The Calling of God: March 2024
Table of Contents
The Calling of God
When the prophet Elijah was sent by God to call Elisha to be a prophet and to be his successor, he found Elisha at work in the field with the plow. There were 12 plows at work, with 12 yoke of oxen, and Elisha was with the twelfth. But although the call of God came to him so suddenly, he did not hesitate, but at once obeyed. And the striking fact connected with the call is that he not only obeyed it at once, but he slew the oxen with which he had been plowing, burned his plow to cook their flesh, and invited his men to partake of the feast. He thus signified, in an emphatic manner, his determination to completely obey his calling.
If you profess faith in Christ, have you burned your plow? I mean, have you come clean out of the world, making it manifest that you are no longer under the dominion of sin and Satan, but that you are Christ’s? We need to be very separate and very distinct and very decided. No man can serve God and mammon; may we not be guilty of trying to do both. The question therefore is a pertinent one, and worthy of consideration by you, namely, Have you burned your plow?
Gospel Echo, Vol. 21
The Call of God
In the first period of Abraham’s life, in Genesis 12, we are introduced to the path of faith and those who walk there in answer to the call of God. We also see the hindrances on the path, the faith that takes the path, and the blessings in the path as well as the failure, temptations and conflicts found there.
Let us think first of the character of the call by which the Lord began to woo Abraham from Ur to the city of God.
A Divine Call
The first great truth we learn in the opening portion of Abraham’s history is the blessed character of the call of God. From Stephen’s address, recorded in Acts 7, we learn that “the God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia.” What distinguishes the call from every other call is this: It comes from God — the God of glory. Human civilization, with its cities and towers reaching up to heaven, has nothing that speaks of God, but only that which exalts and displays the glory of man. “The God of glory” speaks of another world in which there is nothing of man’s self-aggrandizement but everything that displays the character of God. This is the God who in wonderful grace appears to a man living in a world estranged from God and steeped in idolatry.
So it is the glory of the One that appears to Abraham that gives such importance to the call and gives faith its authority and power to answer that call.
A Separating Call
Second, we learn that the call is a separating call. The word to Abraham is, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house.” Abraham is not told to remain in the city of Ur and deal with man’s wickedness, or attempt to improve its social condition, or reform its domestic ways, or attempt to make it a better and a brighter world. He is called to come out of it in every form. He is to leave the political world (“thy country”), the social world (“thy kindred”) and the domestic world (“thy father’s house”).
The call today is just as definite. The world around us is a world that has the form of godliness without the power — the world of corrupt religion—and the epistle that tells us that we are partakers of the heavenly calling exhorts us to separate from its corruption. We are to “go forth therefore unto Him [Jesus] without the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13). It is not that we are to despise government — it is still God’s appointment. We are instructed to pray for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1-2), to refrain from speaking evil of dignitaries (2 Peter 2:10; Jude 1,8), to pay our taxes (Mark 12:17; Rom. 13:6-7) and to obey the laws of the land (Rom. 13:1-5).
Nor can we neglect family ties — they are ordered by God. Nor are we to cease to be courteous, kind, and do good to all men as we have opportunity. But as believers we are called from taking part in political activities of the world, the social round, and the whole sphere in which unconverted members of our families find their pleasure without God. We are not asked to reform the world or seek to improve its condition, but to come out from it. The word is still, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17-18).
An Assuring Call
Third, if the call of God separated Abraham from this present world, it is in view of bringing him into another world — “a land,” God said, “that I will show thee.” If the God of glory appeared to Abraham, it was in order to bring Abraham into the glory of God. Thus the wonderful address of Stephen (Acts 7) that commences with the God of glory appearing to a man on earth (vs. 2) ends with a Man appearing in the glory of God in heaven (vs. 55). In closing his address, Stephen looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he says, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” Looking at Christ in glory, we see the wonderful purpose that God has in His heart when He calls us out of this present world. He has called us to glory, to be like Christ and with Christ in a scene where everything speaks of God and all that He is in the infinite love of His heart.
God does not say to Abraham, “If you answer to the call, I will immediately give you possession of the land.” But He says, “I will show thee the land.” If we answer His call, God allows us, along with Stephen, to “see the King in His beauty” and the land that is very far off (“of far distances”; Isa. 33:17). We look up and see Christ in glory.
An Advantageous Call
There is great present blessing for the one who answers the call. As separated from this present evil world, God says to Abraham, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great.” The men of this world seek to make a great name for themselves; they say, “Let us make us a name.” But God says to the separated man, “I will bless thee and make thy name great.”
The tendency of our natural hearts is always to seek to make a name for ourselves, and the flesh will seize on anything, even the things of God, to exalt itself. This tendency was seen even among the disciples of the Lord when they debated among themselves as to which of them should be accounted the greatest.
The scattering of man at Babel and the divisions of Christendom, as well as every strife among the people of God, can be traced to this one root — the vanity of the flesh seeking to make itself great. “Only by pride cometh contention” (Prov. 13:10).
The lowly mind of the Lord Jesus led Him to make Himself of no reputation. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” God has made His name great (Rev. 15:4), and to the one that has His lowly mind and follows Him outside the camp in answer to the call, God says, “I will make thy name great.” God can make a much greater name for the believer in His world of glory than we can for ourselves in this present evil world.
If honestly confessed, it may well be found that the true motive for some Christians remaining in a soul-deadening religious system is the secret desire to be great. Thus they shrink from the path of obscurity outside the religious world. Can we not see in Scripture, as in daily experience, that those who have been spiritually great among the people of God have been separated — men and women who have answered the call of God, while any departure from the separated path has led to the loss of real influence and true spiritual greatness among the people of God?
A Beneficial Call
God says to Abraham, “Thou shalt be a blessing.” In the path of separation, not only would Abraham himself be blessed, but he would also be a blessing to others. We do well to mark the import of these words. How often a believer remains in an association which he would admit is not according to the Word of God on the plea that he will be more useful to others than in the outside place of separation. However, God does not say to Abraham, “If you stop in Ur of the Chaldees or in the halfway house at Haran, you will be a blessing,” but, answering to God’s call he is told, “Thou shalt be a blessing.” Perhaps Lot felt he could have influence sitting in the gate of Sodom, but the man who had influence there — who almost spared the city by his intercessions — was the man under the oak at Mamre.
A Preserving Call
Sixth, Abraham is told that in the outside place he would have the preserving care of God. He may indeed have to face opposition and trial, for it is ever true that “he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey” (Isa. 59:15). But God says to the separated man, “I will...curse him that curseth thee.” The separated man is preserved from many a trial that overtakes the believer who remains in association with the world. The mercy of the Lord saved Lot from the doom of Sodom, but in that false association he lost everything — wife, family, wealth and testimony.
An Effective Call
Acting on faith in God’s word, Abraham was told, “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” We know the use that the Spirit of God makes of this promise. He says, “The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [on the principle] of faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Gal. 3:8). Abraham did not, and could not, foresee the far-reaching effect of the principle of faith on which he acted in answering to the call of God, but God foresaw that it was the one way of blessing for all the families of the earth. So now none but God can foresee the far-reaching effect in blessing for others that may result when we, in simple and wholehearted faith, answer to the call of God.
H. Smith
Abraham - the Call of Promise
What we see in the Word of God before this remarkable account of the call of Abram (Gen. 12-13) is humbling, as we see what God has told us of man’s sin and ruin, as bringing on the flood, and what followed it. What was to be done now? God had hung out a sign in the very heavens that He would no longer visit the iniquity of the race as He had done in the deluge. There had been a secret principle of grace with God that He always acted on, but now this principle was to be brought out manifestly. What had made the difference in the case of Abel, Enoch, or even Noah? It was grace that had flowed to them and wrought in them whatever was good and holy and true. But there is a new thing that comes out in the history now before us.
A Ground of Action
Promise was to be thenceforth a public ground of action on the part of God. God was no longer content that He should act after a secret sort. He would now make the call distinct and plain, drawing to it the attention of friends and enemies. It was the call of God, no more secret but evident to all.
So we are told in this place: “Now Jehovah had said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” (Gen. 12:1). Abram was called by God to a place of separation, and this so as to be manifest as the great principle that God would have us now to weigh with all seriousness, as we read His Word.
The children of Israel at Sinai took the ground of law. The consequence was that, however divine the principle was, it fell through in the case of the chosen nation. So again, God has now applied the same principle to the call of the church. It is not merely mercy towards the soul, for this has always been true, but God has a body publicly called in this world, composed of such as are meant to be witnesses of His grace in Christ on high.
But the Lord in His dealings begins first of all with an individual, and there was great wisdom in this. To what end was this? Not only that he himself should be blessed, but to be a blessing, and this not only to his own seed, but to others far and wide. “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).
In the earth and with men, such is the sole possible way of blessing. If there is to be blessing at all in a world that is ruined, it must be on the ground of one who comes out in obedience to the call of God, not staying where he is, nor attempting to reform the evil in the midst of which he may be. God made it particularly manifest at this time, for the world was no more as it had been before the flood; it was separated into its distinct nationalities. Government also had now been instituted.
Idolatry
But now that idolatry had entered (Josh. 24:2), separation to God comes in as the recognized place. Instead of having souls to walk individually with Him, God, from that day to this, takes up what was then a wholly new thing for man, that if He were to be pleased or magnified, it must be as separate to Himself. God looks for more now; He calls out. Hence the force of the word here, “Get thee out.”
It is not simply “believe”; this was not at all the question put. It is not a question here of the gospel being sent out, nor of Christ being presented personally. It is God who separates to Himself at His own word — a man who was in the midst of all that is evil, with his own family worshipping false gods like the rest. The solemn fact was that the family of Shem had gone into idolatry no less than others. In spite of the predicted purpose of God, Shem’s sons had proved faithless. What next could be done? Was there no way of securing God’s honor? This was the way: The call of God goes out in sovereign grace, separating to Himself a man no better than his fellows but avowedly involved in the idolatries of his fathers. “Get thee out of thy country ... unto a land that I will show thee.”
Now the first thing I would press is that faith is shown in believing what God brings home to one’s own soul and for one’s own path. God has a will about each successive stage in all the varying phases of life, as evil itself grows and works in the world. Satan does not limit himself to the same snares of falsehood and sin, but becomes more and more subtle and determined in his plans. God looks for faith in His Word accordingly. So in this case the very family (Shem) that had whatever there was to hope for were fatally involved in his networks just like other men. But God has a way of vindicating Himself, and this is a way which gives all the glory to Himself. Faith recognizes this as being what it ought to be.
The Call Was of Grace
The call comes without the slightest ground for it in Abram himself. This we see to be perfectly consistent with the dealings of God. He meant the blessing to be in that line, but Abram was evidently a child of the unfaithful, and no doubt an unfaithful child himself. The calling was, accordingly, of grace: God Himself called, and God, at the same time, was fitting this man for the place of blessing. God had, before Abram was fitted for it, pronounced what it was in His heart to give him, so that it might be, not of Abram who deserved it, but of God that called him. It was grace. “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great” (Gen. 12:2).
The whole principle of the blessing as flowing out of the call of God had been manifested in a man distinctly separated to Him and called out without disturbing the arrangements of the world. There was no setting him up with a mightier sword in his hand to put down the workers of iniquity. The world was left, arranged under the providence of God in separate families, nations and tongues, but not till government was by man sanctioned by God. But there, God’s honor being completely set aside and false gods worshipped, He separates under His promise of blessing the man who comes out at His call to the land He would show him.
The Call and the Promise
This then is God’s own blessed way — one most effectual, as it is also peculiar to Himself, and on it, in fact, God has acted in our own call, whether to Himself or into the church. It was much for God to say, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great.” But there was another word, and this was especially dear to the heart of one so blessed himself. “Thou shalt be a blessing.” This was to make him not only the object of grace, but the instrument of it. It was to give him communion with God Himself in the activity of His own goodness. “Thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee [of course, on the earthly side]: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
W. Kelly (adapted)
The Hindrance to Answering the Call of God
In Abram we see the blessed promises that are connected with the call of God, and we shall learn how faith responds to the call. First, however, in this deeply instructive history, we are permitted to see how often the man of faith may be hindered for a time from answering to the call.
The Ties of Nature
From Stephen’s address, recorded in Acts 7, we learn that the call came to Abraham, “when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.” In answering to this call, he was hindered by the ties of nature. The call came to Abraham, but nature apparently can at times profess great zeal in answering the call, and even take the lead, for we read, “Terah took Abram ... and went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan.” Man in his natural state may attempt to tread the path of faith, and, at the start, do the right thing with the best of intentions. But in self-confidence nature always undertakes to do more than it has the power to accomplish. Thus it came to pass that while Terah left Ur “to go to the land of Canaan,” he never reached the land. Nature stopped halfway at Haran, and there he dwelt to the day of his death.
But what of Abraham, the man of God? For a time he allowed himself to be hindered from fully obeying the call of God. It was not simply that his father was with him; he allowed himself to be led by his father, as we read, “Terah took Abram.” The result was that he stopped short of the land to which he was called. So we read, in Stephen’s address, he came “out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land.”
How many of us have been hindered for a time from taking the separate path, consistent with the call of God, by some beloved relative. The call reaches the believer; he acknowledges the truth, but delays to answer it because some near relative is not prepared for the outside place.
The soul clings to the hope that by waiting a little the relative will be brought to see the call, and then both can act together. Faith, however, cannot lift nature up to its own level, though, alas, nature can drag down and hinder the man of faith. Many pleas can be raised to excuse this halfway halt, but in reality it is putting the claims of nature above the call of God. Then, as in Abraham’s history, God may have to roll death into the family circle and remove the one that we allowed to hinder us in obeying God’s call. Thus it was not until his father was dead that Abraham fully answered to the call of God.
H. Smith
Called to Serve
All the instructions for the tabernacle had now been given, and the work of making it was about to begin (Exodus 31). What an important lesson there is for us in all this! Not a move was made until God had said what was to be done. Oh that we would always listen to the Word of God first, before starting any service for Him. Then when we have heard His voice instructing us, let us acknowledge that He alone can enable us to do His blessed will. It is all of Him and all of grace.
The Lord’s Call
Moses did not look over the camp and pick out men for this work himself. Nor did he call for volunteers. No, the Lord told Moses whom He had chosen and fitted for this wonderful service. It is a serious thing to serve the Lord, as well as a blessed privilege, and “no man taketh this honor unto himself” (Heb. 5:4). The Lord alone can call, as He did Bezaleel and Aholiab in our chapter, and as He did Barnabas and Saul many years later (Acts 13:2). And the Lord alone can qualify, too, as He did these men; more than this, we can be sure He will not call any whom He has not qualified (Romans 12:3).
Perhaps some of our young readers wonder how we can know that we are called of God. This is a good question indeed and we heartily wish that every redeemed child had the desire to serve the Lord. We may be sure that if the desire is there and we ask the Lord, as Saul of Tarsus did, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6), the Lord will reveal His mind to us.
We must, however, be humbly content to do His blessed will, no matter what the service is. Too often we are like Naaman, who was willing enough to do some great thing, but not what God specifically requested. We must be willing to be despised and misunderstood even by those whom we love and seek to serve, and who proved this like the perfect Servant — the blessed Lord Himself. Furthermore, we must not have a will or thought of our own as to what should be done, for there was not even the smallest detail of the construction of the tabernacle that was left to the wisdom of Bezaleel and Aholiab. God gave instructions about everything, and they had only to do as God had commanded by His servant Moses. Of course, this needed great wisdom, but not natural wisdom. It required the wisdom which God alone could give, and this He did, fitting these two men in a marvelous way for their particular service.
His Call and Not Self-Interest
Our earnest prayer is that the Lord of the harvest may thrust forth many more into His ripened harvest fields. May we be more willing to listen to His call instead of being busy with our own selfish interests. Many of us are like a little girl whom I know, who is often so busy with her own play that she does not hear her mother calling her to come and help. Then when she does come, it is often too late to be of any use. May we be more like the blessed Lord Himself who said, “He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear” (Isa. 50:4). The Lord has a daily work, as well as a lifetime work for each one of us, and the time for us to do it is short. His coming draws near.
These two men were filled with the Spirit of God for their work, and surely this is of supreme importance. Barnabas, whom we mentioned previously, was called and fitted. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, too, but sadly he allowed other things to come in, and the Lord had to set him aside. The One who calls and fits His servants alone can keep them. May we ever pray, “Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust” (Psa. 16:1).
G. H. Hayhoe
Christ's Sufferings and Call to Priesthood
In Hebrews 4, the apostle has shown us the sphere in which the priesthood of Christ is exercised — the house of God—and the circumstances of His people which require His priestly service — the wilderness journey. Now he unfolds to us the sufferings that Christ passed through in view of His priestly service and the call to the priestly office.
The Aaronic Priesthood
To develop the blessedness of the priesthood of Christ, the apostle refers in Hebrews 5:1-4 to the Aaronic priesthood as setting forth general principles as to priestly service. At the same time, he shows by contrast the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over that of Aaron.
We must definitely recognize that these four verses refer, not to Christ and His heavenly priesthood, but to Aaron and the earthly priesthood. The apostle calls attention to the person of the earthly priest, the work of the priest, the experiences of the priest, and the appointment of the priest.
His Person
As to his person, the high priest is taken “from among men.” This is in striking contrast to the priesthood of Christ. Truly Christ is Man, but He is much more. The writer has borne witness, and will yet do so, that the Christ who is our High Priest is none less than the eternal Son.
As to his work, the earthly priest is established for man in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, and exercise forbearance toward the ignorant and the erring. Here there is the shadowing forth of the priestly service of Christ. As the High Priest, He acts on behalf of men — the many sons that He is bringing to glory — to keep them from failing and maintain them in a practical walk with God. Christ has offered gifts and sacrifices for sins to bring His people into relationship with God, and having accomplished the great work that removed their sins, He now exercises His priestly work in intercession, sympathy and succor on behalf of His ignorant and erring people.
Personal Experience
As to the personal experiences of the earthly priest, we read, “He himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.” Here there is partial analogy and definite contrast to the priesthood of Christ. It is true that, in the days of His flesh, Christ was found in circumstances of weakness and surrounded by infirmity, but, in contrast to Aaron, He was sinless, and it could not be said that for Himself He offered for sins.
The Appointment
As to the appointment of the earthly priest, “No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” Here again there is an analogy, as we are at once reminded, to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, who is not called of God. The intense solemnity of neglecting this great truth is seen in the judgment that overtook Korah and those associated with him, who sought to establish themselves in the priesthood without being called of God. Jude warns us that in Christendom there will be many who, in like manner, will appoint themselves priests without the call of God and will perish in the gainsaying of Core (Num. 16:3,7,10; Jude 11).
Here, then, we have the character of the earthly priesthood according to the mind of God, and not as illustrated in the history of failing Israel, which ends with two wicked men filling the place of high priest at the same time and conspiring together to crucify their Messiah.
The Glory of His Person
With verse 5 the writer passes to speak of Christ as High Priest. He brings before us the greatness of His Person as called to be a Priest, the experiences He passed through in order to take the position of Priest, and the appointment of God to this place of service.
The glory of His Person: Christ, who is called to be our great High Priest, is truly taken from among men to exercise His priesthood on behalf of men. Nevertheless, in Manhood, He is recognized as the Son: “Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.” It is this glorious Person — the One who is truly God and truly Man, and in whom Godhead and Manhood are perfectly expressed — who is appointed Priest according to the word, “Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” As to the character of this order of priesthood, the apostle will have more to say. Here, Psalm 110:4 is quoted to show, not only the greatness of the Priest, but also the dignity of the priesthood.
The Experiences of Christ
In verses 7-8 that follow, we learn the experiences that Christ passed through in order that He might exercise His priestly service. How necessary that He should be the glorious Person that He is — the Son — to exercise the High Priesthood in heaven. But more was needed. If He is to succor and support His people through their wilderness journey, He Himself must enter into the sorrows and difficulties of the way.
At once, then, the apostle recalls “the days of His flesh” when He took part in our weaknesses, trod the path that we are treading, faced the same temptations that we have to meet, and was surrounded with like infirmities. The writer especially refers to the closing sufferings of the Lord, when the enemy who, as one has said, “at the outset had sought to seduce Jesus by offering Him the things that are agreeable to man (Luke 4), was presenting himself against Him with terrible things.” In Gethsemane the enemy sought to turn the Lord from the path of obedience by pressing upon Him the terror of death. In the presence of this assault, the Lord acts as the perfect Man. He did not exercise His divine power and drive the devil away or save Himself from death, but as the perfectly dependent Man He found His resource in prayer, and thus met the trial and overcame the devil. Nevertheless, His very perfection as Man led Him to feel the terror of all that was before Him and to express His feelings in strong crying and tears. He met the trial in perfect dependence upon God who was able to save Him out of death.
His Piety
In all this sore trial He was heard because of His piety, which brought God into every circumstance by dependence and confidence in Him. He was heard inasmuch as He was strengthened in physical weakness and enabled in spirit to submit to taking the cup from the Father’s hand. Thus He overcame the power of Satan and, though He were Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. We have to learn obedience because we have a wicked will; He, because He was God over all who, from eternity, had ever commanded. We oftentimes learn obedience by the suffering we bring upon ourselves through disobedience; He learned obedience by the suffering entailed through His obedience to the will of God. He learned by experience what it cost to obey. No suffering, however intense, could move Him from the path of perfect obedience. Another has said, “He submitted to everything, obeyed in everything, and depended upon God for everything.”
The sufferings to which the apostle refers were in “the days of His flesh,” not the day of His death. At the cross He suffered under the wrath of God, and there He must be alone. None can share or enter into His atoning sufferings. In the garden He suffered from the power of the enemy, and there others are associated with Him. We can in our little measure share these sufferings when tempted by the devil, and so doing we have all the sympathy and support of the One who has suffered before us.
He Was Heard in Resurrection
Moreover, in verses 9-10, not only was He heard in the garden but, having suffered, He is also heard in resurrection and is made perfect in glory. He takes His place as the glorified Man, according to His own words, “Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today, and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke 13:32). Nothing could add to the perfection of His Person but, having passed through the sufferings of the days of His flesh, having accomplished the work of the cross, and having been raised and glorified, He is perfectly fitted to exercise His service on behalf of the many sons on their way to glory. Being perfected, He is addressed by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec. In incarnation He is called to take up the Melchisedec priesthood (vs. 5); when risen and perfected in glory, He is addressed as having taken up the calling (vs. 10, JND).
H. Smith (adapted)
The Surrender of Love
Present surrender here in view of future joy, and entrance now upon that which is unseen and abiding, is a cardinal feature of true Christianity. Love is the spring of it all. The Lord Jesus Christ is the most striking example of it. Though in the form of God, He emptied Himself and took upon Him the form of a bondman, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:6-8). He sacrificed all that He might glorify God. He came down from the heavenly glory, refused earthly glory, endured the cross, and despised the shame, until that which was His heart’s delight was accomplished — the will of God.
Throughout His wondrous pathway, the soul of this blessed Man was in communion with His Father. And He had meat to eat which even His disciples knew not of (John 4:32). He was ever walking in the light of God, ever governed by that invisible and abiding scene which surrounded Him, filled with God’s glory. He walked here as the dependent Man, completely under the control of the Word, refusing all the glory of men, with which Satan sought to turn Him from His blessed path. He was the perfect witness of self-surrender, the fruit of perfect love, and has set us an example that we should follow His steps.
Now both before and since the advent of Christ in this world, we have examples furnished us in the Scripture, by the Spirit, of men who were the subjects of the call of God, and who, wholly or partially, according to the measure of their faith, surrendered things here in answer to it.
The Christian likewise is called out of this world to enter now, in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, upon that which is unseen, abiding and eternal, the scene which is filled with the glory of the Son of God. Soon we shall dwell there and enjoy without hindrance His blessed presence forever, but faith, by the Spirit’s power, makes it a present reality for the soul. It is the substantiating of things hoped. for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1 JnD). And though to be without natural affection is a sign of the last days (2 Tim. 3:3), and not to honor parents is contrary both to the law and to the gospel, yet the Lord has said, He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matt. 10:37). Hence, the nearest and dearest earthly ties should not be allowed to hinder our wholehearted response to God’s call.
Moses
Another bright example of surrender is found in Moses. When come to years in the palace of the Pharaohs, and his prospects of the brightest, and in a certain combination of events he might, perhaps, even have inherited the Egyptian throne, by faith he forsook the position in which, in the providence of God, he found himself. He “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect to the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:24-27). Had he reasoned according to the natural thoughts of man, or allowed himself to be governed by the circumstances which surrounded him, he would have clung to his position, reasoning as to what a help he could be to his people in it. But no, he entered into the true call of God and without hesitation sacrificed all to answer to it. The reproach of Christ was dearer to that faithful heart than all the world beside. With light from God, he knew what to refuse, what to choose, and what to esteem. He forsook all, and endured, as seeing Him who is invisible. His reward was both present and eternal. May the Lord give each believer who reads these lines to take it to heart, that we may identify ourselves wholly and uncompromisingly with the interests of Christ and His people at all costs in this the day of His rejection.
The Young Ruler
A solemn example of the lack of surrender is found in the young ruler of Mark 10:17. Running and kneeling in the Lord’s presence, he said, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” The Lord, knowing his heart was set on wealth, and that he desired long life to enjoy it, tested him with the commandments which referred to his neighbor. He professed to have kept them; but the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” exposed him. His departure, sad and grieved, showed that he loved treasure here more than Christ. The Lord loved him (vs. 21) but he lacked that love in return which leads to surrender in this world in view of the one to come. He might have had great possessions in and with Christ forever, but the “great possessions” of this transitory scene filled his heart. He missed his opportunity, and it is the last we hear of him.
The Apostle Paul
It is blessed to turn in contrast to the case of Paul. In his early days of proud Pharisaism, Saul of Tarsus, filled with religious enmity against Christ, sought to blot out the name of Jesus of Nazareth from the earth. But, met in grace from the glory by Him whom he persecuted, when in the full tide of his mad career, light broke in upon his dark soul, and he was blessedly converted to a glorified Savior. Straightway, at Damascus, instead of persecuting His followers, he preached Him as the Son of God. His heart had been captured on the road. And now, enraptured with that blessed Man at the right hand of God in glory, his whole life henceforth, without reserve, as Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles, became devoted to His interests on earth. So completely was he captivated with Christ, that everything here became completely eclipsed in his eyes, and he could write to the Philippians some thirty years after his conversion, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,” etc. (Phil. 3:7-8). Paul’s was a wonderful surrender. Constrained by the love of Christ, his heart responded; drawn and controlled by love, in the Spirit’s power, he pursued a straight course from start to finish. With him it was no boast, but the simple expression of that which was true when he said, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). So closely did Paul follow Christ, that he could write to the beloved saints at Philippi, “Brethren, be followers together of me” (Phil. 3:17).
May God in His great grace so work in power in our souls that, constrained by the love of Christ, we may, each one without reserve, surrender our will, our all, ourselves to Christ, and so answer in heart and life to the call of God. Thus only shall we bring glory to His all-worthy name, who surrendered all that He might suffer for us that we might be redeemed to God forever by His precious blood. May the surrender of love characterize us, as His disciples, till He come.
E. H. Chater (adapted)
Mixtures and the Call of God
The path of the church of God is a narrow path, so much so that mere moral sense will continually mistake it. But this should be welcome to us, because it tells us that the Lord sees to it that His saints be exercised in His truth and ways, not merely learning the rights and wrongs of human thoughts, but that they may be filled with the mind of Christ.
We are reminded of the servants in the parable of the tare-field. The disciples were right according to man, and so were those servants. Is it not fitting to weed the wheat? Are not tares a hindrance, sharing the strength of the soil with the good seed, while they themselves are good for nothing? The common sense of man, the right moral judgment would say this, but the mind of Christ says the very contrary: “Let both grow together until the harvest.” Christ judged only according to divine mysteries. That is what formed the mind in the Master, perfect as it was, and that is what must form the mind in the saint. God had purposes respecting the field. A harvest was to come, and angels were to be sent to reap it, and then a fire was to be kindled for the bundled and separated tares; but as yet, in the hour of Matthew 13, there were no angels at their harvest-work in the field, nor fire kindled for the weeds, but all was the patient grace of the Master. The Lord will have the field uncleared for the present. The mysteries of God, the counseled thoughts and purposes of heaven, precious and glorious beyond all measure, demand this; and nothing is right but the path that is taken in the light of the Lord in the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
Christendom
Nor is the church to go to heaven through a purified or regulated or adorned world, any more than Christ would have gone to heaven through a judged world. This is to be well weighed; for what is Christendom about? It contradicts all this. Christendom acts to regulate the world, to keep the field clean, to make the path to heaven and glory lie through a well ordered and ornamented world. It has put the sword into the hand of the followers of Christ. It will not wait for the harvest nor will it go into “another village.” It avenges wrongs instead of suffering them. It orders the church on the principles of a well-regulated nation, and not on the pattern of an earth-rejected Jesus. It is full of the falsest thoughts, judging according to the moral sense of man, and not in the light of the mysteries of God. It is wise in its own conceits.
I know full well there beats in the midst of it a thousand hearts true in their love to Christ, but they know not what manner of spirit they are of. I know that zeal, if it be for Christ, though misdirected, is better than a cold heart, or a indifference as to His rights or His wrongs. But still the only perfect path is that which is taken in the sight of the Lord, in the understanding of the mysteries of God, and the call of God, and the directions of the energy of the Spirit and not merely after the fashion or dictate of the morals and thoughts of men. And the call of God now demands that the tare-field be left unpurged, that the indignity of the Samaritans be left unavenged, that the resources and strength of the flesh and of the world be refused rather than used. The call of God also demands that the church should reach the heavens, not through the judgment of the world by her hands, but through the renunciation of it by her heart, and separation from it in company with a rejected Master.
Scattering
“He that gathereth not with me scattereth” (Luke 11:23); that is, he that does not work according to Christ’s purpose is really making bad worse. It is not enough to work with the name of Christ: no saint would consent to work without that; but if he does not work according to the purpose of Christ, he is scattering abroad. Many a saint is now engaged in rectifying and adorning the world, getting Christendom as a swept and garnished house; but this is not Christ’s purpose; it is aiding and furthering the advance of evil. Christ has not expelled the unclean spirit out of the world. He has no such present purpose. The enemy may change his way, but he is as much “the god” and “prince of this world” as ever he was. The house is his still, as in the parable (see Luke 11:24-26). The unclean spirit had gone out: that was all; he had not been sent out by the stronger man; so that his title to it is clear, and he returns and all that he finds there, had only made it more an object with him. He finds it clean and ornamented, so that he returns with many a kindred spirit, and thus makes its last state worse than its first.
More could be said, and more occasions brought forward to support the important truth that the call of God and His purposes must be ascertained in this day of God’s grace. However, one more important point should be made. It is this, that often among the saints of God we see a pure position kept with little spiritual grace. When this is so, it calls for a deep rebuke. Surely “the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). Position may be quite according to God, but the practical godly grace with which it is filled and occupied may be scanty and poor.
As with Jonathan, David loved him dearly and yet he was not David’s companion. But the companions of David’s temptations were at times a trial to him, talking on one occasion even of stoning him, while Jonathan personally was always pleasant to him. And yet David’s outside place was the place of the glory then, and his companions were in the right position.
Position Without Power
And yet we see the same thing around us at this hour. There is no lesson I would press on the attention of my own soul more than this, and I think I can say I value it — position without power, principles beyond practice, jealousy about orthodoxy, and truth and mysteries with little personal communion with the Lord — all these the soul stands in constant fear of and in equal judgment and refusal.
The call of God separates us, but we need the Spirit of God to occupy the place according to God, and the loving devoted mind. “Salt is good”; the divine principle is the good thing. But salt may lose its saltness. The right position or the divine principle may be understood and avowed, but there may be no power of life in it. I dread indifference more than mixture. I would shun Laodicea more than Sardis. May we learn the lesson in both its features — Sardis, with its religious bustle which gave it a name to live, will not do; Laodicea, with its selfish, cold-hearted ease and satisfaction, will not do. Let us be diligent but pure in service; occupying talents but occupying them for a rejected Master; looking for nothing from the world that has cast Him out, but counting on everything in His own presence by-and-by.
J. G. Bellett (adapted)
Separated to God
Every one of us that has been called of God finds more or less that he is isolated unto Him that called him ... Christ was apart to God.
J. G. Bellett
Christ as Priest
The Aaronic priesthood is characterized by atonement and intercession; that of Melchizedek is characterized by power and blessing. Christ is “the high priest of our profession,” as Christians. He will be, as a result, “priest of the Most High God” — God’s millennial name.
The order of His priesthood is that of Melchizedek. Its exercise at present is after the pattern or character of Aaron, that is, intercessional. He was “called” to the priesthood by the word of Him that said unto Him, “Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee” (Heb. 5:5). This has reference to His being the Son of God, as born of a woman and born in time on earth. Compare Psalm 2:7 and Luke 1:35. This is distinct from His being God’s eternal Son.
He is installed in His priesthood after the order of Melchizedek as having gone on high after He had been rejected on earth, where He died and arose from the dead and ascended to heaven. Compare Hebrews 5:6 and Psalm 1.
He was perfected for His service of priesthood (especially for its present exercise) “in the days of His flesh” through strong crying and tears and His pathway of sorrow and suffering. Then He went on high (Heb. 5:7-9; Mar. 14:33-40; Luke 22:40-53). Having gone through all this, He was “called of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:10), when He ascended into the heavens. There and then He first practically exercised His priesthood. When He comes forth again, He will exercise it after its true order, as Melchizedek.
F. G. Patterson
The Hamas-Israeli Conflict
As I write this in early November 2023, the Hamas-Israeli conflict is entering its second month. As most of our readers know, the conflict was initiated by a sudden but well-planned attack on Israel by Hamas, an extremist Muslim group based in the city of Gaza. On October 7, 2023, a well-armed force of about 3,000 Hamas soldiers managed to break through the security wall around Gaza and enter Israel’s territory. They then proceeded to go on a murderous rampage, killing over 1400 Israelis and taking about 200 hostages. Most of this carnage was directed against civilians, including women and children, and was accompanied by various atrocities and the mutilation of dead bodies.
Despite its excellent intelligence system, it seems that Israel was taken totally by surprise. Their predictable response was to use their powerful military to undertake an extensive bombing of the city of Gaza, and, as I write, they are sending ground troops across into the Gaza strip. All this has had widespread effects and threatens to involve the great powers in the world, as each decides which side to favor. Another effect of the war has been to derail a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. In fact, fears of an Israeli-Saudi rapprochement may have been one of the key drivers of Hamas’ October 7 attack.
International Support
On a smaller but perhaps equally important scale, the war has brought to the surface a significant divide in the thinking of numerous people in many countries, including Western Europe and North America. Elected officials in government have largely voiced support for Israel, while not necessarily agreeing with all that they are doing. To support their view, governments have cited the example of an unprovoked attack by a terrorist group on a sovereign nation, accompanied by the wanton killing of civilian citizens, compounded by atrocities. A significant number agree with them and are trying to look logically at the whole scenario.
On the other hand, an unexpectedly large group of people have voiced strong support for the Palestinians and even Hamas, calling them “freedom fighters” rather than a terrorist group. Huge protests and marches supporting them have erupted around the world in many countries, as they see the mounting casualties in Gaza, while the relentless bombing deprives much of the population of shelter, food, water, electricity and communication. Israel for its part alleges that Hamas deliberately hides its war machine around homes, apartments, hospitals, and other civilian facilities, and then uses the resultant casualties as propaganda against Israel.
The Palestinian Side
Two aspects of all this are of some note. First of all, it is evident that some take the Palestinian side, not because they necessarily agree with all of Hamas’ aims or their ways and means of doing things, but rather because they view the Palestinians as being the oppressed and Israel their oppressors. A recent article in a prominent Canadian newspaper made the following observation:
“Leftists in English-speaking nations tend to see Palestinians (including Hamas) as an oppressed, brown victim class, whose freedom-fighting “resistance” against their oppressive, white, U.S.-backed colonizers in Israel is a righteous cause with which to stand in solidarity. ... There is no way to interpret this outlook and the surrounding leftist fervour except as a signal of support not merely for Palestine, but specifically for Hamas, a jihadist movement with the explicit aim of eradicating the State of Israel. It’s imperative to understand that Hamas, as detailed in its 1988 Covenant, is propelled by a fundamentalist Islamist ideology whose goal is not only to eliminate all Jews but to conquer the world — just like ISIS. ... The vicarious thrill of romanticized revolution leads some to go far beyond simply advocating for the Palestinian people to expressing solidarity with Hamas, ignoring the jihadist ideology at the core of that organization.”
The Rise of Anti-Semitism
Coupled with this view, and no doubt contributing to it, is what appears to be a surge of anti-Semitism. Authorities in the U.S. have reported more than a 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents since October 7. On October 17, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of a “scary rise” in anti-Semitism in Canada. Britain reports a 14-fold rise in incidents of anti-Semitism since October 7. Similar reports are coming from many other countries in Europe and South America, as well as Russia. A wave of global hatred seems to be directed against the Jews.
In view of all these developments, we may well ask, What does all this mean for believers — those who are part of the church?
While we cannot properly interpret prophecy in the light of current events, we are entitled to “see the day approaching” — the day of judgment (Heb. 10:25). We can certainly learn something from what we see around us, while waiting for our Lord to come.
The Coming Day of Judgment
First of all, the war in Gaza and the general reactions to it are indeed a harbinger of the Lord’s coming. The day of judgment is decidedly getting closer, and the Lord’s coming for us must come before that. Our hearts can look up and say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Second, the rise in violence and corruption in the world tells us that moral depravity is reaching its zenith. We may wonder why God does not judge this world now, but it is a principle with God that he does not judge iniquity until it is fully ripe. When God promised Abraham that his seed would “come hither again,” that is, back into the land of Canaan, He reminded him that “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:16). This world may get morally worse yet, but it is fast reaching that final point.
Dependence on Western Powers
Third, we know from prophecy that despite all of Israel’s military strength, they will still be dependent upon Western powers to survive, after the Lord’s coming for us. For this reason, they make a covenant with the Roman beast, but then the beast breaks that covenant in the middle of the last prophetic week. This leaves Israel without support, opening the way for the King of the North to come down. He will likely be a coalition of Arab nations, backed by Russia, and he will devastate Israel in a way that was never seen before. While we do not wish to speculate, it seems highly possible that some of these extremist Islamic groups (such as Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS) will be involved. Unconsciously, they are now getting ready for that time. (See Dan. 9:27; Isa. 28:14-19).
Prophetic Events
The rise in anti-Semitism may well continue and fuel an attitude that eventually causes the Western powers (under the Roman beast) to break their covenant with Israel and to forsake them. This allows the King of the North to be able to overrun the country, but it will be God’s way of destroying the ungodly and the apostates in the land (Zech. 13:7-9). It will also be God’s judgment on that nation for the awful crime of crucifying their Messiah. The godly ones will know from Matthew 24:15-22 to flee when they see the Antichrist stand in the holy place, and many of them will be spared.
We are truly living in the “perilous times” of 2 Timothy 3, yet they are very blessed times too. We are right on the verge of our Lord’s return for us, and then a series of events will begin to unfold, eventually resulting in untold blessing for this world. Most important of all, our blessed Savior will have His rightful place and be honored and glorified in the world that cast Him out. May we be among those who not only look for His return for us, but also “love His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).
W. J. Prost
Walking With God
To walk with God! Oh fellowship divine!
Man’s highest state on earth — Lord, be it mine!
With Thee may I a close communion hold,
To Thee the deep recesses of my heart unfold.
Yes, tell Thee all — each weary care and grief
Into Thy bosom pour, till there I find relief;
Oh! let me walk with Thee, Thou Mighty One!
Lean on Thine arm and trust Thy love alone.
My every comfort at Thy hand receive,
My every talent to Thy glory give;
Thy counsel seek in every trying hour,
In all my weakness trust Thy mighty power.
Oh! may this high companionship be mine,
And all my life by its reflection shine;
My great, my wise, my never-failing Friend,
Whose love no change can know, no turn, no end!
Author unknown