02.25. THE GIRDLE
THE GIRDLE
“AND a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Exodus 39:29.) This girdle is not as is commonly supposed the “curious” girdle of the Ephod. That was not a girdle at all, it was rather intended as a means to keep the Ephod in its place. It did not girdle the loins at all. The real girdle was bound under the linen coat. A girdle is the symbol of service:
“Gird thyself and serve me.” (Luke 17:8.) It is a symbol of strength for service:
“I will strengthen him with thy girdle.” (Isaiah 22:21.) All this finds its perfect fulfillment in the Son of God.
Speaking of Him anticipatively the Father says:
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.” (Isaiah 42:1.) ““He took on Him the form of a servant.”
Literally, we should read:
“Being in the form of God, thought not to hold on to equality with God: But emptied himself, (of His form of God) and took upon him the form of a servant.” (Php 2:6-7.) He Himself said: “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (serve).” (Matthew 20:28.) To His disciples He said:
“I among you as—he that serveth.” (Luke 22:27.) He poured Himself out in service.
Multitudes followed Him that they might receive something at His hands. When He went into a secret place to pray Simon Peter and the other disciples sought Him out and said unto Him:
“All men seek thee.” (Mark 1:37.) From morning to night He girded Himself in service and gave Himself up to the claims and needs of others.
He was the patient, uncomplaining, servant of men, testifying continually that He came not to do His own will.
Continually He put upon Himself the startling and suggestive title:
“The sent of God.” In the Gospel according to John and John 13:1-38 you have a divinely etched picture of Him as the servant of men.
It is the scene to which reference has already been made wherein He washes the feet of His disciples. Is there a man living on earth today, will there ever arise among the sons of men one, who can paint that scene? Not only must he paint the location, the figure of the disciples and the amazing Man, he must throw upon the canvas that which no colors of the pallette can represent the distance He traveled to become that servant: the distance from the throne of God where He held the sceptre of glory to the midst of His disciples where with towel girded loins He washed the earth stained feet of stumbling men.
No! he could not paint that scene. No surveyor’s chain could measure the distance; for, even though his chain might give the actual distance in extension of degree, it could not measure the moral distance between that hour when with a fiat word He sent the universe upon its course, and that moment when He arose from the last supper He should eat on earth, took a towel and girded Himself to wash the feet of uncomprehending men.
Although reference has already been made to this scene in its suggestive teaching concerning confession it seems fitting that I should take it up again and follow it out in all its analytical detail:
He riseth from supper. The supper was the Passover supper. The Passover is a symbol of His sacrificial death as the true Passover Lamb of God; as it is written:
“Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7.) As the Passover is a symbol of His death, rising from the Passover supper is a symbol of His resurrection from the dead. In all this scene therefore we have portrayed the activity of our Lord in resurrection and in His high priestly function in Heaven.
He girds Himself.
He takes the towel and binds it upon His loins.
He takes the attitude of self-denying service before His disciples, and as the scene typifies Him in resurrection and after His ascension to Heaven, we behold Him as He is now in Heaven performing His service for those who still walk amid the dust and stain of earth bearing His name.
He pours water into a bason and washes the feet of His disciples. This action is foreshadowed in the relation of the priest to the Brazen Laver at the door of the Tabernacle. The priest, it will be remembered, who would draw nigh to God and serve Him acceptably must wash his hands and feet in the Laver.
Hands set forth service.
Feet give us the walk and stand for character. As Christians we live not only on the earth, but in the environment of a system called, “the world;” a system of modes, manners and customs; a system where the basic principle is denial of the will of God, exaltation of self will and self-gratification—a course that leads through violated law, gratified appetites, repudiation of God and the things of God.
Coming into contact with this system the Christian contracts more or less defilement of his spiritual life, whether it be in association with individual lives, in suggested words that fill the air, in transmitted thought, or in the stumbling due to unheeded ways—and with this comes a sense of loss of spiritual power, a sense of increasing distance from God, a sense of the dust and stain of a world at variance with God and His Holy Spirit. In the East during a meal they reclined at table and did so in close contact, so that the feet of the one would come more or less in contact with the head of another.
Because of this and to make the relationship entirely proper there were placed at the entrance of the dining-room, jars or basons of fresh water. When the guest entered the servants of the household removed his sandals and washed his feet. To eat with Christ is to commune with Christ. But if our daily Christian walk is not clean, if it is not free from the dust and stain of the world (and a careless word, a jest, a flippant manner, a look, may bring a stain and sense of wrong) it is impossible to eat with Him. He will not eat with us and our consciousness of communion and contact with the Father is gone. To commune with Him we must have our feet washed, made clean and sweet.
He must wash our feet. This is the service the Lord fulfills for those who are His. This is His work in Heaven now.
He takes our feet, our spiritual feet, our daily walk and conversation and makes them clean in the sight of God the Father; washes and cleanses us, not as guilty sinners of the outside, but as children of God who have become spiritually unclean.
Before the Lord could wash the feet of the disciples they must present them to Him for inspection. In presenting their feet they were confessing the actual condition of them.
Before the Lord can cleanse us we must confess our sins and failures, holding back nothing, making no concealment or excuse.
Peter at first refused to have his feet washed. The Lord assured him unless they were washed he could have no part or lot in this great priestly action. The solemn fact is if we do not allow the Lord to deal with us here according to His own will—if we do not give Him our feet, make full and free confession, we shall be confronted at the Judgment Seat of Christ with an accumulation of unconfessed, but recorded sin and failure. Under the accusation of Satan these unconfessed things will witness against us, not as imperilling our salvation, but as shutting us out from rewards and privileges that might have been ours. The Lord told Peter it was only necessary to have his feet washed. The Lord made this explanatory statement because when the Apostle found he must have his feet washed he insisted that he should also have his hands and his head washed.
He told him when his feet were washed he would be, “every whit clean.” The statement of the Lord and the teaching become plain the moment it is known that although the word, “wash,” is used twice there are really two distinct words with distinct meanings. The first word signifies “to bathe,” the second word signifies simply to apply the water to any single or definite portion of the body.
Peter had bathed his body. His body was protected by clothing. It was not necessary to take a fresh bath; but his sandalled feet had come in contact with the dust and soil of the way; to apply the water to the feet was all that was now necessary. And here you have the whole spiritual truth: When you first believe you are bathed, bathed in the blood, sanctified, as well as justified, and stand clean and perfect before God in Christ. That is your reputation and standing in the Court of Heaven.
What you need is to have your daily life on earth kept clean and acceptable unto the Lord. To obtain this result you do not need a fresh bath in the blood of the cross, you do not need to have the work of salvation applied to you again to deliver you from the shortcomings of the way-you need simply to confess these shortcomings and failures. As you surrender, the Lord will bring home the truth to your heart and conscience. With the assurance of forgiveness guaranteed in the Word and the Word owned as the rule of your life, even as the application of the water cleanses the feet, the truth will permeate your soul and there will come to you the touch of the Master’s hand and you will know He has taken you into a restored and closer fellowship than before; your confession has given Him the pulse beat of your sincerity and your genuine love for Him. Our Lord is in Heaven as the service girdled one.
After He had washed the feet of His disciples He announced to them that what He had done should be an example for them.
He said:
“If I then your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15) As this scene looks forward to that hour when the Lord should enter on His High Priestly service in Heaven, the washing of one another’s feet is equally symbolical and signifies that like Him we are to take the place of servants of the Most High God in this world, serving God in His name, serving one another, and confessing our faults to one another; as it is written:
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another.” (James 5:6.) As He acts in Heaven as a priest for us, bringing to our confession, forgiveness and restoration, we as spiritual priests should so act toward one another, confessing to each other, forgiving one another and restoring each other to the place of spiritual surrender to Him.