The Hope of His Calling

“That ye may know what is the hope of His calling God has called you;” what is the hope of the calling? What future is there in this call? We get it in verse 5: “Having been predestinated unto the adoption of children.” I know “Abba’s” heart now; I am to know “Abba’s” house then. If God says, “How beautiful my house will be with my Son in it, surrounded by those associated with Him,” is it nothing to my heart that God already has joy in the thought? It will have a separating effect on the soul from evil to God. “And what the riches of the glory,” &c.? Glory is not the same as the Father’s house. There is rest in the thought of the house, whereas in the glory we get the public expression of it. What a contrast to this beggarly world down here! Here it is all toil; but what is it all leading to? To a bright, brilliant, glorious future, now made little of by people here; then made much of by God up there. So far there is no question of life; He takes them as it were and shows them the corpse they were, the pit they were in. God loves to be Center, to have round Him a circumference of blessing. What was the pit you came from? What good was there in it? God could find none; so you cannot. Everything in it is bad, though it need not come out. As the pit was down there, and nothing but evil working in it, so the blessing came from quite a different place—from the Man up there upon the throne. Had we taken a few steps towards Him? No! it is even when we were “dead in sins.” It is not a question of bad fruits “dead in sins” (not alive in sins, as in Romans), all entirely wrong, all dead; not a correct notion of God, nor of Christ, nor the Holy Ghost, nor of ourselves.
There are three things: lifegiving, separation from the grave, and a place of permanent rest. Satan cannot rob me of blessing, because I am within Christ. The bringing into a place of blessing is a thing to be known individually; knowing it, and knowing the existence of it, are very different things. You say you believe it. Have you got it yourself? Can you say, “I have gone up from the tomb by a power that associates me with all that is dear to God? God looks on me, and says, there is an individual who has life together with my Son.” Can you say it? Is the life that you live in the flesh by faith of the Son of God?
God promised a son to Abraham; his circumstances said, “Impossible, you cannot have any children.” But Abraham said, “Let God alone, He must see to His promise.” Difficulties to believers now come in exactly the same way. Things inconsistent are brought up by conscience: if you say, “That is inconsistent with the Man up there, I am ashamed of myself,” you judge it in faith; but if you say, “I have failed, I am no Christian,” you play into Satan’s hands; you do not judge yourself, but slur over the evil. We get here three things: Abba’s heart, Abba’s house, and that the Man, the perfect Servant of God, who was obedient even unto death, has won His place up there. He went in not only as One who had a right to go in, but because He had humbled Himself. These things just mark the place that you and I are in as Christians. God wanted to show what a God He was, and the resources He had in His Son.
If God has raised us up together, &c., it is that we may have communion with Himself through this Christ dwelling in us by faith. We cannot get steadiness of works, unless with a soul abiding in communion with God. If I am in communion with God, what do I get? If a heart be right with God, there is talking about Christ always—Christ at home in the heart. I look up and say, “There is a Man on the throne of God, and He has all power in His hand: the Son of the virgin, the seed of the woman;” and God says, “That is my beloved Son, the fullness of Godhead.” If you know Him, you may get all the fullness of God. I never shall know Him; but I know Himself. God presents in that Man, seen there by faith, what can fill the humblest mind.
God has formed in my soul such an estimate of Christ that I could not do without Him; and more than that, He cannot do without me. Nothing is good without Christ, and the presence of Christ in anything makes it a home—scene to the heart.
The valley of Baca is a precious place if Christ be there. Oh, what a height and depth in the truth that makes us one with Him! What an expression of love! What an expression of light!
G. V. W.
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians
Here this long digression about Christian ministry comes to an end. The character of it, the need of it, the message conveyed by it, and the practical effect it should have on souls, the apostle has set forth. He now returns to that about which he had been writing—the effect made on him by his meeting with Titus, who rejoined him in Macedonia, on his return from Corinth. How truly could he rejoice! Grave had been his exercise of heart about the Corinthians. Great now was his joy respecting them. “I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” (7: 4) God, who comforteth those that are cast down, had comforted him by the coming of Titus; and not by his coming only, but by the encouragement wherewith Titus was encouraged through their deep expression of godly sorrow—a sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. They had dealt with the offender, and they had cleared themselves. His letter had the desired effect. He had written, not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that had suffered the wrong, but that their care for Paul might be made manifest to them before God. “Therefore,” he adds, “we were encouraged, and in addition to this our encouragement, we exceedingly the more rejoice for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if I have boasted anything to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.”
Encouraged by his visit there, we can well understand the readiness of Titus to return, in order to collect their contributions for the poor saints at Jerusalem. About this Paul next writes (chapters 8., 9), acquainting them with the liberality of the saints in Macedonia, and reminding them of that readiness to help to which they had begun to give expression a year previously. The liberality of the saints in Macedonia had exceeded the apostle’s expectations—the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. This outflow of real Christian love was beautiful and spontaneous. Beyond their power they gave, and even entreated of Paul the grace and the fellowship of the service to the saints. It was favor bestowed on them to be able to help, and to be allowed to help. They owned it, and desired to have fellowship in that service; for they had first given themselves to the Lord, “and to us,” writes Paul, “by God’s will.” Cheered by such tokens of love in these saints, he encouraged Titus to finish the work of collecting the alms from Christians at Corinth. And what a motive does he bring to bear on them! Even “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being rich, for their sakes became poor, that they through His poverty might become rich.” (8: 9) The willing mind would produce a cheerful giver. Two points should here be noticed. The offering should be spontaneous, and according to that which a person had. Grace and righteousness were both to be displayed. God did not ask anyone to go beyond what he had. (v. 12) Being generous at the expense of others formed no part of Christian practice. On the other hand, to give grudgingly, or of necessity, could not be the true fruit of Christian love. God loves a cheerful giver, and glory flows to him by that proof of divine grace in the giver, and by the thanks which ascend upwards from those who share in the bounty. Paul had reminded them of the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would encourage them by the remembrance of what God can do, and will do, for His people, quoting from Psalms 112, which, the reader may see on reference to it, is the counterpart, as displayed in the saints, of the acting’s of the divine nature as seen in God.
Psalms 111 describes the state. Psalms 112 fitly comes after it, as it describes the former. One sees too how he avoided all appearance of evil, or occasion for surmises, against those engaged in such a service (8: 18-21), and maintained the full right of the almsgivers to select their own almoners. (1 Corinthians 16:3; 2 Corinthians 8:19,23)
He had written the first epistle “that your care for us,” as he tells them, “might be made manifest unto you;” for this seems to be the best attested reading. That having been markedly proved, of which Titus was the witness, he was free now to enter on the matter of his apostleship (10:13), the validity of which some at Corinth had called in question. Looking on the outward appearance they disparaged the apostle, and, it would seem, questioned the validity of his commission to concern himself with Corinth. Little did such would-be teachers know about Paul. Weapons he was furnished with by the Lord that would be used for their edification or for casting them down. Man in nature might have used these weapons for the latter purpose; Paul aimed at their edification. Powerful indeed were his letters—all felt that; but his personal appearance was not in harmony with the power of his writing. He terrified by words, but who would be afraid of him when present? His speech was contemptible. Such were the thoughts and sayings of those people. Well, as regards his personal appearance and his speech, their remarks might be true. His figure was probably not a commanding one; his speech was anything but eloquent; but as to power, what he was when absent, that he would be when present. Nor had he overstepped his commission in going to Corinth.
Looking at the outward appearance would not do. “Let him that glorieth,” he writes, “glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.” (10: 17, 18)
From this he passes on to a comparison between others and himself. But why this line of things in an inspired epistle? He tells them he fears lest, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, their minds should be corrupted from simplicity as to the Christ. Hence he enters on a comparison as to his preaching, his Jewish descent, his endurance of trials and hardships, his sympathy with others. Then he tells them where he excelled all others, and claimed them as being witnesses of the truth of his apostleship. What could others preach of truth which he had not preached? Unskilled in speech he might be, but not in knowledge. As to correct Jewish descent, who could surpass him? As to labors and sufferings, who had outdone him? He preached at Corinth, feebly it is true; he would continue to do it, that the false apostles should have no ground of boasting over him.
But he had been where they had not, even in the third heavens, and in paradise; and he bore in his person the marks of these favors in the thorn in the flesh, which the Lord, though thrice entreated by Paul, refused to remove. Of how much could he have boasted! But he forbore. And why? Lest any man should think of him above that which he saw him to be, or heard of him (12:6) What a reason for his reticence! Paul, who had been in the third heavens, and had heard when in paradise what he could not utter on earth, was looked down on by these really false apostles, who had enlisted the Corinthians on their behalf. How utterly contemptible they must have appeared after the bare recital of his labors and sufferings for Christ! Completely crushed they ought to have been by the mention of his visions and revelations. Before he had ever visited Corinth he had been in the third heavens, yet they apparently knew nothing of it till they forced him to mention it. “I am become a fool,” he writes; “ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, by signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.” (12: 11,12) Trying it must have been for him to have to write thus. Condemnatory of them it was that he should be worked upon to do it.
Yet his love was unwearied. He could revisit them, and gladly spend and be spent for them, though the more abundantly he loved the less he was loved. (12:15) And did they think that in all this he was excusing himself to them? “We speak before God in Christ,” he says, “and all things are for your edifying;” for the moral condition of some in the assembly he well knew. (vv. 20, 21) So coming again he would not spare. Did any doubt that Christ spoke in Him? They had but to examine themselves to see. By whom were they evangelized? Christ Jesus was in them unless they were reprobates. Was it then in vindication of himself that he thus wrote? Again he reminds them that it was their real edification which he sought, that he might not be called upon to use sharpness towards them.
Now, after an exhortation and salutations, he closes with, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.”
C. E. S.