Greater Things than These –
Part 2
When the angel announced the coming birth
of the Redeemer, his word to Mary was, "You
shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."
Greater work than this He could not do, and when it is all accomplished, "He shall see of the travail of His
soul and be satisfied." A Savior from sin and all its far-reaching results
is what this world is waiting for; and one day their hearts will be opened to
receive the One who gave Himself for them, and then to the utmost bounds of the
earth they will crown Him Lord of All. Within the ranks of those who have
believed on Him in this time of special grace, no need is greater than that of
a deeper realization of all that a vital union with Him can produce in the life
and ministry of the believer. In the days of His flesh "as many as touched Him were made perfectly whole," and
that intimate touch is still the most important thing if we would be saved
ourselves and do the "greater
things" Jesus promised. It is
necessary that those who would do efficient and fruitful service for God be
themselves in living union with Christ; for
those to be served must be brought past all men, creeds, organizations, and
movements, and into personal touch with Jesus Christ. No one can bring another
into that touch unless he himself has felt its power.
Someone has well said, "Living in constant contemplation and contact with God will bring you into understanding touch with every-thing in human life. The love of Christ will constrain you to practice a sympathy with all sorts and conditions of men in all sorts and conditions of circumstances; the fires of God's love on one hand, the fires of humanity's struggles on the other. Could you possibly bear a dead inept message to those whom you are trying to serve? Woe to him who ventures to bear precepts in religious and moral matters without proving his right to do so. The life he leads is the only acceptable proof. He who propounds precepts to his fellows must in fact be an example in himself of that which he propounds. What better preparation for this essential work than the life truly hid with Christ in God? It will exalt the worker to a position of such advantage as to render his instruction unassailable."
Pursuing the same thought we pause to meditate on the significant statement of Jesus covering this same matter: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me" (John 15:4).
The ministry of Paul throbs with life and power, and it has brought forth a rich harvest throughout the Age because he recognized this vital truth. The Christ of the Apostle, was no cold theological theme over which believers might contend in "strife over words," "endless genealogies”, and sectarian phraseology, but a living Christ who saves people from their sins; a Christ who can make the foulest clean and who ultimately will present such saved ones "unto Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). Surely the one who thus abides in Christ, and the one who will determine with the Apostle to know only Christ and Him crucified, will find himself enjoying the fulfillment of the promise of “greater works” being done by Christ through him, just as our opening text teaches us. It must be so, for so it is written again, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes on [Greek: into] Me, as the Scripture has said, out of him shall flow rivers of living water." And again, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things" (John 7:37, 38; Matthew 12:35).
Every feature of God's revealed purposes charms our mind and heart. The evidences of God's glory revealed in the heavens over us and in the earth we tread, elicit admiration and adoration. But of all the works of the Father of mercies, none so charms and inspires us as the discovery of that divine love which, before the foundations of the earth were laid, had chosen us in Christ "that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:4-6).
What greater work could there be than that which God has so graciously placed within our reach as co-workers together with Him? "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - "Preaching peace by Jesus Christ" (Rom. 10:15; Acts 10:36). Some day soon, the word will go forth, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). And of what will that readiness consist? We answer: the character likeness of God's dear Son. When on His own likeness in us He can smile; then, "He will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing," and that will be joy unspeakable for us.
Meantime, we are here in the house of our pilgrimage, and this perfecting of the living saints is going on. What should engage our attention with greater zeal and joy than this matter of assisting one another in the completion of this, the greatest feature of all God's creative work?
What a great work will have been completed
when all the faithful Church has been gathered out and changed from mortality
to immortality, from corruption to incorruption, and from weakness to power.
What joy will then be the portion of those faithful workers together with God,
who in the days of their earthly activity were themselves building into their
own structure gold, silver, and precious stones, and assisting others to build
likewise on Christ, the solid Rock. True builders working together with God have
always known much of sorrow and disheartenment in contending with adverse
influences. The Savior, who wept over the blindness and the consequent
rejection of
The great purpose of Paul's untiring labor
is well expressed in words which reveal his concentration of thought and
service on the all-important fact of Christian attainments in both knowledge
and grace: "O my little children,
whom I am bearing again, till, Christ be formed in you." "That I may
know him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead, . . . Let us therefore, as many as be
perfect [mature], be thus minded" (Gal. 4:19; Phil. 3:10,11). To be
conformed to the image of God, to walk worthy of His grace, to be changed from
glory to glory into the character of Jesus Christ, to be filled with the Holy Spirit;
this is the real aim and standard of true
spiritual life.
This, then, becomes the all-absorbing purpose of the faithful believer in his own personal relationship to God, as it will also be the unwavering objective and aim of his work in the Master's service. Far
more wonderful than the healing of lepers and the temporary release from pain and death resulting from the work of Jesus long ago, is the outworking of the power of God in us and on us in these works committed to us. What finer ideal can we hold than this attainment of likeness to Christ, either for ourselves or for those among whom our field of work may be? The real glory of Christian life and service is that we can eventually attain a perfect likeness to God's dear Son. We know that while that perfect image will not be ours on this side of heaven, we may believe it is our assured goal. And then to know that those around us who have likewise been drawn to God through Christ have in them the possibilities of eventually reaching that same goal, and with ourselves be forevermore to "the praise of the glory of the God of all grace" what a "greater work" that will be! And what an honor to have had some little share in working together with God in its accomplishment!
We recall that in our opening text Jesus
said, "He that believeth in me, the
works that I do shall he do also." Let us, in conclusion, consider
what believing in Jesus will do for us. To
believe in Him we must see Him
as the Author and Finisher of our faith. We must see Him for two reasons, first,
that we may see in Him the perfection of God's holiness, and our perfect
substitute in meeting the requirements of God's broken law; and second, that we
may with every fresh vision of Him see more and more clearly our own
shortcomings, and that only in Him and through Him may we hope to attain to the
inheritance of the saints in light. If
then, we possess such a humble and believing heart, there will be a warmth of love which will make possible the completion of
God's creative work in us, and also fit us for effective service for Him.
J. J.
Blackburn.
May the Mind of Christ, My
Savior
May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in
me from day to day.
By His love and power controlling all I do
and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart
from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph only through
His power.
May the love of Jesus fill me, as the waters
fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing, this is
Victory!
May I run the race before me, strong and
brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus, as I onward go!
Kate Wilkinson