He confesses the name of the Lord Jesus. For I am supposing that the man adopts it—that he stands to it—that he does not apostatize openly—so that I am not raising any of the controversial questions of the time. I am only speaking of the thing itself, baptism, and assert that it is not so small a matter as some people imagine. It does not give life: so to say is false and superstitious. But baptism does at any rate change one's status, and the baptized person, by the very fact of being baptized as much as says, I own Him who died and rose again; I own Him who is the only Savior of sinners; I own Him who has already accomplished that work.
Now, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, I need not say, still goes on in its effect. It is not a question of outward profession, of which baptism, with Water is the sign. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a real Divine work. But what does it bring to us? Not merely the remission of sins, which baptism with water represents. The baptism of the Holy Ghost associates livingly with Christ at the right hand of God. For that reason the Spirit comes from heaven. Our Lord, even after He rose from the dead, never baptized with the Holy Ghost. He said before He went up to heaven— “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” To whom did he say that? To the disciples. They were not Unbelievers. There were only believers then present. But they needed another work to be wrought in them that had not been wrought in one solitary man in the whole world. Never since the world began had there been baptism with the Holy Ghost. It is a work that follows His ascension to heaven.
I call your attention to this, because all great vital truths are founded on facts. They are not ideas. They are not mere reasonings hammered out of the intellect of man. They are the drawing out through the person of Christ of the truths that follow from all the great facts of the Lord Jesus; and as you have the work of atonement depending upon His death, and the liberty and brightness of the Christian's life from His resurrection, so His ascension has to usher in a fresh blessing. I do not say it is the only blessing, but it is a great one-that now the Lord Jesus from the right hand of God sends down the Holy Ghost to associate livingly with Himself every soul that believes the gospel. The Son of man indeed was sealed in his own moral perfectness (John 6:27), as was meet; we only in virtue of His redemption, who is gone on high and sent down the Holy Spirit to seal us.
And what is the result of that? A heavenly character is impressed upon every Christian. “As is the heavenly, so are they also that are heavenly.” We are not earthly men. We were, and indeed worse than that—we were lost men. A Jew at the very best is only an earthly man as such; but a Christian is not an earthly man. He has to learn what is spiritually discerned. He rests upon a Person. His grace flows down from that one Man, the head of the new family—the Man who is in heaven, but whom all heaven worships; all the angels of God worship Him. And further, wondrous to say, Christians are not merely born anew and forgiven, not merely justified and children of God, but they are associated with Christ. They are united to Christ at the right hand of God.
Suppose the greatest lord of this land were to select some person in this room to be his wife. What would be the result of that relationship? If a young girl became the object of his affection and were married to him, what would be the consequence of that union? Why, for her at once a total change. She enters into all his dignity, and she gets a new name from him. There is a new relation, and if he has possessions without bound, he shares them, of course, with her. Well, that is exactly what is true of the Christian. The union of the Christian with Christ is founded upon the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is by the power of the Spirit united to Christ at the right hand of God. And so we find the Apostle opening out the consequence in chapter 15 of First Corinthians— “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the Heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly.” Is it not very striking that the Apostle wrote thus to the disorderly Corinthians? Every tyro has a slap at the Corinthians. They were indeed very faulty, but there are many saints now who are not at all better than the Corinthians. Yet these were the persons to whom the Holy Ghost addressed these words. Had they been predicated of the choicest saints on earth, we might have said— “Oh yes, these are heavenly men.” It does not, however, rest on merit. It is not a question of superior intelligence or of higher endowments spiritually. Of course, there ought to be intelligence and there ought to be practical spirituality; but we must never forget that the maiden's exaltation to be a Duchess, or a Princess, if you will, does not at all depend upon her deserving it, nor because she had a sweeter character or a prettier face than other people. Perhaps it was not so at all. A far more important thing decides: it depends on the Prince, and he was pleased to choose her.
This, I affirm, is what is pre-eminently true of our blessed Savior. We know that all is accomplished according to the grace and wisdom of God, and that He looks watchfully that they who are called by His grace should comport themselves to it suitably. It is a question of conforming them accordingly to Christ; and if they do not carry themselves according to the Lord Jesus, you know the Lord has His way of dealing with them. Why did some of the Corinthians die? Why were many of them troubled? Why were they sick? They had walked as men, as Greeks. But, then, were they heavenly? To be sure they were. This is the very thing that made their conduct so bad. The more we see of the grace of the Lord, the greater ground for self-condemnation, if we behave ourselves unworthily of the Lord Jesus.
But the first thing is, let us leave room for the grace of Christ. Let us without hesitation rest upon the word of God—the word of His grace, inviting us, encouraging us, removing obstacles out of the way, bringing the full tide of blessing into our souls. Then when we have got the blessing, let us sit in judgment upon our souls, the Holy Ghost being in us a spirit of power, of love and sound mind, and bringing us into a new association with Christ at the right hand of God, which stamps them as heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall bear the image of the Heavenly. How perfect the description! All see that we do not bear the image of the Heavenly. We bear the image of Adam still. Who, then, are heavenly? The title is conferred upon us, although we have got very little to show for it in present appearance. But still there it is: Christ has made us heavenly. He has brought us into that relationship of glory, and will ultimately conform us to the image of Himself, when we shall shine in all the beauty and glory of Christ. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly.
This, then, is the double work of Our Lord Jesus—the mighty work He wrought on the cross, and the mighty work He inaugurated from the right hand of God. But His glory is set forth in other ways, though we are unworthy of it. He is in heaven, but we are on earth, and consequently here exposed to difficulties, dangers, and snares. We require, therefore, a Friend on high, and the light of the grace of Christ for all the difficulties. God may employ others; but the true test of any ministry is the bringing of souls to know Christ in a way He was never seen before. If I get fresh glimpses of Christ with renewed confidence of His love; if I have the truth and the grace of the Lord brought before my soul in a manner which I had not previously realized, my soul receives a strength it never possessed.
Now, in this way it is that the Spirit of God shows us the immensity of Christ, and that the whole practical power of Christianity lies in His person and work. Everyone admits that the great object in the Scripture is Christ: that the object of faith is Christ; but it is not so generally seen that “Christ is all.” I have endeavored to illustrate that in deed and truth Christ is all. When we are delivered from the burden of our sins; when we are brought into association with Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost, we want a center for our hearts. Man cannot be without a center. Only God is self-sufficient; we are not except in sin; and even where we pretend to be self-sufficient we always come down. Now, man was made to look up, not to look down. A brute looks down, but man does not. Often, however, he only looks up as far as the stars and the sun, and worships them. You must look above them, all up to God—not to the sun or any other objects man has always been ready to deify.
We need a center for our hearts. There is an energy in the heart of man, which otherwise denies God or deifies the creature. Man was made by God to rule; an angel was not. You never hear of an angel sitting on the throne or governing. On the contrary, the saints are to judge the angels. So that nothing can be more certain than that man was made to rule. For that reason, with others, we require always a center to work to; and for want of this people injure themselves or dishonor God. If a man has a consciousness of being unfit for it, he sets up another man and trusts to him. It is the same amongst scholars. They set up schools of opinion, of philosophy, of sciences, of languages, according to their tastes or their habits, and they make these their object, their practical center, to which they are gathering. All their energies, their labors, are for the promotion of that central object towards which they work. We also require one—the simplest Christian as much as the greatest; the greatest because he might otherwise set himself up, and the simplest because he feels the want of it. Now, God gives us one, and this is taught in a very remarkable way here.
The first man we read of who officially had disciples was John the Baptist: I do not at all mean that he was wrong. Far from it; but still he is the only man, as far as I know, where God distinctly sanctioned disciples. John had his disciples, and it is evident that he was a man singularly honored (Matt. 11:10, 11) “Again, the next day after” (John had given his great testimony to the Lord Jesus), he sees Him, “and looking upon Jesus as he walked he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” Surely this is very striking. Now there was a Divine center on earth; and 1 John the Baptist, the very first man who had disciples, so speaks of Jesus that his own disciples leave him and follow Jesus. How rarely we find that. It is not what men like. Even the good are too often jealous if men leave them, but John the Baptist showed the power of God. He manifested a simplicity of faith most seasonable. No wonder the people took him for a prophet. What is it that marks the prophet? The man that sees God's mind and makes it known. Other people may make known the truth, may preach the gospel; but the man that puts your conscience in the presence of God is a prophet. So the woman of Samaria, when her conscience was awakened to her sin, said, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” It is the consciousness of God given to the soul that is the true test of a prophet. Now, so it was here. John the Baptist so speaks of our Lord that his own disciples turn from him to Jesus. He was right and they were right. He was right to bear his heart's testimony to the Lord Jesus; and it is remarkable enough that it was not a long effusion that he spoke, but a few words he uttered. How often is that the case “Behold the Lamb of God!” John rendered that testimony to Christ, and the moment that his disciples heard it they followed Jesus. They heard John, they followed Jesus, and the Lord invited them to remain with Him that day.
Now there is exactly where you find the needed center. One of the two that heard John and followed Jesus was Andrew, and he first goes and finds his brother Simon Peter, and tells him “we have found the Messiah,” and he brought him to Jesus. Jesus is the true center for men on earth. I do not mean merely a Savior, but also a center to work to. What am I doing now that I am washed in the blood of Christ, and that I am associated with Him in heaven! Am I serving the world? I do not mean by that am I carrying on my occupation in a Christian manner? That is all right, and in its own place most important. It is a bad job for any man who has not something to do: such an one is generally a nuisance. But the Christian that has an occupation by which he lives is called to stick to it, and do it thoroughly. It is my opinion a Christian man ought to do his work a great deal better than any other; and it would be a real shame to him if he did not, because his carelessness could not but bring a stigma on the name of Jesus. Only senseless men run down a man for cleaving to his honest occupation. Let us heed the Apostle Paul, that if a man will not work he ought not to eat.
But in this case, where Christ and the soul are concerned, it is another thing altogether. Have I now a divine object that fills my heart? What I want is not to make money or a name, nor yet that I should accomplish this purpose or that. Further, it is not mere serving my country or serving my Sovereign, or anything of that kind (although, of course, it is quite right to serve the Queen); but there is another service, another center to which we work infinitely higher and more commanding, that does not really end when you have done your work, but which abides beyond all time. The one thing that God wants is, that whatever you do should be to Christ, with a happy heart; no murmuring or complaining, or striking for more wages. The one who helps you to meet and overcome all these aberrations and puts your heart at rest is Jesus. There was a time, no doubt, when men set up what they called a city for Jesus —a commonwealth for Jesus. But this was a kind of fanatical monomania, for after all the city was only for themselves. There was no reality in it for Christ. It was a mere outburst of fanatical folly. But I am speaking now of simplicity and assiduity in the sight of God.
Faith is not just to be limited to believing in Jesus for salvation, or believing in Him as to this duty or that duty. It is more. It is a cleaving to a living Person as a center that commands my soul in all the work I begin to do. The disciples went to Jesus, and one of them goes and finds another and brings him to Jesus. How was this? Had Christ been only a man, they never would have left John the Baptist. Why should they? They were John the Baptist's disciples, and of all men born of woman there had not been a greater than John. Why did they leave him? Because they found a greater—one that was to be preferred before him—the Eternal One.
Are you conscious that in all your religious life you refer to the Lord Jesus—that He is really and truly your center? Most people you know go by where they were born or bred, christened or converted, by their country, by their families, or something of that sort. But these disciples did not. They for the first time in their lives recognized a man of Divine glory and authority who had absolute claims on their affection and allegiance. I leave that to work in every breast here. Be sure whatever you do—more particularly in religious life—that you have no superior authority to Jesus. Look alone to Him, then, whatever dark questions may perplex you, and He will give you light.
That is not all. We are going through a wilderness. We have to pass through a world where there are manifold and subtle snares. We want, therefore, not only a center to work to, but a path to follow. Where shall we find the true path for our souls? Not surely when we go to heaven. There we shall not need a way, because all is brightness there. But where all is wrong, where you are surrounded by enemies of every kind, you, you want an unerring way. Where shall such a path be found? I answer, in the Saviour. The Lord, therefore, the next day brings out that truth— “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.” Now, there is the path—the one only true way for the Christian. Whatever comes—whatever difficulties or trials—search and see what the will of the Lord is; and the moment you cleave to His will, you are following Him. He was always doing the will of God. He reveals the will of God in His word. You follow His word and so follow Himself.
There is another thing. We are in a world where there are false paths of all kinds, and men are ensnared by them. Some have their tastes here, some have there their predilections and their prejudices. I require, therefore, to have an object before my soul to keep it right; and what do we find to be the declared object in the end of the chapter? The Son of man. Remark that He is not spoken of as the Son of God. Just before, He is. But He that is the Son of God is also the Son of man, and it is as Son of man that He is brought before us here. “Hereafter (or, henceforth) ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” —the highest angels of God waiting upon the humbled Man—the One who came down so low. Such is the object for the Christian, no matter what he is. If I look at the foundation for my soul, the Lamb of God is that. If I think of the power that lifts to heaven, the Spirit He gives is the power. If I look for a center to work to, He is that center. If I want a path to follow through the intricacies of the world, He and He alone is the path. If I look for an object for my soul, He is the only one.
Do not treat even Scripture poetry as mere poetry. I grant that even from that point of view there is nothing like it, and that all that Shakespeare or Milton ever wrote so grandly is poor indeed compared with Scripture. Take even Milton, who had the benefit of Scripture and used it. He puts all wrong because, if I listen to him, the devil is reigning in a very fine palace. What a vain dream! I deny he ever reigned in hell. The devil will be the most miserable object all his life in hell. This is not reigning. So you see that the effect of the Miltonic picture is that it disorders men's minds about the truth. The devil is reigning in this world now—here, and not in hell. I press this for the purpose of having the truth to settle our souls—to give us true objects as seen in the light of God; to make us firm and constant in His grace and truth, His light shining down upon our every step through this wilderness world. May God in His rich mercy grant that these remarks may help to lead some weary wayfarer out of the darkness of the enemy into the marvelous light of God. Amen.
(concluded)
W. K.