Titus 1
It is at the beginning of this chapter that the Spirit of God marks with an especial character that on which I desire to speak—the eternal thought of God toward us which we find in verses 2, 3. Evil had come in; the Spirit takes notice of it; and the effect in a most remarkable way is to throw us back on the whole mind and thought of God from the beginning. As evil progresses, and corruption comes in, the apostle turns back to the origin of all, and coming from the divine nature itself (and all that could meet the evil, and convey us on, must come from that); that is, the eternal life which God, Who cannot lie, promised before the foundation of the world; that which was in the mind of God as to the thing itself before the foundation of the world; that which God had in His mind, the counsel of God for us before itself was created. It just shows us what we are, and what man is, with and apart from that eternal life.
In Ephesians we find it in connection with Christ (chap. 3. 3-7): a mystery hidden through all ages in God until Christ was raised up as Head of the body, the bride. It is not on this I would dwell. I am not going to speak about the church, but would turn back to what the life is, and would dwell on this thought, the promise of life in the mind of God before the world ever existed. Before that, I say, this life existed in a person, Christ, the One Who was in the beginning with God, and was God; that is the Christ with Whom my life is hidden with the Father. Being in Himself life, He came into the world as the Life, and manifested the Life. The thing was embodied in the person of the Lord as Man; and there it was—the life of man, not of angels. That which was specially God's divine thought toward man is shown out when Christ becomes Man; and this life is communicated to us, the instrument used being the preached word of truth. This divine life had been manifested here in a Man—the Lord Jesus. He having given it to us, it is now manifested in our bodies. It has the character of godliness in its manifestation. It tells you what you are. It is in a poor vessel, and where there is a wretched will; but it tells you what you are, and what the world is; it throws out an additional light to show what man is as a creature totally departed from God.
Morally speaking, the world has grown up in departure from God; that is, the world we live in—all that we see around—has sprung up from the creature having got away from God. But the life we have existed before the creation of the world; and this portion of scripture is very full of the simple, quiet, blessedness of what that life is, practically manifested and given in Christ. A great deal of evil had come in. Satan was corrupting the truth by the wild reason of man's mind. The apostle specially warns Timothy and Titus, and throws them back, not on common Christian profession, but on the faith of God's elect, the acknowledging the truth which is after godliness. They were to be as those who knew what were the thoughts and mind of God, and were cast on Him. If I have got divine teaching, I can say I know the Shepherd's voice; and if it is not His, I shall know that too. The truth which is after godliness is not only acknowledged, but is marked and stamped as of God by a man living to and for God. Godliness is what a man would do if instigated by God; and what a man would not do if God were close by him, it is clear, would certainly not be for God. A man daily taught by the knowledge of God how to be living for God would do everything to manifest the ways of godliness, knowing those ways because of God. I speak not of doing right instead of wrong, or of conscientiousness. A believer clearly ought to be righteous with regard to others; but I speak of godliness. You never can be for God without knowing what God is. I cannot walk worthily of God if I do not know Him. I cannot walk with God without that, though I may walk uprightly with man. Here it is walking worthy of God, the loins being girded (affections tucked up). This applies to all revealed to us in Christ. A believer, as to his motives and life, has Christ's mind revealed to him, to show him how to guide himself through all circumstances. Sorrow could draw out His heart in divine love, but in motives and all circumstances He was always Himself (perfect, of course). It is the mind of Christ that believers are to have. What a wonderful place we have got! Only as we are taught of God can we get hold of this; that is, the hope of eternal life promised by God before the world began. Mark that; for as to the Adam life, it never could be that, but a divine life in those who are saved—a life for heaven. We have got it now, and we shall be there on account of it. There will be its full manifestation, everything there, every word, and all praise will be according to the presence of God. As participators of the divine nature we shall be in fullest blessedness there, where nothing inconsistent with the divine nature can exist, but everything will be in accordance with that life, and ourselves as possessors of it in the highest and most blessed perfection. We belong to that place now, whilst our bodies are down here. The life we have got came down from thence, and has its only full sphere of blessing there.
The promise of God before the world began, this life was in the mind of God for us before ever the world existed. I do not speak now of predestination, but of the thing itself in the mind of God before ever the world existed. If we turn to 1 John 1 we see how this Life came down. What “our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (ver. 1-3). It is a real Man. The Life which was with the Father was manifested down here in the person of Christ. In many you will find great vagueness of thought in connection with this life. It is Christ Himself. “When He Who is our life,” &c. Before He speaks of the communication of life, He speaks of its manifestation. John could see what it was down here, amongst friends and enemies. He says, “We have looked upon, and our hands” &c. The Life which was with the Father is the life promised before the world began. I get what it is perfectly displayed. I see this life in One Who, in due time, fully manifested it as Man. The last Adam is the Man in Whom its perfection is seen; a Man in this world, in all points tempted like us; a perfect Man, without sin, walking in the world in meekness and holiness, a pattern set before us to follow.
2 Tim. 1:99Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (2 Timothy 1:9) shows the way it was given us in Christ. God connects the two things here: saved by Christ according to His own purpose and grace given us in Him before the world began. In this life we see a thing that has its display in heaven. We have got it now, and in a place where it is hindered. It leads my thoughts and feelings to be ever in heaven, where it is as before the world began. Though displayed in all perfection down here by Him Who has abolished death, and has brought life and incorruption to light, the life was in heaven before it was manifested here. Wonderful truth!
For the power of this life Christ has gone through death and annulled it. Death is an abolished thing for saints. It takes us out of all the misery of the first Adam. It was not so with saints in the Old Testament. They could not say, “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.” It was all death to them. Elijah was taken away for a testimony without passing through death; but Christ passed through it and annulled it, rose and went up to heaven; and life and incorruption are thus brought to light. Turn to John 1:44In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4): “In Him was life.” You never could say that of a saint. God gave us to have that life in His Son. If in ourselves we might lose it, but if He is my life I cannot. “He that hath the Son hath life.”
He is the life and light of men, not of angels. This is an unutterably humbling truth for us. If God was exercising life-giving power, it was to be manifested in a man, and therefore the Son of His love becomes Man. God displayed it by the incarnation of the Word—the eternal Son. He was given in promise to us before the world existed: and He came into the world personally. The Word, made flesh, dwelt among men in all the circumstances in which we walk. He goes down into the death of the first Adam and abolishes death, bringing life and incorruptibility to light, and goes up to the right hand of God as the display of this life in a Man up there. What a thought! That eternal life in this world—a man, a poor man, a carpenter, One Who had not where to lay His head. The life promised before the world began now has been made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, and in due time manifested to those who believe through preaching. Christ Himself is the great firstfruits of the life that we, as saved ones, have in Him—He the firstfruits of the great harvest of God. I repeat, this life, given in promise before the world existed, was manifested by the Christ, Who in the power of it passed through death; and in heaven it is now manifested in the risen Man Christ Jesus: while down here it is manifested in those who believe through preaching.
That is how we get it. It is preached in the world now. And what does the world make of it? That is the solemn thing for your consciences. If we take the world, we get not the Second Man, but the first. Turn back to the garden of Eden, and you get the clue to the present state of the world and how it began. Man, created in responsibility to keep his first estate, was commanded not to eat the fruit of a certain tree. He eats it, doing his own will, and is cast out of paradise. And the world begins where paradise ends; and that is the world we live in, only it is a thousand times worse, because it has rejected Christ. Yes, the world around us sprang up when man was driven from paradise. A man in a state of responsibility, departed from God, made the world what it is. And what a world! Solemn as is the responsibility of man in it, for us who have life it is only by-the-bye. True, we have to go through it; but it has nothing to do with the eternal life we have, except as being the place where the eternal life has been manifested and brought to us. I would ask, What is man departed from God about? Making the world a scene of delights for himself by cultivating the arts and sciences. (You will find among the heathen the most beautiful exhibition of the arts and sciences.) I repeat, man is making a scene for developing and displaying faculties that have nothing to do with God (the best as well as the worst have nothing to do with Him). (To be continued.)