The Testimony of Union
The sermon explains how the act of breaking, symbolizing disunion, is actually the testimony of union, made possible by God's act of breaking on the cross.
G.W. North explores the paradox of how breaking, which symbolizes disunion, serves as the testimony of union with God. He emphasizes that the mystery of redemption is rooted in the act of making common, allowing humanity to enter into the divine communion that was previously unbroken. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, who became the way and the door, a breach was created that enables us to experience God's fellowship. This act of breaking was essential for the plan of salvation, as it allowed for the restoration of communion between God and man. Ultimately, believers are called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Text
It is paradoxical, that breaking, the symbol of disunion, should be the testimony of union, but it is so. The whole mystery of redemption is bound up in this 'act of making common'. By it we are brought most nearly to the heart of God. The Communion that God wanted man to enter into and enjoy was His own. It had been unbroken from the beginning; it was divine. How then could humans enter into it? There was no known way, no breach, no door, no opening for men. It needed an act of breaking of extraordinary significance, and it must be by God in order to make it available to us.
So it was that John Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord, and the Lord who is the Way came. 'I am the door' He said, 'I am the way', 'do this in remembrance of me'.
He who is the Way made a way for men to enter into God's Communion. Jesus came and hung out on a cross, cursed and forsaken by God and man, to make a way where there was no way, and a breach where there was none. That man should forsake Him was inevitable, but it was equally inevitable that God should forsake Him too. It was utterly indispensable to the plan, for only by God doing so could the breach be made. He therefore did it. At Golgotha the break in THE COMMUNION was made for man to enter in -- into THE COMMUNION -- into God. We have been called into the fellowship communion of His Son.
Sermon Outline
- The Paradox of Union
- The Need for a Breach
- The Act of Breaking
- The Result of the Breach
- Man's Ability to Enter God's Communion
- The Fellowship of Christ
- The Breach Made for Man
Key Quotes
“It is paradoxical, that breaking, the symbol of disunion, should be the testimony of union, but it is so.” — G.W. North
“He who is the Way made a way for men to enter into God's Communion.” — G.W. North
“At Golgotha the break in THE COMMUNION was made for man to enter in -- into THE COMMUNION -- into God.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We can now enter into God's communion through Jesus, who made a way for us.
- The breach made by Jesus on the cross is the key to our salvation and union with God.
- We have been called into the fellowship of Christ, and we can experience the divine communion that God desires for us.