One Body in Christ – Romans 12:5

“…We, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” Romans 12:5

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” Colossians 1:18

Having considered in chapter 9 to 11 of Romans just who the people of God are, those whom God has elected unto salvation, that chosen people called out from among both the Jews and Gentiles, a people of faith, Paul, in chapter 12, then commences to direct that people in their walk of faith.

 

It is important to note throughout the following chapters the overriding emphasis upon faith in the walk of the believer. Paul does not so much concentrate upon the outward conduct as upon that which governs it – faith. Whatever the exhortation – faith is what fulfils, and love is its outworking, and both are the work of God, being the fruit of the Spirit within. Throughout these chapters the emphasis continues to be not upon man and his works, but upon God and His works, and upon His people’s absolute reliance upon God and His work of grace in them as they walk in this world looking unto Him by faith. Constantly the gaze is lifted up above earthly things unto heavenly things, from that which is of the flesh, to that which is of the Spirit, from that which is but carnal, to that which is spiritual. Constantly man is abased, and Christ is exalted. Man is laid low, and Christ is raised up high. God will either do all for His people, or He will do nothing. It is God who saves, God who leads, God who keeps, and God who preserves. Hence Paul reminds his hearers towards the end of chapter 12 to “avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord”. God justified His people at the cross through the sacrifice of His own Son – so will He not avenge them? He will indeed!

 

 

Yes, the walk of the child of God is a walk of faith, for God will do everything for the salvation of His people. Everything!

 

 

So, in chapter 12 Paul leads our thoughts from that which is natural to that which is spiritual, beginning with the natural body and its reasonable service unto the Lord, and then directing the attention towards the spiritual Body which God’s people are in Christ. Having instructed the people of God not to be conformed to this world but transformed through the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2), in verses 4 and 5 Paul then speaks of that One Body which God’s people are in Christ. Here the gaze of faith is lifted up from that which is natural to that which is spiritual – the Body of Christ.

 

 

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” Romans 12:4-5

In Colossians 1:18 Paul refers to Christ as “the head of the body, the church”. Here Paul touches upon a great mystery, the Body of Christ, His Church, in whom Christ dwells. I have not the space to open up this glorious theme fully here, an exposition of the epistle to the Ephesians probably being more suited to that end, but we may nevertheless rightly ask the question, just what is the Body of Christ, the Church, as spoken of here? 

 

 

Indeed, in these days of many ‘religions’, many ‘churches’, many beliefs and ideals, the question may well be asked, and rightly asked, which of these is the true church… indeed just what is the Church?

 

 

A worshipping people…

 

 

Well, let us consider a few aspects about the church as revealed in God’s word, the Bible. Firstly, as is evident from the passage in Romans 12 concerning the Body of Christ, the Church of God is not a building. It may meet in buildings, but it is not a physical building. The English word ‘church’ is used to translate the Greek word ekklesia as used in the Bible, and ekklesia essentially means a called out congregation or assembly of people. God’s church, His ekklesia, is not a building, but His people, called out from the world to worship Him, and not only is this people called out but but it is called into the fellowship of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s church, Christ’s church, the Body of Christ, is a worshipping people, a people who worship “in spirit and in truth” John 4:23. Described as the ekklesia, the assembly of God, such a people may gather and worship God in many congregations throughout the world, but in God’s eyes, they are One people, One body, One assembly, united by their common love for God and worship of Him. This was typified by the nation of Israel in the Old Testament scriptures who were themselves a people chosen of God to worship Him, as a picture and foreshadowing of that spiritual Israel, the church of God in Christ.

 

 

Not only is the Church of God, the ekklesia of Christ, a called out assembly of people who worship God, but it is God’s church, it is His people. God’s church is that people whom God the Father chose in Christ from before the foundation of the world unto salvation “…according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace” (See Ephesians 1:3-6), whom Jesus Christ, the Son of God, loved and gave Himself for (Ephesians 5:25) in laying down His life in the place of His people that He might suffer the judgment of God against their sins, that they might have “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). Such people, those who are sinners by nature, at enmity with God their Maker, far off from God (Ephesians 2:17), described in the Bible as being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) are, in the will of God, in His time, brought to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Christ, regarding how the Son of God entered this world by being made flesh and taking human nature into perfect union with His Divine Person in order that He might live as a man amongst sinners and suffer and die in the place of His people in order to take their sins and the judgment of God against them away, that God might be just in forgiving them of their sins, washing them clean, declaring them just and righteous before Him and giving them eternal life in Christ that they might live and worship Him for ever. Through the preaching of this Gospel, God the Holy Spirit causes this people to be born again by His almighty power, delivered from the darkness and death of their sin, into the light and life of the Gospel of Christ. It is this people whom God calls His Church. This is the ekklesia of Christ whom He purchased at great price – with His own blood, through His death upon the cross in the place of His people.

 

 

God’s people…

The church of God, then, is that people whom God has saved through the Person and Work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who are born again of the Spirit, hearing and believing the truth of Christ as declared in His Gospel, and who are gathered as assemblies in various localities to worship God, in spirit and in truth. God’s word, the Bible, tells us a number of other things about the church. Not only is the church referred to as Christ’s, whom He loves, but He also declares in Matthew 16:18 that “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Christ builds His church. He died for all those whom God the Father gave to Him as His people, and by the preaching of His Gospel, by the mouths of those men whom He sends to preach it, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ calls that people out from the darkness of this world to believe on Him and to gather with His people, in the church. This is a work of God’s grace to bring His people to believe on Him, by His will, not theirs, as John 6:29 tells us “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him [Jesus Christ] whom he hath sent”. Likewise Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved;)”. And if by grace, then of ‘Sovereign Grace’, grace which reigns (Romans 5:21), for the grace of God, His undeserved, unmerited mercy towards sinners, is freely given by His will, being Lord of all – by Christ, the King of kings. And not only is the church said to be Christ’s, and that He builds it, but He is also described as being the Head of the Church. “And [God] hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” Ephesians 1:22-23. Here we read of how Christ fills all in all. He dwells in His people, and in His church. For the church is not only a people gathered to worship God, but it is described in the scriptures as God’s dwelling place, as His habitation – indeed as the very Body of Christ in which He dwells. We have stated that the church is not a physical building, but the people of God, and the Bible teaches us that it is in this people that God makes His habitation, Christ by His Spirit dwelling in their hearts by faith. Acts 17:24 tells us that God “dwelleth not in temples made with hands”, for God’s people are described as His habitation “In whom [Christ] all the building [of God’s people] fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:21-22.

So, we see that the church of God, is that people called out by God to worship Him, for whom Christ died, having set His love upon them. The Church is Christ’s, He is the Head of it, He dwells within it, He reigns within it, and He builds it. And He does so through the preaching of His Gospel, which the Bible describes as “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” Romans 1:16. It is by the preaching of the Gospel that Christ builds His church, adds to it, increases it and strengthens it. Described in 1 Timothy 3:15 as “the pillar and ground of the truth” the church is also described as the “household of God” and is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone”, and that foundation, that teaching of God regarding Christ as declared by the apostles and the prophets of old is set forth and proclaimed in the preaching of Christ in His Gospel. Hence the preaching of the Gospel from the word of God is not only that by which God’s people are saved, but is that by which the church is built and sustained, and it forms the centre of all worship of God in His church, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” …. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:13-15, 17

…Who worship in spirit and in truth

Having asked what is the church of God, we may also wonder just how that church worships God when it gathers together?

 

 

Unlike much that is done in the name of ‘worship’ in many religious gatherings today, which are either full of pomp or ceremony, of outward form or ritual, or just frothy sentimentalism or entertainment, the church of God as described in the scriptures, and the way in which it worships, is actually very simple and without much ceremony. What is at the heart of true worship is the centrality of Christ in the meetings. The church is One Body in Christ. Quite simply, Christ is all.

At one time, in the days of His flesh, Christ walked upon this earth bodily. Now, having died, risen again and ascended, He sits in glory on the right hand of God the Father, yet even now, though not here physically, Christ still indwells His people collectively as One Body upon the earth, of which He is the Head – especially when they are gathered together “with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). Oh, what a glorious mystery this is! Here, more than anywhere, Christ meets His people in a particular way, by His Spirit, as they meet as His Body. Christ says in Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” and how true this is, especially in the experience of God’s people when they gather to worship Him who saved them. 

True worship is to love and adore Christ, the Head of the Church, in whom God has revealed Himself to man. This is an act of faith, which works by love (Galatians 5:6), which springs from the new heart of the believer. We cannot worship Him whom we do not know, as we have seen in Romans 10, and the true knowledge of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, resulting in belief in Him and worship of Him, is made known by the preaching of Christ in His Gospel. Hence the centre-point of all true worship, is the preaching of Christ, the preaching of the truth as it is in Jesus, in His Gospel. This results in worship from the hearts of God’s people who hear. Whilst their worship may also be expressed in singing, prayer and praise, all these things have no meaning unless we know of whom we sing, or to whom we come in prayer. True worship is not about ceremony, forms, rituals or entertainment, but is centered on God in Christ, as preached in His Gospel. True worship is not an outward thing, but an inward, spiritual exercise, emanating from the heart, by faith, through love, towards God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Such an inward exercise maintains the unity of the church together as One Body in Christ, who dwells in each member individually, but also in all particularly as One Body united in Him, centered upon Him by faith as the Head of the Body, who is its very life and strength.

 

 

In order to ensure this centrality of the preaching of the Gospel in the meetings of God’s people, in order to give it free course, to remove hindrances to its being preached, and to keep God’s people’s gaze clearly set upon Christ and His work, God has given several simple guidelines in the Bible for how He should be worshipped (for example in 1 Corinthians or 1 Timothy), and has given several ‘ordinances’ to be kept in the church as vivid pictures of Christ and His work. These ordinances include the ordinance of Baptism by which those who are brought to faith in Christ declare that faith publicly to others by confessing Christ’s Name in baptism, in which they are immersed in water as a picture of being buried with Christ in His death and having risen again with Him in His resurrection, having had their sins washed away by His blood (See Romans 6). We can read of this practice in Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized”. Having been baptized these early Christians met for worship as described in verse 42: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine  and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Notice the primary place given here to the Apostle’s doctrine – ie. the preaching of Christ in His Gospel.

 

 

Not only does the church remember the ordinance of baptism, but it also remembers the Lord Jesus’ death in the ordinance of the ‘Lord’s Supper’. The Apostle Paul describes this in his first epistle to the church at Corinth in which he sets down a number of guidelines for how God should be approached in worship. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 he reminds them of the importance and meaning of the Lord’s Supper: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” Here we see what a powerful picture the simple act of remembrance depicted in the Lord’s Supper, of breaking bread and drinking wine, is, of the Lord Jesus’ death for sinners, in which His body was broken and His blood was shed that He might redeem them from their sins. As often as the church gathers to “eat this bread” and “drink this cup” they show forth “the Lord’s death till he come”. What a simple act this is, but what a wonderful reminder of Christ and His work to save sinners!

 

 

In the same chapter in 1 Corinthians we also read of another simple ordinance which God has given to His church to set forth a vital truth in a simple, yet clear and vivid manner – that truth being the Headship of Christ over His church. In chapter 11 verses 3-5 God the Holy Spirit states “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.” Christ is the Head of His church, that church often being depicted in the Bible as His bride. For this reason, and to set forth this truth clearly, here we are reminded of God’s order, of the Headship of Christ over His church, of how Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of the woman, this relationship between the man and the woman being a reflection of Christ’s relationship to His bride, the church. And in order to set forth this picture of Christ’s Headship in the church, as pictured by God’s order in male and female, God has provided this further simple ordinance for His church, for men to worship with their heads uncovered and for women to worship with their heads covered. What a tremendous truth this sets forth, and in such a simple manner! It is for this reason that when Christians gather to worship in the church, the women should wear a head covering (hat or scarve *) and likewise, the men should not. For by simple obedience in so doing the gathered church plainly declares both its willing submission to Christ’s Headship over His bride (His people) and His authority in the midst, and also the fact that as that bride, the church approaches unto God as having its nakedness and sin covered by Christ’s blood.

 

 

By such simple ordinances in God’s church, great truths are set forth. Should any ask why we baptise, we may declare plainly the death and resurrection of believers in Christ. Should any ponder the meaning of the bread and wine, the death of our Lord is clearly set forth by them as depicting His body broken and His blood shed. And should any wonder why women cover their heads, and men don’t, the glorious truth of Christ’s Headship over His church and His authority and centrality within it can be clearly proclaimed. God hasn’t given many requirements for outward form in His church, but what He has in His wisdom set forth such glorious and central truths relating to Christ and His work for, and in, His ekklesia – those same truths which we see declared in word and doctrine in the preaching of Christ in His Gospel. It is this preaching of the truth which these simple ordinances help to maintain as the centre of all true worship. For since God the Father seeks a people who worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23), for that worship to be in truth the truth must be proclaimed. It is by the preaching of the truth in Christ in His Gospel, by the power of the Spirit, that Christ builds and gathers His church, as one company, one assembly of His people, His elect, who hearing of Christ in the Gospel are given faith by God the Holy Spirit to worship Him, who loved them and gave Himself for them (Galatians 2:21). What a Saviour the Gospel sets forth, who loving His own gave Himself through death to save them, for “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.

The church of the living God

So to come back to our original question, just what is the church, the Body of Christ? It is that people called out of this world by God to worship Him, the living God, as revealed in Christ and in His Gospel. The true church is not that which man builds, but that which is built by Christ, by the preaching of His word, that over which He is the Head, that which was given to Him as His bride by His Father from before the foundation of this world, that for which He suffered and bled in death in order to perfect and purify as His own and that in which He dwells by His Spirit as the very life of the Body. The ‘church of the living God’ is that company who worship the living God in ’spirit and in truth‘, having the truth of God in Christ proclaimed in the midst through the preaching of the Gospel, as being the ‘pillar and ground of the truth’. This is the church of God, and anything short of it, or contrary to it, is but a counterfeit.

 

 

But praise God that He continues to build His church through the preaching of His Gospel, even in this our day. Praise God that that church, the Body of Christ, still gathers as many members of one Body, who serve one another in love, as Christ first loved them, in order to serve, worship and adore the great Head of that Body, its Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

May God be pleased to send forth the Gospel, which proclaims the message of this Saviour and His grace towards sinners, in power today that many may be saved and that His Name might be glorified in the midst of His people!

 

 

“And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people” Leviticus 26:12

Amen.

 

 

[* Whilst some today consent to the teaching regarding Christ’s Headship over His church as set forth in 1 Corinthians 11, and recognise God’s order in the distinctions made between male and female, and also recognise that such ordinances have nothing to do with legalism, but everything to do with faithful obedience to God’s word and a loving desire to willingly submit to Christ’s authority and Headship in His church, and to demonstrate that…  they nevertheless explain away Paul’s intent in this passage regarding headcoverings by claiming that the woman’s hair itself is the only covering necessary in worship (see verse 15). However it is not Paul’s intent in his illustration from nature in verses 14 and 15 to argue that the woman’s long hair is the same covering described in verses 5-7 (indeed a different Greek word is translated as ‘cover’ in verse 15 from that word translated similarly in verse 5 which more literally would be translated ‘veiled’), but it is instead to demonstrate from this natural comparison of male and female (in which a woman has a natural covering of longer hair than men in order to show God’s order in the natural realm) that the covering of a woman’s head in approaching unto God in public worship, with an additional cover over the hair, is both right and proper for “does not even nature itself teach you…?”. Indeed if the hair alone were the cover of which Paul speaks in verse 5, then not only would it make a nonsense of the statement made in verse 5 itself (since not being covered would actually then mean being shaven, if the cover is the hair, hence the statement “for that is even all one as if she were shaven” would become irrelevant), but it would also require that men approach unto God bald, for it is not the length of covering which is stressed in verse 5 but the respective presence of a covering or not, so if hair be the covering, men should not have a covering, and hence they should be shaved! … Now, it is not my desire to labour such points, but faithful exegesis of the passage can really lead one to no other conclusion but that Christ’s Headship in His church is to be demonstrated visibly in its public assembly by the men having uncovered heads and the women wearing headcoverings – a practice which has been the accepted ‘norm’ within Christianity for hundreds of years, and has only really begun to be set aside with the rise of the feminist movement since the 1960s. John Gill, for example, in his comments on 1 Corinthians 11 presents such sound exegesis and is well worth reading. This all said however, it cannot be stressed enough that outward forms in worship, in and of themselves are of nothing worth, if the thing pictured by the form is not understood. Sadly, there are many who can be very strict about adherence to such practices as headcoverings who think little of what the form pictures and who in their hearts are not subject to the Headship of Christ in His church, just as many others argue and divide over the correct application or mode of baptism. But that such things can be abused or adopted in a legal manner does not mean that they should in any way be set aside, but rather that they should be practised in the right spirit and attitude, looking past the forms to the glorious truths set forth by them, with God-given faith. May God keep us from a legal spirit and grant gracious hearts to worship Him in the ekklesia in spirit and in truth.] 

 

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Faith Which Works by Love – Romans 13:8

“He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” Romans 13:8

In chapter 13 of Romans Paul exhorts God’s people to walk before others as those who walk by faith, as those who love one another for faith “worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). He exhorts them to submit to those who have the rule over them, knowing that it of God who raises up leaders and God who removes them. Likewise he directs his hearers to own no man anything, to give honour to whom honour is due and do no ill to neighbours, for in so doing the law is fulfilled for “love is the fulfilling of the law”. Here Paul is not directing God’s people back to the law to be ruled by it, but rather to walk by faith, which works by love, and in so doing the law is fulfilled.

 

Paul’s exhortation is to turn from darkness to walk “as in the day”, having put on “the armour of light”, making no provision for the flesh, but walking by faith, as led by the Spirit, by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, for “the just shall live by faith”.

 

Such exhortations to walk by faith, which works by love, can be found throughout the New Testament wherever the new life of faith is presented. For example in John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Let us consider this ‘new commandment’ which is presented to us in the Gospel and how it relates to the life of faith.

 

At the commencement of the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus Christ is introduced as the Word of God, He who is life, who is the light of men, which shineth in darkness “and the darkness comprehended it not”. He was sent unto His own, the Jews, but His own received him not.

 

 

Despite all the religion which the Jews had – the priesthood, the law, the tabernacle, the promises – they are still depicted in John chapter one as being in darkness when Christ came into the world, and they received not Him who is the light of men. That’s where their enlightenment in religion and in the law of Moses brought them – into darkness.

 

But Christ is light. The Gospel of John sets forth Christ as light. It is a book about light and about life – eternal life.

 

Christ is described as being full of grace and truth. This is contrasted with the law and Moses in John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”. Clearly there is light in Christ which wasn’t revealed in the law. Though there was a glory to the law, it was veiled compared to the light in Christ; compared to the glory which excelleth, which is revealed in the Gospel, the law is but a shadow – like a candle held up to the light of the sun it is but darkness.

 

This point is picked up on in John 14 verse 6 which reads, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me”. Again we see here that Christ is “the life”. He is the Word of God and His words are life as we read in John 6:63:

 

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

We can see from this that there is something different about Christ’s words, His commandments. They are life and they are life-giving commandments. They are attended with power. Why? Because of who Christ is – The Son of the Living God.

 

In John chapter 14 Christ demonstrates how He is the revelation of the Father, that He and His Father are one. That he who believes on Christ believes on the Father, and he who rejects Him rejects the Father. The Father is glorified in the Son, 14:13.

In verses 16-19 Christ talks of sending the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, as He Himself is about to depart from the disciples. It is the Spirit who leads God’s people into truth. So we have here a chapter in which the great truth of One God in Three Persons is set forth.

It is in this context that we read the following:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments… He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” John 14:15,21.

In verse 23 we go on to read “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”, whereas in verse 24 “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.”

The key to understanding what these commandments, these sayings, are, and what ‘keeping’ them means is picked up in verse 26, where the Comforter’s role is developed:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

This is the keeping of Christ’s commandments, His sayings. It is to ‘keep’ them in remembrance, to be taught them, to believe them, and consequently to walk in obedience to them. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to teach us these things, to bring them to our remembrance.

The only people who will ‘keep’ Christ’s words, sayings, commandments, are those who have the Spirit sent unto them, who receive from Him faith. But not all men do – see verse 17. The Jews who rested in the law and rejected Christ didn’t know the Spirit, or His leading into truth, and they didn’t believe Christ’s words, or receive them, let alone ‘keep’ them.

The end of all these commandments, these words, is that we love God; we love Christ; we dwell in Him. We have eternal life because Christ is our life. The union of Father, Son and Holy Ghost is set forth in John 14, and our union with God, as those who ‘keep’ (believe, remember, treasure up) Christ’s commandments, words, sayings, is shown forth in the love we have for God and our brethren.

All of these ideas of union, of abiding in Christ, in His love, in His life, in His light, keeping, loving His words, as the words of grace and truth, are developed in chapter 15 where we read of the true vine and the branches. Our life as believers is inextricably linked with Christ’s. We are branches on His vine. We abide in Him and His love, and thus we love His words, His sayings, His commandments – we ‘keep’ them. As it says:-

 

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” John 15:9-10.

So, if we ‘keep’ Christ’s words of grace and truth in our minds and hearts, if we abide in Him, then we shall abide in Christ’s love. There is no other way to remain in His love. And out of love we willingly do all that Christ asks us to. We love His word, we treasure it and we believe it by faith. We walk in faith and faith produces works, “works of faith”. It is all a matter of abiding, of walking in the light, which only those chosen of God, born of the Spirit can do – for they have eternal life.

This is the message of John, that light has shone in the darkness. That Christ is that light, that He has revealed the Father, that to love God we must be in that light, we must partake of that life, we must abide in Christ’s love, we must walk in the Spirit, and believe in Christ by faith. And it is the work of God that we do just that – not of the will of man, but of God.

 

It is these truths, these sayings, which God’s people believe. That Christ is the light of men. That He is eternal life. That we can only know the Father through the Son. That those who abide in Christ will love the Father. That Jesus has the words of eternal life. These sayings, are at the heart, they are the essence, of the commandments mentioned in the Gospel of John and in the First Epistle of John.

 

The First Epistle of John commences in a similar way to John’s Gospel. Christ is set forth as the “Word of life”, the “eternal life” which is manifested and the message which John declares in verse 5 is “that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”. This sets the tone of John’s epistle just as it did in his Gospel. The believer is pictured as one who walks in the light, who abides in Christ, who has the love of God in him and keeps His commandments.

 

These commandments are mentioned in 1 John 5:3:-

 

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”

Well, what commandments are these? The law? No, for we are dead to the law by the body of Christ (Romans 7). And these commandments are not grievous whereas the commandments of the law were – they were a burden our fathers could not bear. This easy ‘yoke’ of Christ’s commandments is mentioned in Matthew 11:

“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:27-30

Who are those who are burdened, who are heavy laden? Why, those who were under the law who found it to be hard labour striving to keep all its demands, who found that the sin within them only multiplied under the law and condemned them so that the good that they would they could not do (Romans 7). But Christ calls them to take his yoke which is easy. This is the yoke of His commandments, which unlike the burdensome law, are easy to bear, they are not ‘grievous’ as 1 John 5:3 tells us.

 

What commandments are these? Well they are mentioned throughout John’s first epistle, but chapter 3:23-24 summarises them as follows:

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us”1 John 3:23-24.

The commandments are summarised as to believe on the name of God’s Son Jesus Christ, and to love one another. How can we do that? Only by the work of the Spirit. No one without the work of the Spirit in granting the gift of faith can believe. And no one can love God or their brethren except the Spirit worketh that fruit, that love, within them. But if the Spirit does work, then we willingly believe on Christ, we love Him and our brethren. We dwell in God and He in us. He abides with us by the Spirit. We walk in the light and not in the darkness. We have eternal life. We believe these things.

All of this is just the same as that taught in John chapters 14 and 15. The connection between abiding in Christ, and being led into truth by the Spirit, and keeping the commandments of believing in Christ, loving Him and the brethren is so strong in all these passages. When we abide in Him, we love Him. These commandments, these words of Christ, are words of life – they result in the things commanded.

 

None of this has to do with the law. It simply isn’t mentioned, though we see it contrasted in John 1:17. Christ’s commandments of believing in Him (faith) and loving Him and the brethren will certainly lead to a life that fulfils all the demands of the law, but it is in no way a sending of believers back to Moses. For that would be to have the burden we couldn’t bear put back on our shoulders. Those commandments ARE grievous, and they work wrath. As we see in the following verses:

“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

…

“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” Acts 15:10, 28-29

“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”Romans 7:9-11

But Christ’s commandments are not burdensome, for they are in the light, whereas the law never brought light, it left men in darkness. It is under the Gospel, by the Spirit that we have light, we receive eternal life, we abide in the love of the Father, Son and Spirit, and in which we walk by faith, looking unto Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, ‘keeping’, believing, holding onto His words, sayings and commandments, and by which we love God and our brethren.

 

In John 13:34-35 we read:-

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

A new commandment? Yes, but an old commandment too. Then why a new commandment? Because although Christ’s commandments of faith and love are a fulfilment of the old (the Law) nevertheless they are new, they are not the law, but the Gospel. They are words of life, they are the living word, the ministration of righteousness, whereas the Old Covenant condemned to death, it was a ministration of death. See 2 Corinthians 3.

 

There is a huge contrast between the commandments in the Law of Moses and those words of life, full of grace and truth, which come from the lips of Jesus. The Law demanded works from man without ever providing the ability to perform those works. All the ability was demanded from man. But man being full of sin just finds that he is utterly incapable of keeping those commandments. Even the believer who loves them and would desire to keep them finds that when he tries, the good that he would he cannot do. The law simply fires up the sin which is in the flesh, and man finds himself completely condemned by the law. See Romans 7.

 

The words of Christ however are living words. They are “the words of eternal life”. When Christ commands power attends the command, life attends it, ability to do what is requested is provided. When Christ called to dead Lazarus to “Come forth” Lazarus came forth! Nothing was expected of Lazarus – the words provided the life. When Christ commanded the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda to “Rise, take up thy bed and walk” (John 5:8) “immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked” . Such are the commands of Jesus, life-giving commands, which we are called to ‘keep’. 

 

And who do ‘keep’ these commands? Those disciples whom God has called out of this world, quickened by the Spirit, brought to life at the command of Jesus. At the time when many left Jesus he spoke to his disciples as follows:-

“Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God .” John 6:67-69

To whom else shall we go? Christ has the words of eternal life. May God’s people keep these words in faith and love in the power of an endless life.

 

 

Amen.  

RELATED AUDIO MESSAGES

“The just shall live by faith” Hebrews 10:38

“That Our Eyes May Be Opened” Matthew 20:33

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Introduction – Romans 1:1-7

“And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.

And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” Acts 28:16-31

 

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ…

 

Delivered by the Jews into the hands of the Romans, just like his Master, Paul’s experience recounted in these closing words in the book of Acts presents us with some striking similarities to that of the Saviour of whom Paul preached, the Lord Jesus Christ. Before his final missionary journeys to the far corners of the Roman empire, and his eventual execution at the hands of the Romans, we read here of Paul’s time spent in house-arrest at Rome, during which he preached the kingdom of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, unto all who came unto him. But behind all this is seen the remarkable way in which the message of God’s grace was delivered to the Romans, that ‘faith which was once delivered unto the saints’.

 

 

Separated unto the gospel of God…

 

By the time Paul reached Rome a church had already been established in that city. This is that church, that assembly of the saints in Rome to whom Paul’s epistle to the Romans was addressed. But how had the message of Jesus Christ already travelled so far, before Paul, God’s messenger of the Gospel unto the Gentiles, had even set foot in that city? The answer may be seen in the close of the Gospels and the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.

 

 

…concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh

 

Jesus Christ having been handed over by the Jews into the hands of the Romans, an innocent man against whom were laid false accusations, was left to the mercy of the people when Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, who wished to release him, asked, “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”, to which the people replied, “Let him be crucified.” Matthew 27:22

 

“And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”

 

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness…

So Christ, this man of Nazareth, was taken to a place called Golgotha, nailed to a cross and lifted up in the heat of the sun to die, “And set over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

 

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

 

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

 

By the resurrection from the dead

And truly He was the Son of God for…

“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week , came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.”

The women having run to tell the other disciples, those disciples then…

“…went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:16-20

These things being done the opening chapter of Acts tells of the promises made to the disciples by Jesus just before His ascension,

“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:4-11

 

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations

The dramatic fulfilment of these promises came soon after on the day of Pentecost:

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” Acts 2:1-11

This remarkable event preceded Peter’s powerful declaration of the work of Christ, a declaration which culminated with the salvation of three thousand souls on that one day who, believing the message delivered unto them, then “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42

It is amongst this diverse company of people drawn “out of every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) that a people were saved, both Jews and Gentiles, who would then take the news of these things back with them to the city of Rome, where they began to meet as a company of people who believed on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is this people, and the others who would come to be gathered with them, to whom Paul addressed his epistle to the Romans. And it is that epistle and the Gospel which it sets forth, which is the subject of this very website.

 

Paul… to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints

But what was the purpose of Paul’s writing – why write to the saints at Rome who had already believed on Christ? Romans 1 declares Paul’s desire to “preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also”, but in the meantime he would set forth that very Gospel in the form of an epistle, a letter, which was delivered to those gathered at Rome. To what end? “To the end that ye may be established.” Established in what? In the truth of that Gospel, which up to that point the saints in Rome knew but in measure, but now they should know in such a way, in such fullness, as to be established in the faith. The means which Paul employs to this end is the doctrinal exposition of the truth  – the truth of just who Christ is and just what He did when He laid down His life upon the cross. Paul wrote to answer the questions that lay behind the facts. To put the sinews on the bones. To present not just the truth that Christ died, but why He died, and for whom He died. To present not just the truth that Christ was crucified, but to reveal just what happened when He hung upon the tree, when the light of the sun was taken away for three hours and the face of the earth was darkened. It is these, and many other such-like questions, which Paul answers and which he opens up, in this most profound, this most complete and most glorious of epistles – the epistle to the Romans.

In Romans the apostle Paul, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, presents to us the truth of God’s Gospel concerning His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. In this tremendous epistle we read God’s message to mankind regarding His work through the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ, by which He has saved His people from their sins. Here is a message greater than any other. A message which is vital. A message which concerns you and me. A message of life and death, of heaven and hell, time and eternity, sin and salvation. A message of truth. The only message which really matters. The Gospel of God.

But what do we know of the Gospel? What do you know of the Gospel? That Gospel of which Paul was not ashamed, knowing it to be the power of God unto salvation: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith”.

In the following articles we will look into the truth of this Gospel as it is revealed in the epistle to the Romans. That Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation. That message which we need to hear above all others. That message upon which our life depends.

 

The Gospel of His Son

Paul introduces his epistle to the Romans with these words:

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1-7).

Oh, the stupendous truths set forth in these opening sentences! In a few words Paul summarises that message which God gave to him to declare, a message he preached even unto the ends of the earth, even to those at Rome.

 

This message is God’s message. It is His to declare, His to apply. He sends it by the mouths of those, like Paul, whom He calls and sends to preach it. And the message declares a person. That man of Nazareth, that man of Galilee, that man who was crucified on a tree between two thieves, even Jesus Christ – the Son of God.

 

Yes, the Son of God. The One who created the heavens and the earth, the One who created mankind upon that earth, the One who was Himself “made of the seed of David”, made man, yet very God, in order to redeem that people, whom the Father gave Him, from their sins. How? Through death, His death upon a cross, in the place of that people who themselves deserved to die.  For “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). But to what end? To this end: “Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Romans 14:9).

 

Your Lord? My Lord? Surely, for whether we be dead or alive, Christ is Lord of all. And though death may hold us in unbelief, though death may blind us to who that man of Nazareth really was, though we may not care whether we be found on the right hand or the left of that crucified One, though death may have such power over man in his sin, nevertheless death had no power to keep Christ in the grave. Yea, could death hold the Son of God, did death hold the Son of God? No, for He was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). Oh, the power of His resurrection!

 

What truths there are set forth in just these opening verses. What depths to be dug, what riches to be unearthed! Oh, that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, should be pleased to be made man, to be “made of the seed of David according to the flesh”, to be “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9), in order to redeem His own. Oh, that He should come in the lineage of David, born in Bethlehem the city of David, of that royal line in order to be that Prophet, Priest and King of all His people to whom the promises made to Israel pertained. Yet, these are the truths that Paul preached, and these are the truths of which he wrote, which he but hints at in these opening verses – and this is that message he took to all nations “for obedience to the faith”, that through faith, they believing might be saved.

 

This is the message of Romans. And this message is known as the “Gospel of God… concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What follows in the next sixteen chapters are not facts to be proved or reasoned out, but truth to be believed. What follows is the truth of the Gospel of God – ‘The Faith’.

 

A Message of Faith

This truth, this message, is a message of faith. Having introduced himself Paul then presents the Gospel of Christ, the Son of God (first His Person, and then His work), as facts, as truth to be believed. Paul doesn’t seek to prove the truth, but to state it, to proclaim it, to preach it. And as the message he preaches is of God, so too Paul’s own sending to preach that message, as the “LORD’S messenger in the LORD’S message” (Haggai 1:13), is very much a part of that Gospel which he presents. For the Gospel is entirely of God. He purposed it, He wrought it, He fulfilled it and He preaches it – and He does so by His Spirit through those whom He sends to preach.

Not only that, but this message of the Gospel which is to be believed is God’s message to be believed. It is presented to the belief of faith, it was wrought by faith, it is received by faith, it is “from faith to faith”, and so much is faith at the heart of its very message that scripture even refers to the Gospel itself as ‘The Faith’ – “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).

With this in mind, the following articles have been divided into seven sections which present the truth of the Gospel, as God wrought it, and Paul preached it, under the following titles:

 

The Word of Faith

The Want of Faith

The Coming of Faith

The Fight of Faith

The People of Faith

The Life of Faith

And, The Faith Once Delivered

 

May the Lord be pleased to bless His word for His glory.

Amen.
(Read this in Portuguese)

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The Gifts of Grace – Romans 12:6

“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us…” Romans 12:6

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6. 

INTRODUCTION

In the twelfth chapter of Romans in considering the walk of believers as many members of one body in Christ, who walk by faith, ministering to one another in the assembly of the saints, Paul encourages them to walk in the will of God, in humility serving one another and preferring one another over themselves (Romans 12:10). In verse 6 he makes reference to the various gifts which God in grace gives to His people, that they, as different members of one body may be able to serve God and one another.

Elsewhere in the New Testament, especially in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, we also read of various gifts of the Spirit which were given to believers and practised in the churches. Some of these gifts were miraculous and some not so miraculous. In Romans 12 the concentration is upon prophecy, ministering, teaching, exhortation, rule and mercy. In 1 Corinthians however other, seemingly more miraculous, gifts such as tongues and healings are mention. We also read of various miracles being performed by the Apostles during the time of the early New Testament church.

Many today are fascinated by the miraculous and supernatural and many in Christendom are taken up with these accounts of miracles, signs, wonders and the gifts of the Spirit and desire to see such things repeated in the churches in our day. Indeed many would claim that it is only when such things are manifested in the church that the Spirit of God is truly working. They claim that such manifestations of the Spirit authenticate their ministry and churches and demonstrate the power of God at work.

But are these claims true? Is it true that such signs and wonders continue today? Do the miraculous gifts of the Spirit continue to be given and exercised in the church today? Do such things continue to the present day or did they cease with the passing away of the twelve apostles once the early New Testament church had been formed? Perhaps some gifts have ceased but others continue, and if so, which gifts continue to the present and in what form?

The New Testament describes several different gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy, tongues, healing gifts and so on (see 1 Corinthians 12). Let us consider this subject of the gifts of the Spirit and their continuation today, primarily with regard to the gift of prophecy. By considering this particular gift I believe we can also draw some conclusions regarding the continuance of the other gifts today.

THE INAUGURATION OF ISRAEL AND THE INAUGURATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

‘Signs and wonders’ were used by God when Israel was brought out of Egypt, to mark their deliverance and the subsequent giving of the law, for the time until they crossed over the river Jordan. During this period of 40 years they were led by a pillar of cloud, and fire, there was water from the Rock, they were fed by manna from heaven. All were signs which ceased once the children of Israel crossed Jordan and for the hundreds of years following until the time of Christ (this can be seen from the fact that these signs were recorded in the books of Moses and only ever referenced elsewhere in the Bible as historical references to those times. Joshua 5:6-12 informs us of the cessation of the provision of manna. See also Nehemiah 9:9-21, Psalm 99:6-7, Psalm 105:23-45, Isaiah 48:21, Psalm 78:1-32, and John 6).

Likewise with the inauguration of the New Testament there were many signs and wonders demonstrated, and miraculous and special gifts of the Spirit given to mark a special time in the history of the church until the full canon of scripture was produced and their necessity ceased. This is much the same as happened in the time of Moses.

Also the children of Israel had these signs for 40 years. Such as manna from heaven by which they were fed. Likewise in the NT Christ rose from the dead and ascended around AD30. In AD70 the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed. A period of 40 years, during which the NT church was formed and the Gospel had gone out to the gentiles. During this time the people of God were fed on the ‘Bread of heaven’ by the preaching of the Apostles and by those who then prophesied by the Spirit declaring the truths of the Gospel of Christ as laid upon their memories by the Spirit until all the scripture had been set to paper, and gathered together, not long after.

PROPHECY PREFERRED OVER TONGUES

In 1 Corinthians Paul discusses the gifts of the Spirit and their use in the gatherings of the church. In 1 Corinthians 14 he shows how the gift of prophecy is to be preferred to the gift of tongues. Why? Because tongues were beneficial to those who spoke in them as led by the Spirit, and only to others if an interpreter existed. How often today are there truly interpreters of those who speak in tongues? I daresay some would say there are, but if there aren’t, as Paul says, those who speak in tongues would be better off being silent.

 

But Paul emphasises the preference of prophecy over tongues. Why? Because prophecy is intelligible and is beneficial to the whole church who hears it. It presents ‘truth’, it edifies, the secrets of the heart are made manifest in those who hear (1 Corinthians 14:25). Much like preaching does today.

 

But Paul states that all things should be done in order and that those who prophesy should do so by two or three (1 Corinthians 14:29), and that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets (1 Corinthians 14:32).

 

Why is this?

 

Well, at the time of the church at Corinth – the early church – the written New Testament didn’t fully exist. Certainly those believers in the churches had very little of it. Each church might have had a letter or two from the Apostles but not the full canon of scripture and certainly not in the possession of each believer. So people couldn’t ‘preach’ from the Bible. They had to do so from their memories of the truths of the Gospel which had been taught them by the Apostles, as they were led of the Spirit. This is described as ‘prophesying’. And to ensure that what people in the church stood up and said was truly that Gospel, of the Spirit, and not error, Paul encourages those who prophesy to do so in twos and threes so that each man could testify to the truth of what the other had said. Also what they said needed to be subject to the prophets, meaning to be subject to what others in the church prophesied/preached and also to what the Old Testament prophets had written, and what was written in what that church had of the New Testament writings.

 

So this ‘prophesying’ by the Spirit was really preaching of the Gospel in a day and age when men couldn’t preach that Gospel from the scriptures because of the lack of them (Some may think of the gift of prophecy as having more to do with foretelling of future events. Certainly there is that type of prophecy seen in the Bible, but the gift of prophecy mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14 is connected with teaching the truth. This can be seen from the fact that the gift of a prophet given to the church is listed in Ephesians 4:11-15 alongside other teaching roles such as pastors and teachers. All these roles were given for the edifying of the body of Christ, just as prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14 was given for edification – 1 Corinthians 14:3). So, owing to the lack of written scriptures those who prophesied were led by the Spirit to bring truths from their remembrance which they had received from the Apostles, but they needed others to corroborate what they said as being true to the Apostolic Gospel, true to what they had been taught by the Apostles, true to the scriptures which they did have. And when the New Testament was completed it would be seen to be true to that as a whole.

 

Since the establishment of the early church we now have the completed scriptures. These are widely available in the churches. Prophecy in the sense of 1 Corinthians 14 now continues as preaching without the need for two or three to preach in the same way in order to corroborate what is said. We can now compare what the preacher says with the Bible to see if he truly speaks of the Spirit, or is in error. Anything preached of the Spirit will accord with what is in the Bible and will not be a ‘new revelation’ outside of it.

 

Now that scripture is complete the necessity of special gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and prophesying by the Spirit (without written down scripture), has gone. Prophesying continues in the form of preaching by the Spirit from the word of God. The Spirit ALWAYS prophesied in accordance with that word, at one time before it had been recorded, but now having been recorded still in accord with it. As it says in John 14:26 and John 15:26:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

It is clear from these verses that those things the Spirit ‘brings to our remembrance’ are those things which testify of Christ which in our day are in accord with the scriptures – they aren’t extra revelations outside the scriptures.

In the early church the Holy Ghost brought all things to the remembrance of the people of God by means of causing men of God to prophesy in the meetings, two or three of them confirming that what was said was true. Now, the Bible being complete, preachers ‘prophesy’ by preaching from that written word of God according to how the Spirit leads them, but always according to that word, testifying of Christ.

So, during the time of the early church when the NT scriptures weren’t complete the Spirit would cause men to prophesy truths of the Gospel regarding Christ which had yet to be set down on paper, but which were being taught by the Apostles. However, once those truths were all recorded in scripture then the need for such ‘prophecy’ had gone, and all further prophecy/preaching would be in accord with the completed Bible. The Spirit is still involved in this but He confirms the truths in the Bible, He doesn’t add to them by further extra-Biblical ‘prophecies’.

In the days of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt actual manna from heaven was miraculously provided to feed the people. This ceased after they crossed Jordan, and the people were then fed on normal bread and food, physically. In the days of the early church there were miraculous signs and gifts given until the scriptures were complete. We feed on the “bread of heaven”, Christ, as typified by manna (see John 6). In the early church that spiritual food, that bread, came by the preaching of the Apostles and also by prophesying by the Spirit. We are now fed by preaching from the written word of God, now that it is complete.

For the children of Israel the type, the shadow, of manna during their 40 years of pilgrimmage was also their physical food. After that time they then ate normal food. They didn’t stop eating, but how their food was provided was changed, the administration of food changed. Likewise the way in which ‘spiritual food’ is provided in the New Testament age started off as being by Apostolic preaching and also by prophesying by the Spirit until the scriptures were complete, but now continues as preaching from the word of God. It is still feeding on the Bread of Heaven, but the way in which that is administered is now by preaching from the word, not by prophesying ‘apart’ from the word (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Hence, whilst the Spirit’s gift of prophesying continues to this day the form of that prophesying has changed – it is now the preaching of the word of God from the scriptures. Yet it must be emphasised that it is by the Spirit that the scriptures are preached from – we are no less reliant upon the Spirit and His revelation of God’s truth than those in the early church were. Indeed, without the Spirit’s leading into truth the Bible remains a closed book to men, they simply cannot understand it except the Spirit opens it up to them (see 1 Corinthians 2:7-16).

THE INNER WORK OF THE SPIRIT CONTRASTED WITH THAT WHICH IS OUTWARD

Manna, the pillar of fire, the pillar of cloud, and water from the rock were all ‘miraculous’ signs and provisions which God used during Israel’s 40 year pilgrimage after being delivered from Egypt. In terms of what they represent they show forth the Lord’s presence amongst the people, His guidance of them and His feeding and watering them. But God only used the outwardly miraculous for a relatively short time (Of course these signs also have other spiritual significance too – manna typifying Christ, the Bread of heaven, the water from the Rock also pointing to Christ, in fact they all point to Christ in one way or another – but nevertheless they also had an immediate relevance to Israel through what they provided – guidance, feeding, watering).

Again, with the inauguration of the early NT Church similar miraculous signs and gifts of the Spirit were evidenced. Various ‘signs and wonders’ like miraculous healings by the Apostles were performed which showed the Lord’s presence in a powerful outward way to demonstrably show God’s work in the bringing in and establishing of the NT church. Likewise gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy and tongues were used to guide, edify and feed the people. There is a similarity here between these ‘gifts’ and the signs mentioned from the Old Testament.

Once the New Testament Church was established and the scriptures completed, the need for such ‘outward’ manifestations of the Spirit’s work had gone and God continued from that time forth to work by the Spirit in a more inward way through the preaching of the Gospel, leading to the resultant New Birth by the Spirit, the ‘baptism’ of the Spirit. This is no less miraculous a work but it is inward, not an outward thing. Such preaching results in men who are dead in trespasses and sins being quickened unto life by the Spirit, given new hearts and receiving the gift of faith to believe and rest in the finished work of salvation for sinners wrought out by Jesus Christ at the cross by His death. This is a powerful work of the Spirit but one which is essentially inward – within man – not outward.

Yet outward things appeal to men in the flesh. People like to see ‘miracles’. Seeing ‘miracles’ with the eye doesn’t require faith. They demonstrate the supernatural and provide proof of it, but don’t require faith to believe in the supernatural. But Christians walk by faith not by sight. Faith believes in things that can’t be seen with the natural eye, things which are ‘hidden’ (Hebrews 11:1). God uses outwardly miraculous signs at such times in history which indicate a great event in the work of God, such as the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and the start of the NT church both during the life of Christ and shortly after under the Apostolic ministry. This was to demonstrate to all who looked on, including unbelievers that God was at work in a particularly significant way (ie. Christ had come in the flesh!). But once this had been shown, and testimony to it recorded in the scriptures, then God continued to work by His Spirit in the more ‘hidden’ realm of men’s hearts.

PROPHETIC GUIDANCE CONTRASTED WITH THE SPIRIT’S TEACHING GIFT OF PROPHECY

I have emphasised the nature of the gift of prophecy described in 1 Corinthians 14 as being that of teaching. Some may question whether all prophecy is of that nature and would claim that we read of various examples of prophecy in the New Testament, such as in the book of Acts, which are of a predictive nature – a foretelling of events. For example in Acts 21:10-11 we read of the prophet Agabus approaching Paul and warning him not to go to Jerusalem because the Jews there would persecute him.

It is true that such ‘prophecies’ occurred in the New Testament. However these sorts of prophecies are not what are described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 as being related to the Spirit’s gift of prophecy. The context is very different and they also don’t fall into the pattern laid down by Paul in that chapter.

 

By stating that 1 Corinthians 14 describes a form of prophecy which is primarily of a preaching and teaching nature I am not saying that this was the only form of prophecy there was in the NT . It is true that there are several instances of prophecy throughout the NT which are evidently of a predictive nature. During the Early Church days there were indeed prophets who prophesied by the Spirit in a predictive way and there were also those who prophesied in the gathering of the assembly by the Spirit to teach the Gospel of Christ to the church. These are two different forms of prophecy, both by the Spirit, which occurred during that time.

 

Most of the examples we may find of ‘foretelling prophecies’ in Acts however are simply occurrences of the Lord guiding people in specific ways, either through dreams, or by the Spirit. The Spirit’s leading of Philip to approach the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch for example isn’t prophecy, but a leading of the Spirit. Likewise the angel appearing to Cornelius, or the Lord speaking to Paul in visions. Other examples are those of specific prophets with a message from the Lord, for instance Agabus. However none of these examples are taken from gatherings of the church during a meeting where two or three prophets stand up in turn and prophesy and where the people ‘learn’ by these prophecies and are edified, exhorted and comforted. It could be argued that Agabus might have delivered his prophecy regarding the famine in such a context but that really isn’t clear from the text. So none of these examples really fit with what Paul is encouraging in the gathering of the assembly in 1 Corinthians 14.

 

What Paul is dealing with in 1 Corinthians especially in chapters 10-15 is the Body of Christ and how that is built up. It is no coincidence that the subject of the gifts of the Spirit such as tongues and prophecy is dealt with in the very same epistle written to a church which had fallen into such outward, fleshly, corruption where fornication and other sins went on unchecked, where the Lord’s Supper was abused etc. etc. This was a church obsessed with outward fleshly things. And therefore also obsessed with those ‘spiritual’ things which had outward, supernatural, manifestations. The Corinthians thought it the height of spirituality to speak in tongues or to give prophetic revelations.

 

But Paul deals with this obsession with the outward not by outrightly forbidding the use of tongues or prophecy, but by gently guiding the church towards that which is best; that which will really build up the church. And that, ultimately is the Gospel of Christ. So we see a progression from chapter 12 where the Body and its members are described, through an emphasis on love in chapter 13 (the gift which if prevalent would ultimately overcome all the failings in the church), through prophecy being much preferred to tongues in chapter 14 (Why? Because by it the church is edified, encouraged and comforted because it is built up in the Gospel of Christ – it ‘learns’ by it), through to chapter 15 where Paul again discusses the Gospel and how the church should “keep in memory what I preached unto you” 15:2. This leads on to the truths of the coming resurrection of the dead.

 

The point here is that Chapter 15 emphasises what Paul delivered to the church. The Gospel of Christ. That which declares Christ to be “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). This is what should be in their ‘memory’. As 14:36 indicates, the word of God came to Corinth by Paul’s preaching, from God, it didn’t come out of them. What they should ‘prophesy’ in their meetings should be those truths, kept in their memory, which Paul taught them, which the Spirit then brings to mind in the prophets who would then speak as led by the Spirit in the meeting, by two or three. Paul “received” these truths from God and delivered them to the church at Corinth (15:3). Likewise their prophets should speak those things “revealed” to them (14:30) by the Spirit. The same truths that Paul had “received” of the Spirit and preached.

 

What truths are these? 1 Corinthians 15:3-11 tells us…

“… how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.”

Thus we are led full circle back to what Paul emphasises right at the start of the epistle in chapters 1-4: “But we preach Christ Crucified” 1:23. “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” 2:2. The focal point of the whole letter is “Christ Crucified”. The Gospel.

 

This is what the prophecy of chapter 14 regards – the Gospel of Christ. That is why Paul encourages its use. And in that sense it is still encouraged today because we preach and teach the same Gospel from the scriptures, by the Spirit.

 

However, as mentioned before, the more supernatural nature of prophecy along with other signs and wonders was required at the time of the Early Church for two main reasons:-

1. To demonstrate in power the formation of the Church, that Christ had come, died, and risen again, and that the Spirit was now given to God’s people in the church. Under the Apostolic doctrine the Church of Christ was established, as testified outwardly by such signs.

2. Prophecy by the Spirit was required in the absence of completed scriptures in order to build up the church in the doctrine of Christ. Once the scriptures were complete ‘prophecy’ continued as more normal preaching and teaching, from the scriptures as opened up by the Spirit. Such prophecy, such preaching is still very much a gift of the Spirit who ensures that the Gospel comes “not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance” (1 Thessalonians 1:5), but this prophecy is entirely based upon the scriptures, not outside revelations.

Once the Early Church was established, and the scriptures completed, the necessity of the more direct, supernatural gifts of the Spirit, signs and wonders, had ceased, as they had in the days of Moses. The Spirit continues to work but now in the more hidden, inward realm of men’s hearts.We still have preaching in the church of the Gospel of Christ, but not ‘prophecy by the Spirit’. We also continue to be guided by God, by the Spirit, through various means, but not in the same way as the direct, supernatural prophecies seen in the NT (At least this is not the ‘norm’. It may have been seen in the Early Church, but it is no longer required to the same extent now as God guides His people primarily through the word of God and the preaching of that word by His Spirit).

OTHER GIFTS OF THE SPIRITOf course there are various kinds of gifts of the Spirit, various ‘charismata’ and prophecy is just one of them. For example we read in 1 Corinthians 12:4-12 …

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”

All these gifts of the Spirit ultimately have one purpose – the edification of the body of Christ. There is one body with many members and there are diversities of gifts given to those members, but all the gifts are given that the body might be edified, strengthed, built up in the knowledge and wisdom of God. It is in this light that we must consider these gifts and the way in which they are manifested and used in our day. Are the ‘gifts’ we see exhibited in some churches today truly being used for the edification of the body through the truth, by the proclamation of the word, by feeding the body upon Christ, or do they rather draw attention to man rather than Christ and excite the flesh rather than direct the gaze of faith towards the Saviour?I believe that any continuation of ‘prophecy’ today will be in accord with the written word of God, which is now complete, as there is no new revelation given today beyond the scriptures. That doesn’t mean that we can rule out the continuation of all gifts of the Spirit – not at all –  but it is clear that the more outward manifestations of gifts have served their purpose during the time of the Early NT Church. So the same principles set forward here regarding prophecy can also be related to other gifts of the Spirit such as healing for example. Yes, there is a gift of healing which continues to this day, but in keeping with the inward nature of the working of the Spirit upon the heart through the Gospel, which so characterises the ongoing work of the Spirit in our day, I believe that the gift of healing we see today is that which is edifying to the body of Christ. This is a gift of healing which comes through the preaching of “Christ Crucified” and which provides true healing for the souls of God’s people, which brings them to peace with God, which washes them clean from their sin, and which brings them into unity with their brethren. How often do we see disunity and wounds appearing between brethren? How wonderful then that God still provides the gift of healing to His people to heal those wounds and to strengthen the Body of Christ in the midst of its ongoing spiritual warfare with the many enemies which are set against it.

Is there the word of wisdom granted by the Spirit today? Yes, certainly. The word of knowledge? Yes. Faith? Most assuredly. Gifts of healing? Yes, but of an inward, spiritual nature to the edification and healing of the body of Christ. The working of miracles? Again, yes, in the inward sense, for it is true that the conversion of a sinner to new life in Christ Jesus under the power of the Gospel is indeed a miracle, and those sent to preach that Gospel can but stand by in awe and wonder at the mighty power of God in turning men from darkness to light. The discernment of spirits? Yes, indeed, this gift continues today for we must “test the spirits” and as we now have a completed canon of scripture we can also compare what men say with what is recorded in Holy Writ. What of tongues and the interpretation thereof? Well, as has been previously stated Paul encouraged prophecy over and above the use of tongues and both gifts ultimately are a means of conveying the truth of the Gospel for the edification of the Body of Christ. This continues today through the preaching of the word as recorded in scripture.But what of the outwardly miraculous? Well as has been already mentioned such things occurred at the inauguration of the New Testament church. The church having been established under the Apostolic ministry and testified by such outward demonstrations of God’s power has no longer any need for such outward manifestations of the Spirit’s work. The Spirit’s work is to testify of Christ, inwardly to the hearts of men, and this He continues to do today under the preaching of the Gospel. A ministry no less miraculous than that seen in the apostles’ days but one which concerns the revelation of truth to the eye of faith rather than the sight of men in the flesh.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary then if it could be shown that the manna given to Israel continued to be given from that time until the coming of Christ, or that Israel continued to be led by a pillar of cloud by day or of fire by night, then a precedent for the continuance in an outward, miraculous, sense of such gifts as prophesying (for example in the manner of Spirit-inspired revelations apart from the Bible) would be found. But I don’t believe that that precedence can be shown, and therefore we can conclude that such outward gifts, signs and wonders ceased after the Early Church had been brought in under the Apostles, as prefigured by Israel of old. This seems only right too, considering that the bringing in of the New Testament church under the Apostles was of such great importance. Furthermore a survey of the history of the church from Apostolic times up to the present demonstrates that this indeed has been the case.

May the Lord be pleased to give us that gift of the discerning of spirits in these days of much confusion that we might know what is truly of the Spirit of God and what is not. May we also recognise that there are diversities of gifts and differences of administration (for example between today and apostolic times) but nevertheless “the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). May we be given faith to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed by the Spirit in the Gospel of Christ, as recorded in the scriptures, and to seek that real, true, inward reality of the working of the Spirit in contrast to that false, outward, counterfeit religion which seems to be so popular in our day and which appeals to the flesh which is fascinated by the unusual, the supernatural, the superficial and the spectacular. May we be found amongst those who walk by faith, not by sight, seeking an heavenly country, not an earthly, who walk as pilgrims and strangers in this present evil world. May we run the race before us looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of Faith. May we be amongst those who have found that the power of God rests not in the outwardly miraculous but in the “Gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16). And may all glory be given to the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the Spirit was sent to testify and to honour, through the proclamation of that very Gospel, which was, and is, the power of God unto salvation.

Amen.     

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Whosoever Shall Call Upon The Name of The Lord – Romans 10:13

From Romans chapter 9 through to 11 the apostle Paul considers that people whom God has chosen to save. This is a people chosen not according to their birth in the flesh, but chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world, who in time are born again of the Holy Spirit. They are a spiritual people, the children of promise, pictured by Israel of old, but nevertheless, not that fleshly nation, but a people chosen amongst both Jews and Gentiles. As Romans 9:6-8 tells us “…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”

 

Having pointed out in Romans 2:28-29 that the true Jew is not one who is outwardly a Jew, one born physically a Jew, but one who is inwardly a Jew, one whose heart is circumcised, being born of God by His Spirit, Paul returns to this truth in chapter 9 where he illustrates that God has elected to save a people from both Jews and Gentiles, who collectively are the spiritual Israel of God: “Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pas, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God” Romans 9:24-26

 

It is this people, chosen out of both Jews and Gentiles, to whom the promises of God apply, those promises made of old to Abraham and His Seed, the promises of salvation and of an inheritance in the world to come. It is these who are the true Jews, God’s people, those who are brought to saving faith in Christ. For it is by grace, through faith, that this people are saved, not by works, and in setting forth the truth of that people whom God saves, Paul contrasts in chapters 9 and 10 the righteousness which is of the law, which Israel of old sought after, with that righteousness of faith, by which all God’s people are saved: “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosover believeth on him shall not be ashamed” Romans 9:30-33.

 

No, salvation is not by the works of the law, nor by virtue of our fleshly birth, but through faith in Christ, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”.

 

But those people, both Jews and Gentiles, who are shown their sin, shown their utter inability to save themselves, to attain unto righteousness, or to keep the law of God, are taught their need of mercy. It is those whom God brings to call upon His Name for salvation, and everyone so brought, who so calls upon Him shall surely be heard: “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:12-13.

 

Yes, those whom God saves, His people, the true Israel of God, are a people of faith, a people elected unto salvation, born again of God by His Spirit and given faith to call upon His Name for salvation, believing on Christ and His work in dying to save sinners.

 

But what is it to call upon the name of the Lord? Why does Paul stress the name of the Lord here?

 

Well, we read of the name of the Lord in other passages of scriptures, for example in Philippians 2:9-11.

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Here we read of that coming day when every knee – every man’s, every woman’s, every child’s – will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. A day when every tongue will confess: “That Jesus Christ is Lord”. What a day that will be! What a tremendous confession, what glorious praise to God the Father and to Him whom He hath highly exalted, even Jesus Christ His Son!

But notice again how this passage is worded. It says “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

Why does scripture state it in this way? Why, like Romans 10:13, stress the name of Jesus, that name “which is above every name”? Why? Firstly, because of how exalted both the Person and His name are – how glorious they are. But also because of what the name of Jesus signifies: the truth of it. The truth conveyed by the very name itself. It is not only the Lord to whom we must call for salvation, but we must call upon the name of the Lord as believing the truth regarding Him. It is not only to Jesus that every knee shall bow, but to the truth He represents. For Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Jesus is The Truth and His name declares truth.

The name ‘Jesus’ is the Greek form of the Hebrew ‘Joshua’, or ‘Jeho-shua’, which has its roots in ‘Jah-shua’ meaning ‘God Saves’. Not only does this name declare Christ’s deity but it declares Him to be the God who saves! Now, this is a truth to which every knee shall bow – that God Saves! That through Jesus alone God saves sinners; that salvation is entirely of Him – from start to finish. Man simply has no part to play in it – the work is all of God – for God Saves.

Oh! how man by nature, in the fallen depravity of his sinful heart, rails against such a truth! How he hates it! How his innermost spirit detests such a truth that asserts dogmatically the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation. How man must have some part to play in saving himself. How his pride rises up against, how it fights against, the plain and simple truth that salvation owes nothing to himself, but all to God and His grace. Man by nature simply must have some part to play, he must have something which he can do, something which he can contribute – however small it may be. Whether it be his good works, his prayers, his attendance to religious ritual or worship, his decision to follow God, his simple ‘acceptance’ of ‘Jesus’, his willingness to believe; something, something, he does must play a part in his salvation. However much he may confess his need of Christ to save him, ultimately there is a part of his own, whether it be fifty percent or one percent, upon which he trusts. Man’s sinful nature, his pride, his arrogance, will not confess that he is absolutely worthless, utterly lost, totally blind to the truth, dead in trespasses and sins. He can go so far, but not that far. He’ll bow the knee to the idea of a saviour who saves those who allow Him to, those who ‘accept’ Him, but he’ll not bow the knee to the truth of The Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and not to the truth of His Name: Jesus, ‘God Saves’. For God does save and He saves those whom He wills absolutely, entirely, without the work of man (James 1:18).

No, man by nature will never bow the knee to such a truth, he’ll never accept that ‘God saves’; that salvation is entirely of the Lord, entirely of His choice, entirely at His discretion (Romans 9:15); that God will either do everything to save a sinner, or he’ll do nothing at all, and if not, God will leave the proud, stubborn, rebellious, self-righteous, religious hypocrite to discover at the day of judgment that the filthy rags of his own righteousness could never wash away his sins – to discover that salvation has to be entirely upon a different footing from his own works, that he needs the blood of the Saviour to wash away his sins and make him clean before a Holy and Almighty God; such a one will be brought to see, when it is too late for him, that it is indeed the truth that ‘God Saves’ and God alone – then, on that day, his knee will bow to such a truth, even as the Lord God of Heaven and Earth delivers His eternal sentence of wrath upon him.

How merciful then to be delivered from such wilful delusion! What grace is shown by Almighty God when He arrests a sinner in his rebellious way and opens his eyes to the Gospel and the truth of the Name which is above every name. How wonderful to be brought to an end of ourselves and our own striving to save ourselves, and to be brought to see that “salvation is of the Lord”; how good to be brought to our knees to confess to God that we are nothing, that except He shows us mercy we will be lost; to cry out to Him “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”! (Luke 18:13) For it is those who are brought to call upon the name of the Lord in this way who shall be saved (Romans 10:13), for ‘God Saves’!

What a salvation God has wrought for sinners through His precious Son the Lord Jesus Christ! How God is glorified by it! This salvation was purposed by God the Father from all eternity when He chose a people in Christ whom He would redeem, called the “election of grace”; this salvation was effected by God the Son “who made himself of no reputation…and being found in fashion as a man… humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”, when He laid down His life in the place of His people, bearing their sins in His own body on the tree, suffering the wrath of God against sin, that He might deliver them from sin and condemnation and grant them eternal life in Him; and this salvation wrought by the Son is applied by the Holy Spirit to these people when He quickens them from death to life and grants them faith to look to the Saviour who suffered and bled in their stead, to rest in Him and the righteousness of God in Him which is put to their account. This threefold work of Father, Son and Holy Ghost sets forth the glorious truth that ‘God Saves’, by grace alone, and it is this truth to which God’s people will be brought, by the Spirit, to bow the knee: to confess at the name of Jesus that ‘God Saves’, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. For God “hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”.

Yes, the work of salvation is entirely God’s work, from start to finish; all its handiwork, all its weaving, all its craftsmanship is of Him. All those who come to know such a salvation, all those who are quickened from death unto life by the irresistible work of the Holy Spirit, all those turned from darkness to light, from enmity to peace with God, from the dark paths of sin to the blessed way of righteousness, from misery unto joy, from a life lived for self unto a life lived for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His glory, all those chosen of God from amongst both Jews and Gentiles; all those will gladly, freely, willingly, lovingly, bow the knee to the Saviour, to Him who is Truth, and to this truth: that God Saves. And none who do will be passed by “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:12-13.

And whether man confesses this truth in his lifetime and bows the knee freely, or whether he comes to see it at the day of judgment, nevertheless, there comes a day when every man, every woman, every child, all, shall bow the knee to the truth that God Saves, for “Salvation is of the Lord”… “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”.

“…and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

 

 

Amen.    

RELATED AUDIO MESSAGES

“The Lost Sheep” Luke 15:6

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