Address of Mr. Code.
THIS is the great crisis that we wait for, ―the termination of a long-protracted course of God’s gracious dealings with this present evil age; and, as far as I may speak with any certainty, the only thing that delays this grand expectation and blessed hope to those who know the Lord Jesus Christ, is His waiting till His elect be gathered in unto Him. “Blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved;” i.e., Israel’s prospects are in abeyance till the full number of the Gentiles is completed who, along with the Jews that have been called constitute this body of which all who believe an members― members of Christ’s body, of His flesh, and of His bones. And as that event, at to its time, depends upon the completion of the number that are to constitute that body, God only knows the moment when what is declarer in that passage shall be fulfilled: “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the cloud! to meet the Lord in the air.” And while out brother was speaking to us of the attractiveness of Christ crucified, my mind was carried on a step further to this our hope, when we shall be caught up, and caught up by the attraction of Jesus. Nobody whose creed, whose orthodox is uncertainty about their present salvation―nobody whose creed teaches them to depend in their dying moments upon the offices of a priest none such could ever consistently hold a doctrine that puts aside all human preparation, and take, us all up just as we are, as the Lord’s people. We must be safe, we must be spotless by atoning blood alone, we must be ready, in God’s account of us, in order that we might be partakers of that rapture into the air.
How good it is, beloved, that when we are saved our affections are under the influence of this everlastingly attractive object, ―the Cross “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” That meant the cross; the passage itself explain, it. “This He said signifying what death He should die.” He has been lifted up there, and now He is the attracting object in heaven.
It is to my heart a beautiful word He spoke, in the 14th of John, when He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” Now, is not that happy? It is as if the Lord reckoned upon its being a delightful thing to everybody who knew Him that He should come, and not merely take us to heaven, but, as the sum and substance of blessing—as the climax of every step of glorious blessedness, receive us UNTO HIMSELF! Do you like that? Is that pleasant to you? Is that better than heaven to you? Is that better than a crown to you? Is that better than reigning in the kingdom to you? It is the best thing that could be given to us. And heaven will be nothing, and glory will be nothing, compared with JESUS. He is the glory of our glory, and the heaven of our heaven, Himself.
And oh, what a conquest is this, when we consider, beloved, how reluctant we are to have anything to do with Him! How constantly we find the tendency and propensity to forget and avoid Him. The carnal mind is enmity against God; but the blessed Jesus performs such a conquest as to attract this mighty multitude that will go up to Him; with not a reluctant heart, every one attracted to Him, every one running in to Him with joy and gladness; not a single thing in them that would withdraw them from Him, but everything in them that will respond to, and sympathize with, that mighty Magnet,—the loving bosom of Jesus Christ. And how blessed for Jesus, when He comes in the air, and waits for all those He has loved, and whose affections He has died to win, how blessed for Him to stand there and receive them unto Himself! And what a smile of joy, what a beam of brightness, will be in His countenance when we see Him! Oh, the blessed happiness of Jesus, when He gathers us all around Him, ―when we flock around Him as the center He has become to us! How blessed is this!
There is a little incident recorded in the last chapter of John, which is a happy illustration of the attractive power of the Lord Jesus. There was Peter, who had denied the Lord Jesus. In the interval between Christ’s resurrection and ascension, he had returned to his nets, although Jesus had called him to be a fisher of men. That night he caught nothing. In the morning Jesus stood upon the shore, and as soon as Peter knew it was the Lord, he girt his coat about him and cast himself into the sea to go to Jesus. He had again been to blame by returning to fishing, besides his previous shameful denial: yet the moment he knew it was the Lord, he thought not of his sin, nor of himself; every thought of self or sin is overcome, and vanishes before the engrossing charm of His most blessed presence. We don’t think of our sins when we see the love of Christ. Here was a mighty conquest. He attracted to Himself the man that before all had three times denied that he knew Him!
What a word is this in Thessalonians! It is said, “We shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.” There are two things in connection with this being caught up: we shall see God; we shall see in the Man Christ Jesus the image of the invisible God. There is an object to put out the glory and attraction of every other object in our eyes, the one Man Christ Jesus. And then we shall be caught up to the Father’s house. The blessed Son of the living God comes down to the air and draws us up to Himself, and then takes us to our Father’s house, our home. And that is what every man is seeking after in this world―a peaceful home a permanent rest―but never gets it. But God will give it to us, a peaceful, happy home; nothing to disturb, nothing to mar that peace, with all the blessing that the God who gave His Son for us can give us.
But these two words, “Caught up together.” We are to be caught up. How? Separated. Our brother has spoken of the separating power of the Gospel. Here is what we expect, ―the separating power of Hope. You who believe in this truth expect to be caught up, caught up out of the world, caught up from your friends and relatives, caught up from every association that would bind you here, caught up from everything. How would you like that? Would you like to be caught up now out of the world? Are you ready now? It is a separating principle, and should mark every step of our way now. It is separating; it is also uniting: separating from the world, uniting to one another. We are not only all caught up, but we are all caught up together. This hope must therefore, while separating from the world, unite to one another; for we shall have no independent place. The saints in Thessalonica were in difficulty in reference to the saints who had fallen asleep. The apostle tells them, “We shall be caught up together.” Herein you see there is a bond of union between saint and saint. How separating from the work this is! The very thing that unites us to each other separates us from the world; and the very thing that binds us to the world separates us from one another. Nothing will separate you from the world like this hope.
Well, it is necessary, therefore, for us to consider, beloved brethren, whether our circumstances in the world help or hinder us in this our expectation. It may appear a trifle, but there is a meaning in this, that the Lord Jesus Christ, when He ascended up, He did not ascend out of the heart of Jerusalem; He might have done it if He pleased; but He led them out as far as Bethany, and from Bethany, outside Jerusalem, He ascended. And surely, we are told to “go forth unto Him without the camp, hearing His reproach; for here we have no continuing city.”
And now, beloved, I put this question to you, in conclusion: Is Christ such an attractive object to your soul―not merely an attractive object whereby you are drawn to Him for life, and for forgiveness of your sins, but the attractive object that has put out every other light, the attractive object that has captivated your heart, and taken your affections from every other object? Oh! beloved, we shall be caught up to be in God’s home, to be “forever with the Lord;” not a transient season of joy, but to be “forever” with the Lord; not a consciousness of His presence for a while, but “forever.” Oh, the power that is in God, oh, the attractiveness there is in Jesus, to satisfy the demands of millions of needy, hungering souls throughout eternity! The need, the unsatisfied hungering of poor souls in hell, is put in contrast with the blessed fullness and power of God to satisfy every desire of our hearts! What confidence He must have in His own power, what confidence God must have in His resources, to make you happy! He binds you to His Son by the indissoluble tie of unity in life, so that if you are not happy, then Christ is not happy; that if for a moment in eternity you flag in the vivacity of your joy, then that moment Jesus’ joy will fail. But He is the source of eternal blessing, of unfailing streams of joy. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus!” Blessed be the Lord, we shall be soon taken away—soon be with the Lord! And though separated from those we love here, who are still in their sins, who are still in ignorance of Christ’s attractive power, the intenseness of the love of Christ in our hearts shall put away every painful consideration and reminiscence, and we shall be happy as eternity is long. Oh, that we might live, and if need be, die, for the salvation of sinners!