October, 1933
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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
from the second chapter of Philippians, we discover these words: “ Let this mind be in YOU , which was also in Christ Jesus.” Peter enjoins us to follow in the steps o f Christ (1 Pet. 2 :21 ). In Hebrews 12, immediately following the phrase that speaks of Jesus’ exaltation at the right hand of God, we read, “ For consider him that endured such con tradiction o f sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” In other words, these passages are recorded to safe guard the believer against the program of Satan with which he sought to influence the Lord Jesus Christ. The tempter seeks to spare the child of God suffering and self-denial that is brought about by obedience to the will of God and love and concern for others. By setting forth glowing offers which look like personal advantages, he would have us evade the^path o f duty and Christian responsibility. When these temptations o f Satan come to Christians, each must make his own decision. To accept Satan’s temporary benefits regardless of how valuable they appear to the flesh is to follow the line o f least resistance, which will rob us of greater blessings and advantages that would other wise be ours. . Just as the kingdoms of this world are redeemed, every true Christian has been redeemed from the possession o f Satan, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But just as Satan continues to usurp dominion over the king doms of this world, so he seeks to usurp dominion over every born-again soul who is now the property o f God. But by “ looking unto Jesus the author and finisher o f our faith,” we can refuse to give the enemy dominion over, us, and claim the power o f the indwelling Christ to adhere to the will of God in spite o f all it may cost. As a result, even the kingdoms of this world will be ours, for we are “ joint- heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8 :17 ), and when He returns to reign on earth “ till he hath put all enemies under his feet,” we know that “ if we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2 :12; cf. Rom. 8 :14-18). May we, as followers o f our divine Lord, thrust aside the impulse to embrace the transitory joys dangled before us by the arch-deceiver of the ages; and may we, like Moses, have so great a “ respect unto the recompense o f the reward” that our hearts may impell us to choose “ rather to suffer affliction with the people o f God.” Apostasy in the church is crippling evangelization, espe cially in foreign missions, as the larger denominations today are controlled by modernists who are sending to the foreign mission field as missionaries those who do not believe the whole Word o f God. Here is a leaflet issued by the American Red Cross, that splendid humanitarian organization which does so much to alleviate suffering. This leaflet shows the rising curve o f disaster in the United States— disaster not caused by man, but in the natural world, such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and the like. The increase is startling. These are some of the reasons why we believe the Lord’s return is near. His return is called the blessed hope, the purifying hope. “ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Are we think ing today o f the Lord’s return in such a way that our lives are purified, so that at His coming we may not be ashamed ? He may come at any time; He may come today; He is coming soon. So the beloved apostle writes to us a il: “ And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” T H E C L O U D S [Continued from page 334]
inanity, in that the acceptance o f it would have spared Him the agony of the cross, with all the humiliation and shame that preceded His crucifixion. T he C hoice of O ur L ord The writer o f Hebrews must have had this in mind when he wrote the words in chapter 4, verse 15, informing- us that Jesus “ was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Just as there are those who would magnify, the humanity of Christ Jesus to the exclusion of His divin ity, so there are those who would magnify His divinity to the exclusion of His humanity and have us think of His temptation as a mere form ; but the Hebrew writer, moved by the Holy Spirit, would impress us with the fact that the temptation o f our Lord was as real as ours, and that the joys offered made their appeal. We must remember, too, that Jesus never used His divine nature to minister to His own physical needs. According to our text, then, we have in His person a perfect demonstration of that familiar motto of the Christian, “ God first, others second, and self last.” Jesus refused to think merely of Himself. It was not like Him. When Satan set before Him the kingdoms of this world, there were two things uppermost in His mind : first, the will o f the Father in heaven, for He remembered that He came not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him. He was determined that He would carry out that will, cost what it would—and He well knew that it would cost Him His life. The second thing that was on His mind was the sinful humanity He was sent to redeem from all that was lost in the fall of Adam. So we may say that, because of the unspeakable love He had for both God and mankind, He was Constrained to turn down Sa tan’s offer with all of its seeming personal advantage to Himself. The final statement of Hebrews 12:2 informs us that, because Jesus refused the joy that was set before Him by Satan and endured the cross, despising the shame, He was “ set down at the right hand o f the throne o f God.” A more complete description o f all the honor that was heaped upon our Lord because He put God first, others second, and self last is given in the second chapter of Philippians : “ Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God : but made himself o f no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : and being found in fash ion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient untò death, even the death o f the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Instead o f receiving the kingdoms of this world from Satan as a gift, Jesus redeemed them to Himself (and con sequently also to man who lost them to Satan) by His death on the cross, for according to Colossians 2:15, “ And hav ing spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” While Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan on the cross, He has not fully exercised His rights over the one whom He conquered. This He will not do until He comes back to the earth in person. Until then, Satan will continue to usurp power and authority over the kingdoms of this world, although only in the permissive will o f God. But after the Lord returns, the prophecy given in 1 Corinthians 15 :24 and 25 will be fulfilled, ,in that He will “ put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” 7 T he P rinciple A pplied to the B eliever In the verse preceding the great passage just quoted
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