What are you living for?
LIVING IS CHRIST
by A rthu r B. W h iting
T he a n c i e n t G r e e k s prided themselves upon their ability to condense an ocean of truth in just a little drop of language. I wonder how many of you, as read ers of the Bible, have come to recog nize that this Book has the same happy faculty. Here is a Book that in just a simple drop of language can condense an ocean of truth, so that in the statements of the Bible we have miniature Bibles. Martin Luther called John 3:16 “a mini ature Bible” and he was referring, of course, to this same characteristic feature of the Scriptures. Here is a Book that can condense and compress truths into a small area. I think, for instance, of Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” It would be difficult to find a shorter statement of the redeem ing mission of Jesus Christ in all of its grandeur and glory. Leave out one word and that text will bleed to death. A Philosophy in a Nutshell One of the most pregnant verses of all Scripture is Philippians 1:21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” I challenge any man to write a better, a more complete, a more concise philosophy. In 12 simple words you have the meaning of life and of death for the believer. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” You cannot say the first part without being able to say the second part. When you say, “to die is gain,” then it is because
I want to share with you some of the truth with which the Lord has blessed my own heart as I have sought to live with this verse. And, of course, I am very conscious of the fact that there is still a great deal of unexplored territory before me. You see, we are dealing with the inexhaustible Word of God. Consider t h o s e simple words, “For to me to live is Christ.” You will notice that this statement is very personal, which is a reminder that Christianity is a personal mat ter. It is a matter of my relation ship to my Lord, “to m e” — not to someone else. What did Paul mean when he said, “to me to live is Christ”? Was he not acknowledging that the source of his spiritual life was found in none other than the Lord Jesus Christ? In other words, he was saying, “For me to live is to have Jesus Christ as the very source of my spiritual life, the very foun tainhead of my life as a believer. I am alive before God because I am a partaker of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my very life; apart from Him I have no life.” Will you not agree with me that this is the first meaning of Paul’s words? “To me to live is Christ.” He is recognizing the fact that there was a time when he did not have the source of life that he has now. He constantly reminded his readers that they were in a state of death apart from Jesus Christ. Writing to the Ephesians he said, “You who
Jesus Christ is your life in reality. I would like us to fence off the first part of this verse. Let us put it under the microscope and see some thing of the treasure that it may yield. Here is a verse that I have tried to live with for many a long day. Have you tried to live with certain passages of the Word of God? I have learned that in order to get to know people you really have to live with them. I have been living with my wife for about 25 years. I think I am getting to know her a little! I am sure she is getting to know me! It is because we have been together that we are beginning to know each other. And the more we are together with the Word of God, the better we are going to understand it. Try living with cer tain words of Scripture. Of course you will be reading large passages; but try living with a verse if you want that verse to speak to you, if you want that verse to yield some of its precious treasures. A bout the A uthor W ith this article we are introducing Dr. Whiting to The King’s Business readers. Born in Gloucester, Eng. in 1906 he was educated at Cliff College and the University o f Edinburgh. In this country he took fur ther studies at Pittsburgh Theological Sem inary, Pittsburgh-Xenia and Dallas seminaries. He is a popular B ible teacher and conference speaker. Currently he is professor o f English B ible at Talbot Theological Seminary and chairman of B ible at Biola B ible College. B efore coming to California he was pastor of the First Baptist Church, N.Y.C.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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