NOW, beloved friends, a step more for those who have got that conscious access to God. The apostle goes a little further. We find our nature an evil tree. We have got the sins put away; “Christ appeared once in the end of the world, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” — that is, that the work of the blessed Lord, besides the bearing of the sins, is so perfect, perfect in everything, that He was made sin for us, and that then sin was dealt with absolutely: “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!”
It is not only that my sins have been borne, but that God Himself has been perfectly glorified in Christ who died. “Now,” He says, “the Son of man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him” — that is, He stands there as made sin, not only as bearing my sins, but as the Holy One, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Not only as the obedient One; God has been perfectly glorified in Him. I have no doubt the full result will not come out till that day when there will be the new heaven and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. “The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” — that is, that the whole question has been settled with God, so that finally we shall have the new heaven and the new earth.
In everything God has to do now, He has to do with sin — supposing He judges, it is against sin; suppose He shows mercy, it is because sin has come in. He has to deal with it in everything, either in mercy or in judgment. The time will come when there will be no sin, and that founded on the cross of Christ — founded upon the efficacy of His finished work, wherein He perfectly glorified God. The effect is that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The work that has put away sin I know now, and I get by faith its blessed result; I know it in myself, I have Christ as my life. The practical result is to reckon myself dead. He has borne my sins upon the cross, He has died and glorified God perfectly, He has risen up in a totally new state. The old Adam state is done with for every one that believeth on Him. He is the beginning, the Head of that new creation of God; and I find now that my part is with Him, and not with the old sinful world. As to my body, I am in the old creation still.
I stand before God in the effect of Christ’s work. Christ stood before God taking the effect of my work. I am before God taking the effect of His work. That is where the believer has overcome death. Death is all gain to me — I shall only go to the Lord — there is complete and absolute deliverance. As to my standing before God, I have been taken out of the position I was in, and put into another; not only under shelter, not only like Israel at the Red Sea, but taken out to go into a new position before God. This is expressed in Romans, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:1010For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)). The Spirit of God can dwell in me, because I am cleansed by the blood. And that Spirit dwelling in me, I am united to Christ. “In that day, ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you” (John 14:2020At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)). There I get practice, too; I cannot be in Christ without Christ being in me. Well, let me see Him in you; God, and the saints, and the world too, have the right to expect to see Him in me. If I am accepted in the Beloved, Christ is in me, and as the apostle says, it is “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” Therefore he says to the Corinthians, “Ye are the epistle of Christ;” Christ is to be read in you; He is graven upon your hearts by the Spirit of the Living God. As to my standing as a Christian, Christ is before God for me, and my place is settled. I am to bear Christ about in the world, and there is my responsibility.
You will see, beloved friends, how the apostle puts it plainly here. “He appeared once in the end of the world, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” When my heart is before God, I can say: Well, not only Christ has put away my sin, but I stand before God in the result of what He has done! I do not call myself a child of Adam; I am a child of God. He has put away our sins, and our place is in Christ. Mark then, beloved friends, what follows: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” There is the entire effect of sin, I mean according to God’s order. If God enters into judgment with sinners, all are condemned: “Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, O Lord, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified.” But as Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, so “to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time” — what to? — “to salvation.” Now I get the place of the Christian, and I feel happy.
I begin at Christ’s first coming, and I say, Oh! He has put my sins away, He has made an end of sin once for all, and I am before God in Him, and I have got the Holy Ghost giving the blessed consciousness of it. “At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” Death is gain to me, if I get that; and as to judgment, the Person who is to be my Judge, is the Person who has put away all my sins forever. He cannot charge the sins upon me that He has put away Himself. God has taken care for your peace in that way, that the Person who is to be the Judge, was first the Saviour — no fear at all! God has dealt with our sins, He sends out the tidings of it — all the world has the testimony by the Spirit to it now — testimony received by faith.
God has dealt with them already, put them away instead of leaving them to the time when He comes to deal with them in judgment. Has Christ not come the first time? To be sure. Is He not coming again? “To them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation,” — “without sin,” that is, having nothing more to say to it. When He comes the second time, He comes having nothing to say about sin. Why? Because He came the first time to put it away by the sacrifice of Himself, — “unto salvation”; that is, to bring them into the glory, “that where I am, there ye may be also.”
You see, beloved friends, there is the place and the blessedness we have. Do I fear the Lord’s coming? The very opposite. Do you think He is coming to receive men in their sinful state in there? He came the first time to put that away. He makes us feel the sins, makes us hate sin; but God has dealt with our sins in Christ, and to bring them up again would be to deny the efficacy of Christ’s work. If a man neglects this great salvation, he is doubly guilty. “How shall we escape if we neglect this great salvation.” Well, what is this great salvation? He has put away my sins, and I believe He has done it. He came about sin before; He has nothing to do with sin the second time. His whole business was sin in a certain sense before, but He has nothing to do with it when He appears the second time.