Have You the Spirit?

If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Rom. 8:9).
Have you the Spirit? is then a question of vital importance; and from this and other Scriptures we gather, not only that every child of God has the Spirit of Christ, but that he should know that he has this blessed One dwelling in Him, We have repeatedly heard it said, “I know that I have the Spirit of God dwelling in me, because Scripture says so”; but while this is perfectly true, ought it to be enough to satisfy us? Is it possible that God the Holy Ghost can dwell in us without our having some sense of His almighty, ever-living activities in our souls? And are there not many operations of the same Spirit? Are we not also told that
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God {1 Cor. 2:11}?
How important, then, it is to have clear and intelligent thoughts, as revealed in Scripture, as to the Holy Ghost Himself, and His indwelling and operations in us!
In tracing this most blessed subject a little, we may notice first what Scripture says we have not received. We are told we have not received
the spirit of the world (1 Cor. 2:12),
which we know only occupies itself with things of earth, and time, and sense, matters bounded by death on every hand. Nor have we received
the spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7),
that spirit of dread and torment ever brooding over painful uncertainties and gloomy forebodings. Nor have we received
the spirit of bondage again to fear (Rom. 8:15),
connected with legal observances and ritual ceremonials, which never can deliver from the fear of death. But we are distinctly told that we have
received the Spirit of God, that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God {see 1 Cor. 2:12};
that we have received
the spirit of love, and of power, and of a sound mind {see 2 Tim. 1:7};
and that
we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father {see Rom. 8:15}.
All therefore of the workings within, of the love of the world and of bondage, legal fears and dreadful apprehensions, are not of the Spirit of God. Nor can that Holy Spirit produce thoughts in us for the dishonor of the Lord Jesus; for
no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed {1 Cor. 12:3}.
We have in this way the ground cleared as to what the Spirit of God doth not produce in us; and also of the love, liberty, and conscious relationships He gives us to enjoy.
And further, we are told that
the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us {Rom. 5:5};
thus producing in us a happy sense of our being objects of divine love. And as to intelligence, we now know what prophets declared they did not know. If a prophet said,
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him {1 Cor. 2:9},
we reply,
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:9, 10).
Thus we see at once the actions of the Spirit, both in the heart and in the mind, according as it is written,
I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more {Heb. 10:16, 17}.
But the important question may be asked by some, What do you mean by having the Spirit of Christ? This expression is only used once more in Scripture as far as I remember, and then in reference to the Old Testament prophets, who testified of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow, by the Spirit of Christ which was in them (1 Pet. 1:11). Elsewhere the prophets are said to have spoken by the Holy Ghost. By the Spirit of Christ, then, we are now to understand the Holy Ghost, that other Comforter which Jesus promised to send after His departure out of this world, and which, we are also told, could not be given till Jesus was glorified. And so important was the coming down of the Holy Ghost, that the disciples were told to tarry in Jerusalem for Him. And after Jesus had been raised from the dead, and had been seen of His disciples forty days, He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, for they should be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. Now observe, they were not thus put to wait for the new birth, or to be made God’s children, for that they were already; nay, more, they had received risen life too, for so I understand, when Jesus breathed on them, saying,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost {John 20:22};
that life in the Spirit — risen life — was then communicated; but they were waiting for the Holy Ghost Himself; to indwell them, and unite them to their glorified Head in heaven in the membership of His body.
It was, then, after Jesus had gone into heaven with His own blood, having set us there before God as cleansed and justified by His blood, that the Holy Ghost came down and took up His abode for ever in such as were cleansed. First, made sons by being born of God, and cleansed from all sin, and then,
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son in your hearts, whereby we cry, Abba, Father {see Gal. 4:6}.
These two operations — the new birth by the Spirit, and the subsequent indwelling of the Spirit — are clearly distinct, and the latter succeeds the former, i.e. the Holy Ghost indwells those who are born of God.
Observe also, it is not an emanation of the Spirit merely that is given. Scripture is quite plain as to this. It is “the Comforter” which is “the Holy Ghost.” Nor do we read of our having the Spirit merely in the way of influence, though He does influence our hearts, and minds, and consciences. The idea of an influence sets aside the reality of His indwelling, and makes us think of one outside us, acting upon us, like the sun in the heavens sheds his genial rays upon us, rather than the fact of His being in us. Such thoughts also obscure the glory of His divine person, and rob souls of the happy enjoyment of His presence and operations. When one looks only at Scripture, it is unaccountable how Christians should be praying for the Spirit, and for His influences, as if He had not come.
Before the day of Pentecost it was well enough to pray for the Spirit, and to look for His coming; hence in the gospels, our blessed Lord said,
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke 11:13).
But since He has come, there is no such idea in Scripture as that of Christians praying for the Spirit; but, on the contrary, in the epistles, there is the constant recognition of the fact that He is here.
To pray to the Spirit, as some insist on, is far more excusable, because the Holy Ghost is God; but even doing this betrays ignorance of the order of Scripture teaching; for the Spirit being the power of prayer, and the One who teaches us how to pray and what to pray for, who makes intercession for the saints according to God, we are spoken of as praying in the Spirit instead of to the Spirit.
But to pray for a fresh baptism of the Spirit is wholly unscriptural, and entirely without excuse. In Acts 1 the saints were instructed to wait to be baptized with the Holy Ghost. In Acts 2 the Holy Ghost came down and filled them. In 1 Cor. 12:12 we are told, that
by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.
Baptism of the Spirit is clearly then the Holy Ghost indwelling God’s children, and connecting them in the unity of one body with Christ their glorified Head in heaven. If, then, believers are once for all united to Christ in glory by the Holy Ghost, how can this be re-done? What meaning therefore can be attached to the expression so common among many Christians, of praying for a fresh baptism of the Spirit? It is very sad.
Again, we sometimes hear, from those too of whom we should least expect it, of our having received only a measure of the Spirit. But where does Scripture say this? Where do you find it? It is said that
the Father giveth not the Spirit by measure:
unto him is in italics, and therefore not in the original. (See John 3:34.) And if one only thinks of it for a moment, it becomes apparent, that if it be only a measure of the Spirit we have received, then the Holy Ghost Himself has not come. It is also thought that the idea of our having the Spirit only in measure is strengthened by the expression in Eph. 5,
Be filled with the Spirit,
because they suppose to be filled with the Spirit is to have a greater measure. Such, however, is not the case. The apostle there puts it in the form of an exhortation or command, saying,
Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit {Eph. 5:18}.
That is, do not feed on that which excites the flesh, do not strengthen it, for that grieves and hinders the Spirit’s working in us; as Peter says,
Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul {1 Pet. 2:11}.
Be not then drunk with wine, wherein is excess;
or do not strengthen, but abstain from fleshly lusts, but
be filled with the Spirit {see Eph. 5:18}.
Or, so let that which is carnal be reckoned dead by you, that the Spirit may be ungrieved, unhindered, so that He may fill every faculty of your heart and mind. Thus to be filled with the Spirit is not having more of the Spirit, but the Spirit of God who indwells you, so ungrieved as to fill all your mind and heart with Christ.
But all these mistakes about the Holy Ghost arise from not knowing Him.
Ye know Him,
said our blessed Lord,
for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you {John 14:17}.
The eternal Godhead of the Holy Ghost is plainly and abundantly set forth in Scripture, and the attributes and sovereign actings of God are ascribed to Him. He is called the eternal Spirit. The psalmist speaks of His omnipresence, saying,
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? {Psa. 139:7}.
The apostle Paul alludes to His omniscience —
He searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God {see 1 Cor. 2:10}.
In Acts 5 He is called God. In the third verse Peter charges Ananias with lying to the Holy Ghost; and in the next verse says to him,
Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God {Acts 5:4}.
The sovereign actings of the Holy Ghost are seen in Acts 13:2, in saying,
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them;
and in Acts 16:6 He forbids them to preach the word in Asia. And when they assayed to go into Bithynia, we are told that
the Spirit suffered them not {Acts 16:7}.
Thus we see that the Holy Ghost dwelling in the church is called God; and we also see His sovereign actings with the servants of the Lord in regard to their work. We have noticed also some of His divine attributes. Who else but God could thus act?
His personality also calls for a few words; for though He be God the Holy Ghost, He is not God the Father, nor God the Son; and yet these three are One. Though the Father and the Son are One in divine essence, so that Jesus could say,
I and my Father are One {John 10:30},
yet in person they are distinct. Hence we read that the Father sent the Son, that
when the fullness of time was come God sent forth His Son {Gal. 4:4}.
And so of the Holy Ghost Jesus said,
Whom the Father will send in my name (John 14:26);
and again,
Whom I will send unto you from the Father (John 15:26);
and further,
If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you (John 16:7).
Also His personal actings were referred to by our Lord —
He shall teach you all things. He shall bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. He shall testify of me. He shall guide you into all truth. He shall glorify me: and shall receive of mine, and shew unto you {John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13, 14}.
What language could more plainly convey to our minds the reality of personal actings? And who, I would ask, but One who was God, could teach all things, and guide into all truth? It is “He,” “He,” “He,” all through. Thus the Godhead and personality of the Holy Ghost are plainly taught in the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Let these precious truths be solemnly pondered by us.
His operations occupy a large place in Scripture. From Genesis downward His actings are constantly seen. At creation He
moved upon the face of the waters {Gen 1:2}.
In the wilderness He endowed Bezaleel with wisdom to make various parts of the tabernacle and furniture, so as to typify the person and work of the Lord Jesus. The anointing oil in figure set Him forth. He came upon prophets to speak and write the words of God, to set forth the sufferings of Christ and the glories which follow; and He loosed the tongues of men and women to praise and magnify Jehovah at the birth of the Son of God, who had been conceived by the Holy Ghost. He came upon Jesus, the perfect One, in bodily shape as a dove, when the Father’s testimony of Him was,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased {Matt. 3:17}.
It was by the eternal Spirit that Jesus offered Himself without spot to God, and after death and burial was quickened by the Spirit. The same Holy Ghost came down to form and indwell the assembly of God at Pentecost, and has been here ever since as the other Comforter to abide with us for ever; and He is the power of all blessing.
With regard to His present operations, Scripture speaks of them as both individual, and collective; for He dwells in the Church as well as in believers individually. (See Eph. 2:22; 1 Cor. 3:16; and also 1 Cor. 6:19.) On these subjects the instruction is large and varied, a knowledge of which is of the highest importance for our soul’s comfort and blessing. But as Scripture we are considering looks at the individual as possessing the Spirit, our remarks must for the present be confined to this point.
1. We are distinctly taught in Scripture, that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. As we have before seen, He does not bring us into bondage or servile fear, but sets our souls in the enjoyment of the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and points us to Him now seated in the heavenlies, as there because He did by His one offering perfect for ever them that are sanctified. Hence we sing—
“Our doubts and fears for ever gone,
For Christ is on the Father’s throne.”
2. It is by the Holy Ghost which is given to us that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. Thus we are not merely informed of the truth intellectually, but are given a feeling sense, an enjoyment of the fact that we are objects of divine love. Our hearts are melted with God’s love, and we can say with the apostle,
We love Him, because He first loved us {1 John 4:19}.
3. The Holy Ghost being given to us as
the Spirit of adoption {Rom. 8:15}
after we were born of God, filial feelings are produced in us, so that we love God as our Father, and our fellow-believers as brethren. The Spirit, no doubt by the truth, bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God, and gives us also access through Jesus unto the Father. Thus we can in some measure even now enter into these precious words of Jesus,
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God {John 20:17}.
This marvelous relationship we know by the Spirit dwelling in us, which causes our hearts to flow out in worship to the Father, and in love and sympathy unto His children.
4. It is also by the Spirit that we can truly know and own Jesus as Lord; for we are told that
no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 12:3).
It is remarkable in Christendom, while many talk so glibly of “our Savior,” how comparatively rare it is to find a person ready to confess that Jesus is his Lord, the One now owned by him in the place of exaltation and honor; thus demanding both his adoring gratitude and subjection of heart and will.
5. The Holy Ghost is our Leader.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God {Rom. 8:14}.
In gentleness He leads (not drives or coerces) us; but like a nurse leads her little ones across a path of defilement and danger, so He graciously gives us to hear His still small voice within us saying,
This is the way; walk ye in it {Isa. 30:21}.
It is an important fact to notice, that those who are led of the Spirit are not under the law. Happy are they who, in meekness and confidence, wholly and unreservedly commit themselves to His sure guidance.
6. The Holy Ghost strengthens the new nature; hence the apostle prays that we may be
strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man {Eph. 3:16}.
But He dwells in our bodies and in our hearts.
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you? (1 Cor. 6:19).
God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart’s,
crying, Abba, Father (Gal. 4:6).
7. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22)
stands in wide contrast with
the works of the flesh {Gal. 5:19}.
It is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Gal. 5:23).
8. The Holy Ghost is our Teacher; He guides into all truth. God has now revealed precious mysteries by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God. Jesus said,
He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you {John 14:26}.
What a precious Teacher! How astonishing that we do not more implicitly, and more habitually, yield ourselves to be taught by Him! Perhaps nothing shows more what self-confidence lurks in us than our shortcoming as to this.
9. The Holy Ghost who dwelleth in us is the other Comforter, the Paraclete — the One who manages everything in us, even as Jesus is the Advocate, or Paraclete, above, and manages everything for us up there. We are filled with joy in the Holy Ghost, we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost, and are taught to cry,
Come, Lord Jesus {Rev. 22:20}.
It is by His gracious ministry that the word which testifies of Christ is often brought to remembrance so suitably to our heart’s need, that we are comforted when cast down, or gently reproved when inclining to that which is evil in His sight. It is by His effectual working that the personal glories, accomplished redemption, triumphant work, fitness and fullness of Christ, are brought home to our souls for comfort and blessing. He is the power of our fellowship with the Father and His Son, and the helper of our infirmities in prayer. He is ever attracting us to Christ, drawing us up to where He is, and setting our minds on things above. He glorifies Christ, and takes of the things of Christ and shows unto us, and teaches us as to ourselves that in us, that is in our flesh, dwells no good. He is always associating our souls with Christ; as another has said —
“He never leads a man to say,
Thank God I’m made so good,
But turns his eye another way,
To Jesus and His blood.”
10. It is the Holy Ghost dwelling in us who is the power of all ministry. When, through the exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus, we drink in the blessed satisfaction, enjoyment, and rest that He gives to needy, thirsty souls, and it sinks down in deep reality in us, then it gushes forth from us in blessing to others; as Jesus said,
If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified) {John 7:37-39}.
Thus in the early part of John’s gospel we have the three great actions of the Spirit set forth. In the third chapter, the new birth, or being born of the Spirit; in the fourth chapter, what it is to be indwelt by the Spirit, who is always drawing the heart upward:
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13, 14).
Then, as we have just seen, in the seventh chapter, the action of the Holy Ghost flowing out in blessing to those around from deeply-felt power of Christ’s preciousness. But it is important to observe that each of these operations is connected with the Lord Jesus Christ.
11. The Holy Ghost is also the One by whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption. He is the earnest, until we come into the actual possession of the inheritance, and the anointing or spiritual power whereby we are fitted to live according to the Lord’s mind:
After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:13, 14).
Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things (1 John 2:20).
Besides these, there are many more operations of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, who has come down to dwell in us; and it is well to see that He is in us, and is to abide with us for ever. Many a timid soul says, “I am afraid I shall so grieve Him that He will depart from me”; but Scripture says quite the reverse.
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).
But they say, Then why did David so fear this that he cried out,
Take not thy Holy Spirit from me {Psa. 51:11}?
But it is certain that David never had the Spirit dwelling in him as we have; and if he only knew what it was to have the Spirit coming upon him, and moving him now and then to prophesy,
&c., no wonder that he so ardently cried out, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” It is, however, sufficient to show that the teaching of the epistles is not, Do not grieve Him, lest He depart; but, Do not grieve Him, because He will not depart, but will abide with you for ever.
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).
12. But there is a point that ought not to be overlooked. It is this. Our Lord assured His disciples that when the Holy Ghost came they would know three things; the personal glory of Jesus as in the Father, and also that we are in Christ, and that He is in us. And about these precious realities there would be no doubt, when the Holy Ghost came.
In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you (John 14:20).
The importance of this divine statement cannot be overrated, for it shows the character of spiritual intelligence that every believer should now possess. And no doubt these precious facts would be both known and enjoyed, if believers were more simply deriving their information from God’s word, instead of from the teachings and traditions of men. Alas! how many souls are doubting their salvation, instead of enjoying by faith the blessed realities of their being in Christ, accepted in Him, complete in Him, made the righteousness of God in Him! One thing, however, is certain, that the Holy Ghost teaches all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that we have redemption in Christ, and through His blood; that we are children of God, and not under the law; that we are in Christ, and that He is in us. Enough has been said to show that those who have known a power outside flesh and blood bringing them as sinners to Jesus as Savior, who know Jesus in the heavens to be Lord, who have God’s love in their hearts, who are conscious of having life, a new life in Christ, enjoy the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free, and who realize that One is teaching, guiding, leading them into God’s truth, and obedience to it, for His glory, have the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ. Oh the depth of the riches of the grace of God to us!
“What moved Thee to impart
Thy Spirit from above,
Therewith to fill our heart
With heavenly peace and love?
‘Twas love, unbounded love to us,
Moved Thee to give Thy Spirit thus.”
Are We Waiting?
the Coming of the Lord Practically Considered
In the Old Testament Scriptures, no such idea as the Lord’s coming from heaven for His saints to be caught up to meet Him in the air is recorded. A great deal is there found about Messiah’s coming to the earth and reigning over it, sitting in David’s throne, and reigning in mount Zion and in Jerusalem before His ancients gloriously, because in the prophets we have blessings promised to God’s earthly people. The true expectation of the Jews therefore is, that Messiah is coming to establish them in blessing on the earth; and in this they are right. But since Christ has been raised from among the dead, and has sent down the Holy Ghost to form the Church, which is His body, another hope, suited to a heavenly people, has been set forth in clearness and detail. True it is that the blessed Lord did say, on leaving His disciples to go unto the Father,
I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also {John 14:3};
but we should have had considerable difficulty in entering into the true character of this expectation had not other revelations been subsequently brought out. The Thessalonian saints were taught simply
to wait for God’s Son from heaven {see 1 Thess. 1:10},
in blessed assurance that they had by Him been delivered from the wrath to come. But so little did they understand the true character of the hope, that when they saw their brethren die they began to sorrow about them with despondency, because they had not remained alive till the Lord came. We find, therefore, that the apostle communicates a revelation which he had received from the Lord on the subject:
This we say unto you by the word of the Lord {1 Thess. 4:15}.
About this it is not the Lord’s mind that we should be in ignorance. He says,
I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. . . . For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord {1 Thess. 4:13-17}.
This account of the dead saints rising, and the living joining them, and all being translated together to meet the Lord in the air, though meeting the present distress of the Thessalonian saints as to how it would be with their departed brethren, (those who had died in Christ,) when the Son came from heaven, yet even here we have no instruction as to the change, the character of body we shall have at that time. For this another revelation was needed, and it was afterward given. In 1 Cor. 15:51, the apostle further communicates what had never been known before. Up to that moment the state we should be in, and our bodily fitness for the Lord’s presence, had been shrouded in mystery; but here it is clearly unfolded. The apostle says,
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality {1 Cor. 15:51, 53}.
Now here observe, we have clearly set forth that the bodies will be changed in a moment both of the living saints and of the dead saints; and while it is plainly asserted that all saints will not die or sleep, but that some will be alive upon the earth when the Lord Jesus comes, yet then, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, our mortal and corruptible bodies will put on immortality and incorruptibility. How blessed this is, and how simply the Lord in His Word has marked out every step in this heavenward way, so that no room may be left for question or doubt, but that every soul may intelligently and happily wait for God’s Son from heaven! The first stage, so to speak, then, is this wondrous change — changed in a moment — our bodies of humiliation changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body, thus giving us capacities for untiring service and unwearying delight, while gazing on Him in the bright eternal glory of God and the Lamb. Being changed, then, in a moment, we are at once translated —
This we may call the second stage. After this He will present us to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but being holy and without blame. Yes,
“There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin;
There, from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in.”
It would be interesting to trace what is before us still further as to our manifestation at the bema of Christ, our rewards, the bride making herself ready, the marriage of the Lamb, our reigning with the Lord Jesus, the judgment of the wicked dead, and consider also what is revealed as to the eternal state; but our present object is rather to look at the practical way in which Scripture sets this blessed, soul-stirring, comforting, purifying hope before us.
Now hope is something more than knowledge of doctrine. Hope is a living, active energy of the soul. Many know, as a Scripture truth, what they call the Lord’s second coming; but for the heart to be going out to Him in bridal, fervent expectation is another thing! Hence it does not say in Scripture, He that hath the knowledge of the doctrine, but
He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3).
This hope, then, is eminently sanctifying and practical, enabling us to detach ourselves from that which is impure; for when hope is true and lively in the soul, the eye of the heart is fixed on its desired object. The affections thus become occupied with our blessed and adorable Lord Jesus, and therefore separated from what is unsuitable to Him.
Again, as we have before noticed, the early saints waited for God’s Son from heaven. They expected this blessed person to come from heaven. Their posture of soul was that of looking for Him, that blessed One whom God had raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered them from the wrath to come. They were thus in the activity of their souls gazing up into heaven, and waiting for God’s Son. And what was their Christian life? Were they careless in walk, shut up toward others, and indolent in the work of the gospel? Most certainly not. Quite the contrary; for they were proverbial for their works of faith and labors of love, and from them sounded out the word of God to all around. The very fact that they were waiting for God’s Son from heaven kept them in such communion with Him, that they were strengthened by divine power to be thus earnest, loving, devoted, and faithful in the gospel. Perhaps, if we wanted a practical exposition of those words of the apostle John, “He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure,” we should scarcely find it told out in more living energy than in the life, and ways, and service of the Thessalonian saints, so sweetly recorded for our comfort and encouragement by the Holy Ghost.
I again notice that they waited for God’s Son from heaven; and elsewhere we read of others who looked for the Savior. This is the truth of God in active power on the heart. It is reality — a living person at the right hand of God; a man in the glory; Son of God and Son of man — looked for and waited for. Can anything be more blessedly simple, or more profoundly real? It is intensely individual, powerfully practical — the sou1 patiently looking out for the object of its expectancy. Observe, it is not be fulfilled on earth; not some peculiar feeling to come over them, but the Lord Himself. Not death or judgment, but the Savior Himself to come and change their bodies, and translate them to glory. Is it possible that such a glorious, blessed, comforting hope could possess the soul without decided practical action? Impossible; though it can be readily seen how easy it is for the doctrine to occupy the intellect without the affections being called forth in suited response to His
Behold, I come quickly {Rev. 22:7}!
If we turn to some parts of the Old Testament, we shall find touching incidents, which may be used to illustrate the practical effects the truth of the Lord’s coming for us will necessarily have when He is really thus the hope of our hearts.
If we look first at the ordinance of the year of jubilee, as recorded in Lev. 25, we shall find an instructive and searching lesson on the subject. I do not say that the sounding of the jubilee trumpet was typical of the Lord’s coming for us; for I believe it to be typical of the time when the Lord will appear to the Jews as their Messiah, and bring His ancient people into their promised liberty, and give every tribe in the land of Israel its own proper possession, according to Ezekiel’s prophecy. But as an illustration it is striking, not only as setting forth the marvelous and eternal blessings into which the coming of the Lord Himself will introduce us, but also as showing that the value we attach to everything here is in proportion to our sense of the distance or nearness of the Lord’s coming.
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another: according to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: according to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee {Lev. 25:8-16}.
Observe here, that the jubilee trumpet sounded on the very day of atonement, which reminds us that in Scripture the Lord’s coming for us is in virtue of His atonement, and not because of any merit whatever in us. It is the consummation of His own way of grace to us, and not in the least degree dependent on our faithfulness. If you remember, our Lord said,
This is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
Here you see that our Lord is pledged to raise up all who look to Him for everlasting life; and nothing can be more false than the doctrine promulgated, alas! so extensively in our day, that only those of the Lord’s servants who have been faithful will be caught up at the coming of our Lord. Scripture plainly says,
They that are Christ’s at His coming {1 Cor. 15:23};
and again,
The dead in Christ {1 Thess. 4:16},
and
We which are alive and remain {1 Thess. 4:17}.
It is happy, then, to be clear on this point, and to think of the coming of the Lord for us, and our being caught up to meet Him in the air, as the completion of His blessed work of redemption; His application of its power to our bodies, even as already it has been to our souls, as it is said,
In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace {Eph. 1:7}.
Elsewhere we are told that while now groaning in these bodies, and having the Spirit of adoption,
we are waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies {see Rom. 8:23}.
But in this jubilee ordinance three characters of blessing were joyfully anticipated — liberty, possession, and family gathering; concerning which I only notice, firstly, that for us to be with the Lord will be to enjoy everlasting liberty in His most blessed presence, without any let or clog as we now have with these groaning bodies, and their various infirmities. Secondly, that we shall possess the glorious object which our hearts have so long and so adoringly longed for; for we shall see His face, and thus be entirely and for ever satisfied. Thirdly, then also the whole Church of God will enjoy its perfect unity in unbroken fellowship, and in everlasting, undisturbed love and rest. What a glorious prospect our God here spreads out before us, beloved, for confidence and hope!
“O may the heavenly vision fire
Our hearts with ardent love,
Till wings of faith, and strong desire,
Bear every thought above!”
Another point to notice is, that the year of jubilee was not the time for sowing and reaping. Now we know that this time is so, and is in every sense of the utmost importance for us to well consider. For, however rich, and suited, and abundant the grace of God is to usward in Christ, yet are we not the less subjects of the government of God, and that too in connection with all our ways,
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap {Gal. 6:7};
but then it will not be sowing and reaping, though in a more perfect way praising and serving. But the important lesson for us to learn in this ordinance of the jubilee year, is that the value of their land was in direct proportion to the fewness of years, or number of years before the trumpet would sound; and this because the land would then return to each one according to his family. This surely shows us, that just as we are really waiting high price, does it not show that we are counting upon some years of enjoyment of them, and in our hearts saying, “The Lord will not be here yet,” or,
My Lord delayeth His coming {Matt. 24:48, Luke 12:45}?
This jubilee ordinance therefore very sweetly illustrates the fact, that those who are really waiting for God’s Son from heaven will be valuing their earthly possessions at a low price, save as to the exceeding privilege of using them in the Lord’s service. I ask then, beloved, Are we consistent? What is the true character of our testimony? If the world see us very careful to add field to field, and assiduously labouring to improve the appearances and value of our earthly possessions, must we not seem in their eyes, after all, like citizens of this world, and like people who do not mean or believe what we say, when we declare that the Lord Jesus may come for us at any time? It truly is a solemn question for our hearts, as to how far we show that we are real in saying we are waiting for God’s Son from heaven.
Again, if we turn to Jer. 32, we shall find another practical illustration of the subject. Jeremiah was in prison for the truth’s sake, and evidently not a poor man; but he was God’s servant, and one to whom God had communicated His mind as to the present state of His people, and His future dealings with them and their land. He knew that Nebuchadnezzar would besiege the city, and carry the people away into captivity, and that they would be captives in Babylon for seventy years. He also knew from God, that at the end of that time the people would return to their own land, and again have Jehovah’s blessing with them in it. But did Jeremiah believe this? Was the future blessing of the Jews to him a certain reality? Did God mean what He said about this prospective blessing? Most assuredly He did. Jeremiah believed it because God had said it, and he showed forth the reality of his faith and hope by laying out his money now, with no hope of benefit through it till then. His uncle came to him to buy a field when he was shut up in prison, because the right of redemption was his, when he knew full well that neither he nor his seed would have it in possession, till God brought His people again into their promised and expected blessing. All the details too as to the conveyance of the property in a truly lawful, unquestionable way, only shows the reality of Jeremiah’s acting in the whole transaction; for, he adds,
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land (Jer. 32:15).
And I ask, beloved, does the light of the future glory, which we are called to be partakers of at our Lord’s coming, so bear upon the present scene, as to make us feel that the only right use of our means is to lay them out for the Lord, so as to ensure His
Well done {Matt. 25:21, 23}
by and by? And are we thus employed because we believe that time is short, and that the Lord may come at any moment? Is it so? Where are our hearts at this moment, beloved brethren in the Lord? for we are told that where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also? If we can truly sing,
“Jesus shall our treasure be
Now and through eternity,”
it is quite clear that one proof of our really waiting for Him will
corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal.
Take another illustration from 2 Sam. 19. Mephibosheth was deeply attached to David; for the king had showed
the kindness of God {2 Sam. 9:3}
to him; and though he felt himself in his own eyes to be only a loathsome creature —
a dead dog {2 Sam. 9:8}
— yet the king brought him into such nearness to himself, as to set him at the royal table as one of the king’s sons. But during the king’s absence, in consequence of Absalom’s conspiracy, when God’s beloved one was rejected by many, the heart of this object of David’s peculiar mercy was deeply affected. His interests, affection, sympathy, and desires were after the absent king. He keenly felt that the king was away, and he longed to see him again. Slandered and deceived as he was, and misrepresented too, during the king’s absence, yet we are told that he went forth to meet him, and that he neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed till the day that he came to him again in peace. And with what joy of heart did this devoted one meet the king on his return! He felt so satisfied that he desired nothing else, Gifts are valuable; but what are the best gifts when compared with the giver?
Thou and Ziba divide the land, said David. No, said Mephibosheth, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house (see 2 Sam. 19:24-30).
And could it be otherwise with us, beloved, only in a truer and spiritual way, if we really felt, as we ought, that our adorable Lord has been hated and cast out from this scene by the princes of this world, and that, with trimmed lamps and girded loins, we have turned our backs upon it, and are going forth to meet the Bridegroom? If our interests, affections, and sympathies were so undividedly on Him, whom having not seen we love, as they ought, how ardently should we be looking for His coming again!
“To dwell with Him, to see His face,
And sing the glories of His grace.”
And will not our affections and interests be always with the real object of our hearts? Can the hearts of men be objectless? Is it not contrary even to nature to be so? And what is the object that engages our affections and interests, beloved? Let us thoroughly judge ourselves as to this. Is it the Lord Himself who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood? And can we be really waiting for God’s Son from heaven, if our interests, affections, and sympathies are not with Him? Let us ponder this lesson, beloved, and deal unsparingly with ourselves as to the present object of our hearts in the presence of God, where we can afford to do so because of the perfectness of divine love, and where Jesus our Lord is, who went in there by His own blood!
We may profitably turn to another Scripture illustration on this weighty subject. You will find it in Genesis 24. Rebecca had heard the report of Isaac, and though not having seen him, she had believed the testimony, and her heart was won for him. And when the question was raised as to the real object of her soul, neither country nor kindred could detain her from going forth to meet him. She allowed nothing to impede her course; for it was so longing to see, and to be with. Her heart was so truly set upon him as her one object, that she unhesitatingly left all behind, and joyfully went on her way, till she saw him face to face, and knew the real enjoyment of his own love. And does not this brief but touching narrative strikingly teach us, beloved brethren, that those who have the hope of the Lord’s coming at heart will neither allow the pleadings of friends or kindred, nor the professed claims of country, to impede them one moment in their heavenward course of going out to meet the Bridegroom? Feeling as we should the infinite worth and attractiveness of the Lord Himself, what else could vie with Him? Losers as to present things we may be, sufferers in this present time we must be; but will not separation in affection unto Christ Himself always be connected with separation from all that is not according to His will? But the claims of Christ are paramount. His divinely moral excellencies outshine every other glory. His infinite worth incomparably surpasses all else that the heart can value. A glimpse of this living, incorruptible Conqueror of death, Satan, and the grave, now Head of all principality and power, dims the eye to all else. The knowledge too that His heart is set upon us, that He ardently looks forward to our being with Him; and His sweet words,
A little while {John 16:14, Heb. 10:37, &c.}, I will come again {John 14:3},
and
I come quickly {Rev. 3:11, 22:7, 12, 20},
when they fall upon us by the Spirit’s power, so move the heart’s desires of those who are born of God, that we cannot but look up and say,
Come, Lord Jesus {Rev. 22:20}!
What short of this, beloved, could be truly called
the hope which purifieth us even as He is pure {see 1 John 3:3}?
Who else could be rightly said to look, and
wait, for God’s Son from heaven {1 Thess. 1:10}?
Should it be otherwise than a living reality in us? Oh, let us not suppose that knowledge of the doctrine, blessed as it is, can necessarily be the same as hope! It may be that many of us may have to judge ourselves as to this; some, too, in whom perhaps this blessed, joyful, sanctifying hope was once bright and powerful, in whom may scarcely now be traced little more than the knowledge of the doctrine. Oh that we may arise and trim our lamps afresh, and address ourselves to the few steps of the wilderness that are yet before us with girded loins! Then, as we have seen, things here will diminish vastly in our esteem; we shall gladly lay out our means in hope of future recompense at the resurrection of the just; we shall so sympathize with Christ, who is still rejected by the world, as to let nothing be in our souls comparable with Him. Our affections will be so singly set upon Him, of whom we have heard such a glorious report by the gospel, as to allow neither country nor kindred, circumstances nor friends, to hinder us from going forth to meet Him. Lord, be thou our sufficiency in this for the glory of thy holy name! Then will our song be —
“I’m waiting for Thee, Lord,
Thy beauty to see, Lord,
I’m waiting for Thee,
For Thy coming again.
Thou’rt gone over there, Lord,
A place to prepare, Lord;
Thy home I shall share,
At Thy coming again.

“Mid danger and fear, Lord,
I’m oft weary here, Lord;
The day must be near
Of Thy coming again.
‘Tis all sunshine there, Lord,
No sighing nor care, Lord,
But glory so fair
At Thy coming again.
“Our loved ones before, Lord,
Their troubles are o’er, Lord;
I’ll meet them once more
At Thy coming again.
The blood was the sign, Lord,
That marked them as thine, Lord,
And brightly they’ll shine
At Thy coming again.

“E’en now let my ways, Lord,
Be bright with Thy praise, Lord,
For brief are the days
Ere Thy coming again.
I’m waiting for Thee, Lord,
Thy beauty to see, Lord;
No triumph for me
Like Thy coming again.”