressure rises up The
afterward will soon be the present. All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but
grievous: yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been
exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12: 11).
To
be sure, even the Christian feels the sharpness of difficulties. They are real to him also. They appear to be troublesome, and
the Bible does not blame us for feeling so.
The things of God are always far too natural than to make unnatural
demands on human faculties and possibilities.
The Bible never goes so far as to require of the Christian to disregard
his trials and to look upon them superficially, as though difficulties were no
difficulties and distresses no distresses.
If the Christian were expected to do this, trials would have no meaning
for him and would in fact be no longer trials and consequently
without any fruit and effect. No, if
Gods strokes brought us no pain, they would no longer be a help for us to overcome
our sins. But just because they hurt,
they help us. The Scripture uses even
the very strong word scourgeth (Heb. 12:
6). The Greek word used here, [page
99] mastigoi, is
related to the word for whip (Gk. mastix). Compare Acts 22: 24;
Heb. 11: 36.
Of
Job we read that before he uttered those wondrous words, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the
name of the Lord (Job 1: 21), he had
felt and expressed his deepest sorrow and pain after having received the news of
the catastrophes. Indeed he had shown
his mourning and grief quite openly: Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell
down upon the ground (v. 2o). It
may be that this sense of the sharpness of the sufferings may even dim for a
time the spiritual vision of our heart.
And we know that the heavenly High Priest has understanding for even
this, for He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb. 4: 15).
The agonies of trial sometimes may blur our inward sight. But he who keeps on trusting will experience
finally that the ways of God with His own are never to be compared with one
having to go into a dark cave, or into some subterranean labyrinth with
endless, unlit, black passages which, so to speak, swallow us up and hold us
captive without any way out for ever; the ways of God are rather to be compared
to passing through a narrow, and often indeed long, tunnel, which at first
leads downwards into darkness and depth, but at the other end, afterward,
leads up into sunshine, all the more glorious and brilliant.
This
afterward is often experienced in anticipation while we are
yet on the way. Sufferings are seeds to
bring forth the fruit of peace and righteousness. He who is exercised and practised in
hardships will harvest the fruit of this seed-sowing.
Great peace enters his heart; true righteousness fills his standing and
his state. Thus he acquires a fruit
which as to the state of his heart is called peaceable, and with
respect to his standing and practical state in life is called righteousness.
Every time we stand the test, we further
our spiritual progress. Gods angels minister to us after every
victory (cf. Matt. 4: 11). Growth
in sanctification increases our joy.
The
peaceable fruit of righteousness grows on the apparently crooked and wild tree
of tribulation. This heavenly fruit as
to its character is righteousness and as to its taste peace. God works in us a practical righteousness of
life and walk which is based upon the righteousness of our standing which we
have received through faith in Christ Jesus (Phil.
3: 9).
Righteousness
produces peace, holiness, purity, and joy.
The [page 100] character of the new life is righteousness, its
inward harmony and enjoyment peace.
Perhaps
the expression peace as the fruit of
righteousness looks back to the first verses of Hebrews
12, where the arena of faith is mentioned. At the end of the race, when the battle is
won, we shall enjoy the fruit of righteousness in peace.
Light after darkness,
Gain after loss,
Strength after weakness,
Crown after cross,
Sweet after bitter,
Hope after fears,
Home after wandering,
Praise after tears.
Sheaves after sowing,
Sun after rain,
Sight after mystery,
Peace after pain,
Joy after sorrow,
Calm after blast,
Rest after weariness,
Sweet rest at last.
(Frances Ridley Havergal)
All
the apparent hindrances in life are thus in reality furtherances. Should we not therefore, in
the midst of tribulation, be in subjection
unto the Father of spirits, and live? (Heb.
12: 9). This means to live
in the deep spiritual sense of the word.
Life, not meaning merely being in the sense of
just existing, but rather as being filled with strength, joy, real meaning and
purpose, yea, a being filled indeed with God and Christ.
Tribulation does not destroy faith, but confirms it. Tribulation is not the messenger of the wrath
of God, but rather of His goodness.
Tribulation does not exclude us from our fellowship with God, but rather
prepares us for the full enjoyment of His grace in His presence.
Faith
therefore believes against all human reasonings to the contrary. Faith knows that while God sometimes appears
to be only the taking One, He is in reality always the giving One. Indeed, just in taking and by taking He often is giving.
But He gives after His own fashion, which is often very different from
ours. And then He often fulfils our expectations by apparently disappointing them. His ways are wiser than ours; His thoughts
are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55: 9), and He is always right. For this we shall one day praise Him
eternally.
Mary
wept by the open grave of the Lord. She
saw her loss. Not even the dead body of
her Master was there any more. And yet that
very empty tomb was the proof of the resurrection, the sign of victory, and,
had she rightly understood the situation, it would have given her abundant
reason for triumphant joy. But how
wonderfully afterward her lamentation was turned to jubilation! (Matt. 28: 8). Mary - Rabboni - how much is contained in those few words! (John 20: 16).
And after she had understood the real meaning of the empty tomb, think how this knowledge made her to be
a witness to the resurrection, a proclaimer of the mightiest triumph of life, a
joyful testifier to the victorious power of the Risen One! (Luke 24: 10).
Thus
for the redeemed everything has a twofold aspect: Nature and faith. From
the natural point of view we often see only the loss; faith, however, sees the
gain. From the natural point of view we
see death, but faith sees resurrection and life.
Nature
sees the tomb, faith the resurrection.
Nature looks woefully back into the treasures of memory, faith looks forward to the coming glory. So faith becomes joyful expectancy and
hope. It is waiting for the day of
redemption and our being clothed upon with the body of glory.
Then
the day of the true, real afterward will have come.
The goal will have been
reached for which we strove in the arena
of faith. And when the crowns and prizes have been bestowed, the runner in the
race will praise the Captain of his faith especially for the difficulties which
He, the great Umpire of the race, in His wisdom and love had placed in his
path. Truly there had been many
obstacles in his way, sometimes even hindrances which seemed to overcome him;
but in reality all these hindrances had been like obstacles in an obstacle race, especially ordained by the organizer of the race. And our heavenly Umpire never makes a mistake. He
places the obstacles in our way in order to test the
spiritual strength and energy of the runner, to exercise him, to strengthen
him, and thus to bring him all the more surely and with all the more glory to
the winning-post.
Then
the day of eternity will dawn, the day which knows no evening or sunset. Its sun will arise, the heavenly light will
shine [page 102] forth, and everything will be radiant and clear in
the full and everlasting daylight of Gods glory.
Then
we shall worship Him who guided us here below. We shall praise Him for all His
~vays with us, admire His wisdom and enjoy His never‑ending
love, and the vision of His face wW be our
everlasting delight.
*
* *
CHAPTER 6 [Pages
103-124]
PRESSING. ON TO THE MARK!
Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down,
and the palsied knees; and make straight paths for your feet, that that which
is lame be not turned out of the way; but rather be
healed. Follow after peace with all men,
and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking
carefully lest there be any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest
any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be
defiled (or poisoned)
(Heb. 12: 12-15).
CHRISTIANITY is eternity in time.
With the appearance of Christ a new sprig was planted into the withered
ground of the world of man. And all who
have been grafted into it have become partakers of eternal life. Thus Christians have found the fountain of
eternal youth. The genuine life of faith
never grows old. Though our outward man is decaying, yet our
inward man is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4: 16). They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they
shall walk, and not faint (Isa. 40: 31).
A really healthy life of faith is
like one running in an arena whose freshness of the starting-post is maintained
to the finish.
And
yet! The Christians of the letter to the
Hebrews had grown tired. After a richly
blessed start (Heb. 10: 32) their inward
life had begun to droop. Their hands
were hanging down and their knees had become feeble (Heb.
12: 12). The attendance at their
gatherings had decreased (Heb. 10: 25). Their
life of faith was no longer to be compared to running in an arena but rather to
the slow and painful walk of a sick or paralysed person. Instead of looking towards the goal, they
began to turn their eyes to times gone by.
Instead of looking forward to the consummation at the coming of Christ,
they looked backward to the Old Testament ages of preparation. Instead of considering the glories of the
Spirit and the fulfilment of all prophecy [page 104] in Christs
person and work, they began to yearn for the types and symbols of the Divine
service of the Old Covenant which they had known as so beautiful and
impressive. So the glory of grace had
become darkened for them. It appeared
desirable to them to return to the law.
The danger of being
hardened had arisen (Heb. 3: 13).
Indeed, they had even to be told: Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any one of you an evil heart
of unbelief, in falling away from the living God (Heb. 3: 12).
How can they be helped?
Only
by renewed contact with the Fountain of
power. The exceeding glory and
reality of the New Testament salvation must come before their minds and hearts
as a fresh vision. They must be brought
to acknowledge that leaving the ground of grace means robbing oneself, returning
to the old is sinking into the depth, turning back to the past is losing the
future. Only grace can lead to the goal. Only the New Testament type of [a future] salvation can guarantee the promised eternal [age-lasting] glory.
For
this reason the main purpose of Hebrews is, as to its essence, a message of reformation. No doubt the letter to the
Hebrews contains a good deal of doctrine.
In fact, it is the document of the New Testament which gives us the deepest insight
into the inward relationships of preparation and fulfilment, of shadow and
reality, of Old Testament sacrifices and the New Testament priesthood of
Christ. But the chief object is not that
of instruction but of renewal, not that of doctrinal presentation but of
practical restoration, not that of leading the readers for the first time into
the knowledge of full salvation, but rather that of leading them back to
that which they had already acknowledged and experienced from the very start of
their Christian life. Here the reader is
not encouraged to lay hold on salvation but rather to hold it fast. It is not so much the matter of being formed as of being re-formed.
For
this reason Hebrews is, within
the New Testament, the sister letter to the Epistle to the Galatians. In both letters the purpose is the same. They are the main reformatory
epistles of the New Testament.
In
the Galatian letter, as also in the Hebrews, people are dealt with who were in
danger of falling back from the New Testament heights of salvation to the Old
Testament introductory stages of Divinely revealed
history. The main difference is that the
Galatian Christians were originally heathen who had
since come [page 105] under wrong Hebrew-Christian influences, while the
leaders of the letters to the Hebrews were Israelites who had accepted the Messiah,
perhaps even priests or Levites (Acts 6: 7).
This made a different type of
presentation of thought necessary.
Law and grace is the theme of both letters.
But the Galatian letter treats it with special
reference to the moral laws of the
Mosaic dispensation, while the Hebrews speaks especially of its ceremonial laws. The Galatian letter refers chiefly
to jurisdiction, Hebrews to worship
and cult (Divine Service).
In
Galatians Paul points out that it is not allowable
in law to alter testamentary documents which have already been officially
recognized (Gal. 3: 15-20), and he speaks of
legal forms of the educational system of antiquity (Gal.
3: 23-29), and of the respective legal position of slaves and of sons before
they become of age (Gal. 4: 1-7). So the Galatian
letter uses pictures and comparisons taken more from the legal practice, but Hebrews (especially chs. 5 - 10)
refers more to the symbolical language
of the Old Testament forms of Divine Service, to priesthood, sacrifice,
tabernacle. Galatians places us more in a law-court, Hebrews in a temple.
But
the theme is the same: the relationship of law to grace, the greater glory of
grace, freely bestowed, and, as the result of this, the holy demand and serious
warning: Never go back! Hold that fast which thou hast, that no one take thy crown
(Rev. 3: 11).
1. PARALYSING POWERS
How
did it come about that the Hebrew Christians lost their original freshness of
faith? How happy they had been at the
beginning! What would they not have done
for Christ in those early days? They
received into their houses the persecuted witnesses of Christ (Heb. 10: 34).
They endured personally all sorts of indignities and trials (Heb. 10: 33).
Even the loss of their possessions on account of their Christian
confession they had endured, and had done it not only without complaining, but,
indeed, with rejoicing. Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods (Heb. 10: 34).
And
now everything had become different.
Instead of the former freshness and vigour, their hands hung down,
instead of marching manfully onwards, a paralysis had set in. They no longer pressed on, running on the
racecourse, but had halted, [page 106] and indeed were in danger of stagnation. In
fact many had definitely become backsliders (Heb.
17: 12, 13). The enemy had begun
his work of inducing paralysis.
1.
The external difficulties had
been used by him in order to weaken and to eliminate these joyful witnesses of
God. Again and again they had to meet
with bitter hatred against Christ.
Continually the world mocked at
and despised them. Ever and again
outward loss, social ostracism, and injury in their business or professional
standing made them feel the lack of legal rights. By all this the enemy had been able to wear
them down. It was not the first shock of
suffering that brought him this success but the continuing pressure of persecution.
However,
the extremity of persecution had not yet been reached. Martyrs blood had not yet flowed. And this
fact is used by the writer of the Hebrews letter to encourage them: ye have not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin (Heb. 12: 4).
This is not intended to mean that You have not
yet taken seriously enough the struggle against your own sin which is within yourselves. You have not yet shown sufficient energy of
faith, readiness for service, devotion, initiative, and resolution in your
personal sanctification. But the
sin which is spoken of here is the persecuting might of the enemy and the world
which approaches from outside. It is meant not as the
subjective, but as the objective power of evil, of the enmity of the world; so
that the meaning is that the battle has not yet
become so fierce that some of you have had to die for the sake of the testimony
of Christ. So far there has not
been shedding of blood. Though the
situation was hard enough, they had thus far been spared the hardest of all.
But
they must remember that others had made this supreme sacrifice! The immediately preceding chapter, Hebrews 11, had spoken of those who had been stoned
or sawn asunder, who had been tortured, or put to death by the
sword, and who had accepted no deliverance, though they could have obtained it
easily, if only by one word or one action they had denied their faith (Heb. 11: 35-37).
But they refused to do this in order that they might obtain a better resurrection than such an earthly deliverance, which last might
have been comparable to a [spiritual] resurrection by being immediately freed from prison and
martyrdom. And now, though certainly
recognizing the seriousness of your present situation, how much less are your
difficulties!*
Therefore do not overestimate your hardships!
[Page 107] And have we today not much more reason to keep in
mind this same exhortation? What are our
sufferings for the testimony compared with those of many men and women in the
glorious history of the heroes of the church of former times?
[* This is how many of the
Lords redeemed people interpret the meaning of the word resurrection!!]
In
the course of my travels I have often visited places where Christians in times
gone by suffered death for their faith.
Think of the dreadful subterranean prison cells hewn into the frightful
fortress of the Spilberg in Brunn (Moravia). Or think of Prague, where 27 crosses,
composed of small stones in the pavement in front of the old Town Hall, remind
us today of the Bloody Judgment of Prague
(1620, two years after the beginning
of the Thirty Years War). Small
paving-stones mark also the exact spot of the scaffold on which the 27 leaders of the Protestants were
beheaded. They are in the form of a
large crown of thorns, with two long, crossed judgment swords. Think of the cells of the Bloody Tower on the
Thames in London, where one can still see under glass plates verses of the
Bible and comforting words which were carved into the walls by those men in the
times of their greatest distress. Or I
think of the market-place in
How
small and feeble one feels, standing on such spots! A feeling of veneration and reverence comes
over one for these heroes of God in whom the might of Christ was so
powerful! Those were men and women for
whom Christ meant more than their own life.
And we ourselves are often so timid and do not give a clear
testimony. How often we tend to make compromises!
How easily we are afraid of being put at a disadvantage, or of not being
promoted in life and profession, or of having to hear a sarcastic remark or
getting a superior look, a shrug of the
shoulders, or even only to be smiled or laughed at. But
the Lord wants fighters, men who really sacrifice themselves for Hs interests,
men who have counted the cost of true Christianity and who are prepared to pay
it. In truth we are in the same position as the Hebrew Christians: we have
not yet resisted unto blood. Blood has
not yet been demanded from us. Therefore
we must not overestimate the difficulties which we take upon ourselves for
Christs sake. On the other hand,
come what may, we want [by the grace and
strength from God] to be ready
for [overcoming] anything.
The
real reason, however, for the signs of fatigue, noticeable amongst the Hebrew Christians,
was not so much their externally difficult situation, but their internal
reaction to it. Inwardly they had become
weak. And therein lay the real root of the danger of their failure.
2. Inward weakness and signs of fatigue. Their
prayer life had slackened, the numbers at their gatherings had decreased, and
their spiritual energy had fallen off.
They were to be compared to a pilgrim who had roused himself to leave
the City of Destruction in order to go to the heavenly Jerusalem but who had
become tired and weary on the way and could now only force himself forward with
feeble knees (Heb. 12: 12).
Their actions and ambitions were no more
those of the athlete in a race. They
were in danger of giving up the battle altogether. No longer were they runners who were pressing
on.
Old attractions of their former worship which had long since been
eclipsed, and had lost their glory by Christ having risen as the Sun in their
hearts, began to shine again. Their whole life of sanctification had become problematic, and with
this also their attaining the radiant goal and their abundant entry into the high glories of their heavenly calling. So that it was necessary to exhort them: Follow (lit., pursue)
... the sanctification without
which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12: 14). Run in the race (v. 1).
And
what shall we do? It is not our task to
rebuke these Hebrew Christians. Is it
not a fact that the picture of their situation is far too often an exact
description of our own inward state?
What about our own zeal? How
often do we go to hear Gods word and to pray?
Do we regularly take part in the prayer-meetings of our churches and
assemblies, striving together by prayer in the battle of the Lord? If we do not, our knees are paralysed. Does peace rule among us? Do we watch over our fellow-pilgrims to help
them in love? Is it our earnest desire
to be a blessing to others? If this is
not the case we have ourselves grown weary.
All quarrelling among believers
is a sign of spiritual slackness.
Instead of our making use of all our energies in the front line of
battle, the enemy has succeeded in getting agents
of his demoniac power behind our lines and these inspire divisions amongst us,
so that valuable energy is spent in this battle dealing with the partisans behind the front lines.
How
can all this be overcome? - this faint condition
without victory can never be the normal state of a sound Christian!
Here
only continual reformation can help - only an ever renewed and fresh vision of
Christ, only keener devotion and increased practical surrender of our life to
our Lord. Let us look unto Jesus!
2. QUICKENING POWERS
Therefore lift up the hands which hang down,
and the feeble (lit., paralysed)
knees.
The picture at the
beginning of our chapter is perhaps still valid. One cannot run in the arena of
faith, pursue and press on to the goal of sanctification - as in
the very next verses we are called to do - if our knees are feeble and our
hands hang down. For wrestling matches require strong hands, and athletic races demand knees which do not grow tired.
Thus
a real and manly renewal of strength in
the power of God is required. With
verve, indeed even with rhythm, is
this [page 110] brought out in the poetical language of the verse in
which this renewal is demanded. The
author of this passage becomes quite poetical in his exhortation, clothing it
in the original language in the form of a Greek hexameter. As with a clarion trumpet call he wakes up
the sleepers and the lingerers:
And make straight paths for your feet,
Lest that which is lame be turned out of the
way,
But let it rather be healed.
Looking unto Jesus gives us renewed freshness.
The fatigue disappears. The paralysis is overcome. Those who have strayed
from the way or who are wounded are healed (Heb.
12: 12, 13). New courage and
confidence fills our souls. We get the
right standard to estimate our troubles.
We do take them seriously; but we no longer overestimate them. Overestimation of difficulties is always a
sign of fatigue. But looking unto Jesus
brings strength. Only from His hand
can we receive the true yard-stick.
After all, the extent of our
sufferings is not appointed and destined by the enemy but by the Lord.
Looking
unto Jesus gives us peacefulness and fellowship. All strife wears us out. Conflicts
between the redeemed rob us of our verve.
All self-seeking controversy about things of but illusory value consumes
spiritual energy. This is the
connexion between the necessity to overcome all signs of fatigue and the
exhortation: Follow (pursue)
peace with all men (Heb. 12: 14).
By
the word follow on, pursue
eagerly (Gk. diokete) the writer of Hebrews resumes the picture of the race from
the beginning of the chapter. Paul uses
this same word twice in Philippians 3, where
he describes the Christian life as a holy [page 111] race in such
detail as he does in no other portion of his epistles: I press on! ... I press on! (Gk. dioko ... dioko)
toward the goal unto the prize (vv. 12-14). Just as Paul in Philippians
3, had in view the final end, the heavenly prize, so
the writer of Hebrews regards here the leading of a life of peace with all
men as an immediate object necessary to reaching that final object. The believer is to
be as zealous in walking in peace as the racer is to secure the crown. In a world marked by greed and contention
this is indeed a strenuous affair. It will not be obtained haphazard, but only
by such as pursue it as an all-worthy, all-desirable object, and who make every
sacrifice to secure it (G.
H. Lang).
Difficulties amongst believers can
always be overcome. Looking unto the
Reconciler makes us conciliatory. There
is no time to quarrel but rather to love. Let us look unto Jesus.
Peace
is here classed together with sanctification.
Pursue peace with all
men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. Striving
after peace brings with it a right attitude towards our fellow-men, striving after holiness a right attitude towards
God. Peace gives unity and fellowship here below; holiness arises out of fellowship with
the Lord who is above. Both are
indispensable. But neither peace nor sanctification are to be won
without effort and diligence. Both
are attained only by steadfast running. Therefore: Press on!
Peace,
in the full meaning of the Biblical word, is more than mere absence of
strife. Peace is harmony, inward working
together, being tuned in to one another, heart fellowship, love.
The
church was born out of eternal love. She
owes her life to the act of love on
We
believe in the one holy, universal church.
There is one foundation - the sacrifice of
Loving
is, however, not simply loving at a distance
by means of which one imagines oneself to be in fellowship with all the world,
but at the same time forgetting to seek the brother who is ones neighbour.
This notion of love is very nebulous. We
must guard against thinking more of the absent ones than those who are present
with us.
Love
is not simply a denominational affair. It
is not enough to be enthusiastic for showing unity and fellowship between the
various circles of believers, but at the same time not being able to have real
fellowship with the individual child of God. Love is nothing sentimental or merely a
matter of feeling. It is not something
vague and indefinite, but something very real.
Love is will, is practical action, is the purposeful energy of God, is the manifestation of Gods world in the midst of the
world here below.
Love
seeks the brother. Love believes in the
work of Christ in his soul, and we must humble ourselves deeply and, in repentance
before God and men, confess that we have often been too slow in this seeking of
our brother, and that, with all our faith in God, in this sense we have often
been too unbelieving in our belief.
Love
is able to bury old strife between brethren. Love can forget the dark past and make a new
start. Love kills, in the power of the life of God, all fatal division. Love is the soul of all peace and fellowship
amongst believers. Love brings
together. Love unites the hearts and
leads to fellowship in work at home and abroad, in our own assemblies and
churches as well as on the mission-field.
Love leads to combined effort in order to reach the great aims of God.
Every
one of your fellow-men is to be compared to a mirror. He reflects what is confronting or shining
upon him. Every
unkindness on your part causes a shadow on his face, even if only for a
second; but every act of love brings out brightness in the expression of his
countenance, and this brightness will shine back into your own heart. Through
service to joy!‑this word of old Father
Bodelschwingh may well be engraved in our own
hearts, wills, and souls.
Love
and service are forces which draw hearts nearer together. People who are cold always feel cold; people
who are warm-hearted create a warm atmosphere
around them. In what sort [page 113] of a
relationship do you stand to your surroundings?
Do you feel yourself being treated coldly or warmly by the others? Seek
to a great extent in your own heart the reason for the answer to this question.
Our pursuit of peace
and holiness enables us at the same time to serve others. Here again the relationships in the Biblical text are very clear and deep: Pursue peace with all men, and the
sanctification ... looking
diligently lest any man fall short of the grace of God (Heb. 12: 14, 15). Only he who strives after holiness, and
tries to live in harmony with his neighbours, has the authority and capacity to
serve others. Only service which is done in this attitude of mind has any chance of
being fruitful. And this leads to a
further consideration.
Looking
unto Jesus brings new commissions. Our eyes begin to see the
needs and distresses round about us. We
recognize our responsibility that we should be active in helping those around
us in so far as they have become feeble, tired, and paralysed. We begin to see the necessity and possibility
of mutual brotherly care and discipline.
Looking to the greatest proof of love which ever has been given by love
in the history of the whole universe, opens our eyes to the necessity, the
privilege, and the many opportunities of ourselves giving practical proofs of
watchful love and selfless service in mutual spiritual and bodily care for one
another. Looking unto Jesus gives us a
new outlook upon the world. It opens our
eyes. Look diligently!
Lift up the hands which hang down and the
feeble knees!
In
the context it is obvious that not so much the hands and knees of the readers themselves are meant, as if they are
exhorted to make a fresh decision in order to get new freshness and life, but
it speaks of the hands and knees of others. The readers are expected
to be a help for the reviving of these others, that that which
is lame be not turned out of the way; but rather be healed ... Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong!
Fear not!
This
passage, taken from the prophets and here quoted in Hebrews, is the background of our exhortation (Isa. 35: 3, 4).
There
may be many in your neighbourhood who are spiritually lame and weary. Keep in mind that you ought to be the means
in Gods hands of their restoration and revival. Do not pass by their external and internal
need. Your eyes ought to see their
dangers. Looking unto Jesus sharpens our
eyesight concerning the distresses of our brethren. Look carefully lest there be any [page 114] man
that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing
up trouble you, and thereby the many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator
or profane person, as Esau (Heb. 12: 15, 16).
Let us consider one
another to provoke unto love and good works
(Heb. 10: 24).
In
this spirit of love let us become active Christians. We must awake from our sleep of pious
self-centred idleness. It is not enough to affirm the commandment
of God with mere feelings. Our Christian
life must have muscles. Our strength
must become evident in everyday life.
God and the world want to see actions.
But
work costs effort. He who shuns the heat
of the day is no workman. The man who only sits on the spectators
seat will never become victor. During the race in the arena all our energy
must be mobilized. Even in ordinary
human life it is a true saying, What is worth doing
at all is worth doing well. Work that we do for others but that does not cost us anything, is
scarcely worth doing. Thus
Scripture says that we should give all diligence (2 Pet. 1: 10), that we should fight, do battle, pursue
after, and press forward (cf. Phil 3: 12), that we should put forth the labour of love,
that we should be zealous of
good works (Titus
2: 14). Idlers are a ubiquitous
people. There are many lazy spectators
and passive critics, but the labourers are few, says the Lord (Matt. 9: 37). And
what sort of a person are you, my reader?
Are you a labourer or a spectator?
Are you an active fighter or a mere onlooker?
Work
requires self-denial. Many are quite
willing to be active for Christ and His interests as long as it involves no
self-sacrifice. This kind of service has
in reality no true value: For
whosoever will save his life shall lose
it (Matt.
16: 25). Only those who sow with
tears will reap with joy (Psa. 126: 5).
We can easily do light work, work which does not cost us any effort, or
pain, or sacrifice; but if this is our only work for Christ we need not be
surprised if at the great harvest-home we shall appear with empty hands.
The
aim, however, of this mutual spiritual love and care is not merely the recovery
of the individual but the preservation and protection of the whole. This is the meaning of the words: Lest any root of bitterness springing up
trouble you, and thereby the many (= the
majority) be defiled. This does
not mean that this mutual shepherding will hinder bitter feelings arising in
the heart of the individual - although this, of course, can and [page
115]
should be attained where such spiritual mutual care is present - but the author
means here apparently persons whom he calls roots. He is
referring in a free type of translation to a word of the Old Testament law,
well-known to his Jewish readers (Deut. 29: 18).
In
this passage Moses warns of the danger of there being among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe,
whose heart turneth away from the Lord ... lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood. And it might
even happen that a man who is such a root would feel very
self-confident and say in his heart, I shall have peace (Deut. 29: 19), but God will not forgive and will
not spare him: The anger of
Jehovah and His jealousy shall smoke against that man (vv. 18, 20). The relationship between the text in Hebrews, speaking of the root of bitterness, and that in Deuteronomy, speaking of the root that beareth gall and wormwood is obvious.
Both passages speak of persons who, although living within the people of God, turn away from God
and become a spiritual hindrance and a stumbling-block to their
fellow-Christians. Thus it is a matter
not so much of certain feelings in the soul-life of the individual but rather
of the individual himself as a person and a member of a fellowship.
It is easily
possible that a member of the people of God fails and comes short of the grace of God and exercises a harmful influence upon the others,
so that he infects his surroundings like a plant with bitter sap and bitter fruits. Thus a Christian who lives
in an unspiritual state of heart, poisons Gods vineyard, the church, like a
root that bears gall and wormwood.
Apparently the author has in mind the picture of a poisonous plant or
rather of a plant infected with a ruinous disease, which, when it is mature,
harms everything around it. Every
failure of an individual is a twofold danger, not only to himself but also to
others, because his sin might cause these others also to fall. A single member of the church can, if he is
given over to sin and allowed to go on with it, exercise such a dreadful
influence on the whole circle that the many individuals which make up this
fellowship become defiled by sin. This
should be prevented by mutual spiritual care.
Thus shepherding the individual soul is at the same time a preservation and help for the whole community.
And
in this you [we] must see quite clearly that it is therefore possible
for yourself [any of us] to become such a root of bitterness. Growing [page 116] weary in spiritual life is an infectious illness. Through the bitter fruit which arises in your
life, poison and weeds can be sown in the lives of others. Either you are a help to your environment or
a hindrance. Either
you lift up the others or you weigh them down, either you further
sanctification or you are a seed of defilement.
Some kind of influence always radiates from us, even if
unconsciously. Either you are salt of the earth or you may become pepper
for the world, either useful or annoying, either a fruit-tree or a
poisonous plant, either a channel of blessing or a means of harm.
On
the other hand if you devote yourself to holy service for others, you may be
sure that being a blessing to others brings blessing to yourself. If we work for the revival of others we are
ourselves revived. You will overcome the
signs of fatigue in yourself if you give yourself up wholly to the Lord to be
commissioned by Him to overcome paralysis and feebleness in others. He who loves and nurses his Ego makes himself
spiritually old. Selfishness makes
weary. The service of love keeps us
young.
Further,
looking unto Jesus brings with it new spiritual initiative and power of
resolution. Let us note the clear commands: Lift up! ... Make straight
paths! ... Pursue peace! (Heb. 12: 12-14). To own a Bible involves effort. Hearing Gods Word imposes obligations. Perhaps many of us need new devotion. One does not overcome weariness by remaining
weary. We must awake
from our sleep (Eph. 5: 14). We must respond to Gods call. There must be a new turn towards a more
definite attitude of faith and increased active faithfulness. In this deep spiritual sense of the word, we
must personally return to that
which was from the beginning, that is
Christ Himself (1 John 1: 1).
It
is true that mere good intentions will not help us very far. How often we have become bankrupt! But the Scripture says clearly that with purpose of heart we should cleave to the Lord (Acts 11: 23).
Such Spirit-wrought purposes of heart are required. For devotion is not something which God does
in our stead, but it has to be done on our part. Christ devoted Himself in order that we
should follow His steps and in like manner devote ourselves to God. I sanctify Myself that they themselves also
may be sanctified in truth (John 17: 19).
It may be necessary that we get alone with God and ourselves, bow our
knees in prayer, and re-dedicate in a practical sense our life and [page
117] will to the Lord. This is not, of course, a second conversion.
For conversion in the sense of new birth is an act which takes place
once and for all in our life and remains the basis for our whole later
spiritual development. But it is a new
Spirit-wrought declaration of our will to live in purer and deeper
sanctification.
And
is it not a fact that even after our new birth we have often become lukewarm,
superficial, and weary to such an extent that the great things of our great
God, as the all overpowering and all overshadowing realities, no longer
overwhelm us? Have we not also often
experienced the fact that the mere acknowledgment of weaknesses and shortcomings
did not themselves produce progress?
Perhaps we have been too afraid of making good
resolutions and have therefore not had the spiritual energy to come to
a holy purpose of heart (Acts 11: 23) and thus to make a new start by a
definite act of personal devotion.
Spiritual awakening and remaining fresh do not come automatically or by
magic. No, you must yourself act - not
of course in a dead, legal manner, but definitely in faith. Start again to serve your
Redeemer and Lord anew and faithfully. Deny yourself
and bear witness to Him. Then
continue! You will yourself advance
experimentally: one learns prayer by praying, witnessing by witnessing, serving by serving, helping
by helping. And your life will become fresher. Your days will become useful, and your heart
happy.
You
yourself must, however, really desire this and give to it
your whole will without any reservation (Rev. 22:
17). The Bible says nowhere that
the will of man must be broken. Such expressions sound very devoted and humble
and are, no doubt, meant sincerely by those who use them, but in reality no one
is helped by such unscriptural terms - neither believers nor those who are
willing to believe, and certainly not the opposers or despisers of the
Christian faith. What Scripture shows is
that it is not the will which has to be
broken but rather the egocentric self-will, not our personal energy, but rather mans
rebellion against God. As to the will
itself, the regulation principle is that it has to be brought into line with
the will of God. Our will should
certainly remain will, but has only
by the power of the Holy Spirit to will what God wills. And just in this willing of the will of God it will become a real and strong will, that is, a
powerful energy of a true personality.
As long as it remained self-will it
was not really a will at all, but [page 118] merely a
plaything in the hands of the mighty power of sin which oppressed and forced it
to do its will (Rom. 7: 19, 20). At the highest estimate, it was only a
striving, a searching, a wishing, and a yearning - for sin degrades and
enervates us. But in Christ we awaken to
ourselves. In Him alone do we become personalities in the real God-planned sense of the word. Only by
subjecting ourselves to the Lord of Lords, do we creatures receive a real will.
Also
in the life of the church as a whole all signs of fatigue must be
overcome. It is a fact which almost
regularly repeats itself in the history of the people of God that every new
generation of the church is accompanied by a crisis. Very often the third generation especially of
a spiritual movement has failed. It has so often given up spiritual energies
and Biblical truths and convictions which by the pioneers of their movement,
the fathers of earlier revivals, had been held to be precious and holy. One can recognize this in Old Testament
history. And the people served Jehovah all the days of Joshua [first generation], and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua [second generation] who had seen all the great work of Jehovah that He had
wrought for
The
letter to the Hebrews itself grew out of the crisis connected with the arising
of a new generation. The letter is a
warning and an appeal by the Spirit of God to that second generation to hold
fast the confession in witness and life of the first generation.
A crisis need not of
necessity be a catastrophe. Trials [page 119] are opportunities for victories. The ever-available
power of the omnipresent Christ, which never grows old, is at hand for new
times and new people.
This
is at the same time the meaning of the well-known verse, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and
today, yea and for ever (Heb. 13: 8).
This word should be read in connexion with Heb.
11 and 12, and in relationship to its
own context. It had just been said: Remember them that had the rule over you,
who spake unto you the word of God, and considering the issue of their life, imitate their faith (v. 7). Immediately after this text follows that radiant word dealing with
the ever-living, mighty, Divine Lord of all times and all history.
This
means: Men and women are called away. Generations sink into the grave. The leaders of past generations are no longer
here. But Christ remaineth. In
the midst of the coming and going of the generations He is the rock of His
church. He is far above all changes in
situations and persons. He is the One Who binds the generations together. He is the living link between yesterday
and today in the history of His people, the connexion between
each generation at any given time and all generations before and after. He is the Head who unites all the redeemed
through the generations past, present, and future. So He is the living, personal uniting
principle of the church. This is true
from the view-point of the contemporary horizontal cross-sections
of the church, that is, of each generation living
simultaneously in all parts of the earth.
It is also true from the view-point of the vertical
longitudinal sections of the churchs history, that
is, throughout the successive centuries and generations forming the entire
development of the church from the
day of its founding to its completion, rapture, and
perfecting at His coming. This means
that in spite of all individual changes in detail, the spiritual essence of the
life of the church remains in Christ unchanged throughout all generations. The death of the heroes of faith, those
forerunners, leaders, and examples (Heb. 13: 7, 17,
24), does not cause the slightest loss in the essence of the life and
faith of the people of God. Even though
the teachers go, the teaching remains the same.
It is true, as I read on John
Wesleys tomb in Westminster Abbey, that God buries His labourers but His labour and work goes on. Therefore, do not grow weary! The Lord is
ever present.
Years
ago I visited in
Friedrich Bettex was an author who helped thousands of his readers by
his numerous apologetic works, which were most reliable in their many
scientific statements, Biblically sound, and deeply impressive and persuasive
in their witness to Christ. By this
picture he wished to show the main object of his own life: In the midst of time
stands Christ, the Rock of Ages. The
billows of doubt and the waves of hatred of God and Christ surge against Him,
but it is the waves that are broken. He,
the Rock, is unmoved.
Thus
Christ gives His own the victory. One
can throw His servants in this world into prison; one can banish them to
scorching deserts or freezing steppes.
They are stoned, sawn
asunder, tempted (Heb. 11: 37).
But their experience will always be the same as that of the men in the
fiery furnace: One is with them who comes down from heaven and who is able to
keep them from hurt and harm, in any case inwardly, though He does not always
do so outwardly (Dan. 3: 20-27). They looked unto Him and were lightened (Psa. 34: 5). In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him
that loved us (Rom. 8: 37).
This
encourages us greatly. It should be also
a holy stimulus and incentive. For if
Christ our Saviour is such a firm Rock, our hearts also should be strong and
firm (Heb. 13: 9). Christ will never forsake His people. Therefore His people must never forsake
Him. The younger generation especially must
take this to heart. Faithfulness for
faithfulness! The today
of the church is under obligation on account of its yesterday,
and both are under obligation because of the faithfulness of Christ, who was
and is the same yesterday, and
today, yea and for ever.
This
is the reason why the words about the bygone human leaders and the eternally living Saviour (Heb.
13: 7, 8) are immediately followed by the exhortation and encouragement:
For it is good that the heart
be established by grace (v. 9).
The
home-call of faithful servants of God brings with it a holy obligation for all
those who remain behind.
Our
life is short. Our days fly by. Earthly
things are not the real things. That
which really matters lies somewhere else, [page 121] not in time,
but in eternity, not in that which passes by, but in that which remains, not in
the past or the present, but in the future.
Thus we must press forward with a serious turn of mind and yet inwardly
comforted, not trusting in ourselves and yet full of courage, not looking at
our own powerlessness but looking to Christs victorious power. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we have obtained
mercy, we faint not (2 Cor. 4: 1).
When
Abraham at the end of his life wanted to win a bride for his son Isaac, he sent
the eldest of his servants to his relatives in
Not
thither again! Beware thou! Not thither again! These three expressions show the intensity of
the decision and the feelings of the Patriarch.
The father of faith demands of the coming generations the practical
recognition of the irrevocability of the patriarchal call. What the first generation has attained in
faith must never be given up by the second or third generations. The children must show themselves worthy of
the attitude and devotion of their spiritual fathers. The following generation should faithfully
administer the inheritance of their forefathers in the faith.
We
often deplore - and unfortunately often rightly so - that the people of God in
our time show so little of being really alive and keen for Christ. We recognize that we are lacking the spirit
of revival and that the last twenty years of the last century and the first ten
years of the present century, generally speaking, saw more of the powerful
working of the Holy Spirit. In those
times many more people awoke out of their sleep of sin than today. There were leaders and shepherds in private
and public Christian life in a measure unknown today. We think of the times of Finney, Moody, Torrey, Baedeker, George
Muller, Spurgeon, and many others.
But with all this recognition and regret perhaps we remain ourselves
unchanged. Our yearning [page
122] and
desire may be honest, but is apparently not Spirit-filled enough. We wait, and
probably also pray, for the Lord to send a revival. And in the last analysis it begins to appear
as though God were the real cause of there being no wide spread revival, simply
because He does not answer our prayers.
And yet the situation is
really quite different!
Nowhere
is it taught in the Bible that we should wait for a revival. Revivals must be! But the children of God have not to take up a
waiting attitude towards them. Never
does Holy Scripture place the emphasis on practical holiness and on witnessing
in the future, either near or distant.
It brings us a present Christ, a Saviour who desires to make our life
fruitful and to fill us with power today and now. For if the revival were
to come only after some years time (God grant that it may come sooner) what
should we be doing in the meantime? No,
we dare not forget the today. The past
exists in our memory, the future in our expectancy; what we possess is the
present. Mastering the ever-present
moment means mastering life. And if you
do not serve the Lord today there is no guarantee that you will serve Him
tomorrow.
The
Kings business is urgent. What we can do today, let us not put off
till tomorrow. If the Spirit incites
us today to witness for the Lord in order to win a soul for Him, let us obey
today. When tomorrow comes the enemy
will certainly have found a thousand new reasons why we should not follow the
voice of God. It belongs to true service
to God that we should have a heart and mind clearly determined to do Gods will
today. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might (Eccles. 9: 10). Go, work today in the vineyard (Matt. 21: 28).
Then
new blessings will come. When you
yourself have been awakened, you will be able to wake up others, and so small
circles of spiritually awakened Christians will arise,-
little cells from which the light can be spread further. You should belong to such. The
Lord wants to use you, even though perhaps, in the sight of man, you may not
have a conspicuous position, simply because God wishes you to do in obscurity a
hidden and quiet service. In
eternity you will be surprised that God could effect
so much through your life only because it was really devoted to Christ, revived
and remaining full of life till the goal was reached. That is Gods will. Therefore it must be your will and decision
also, and this just now and today.
We
read in the life-story of Isaac: And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the
Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: And he called their
names after the names by which his father had called them (Gen. 26: 18).
This
is spiritually our situation. Our
fathers in the faith digged wells
and named them with names. The well of
the word of God, the well of prayer, the well of fellowship of the saints, the
well of happy witnessing, the well of missionary service - all these were
heavenly springs from which they drew water and which kept their personal life
of faith fresh, as well as the life of their churches.
But
the first generation has been called away and the Philistines have come - sin, worldliness, strife among brethren, lukewarmness,
lack of interest in Gods word and work, cowardice in witness, want of
sacrifice and missionary spirit - and the wells of the fathers have
been stopped. Withering of the life of
faith, lack of prayer and unfruitfulness in witness, spiritual stagnation in
church life, subjection under the bondage of human tradition, narrowness of
horizon, are the consequences.
What
shall we do?
We must dig again the wells of the
fathers. We must learn to pray again as
our fathers prayed. We must bear witness
as they did. We must sacrifice for the
spread of the word of God and for missionary service as they used to do. We must love the brethren as they loved and
practised the fellowship of the saints. We must listen afresh to Gods Word and
open our hearts to the working of the Holy Spirit. Our place in church or chapel must not be
empty. Our contribution towards church
and mission-work must always be given with readiness of heart. Our prayers must be regular and sincere. Our mouth must not be silent. We must witness
for Christ and be soul-winners just as the former generations of believers,
who, in spite of failures and shortcomings which, of course, had been in their
lives as in ours, had yet seen the mighty deeds of God.
Isaac
must dig again Abrahams wells. Then
new water of life will flow in our churches, and this promise of Scripture will
be fulfilled in an ever deeper, richer degree:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in dry places and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be
like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build
the old waste [page
124] places: thou shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer
of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in (Isa. 58: 11, 12).
Therefore once again: Lift up the hands which hang down! Make straight paths! Press on!
In the arena of faith:
Let
us look unto Jesus.
*
* *
CHAPTER 7 [Page
125-166]
WASTED PRIVILEGES
Looking carefully ... lest there be any fornicator, or profane
person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright [Lit. his
firstborn rights]. For ye know
how that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected: (for he found no place of repentance), though he sought it [the blessing] diligently with tears (Heb. 12: 16, 17).
HIGH, indeed, is the standing conferred in New Testament salvation; deep, however, can be the downfall. Therefore in every sound Christian life to
joy must be added seriousness, to thankfulness responsibility, to confidence
carefulness. For this reason there are
so many warnings in Hebrews. One of the most impressive is that with
reference to Esau.
Look carefully ... lest there be ... any profane person, as Esau, who for one
mess of meat sold his own birthright.
For ye know how that even when he afterward desired to inherit the
blessing, he was rejected (for he found no place of repentance) [i.e. change
of mind, altering of his fathers decision, cancelling, annulment], though he sought it [the blessing, by means of a change of his fathers
decision] diligently with tears (Heb. 12: 16, 17).*
[*
Where do we go today to find a faithful exposition of these warnings? This chapter
is the heart of the Book! and if we ask our Lord Jesus
Christ for a clearer understanding of what is involved in here, the rest of
Scripture will be illuminated by the Holy Spirit! May the Lord open our eyes to a
deeper and more mature understanding of what is
involved in these His teachings; and may He enable us to work out
in our daily lives, that which, by His grace and mercy, He willing to
work into us, to enable us to overcome the world, the flesh and the
devil: only by His gifts and
His power can victory be
secured! Let us
press on not to win eternal life - which our Lord Jesus Christ has won for us
but, that by obedience to His precepts, and the daily washing of our hands and feet
we might walk with Him, and be accounted worthy
of that life in the age to come - which I
believe is the goal, the Prize, the Crown, and the inheritance in the Kingdom of God
for all overcomers at the end of the Race.
Keep
in mind: This teaching has nothing to do with what we received (eternal salvation)
at the time when we accepted Christ Jesus as our personal Saviour; this
teaching is in the realm of REWARDS
rewards according to OUR WORKS. Ed.]
Esau
was the firstborn of Isaac. The writer
of this letter is drawing the attention
of his readers to their privileges, their responsibilities, and their dangers
by referring to Esaus behaviour and its outcome. The chief object of this reference is to warn
them. But the full weight of this
warning is felt only through consideration of Esaus original high position.
The
first readers of Hebrews knew well, as
Jews by birth, what were the privileges of the firstborn son. The term is used
in the New Testament as a picture of the high position of honour of the members
of the
Pre-eminently and in a quite unique
manner it is CHRIST Who is the Firstborn. This glory of His radiates from the New
Testament revelation in a threefold way.
He
is the Firstborn of all
creation (Col.
1: 15). This is His position of honour
as seen from the past, Christ, being the Firstborn from the beginning, as
son before and above all creatures.
He
is the Firstborn from the dead (Col. 1: 18; Rev. 1: 5). This is His position of honour in the
present, which He holds as the Risen One Who possesses the pre-eminence as
Head of His body, the church.
He
is the Firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8: 29). This will be His position of honour in the
eternal future when He shall be revealed as the glorified Redeemer of His
glorified redeemed (Heb. 1: 6).
Thus
the New Testament witness to Christ as the Firstborn refers to all the three
periods of time during the whole course of the history of salvation. It shows Him at the same time as the highest
dignitary in all spheres of Divine revelation: in the kingdom of creation, in
the kingdom of redemption, in the kingdom of perfection. Wherever we look, Christ is the
Firstborn. Let us look unto Jesus!
Furthermore,
the word firstborn is used in order to express the special position of
grace of the CHURCH. So the letter to the Hebrews, after having
spoken of the birthright of Esau and having drawn certain conclusions from it
for New Testament readers, adds only a few sentences later: Ye have come ... to the church of
the firstborn [ones] who are enrolled in heaven (Heb. 12: 22, 23). And James in his epistle declares: Of His own will He brought us forth by the
word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of His creatures (James 1: 18).
Both
these letters were in the first place addressed to Jewish Christian
readers. Thus the word birthright must be explained and understood by reference to its Old Testament
sense.
The
chief emphasis lies not so much on the order of birth
with respect to time but rather to rank
and dignity. Otherwise it would not
be possible (which however the Old Testament in fact does) to speak of a man
being made the firstborn at a time long after his birth. He shall cry unto Me, Thou art my father my God, and the rock of my
salvation! I also will make [page 127] him
my Firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth (Psa. 89: 26-28).
And in the reverse sense it
would not be possible for one who, from the view-point of time, was born as the
first son, to lose this birthright at some later occasion under given
circumstances (cf. Reuben: 1 Chron. 5: 1, 2, and Esau).
The
fact that the essential idea of being firstborn is priority of
rank, not accident of birth, is shown also in 1 Chron. 26: 10.
This passage mentions that of a certain family of Levites one of the
sons, called Shimri,
was the chief, for though he
was not the firstborn yet his father made
him chief. Also here the underlying principle is that in regular cases the firstborn would
have been the chief and thus possess the priority of rank. The same truth is the force of Col. 1: 15.
There Paul says that Christ is the Firstborn of all creation,
not meaning that He was the first in time to be born and so had a beginning,
but that He has the pre-eminence as the Ruler
of the whole universe.
The
word for birthright is, in the text of Hebrews, in the plural (Gk. ta prototokia,
neuter plural). Also in the Septuagint [LXX], the Greek
translation of the Old Testament, the word for birthright, used in Gen. 25: 31, 34, is a plural term. This indicates
that the blessing of the birthright is a
plurality. It should be rendered the rights of the firstborn. According to
the social order of the Old Testament, and also from the viewpoint of the
general history of salvation, this blessing is threefold:
[1] position of authority,
[2] priestly service,
[3] a double
portion of the inheritance.
1. THE RIGHTS OF THE FIRSTBORN IN
1.
The position of authority. After the father, the firstborn was the
representative of authority in the family. He was lord
over his younger brothers (cf. Gen. 27: 37).
Thus Davids eldest brother commanded David his younger
brother to go to a family sacrifice to Bethlehem, which fact even king Saul and
his son Jonathan were expected to acknowledge as a sufficient reason for David
not appearing at even the kings table, in spite of the fact that he had been
invited and ought to attend (1 Sam. 20: 27, 29). At table the sons of an Israelitic
household sat according to age and rank, the firstborn according to his
birthright and the youngest according to his youth (Gen.
43: 33; cf. also Gen. 48: 14, 17-19).
[Page 128] 2. Priestly service. At the same
time the above-mentioned incident from the life of David shows that the eldest
brother, the firstborn of the family, saw to the ordering of the family
sacrifice, that is, he had to act as household priest. Above all, moreover, the great general lines
and governing connexions in the Old Testament and in the universal history of
salvation show that birthright and priesthood belong together.
According
to the plan of God,
Because God then spared the Israelite firstborn
at the passover He ordered
that every Jewish firstborn male was to be regarded as dedicated to Him in a
special sense. Thus dedication to Jehovah and the birthright
of the firstborn, including duties and privileges, were fundamentally bound up
with one another. And to possess the
birthright meant that one was at the same time separated unto holy service,
that is, for the priesthood. After the worship of the golden calf in the
wilderness, and as reward for the uncompromising attitude of the tribe of Levi
on the side of God (Ex. 32: 26-29), God
transferred to the tribe of Levi this portion of dedication and priesthood
which up to that time had been the obligation and privilege of every Israelite
firstborn son. For all the firstborn of the children of
This
is the general and special historical presupposition and connexion in revealed
history of the calling of the tribe of Levi to the priesthood. In the background of this special election of
Levi there stands the national position of
The
third blessing of the birthright was:
3.
A double portion of the inheritance. According to the clear instructions laid down in the
book of Deuteronomy, the Israelite father had to give to his firstborn, no
matter what the family circumstances were in detail, a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his
strength; the right of the firstborn is his
(Deut. 21: 15-17). This means that if, for example, a father had
four sons, his total possessions had to be divided into five parts and the
firstborn received two parts and every other son one.
Very
important developments in the total history of [our] salvation are connected with and resulting from these
three main ordinances of the Israelite birthright.
Among the twelve tribes of Jacob, Reuben owned the
birthright. But in spite of this the
Messiah is not the lion of the tribe of Reuben. For Reuben was divested of the rights of the firstborn on account of his
shameful sin recounted in Gen. 35: 22,
and lost therefore also the right of the Messiah coming in his family: the
genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright (1
Chron. 5: 1).
He was deprived of all privileges and should not have
the excellency (Gen. 49: 3, 4). The
next following brothers, Simeon and Levi, were also excluded (Gen. 49: 5-7) on
account of their outrageous deed in Sichem (Gen. 34: 25).
For
all these reasons Reubens privilege of birthright was divided up as follows:
(a) The double portion of the inheritance
was given to Joseph and was
divided and transferred to his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, so that each of these received the area of
a whole tribal territory (1 Chron.
5: 1). This is the reason why
these two, who were actually only grandsons of Jacob, were thus treated as
though they had been sons of the patriarch, and therefore in the same way as
their fathers brothers. As Jacob had ordained: Ephraim
and Manasseh are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine (Gen. 48: 5).
(b) The priesthood was given to Levi. At
the same time by this means the judgment of dispersion which was inflicted on
Levi (Gen. 49: 5-7), according to which on
account of his outrage in Sichem (Gen. 34: 25), he
should receive no defined area in the Promised Land, was transformed into a
blessing, for although [page 130] this judgment of dispersion was outwardly upheld,
Levis off-spring received 48 cities which were scattered all over the country
within reach of every Israelite (Num. 35: 1-7; Josh. 21:
1ff., esp. 41).
(c)
The position of authority and rule fell to
In
consequence of all these pre-developments, and the corresponding Divine
decisions, the Messiah is not the lion of the tribe of
Reuben, as otherwise would have been expected,
but the lion of the tribe of
Also
in the future
This
whole connexion reveals the immense
importance of the Israelite privileges of the firstborn. They influenced and shaped the most decisive
lines of history in the whole Old Testament development of revelation right on
into the New Testament history of salvation and the coming
territorially:
Levi the priestly tribe, receiving no defined tribal area,
but 48 holy cities scattered all over
the country; politically:
the royal
house of David coming out of
Christ the Messiah arising from
Thus the Israelite birthright is
the God-appointed, historical basis
and starting-point not only for temporal, personal, family, and national
affairs but also for the realization of universal, indeed, eternal principles
in the worship of God, inspiration, prophecy, and the Messianic Kingdom.
2. THE BIRTHRIGHT OF THE [CHRISTIAN]* CHURCH
[* The editor believes the Church
embraces the redeemed of ALL ages:
and the Church of the Firstborn as those who
hold the rights of the firstborn. ]
The Great
Seen
from the point of view of the New Testament, all this is symbolic and typical language pointing to the spiritual
possessions of the church. By the
church being called the assembly
of the firstborn which is written in heaven
(Heb. 12: 23), in connexion with these Old
Testament ordinances of the birthright, a threefold spiritual possession is
indicated:
[1] outstanding and glorious fulness of heavenly blessings,
[2] spiritual and heavenly priesthood, and
[3] God-given
kingship and rule.
Every
thoughtful Jewish Christian reader of the letter to the Hebrews and of the
letter of James would clearly recognize this.
That
in this Scripture under the term the firstborn men (not angels or other beings in the
spiritual world) are meant, is proved by the additional whose names are enrolled in heaven and by reference to the Lords word to His
disciples: Rejoice because
your names are written in heaven (Luke 10: 20), as well as by Paul describing his
fellow-labourers as those whose
names are in the book of life (Phil. 4: 3).
But
as regards this threefold content of the birthright, the New Testament reality
far exceeds the Old Testament type.
Everything is much more inclusive, more spiritual, more
heavenly.
1.
The New Testament fulness of blessing.
Unsearchable are the riches of
Christ which are the privilege of the church (Eph.
3: 8, 10). Its standing is far
higher than the standing of
Thus in Christ a salvation has arisen which outshines,
as the Sun of Eternity, all previous revelations of God. In Him full
salvation is come. All the riches of
heaven are opened up. As Saviour, Christ
is more than a mere Healer or Physician of soul and body (cf. Luke 4: 23). He is more than a mere Overcomer of
spiritual, moral and physical hindrances in individuals and nations. As Saviour and Redeemer He does not merely
annul the debts, bringing the minus to the
point nought; He does not merely remove the
negative in taking away all damage and loss; but He gives at the same time an
overwhelming positive value which a millionfold
surpasses the point nought and raises us up
to overflowing joy of life (Eph. 1: 18; John 10:
10, 11), to inexhaustible rejoicing (Phil.
4: 4), to power to live a victorious life (Rom.
8: 37), to true dignity in our personality (1
Pet. 2: 9; Eph. 4: 1), in fact, to everlasting fulfilment of the true
nobility of man.
Salvation,
within the meaning of the New Testament, is therefore the same as the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3: 8).
It is the sphere of activity of the Risen One, the sum total of His
mighty works here below. As Saviour,
Christ is the One who brings [now and in the future] salvation, the
Victor over all powers of darkness, the Sun which radiates all energies for
generating new life, the One who brings to us the triumphant, eternal Kingdom
of God (John 4: 42; 3: 16; 1 John 4: 14).
Thus
in the explanation of the title Saviour it is not enough to
consider only the etymological root of the Greek word soter from sozein (to
heal, to make sound, cf. Matt. 9: 21, 22; Mark 5: 23; 6: 56). The etymology of a word is never sufficient
to decide its usage and sense. Where
healing of the sick is described in the New Testament usually quite another
word is used (Gk. therapeuein, e.g., Matt.
4: 24; Mark 3: 10, which occurs in over 35 passages in the
Gospels). But the Biblical word Saviour
(soter), although including the idea of healing, yet
surpasses that meaning.
2. The
New Testament priestbood. But
still more: every one of these millionaires of heaven
is, according to Gods call, a priest of the Highest. He [Christ] has
made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father (Rev. 1: 6).
[Page 133] What does
this involve?
There
is a superficial and thoughtless manner of speaking of the general priesthood
of the church as though it were already present in a local church when the
latter has no appointed minister or ordained pastor to serve it. Whereas the New Testament nowhere declares
that the general priesthood is fulfilled in any form of church organization or
order of service. On the contrary, a
local church may have an ordained minister and yet at the same time exercise in
principle the general priesthood. A
local church may have general freedom of speech and yet in practice miss the
real priesthood of all believers.
General priesthood and general freedom of speech are by no means
identical. In Gods church there exists no general freedom of speech but only
freedom of the Spirit, who distributes the gifts and guides as to their
administration according to His own will and control.
The
expression general priesthood, in the literal
combination of these two words general and priesthood, is not to be found in the
Scriptures. It arose during the time of
the Reformation in contrast to the distinction between priests and laymen in the Roman
Catholic Church. The Bible speaks of a royal
priesthood (1 Pet. 2: 9; Ex. 19: 6) and of a
holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2: 5).
In
opposition to the Roman Catholic system of a special priestly hierarchical
caste, the Reformers emphasized the spiritual and positional equality of all
true believers in Christ before God and in the church. And quite rightly so. Thus the expression general
priesthood is correct and certainly Biblical as to its meaning,
although not found literally in Scriptures.
Only
one must be careful not to interpret it purely negatively, that is, as merely
denying clericalism, or regarding it chiefly from the view-point of church
organization, order of ministry, and the practice of the preaching of the word
- as if the general priesthood in its real
nature were especially a negation of ordaining an appointed
minister or local pastor, and an affirmation of an undifferentiated
equality of all male believers in the church as regards ministry and preaching.
In
reality, believing women are just as much included in the general priesthood as
believing men, but, of course, each within the sphere given to him or to her by
God. All should, however, have
priestly hearts and minds. Of course, certain practical consequences have to be
drawn from this also for the outward form of church meetings and of the
ministry of the word. But [page 134] the centre of gravity of the truth lies much
deeper. The general priesthood, as also
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is not a mere privilege and obligation of the
gatherings in the local churches. The
teaching of all Scripture referring to this subject (Rom.
8: 14; Gal. 5: 18; John 16: 13), makes clear that it has to be applied
to our whole life from morning till evening, and every day in the week, not
only the Lords Day. It is certainly not
limited to the beginning and ending of church gatherings, such as meetings for
worship, Bible reading, or prayer, but includes the whole man, not only in but
also outside the meeting-rooms, halls, chapels and church buildings. In this full sense of the word the whole New Testament people of God is a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19: 6; 1 Pet. 2:
5-9).
On
the basis of this general priesthood the spiritual gifts have to be
developed in the church (1 Cor.
12-14). This should be practised
in each case under the guidance of the Holy Spirit according to the
God-ordained commission and endowment of each individual. General priesthood and charismatic leading of
the Spirit are therefore to be distinguished from one another (Gk. charisma =
gift of grace). The former includes the larger circle; the latter is
included, as a smaller circle, in the former, thus being only a part of the
former. Every redeemed one is called to
the general priesthood. But not every
New Testament priest is a bearer of spiritual gifts for special ministry
or Divine service. And even those who are bearers of such gifts of the Spirit are not
commissioned in every case and as a matter of course with the exercise of the
preaching of the word. Each should stand
in every instance under the fresh ordering and leading of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 4ff.; 14:
26).
From
all this it follows that the guidance of the Spirit does not set in only with
the beginning of a church gathering.
Guidance by the Holy Spirit is not magical, but natural and yet holy,
not mechanical but organic, not restricted to special seasons, but
all-inclusive of the totality of time and life.
The
connexion between the word Spirit (Gk. pneuma) and leading
(Gk. ago,
hodegeo)
occurs only three times in the New Testament, and each time it refers to
the total
life of the Christian (Rom.8:14; Gal.5: 18; John 16: 13). It never refers exclusively, nor even chiefly, to the principles of church order or
Divine service. It is of course obvious,
and included in the claim for the whole of life to be guided by the Spirit,
that the gatherings of the church should be led on every occasion by the Spirit
of [page 135] God. Nor does
the Scripture in any passage suggest a graduated difference in church
gatherings as if in one kind of meeting there should be more evidence of
general priesthood and more leading of the Holy Spirit than in another kind of
gathering. No, the Spirit of God claims
the total man and thus the total life of the church. All the time of a Christian, within and
without the church life, should be under direct leading from above through the
Holy Spirit. Therefore it is also in
full accord with the Biblical idea of guidance by the Holy Spirit for a
preacher of the Word to prepare himself for his ministry, praying to the Lord
to give him the right word and message, in a quiet time of meditation and
prayer at home before his
ministry. In every case, of course, he
must remain open for further guidance.
The
duties of a priest were fivefold: sacrificial service, prayer, witness,
pastoral work (spiritual shepherding), blessing.
In
all this we must clearly acknowledge that the general priesthood of the church is
not something impersonal, merely objective, especially corporate, as if the church, only as a body, an organization or a spiritual organism, is blessed
with a priestly position and has to perform holy obligations. No, it is not only the church in general, but the individual members who are meant at the same time
most emphatically.
The
idea that the church as such has to do this or that, is to a certain
extent related to the basis of the erroneous Roman Catholic conception of a
body corporate: the church gives men the Bible, the church interprets
the Scripture, the
church exercises authority, the
church spreads the Christian truth in the world.
But
the Bible teaches the personal responsibility of each individual
believer. Each single believer has to act himself as a priest of God. We are not allowed to hide our I
behind the general We. Otherwise everybodys business will soon become
nobodys business, and the practical realization of the general priesthood of
the church will be evaporated and become after all an actual failure.
In
this sense, that all Christian service is individual, not only corporate, we
speak of the general priesthood of the church and its members.
The
New Testament priesthood is a holy service of sacrifice. The sacrifice on
In
the consecration of their whole being and manner of life their priestly
rendering of spiritual sacrifices should be made manifest and actually proved,
even
in the
devotion of their life: Rom. 12: 1;
in the
holiness of their deeds: 1 Pet. 2: 5, 9;
in
readiness to help and to be charitable: Heb. 13: 6;
in
liberality of contributing gifts for the Lords work: Phil.
4: 18;
in total
dedication of their own persons to the spread of the gospel: Phil. 2: 17; 2 Tim. 4: 6;
in
Spirit-wrought prayer: Rev. 8: 3, 4; Psa. 141: 1, 2;
in
triumphant adoration and worship: Heb. 13: 15.
In
all these things the Scriptures are very practical. Even the spiritual sacrifices which should be
offered by the holy priesthood of the New Testament, according to 1 Pet. 2: 5, are not sacrifices exclusively in the
sphere of the merely inward life, the invisible, intellectual, mental, soulish realm, that is, are not only prayers or
thanksgivings or mere feelings and abstract thoughts, but rather spiritual
in the sense that the word has in the Pauline expression spiritual gifts (1 Cor.
12: 1). There spiritual gifts mean, without a shadow of doubt, Spirit-wrought, Spirit-led, Spirit-saturated gifts of
grace (1 Cor. 12: 4-11). Thus also here the spiritual
sacrifices are Spirit-wrought and Spirit-filled deeds of holy service,
both the outward and visible as well as the inward and invisible (prayers, supplication,
thanksgivings, worship). In the
To
this spiritual sacrificial service of the church and all its individual
members, and thus to the practical exercise of the New Testament general priesthood,
belongs also the offering of regular and special contributions to the Lords work at home and abroad. Regarding this there is often evident among believers a widespread, very low,
sometimes indeed, almost primitive standard of thinking and acting which is
altogether unworthy of the kingdom of the Most High.
Offerings
for church and mission work are not a mere matter of Christian charity. Missionaries,
ministering brethren, preachers and pastors are not receivers of tips. If they had remained in their earthly
callings, as scholars or scientists, factory owners or business men, engineers
or officials, medical doctors or artists, office employees or artisans, many of
them would have become most successful in their careers, and in many cases have
earned a high income. It was the call
from above which they willingly followed and thus devoted their whole life to the work of the Lord. How should the work of the gospel make
progress in the world, if there were not, in every fresh generation, men and
women who offer all their time and strength to the Lord who has called
them? Plainly almost all foreign
missionary work would be impossible, and many branches of gospel and church
work at home also, such as colportage, tent missions, gospel
campaigns. Of course, only such should become full-time workers
who are also fully capable of fulfilling an earthly profession. Such as fail in an earthly calling are not
likely to work fruitfully in the harvest-field of the Lord.
Offerings
for church and mission work are, according to general New Testament conception,
simply the duty of the church and
all its members. It is not open to our
choice whether or not we shall support the Lords work at home and abroad. It is the command of the Risen Lord (ordained:
1 Cor. 9: 14) and
thus simply a question of practical
obedience for every redeemed one. Offerings for the
Offerings
for church and mission work are an outward response for the spiritual blessing we have received, a communication with respect to giving and
receiving (Phil.
4: 15). Acknowledging a gift for
missionary service from the Philippians, Paul wrote: You have entered into a fellowship with me
in the matter of giving and receiving
(see R.V.). This means that they gave
the apostle bodily help and received through him spiritual blessings. To the Corinthians he writes: If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter
if we shall reap your carnal [earthly] things?
(1 Cor. 9: 7-11).
Missionary gifts are an expression of our gratitude for the redemption we have
received and for the service which Christ and His people have done and are
doing in our souls. Christ claims the right, and all disobedience in this respect is
contempt of His authority, it is even robbing God, according to the principle
stated in Mal. 3: 7-10. It is, of course, [page
138] true
that offerings should not be given unwillingly but readily and with joy, as each purposes in
his heart (2
Cor. 9: 7).
But if our hearts are full of thankfulness and love to Christ, all this
will be done joyfully and in a way worthy of God. And more than this: In giving the giver is himself the receiver.
Offerings
for church and mission work are deposits in the bank of Heaven, paid in by the giver himself and thus
an everlasting advantage for his own blessing.
As Paul puts it, it is the
profit which is entered to your credit,
which increases in your account (Phil. 4: 17),
which is credited as your deposit in the
heavenly savings bank. Each such paying out is in reality a paying
in. My God will give you according to
His riches all that ye need in glorious fulness in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4: 19; cf.
Gal. 6: 6).
And even still higher must this obligation of the saints be valued: it
has a priestly character.
Offerings
for the poor and for church and mission
work are New Testament sacrifices and
therefore a very important part of the practical realization of the general
priesthood. If they
are presented in the right attitude of heart, and correspondingly also in the
right outward measure, they are an
odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God (Phil. 4: 18). Thus Paul characterized the missionary gifts
from the Philippians. You can test
yourself as to how far you have really understood with your heart your standing
and share in the general priesthood of the New Testament Church, by examining
your own willingness to bring such practical, priestly sacrifices for the
Lords work and kingdom. By their
attitude to money the true and false prophets of the Old Testament time could
be distinguished (Micah 3: 11; Num. 22: 16). This was always regarded as an infallible
criterion. Similarly, by the attitude to
money also in the New Testament the genuineness and sincerity of all general
priesthood can be tested. Finally:
Offerings
for church and mission work are a privilege and an honour for
the helper. Make to yourselves friends by means of the
mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they [the friends thus made] may receive you into the eternal tabernacles (Luke 16: 9). How wonderful it will be when in eternity
many connexions, hitherto often unknown, between victories on the mission-field
and in the Lords work in general will be made manifest! What a joy and what an honour it will be when
we shall then perceive, and understand in the eternal light, how even our
personal sacrifice had a share in the work of the Lord by [page
139]
helping to spread the Scriptures or by making possible some service through
which souls were led to Christ. What
happiness then to be privileged to see in all humility that while others fought
and won the victory, yet I, by Gods
grace, was their fellow-combatant, although perhaps I was separated from the
battlefield by thousands of miles. Such
joy and honour can be the blessed result of the practical service and sacrifice
of the New Testament general priesthood.
The
real innermost centre of the New Testament general priesthood of the church and
all its members, however, is the life of prayer. For the true New Testament
priest, to pray is not a mere duty but a God-given privilege. Then the sins of others will be no more an
object for unkind criticism but occasion and task for loving, intercessory
prayer. The un-holiness of others will
be treated in a holy manner. It will not
be carried into the camp but into the sanctuary. From the quiet prayer chamber will go forth
streams of blessing into church and home, into pastoral and evangelistic work (Eph. 6: 18, 19; Rom. 15: 30-32), yes, even into
worldly governments and authorities and into the life of the nations (1 Tim. 2: 1, 2).
Prayer
is the transformer, the switching station, which passes on the current from God, the heavenly power station, into the individual households, workshops and plants
of everyday life, transforming it into life and power and passing it on to its
various destinations. Without a life of
prayer, no life of victory! Without
taking, no having! Without living in Christ, no possibility of
fruitfully working for Him! Even in the rush of our daily duties our
communion with the Lord in prayer must never be interrupted.
But
by itself praying is not all that is needed.
Not all that is called prayer is really prayer. Even [regenerate] believers can
pray un-believingly. Their prayer can be a matter of form, it can be thoughtless, or even weakened by
doubts, and let not that
man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord (James 1: 7). Only prayer instinct with faith can help us,
a real trustful waiting on the Lord to hear us in His good time and according to His counsel.
Such
prayer is true priestly work for the Lord.
It is not an activity of the soul which is merely additional to the
other work of the priest, but it is the main part of the work itself, in fact,
the most important work of all. In Gods
kingdom only he is a [page 140] labourer who is a man of prayer. For praying is working (Col. 4: 12, 13). Only
that local church is spiritually strong in which the prayer-meetings are not
the weak but the strong point of the church life, and in which this
regular prayer fellowship is a real co-operation with the work of God at home
and abroad. The decisive battles in life are fought out in the prayer chamber. As our prayer, so will be our work, and also our influence upon our fellow-men. Prayer decides our whole attitude to all
problems of life. The quality of our work is dependant upon the quality of our prayers. The
priest of God must live in the sanctuary.
In
addition to prayers and supplications it is the special privilege of the priest
to present before the Lord the offerings of thanksgiving and worshipping.
Worship
must be clearly distinguished from thanksgiving. The latter is concerned with the gifts
and the individual blessings which God bestows upon His creatures, while the former is
concentrated upon the Person and Nature of the Giver
Himself.
Thanksgiving
glorifies God for His deeds and demonstrations of His glory.
Worship, however, meditates upon and praises the innermost secret and centre
of this glory, that is the Godhead Itself.
It is true that worship also speaks of the great facts
of salvation and redemption; but in worship, in distinction to thanksgiving, we
do not think so much of the advantages and blessings for ourselves which arise out of these great facts
and for which we praise God, but rather we regard them as revelations and ever
new manifestations of the inward nature of the Divine Being.
Thanksgiving, thus, emphasizes the glorious result of the Divine redemptive acts for the
redeemed creature; worship praises their Divine foundation and source in the heart of the Creator Himself.
In thanksgiving our hearts rejoice over
that which the Saviour and Lord has accomplished for us personally; in worship our souls rejoice in Him
and praise Him, the holy God of all power and love, for what He is in Himself.
Worship is, therefore, higher than
thanksgiving, for worship is freer from all things created and lives more in
the eternal. Worship looks away from all
time, from the persons, things, and events in its course, and to a certain
degree even from the temporal revelations of the Godhead, and lifts itself up
directly [page 141] to the heart of the Most High and there occupies
itself with His own eternal, all-holy, all-loving Nature.
Therefore
in the love-fellowship between Creator and creature worship is the summit of
the responsive love of the creature. And
inasmuch as man precisely in this his vocation as a creature had been called
from the beginning to such a fellowship of love, he had therefore been called
to worship and adoration of the great God.
Worship is the first and most important object of mans eternal
calling. From eternity to eternity the
redeemed and glorified will be privileged to praise the Lord of Lords, saying
exultantly: Salvation to our
God, who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and
ever, Amen (Rev.
7: 10, 12). But the hour cometh, and now is, when the
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth
the Father seek to be His worshippers.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit
and truth (John 4: 23, 24).
The
service of a priest, however, should not be performed merely in the temple, but also effectively outside. He
who is a man of prayer must also be a man with a message.
Witnessing is
therefore another essential part of the service of the New Testament general
priesthood of the church and all its members, For the priests lips should keep knowledge, and they [the people] should seek the law at his mouth
(Mal. 2. 7). Let us
take heed: Something is expected from us because we are priests of God! Often the world is quite unconscious of this
their own expectation. Indeed, they would deny it most emphatically if they
were told that they have such expectations.
And yet it is true. And we are those who are responsible to give them the answer to their deepest and unsolved
problems. For we
are the only ones who have the answer. This day is a day of good tidings, and we
hold our peace: if we tarry ... punishment will
overtake us (2 Kings 7: 9).
I am debtor (Rom. 1: 14). Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel (1 Cor.
9: 16). New Testament general priesthood and the
proclamation of the gospel belong together.
For this reason it is Pauls desire to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering
the gospel of God, that the offering up of the
Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16).
[Page 142] The original word used here for ministering (Gk. bierour-gounta) means literally ministering in sacrifice (R.V. mgn.), ministering as about holy things, executing the office of a Christian priest, more
spiritual, and therefore more excellent than the Levitical priesthood. Also the Greek word for offering
(prosphora) which
the apostle uses here, is an expression taken from
priestly and temple service, meaning, the oblation of the Gentiles. Long had the Jews been the holy nation, the kingdom of
priests, but now the Gentiles are made priests unto God. Indeed, the Gentiles are themselves the
sacrifice offered up to God by Paul, in the name of Christ, a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God (Matthew
Henry).
This
whole passage in Romans shows how much Paul views as one the New Testament
priesthood and the New Testament gospel and missionary activity. Indeed, mission work is, in the judgment of
the great Apostle to the nations, an integral part of the practical realization
of the New Testament general priesthood.
To be a priest means to be a man
with a mission, to be a witness for Christ, to be a co-worker in the spreading
of the gospel at home and abroad.
Thus
the church, being the New Testament priesthood, is at the same time Christs
prophet. It is the proclaimer and
interpreter of His word of life to the world.
It is witness and confessor, messenger and mouth of God, that is, a missionary church in its deepest inward
nature. And let us bear in mind that the
calling and obligation of the church is to be experienced and practised by all
its individual members, not only in their collective co-operation, but also,
indeed quite definitely, in each single personal life and service. Practical neglect of the missionary command
of the Lord makes evident that the nature of the New Testament general
priesthood has not been really understood, in fact, that the very character of
the church itself has not been clearly conceived. For it belongs to the essence of the ecclesia that it is the church of the Word: It
lives through the Word, it nourishes itself from the Word, it is strengthened
by the Word, it orders its way according to the Word. Thus, in a certain sense, it should be also word
itself, that is, message and mediator of the gospel by walk and witness, either
by going oneself to the home or foreign mission-field or by supporting by
prayer and practical fellowship those who have gone. The church of the Lord lives through mission work - for only by the carrying
out of the missionary commission have other countries [page
143] and
homes been reached by the gospel.
Therefore the church of the Lord and its individual members must also in
practice live for mission work - the word mission
being taken in its wide and original sense as witnessing, gospel preaching,
winning souls at home and abroad. Thus we are ambassadors for Christ. Christ speaks through us as though God did beseech ... by us; we pray ... in Christs stead, be ye reconciled to God (2 Cor.
5: 20).
Again
and again since the days of the Reformation the question has arisen as to the
justification and possibility of missionary work. Many have answered in the negative, but the
heroic pioneers of the gospel among many heathen nations have given an
affirmative answer, with proof in word and deed, so impressive and irrefutable,
that it cannot be overlooked. Men like Zinzendorf, Ziegenbalg, William Carey, Robert Morrison, David
Livingstone, Hudson Taylor,
those great banner-bearers of the good tidings of Gods salvation in the wide
world, have proved that missionary work is not only possible but, indeed, most
urgently necessary.
In
fact the missionary command of the Lord has never been withdrawn. On the contrary, it is inseparably bound up
with the missionary promise: And,
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the consummation of the age. The
missionary command and the missionary promise belong together. One cannot claim the one and practically deny
the other. For if the promise:
I am with you always, even
unto the consummation of the age is
still valid, then also the missionary command: Go ye into all the
world.
In the parable of the pounds the Lord said to His servants: Trade ye till
I come (Luke
19: 13). This means, do not cease
beforehand! Be as men who, when the Lord
comes, are found at work.
On the 4th of December, 1857, Livingstone,
the great Africa explorer and missionary
pioneer, visited the
The
Lord needs such servants, men and women in whose souls a holy fire is burning,
who have only one main purpose for their
life, that is, witnessing to and glorifying the Person of their Redeemer,
making known His work of salvation by word and deed, spreading His kingly rule near and far. Such people are in truth priests unto God.
A
hundred and sixty years ago, at the commencement of the new missionary era,
during a discussion on
Hold the ropes firmly! Back up the witnesses of the gospel! Support them and pray for them! Be witnesses yourselves! That ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the
faith of the gospel! (Phil. 1: 27).
Fellowship in Gods kingdom means
fellowship in Gods work. Only so will fellowship in Gods victory
also be ultimately attained. This is
the prophetic side of the calling of the New Testament general priesthood.
Let
us therefore be on fire for this holy commission. Away with all indolence! Away with all powerless, self-centred, pious, merely emotional looking on! We are not allowed to be simply passive
onlookers of the actions and deeds of God.
There is a dynamic power in the gospel to be spread over land and sea.
We must not only make use of but even seek opportunities to bear witness for Christ and so bring others under
the sound of the gospel. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in
pity from sin and the grave. The
Son of God Himself came down to seek that which was lost. Do you
seek? Do
you rescue? Or do you think that an
attitude of mere defence is sufficient to win the victory, so that no holy aggressiveness [page
145] and initiative are
required? In that case your Christian
life and the practical realization of your share in the New Testament general
priesthood have failed very much indeed!
Only the wicked servant can stand still
Looking on while his master storms the hill.
All
want of missionary spirit is sickness of the soul. It belongs indispensably to a strong
spiritual life to have the keen desire to win souls for Christ.
As
the prophetic priesthood of God, the church of the Lord is the bearer of the
most glorious message on earth. It is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3: 15),
the instrument for radiating the light of salvation, the representative of
Christ as the true and faithful witness, and each individual is called to be a
fellow-labourer in this priestly and prophetic commission of the whole church.
Every priest of God - a witness!
Every redeemed one - a missionary!
Every local church - a church of workers!
To
the building up of the church, however, the proclamation of the gospel and the
experience of individual conversion are only the foundation, however
indispensable and fundamental they are. The saved must be sanctified,
their spiritual life must be deepened.
The New Testament priests, as the bearers of the word of God, have
therefore received another vital commission from the Lord. If the priest is the messenger
of Jehovah and if the people seek the law, i.e., the Word of God, at his mouth (Mal. 2: 7), then he will have to administer not
only the evangelistic, but also the pastoral word of God, and will thus have to
perform also the personal work of the shepherd of souls. Therefore
pastoral work is another most important responsibility of the New Testament
general priesthood.
Priestly
souls are shepherds in the church. They
have an eye for the distresses and needs of others. Their eyes have been opened. They do not view their surroundings with the
sharp look of unloving criticism but with hearts full of love, graciousness,
and compassion. They endeavour to see
the good side in the character of others, their upright intentions and sincere
strivings and efforts and to have these in mind as points of contact in their
spiritual approach. In the sanctuary of God they receive the word of wisdom to help others
and lead them on, [page 146] practically
and spiritually. They see, of
course, the imperfections of these others; but at the same time, like their
heavenly High Priest, they have sympathy with their weaknesses (Heb. 4: 15).
In all this they are perfectly
aware of their own imperfections, for the Spirit of God causes them to know
their own heart, thus making them humble and gracious.
They
do not generalize everything but understand each separate situation in its own
special character. Their relationships to others are not cold and stiff, not
merely objective, but warm-hearted and kind to everyone. The spiritual welfare of each individual lies
upon their hearts. They have intuition
and can understand even those characters which may be very different from their
own disposition of soul. In conversation
they practise the high and noble art of
listening to others.
They free themselves from their own
aspects of things, their own circle of interests, their own self-centred forms
of expression, their own prejudiced view-points, their own ideas and criteria. They endeavour
to take a stand outside at a certain distance from themselves in order to overcome
the distance which separates them from others.
They step out of their own Ego and place themselves in the position of
those they desire to help.
Thus the true priestly, personal worker leaves behind
his own Self, meets the personality of the one he is dealing
with, and thus can attain real fellowship with him. He
recognizes the standard and view-point of the other man. Here they start, walking on together, and at
last reach the higher ideals and aims, now common to them both.
Of
vital importance in priestly personal work is the right way to give spiritual
admonishment and encouragement. There
are four kinds of admonition:
The hard-hearted admonition. This is the
merciless lecture which, without feeling, points out rudely the mistakes and
failings of the other, humbles and belabours him, condemns and judges him in a
high-handed manner. The only result of
such kind of admonition is the creating in the heart of the other a new
frontline of resistance which perhaps had not before existed. Such workers
are always standing before closed doors.
They have themselves shut the doors of other hearts. They make them hard-hearted and stubborn,
bitter and burdened. They are not priests at all, but Pharisees. They do
not bear the burdens of souls, but are themselves a burden to such souls.
Against
this very type of degenerated shepherding Jesus fought in the Sermon on the Mount, saying: Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brothers eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me
cast out the mote out of thine eye; And, lo a beam is
in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast
out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to
cast out the mote out of thy brothers eye
(Matt. 7: 3-5).
The
second kind is:
The legal admonition. This
commands and gives orders. It makes use
of the categorical Thou shalt. It appeals to the goodwill, the sense of
honour and self-respect of the other person.
It approaches the moral character of man. The result is at best that good resolutions
are taken, a new attempt at moral reform, a new stirring up of all inner energy. The final result is, however, always and only
-
defeat. For by the law cometh only knowledge
of, but no victory over, sin (Rom. 3: 20; 8: 3).
This latter is accomplished only by grace.
Yet this legal admonition stands on a much higher level than the
hard-hearted type, which in reality is no admonition at all.
The
third kind is:
The reasonable admonition. This
rises still higher than the legal type.
Therefore it is also more fruitful.
Of course, the legal type of admonition should not be completely
rejected. Although it is not able to
attain the full, spiritual aim, it has, in the general history of salvation (cf. Mosaic Law), as well as in all
individual education, a God-given place.
The father commands his little son even when it is not possible to
explain to him the reason for so doing.
The son has to obey simply because his father has given the order, and
he is right if he does so, even if he is not able to understand his fathers
reasons.
Reasonable
admonition, however, reaches deeper into the inner life of the one being
admonished. It makes clear why something
is ordered. It not only commands but
convinces. It makes the command
understandable. The one addressed is
treated with more respect in that he is not required to render mere outward
obedience, but at the same time is enabled to understand inwardly. This raises his own personality and makes him
happier and more willing. His obedience
comes more from his heart and is
therefore nobler.
But
the fourth kind of admonition alone can attain the God-intended [page
148] end:
The creative, spiritual admonition. This
includes indeed both commanding and
explaining, but goes further than these in that the working power of the Holy
Spirit is present and is, indeed, the real, essential, decisive factor. This leads to a clear view of the situation
and to conviction, to a loosening of bondage and a real inner deliverance, to
Spirit-wrought purpose of heart and genuine
decision of the will (Acts 11: 23). It leads to purification and, if necessary,
compensation, to increased devotion and full surrender to the Lord. After repenting and humbling oneself, new
courage will be found. Not only
forgiveness but practical sanctification will be the result. Not only a new thinking but a new acting will
be the fruit. And with strong courage
and confidence we shall go on our way rejoicing.
Thus
creative admonition always includes encouragement. In the language of the New Testament, admonition and encouragement are indeed the same Greek word (paraklesis, verb parakaleo). He who does not know how to encourage has
no spiritual right to admonish. Admonition without encouragement is in most
cases nothing but depressing criticism.
To a fruitful admonition belongs a confident attitude of mind, directing
the other to the ever-renewing powers of the Holy Spirit. Only thus, in the love and with the heart of
Jesus Christ (Phil. 1: 8), will the New
Testament priest of God be able to carry out the fruitful work of
shepherding. For Spirit-filled love is
the heart and soul of all true personal work.
He who does not love, cannot serve. He is simply unable to find
the other one. He gets no inner contact
with him. Only the love of the Holy
Spirit, and happy confidence in His power and His working in the soul of the
other, render us capable of carrying out fruitfully the commission for pastoral
work as an integral part of the New Testament general priesthood.
All
this makes the New Testament general priesthood a channel of blessing. To be a blessing means to bring others into
contact with God, to lay the name of Jehovah upon them. On this wise ye shall bless the children of
But he who is not willing to partake in the service of
practical [page
149] sacrifice has no right to talk about the general priesthood of
the church. He who is not prepared to
fulfil the expectations of the world and be a co-worker in the spread of the word and testimony of God by offering
missionary gifts, missionary prayer, by devotion of his spare time, and by personal
witness for Christ, has no right to talk of the priesthood of all believers,
for his talk is empty. It is without
life and reality. Let not that man say
that he really believes in the general priesthood of the church who does not
lead a life of prayer and does not
take regular part in the spiritual warfare of prayer in the church
gatherings. If we speak unkindly about
others, instead of praying for them or helping them by personal work and shepherding, we must realize that we thereby deny
in practice our part in the general priesthood of the church.
Being
a priest does not only mean having a privileged spiritual
position, but being entrusted with a
God-given commission, not only having received an honour, but a holy order. It is not only that we possess a name of
dignity but that we lead at the same
time a life of practical service.
Whether a person has really understood the meaning and importance of the
general true priesthood of all believers can in many ways be more discerned
outside than inside the church building, chapel, or meeting-hall. Thus here
also the word is true: These
ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone (Matt.
23: 23). In all this the special
emphasis lies on standing the test in the practice of our everyday life. Furthermore:
General priesthood and the local church. Just as the
individual believer, so also the Christian local church should practically take
part in the New Testament general priesthood.
Also here we must learn to think and act again on more Biblical and New
Testament lines. A local church which is not missionary-minded must either repent or it
will one day have to retreat. Either
we appear as Christs witnesses or we shall
have to disappear. The Lord places before everyone this
alternative: Either we do mission work or the
ultimate result will bc our
demission.
Either we keep on the move or be removed! Either we shine, or the lamp-stand of the
local Church will be taken away from its place (Rev.
2: 5). The branch which does not bear fruit will be cut
off (John 15: 6).
According to the clear order revealed in the Scriptures the priest is a messenger of God (Mal. 2: 7). He
who will not be Gods witness and messenger denies practically his share in the
general [page 150] priesthood. This
is true both with regard to the individual as well as to the local church.
A
local church which is not actually connected with the work of the proclamation
of the gospel, either by prayer or by sending out home workers or foreign
missionaries or by contributing regular gifts to the mission-field is either
sick or spiritually undeveloped.
Laziness in witnessing and lameness in missionary zeal is a practical
ignoring of the world-embracing significance of Christs priestly sacrifice on
[*
The Authorized Version reads: 0 Lord, thou hast
deceived me, and I was deceived.
To this we remark: The word deceived
(A.V.), enticed (R.V. footnote) may be very
well translated persuaded. Matthew Henry in his Commentary points
to the fact that in this sense the word is used in Gen.
9: 27 margin: God shall persuade Japhet. And Prov. 25: 15:
By much forbearance is a prince persuaded. And
Hos. 2: 14: I will allure
(persuade) her.]
As a priesthood the church and its
individual members have the commission to proclaim. But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation ... that
ye may show forth the
praises [virtues,
excellencies] of Him who
called you out of darkness into His marvellous light (Gk. exangeilete, proclaim aloud by word and action, 1 Pet. 2: 9).
Local
churches, according to the New Testament, are not places for preserving and
conserving Christian teaching and truth.
They are not to be pious, self-centred circles for emotional self-edification, but rather places where a real,
spiritual building-up takes place. And let everyone take care how he builds
(1 Cor. 3: 10). It is not enough simply to hold fast the
truth but to hold it up, like a standard, a flag of victory carried ahead of
the warriors of Christs army. One
cannot separate in practice the New Testament calling to be a priest
from the calling to be a proclaimer, a mouth of God, a prophet. Priestly
souls are [page 151] soul-winners.
Gods temple is a bright life-centre, radiating eternal light (cf. Rev. 21: 24).
In
this respect the prayer gatherings of believers have a special significance.
Church prayer and world-wide mission work belong inseparably together. If ever the inward oneness of the
prophetic-missionary commission and the general priesthood of the church is evident, it is manifest here. In a sound local church the priestly prayer
for the prophetic proclamation of Gods gospel must occupy a large space. Every
prayer meeting in the local church should be a time of united practical
striving for and co-operation with Gods servants on the mission-field at home
and abroad (Rom. 15: 30-32; Col. 4: 3-4; Eph. 6:
18-20).
This
will become at the same time a source of reviving and blessing for the local
church itself. In such practising of the
New Testament general priesthood the local church experiences something of the
universality, the super-national, spiritual unity of the whole
It
will help to stir up and stimulate the prayer meetings if reports from the
mission-field and personal letters from missionaries are publicly read to the
gathering. Thus the prayers will become
more concrete, the requests more manifold, and everything will be more direct,
more personal, filled with more life and spirit.
Therefore:
Only such a local church is fully realizing its share in the New Testament
general priesthood which is
a local
church with Spirit-filled, regularly
well-attended prayer meetings;
a local
church with members who are practical helpers and fellow-workers with the
Lords servants
in the
world-wide harvest-field;
a local
church with persevering, energetic activity in the preaching of the gospel, by
tract distribution, personal witness, and, wherever possible, open-air
meetings;
a local church
with a warm-hearted, spiritual atmosphere of love, where everyone tries to help
the other by mutual care and charity in a prayerful spirit, considering one
another to provoke
to love
and good works.
In such a local church
the gatherings and services also will be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as distributed by the Lord Himself, will be
developed in their God-appointed variety, in brotherly fellowship, in
dependence upon Christ, and thus in holy freedom of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 4-11; 14: 26). And when the church is gathered together at
the Lords Table praising the priestly sacrifice on Golgotha, priestly worship
will rise up to the heavenly Sanctuary, thus crowning the privilege of the
general priesthood of the church.
3. The
kingdom of the church. The Scripture links the priesthood with the kingdom,
the heavenly throne with the heavenly temple (comp. Isa. 6: 1-4). Therefore also the church is not only a
priestly people but at the same time a kingdom (Rev.
1: 6; 1 Pet. 2: 9), indeed, it is a kingdom of priests (cf. Ex. 19: 6).
This present and future royal dignity is the third great possession
contained in the birthright of the church of the firstborn. As such the church will one day be the Imperial Staff of the heavenly King, the ruling aristocracy in the coming
3. THE SERIOUS DANGER
But
the writer to the Hebrews does not
really speak about the birthright of Esau in order to show the glories of the
church but in order to give a warning.
Especially when considered against the background of such high
dignities, failure in Christian life is all the more deplorable and
reprehensible. We must see the dangers
and behave ourselves accordingly. We must count the cost not only of faithful
Christian discipleship, as the Lord says (Luke
14: 28), but also what it means
to be un-faithful. For the reward
of such sin would be nothing less than
the loss of the enjoyment of most important privileges contained in the full
possession of the birthright.
Doubtless,
birthright is not identical with sonship.
Esau remained Isaacs son even
after he had rejected his birthright. In
fact, he received, in spite of his great failure, a kind of secondary blessing
(Gen. 27: 38, 40b). By faith Isaac blessed Jacob [page 153] and Esau concerning things to come (Heb. 11: 20). But nevertheless he suffered an immense loss.
A similar experience, in a spiritual
sense, can be the result of unfaithfulness for the New Testament firstborn. Their
life-relationship with the heavenly Father remains and will never be dissolved;
for they have passed out of death into life (1 John
3: 14). But very great heavenly values are at stake.
Possession
of special heavenly riches, position as priests, and the royal dignity of
ruling are the three God-appointed honours contained in the birthright. But:
In
spite of all riches we may live in
spiritual poverty. No overflowing of
heavenly fulness may be evident. No
inward richness may shine out. No joy of
happy redemption may be manifest. Although children of eternal joy, we may walk about sorrowful and
depressed, and instead of having our enjoyment and delight in our blessed Lord,
we may look back full of longing to the empty joys and goods of this world.
In
spite of our priestly position we
may live no priestly prayer life! There
may be no priestly heart and mind! No
loving supplication! No witness as Gods priestly messenger to the world! No happy gratefulness for so many rich
blessings received! No genuine priestly
worshipping of God in spirit and in truth!
And finally:
In
spite of our high kingly calling we may
live practically like slaves. All
earthly-mindedness is slavery. It is a denial of our heavenly nobility (Col. 3: 1-3).
All sinful striving for money or
earthly goods makes the [potential] king to be a [present-day] beggar. All worrying is un-kingly. All fear of man is unworthy of a child of the
great Heavenly Father and Sovereign. All
over-sensitiveness and so easily feeling hurt and offended is
small-mindedness. It is piteous and
primitive. In fact, all service of sin makes him who is appointed to be a ruler to
become practically a degraded servant, and sin which is in reality defeated
behaves itself as if it were the victor and therefore acts as regent and
tyrant, when in truth the Christian should be the overcomer.
Thus the [regenerate] believer, although [initially] belonging to the church of the
firstborn, may practically deny his birthright. Instead of riches inward poverty, instead
of priesthood practical separation from God, instead of kingship actual
slavery!
How
grave will be the consequences for eternity!
Though indeed personally saved [eternally], yet how great the loss! Even Paul, the apostle of free grace,
expressly emphasizes that the day of Christ will be revealed for the church in fire. The fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is (1 Cor.
3: 13). Thus it may happen that
the life-work of a believer - possibly
even yours [or mine]! will be burnt up, even though you yourself are saved,
yet so as through fire, i.e., like a
brand plucked out of the burning, as one who in a fire could only save his bare life (1 Cor.
3: 15). The position of being a
child of God is, indeed, not forfeitable, but
not the total fulness of the heavenly birthright. In this sense there is urgent need to give diligence to make our calling and
election sure. For thus shall be richly supplied unto you
the entrance into the eternal [age-lasting] kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
(2 Pet. 1: 10, 11).
4. THE GRAVE ERROR
What was the fatal
error into which Esau fell and which in this letter is held up to us as a
warning? He sold his birthright for one
mess of pottage. One can actually feel
his uncontrolled greediness and gluttony in his words: Let me eat of that red pottage, of that red
pottage.
In the original Hebrew text the words of that red pottage
occur not only once but twice, so as to
picture his greediness and want of self-control. Also his
materialistic outlook and egoism sounds from his words: I am at the point to die ... what profit shall the birthright do to me? (Gen.
25: 30-32).
From
all this we see:
Esau
lived for things visible and bartered away for them things spiritual, i.e., the
only true values, the things which are real.
Esau
lived for human enjoyment and bartered away God-given blessings.
Esau lived without
discipline and self-control and bartered away his position of authority and
honour.
Esau despised Gods
promise and offer of dignity and brought himself thereby into shame (Gen. 27: 37).
He lived for his own Ego and thus
bartered away the high calling of his family.
He lived for
the present and bartered away his noble commission for the future.
He lived for the fleeting moment and
bartered for it eternal treasures.
Through
all this he proved himself to be a
godless and profane man. He was a
secularized son of an elect patriarch, that is, he was a worldly-minded
descendant of a God-devoted bearer of high Divine promises. He esteemed a passing enjoyment above most
noble permanent privileges ordained of God.
He despised his birthright (Gen. 25:
34). The Hebrew text uses a vigorous
word here. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses the
word phaulizo which means that Esau regarded the birthright as a mere
paltry thing and so gave it away for a trifle. In all this the profanity of Esaus heart and
mind is shown.
For
this reason God, who on account of His super-temporality, can already see
everything before it actually begins, declared even before the birth of the two
brothers: Jacob have I loved
but Esau have I hated (Mal. 1: 2, 3;
Rom. 9: 13). This does not mean a
hostile animosity and hatred but refusal and rejection.
But
for this sin and failure of Esau the birthright would have remained his
privilege, and all successive developments in the whole history of salvation,
right up to Christ the Messiah, would have used him and his descendants as
channel and human instrument. Or, expressed more negatively, the whole further
realization of the Divine redemptive plans would have taken its course via Esau
and his family and not via Jacob (
But
now we see him weeping and lamenting and begging for the blessing (Gen. 27: 34). But he could not alter Isaacs
attitude. Isaac had spoken as a prophet
of God under the inspiration of the [Holy] Spirit, and his
God-inspired prophetic utterance could not be recalled. Esau found no place for a change of mind in his father (American Standard Version). There was no room to cancel his fathers
decision. The backslider [and apostate] is always the great loser.
This
appears to be the sense of the words: He found no room for the altering of mind although he tried with tears. The Greek word metanoia,
which otherwise means in the Scripture repentance, can in this place hardly have this sense. For if anyone seeks repentance with tears he is already repentant and cannot be spoken of as not
being able to find room for repentance.
His many tears would indeed prove that he was repentant, i.e., that he had
altered his mind. For this reason most modern interpreters take
the word metanoia, altering,
either as referring to Isaac in the sense that Isaac was begged by Esau to
change his mind regarding his decision to take away the birthright from Esau
and transfer it to Jacob (thus e.g., Zwingli), or, since in the Greek text
there is no reference at all to the person of Isaac, [page
156] they
take the word mietanoia (
= altering) in the sense of
changing a situation, cancelling an order.
In this sense of cancellation the Greek word melanoia is in fact often used in other Greek
texts, for instance, papyri. Esau found
no room for cancelling the transference of the blessing from him to Jacob,
although he tried with tears. This also
agrees with the Old Testament account, which never refers to Esau as having
sought an inward change of heart with many tears. On the contrary, the Old Testament history
shows quite clearly that he sought the outward blessing (Gen. 27: 34, 38).
This
is also proved by his word in Gen. 27: 36
which he said of his brother: Is
he not rightly named Jacob [One that
takes by the heel; Supplanter. Gen. 25:26]?
For he hath supplanted
me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken
away my blessing. Thus he was blaming Jacob, not reproaching himself. He mourned his
loss but
not his sin. In this also he proved
himself a true son of his first parents, for Eve and Adam each blamed another
for their guilty conduct. In each of the three cases there was a
measure of truth, for those others blamed were in part responsible; but godly sorrow for sin seeks no such shelter,
but accepts its own responsibility and is humble. This
change of mind Esau neither showed nor sought (G. H. Lang).
And what did he receive in exchange for the
birthright? A mess of pottage!
Thus
miserably does sin pay her servants.
My
reader, read the above sentences again and ask yourself if they may not be a
reflection of your own spiritual and practical attitude, even if perhaps not
always, yet possibly often enough.
Therefore take heed to the warning of this passage in Hebreivs!
So much hangs in the balance: glorious [millennial and]
eternal gain or irretrievable loss.
In that disastrous moment Esau, at the cost of the future [inheritance in the kingdom], had chosen satisfaction for the present. The mess of pottage pleased for the moment. But finally the great disappointment came.
Thus
he experienced in his own life the principle of the word of the Lord: He that loveth his life shall lose it (John 12: 25). For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose (damage) his own life [soul]? (Matt. 16: 26).
The warrior of faith must act in just
the opposite way. This is testified also by Paul. The Pauline
epistles and the letter to the Hebrews show many similarities in thought and
sometimes [page 157] also of expression. Just as Paul, in various places in his epistles, uses the picture of
the racecourse in the arena of faith so also the Writer of Hebrews does here at
the very beginning of this our chapter.
It is in the light of these
opening words on the race and the joy which is set before the runner, that the
reference of this our same chapter to the birthright ought to
be read. Both
are great possibilities; but both are forfeitable as regards the fulness of
their eternal [age-lasting or millennial] possession and enjoyment. Therefore the unreserved devotion of all our
life and spiritual energy is needed in order to attain the full prize, the crown,
the joy that is set before us (cf. Heb. 12: 2), the birthright in its
God-appointed, all-embracing, threefold totality as special abundance of
riches, heavenly priesthood, glorified kingship.
Thus
also Paul says: And if also a man contend in the games, yet he is not crowned, except he have contended lawfully (2 Tim. 2, 5).
What does it mean to contend lawfully, i.e., according
to the rules of the athletic games? He
transgresses the rules of the games who tries by some
trick or other to win an easy victory. For instance, he
may attempt to shorten the length of his race-course by cutting corners. Thus he may seek to make his task easier than
it really is. By this means in the
earthly athletic games he may indeed reach the goal earlier than the others,
but the umpire will not recognize such a victory. In the same way, many today who desire to be
real Christians, seek to avoid the heat
of the battle by making certain compromises here and there. Of course, they too want to reach the goal, but they think it can be reached by paying
a lower price. Let us not be
deceived in this matter! Christ the Lord
expects our whole devotion. Away with all compromises! Away with all attempts to make the narrow way
somewhat broader and more passable! The Lord seeks our whole heart. Otherwise He cannot use our service and will
not crown our efforts. In order to win the eternal [age-lasting, or millennial]
crown we must offer our whole life.
In
[*
From
the Palatine, the place of the Imperial palaces, near the Forum Romanum, the Market Place of ancient
This
ancient Egyptian sun-obelisk was the point which all partakers in the chariot
and other races had to pass round. It
made it impossible to cut any curve in the course. Each and every competitor in
the races, be he chariot driver or runner, had to cover the full length of the
course. No one could shorten the race
for himself. No one could make the
victory easier by any measure of his own.
Each had to devote all his strength and to take upon himself the whole
task without any abatement. Only thus
was there any prospect of winning the prize.
For
all those who know its history, this ancient Egyptian obelisk is even today an
eloquent witness to all this.
Let
us not be deceived! There is no victory without zeal and devotion, no complete triumph
without giving up our own indolence, no real Yes
to God without a practical No to self, sin,
and the world! If any bad habit or sin
should have a hold upon you, or if there should be any guilt of the past which
has not yet been put right, put these things in order, clear them away in the
power of the Lord, even if it should be hard to do so. If there exists any tension between yourself
and another, if there is any possibility, seek to have a personal talk with the
one concerned, even if it mean that you must humble yourself. And do it today. Do not postpone it to some later date. It might happen that then it will be
postponed again, and in the end nothing will be done at all. Whenever the Lord entrusts you with a service
of love and charity, do it with all your might, even if it should involve a
sacrifice of time or money. If there is
opportunity of witnessing to Christ, open your mouth joyfully, even if you are
mocked at or have to suffer loss or disadvantage in your earthly career.
All
this certainly costs self-denial. But
self-denial is indispensable (Matt. 16: 24, 25).
Every attempt to make the fight easier, makes the real victory more difficult and doubtful. Unless
we submit ourselves to all Divine orders, and take up our full responsibility,
we shall never attain the radiant and glorious prize on the coronation day.
5. THE HOUR OF
DECISION
In
Esaus bitter experience we can see something of the tactics used by sin. Sin uses the weak moments in the life of a
man to cause his fall. Esau was tired
when he made his fatal wrong decision (Gen. 25: 29). Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint (tired) (v. 30).
This
is the regular method of sin. Sin knows
the weak points and critical moments of our life and is ever ready like a wild
beast to jump upon its prey.
Thus
Cain had his weak moment when jealousy took hold of him and he murdered his
brother (Gen. 4: 5-8).
David had his weak moment and fell deep into sin, which then brought him and
the house of Uriah into so much misery (2 Sam. 11: 2-5; 17: 26ff.).
Peter had his weak moment when he denied his Master at the camp fire before
a servant girl (Mark 14: 66-72).
Ananias and Sapphira had their weak moment when they behaved as
hypocrites with regard to their offering for the Lords work, and for this sin
they were blotted out of the church and of life (Acts
5: 1-10).
But
just these weak moments are the hours of decision. At such occasions it becomes clear what sort
of persons we really are. The strength
of a chain lies in the weakest link. A battle-front is broken through when the
thinnest part of the line is pierced.
[Page
160] For
this reason defeats in weak moments can never be excused by pointing to the
unfavourable or unexpected circumstances.
Not the march past in the review,
but the battle shows the real quality of a soldier. We are only - that which we prove to be in difficult conditions. The weak moments are the examinations and tests
in our life of faith. The circumstances
are only the battlefield; they are never the actual decisive factors in the battle
itself.
The
first men sinned in
The
same is true with regard to our service as witnesses. How many a believer excuses his failure in
witnessing by pointing to the unfavourable surroundings. He is silent where he should speak, and some
may have even given up entirely to testify to Christ,
excusing themselves by referring to the hard soil which would in any
case render their testimony unfruitful.
Thus not seldom God-given opportunities are
missed, and possibilities [page
161] for powerful victory become
weak moments full of defeat.
And
yet, testifying is possible everywhere.
There never was a time during which the world was without Gods
witnesses (Heb. 11) and there never will be.
In
fact, very often just such times, when many adversaries are fighting against
Gods work, are special seasons of open doors. Paul, the great pioneer missionary among the
apostles, says: a great door
and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries (1 Cor.
16: 9). Open doors and
adversaries very often belong one to another.
Special hatred against the message of the gospel [of
the kingdom]
and special opportunities for victorious witnessing to Christ have often
appeared together in the history of the church.
Only we must learn again to be better witnesses. God has no need of defenders and advocates,
nor of experts and masters of rhetoric, but what He desires are wholly devoted men and women who know only
one theme and who have only one passion, that is, Himself, the great God,
Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4: 5).
Personal witness from man to man was the evangelizing method practised by the
early church. In this respect, too, we
must become again early
Christians, and then we shall experience
that the work of the Lord always shares and repeats the history of its Divine
Master: opposed by the world, yet not defeated; rejected by unbelief, yet not
refuted; given over to death by men, yet always full of resurrection life;
dead, buried and yet always rising again.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous
(Psa. 118: 15).
If
this is our attitude, God-given opportunities for witness will not become weak moments in our life but occasions to save souls and thus times of
triumphant joy in heaven and earth (Luke 15: 7).
6. THE BIRTHRIGHT AND
THE HEAVENLY PRIZE
The
warning reference to Esau and to the loss of his birthright is given in Hebrews 12 in connexion with a message which
begins by demanding of us that we should
run in the arena of faith. Let us
run with patience the race that is set before us (Heb.
12: 1). It is a message which demands of us a purposeful
perseverance in the running of the course (v. 1),
an overcoming of all signs of fatigue and all symptoms of weakness (vv. 3-12), a pressing on in Spirit-wrought energy. Therefore lift up the [page 162]
hands which hang down and the feeble knees
(v. 12). Make straight paths for your feet (v. 13). Follow after! Pursue ...! (v. 14).
In
this connexion Gods Word expressly
emphasizes great dangers that are imminent in case the fighter is failing in
the battle. Instead of running in
the race you may be turned out of the way by lameness (v. 13). Instead of living in spiritual fulness, you
may fall short of the grace of God (v. 15). Instead of being a channel of blessing for
others you may be a poisonous plant
defiling many (v. 15). And the
Spirit of God would arouse us with the alarming exhortation: Follow after [pursue] peace with all men,
and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord! (v. 14). For the
prize will not be given for nothing, but demands the energy of faith
and practical faithfulness. In
view of the context of our chapter the prize of the race is regarded as the full enjoyment of the heavenly
birthright.
Five
main facts show us the nature of the prize.
The
heavenly prise is not to be expected as a matter of course but must be
earnestly contended for. Justification [by
faith] is a gift of free grace, but the measure of glorification depends upon
personal devotion and steadfastness in the race. Thus it may happen that a believer does not
stand the test, and the Umpire of the races, the Lord, the righteous
Judge (2
Tim. 4: 8), will declare him disqualified at the prize-giving(1 Cor.9: 27).
He receives no crown of victory. That I myself might not
be rejected after having preached to others. The word rejected used in the original
text (Gk. adokimos) is the technical term for a runner not
standing the test before the master of the games and therefore being excluded at the prize-giving. This is a possibility to be taken very
seriously by every [regenerate] believer.
And yet:
The heavenly
prize is not identical with eternal salvation
but is associated with various degrees of glorification.
In spite of the grave
possibility of being disqualified at the end, the runner who did not hold out in the
race will not be eternally lost. Even in the case of Esau, in spite of his
loss of the birthright, there remained the relationship of son. Although, indeed, Holy Scripture speaks in very strong terms of suffering loss (1 Cor.
3: 15), of being
ashamed at Christs coining (1 John 2: 28), of ones whole life-work being burned up (1 Cor.
3: 13, 15b) so that one is saved yet so as through fire; yet
it clearly testifies the fact that also such an one will be saved.
Thus
grace and reward are presented as combined with one [page
163]
another and yet shown as harmonious
opposites, just like the poles of a magnetic needle are opposites and yet
belong together inseparably. And thus being saved and being glorified, being born
again and being perfected, receiving grace and becoming a receiver of the
crown, that is, the entering into the arena at the beginning and the
prize-giving at the end, stand before our eyes in their mutual relationship.
Through
all this the twofold result in our daily life should be joy and earnestness,
thankfulness and sense of responsibility, certainty of salvation and fear of
God. Only in the realization of these two opposite and harmonious poles in
Christian experience, is true Biblical sanctification possible.
The
heavenly prize is not equal for each,
but
will be graduated according to faithfulness.
The
three main blessings of the New Testament birthright are heavenly riches,
priestly service, and royal dignity, and full
possession of this birthright is the prize.
The
more a member of the church of the firstborn has made a fruitful use of the spiritual riches
intrusted to him by the Lord during his life-time, the more he will
enjoy the fulness of blessing in [the age to come, and in] eternity (cf.
Matt. 25: 21, 23).
The
more a member of the church of the firstborn has actually realized the rights and
obligations of the general priesthood, the greater and more glorious will be his service as priest in
the heavenly temple (Rev. 3: 12; 1 Pet. 1: 5, 4).
The
more a member of the church of the firstborn has lived worthily of his high royal calling here on earth, the higher will be his
position in the kingdom of glory. He will reign with Christ for ever and ever
(2 Tim. 2: 12; Rom. 8: 17; Rev. 22: 5).
Thus
the more faithfully a member of the church of the firstborn has responded to his spiritual birthright here on
earth, the richer and more embracing will be his enjoyment of his heavenly
birthright in eternity.
The
heavenly prize will not be granted to the self-confident and self-satisfied
but
only to those who are striving and pressing on.
Not
every [regenerate] believer will attain to the full prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Least of all those who regard themselves as
sure of it! Not in vain has the Lord
said: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they [they
alone!] shall be filled (Matt. 5: 6). In the original Greek the word they is
emphasized strongly in order to show the
exclusive nature of the [conditional] promise. And Paul
declares: Know ye not that they which run in a race all run, but [only] one receiveth the
prize? [Page
164] Even so run, that ye may attain,
(1 Cor.
9: 24). And if a man also contend in the games, yet is he not crowned, except he have contended
lawfully (2 Tim. 2: 5). Woe
to the self-assured, self-approving ones!
A great disappointment awaits
them (1 John 2: 28). But blessed are those that hunger and
thirst! Blessed are the imperfect
ones, i.e., those who are conscious
of their imperfections and therefore press
on in the Lords power: for they will attain the goal.
In
all this there rules this encouraging fact:
The
heavenly prize is not to be won by human and earthly endeavour
but
only by the power which grace gives to faith.
All
our own efforts are impotent and worthless.
Even our very best ideals and strivings will not carry us through to the
goal. Christ alone is able to do
this. Therefore the runner in the race looks unto Him from whom all power comes. Every
victory over sin, all growth in holiness, all progress in the race is entirely
a gift of His free grace. There is no human merit at all. Only he who lives by the gifts of Gods grace
will be able to reach the goal in full triumph.
And
what will happen when the great day
of the prize-giving shall have come?
Before God only His own work counts.
We ourselves have accomplished nothing.
All has been given by Himself, and now, in addition to all this, upon
us, the receivers of His free gifts, who of ourselves have deserved nothing, He
bestows the everlasting crown of honour.
That means: He pours out upon us His gifts at the goal for the simple
reason that we have accepted in faith His gifts on the way. He showers His blessings upon us at the
winning-post simply because we have allowed Him to give us His free blessings
during the race. Therefore although conditioned by the devotion of the one to
be crowned, the prize of the race, the full enjoyment of the heavenly
Birthright, is an entirely unmerited gift of a freely giving and generous God
of mercy. It is reward out of grace. Rightly did Tauler, the great German
mediaeval mystic (about 1400), say that when at last God gives the crowns, He is not going to
crown us but to crown Christ in us, for only Christ is worthy of a crown.
In
the
But
what are all these crowns and the crowns of other nations in comparison to
those crowns which Christ has to bestow?
The crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4: 8), the crown of life
(Rev. 2: 10), the crown of rejoicing
(1 Thess. 2; 19), the incorruptible crown
(1 Cor. 9: 25, 26),
the crown of glory (1 Pet. 5: 3, 4)? How much does all that is earthly
pale before the glory of the heavenly!
Even the highest earthly riches and beauties sink into absolute
insignificance when compared with the Eternal and Divine! In fact, not only the sufferings but also the
glories of this world are not worthy even to be compared to the glories which
shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8: 18).
Wreaths
of olive branches and laurels, palms and festive garbs, were presented to the
victorious runners in the Greek races.
Christ, however, gives those who have served Him in faithfulness, the heavenly
crown of honour.
Laurels, olive
branches and palms wither away. Crowns
sink down. But the crown of honour which
Christ gives the victor will remain in everlasting life, with the freshness and
flower of youth. Here is an
incorruptible possession (1 Pet. 1: 4), a priesthood eternally worshipping, a
royal digntity and rule for all time and eternity (Rev. 22: 5).
Thus
the threefold privilege of the Birthright of the [church of the] firstborn as richness, priesthood, and kingship, the prize for the overcomer, will
remain for ever and ever.
All
this will be ours if we look unto Jesus, and
run. [Page 166] As the Firstborn from the dead
Christ is the great Victor over that greatest, combined, and most powerful
enemy, sin, death, Satan. Thus He is
altogether the Pioneer and
decisive Conqueror in all situations. He Who was the
Winner in the mightiest. battle is certainly also able
to gain the victory in all smaller ones.
He can master every difficulty
and can throw back every attack of the adversary. In any and every battle He can give practical
victory and so bring us through to the final triumph.
As
the Firstborn among many
brethren He enables His own to share His
glory in [during the age to come and in] heaven (Rev. 3: 21; John
17: 22) and to attain the full blessing of the birthright, appointed to
the firstborn ones, the firstfruits of His creatures (James 1: 18). He Who after His own victorious battle has reached
the goal triumphantly and is crowned with glory and honour (Heb. 2: 9), gives to every overcomer in the race the crown of rejoicing and honour.
Therefore
ever anew, while running in the racecourse in the arena of faith,
Let
us look unto
Jesus!
*
* *
CHAPTER
8 [Pages 167-188 and
END.]
LISTEN! GOD SPEAKS!
For ye are not come unto a mount that might
be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words: which voice they that heard
intreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not
endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be
stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear
and quake (Deut.
9: 19):
But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of
angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in
heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel.
See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh. For if they escaped not, when
they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape, who
turn away from him that warneth from heaven: whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more
will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. And this word, Yet
once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of
things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.
Wherefore receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God
with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12: 18-29).
WHEN God speaks man must hearken.
Each time Gods word is preached we are personally addressed by
Him. Then always our small self is
directly confronted by His great Divine Self, and every such time is an hour of
decision. A decision is made whether we mean to hearken or not, to obey [page
168] God or ignore Him, to harden ourselves or recognize in
practice His claim and redeeming authority over us.
Most
imposing and grand is the introduction to the second part of the book of
Isaiah, this greatest prophet of the Old Testament, this bold evangelist of the Old Covenant.
The voice of one that crieth (Isa. 40: 3).
The voice of one saying (Isa. 40: 6).
Lift
up thy voice with strength (Isa. 40: 9).
Say:
Behold, your God
(Isa. 40: 9).
Behold, the Lord God will come [to rule
in righteous and reign in peace] (Isa. 40: 10).
Behold, His reward is with Him (Isa. 40: 10). Let us note:
Thrice: Voice, voice, voice!
Thrice: Behold, behold, behold!
These words strike our spiritual ear like six mighty
blasts of a trumpet.
Listen! There
is something you must hear! Pay attention! Let us hearken!
Look! There is
something to be seen. Watch carefully!
Let
us observe!
Or,
as it is written in the seven Letters to the churches in the book of the Revelation: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith to the churches (Rev. [chapters] 2
and 3).
This means: whosoever possesses any ability to perceive the things of
God in his heart, whosoever possesses a spiritual organ to receive Gods word
in his soul, must now hearken.
Whosoever, indeed, has a receiving station
in his spiritual life for the waves from
eternity, must hearken. Therefore again:
When God speaks, man must listen. He must acknowledge that it involves an
hour of decision.
This
is the special message of the final section of Hebrews
12.
See
that ye refuse not Him that speaketh (Heb. 12: 25).
Let
us look unto Jesus. Let us hearken unto Him!
Four
impressive reasons strengthen this command.
They stand there like four shining golden exclamation marks to emphasize
this New Testament warning and exhortation.
One cannot avoid hearing and seeing them. At the same time the holy text looks back
into the Old Testament and draws the conclusion: If in those earlier times the
people were required to listen, how much more reason have we to listen to Gods
voice now! If [page 169] the Old
Testament saints, who lived in the
introductory times of the preparation of salvation, were bound to hearken and
to exercise practical obedience in faith, how much more we who live
today in the times of the New Testament fulfilment! It is just this connexion and comparison
between our being called today and Gods call in the redemptive history of yesterday which makes this New Testament command so
impressive and powerful: Hearken, God speaketh.
First
of all, however, the Scripture brings before us the riches of salvation which
believers possess and for which they are held responsible before God.
1 The Heavenly Riches
of the
Three
marvellous facts shine forth before our vision with ever-increasing brilliance.
1.
As believers we have become spiritual possessors. The
letter to the Hebrews says: Ye
are come unto
It
has been rightly said that [regenerate] believers are
the only class of persons in the world who really possess anything. For all earthly possessions
are only lent to us. At best we may be
allowed to make use of them until the end of our life. But then we are forced to forsake every
earthly property, and we shall leave this world just as empty as we came into
it.
Furthermore: even during this limited period of time
in which we can use earthly things, these never become bound up inextricably
with the essence of our inward man.
Possessor and possession remain always distinct and separate: they
confront each other as subject and object, but they never become one. No
earthly goods become organically or spiritually bound up with the central
essence of mans personality. For this
reason Jason calls all earthly
property foreign things, i.e. they do not [page
170]
really enter into our soul, they do not become one with our spiritual essence
and its deepest interests, and therefore are not really our own
(Luke 16: 12), but belong, so to speak, to another. The relationship never reaches oneness but
always remains that of a duality.
But
heavenly goods enter into our very nature.
Therefore we have not only received light but we are
become light (Eph. 5: 8). We have not only been given [Christs] righteousness but are righteousness in
Him (2 Cor. 5: 21). The heavenly possession of salvation has been
personally and organically grafted into us by Christ through the Holy
Spirit. In this sense real believers are
truly possessors.
2. As
possessors of spiritual blessings we have already received heavenly goods
of
the coming world.
We
have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable hosts of angels, the general assembly, which is living in eternity (Heb. 12: 22, 23). We have already arrived in principle where in full reality we shall be for
ever. The future is already the
present. In today we possess
tomorrow. On earth we own heaven. We have been translated into the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2: 6). We have not only been crucified with Him,
buried, and raised again with Him (
The
expression heavenly places occurs only in the Ephesian letter, where it is used
five times. Literally the original Greek says only, in the heavenlies. So one has sought to supplement this expression by translating heavenly goods or heavenly blessings or
heavenly kingdom, especially
in Eph. 1: 3. But the other contexts
in which this expression appears, show quite clearly that it has a definite
reference to the idea of region,
sphere, place, in, as it were, a certain
local sense.
In the same Ephesian letter Paul, using exactly the same expression (Gk.
en
tois epouraniois), says that God has set Christ at His right hand in the
heavenlies, which can only mean in the heavenly places (Eph. 1: 20). And in Ephesians
2: 6 he writes that God raised us up with Him and made us to sit with Him in the heavenlies
in Christ Jesus. Similarly, this can
mean only, in the heavenly places.
In the third chapter of the
same epistle the apostle speaks of the principalities and the powers in the heavenlies who are to recognize the wisdom of God in the [page
171] church (v. 10), and in chapter 6 he mentions the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenlies against whom we wrestle. All
these Scriptures allow of only one interpretation, namely heavenly places, regions, or spheres.
The
impressive thought which lies at the bottom of all
this is that the Christian by his new birth has been born into a heavenly
life. His citizenship is in heaven. His entire life is conditioned by heaven. His joy is of a heavenly nature. His lifes aim is heaven itself (Phil. 3: 20).
Just as Christ, the last Adam, is the Heavenly One so we, being
members of His body which is the new mankind, are also the heavenly ones (1 Cor. 15: 48).
Thus
the Christian, as long as he is on earth, lives in two worlds. He belongs to heaven and to earth
simultaneously. Therein lies his nobility.
Therein lies also the tension of his life. He knows that Christ his Redeemer, as the
exalted One, is [bodily] in
heaven (Phil. 2: 9; Eph. 4: 10), and yet is
indwelling him here on earth (Eph. 3: 17). And he himself, the redeemed one, is still
living here on earth (John 17: 11), and yet
he is translated with Christ to the heavenlies (Eph.
2: 6).
The
living connexion between these two sides of the Christian standing is the Holy
Spirit. For the Spirit came down from
the risen Christ above us, from heaven to earth (Acts
2: 33), and the Spirit, as the Christ in us, leads us up from earth to heaven (Col. 1: 27; 2 Cor. 3: 17, 18).
Only
on this foundation is it possible to be practically heavenly-minded. As long as the believer does not understand
his heavenly position in Christ, he will always vacillate between worldliness and legality. For
either he will neglect his fellowship with the Lord and his connexion with the
heavenly world and allow himself to be captivated by earthly things, seeking
and setting his mind on that which is below, or he will endeavour in his own strength to hold on to the
heavenly above, but in a
legal, slavish, joyless manner. It must
result that he will never reach a really victorious life, simply for want of
clear look of faith and spiritual understanding as to his position in grace and
the heavenly resources which are at his disposal. What we need is a thankful
recognition of the free grace given us in Christ, a practical acknowledgment of
our heavenly standing, a trustful laying hold of the gifts of God in an
attitude of devotion of heart and life.
Thus a true heavenly-mindedness will inspire all areas of our life and
permeate them in all directions and relationships.
[Page 172] Therefore
give thanks for the redemption already received. If sin assails you do not first ask for victory but at once thank the Lord
that He has made you free from the slavery of sin. When Jehoshaphat went to war against the
Moabites and the Ammonites, before the commencement of the battle he ordered the singers and the
harpers to praise the Lord in holy adornment, and the Lord gave His people the
victory (2 Chron. 20: 21,
22). Thus joy in the Lord will be
also our strength.
And still more:
3.
As possessors of blessings of the coming eternal world within this sphere of
the heavenly -we have been set in association not just with some high level of
this eternity, but even with its most important, indeed, its
central
and
supreme regions and persons.
Sevenfold
is the description of the Old Testament Mount Sinai, as given in Heb. 12.
Those Isrelitish hearers had come
to a
mountain that might be touched, to buming fire,
to blackness,
to thick
darkness, to tempest,
to the
sound of a trumpet, to the voice of words, which voice they that heard
could not
endure (Heb. 12: 18-20).
Eightfold is the description of the New Testament
heavenly heights of salvation. Ye are come
to
to the
city of the living God, the heavenly
to
innumerable hosts of angels, the general assembly,
to the
church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven,
to God,
the judge of all,
to the spirits
of just men made perfect, and further:
to Jesus, the Mediator of a New Covenant,
to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than
that of Abel (Heb. 12: 22-44).
Two
groups of heavenly realities can be clearly distinguished here. The first group comprises six,
and the second group the last two members of this golden chain.
Transcendancy and heavenly nature characterize the first group, and grace the second. Glory is predominant in the former and
salvation in the latter.
The
first contains something twofold: we have been brought to the most central
heavenly regions: Mount Zion,
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem: and to the most glorious of
spiritually glorified beings, that is to persons who either live themselves in heaven, or in
the region of heavenly blessings, namely to God, the judge of all, the angels
innumerable, the firstborn who[se names] are enrolled in heaven, the spirits of just men
made perfect.
That
in the midst of the description of New Testament glories God is called the judge of all does not mean that, in spite of our salvation there
is after all to be faced something terrible which may rob us of all our joy, as
if finally everything were still uncertain and God as our judge might possibly some
day condemn us: no, it means that the great gift of the gospel is precisely
this, that we are already reconciled with the Judge, that we can come into His
presence without fear and live in His good Pleasure. The great community of which we are citizens
is ruled over by righteousness. Its head
is the Divine judge who puts away all injustice, who helps and liberates the
oppressed, and who gives everyone his due position and gift according to His
own Holy Divine order of justice.
Some
expositors suggest that, in addition to this, a still greater and far higher
blessing is expressed here. The phrase ye have come which introduces
the eight blessings, enumerated in connexion with this golden chain of heavenly
persons, realities and blessings, has, in all the seven other cases quite
apparently the meaning ye are
come to
share
in these dignities mentioned. Ye are come to share in the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem, Ye are come to share in the blessings of the New Covenant, Ye are come to share in the saving results of the blood of
sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel. So, interpreting these
clauses with uniformity, the following may be the sense of the statement, ye are come to God the judge of all; Ye
are come to share with Him the honour
of the office indicated by this title. Ye are come to share Gods office as judge. The saints
are to judge the world and even angels (1 Cor. 6: 2, 3).
The apostles are assured of this office in
relation to
The
church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven are obviously the believers living in the present
dispensation here on earth. Also in all
other Scriptures where the word ecclesia (church) refers to men only (only rarely
it refers to angels, as in Psa. 89: 6), it signified the body of the redeemed as
they are living in their present form of spiritual and organic fellowship of
life and faith here on earth. It
indicates the invisible heavenly side of the church, its eternal nobility which
the church possesses already today while still living in this world and not yet
in the world to come. The believers are
not yet in heaven but they are already enrolled in heaven. By grace they have a right to heaven. Their name, although not yet their person, is already in heaven.
They have their home-country in heaven, their citizen rights are in
heaven, and their goal is heaven (Phil. 3: 20). They are registered in heaven. If it were meant to refer to any already
living as perfected ones in heaven itself, the expression that their names are
written in heaven would scarcely have been used. For this designation undoubtedly emphasizes
the contrast between the high calling of the group
of persons referred to here and their present lowly situation and the battle which they have yet to win on this earth.
In
the same way Paul says of fellow-labourers in the gospel that their names are in the book of life (Phil. 4: 3), thus
using this expression of contemporaries of his own life and time, and therefore
of members of the
True
believers belong in the reality of things to the ranks and regions which have
as their centre the throne of God and of the Lamb (Gal.
4: 26; Eph. 2: 18). Although they
are still [page 175] on
earth and dwell in the perishing tabernacle of this body, yet they are far less
distant from the face of God, from the enjoyment of the treasures of His house,
and from the fellowship of all those around Him, than the people of the Old
Covenant were, when they were allowed to approach the mountain on which the
glory of God appeared, but which they were forbidden to touch under penalty of
death. Their approaching remained a standing at a distance.
It
is, however, the wonderful privilege of the New Testament salvation that faith
gives us true access to and real, present entrance into Gods world. Thus we are far closer to the heavenly
In
connexion with this people of God living on earth, there are named also the spirits of just men made perfect (Heb. 12: 23). Thus the perfected ones
in heaven are linked together with the church on earth. Gods people above and Gods people
below are regarded as one unity. For Gods kingdom links up
heaven, paradise and earth, and past and present. Even death cannot dissolve and break the
unity of the
The
last two links in our great golden chain of Heb. 12
speak of grace and salvation: of Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, of the
blood of sprinkling which speaketh better than that of Abel. Thus the description of the heavenly
[1] the flaming, thundering
[2] the radiant
[3] the simple hill called
This,
however, is the wonderful way of salvation: The work of the Saviour
accomplished on the earthly hill Golgotha has brought all that believe into contact with the heavenly
Thus
the whole riches of heaven stand before our vision:
[1] the highest heavenly regions,
[2] the most glorious heavenly persons, [page 176]
[3] the inexhaustible heavenly springs and resources of grace
and salvation.
And
all this has been opened up to us by the blood of Jesus our Substitute and
Redeemer, His precious blood shed for our sakes on the cross of
We
are not intended to live only in heavens frontier
provinces, so to speak, in the outer districts, in the suburbs of the
heavenlies, but in the central royal castle of the Most High Himself, in His
eternal city, in the heavenly
How
could we attain all this if the blood of the Son of God had not flowed, the blood of sprinkling which speaketh better
than that of Abel, the blood by means of
which He has become the
Mediator of a new covenant? The blood of Abel cried for vengeance (Gen. 4: 10), the blood of Jesus for grace.
Heaven is open, my soul, oh knowest thou
why?
Because Jesus, thy Saviour, once bled and
did die.
The
well-known preacher of the gospel, Charles
Haddon Spurgeon, who for many decades preached Sunday by Sunday the message
of salvation to thousands of hearers in his vast Tabernacle in
Jesus
died for me.
This, indeed, will be truly the
confession of all real believers: [page 177] Jesus died for me. This will be
the main melody in all the hymns of
thanks of all the redeemed in the heavenly glory. Unto all the aeons of eternity the main theme
of all worship and praise on the heavenly Mount Zion will be the suffering and work of the Saviour
accomplished on the earthly Mount
Golgotha.
And I heard a voice of many angels round
about the throne and the living creatures and the elders: and the number of
them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying
with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and
glory, and blessing (Rev. 5: 11, 12).
But
all this is only one side of the truth
considered. To emphasize the present and
the coming, the spiritual and the eternal glories of Gods salvation is
actually not the main object of our
Scripture when considered in the whole context of the passage (Heb. 12: 18-22).
Although undoubtedly contained here and plainly expressed, it does not
stand in the foreground of the holy text.
Let us notice that this whole section of Scripture is introduced by the
small word for. For ye are not come (unto the
mount of the Old Testament) ..., but ye are come unto (the heavenly
mountain). The whole is thus not an
independent line of thought, complete in itself, but an argument of reasoning. As
such it is subject to other main thoughts, the correctness and impressiveness
of which it has to emphasize by this for, which introduces the
following words as an establishment of proofs.
This main line of thought is, in the near context of our passage, the command to practical holiness: Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down,
and the palsied knees. ... Pursue [follow after] peace with all men, and the sanctification
without which no man shall see the Lord. ... FOR ye are
not come unto the Old Testament Mount Sinai of the law, but to the New
Testament glorious Mountain of salvation.
This is the leading idea.
It
brings before our vision the main message of the final section of this
chapter. The reference to the glorious
standing of the redeemed in grace is used
to underline the seriousness of their personal responsibility. Just because we have become so rich in Christ and because the eternal prize is so glorious,
therefore practical, complete devotion is required of us. Just because a heavenly goal is offered by the Divine Umpire, the runner in the
arena of faith has to press
on.
2. The Holy
obligations of those Called to Heavenly Glory
Here too we can recognize three aspects.
1. Riches involve obligations. Noblesse
oblige. For
the very reason that we have received so much blessing from God, all the more
devotion and sanctification are expected of us.
In ordinary earthly life debts usually arise from poverty; in spiritual
life, however, our debts arise out of our riches! Paul declares in Romans: I am a debtor (Rom. 1: 14). He is speaking there of his personal missionary
commission; but the principle remains valid in general. Because we possess the message of
salvation, we are indebted to pass it on to others. Because we possess the fulness of blessing, we are indebted
to live in the power of spiritual victory. Because we have become kings we are
indebted to live up practically to our high royal
standing. Nobles must conduct themselves
nobly. He who intends to reach the goal must behave himself according to the
nature and character of this goal. Because we are appointed to heaven and
glory, we must live on earth worthily of our glorious heavenly calling (Eph. 4: 1).
The greater the riches, the more comprehensive the
obligations. The more bountiful the
gifts of grace, the more serious the responsibility of the receiver. To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required (Luke 12: 48).
To
emphasize this most serious demand the holy text shows us four impressive
reasons, comparing the Old Testament and New Testament spiritual situations.
Listen!
God speaks! Pay the more attention! For the New Testament STANDING IN
SALVATION is higher.
If
already the Old Testament saints had to be obedient, how much more we! If
in those ancient times they had to listen to the voice of Him that spoke to them,
how much more should we listen today! Therefore: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. Now in our
present time, in the New Testament dispensation of salvation, attention and
obedience are required to such an extent as never before in the whole history
of revelation. In this obedience of
faith the New Testament saints should excel all preceding generations of believers
in devotion and sanctification.
This
is the meaning of the comparing and contrasting of Mount Sinai to the heavenly
The
New Testament revelation takes the fact that we are under
grace in its full reality and weight. Grace is above us. Grace has become our ruler. Grace claims to govern royally
(Rom. 5: 21. Gk. basileuein, cf. basileus, king). We have to
be subject to grace, we have to obey her. Let us hearken to Jesus: He is our Lord!
But still more.
Listen!
God speaks! Pay the more attention! For the PLATFORM OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DIVINE
SPEAKER is higher.
Long
ago God spoke from the height of an earthly mount; but now He speaks from
heaven through Christ His Son, who has been exalted to the heavenly Divine
Throne. The designation in the text of
This
means at the same time a considerable increase of responsibility, compared to
that of the Old Testament hearers. For if they escaped not when they refused
him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from
him that warneth from heaven (Heb. 12: 25).
Undoubtedly
God is the speaker also here. The holy
text does not intend to point to a difference in the Divine persons who speak in the Old and New Testament
revelations, but rather to a difference in the Divine methods of revelation. The speaking of God
and the speaking of Christ are not to be fundamentally distinguished as
separated from or opposed to each other. God [page 180] speaks in
Christ through the Holy Spirit. Each
time Gods Word is being preached, Christ comes to us through the
Spirit of God (Eph. 2: 17).
We
must be prepared to hear the Divine voice as speaking from heaven. Though perhaps sitting in an earthly meeting-room,
chapel, or church building, and listening to the message delivered by Gods
servants, it is not the word of men which is being preached, nor mere Bible
expositions, spiritual meditations, or Biblical thoughts about Gods Word, but
the very Word of God itself. That is the high nobility and at the same
time the serious responsibility of every proclamation and preaching of the
gospel. If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God (1 Pet. 4: 11). We thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the
word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of
man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that
believe (1 Thess. 2: 13).
As the Lord liveth,
what my God saith, that will I speak (2 Chron. 18: 13). Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear
all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord (Acts 10: 33).
If,
however, our oral proclamation of the Word has to be not merely a speaking about God's word, but word of God itself, it must contain the following spiritual characteristics:
[1] the truth of the message of God,
[2] the love of the heart of God,
[3] the tact of the wisdom of God,
[4] the leading of the Spirit of God,
[5] the power of the authority of God, and above all and in all:
[6] the presence of the Person of God in Christ through the Holy
Spirit.
In
the Kings word is power. In His
word alone! Not in the words of His
servants, however experienced and sanctified they may be. What we
need in increased measure is the holy consciousness that, as Gods witnesses,
we are at the same time Gods mouth. What
the world needs is not learned lectures, elegant speeches, homiletically well
thought out, even though these may be valuable in due time and place, but a
powerful, living witness which goes from heart to heart, kindled by the life of
God and guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Give the people
bread; for they do not wish straw, nor do they eat flowers (Prof. Warneck).
Only thus our oral preaching and
witnessing, private as well as public, will prove to be that [page
181] which it ought to be. Then opening of doors in countries and among
nations, the conversion of sinners, and the sanctification of believers will be
more and more a living proof, renewed daily, of the truth and reliability of
the Divine promise: For as the
rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and
giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so
shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it (Isa. 55: 10, 11). And how manifold and all-inclusive is the
speaking of the great God! He speaks
through
[1] the symbolic language of nature (Rom.
1: 19, 20; Psa. 19: 1-3);
[2] the historical language of experience, both in national and
individual life;
[3] the inward language of mans conscience (Psa. 32: 3, 4;
Rom. 2: 14, 15);
[4] the personal language of His witnesses (2 Cor. 5: 20);
[5] the book language of the written Word, the Bible (2 Tim. 3: 16);
[6] the direct language in Christ the living Word (Heb. 1: 1; Eph. 2: 17);
and one day He will speak to men through
[7] the legal language of the judgment to come
(Psa. 2: 5).
Furthermore:
The writer of Hebrews continues to
prove the higher New Testament responsibility by comparing a third aspect of
the Old Testament word with the New Testament.
Lisien!
God speaks! Pay the more attention! For the SPHERE OF ACTION of the New
Testament Divine Word is more comprehensive, indeed, is universal.
In
both cases certain effects upon nature
and creation in general are connected with Gods Word. In this the effects upon nature wrought by the
Old Testament word of Mount Sinai were restricted to the earth - to fire and storm,
darkness and thick blackness, earthquake and the voice of trumpets. But the effects upon nature to be brought
about one day by the New Testament word of God, will extend into the heavens: Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also
the heaven (Heb.
12: 26).
And
finally:
Listen!
God speaks! Pay the more attention! For the EFFICACY of the New Testament Divine Word is mightier.
[Page 182] At Sinai the earth was only shaken
(v. 26), but in the end-times heaven and
earth will be changed, removed
by Gods Word (Heb. 12: 27). Changing or removing,
however, is something more fundamental than only shaking.
With
these four chief arguments the holy text has given an overwhelming
demonstration of the greater responsibility of the New Testament hearers in
contrast to the receivers of the Old Testament revelation.
These
four points of view are
[1] spiritually: the New Testament standing of salvation is
nobler; Christologically:
[2] the platform of the New Testament Divine Speaker is
higher; cosmologically:
[3] the sphere of action of the New Testament Divine word is
more comprehensive
(heaven, not only earth); eschatologically:
[4] the efficacy of the New Testament Divine word is mightier
(changing and perfecting of
the world, not only shaking).
Therefore
once more:
Listen!
God speaks!
Men
who are called to such heavenly destinies, who are to receive an eternal
kingdom that cannot be shaken, who are addressed, through the Word and the Holy
Spirit, by such an exalted Majesty as God Himself, whose voice comes from His
own Throne of Glory, and thus from the Central Source of the universe, from the
Holiest of Holies of Heaven and Eternity, such men must be heavenly-minded!
According to Gods will they have to be
watching and waiting; with the pilgrims staff in their hands, their lamps
trimmed and shining, ready to go out to meet the Bridegroom (Luke 12: 35); men and women who regard the
last things as the first and who
wait for the returning Lord, who always live in the eleventh hour of the day (Soren Kierkegaard). No doubt they will perform their earthly
duties conscientiously and with care, and yet their real goal is heaven. On earth they are examples of correctness,
faithfulness, reliability; but joyfully
they look forward to the revelation of the
Therefore:
Gird up the loins of your
mind, be sober, and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought
unto you [page
183] at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1: 13). Our attitude of mind should be that of a man
who has girded up his loose, wide, outer garment with his belt, so as to be
better able to stride forward unhindered. That means that our attitude of mind should be purposeful. In holy concentration we should aim at the one
thing necessary - eternity. Our attitude
should be steadfast, not wavering, light-hearted, distracted. We must press forward in Spirit-wrought energy of will, just as Paul, the great servant of
Christ, declares of his own striving and pressing on: Forgetting the things which are behind and
stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let
us therefore, as many as be perfect [full-grown], be thus minded (Phil. 3: 13-15).
In
all this, however, it is not simply left to our own choice whether or not we
are inclined to press on in the arena of faith, to obey or disobey the Lord. No, great
and weighty consequences are bound up with our decision. We are placed before an unavoidable
alternative - whether we will rise up
towards heaven, or sink down, whether we will win or lose, become established
or be shaken. This is the
fundamental law of all spiritual life. It
flourishes only when in practical contact with its Divine source. In ourselves there is no guarantee of anything. The guarantee for our being kept and perfected
lies in Christ alone. Therefore
everything is dependent upon our constant life-fellowship with Him, every step
forward and every victory, all progress in spiritual growth.
2. Riches
present no mechanical guarantees.
You may have begun in spiritual blessing and may now live in misery and poverty.
You may have had sunny times of joy in
Christ, and of victory, and yet now be
lying down in defeat and dark depression.
Just
this is the historical background of our passage in Hebrews. Only for this reason was the whole Hebrews
letter written. Therefore take this
message earnestly to heart and conscience: Riches present no undisputed
guarantees! In spite of most blessed beginnings we may get into spiritual decline
and impoverishment. In the past you
may have borne witness to Christ with courage and joy: today perhaps you are standing back in cowardice. Formerly you may have loved your brethren and
sisters; today you may have contention
and strife with them. In days gone
by you may have read and received Gods word into your heart carefully: today it is a closed book to you. [Page 184] Hitherto you
may have been an ornament of the gospel, adorning,
as Paul says, the doctrine of God our Saviour (Titus
2: 10): today you are perhaps a
stumbling-block for others, and your walk in life may profane
the name of the Lord among men (cf. Ezek. 36: 22).
Indeed, you may have left your first love
(Rev. 2: 4).
But
keep in mind: Blessed experiences of the
past are no guarantees for equal fulness of blessings in the present and
future. A Christ of only yesterday does not help you, but the living Christ
of today always does. Our
vision must not be directed only backwards - however fundamental our former
experiences may be - but upwards and forwards. It is not the beginning
but the end that crowns the Christians pilgrimage.
Thus,
while fully enjoying the abundance of His grace, live in holy earnestness. These
two things always belong together: certainty
of salvation and the fear of God,
joy and seriousness.
A Joy without earnestness would become
superficiality; earnestness without joy might develop into pessimism. Certainty of salvation without the fear of
God becomes Pharisaism; fear of God without certainty
of salvation tends to legalism and slavish anxiety. In reality, however, each of these
characteristics is only present, in its God-intended spiritual sense, when the
other is also present. Either we bear
both in our hearts or none. And the
measure of the one determines the measure of the other.
It is an alarming fact that in many
Christian circles, whatever their name, holy reverence among believers is to a
large extent lacking. General chattering about everyday matters proceeds
and follows many services. Not seldom spiritual hymns are sung thoughtlessly and
mechanically without real attention to their contents. Sometimes, while singing, one is not even conscious
that the hymn is a prayer to God. And
sometimes there is a danger that even the ministry of the Word is presented in
an irreverent way, as a self-pleasing talk about
Gods word, instead of being a holy proclamation of Gods Word itself,
delivered with the consciousness of responsibility, and Spirit-wrought,
earnest, prayerful, in the authority of the Holy Ghost.
And
how often, at the end of the service there come the fowls of the air, in the form of superficial conversations,
talks about business or politics, discussions about family matters and everyday
life, and these steal away the seed which had been sown in the hearts? (Matt. 13: 4, 19).
[Page 185] How can this
be helped? What can be the remedy?
Only
a renewed listening to God, a fresh recognition of the authority of His
commands, a restored conscious devotion and dedication of our hearts and lives
to Him.
Let
us look unto Jesus!
Let us hearken to His word.
Thus
shall we receive at the same time new commissions from the Lord.
New life and activity will enter our
life. We shall learn to regard the
riches of salvation which we have received from the Lord as a heavenly capital
which has been deposited in our life and with which we have to trade for Him.
3.
Riches must be realized.
Therefore receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence
and awe (godly fear) (Heb. 12: 28). This therefore emphasizes the
practical consequence.
The
Greek word for grace (Gk. charis) means in addition thanks.
There are passages in which both
translations of the word fit. Thus in this Scripture also.
The
fundamental root meaning of the word is something
which gives joy. The root of charis is related to the Greek chara, joy (cf. chairein, to rejoice), and since for the Greek scarcely anything brought
greater joy than beauty, the word received the meaning graciousness, loveliness, e.g., Luke 4: 22; Eph. 4: 29. From this its root meaning its application was
extended to designating the attitude of a man who causes joy, that is benevolence, favourable inclination, especially in
the case of persons in high positions, i.e., high officials, mostly kings. And as the oriental ruler had an unrestricted
power and sovereignty, such an expression of his favour, which proceeded from
his own free will alone, was at the same time an unearned gift, that is grace.
an undeserved present which brought with it fulness, glory, joy, and exaltation
for the receiver. Since, however, the
normal reaction to such unmerited liberality of the giver is the thankfulness
of the receiver, the word favourableness
received also the meaning of gratitude. Thus on the one side it expresses the
favourable inclination of the giver to the receiver, and on the other side the
confession of the favourable inclination of the receiver to the giver.
This
usage of the word is deeply significant. Therefore in the New Testament the word for grace
is the same as for thanks. To thank means: to
look up from the gift to the giver, to [page 186] rejoice
in his goodness, and to devote oneself to him with the sentiments of ones heart
and with the deeds of ones life.
In
this sense both meanings are
true:
Since
we have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken, we desire to prove ourselves
thankful
and to serve Him in sincerity and reverence who has given us His gifts
and who is still blessing us so abundantly. Therefore, Let us have thankfulness
(R.V. footnote), And:
Since
we have received such a kingdom, we long to live wholly for Him and to glorify
His name, but we know that we can do this only in His own strength, in the
power which His grace bestows upon
us. Therefore: Let us have grace! (A. and R.V.)
Thus joyful sanctification results. All is
sunshine. Grace is radiant above us, and gratitude is like an atmosphere
of light in us. Grace descends from above; gratefulness
ascends from below. He who really has
understood grace, cannot he but grateful. He who is grateful receives grace ever anew.
Thus sanctification and joy go together. Lack of sanctification clouds real joy; true
Spirit-filled joy, however, lends wings to sanctification.
Ungrateful Christians receive no new
blessings. Although the Lord is a generous and willing
giver, the measure of our actually being blessed is dependent upon our
practical gratefulness and devotion.
How
foolish therefore to lament and groan instead of rejoicing in Gods goodness. By
worrying we are robbing ourselves. Unthankfulness leads to spiritual poverty. But our whole life should be a constant
practical thank-offering full of joy.
And
how impressive is the whole context in which the Spirit of God has placed this,
His exhortation. He begins the description
of the riches of the New Testament by pointing to heaven and glory, and He
finishes it by referring to judgment: for our God is a consuming fire!
Gods grace at the beginning, Gods flaming
zeal at the end, and in the middle the exhortation: Listen! God speaks! The words heavenly
All
this is written by a co-worker of the apostle Paul (cf. Heb. 13: 23), that is, of the apostle of free grace (1). It is written to Jewish Christian believers in
the dispensation of the church. In the
church, however, there is no difference in principle between [page 187] the believers
from
Therefore
let us not blunt the edge of this
warning! Let us accept the Divine
word in its full weight! We do not
believe that our Scripture teaches the possibility of a believer being
eternally lost in case of his personal, practical failure. But on the other
hand, we as believers have to face most serious consequences if we are
unfaithful and disobedient.
Therefore
away with all fleshly religious self-security! The truth of the eternal salvation of the
regenerate must never be made a soft pillow for superficiality and self-sufficiency.
It is true that those who believe in
Christ have passed from death to life; but as to the standard and measure of their glorification the
following principle and exhortation is valid: Give diligence to make your
calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1: 10).
Follow
after the sanctification, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12: 14).
Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (1 Cor.
10: 12). What we need is a permanent
attitude of faith, a continual, practical Yes
to the Lord, which at the same time means an actual No
to sin, a living, practical fellowship with Christ as the Crucified and Risen
One. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ
Jesus (Rom.
6: 11).
There
is full salvation in Christ. In Him is
life and victory. His word is not only
commandment but is at the same time a creative source of strength. It is order and gift, precept and promise,
commission and equipment.
To
preach Him, this Redeemer, to mankind is our task under the New Covenant. He Himself is the essential contents of Gods
Word (2 Cor. 4: 5).
He is the Victor, the Truth in Person, the Salvation of the world. He lightens up the souls of those who are
perishing in darkness. He stills their
longings, quickens their hearts, frees them from sins, makes
them holy and pure. Through Him they
have recovered the lost
Hear ye
Him! (Matt.
17: 5).
LET US LOOK UNTO JESUS!