"Whosoever will" and “Whosoever believeth" are the
glorious terms of God’s good news to all alike. But when we believe, we
know that we are chosen and predestinated. Those who have believed on Christ
are predestinated and they possess the Sonplace. Then having believed, we know
that we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
And in
all this God shows what His Grace can do. “To the Praise of the Glory of
His Grace." God could not manifest the Glory of His Grace with angels; but with
sinners in the bondage of sin and death, on the road to eternal death and
punishment, He was enabled to show it all forth. In the gift of His Son He has
made it known. This modern Gospel of "salvation by character" is surely a
wicked thing, a soul-destroying delusion. It robs God of the Glory of His
Grace. Let us magnify Grace! Let us give Him the Praise and the Glory, and as
being saved by Grace let us live to the Praise of the Glory of His
Grace!
And in the third place we read that we are made accepted in the
Beloved. Mark, it does not say "in Christ" but in the Beloved. This is
extremely precious. Christ is the Beloved of God and as chosen in Him,
partakers of the divine nature, predestinated unto the Sonplace, we are "the
Beloved of God called Saints."
The Love wherewith God loveth the Son is
the Love with which we are loved. We are as dear to God as He is Himself, who
was always His delight. "Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee," is often sung
by those who do not know anything of what Grace has done. We cannot be nearer
to God, nor dearer to Him, than we are in Christ, the Beloved. Accepted in the
Beloved, means that we rest in Him on the bosom of the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh! come and let us praise His Name.
B. The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"In whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of His Grace, which He hath made to abound towards us in all wisdom and
intelligence; having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to
His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, for the administration of
the fulness of times to head up all things in the Christ, both which are in
heaven, and wInch are on earth; in Him, in whom also we obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise
of His Glory, who have trusted beforehand in Christ." Verses 7—12.
These verses put before us the Son of God, what He has done for us in His work,
and the riches of God’s Grace, which abounds in Him towards all who have
believed. We discover three things, which are stated here:
a. Redeemed us
through His blood. Verse 7.
b. The Revelation in Him of the mystery of His
will. Verses 8-10.
c. The inheritance we have obtained in Him. Verse
11.
And all this is "to the praise of His Glory." Verse 12.
The
Beloved One, having been mentioned in Whom we are accepted, we read at once of
His work. The Son of God came from the Father’s bosom to this earth to
redeem us, so that God’s eternal will might be carried out. Redemption,
the taking out of the condition in which we are by nature, is a necessity, and
has been forever accomplished by the blood of the Son of God, which He shed on
the cross. Three Greek words are translated by redemption, giving us its
blessed meaning. Agorazo, which means, to buy in the market. It is used
in the following passages: 1 Cor. vi:20; 2 Pet. ii:1; Rev. v:9; xiv:3—4.
Exagorazo, to buy out of the market, used in Gal. iii:13 and iv:5.
Lootruo, to liberate on the receipt of a ransom, used as a verb and noun in
Luke xxi :24 and 28; Romans iii :24; viii:23; 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. i:7, 14; iv:30.
It is this last word which is employed here. Through His blood the Son of God
has taken us out of the condition in which we are. He paid the price and has
set us free. The redemption we have in Him is a settled thing. We know it
belongs to us. But it means more than the forgiveness of our sins. The riches
of His Grace revealed in redemption through His blood includes all our needs as
sinners. The blood has redeemed us, set us free, from all things in which we
are by nature. All we have, all we are, all we shall have and shall be are the
blessed results of redemption by blood.
We are delivered from the
wrath to come :; (1 Thess. i:10), as well as "out of the present evil age"
(Gal. i:4). We are delivered from the power of darkness (Col. i:13), yea, "He
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works" (Tit. ii:14). These things we
have, they are ours in Christ while we wait down here for the full "Sonplace,"
the adoption, the redemption of our body (Rom. viii:25). The forgiveness of
sins is, so to speak, the foundation, and upon this follow all the other
precious gifts which God is enabled to bestow according to the riches of His
Grace, because His blessed Son shed His blood.
How little all this is
enjoyed by those who have believed in Christ! How great the ignorance of many
of God’s people concerning the riches of His Grace, which He hath made to
abound towards us! So many lack the fullest assurance to which every believer
is entitled, and have but little knowledge of all they have entered upon and
they have received, when they trusted in Christ. And it is this knowledge of
the riches of His Grace we are told to contemplate, and which will be the means
of drawing us close to Himself. As we know this and enjoy it, we walk in
separation from this present evil age, out of which we are redeemed. It will
not leave us barren nor unfruitful, but produce in our lives fruit to the
Praise of the Glory of His Grace.
The words which follow put before us
some blessed and deep truths. Redeemed through His blood, having redemption,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of Grace, He hath made known
unto us the mystery of His will.
God wants His elect, His church, to
know the secret things of His will and what He hath purposed in Himself.
Therefore He hath made the riches of His Grace abound towards us in all wisdom
and intelligence. God has been pleased to make known in Christ the mystery of
His will. It is the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began (Rom. xvi:25), so that we know in Christ and through Christ the
fulness of His purpose. That mystery of God is Christ, in which are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. ii :3). Christ, who has redeemed us by
His blood, was raised from the dead. God "set Him at His own right hand in the
Heavenlies"—"He hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that
fihleth all in all" (Chapter 1:21—23). This is the mystery: that Christ
risen from the dead, seated at the right hand of God, is the Head and those who
believe on Him constitute the church, His body. This body is destined,
according to the eternal purpose of God, to share the Glory of the Head. This
purpose is still in the future. The administration (or dispensation) of the
fulness of times has not yet come. When it comes all things will be headed up
in the Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. We must notice
it speaks of "The Christ," which means Christ, the Head, and the church, His
Body. Marvelous Grace which has reached down to us and makes us one with Him,
who, in accordance with His Father's will, shares His own Glory and Inheritance
with those who are in Him, the Sons of God! "The administration of the fulness
of times" will come when He, who occupies now the Father's throne, comes again
and receives His own throne. Then all things will be put in subjection under
His feet; He will be supreme and the reconciliation of things on earth and
things in heaven (not things or beings under the earth) will take place.
Creation itself, disturbed and so fearfully marred by the fall of man, will be
put back into its original condition. The administration of the fulness of
times is the age to come, when righteousness will reign as Grace reigns now;
the kingdom age, when He has taken His inheritance and reigns as King over the
earth. In that day of Glory He will bring His many Sons unto Glory (Heb.
ii:10), and, more than that, "He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and
to be admired in all them that have believed" (2 Thess. i :10). This is the
glorious mystery of His will made known unto us who are, through the riches of
His Grace, the heirs of God and fellowheirs with Christ.
Of this
inheritance we read in the words which follow: "In Him, in whom also we
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, according to the purpose of Him,
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to
the praise of His Glory, who have trusted beforehand in Christ." It is all "in
Him," in this precious and deep portion of God's holy Word. A brief review will
demonstrate this. We are blessed "in Christ" with every spiritual blessing
(verse 3). We are chosen "in Him" before the foun-dation of the world (verse
4). He hath accepted us "in the Beloved." It is "in Him" we have redemption,
and "in Him" we have obtained an inheritance. Apart from Christ there is no
blessing, no redemption, no Glory. Rejecting Christ and the price He paid for
our redemption, His blood, means eternal death, eternal darkness, eternal
wrath. It is a solemn fact that apostate Christendom, that Christless
Christianity and bloodless Gospel, rejecting God's Son and God's only Gospel,
is rushing on towards the judgment of a holy and righteous God. The inheritance
of Christ, which belongs to Him as the glorified Man, we have seen before; He
will receive it when "the administration of the fulness of time" comes. In Him
we have obtained an inheritance; we are called of God to share the inheritance
of His Son in the ages to come. It is equally true that we are as redeemed by
His blood, His inheritance.
How wonderful it all is! We shall see Him
as He is and then we shall be like Him; transformed into His image that He
might be the firstborn among many brethren. We shall possess with Him His
inheritance, for we are joint heirs with Christ. We shall be with Him wherever
He is in Glory, for the body must be where the Head is; forever with the Lord.
This is the inheritance we have obtained in Him. But what it all means. Only
eternity will disclose the unsearchable riches of our Glory in Him and His
Glory in us. And it is "to the Praise of His Glory." Before we heard of "the
Praise of the Glory of His Grace" (verse 6), which speaks of what He has done
for us in raising us from the dunghill of our sin, misery and shame. But "the
Praise of His Glory" will be fully manifested in the day of His Glory, when He
appears with His saints. Of this He spoke in His prayer, "that the world may
know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me" (John
xvii :23). When He appears and leads forth in triumphant splendour His redeemed
ones, all reflecting His Glory, then the world will know and He will get "the
Praise of His Glory."
Those mentioned here who "trusted beforehand in
Christ," are Jews who have entered by faith into this blessed relationship and
who possess now something infinitely higher and more glorious than the nation
will possess when the Lord Jesus comes to restore His earthly people. In fact
the "we" in these two verses refers to believing Jews, while the "ye" in the
verse which follows means believing Gentiles. Both classes constitute the
church, the body of Christ. Into this the second chapter enters more
fully.
May it please the Holy Spirit to make these blessed truths
concerning our place and our inheritance in Christ more real to us. Our walk
depends upon our believing contemplation of all these riches of His Grace. A
little time is left us here. May we enter with our hearts more fully in all
this and manifest His Grace, the Grace which stooped so low and has lifted so
high, in a separated walk and devoted life, till we obtain the inheritance "to
the Praise of His Glory."
C. The Holy Spirit of God.
"In
whom ye also having heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; and
having also believed in Him, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Who is the earnest or our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the Praise of His Glory" (verses 13, 14).
In these
words, the Holy Spirit reveals His own work in God's Masterpiece. Here again we
notice three things:
a. Hearing and believing; the Quickening by the
Spirit. Verse 13.
b. The Sealing by the Holy Spirit of Promise. Verse
14.
c. The Holy Spirit the Earnest of our Inheritance.
These words are
of great importance. The Son of God came to this earth to redeem us and because
He has finished the work the Father gave Him to do, the Holy Spirit, the third
person of the Godhead has come to do His work.
Three words are
prominent in the thirteenth verse, the words "heard," "believed" and "sealed."
They go together. The Word of Truth, the Gospel of salvation must be heard and
believed; the hearing and believing results in the sealing with the Holy Spirit
of promise. The Holy Spirit indwelling the believer is the earnest of the
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession takes place. The
Word of Truth, the Gospel of Salvation is the medium through which the Holy
Spirit works. In the second chapter of this Epistle we read of the condition in
which all men are by nature "dead in trespasses and sins."
The Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of Life and Power can alone reach this condition of death.
He quickens us in our spiritual death, but He does His work through the Word of
Truth, the Gospel of Salvation. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the
Word of God" (Rom. x:17). The Word which is to be preached is "the Word of
Faith" (Rom. x:7). Through this Word the Spirit of God operates and reaches the
heart of man "for the Word of God is living, and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow and judgeth the thoughts and reasonings of the heart"
(Heb. iv:12). It is evident that inasmuch as "faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God" that the hearing of the Word is the means through
the power of the Holy Spirit to produce faith. Hearing and believing the Word
of Truth, the Gospel of Salvation, the Holy Spirit then acts and we are
"born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of
God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Pet. i :23). This explains the
words of our Lord to Nicodemus "except a man be born of the water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John iii:5).
But too
little of this Word of Truth and the Gospel is preached in our days. Some of
the professional evangelists instead of preaching the Word and the Gospel, tell
all kinds of anecdotes, which make people laugh and sometimes blush. A number
of these men employ "slang" words and are extremely vulgar in the language they
use. These same men seem to be after the money of the people and collect
thousands of dollars for a few weeks of so-called" revival services." They
attract large crowds and claim marvellous success in the conversion of
thou-sands. But is this really the work of the Holy Spirit? Does the Spirit of
God use silly anecdotes, often mixed with falsehoods, or can He use vulgar
language to quicken sinners dead in trespasses and sins? These questions we
must answer in the negative. These "revivals" are often discovered to be
counterfeits. The supposed conversions were attempts at reformation produced by
soulical emotions, or, what is even worse, a "religious affiliation" without
salvation. All these attempts to reach men apart from the clearcut presentation
of the Gospel of Salvation are the most dangerous tactics the arch-hater of the
Gospel, Satan, uses. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of Truth. We repeat it
again, "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." What is needed
is to preach the Word in fullest assurance and confidence that the Holy Spirit
with His power is doing His work in His own way by it. No Gospel preacher need
to trouble himself about the results of his preaching. The Spirit of God uses
the message, though the results may not be seen at once.
All who have
heard and believed are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. The authorized
version is misleading. "In whom also after that ye believed" should be rendered
by "and having also believed in Him ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise." Some teach that a person may have believed in Christ and not have
received the sealing with the Spirit. The claim is made that between believing
in Christ and the sealing with the Spirit years may intervene, and that the
sealing with the Spirit must be sought in a definite experience. All these
claims have no foundation in Scripture. The sealing with the Spirit is not an
inward experience, which must be sought after conversion and which is obtained
by self-surrender. Sealing is a figurative expression. The seal is a mark of
ownership. As soon as a sinner hears the Gospel, believes in Christ, the Holy
Spirit comes to him and makes His abode there. In this way God seals His own
who believe in His Son, by giving to them His Spirit. Every believer is
therefore indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and by this, God marks us as belonging to
Him, while the Holy Spirit in us is the assurance of our security, for He keeps
all in whom He dwells. The seal is therefore the Holy Spirit Himself, and His
presence in the believer denotes ownership and security. The sealing with the
Spirit is not an emotional feeling or some mysterious inward experience.
Nowhere are we told to "feel" that we are sealed; we know it because the Word
of God tells us so. And the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of promise, because He
was promised and has come in fulfilment of the promise of the Father and the
Son.
But He is also the Spirit of promise in the believer, for His
presence promises better things. He is the earnest of our inheritance, the
pledge that in the future we shall come into possession of our full
inheritance. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first installment, so to speak,
of the Glory which belongs to us. When we come into full possession of the
inheritance He ceases to be the earnest, but He Himself will never leave us in
all eternity.
The inheritance is here also called "the purchased
possession." It has been fully paid for and is therefore completely purchased.
But it speaks here not only of "purchase" but also of the "redemption" of our
inheritance.
The purchase price was the Blood; the redemption of the
purchased possession will be by power. Our inheritance, the purchased
possession, is in the Heavenly places. This heavenly sphere is still in the
grasp of Satan "the prince of the power in the air." With his demons he tenants
the air and the Heavenly places, which are part of Christ's inheritance and,
therefore, ours as well. That such is the case we find in the last chapter of
this Epistle, where we read of our present warfare which is "against the wicked
spirits in the heavenly places" (vi :12). But this purchased possession which
belongs to Christ and to us will not always be left in the power of Satan and
his angels. The power of God will fully recover it in the future. Revelation
xii gives us the most interesting prophetic history of this. Satan and his
angels will be cast out of heaven and the redeemed of God will take possession
of the wonderful inheritance above. The redemption of the purchased possession
begins with the rapture of the Saints, when all His Saints are caught up in
clouds to meet Him in the air. This is followed by Satan cast out of heaven.
The redemption by the power of God will be consummated in the personal and
glorious Manifestation of our Lord to establish His Kingdom over the
earth.
continued