How blessed and holy a thing it is to have fellowship with God and the Father, in His thoughts, purposes, and counsels. Having done with self-occupation, we are introduced into the Father’s presence in Christ and there His heart is opened to us and He says, “Now I am going to tell you a little about My plans, and what I intend to do.” What infinite condescension and love! Yet such is the subject of this Epistle. In it we have God’s heart unveiled to us, the good pleasure of His will from all eternity, His counsels, His purposes in regard to the glory of His Son, and our blessing in Him. This is indeed wholly outside nature, and we are left to glory in God alone and in His Son whom He has loved.
In the Epistle to the Romans, we see man responsible before God, whether Gentile or Jew, guilty for his sins, and awaiting judgment. The righteousness of God, manifested in Christ dead and risen, is revealed for his justification, and, forasmuch as he is connected with by birth, with a sinful nature which exerts entire dominion over him, so the grace of God has given His Son, who was obedient unto death, and by that death and resurrection has entirely delivered him from the power and dominion of sin, the Son of God being risen into a new place, and breathed into him His own resurrection life, and so freed him from the power of sin and death (John 20:2222And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:22)). Hence the believer can say, not only that the Son has died and risen for him, but he has died with Him, and Christ now lives in him. The Holy Ghost besides has sealed him and indwells him, giving him the knowledge that he is the son of God.
Thus,, in the Romans we are seen as justified, dead with Christ and in Him in a new position and having a new nature. Besides, the Holy Ghost dwells in the believer individually. In Hebrews we see Christ in the glory as the believer’s perfect acceptance, his high priest ever living to intercede for him, maintaining him in his place of acceptance whilst passing through the wilderness and being the Center of worship of His people, so that they have free liberty to enter into the very holiest, to worship God and the Father. The believer is seen here below walking through the wilderness in absolute dependence, but outside Egypt. In Colossians he is seen, not as dead, but as risen with Christ, Christ his life on high, as well as his hope. In Ephesians we get to the highest step, that is that the Christian is in the heavenlies in Christ, Christ having been raised as Man by the power of God, and placed above all things as Head of His Body the Church; the Holy Ghost has come down, and has raised the Church in Christ to the same place.
As it is most important for the saints to get really hold of this true place, and not stop short of anything God has given them, I will put the position in another way. In the four Gospels, we see Christ as the Gift of God, offered to man for his acceptance, and rejected. He came unto His own and His own received Him not, but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name. Now this is as far as the Gospels go. God’s Son rejected by the world is received by His own.
He died and rose for them, and they by His work are justified, have peace, eternal life, and a new nature communicated to them. (see John 3:3-16; 36; 20:19-22) But in the Acts we get a step further. We have, first, as the Promise of the Father, secondly to baptize these leaders into one body (see Acts 1:4-54And, 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. 5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:4‑5)); secondly, we have Christ as Man exalted to the right hand of God (Eph. 1:99Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (Ephesians 1:9)); thirdly, the promise of the Holy Ghost actually fulfilled, and the one hundred and twenty disciples who had already believed in Christ, and already had received eternal life in Him, and a new nature, now baptized by the Holy Ghost, actually uniting them to the raised and ascended Man at the right hand of God, so that they were raised with Him and seated in the heavenlies in Him, and made members of His Body, of His flesh and His bones. Thus, we have the Holy Ghost in three aspects: first (John 20:2222And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (John 20:22)), as communicating the life of Christ to the soul, and bringing it into a new distinct place and state before God, so that the believer could say, I have died with Christ; I am not in the flesh; if Christ be in me, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. Secondly, as the promise of the Father is come down from heaven on the day of Pentecost, giving to each believer the knowledge of the Father and of his sonship (Rom. 8); thirdly, as baptizing all believers into one body (1Cor. 12:1212For 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. (1 Corinthians 12:12)), so that they are raised with Christ, and seated in the heavenlies in Him. This last is the true corporate place of the Church.
Now having made this introduction, I pray God no believer may sit down to the study of this Epistle in a light way. We are placed in a most dazzling light. May we not like Peter, expose our weakness and folly, and say, Lord, it is good for us to be here, and show, after all we have not done with man, by giving some one, or ourselves a place with the Son, as Peter did Moses and Elias; but may we in the dust, be bowed down, conscious that it is all the grace of God that has placed us in such glory, and hear the voice of the Father speaking from out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, Hear Him. (Mark 9:1-71And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. 2And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. 7And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. (Mark 9:1‑7))