“Predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” Romans 8:29.

“I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” John 13:15.

The Bible speaks of two types of conformity, a twofold likeness which we bear. We may be conformed to the world or to Jesus. The one excludes and drives out the other. More than anything else, conformity to Jesus will be secretly prevented by conformity to the world. And conformity to the world can be overcome by nothing but conformity to Jesus.

Young Christian, the new life of which you have become partaker is the life of God in heaven. That life is revealed and made visible in Christ. What the workings and fruits of eternal life were in Jesus, they will also be in you. In His life you get to see what eternal life will work in you. It cannot be otherwise. If for this reason you surrender yourself unreservedly to Jesus and the dominion of eternal life, it will bring forth in you a walk of wonderful conformity to that of Jesus.1

Two things, especially, are necessary for a true imitation of Jesus in His example and for growth in inward conformity to Him. These are, a clear insight that I am really called to this, and a firm trust that it is possible for me.

One of the greatest hindrances in the spiritual life is that we do not know–we do not see-what God desires that we should be.2 Our understanding is still enlightened so little, and we still have so many of our own human thoughts and imaginations about the true service of God. We know so little of waiting for the Spirit who alone can teach us. We do not acknowledge that even the clearest words of God do not have for us the meaning and power that God desires. And as long as we do not spiritually discern what likeness to Jesus is, and how utterly we are called to live like Him, little can be said of true conformity. If only we could understand how very much we need divine instruction on this point.3

For this reason, let us earnestly examine the Scriptures in order to know what God says and desires about our conformity to Christ.4 Let us unceasingly ponder such words of Scripture, and keep our heart in contact with them. Let it remain fixed with us that we have given ourselves wholly to the Lord–to be all that He desires. Let us trustfully pray that the Holy Spirit would inwardly enlighten 77us and bring us to a full awareness of the life of Jesus, so far as can be seen in a believer.5 The Spirit will convince us that we, no less than Jesus, are absolutely called to live only for the will and glory of the Father. We are called to be in the world even as He is.

The other thing that we have need of is the belief that it is really possible for us to bear the image of our Lord. Unbelief is the cause of weakness. We can put this matter another way. We think that because we are powerless, we dare not believe that we can be conformed to our Lord. This thought is in conflict with the Word of God. We do not have it in our own power to carry ourselves after the image of Jesus. No, He is our head and our life. He lives in us and will have His life work from within outwards-with divine power through the Holy Spirit.6

Yet this cannot be separate from our faith. Faith is the consent of the heart, the surrender to Him to work, and the reception of His working. “Be it unto you according to your faith” (Matthew 9:29) is one of the fundamental laws of the Kingdom of God.7 It is incredible what power unbelief has in hindering the working and the blessing of Almighty God. The Christian who wants to become conformed to Christ must cherish the firm trust that this blessing is within his reach and is entirely within the range of possibility. He must learn to look to Jesus as Him in whom, by the grace of God, he can be truly conformable. He must believe that the same Spirit that was in Jesus is also in him. He must believe that the same Father that led and strengthened Jesus also watches over him, and that the same Jesus that lived on earth now lives in him. He must cherish the strong assurance that the Trinity is at work in changing him into the image of the Son.8

He who believes this will receive it. It will not be without much prayer. It will especially require ceaseless communion with the Father and Jesus. Yet he who desires it, and is willing to give time and sacrifice to it, certainly receives it.

Son of God, radiance of the glory of God, the very Image of His substance, I must be changed into Your image. In You I see the image and the likeness of God in which we were created, in which we are by You created anew. Lord Jesus, let conformity to You be the one desire, the one hope of my soul. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 20:27,28; Luke 6:40; John 6:57; I John 2:6; 4:17

2) Luke 24:16; 1 Cor. 3:1,2; Heb. 5:11,12

3) 1 Cor. 2:12,13; Eph. 1:17-20

4) John 13:15;` 15:10,12; 17:18; Eph 5:2; Phil. 2:5; Col. 3:13

5) 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Cor. 3:18

6) John 14;23; 2 Cor. 13:3; Eph. 3:17,18

7) Zech. 1:6; Matt. 18:19; Luke 1:37,45; 18:27; Gal. 2:20

8) John 14:20; 17:19; Rom. 8:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 1:19

Notes

1. Conformity to Jesus–we think that we understand the Word, but how little do we comprehend that God really expects us to live even as Jesus did. It requires much time with Him, in prayer and pondering of His example, to correctly understand it. The writer of these precepts has written a book on this theme, has often spoken of it, and yet he sometimes feels as if he must cry out–Is it really true? Has God indeed called us to live even as Jesus?

2. Conformity to the world is strengthened especially by association with it. It is in fellowship with Jesus that we will adopt His mode of thinking, His disposition, His manners.

3. The main feature of the life of Jesus is that He surrendered Himself wholly to the Father in behalf of man. The chief feature of conformity to Him is the offering up of ourselves to God for the redemption and blessing of the lost.

4. The chief feature of His inner disposition was childlikeness–absolute dependence on the Father, great willingness to be taught, cheerful preparedness to do the will of the Father. Be especially like Him in this.

“I beseech you, brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” Romans 12:1,2.

Do not be conformed to this world. But what is conformity to the world? The opposite of conformity to Jesus, for Jesus and the world stand directly opposed to each other. The world crucified Him. He and His disciples are not of the world. The spirit of this world and the Spirit of God exclude each other. The world cannot receive the Spirit of God, for it does not see Him and does not know Him.1

And what is the spirit of this world`? The spirit of this world is the disposition which encourages mankind to continue in their natural condition, where the Spirit of God has not yet renewed them. The spirit of this world comes from the Evil One-the prince of this world-and has dominion over all who are not renewed by the Spirit of God.2

And in what does the spirit of this world, or conformity to it, manifest itself? The Word of God gives the answer, “All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). The three chief forms of the spirit of the world are: the craving for pleasure or the desire to enjoy the world, the craving for property or the desire to possess the world, and the craving for glory or the desire to be honoured in the world.3

And these three are one in root and essence. The spirit of this world is–that man makes himself his own end. He makes himself the central point of the world. All creation, so far as he has power over it, must serve him; he seeks his life in the visible. This is the spirit of the world–to seek one’s self and the visible.4 And the Spirit of Jesus is–to live not for one’s self and not for the visible, but for God and the things that are invisible.5

It is a very terrible and serious thought that one can live a busy, fashionable life–free from obvious sin or unrighteousness and yet remain a friend to the world, and therefore an adversary to God.6

We are conformed to this world if our care for the earthly–for what we eat and drink, for what we possess or may possess, and for what we have brought forth in the earth and have made to increase–is the chief element in our life. It is a terrible and very serious thought that one can maintain the appearance of a Christian life–think that one is trusting in Christ–while yet living with the world for self and the visible.7 For this reason the command comes to all Christians with great emphasis–Be conformed, not to this world, but to Jesus.

And how can I not come to be conformed to the world? Read our text over again with consideration. There we read two things. One, it is those who have presented their bodies to God as a sacrifice on the altar that have it said to them–Be not conformed to the world. Offer yourself to God–that is conformity to Jesus. Live every day as one who is offered up to God, crucified in Christ to the world. Then you will not be conformed to the world.8

Then, two, it says: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the perfect will of God. There must be a continuous growing renewal of our mind. This takes place by the Holy Spirit, when we let ourselves be led by Him. Then we learn to spiritually judge what is according to the will of God and what is according to the spirit of the world. A Christian who strives after the progressive renewal of his whole mind will not be conformed to the world. The Spirit of God makes him conformed to Jesus.9

Christians, please believe that Jesus has obtained for you the power to overcome the world, with its deep hidden seductions to living for ourselves. Believe this. Believe in Him as Victor and that you also have the victory.

Precious Lord we have presented ourselves to You as living sacrifices. We have offered up ourselves to God. We are not of the world, even as You are not of the world. Lord, let our mind be enlightened by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, so that we may rightly see what the spirit of this world is. And let it be seen in us that we are not of the world, but are conformed to Jesus. Amen.

Footnotes

1) John 14:17; 17:14,16; 1 Cor. 2:6,8

2) John 14:30; 16:11; 1 Cor. 2:12

3) 1 John 2:15,16

4) John 5:44

5) 2 Cor. 4:13; 5:7,15

6) Jas. 4:4

7) Matt. 6:32,33

8) Gal. 6:14,16

9) 2 Cor. 6:14,16; Eph. 5:17; Heb. 5:14

10) John 16:33; 1 John 5:4,5

Notes

1. Worldly pleasures. Is dancing sin? What harm is there in playing billiards? One has sometimes wished that there were in the Scriptures a distinct law to forbid such things. God has intentionally not given this. If there were such a law, it would only make men outwardly spiritual. God puts each one on trial as to whether his inner disposition is worldly or heavenly. Learn Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 by heart and ask the Spirit of God to make it living in you. The Christian who offers himself up to God and becomes transformed by the renewing of the mind to prove the perfect will of God will speedily learn whether he may dance or play billiards. The Christian who is afraid only of hell, but not of conformity to the world, cannot see what the Spirit of God gives His children to see.

2. It is remarkable that the trinity of the god of this world, in John’s Epistle, is seen as well in the temptation in Paradise as in that of the Lord Jesus.

The lust of the flesh:

The woman saw that the tree was good for food (Gen. 3:6).

Command that those stones be made bread (Matt. 4:3).

The lust of the eyes:

And that it was pleasant to the eyes (Gen. 3:6).

The devil showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world (Matt. 4:8).

And the vainglory of life:

And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise (Gen. 3:6).

Cast Thyself down (Matt. 4:6).

3. Consider what I say to you-it is only conformity to Jesus that will keep out conformity to the world. Let conformity to Jesus be the study and the endeavor of your soul.

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all His work which God had created” Genesis 2:3.

“On that day, the first day of the week, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you” John 20:19.

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” Revelation 1:10.

Man lives under the law of time. He must have time for what he wants to do or obtain. In a wonderful way God gives him time for communion with Himself. One day in seven God separated for fellowship with Himself.

The great object of God’s gift of this day is that it may serve as a sign that God desires to sanctify man.1 Endeavour to understand well the word “holy.” It is one of the most important words in the Bible.

God is the Holy One. By revealing Himself, God communicates His holiness to that which is holy. We know that the temple was holy, because God dwelt there. God had taken possession of it. He gave Himself to dwell there. In this way, God also wants to sanctify man. He wants to take possession of him and fill him with Himself–with His own life, His disposition, His holiness. For this reason, God took possession of the seventh day, appropriating it to Himself. He sanctified it. He also calls man to sanctify it and to acknowledge it as the Lord’s day–the day of the Lord’s presence and special working. He who does this–who sanctifies this day–will be sanctified by Him, as God has promised. (Read with attention, Exodus 31:12-17, especially verse 13.)

God blessed the seventh day by sanctifying it. The blessing of God is the power of life, lodged by Him in everything. He blesses grass and cattle and man with the power to multiply.2 And so He lodged in the seventh day a power to bless, and the promise that everyone who sanctifies this day will be sanctified and blessed by it. We must accustom ourselves to always think of the Sabbath as a blessed day that certainly brings blessing. The blessing bound up with it is very great.3

There is still a third word that is used when speaking of the Sabbath. “God rested on the seventh day,” and, as it stands in Exodus, “was refreshed” or gladdened. God will sanctify and bless us by introducing us into His rest. He wants to bring us to see that we are not to burden ourselves with our cares and weaknesses. We are to rest in Him, in His finished work, in His rest, which He takes because all is in order. This rest is not the outward termination of employments. No, it is the rest of faith, by which we cease from our works as God did from His, because all is finished. Into this rest we enter by faith in the finished work of Jesus, in surrender to be sanctified by God.4

The seventh day is changed into the first day of the week because Jesus finished the second creation in His resurrection, and we enter into life and rest by the power of His resurrection. There is no specific command on this point. In the New Testament, the Spirit takes the place of the law. The Spirit of the Lord led His disciples to the celebration of this day. It was the day, not only on which the Lord was raised, but also on which, in all likelihood, the Spirit was poured out. It was the day not only on which the Lord manifested Himself during the forty days, but on which the Spirit also specially worked.5

The chief lessons that we have to learn about this day are the following:

The principal aim of the Sabbath is to make you holy, as God is holy. God would have you holy–this is glory, this is blessedness–this is His blessing, this His rest. God would have you holy, filled with Himself and His holiness.6

In order to sanctify you, God must have you with Him, in His presence and fellowship. You are to come away from all your struggling and working to rest with Him. You are to rest quietly, without exertion or anxiety, in the certainty that the Son has finished everything, that the Father cares for you in everything, and that the Spirit will work everything in you. God can reveal Himself in the holy rest of a soul that is converted to God, remains silent before His presence to hear what He speaks to him, and depends on God to achieve all.7 It is thus that He sanctifies us.

We sanctify the day of rest, first by withdrawing from all external business and distraction. Then, by employing it especially as God’s day–belonging to the Lord–for what He destined it to be, fellowship with Himself.

Take care that you do not use the day of rest only as a day for the public observance of divine worship. It is especially in private personal communion that God can bless and sanctify you. In the church, the understanding is kept active, and you have the ordinances of preaching, united prayer, and praise to keep you occupied. But there we do not always know whether the heart is really dealing with God–is taking delight in Him. This takes place in solitude. Accustom yourself, then, to be alone with the Lord your God. Not only speak to Him, but let Him speak to you. Let your heart be the temple in whose holy silence His voice is heard. Rest in God. Then God will say of your heart: This is my rest, here will I dwell.8

Young Christian, hold in high regard the holy, the blessed day of rest. Long for it. Thank God for it. Keep it very holy. And, above all, let it be a day of inner fellowship with your God–living conversation with His love.

Holy God, I thank You for the holy day which You give me as a token that You will sanctify me. Lord God, it is You who did sanctify the day by taking it for Yourself. Sanctify me in like manner by taking me for Yourself. Teach me so to enter into Your rest, so to find my rest in Your love, that my whole soul will be silent before You, in order that You may make Yourself and Your love known in me. And let every Sabbath be to me a foretaste of the eternal rest with You. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ex. 31:13,17; Ezek. 20:12,20

2) Gen. 1:22,28; 22:17

3) Isa. 56:4-7; 58:13,14

4) Heb. 4:3,10

5) John 20:1,1,19,26; Acts 1:8; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10

6) Ex. 29:43,45; Ezek. 37:27,28; 1 Pet. 1:15,16

7) Ps. 62:2,6; Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13; John 19:30

8) Ps. 132:13,14

Notes

1. The Sabbath was the first of all the ways of grace, instituted even before the Fall. You cannot set too high a value on it.

2. Observe how specially the Trinity has revealed Himself on the day of rest. The Father rested on this day. The Son rose from the dead on it. The Spirit sanctified this day by His special workings. You may expect the fellowship and the powerful workings of the Trinity on this day.

3. What is meant by the word “holy”? What is the day of rest a representation of according to Exodus 31, verse 13? How did God sanctify the day of rest? How does He sanctify us?

4. There are in this country certain difficulties in the way of the quiet celebration of the day of rest in a village where the church is often very full. Yet one can lay aside that which is unnecessary and receive the influx of company. We can fix an hour in which there will be reading and singing.

5. It is a matter of great importance to bring up children correctly for the sanctification of the Lord’s day, by avoiding worldly society and conversation, by accustoming them to read something that may be useful for them. For the younger children, there should be a place in every Sunday school. It would be beneficial for the older children to come in contact with a book such as this, or a Bible, and have help to review the texts.

6. There is no better day than the Lord’s day for giving food to body and soul. Let the work of Satan on this day come to an end. Work for the heathen and the ignorant so that they may be carried forward.

7. The principal point is that the day of rest is the day of God’s rest, of rest in and with God, and of fellowship with Him. It is God who will sanctify us. He does this by taking possession of us.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” Matthew 28:19.

“He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved” Mark 16:16.

We find the meaning of the institution of baptism summarised in these words. The word “teach” means, “make disciples of all the nations, baptising them.” The believing disciple, as he is baptised in the water, is also to be baptised or introduced into the name of the Trinity.

By the name of the Father, the new birth and life as a child in the love of the Father are secured to him.1 By the name of the Son, participation in the forgiveness of sins and the life that is in Christ are promised to him.2 By the name of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling and progressive renewal of the Spirit are assured him.3 And every baptised believer must always look upon baptism as his entrance into a covenant with the Trinity, and as a pledge that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit will, in course of time, do for him all that they have promised. It requires a lifelong study to know and enjoy all the blessing that is presented in baptism.

In other passages of Scripture, the blessing is again set forth. We find bound up with it the new birth required to make a child of God. “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The baptised disciple has in God a Father, and he has to live as a child in the love of this Father.4

Then, again, baptism is brought more directly into connection with the redemption that is in Christ. Consequently, the first and simplest representation of it is the forgiveness or washing away of sins. Forgiveness is always the gateway or entrance into all blessing. Therefore, baptism is also the sacrament of the beginning of the Christian life—a beginning that is maintained through the whole life. It is on this account that in Romans, chapter 6, baptism is represented as the secret of the whole of sanctification, the entrance into a life in union with Jesus. “Know ye not that all we who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?” (Romans 6:3). The more precise explanation of what it is to be baptised into the death of Jesus, and to arise out of this with Him, for a new life in Him follows in verses 4-11. This is very powerfully comprehended elsewhere in this word, “As many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). This alone is the right life of a baptised disciple. He has put on Christ.5 As one is plunged into water and passes under it, so is the believing confessor baptised into the death of Christ, in order then to live and walk clothed with the new life of Christ.

And there are other passages where again the promise of the Spirit is connected with baptism. It is promised not only as the Spirit of regeneration but also as the gift from heaven bestowed on believers for indwelling and sealing–for progressive renewal. “He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly” (Titus 3:5,6). Here, renewal is the activity of the Spirit, by which the new life that is planted in the new birth penetrates our whole being, so that all our thinking and doing is sanctified by Him.6

And all this rich blessing which lies in baptism is received by faith. “He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved.” Baptism was not only a confession on man’s part of the faith that he already had, but equally a seal on God’s part for the confirmation of faith–a covenant sign in which the whole treasury of grace lay open, to be enjoyed throughout life. As often as a baptised believer sees a baptism administered, or reflects on it, it is to be to him an encouragement to press, by an ever-growing faith, into the full life of salvation that the Trinity desires to work in him. The Holy Spirit is given to appropriate within us all the love of the Father and all the grace of the Son. The believing candidate for baptism is baptised into the death of Christ and has put on Christ. The Holy Spirit is in the disciple to give him all this as his daily experience.7

Lord God, make Your holy baptism always operative in my soul as the experience that I am baptised into the death of Christ. And let Your people everywhere understand by Your Spirit what rich blessing lies in this baptism. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Gal. 3:26,27; 4:67

2) Col. 2:12

3) Tit. 3:5,6

4) John 3:3

5) Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12

6) Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23

7) John 16:13,14; Eph. 4:14,15; Col. 2:6

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” 1 Corinthians 10:16.

“He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me, and I in him. He that eateth Me, even shall he live by Me” John 6:56,57.

All life has need of food–it is sustained by nourishment which it takes in from without. The heavenly life must have heavenly food. Nothing less than Jesus Himself is the bread of life, “He that eateth Me even shall he live by Me.”1

This heavenly food–Jesus–is brought near to us in two of the means of grace, the Word and the Lord’s Supper. The Word comes to present Jesus to us from the side of the intellectual life, by our thoughts. The Lord’s Supper comes in like manner to present Jesus to us from the side of the emotional life, by the physical senses. Man has a double nature–he has spirit and body. Redemption begins with the spirit, but it also penetrates to the body.2 Redemption is not complete until this mortal body also shares in glory.

The Supper is the pledge that the Lord will also change our body of humiliation and make it like His own glorified body by subduing all things to Himself. In the Supper, Christ would take possession of the whole man–body and soul–to renew and sanctify him by the power of His holy body and blood. Even His body shares in His glory. Even His body is communicated by the Holy Spirit. Even our body is fed with His holy body and renewed by the working of the Holy Spirit.3

This feeding with the body of Christ takes place, on the side of the Lord, by the Spirit; on our side, by faith.

This takes place on the side of the Lord by the Spirit. The Spirit communicates to us the power of he glorified body, by which our bodies become members of His body.4 The Spirit also gives us to drink of the life-power of His blood, so that that blood becomes the life and the joy of our soul. The bread is a participation in the body. The cup is a participation in the blood.

And this takes place on our side by faith. A faith that, beyond what can be seen or understood, relies on the wonder-working power of the Holy Spirit to unite us with our Lord, in soul and body, by communicating Him inwardly to us.5

“What is it to eat the glorified body of Christ and to drink His shed blood?”

“It is not only to receive with a believing heart the whole suffering and dying of Christ, but also to be united more and more with His blessed body. It is to obtain forgiveness of sin and eternal life through the Holy Spirit who dwells in Christ and also in us. Even though He is in heaven and we are on earth, it is to become flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, and to live and be governed eternally by one Spirit.”6

This deeply inward union with Jesus, even with His body and blood, is the great aim of the Lord’s Supper. All that it teaches and gives us of the forgiveness of sin, of the remembrance of Jesus, of the confirmation of the divine covenant, of union with one another, of the announcement of the Lord’s death till He comes, must lead this–complete oneness with Jesus through the Spirit.7 He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. He that eateth Me, even shall he live by Me.”

It is readily understood that the blessing of the supper depends very much on preparation within the inner chamber and on the hunger and thirst with which one longs for the living God.8 Do not imagine, however, that the Supper is nothing but an outward symbol of what we already have by faith in the Word. No, it is an actual spiritual communication from the exalted Lord in heaven of the powers of His life. And it is this only according to the measure of desire and faith. Prepare for the Lord’s Supper, therefore, with very earnest separation and prayer. And then surely expect that the Lord will, with His heavenly power, in a way incomprehensible to you, renew your life.

Blessed Lord, who instituted the Supper in order to communicate Yourself to Your redeemed as their food and their power of life, teach us to use the Supper. Teach us at every opportunity to eat and to drink with great hunger and thirst for Yourself and for full union with You, believing that the Holy Spirit feeds us with Your body and gives us to drink of Your blood. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ps. 13:3; Matt. 4:4; John 6:51

2) Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 6:13,15,19,20; Phil. 3:21

3) Matt. 26:26; John 6:54,55; Rom. 8:11,13

4) 1 Cor. 6:15,17; 12:13; Eph. 5:23,30

5) Luke 1:37; 1 Cor. 2:9,12

6) Catechism used by author in his church.

7) Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:19; John 6:56; 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:17; 11:26; Rev. 3:20

8) Job 11:13; Isa. 55:1,3; Matt. 5:6; Luke 1:53; 1 Cor. 11:28

Notes

1. In connection with the Supper, let us be especially on our guard against the idea of a mere divine service of the congregation or transitory emotion. Peaching and addresses may make an edifying impression, while there is little power or blessing. j

2. For a meal, the first requisite is hunger. A strong hunger and thirst for God is indispensable.

3. In the Supper, Jesus desires to give Himself to as and would have us give ourselves to Him. These are great and holy things.

4. The lessons of the Supper are many. It is a feast of remembrance; a feast of reconciliation; a feast of covenant; a feast of hope; a feast of love. But all these separate thoughts are only subordinate parts of the principal element–the living Jesus wants to give Himself to us in the most inward union. The Son of God wants to descend into our innermost parts. He wants to come to celebrate the Supper with us. “He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.”

5. And then union with Jesus is union with His people in love and sympathy.

6. The preparatory address is not itself the preparation. It is only a help to the private preparation which one must have in communion with Jesus.

7. To hold festival with God at His table is something of unspeakable importance. Please do not suppose that because you are a Christian it is easy for you to go and sit down. No, take time for solitude with Jesus so that He may speak to you and tell you how you should prepare your heart to eat with Him. It is very useful to take the whole week before the Supper for preparation and the whole week after for reflection.

“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people” Exodus 19:5.

“The Lord shall greatly bless thee, if thou only carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God” Deuteronomy 15:4,5.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed” Hebrews 11:8.

“Learned he obedience by the things which He suffered: and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” Hebrews 5:8,9.

Obedience is one of the most important words in the Bible and in the life of the Christian. It was in the way of disobedience that man lost the favour and the life of God. It is only in the way of obedience that that favour and that life can again be enjoyed.1 God cannot possibly take pleasure in, or bestow His blessing on, those who are not obedient. “If ye will obey My voice indeed, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me”; “The Lord shall greatly bless thee, if thou only carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” These alone are the eternal principles according to which man can enjoy God’s favour and blessing.

We see this in the Lord Jesus. He says, “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love” (John 15:10). He was in the love of the Father, but could not remain there except by obedience. And He says that this is equally for us the one way to continue in His love. We must keep His commandments. He came to open for us the way back to God. This way was the way of obedience. Only he who, through faith in Jesus, walks in this way will come to God.2

How gloriously this connection between the obedience of Jesus and our own is expressed in Hebrews 5, verses 8 and 9, “He learned obedience, and became unto all them that obey Him the author of eternal salvation.” This is the bond of unity between Jesus and His people, the point of conformity and inward agreement. He was obedient to the Father–they, on the other hand, are obedient to Him. He and they are both obedient. His obedience not only atones for, but drives out their disobedience. He and they bear one mark–obedience to God.3

This obedience is a characteristic of the life of faith. It is called the obedience of faith.4 There is nothing in earthly things that so spurs men to work as faith. The belief that there is advantage or joy to be found is the secret of all work. “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed.” My works will be according to what I believe. The faith that Jesus made me free from the power of sin for obedience, and sets me in a suitable condition for it, has a mighty power to make me obedient. Obedience is strengthened by faith: Faith in the overflowing blessing which the Father gives to obedience, in the promises of the love and indwelling of God, and in the promise of the fullness of the Spirit which comes by this channel.5

The power of this faith, again, as of obedience, lies especially in fellowship with the living God Himself. There is but one Hebrew word for “obeying voice” and “hearing voice.” To hear correctly prepares one to obey. It is when I learn the will of God–not in the words of a man or a book–but from God Himself, and when I hear the voice of God, that I will surely believe what is promised and do what is commanded. The Holy Spirit is the voice of God. When we hear the living voice speak, obedience becomes easy.6 Let us wait in silence on God, and set our soul open before Him, so that He may speak by His Spirit. When, in our Bible reading and praying, we learn to wait more upon God so that we can say, “My God has spoken this to me, has given me this promise, has commanded this,” then we will also obey. “To listen to the voice” earnestly, diligently, is the sure way to obedience.

With a servant, a warrior, a child, a subject, obedience is indispensable–the first sign of integrity. And will God, the living, glorious God, find no obedience with us? 7 No, let cheerful, punctual, precise obedience from the beginning be the mark of the genuineness of our fellowship with the Son whose obedience is our life.

Father, You make us Your children in Christ, make us in Him obedient children, as He was obedient. Let the Holy Spirit make the obedience of Jesus so glorious and powerful in us, that obedience will be the highest joy of our life. Teach us in everything only to seek to know what You desire and then to do it. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Rom. 5:19; 6:16; 1 Pet. 1:2,14,22

2) Gen. 22:17,18; 26:4,5; 1 Sam. 15:22

3) Rom. 6:17; 2 Cor. 10:5; Phil. 2:8

4) Acts 6:7; Rom. 1:5; 16:26

5) Deut. 28:1; Isa. 63:7-9; John 14:11,15,23; Acts 5:32

6) Gen. 12:1,4; 31:13,16; Matt. 14:28; Luke 5:5; John 10:4,27

7) Mal. 1:6; Matt. 7:21

Notes

For a life of obedience, these things are required:

1. Decisive surrender. I must no longer have to ask in every single case, will I or will I not, must I, can I, be obedient? Now it must be such an unquestionable thing that I will know of nothing else than to be obedient. He who cherishes such a disposition, and thinks of obedience as a thing that stands firm, will find it easy, will literally taste great joy in it.

2. The knowledge of God’s will through the Spirit. Please, do not imagine that because you know the Bible in some manner you know the will of God. The knowledge of God’s will is something spiritual. Let the Holy Spirit make known to you the knowledge of God’s will.

3. The doing of all that we know to be right. All doing teaches man. All doing of what is right teaches man obedience. All that the Word or conscience or the Spirit tells you is right, actually do it. It helps to form doing into a holy habit and is an exercise leading to more power and more knowledge. Do what is right, Christian, out of obedience to God, and you will be blessed.

4. Faith in the power of Christ. You have the power to obey. Be sure of this. Although you do not feel it, you have it in Christ your Lord by faith.

5. The glad assurance of the blessing of obedience. It unites us with our God; it wins His good pleasure and love; it strengthens our life; it brings the blessedness of heaven into our heart.

Chapter 45

The Will of God

“Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10.

The glory of heaven, where the Father dwells, is that His will is done there. He who wants to taste the blessedness of heaven must know the Father who is there, and do His will, as it is done in heaven.1

Heaven is an unending holy Kingdom, of which the throne of God is the central point. Around this throne there are innumerable multitudes of pure, free beings, all ordered under powers and dominions. An indescribably rich and many-sided activity fills their life. All the highest and noblest that keeps man occupied is but a faint shadow of what takes place in this heavenly world. All these beings possess their free personal will. However, the will has, by its own choice, become one with the holy will of the Father, so that, in the midst of a diversity that flashes out in a million forms, only one will is accomplished–the will of God. All the rich, blessed movement of the inhabitants of heaven has its origin and its aim in the will of God.

And why is it then that His children on earth do not regard this will as their highest joy? Why is it that the petition, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” is often coupled with thoughts of the severe, trying elements in the will of God? Why is it coupled with thoughts of the impossibility of our continually rejoicing in God’s will? It is because we do not take pains to know the will of God in its glory and beauty. It is also because we do not know His will as the origin of love, as the source of power and joy, and as the expression of the perfection of God. We think of God’s will only in the law that He gave and that we cannot keep, or in the trials in which His will appears in conflict with our own. Let us no longer do this, but take pains to understand that, in the will of God, all His love and blessedness can be comprehended and understood by us.2

Hear what the Word says about the will of God and the glorious things that are destined for us in this Will.

“This is the will of my Father, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). The will of God is the rescue of sinners by faith in Christ. He who surrenders himself to this glorious will to seek souls will have the assurance that God will bless his work to others–for he carries out God’s will, even as Jesus did it.3

“It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). The will of God is the maintenance, the strengthening, and the keeping of the weakest of His children. What courage will he have who unites himself cordially with this will!

“This is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). With His whole heart, with all the power of His will, God is willing to make us holy. If we but open our heart and believe that it is not the law, but the will of God– something He certainly gives and does if we permit Him–then we will rejoice that our sanctification is stable and sure.4

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). A joyful, thankful life is what God has destined for us and is what He will work in us. That which He desires, He certainly does for those who do not resist Him but receive and allow His will to work in them.

We must surrender our spirit to be filled with the thought what God would have He will certainly bring to pass when we do not resist Him. And if we further consider how glorious and good and perfect the will of God is, then we will yield ourselves wholeheartedly so that this will may find its accomplishment in us.5

To this end, let us believe that the will of God is His love. Let us see what blessings in the Word are connected with the doing of this will.6 Let us think of the glory of heaven as consisting of doing God’s will, and make the choice that our life on earth will be in accordance with that will. And let us with prayer and meditation permit ourselves to be led by the Spirit to know this will completely.7

When we have learned to know the will of God on its glorious heavenly side in the Word-and have done it–it will not be difficult for us to also bear this will where it appears to be contrary to our nature. We will be so filled with the adoration of God and His will, that we will resolve to see and approve and love this will in everything. And it will be the most glorious thought of our life that there is to be nothing, nothing, in which the will of God must not be known and honored.8

Father, this was the glory of the Lord Jesus, that He did not do His own will, but the will of His Father. This glory I desire to have as mine. Father, open my eyes and my heart to know the perfection, he glory of Your will, and the glory of a life in this will. Teach me to understand Your will correctly, then willingly and cheerfully to execute it. When it becomes difficult for me, teach me to do Your will with loving adoration. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Dan. 4:35

2) Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:5,9,11; Heb. 10:10

3) John 4:34; 5:20; 6:38,40

4) 1 Thess. 5:23,24

5) Rom. 12:2

6) Matt. 7:21; 12:50; John 7:17; 9:31; Eph. 5:17; 6:6; 1 John 2:17

7) Rom. 12:2; Col. 1:9; 4:12; Heb. 10:36; 13:21

8) Matt. 26:39; Heb. 10:7,9

Notes

1. To do the will of God from the heart in prosperity is the only way to bear this will from the heart in suffering.

2. To do the will of God I must know it spiritually. The light and the power of the Spirit go together. What He teaches to see as God’s will, He certainly teaches all to do. Meditate much on Romans 12:2, and pray earnestly to see God’s will correctly.

3. Always learn to adore the will of God in the least and the worst thing that man does to you. It is not the will of God that man should do what is sinful. When man does sin, it is the will of God that His child should be thereby chastened. Say then always in the least as well as the greatest trials–it is the will of God that I am in this difficulty. This brings the soul to rest and silence, and teaches it to honour God in the trial.

4. When God gave a will to man, He gave him a power whereby he could accept or reject the will of God with its full power. This is heavenly glory and blessedness, to be conscious that my will is in harmony with God’s will. God’s will lives in me. It is the will of God to work this in you.

“There said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” Matthew 16:24.

Self-denial was an exercise which the Lord Jesus often spoke about. Several times He mentioned it as an indispensable characteristic of every true disciple. He associates it with cross-bearing and losing our life.1 Our old life is so sinful, and remains to the end so sinful, that it is never in a condition for anything good. Therefore, it must be denied and mortified so that the new life–the life of God–may have free reign in our lives.2 From the very beginning, let the young Christian resolve to deny himself totally, in accordance with the command of his Lord. At the outset, it seems severe, but he will find that it is the source of inconceivable blessing.

Let self-denial reach our carnal understanding. It was when Peter had spoken according to the thought of the natural understanding that the Lord had to say to him, “Thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men” (Matthew 16:23). You must deny yourselves and your own thoughts. In endeavouring to attain the knowledge of what God’s will is, we must be careful that the activity of our understanding the Word and prayer does not deceive us with a service of God that is not in His Spirit and truth. Deny your carnal understanding. Bring it to silence, and in holy silence give place to the Holy Spirit. Let the voice of God be heard in your heart.3

Also, deny your own will, with all its lusts and desires. Once and for all, let it be unquestionable that the will of God is your choice in everything. Therefore, every desire that does not fall in with this will must be mortified. Please believe that in the will of God there is heavenly blessedness, and that therefore self-denial appears severe only at the outset. When you exercise yourself heartily in it, it becomes a great joy. Let the body with all its life remain under the law of self-denial.4

Also deny your own honour. Seek the honour of God. This brings such a rest into the soul. “How can ye believe,” says Jesus, “which receive glory one of another?” (John 5:44). Although your honour may be hurt or reviled, commit it to God to watch over it. Be content to be little–to be nothing. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).5

Deny, in like manner, your own power. Cherish the deep conviction that it is those who are weak–those who are nothing–that God can use. Be very much afraid of your own endeavours in the service of God, however sincere they may be. Although you feel as if you had power, say before God that you do not have it–that your power is nothing. Continuous denial of your own power is the way to enjoy the power of God. It is in the heart which dies to its own power that the Holy Spirit decides to live and bring the power of God.6

Especially deny your own interests. Do not live to please yourself, but your neighbour. He who seeks his own life will lose it. He who lives for himself will not find life. But he who truly imitates Jesus–to share in His joy–let him give his life as He did. Let him sacrifice his own interests.7

Beloved Christian, at conversion you had to make a choice between your own self and Christ. You said then, “Not I, but Christ” (Galatians 2:20). Now you are to confirm this choice every day. The more you do so, the more joyful and blessed it will be for you to renounce the sinful self–to cast aside unholy self-working–and allow Jesus to be all. The way of self-denial is a way of deep heavenly blessedness.

There are very many Christians who observe nothing of this way. They want Jesus to make them free from punishment, but not to liberate them from themselves–from their own will. But the invitation to discipleship always rings, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

We find the reason as well as the power for self-denial in the little word Me. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and follow Me.” The old life is in ourselves. The new life is in Jesus. The new life cannot rule without driving out the old. Once one’s own self had everything to say, now it must be nothing. But it would rather not be this.

Because of this there must be denial of one’s self and imitation of Jesus all day long. He, with His teaching, His will, and His honour, and His interests, must fill the heart. But he who has and knows Him willingly denies himself. Christ is so precious to him that he sacrifices everything, even himself, to win Him.8

This is the true life of faith. Not according to what nature sees or thinks to be acceptable, do I live, but according to what Jesus says and would have. Every day and every hour I confirm the wonderful thought, “Not I, but Christ” (Galatians 2:20). I am nothing, Christ is everything. “Ye are dead,” and no longer have power, or will, or honour, “your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Christ’s power and will alone prevail. Christians, cheerfully deny that sinful wretched self so that the glorious Christ may dwell in you.

Precious Saviour, teach me what self-denial is. Teach me so to distrust my heart that in nothing will I yield to its fancy. Teach me to know You so that it will be impossible for me to do anything else than to offer up myself to possess You and Your life. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 10:38,39; Luke 9:23; 14:27; John 12:24,25

2) Rom. 6:6; 8:13; Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14; Col. 3:5

3) Matt. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:17,27; 2:6; Col. 2:18

4) Matt. 26:39; Rom. 6:13; 1 Cor. 9:25,27

5) John 7:18; 8:50; I Thess. 2:6.

6) 2 Cor. 3:5; 12:9

7) Rom. 15:1,3; 1 Cor. 10:23,24; Eph. 5:2

8) Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:7,8

Notes

1. Of the denial of the natural understanding Tersteegen said, “God and His truth are never understood correctly except by the one who, by the dying of his carnal nature, his inclinations, passions, and will, is made very earnest and silent before God. This same soul must abandon the manifold deliberations of the understanding and become very simple and childlike. We must give our heart and our will entirely to God, forsaking our own will in all things, releasing ourselves especially from the manifold imaginations and activities of the understanding, even in spiritual things. Our understanding collects itself silently in the heart, and dwells as in the heart with God. Not in the head, but in the heart, does the true understanding display itself in acquiring the knowledge of God. In the head are the barren ideas of truth: in the heart is found the living truth itself, the anointing that teaches us all things. In the heart is found the living fountain of light. Anyone who lives in a heart entertained with God will often, with a glance of the eye, discern more truth than another with the greatest exertion.”

2. Read the above passage with care. You will find in it the reason why we have said several times that when you read or pray you must at every opportunity keep quiet for a little while and set yourself in entire silence before God. This is necessary to bring the activity of the natural understanding to silence and to set the heart open before God so that He may speak there. The heart is the temple in which worship in spirit and truth takes place. Distrust and deny your understanding in spiritual things. The natural understanding is in the head. The spiritual understanding is in the heart, the temple of God. Preserve in the temple of God a holy silence before His countenance. Then He will speak.

3. The peculiar mark of Christian self-denial is inward cheerfulness and joy in the midst of turmoil. The Word of God makes unceasing joy a duty. This joyful disposition, hailing from eternity, has all change and variance under control and will hold its ground, not only in times of severe suffering, but also in the self-denial of every day and hour that is inseparable from the Christian life.

4. What all am I to deny? Deny yourself. How will I know where and when to deny myself? Do so always and in everything. And if you do not understand that answer, know that no one can give you the right explanation of it but Jesus Himself. To imitate Jesus, to be taught of Him, is the only way to self-denial. Only when Jesus comes in does self go out.

“For wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall reserve thee, understanding shall keep thee” Proverbs 2:10,11.

“My son, keep sound wisdom and discretion: so shall they be life unto thy soul” Proverbs 3:21,22.

“Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash” Acts 19:36.

Indiscretion is not merely the sin of the unconverted. It often causes much evil and misery among the people of God. We read of Moses, “They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they were rebellious against his spirit, and he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” So of Uzzah’s touching the ark, “And God smote him there for his error” (2 Samuel 6:7).1

Discretion, and why it is so necessary, may be easily explained. When an army marches into the province of an enemy, its safety depends on the guards which are always on watch. The guards are to know and to give warning when the enemy approaches. Advance guards are sent out so that the territory and power of the enemy may be known. This prudence, which looks out beforehand and looks around, is dispensable.

The Christian lives in the province of the enemy. All that surrounds him may become a snare or an occasion for sin. Therefore his whole walk is to be carried out in a holy reserve and watchfulness so that he may do nothing indiscreet. He watches and prays that he may not enter into temptation.2 Prudence keeps guard over him.3

Discretion keeps watch over the lips. What loss many a child of God endure by thinking that if he speaks nothing wrong, he may speak what he will. He does not know how–through much speaking–the soul becomes ensnared in the distractions of the world. In the multitude of words there is not a lack of sin (Proverbs 10:19). Discretion endeavours not to speak unless it be for the glory of God and a blessing to neighbors.4

Discretion also keeps guard over the ear. All the news of the world comes to me through the gate of the ear–all the indiscreet speech of others–to infect me. Eagerness for news is very hurtful for the soul. Because of it, one can no longer look into one’s self. One lives wholly in the world. Corinth was much more godless than Athens. But in the latter, where they “spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21), very few were converted. Take heed, says Jesus, what ye hear.5

On this account, discretion keeps watch over the society in which the Christian mingles. “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh all wisdom” (Proverbs 18:1). The child of God does not have the freedom to yield himself to the society of he world. He must know the will of his Father.6

Discretion keeps watch over all lawful occupations and possessions. It knows how gradually and secretly the love of money, worldly mindedness, and he secret power of the flesh, obtains the upper hand. It knows that it can never consider itself free from this temptation.7

And, above all, discretion keeps watch over the heart, because it is our life’s fountain. Remembering the word, “he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” (Proverbs 28:26), discretion walks in deep humility, and it works out salvation with fear and trembling.8

What source gives the soul the power to be endlessly on its guard against the thousand dangers surrounding it on all sides? Is it not fatiguing, exhausting, and harassing to have to thus watch always, and never to be at rest in the certainty that there is no danger? No, absolutely not. Discretion brings the highest restfulness. It has its security and strength in its heavenly Keeper, who does not slumber or sleep. In confidence in Him, under the inspiration of His Spirit, discretion does its work. The Christian walks wisely. The dignity of a holy prudence adorns him in all his actions. The rest of faith, the faith that Jesus watches and guards, binds us to Him in love. Holy discretion springs, as of its own accord, from a love that would not grieve or abandon Him, from a faith that has its strength for everything in Him.

Lord my God, guard me so that I may not be indiscreet in heart. Let the prudence of the righteous always characterise me, in order that in everything I may be kept from giving offence. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ps. 106:33; Prov. 12:18

2) Matt. 26:41; Luke 21:36; Eph. 6:18; 1 Pet. 4:7; 5:8

3) 1 Sam. 18:14; Matt. 10:16; Luke 1:17; 16:8; Eph. 5:15

4) Ps. 39:2; 141:3; Prov. 10:19; Eccles. 5:1,2

5) Prov. 2:2; 18:15; Mark 4:24

6) Psalm 1:1; 2 Cor. 6:14; 2 Thess. 3:14

7) Matt. 13:22; Luke 21:34; 1 Tim. 6:9,17

8) Prov. 3:21,23; 4:23; 28:18; Jer. 31:33

Notes

1. It was once said to one who gave great care to having his horse and cart in thoroughly good order, “Come, it is not necessary to be taking so much trouble with this.” His answer was, “I have always found that my prudence paid.” How many a Christian has need of this lesson. How many a young Christian may well pray for this–that his conversion may be according to God’s Word, “to the wisdom of the just” (Luke 1:17).

2. Discretion has its root in self-knowledge. The deeper my knowledge of my weakness and the sinfulness of my flesh is, the greater is the need for watchfulness. It is our element of true self-denial.

3. Discretion has its power in faith. The Lord is our Keeper and He does His keeping through the Spirit. It is from Him that our discretion comes.

4. Its activity is not limited to ourselves. Discretion reaches out to our neighbour, in the way of giving him no offence, and in laying no stumbling block in his way (Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 8:9; 10:32; Phil. 1:10).

5. Discretion finds great delight in silence so as to commit its way to the Lord with composure and deliberation. It esteems highly the word of the townclerk of Ephesus, “Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rash” (Acts 19:36).

6. In great generals and their victories we see that discretion is not timidity. It is consistent with the highest courage and the most joyful certainty of victory. Discretion watches against rashness but enhances the courage of faith.

“Money answereth all things” Ecclesiastes 10:19.

“I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand” Judges 17:3.

“Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usary “Matthew 25:27.

In his dealing with the world and its possessions, the Christian finds an opportunity to manifest his self-denial and the spirit of discretion.1 Since all value or property on earth still finds its expression in money, it is in his dealings with money that he can especially show he is free from worldliness by denying himself to serve his God. In order to thoroughly comprehend this, we must consider what is to be said about money.

What does money represent? It represents the work by which a man earns it and his industry, zeal, and ability in that work. It is indicative of his success and the blessing of God upon the work. It also represents all that I can do with money and the work that others would do for me. It signifies the power that I have to accomplish what I desire and the influence which I exercise on those who are dependent on me for my money. It is a representation of all the possessions or enjoyments that are to be obtained by money and of all on earth that can make life desirable. Yes, it represents life itself, without which the purchase of indispensable food cannot be supported.

Money is, indeed, one of the most desirable and fruitful of earthly things. No wonder that it is so esteemed by all.

What is the danger of money? What sin does it lead to, that the Bible and experience should so warn us to be prudent in dealing with it? There is the anxiousness that occurs when one does not know if there will be sufficient money.2 There is the covetousness that longs too much for it.3 There is the dishonesty that, without gross deception or theft, does not give to a neighbour what belongs to him.4 There is the lovelessness that desires to draw everything to one’s self and does not help another.5 There is the love of money, which greedily seeks after riches and lands.6 There is the robbery of God and the poor in withholding the share that belongs to them.7

What is the blessing of money? If the danger of sin is so great, would it not be better if there were no money? Is it not better to be without money? No, even for the spiritual life money may be a great blessing. It may be an exercise in industry and activity, in care and economy. It may be a sign of God’s blessing upon our work.9 It may be an opportunity for showing that we can possess and lay it out for God, without withholding it or cleaving to it, and that by means of it we can manifest our generosity to the poor and our overflowing love for God’s cause.10 It may be a means of glorifying God by our charity and of spreading among men the gold of heavenly blessing.11 It may be a thing that, according to the assurance of Jesus, we can exchange for a treasure in heaven.12

And what is now the way to be freed from the danger and to be led into the righteous blessing of money?

Let God be Lord over your money. Receive all your money with thanksgiving, as coming from God in answer to the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread”(Matthew 6:11).13

Lay it all down before God as belonging to Him. Say with the woman, “I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord” (Judges 17:3).14

Let your dealing with your money be a part of your spiritual life. Receive and possess and give out your money as one who has been bought at a high price-redeemed, not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus.15

Make what the Word of God says of money–of earthly goods–a special study. The Word of the Father alone teaches how the child of God is to use blessing.

Greatly reflect on the fact that it is not given to you for yourself alone, but for you and your brethren together. The blessing of money is to do good to others and to make them rejoice.16

Remember that it can be given up to the Father and the service of His Kingdom for the upbuilding of His spiritual temple-the extension of His influence. Every time a spiritual blessing is mentioned in Scripture, it is .a time of cheerful giving for God’s cause. Even the outpouring of the Holy Spirit made itself known in the giving of money for the Lord. 17

Christian, understand this, all the deepest deliberations of the heart and its most spiritual activities can manifest themselves in the way in which we deal with our money. Love to God, love to our neighbour, victory over the world by faith, the hope of everlasting treasure, faithfulness as a steward, joy in God’s service, cheerful self-denial, holy discretion, and the glorious freedom of the children of God, can all be seen in the use of money. Money can be the means of the most glorious fellowship with God and the full enjoyment of the blessedness of being able to honour and serve Him.

Lord God, make me properly discern in what close connection my money stands with my spiritual life. Let the Holy Spirit lead and sanctify me, so that all my earning and receiving, my keeping and dispensing of money, may always be pleasing to You and a blessing to my soul. Amen.

Footnotes

1) John 17:15,16; 1 Cor. 7:31

2) Matt. 6:31

3) 1 John 2:15,16

4) Jas. 5:4

5) Luke 16:19,25

6) 1 Tim. 6:9,10,17

7) Prov. 3:27,28; Mal. 3:8

8) Eccles. 5:18,19

9) Prov. 10:4,22

10) 2 Cor. 8:14,15

11) 2 Cor. 9:12,13

12) Matt. 19:21; Luke 12:33

13) 1 Chron. 29:14

14) 1 Chron. 29:12,14

15) Luke 19:8; 1 Pet. 1:18,19

16) Acts 20:35

17) Ex. 36:5: 1 Chron. 29:6,9; Acts 2:45; 4:34

Notes

1. John Wesley always said that there were three rules about the use of money which he gave to men in business and by which he was sure that they would experience benefit.

-Make as much money as you can. Be industrious and diligent.

-Save as much money as you can. Be no spendthrift, live frugally and prudently.

-Give away as much money as you can. That is the divine destination of money. That makes it an everlasting blessing for yourselves and others.

2. Acquaint yourself with the magnificent prayer of David in I Chronicles 29:10-20. Receive it into your soul because it teaches us the blessedness and the glorification of God that springs from cheerful giving.