9. Its Means (part 2)

9. Its Means

III
3. Honoring the Word. By which we mean according to God’s holy and infallible Word the place which is due it in our affections, thoughts, and daily lives. But we shall only do so as we are deeply impressed with whose Word it is and the reasons for which it has been given to us. God has “magnified his word above all his name” (Psalm 138:2), and if we be in our right minds we shall value it far more highly than anything else (Psalm 119:72). Apart from the Word we are in total darkness spiritually (Ephesians 5:8). Without the Scriptures we can know nothing about the character of God, His attitude toward us, or our relation to Him. Without the Scriptures we are ignorant of the nature of sin and its infinite demerits, nor are we capable of discovering how to be saved from the love, guilt and pollution of it. Without the Scriptures we know not whence we sprang, where we are going, nor how to conduct ourselves in the interval between. Even as Christians, we have no other means for ascertaining God’s will for us, the path we should tread, the enemies we must fight, the armor we require, and how to obtain grace to help in time of need.

All who profess to be Christians will give at least a mental assent to what has just been pointed out. But when it comes to the applying or working out of the same, there are wide differences of practice. In the matter of what use is to be made of God’s Word there is considerable diversity of opinion. Rome does all she can to withhold the Scriptures from the people, forbidding the reading of them; or, where that is deemed Impolitic, seeking to discourage the same. Her evil leaven has spread far and wide, for multitudes of nominal “Protestants” who do not formally accept the dogmas of the Papacy suppose that the Bible is a mysterious Book, quite beyond the comprehension of the uninitiated and that “the church” alone is competent to explain its teachings. Therefore they are quite content to receive their religious instructions secondhand, accepting what the prelate or preacher tells them from the pulpit, and since they do not “search the Scriptures” for themselves, they are unable to test what he tells them, and are liable to be deceived concerning their eternal interests. Thus there is no difference in this respect between them and the infatuated Papists.

But there are others who “read the Bible” for themselves: but here there are many types. Some do so traditionally, because their parents and grandparents read a portion each day, yet in few cases do they give evidence of possessing a saving knowledge of the truth. Others read it superstitiously, regarding the Bible as a sort of religious charm: when in great perplexity or deep sorrow they turn to the Book they generally neglect, hoping to find guidance or solace from it. Many read it educationally. If their closest friends are more or less religious they would feel ashamed if unable to take an intelligent part in the conversation, and so seek a general acquaintance with its contents. Others read it denominationally, that they may be equipped to defend “our Articles of Faith” and hold their own in controversy, seeking texts which will refute the beliefs of others. A few read it professionally: it is their textbook. Their principal quest is material suitable for sermons and “Bible readings.” Some read it inquisitively, to satisfy curiosity and feed intellectual pride: they specialize on prophecy, the types, numerics, and so on.

Now one may read the Bible from such motives as those until he is as old as Methuselah and his soul be profited nothing? One may read and re-read the Bible through systematically from Genesis to Revelation, he may “search the Scriptures” diligently—comparing passage with passage, he may become quite an accomplished “Bible student, and yet, spiritually speaking, be not one whit better off for his pains. Why so? Because he failed to realize the chief reasons why God has given us His Word and to act accordingly, because his motive is faulty, because the end he had in view is unworthy. God has given the Word to us as a revelation of Himself: of His character, of His government, of His requirements. Our motive in reading it, then, should be to become better acquainted with Him, with His perfections, with His will for us. Our end in perusing His Word should be to learn how to please and glorify Him, and that, by our characters being formed under its holy influence and our conduct regulated in all its details by the rules He has there laid down. The mind needs instructing, but unless the conscience be searched, the heart influenced, the will moved, such knowledge will only puff us up and add to our condemnation.

In the preceding chapters we pointed out that in order to spiritual growth the Christian must needs engage daily in mortifying the flesh and in devoting himself as a living sacrifice to God, giving our reasons for placing them first and second among the principal aids to prosperity. Obviously giving due place to the Word comes next, for only by its instructions can we learn what has to be mortified and how to please God In our walk. Some thought was required on how best to formulate this third grand help. Many have described it as studying the Word, but as pointed out above one may “study” it (as the “scribes” of our Lord’s day had) and yet be none the better for it. Others use the expression feeding on the Word, which is better, though today there are thousands who think they are feeding thereon and yet give little or no sign their souls are being nourished or that they are becoming more fruitful branches of the Vine. We have therefore chosen honoring the Word as being a more comprehensive term.

Now in order to honor the Word we must ascertain the purposes for which God has given it to us, and then regulate our efforts accordingly. The Word expressly informs us the chief ends for which it was written. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Since they are inspired by God it naturally and necessarily follows that they are “profitable,” for He could not be the Author of what was purposeless and useless to its recipients. For what are the Scriptures “profitable”? First, for doctrine, that is, for sound and wholesome doctrine, “doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3). The word doctrine means “teaching” or instruction, and then the principle or article received. In the Scriptures we have the truth and nothing but the truth on every object and subject of which they treat, such as no mere creature could have arrived at or invented. The unfolding of the doctrine of God is a revelation of his Being and character, such as had never been conceived by philosophers or poets. Their teaching concerning man is such as no physicist or psychologist had ever discovered by his own unaided powers. Such, too, is its doctrine of sin, of salvation, of the world, of Heaven, of Hell.

Now to read and ponder the Scriptures for “doctrine” is to have our beliefs formed by its teachings. So far as we are under the influence of prejudice, or receive our religious ideas on human authority, and go to the Word not so much with the desire to be instructed on what we know not, but rather for the purpose of finding some thing which will confirm us in what we have already imbibed from man, be it right or wrong, so far we exercise a sinful disregard to the Sacred Canon and may justly be given up to our own deceits. Again; if we set up our own judgment so as to resolve not to accept anything as Divine truth but what we can intellectually comprehend, then we despise God’s Word and cannot be said to read it either for doctrine or correction. It is not enough to “call no man Master”: if I exalt my reason above the infallible dictates of the holy Spirit, then my reason formulates my creed. We must come to the Word conscious of our ignorance, forsaking our own thoughts (Isaiah 55:7), with the earnest prayer “that which I see not, teach you me” (Job 34:32), and that, so long as we remain on earth.

First and foremost then the inspired Scriptures are profitable for doctrine: that our thoughts, ideas and beliefs concerning all the subjects of Divine revelation may be formed and regulated by their infallible teachings. How that rebukes those who sneer at theological instruction, who are prejudiced against the doctrinal exposition of the gospel, who ignorantly account such “dry” and uninteresting, who are all for what they term “experimental religion.” We say “ignorantly,” for the distinction they seek to draw is an unscriptural and invalid one. The Word of God nowhere draws a line between the doctrinal and the experimental. How could it? when true experimental piety is nothing but the influence of truth. upon the Soul under the agency of the Holy Spirit. What is godly sorrow for sin but the influence of the truth upon the conscience and heart! Is it anything else than a realization or feeling sense of the heinousness of sin, of its contrariety to what ought to be, of its being committed against light and love, dissolving the heart to grief? Until those truths are realized there will be no weeping over your sin. Peace and joy in believing: yes, but you must have an Object to believe in; take away the great doctrine of the Atonement and all your faith and peace are annihilated.

Yes, first and foremost the Scriptures are “profitable for doctrine”: God says so, and those who declare otherwise are liars and deceivers. That refutes and condemns those who are prejudiced against the doctrine of the gospel on the pretense that it is unfriendly to the practical side of the Christian life. That personal piety or holy living may be neglected through an excessive attachment to favorite theological tenets is readily granted, but that doctrinal instruction is inimical to following the example which Christ has left us, we emphatically deny. The whole teaching of Scripture is “the doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3): that is to say, it is the doctrine which inculcates “godliness, which supplies motives to godliness, and which therefore promotes it. If Divine truth be received according to the lovely proportions in which it is presented in the Word, so far from such a reception of it enervating practical godliness, it will be found to be the life of it. Doctrinal, experimental and practical religion are so necessarily connected together, they could have no existence apart from each other. The influence of the truth upon our hearts and minds is the source of all our spiritual feelings, and those feelings and affections are the springs of every good word and work.

Second, the inspired Scriptures are profitable “for reproof” or conviction. Five times the Greek word is rendered “rebuke” and once “tell him his fault” (Matthew 18:15). Here is the chief reason why the Scriptures are so unpalatable to the unsaved: they set before him a standard concerning which he knows he falls far short: they require that which is thoroughly distasteful to him and prohibit those things which his evil nature loves and craves. Thus, their holy teachings roundly condemn him. It is because the Word of God inculcates holiness and censures every form of evil that the unregenerate have such a disrelish for it. It is because the Word convicts its reader of his sins, upbraids him for his ungodliness, blames him for his inward as well as outward lack of conformity thereto, that the natural man shuns it. Flesh and blood resent interference, chafe against being censured, and is angry when told his or her faults. It is much too humbling for the pride of the natural man to be rebuked for his failures and chided for his errors. Therefore he prefers “prophecy” or something which pricks not his conscience!

“Profitable for reproof.” Are you, am I, willing to be reproved? Are we really, honestly desirous of having made known to us everything in us which is contrary to the law of the Lord and is therefore displeasing to Him? Are we truly agreeable to be searched by the white light of the truth, to bare our hearts to the sword of the Spirit? The true answer to that question reveals whether or no we are regenerate, whether a miracle of grace has been wrought in us or whether we are still in a state of nature. Unless the answer be in the affirmative, there cannot possibly be any spiritual growth for us. Of the wicked it is said “They despised all my reproof” (Proverbs 1:30). On the one hand we are told “lie that hates reproof is brutish” and “shall die” (Prov, 12:1; 15:17); on the other, “reproofs of instruction are the way of life,” “he who hears reproof gets understanding” (Proverbs 6:23; 15:32). If we are to profit from the Scriptures we must ever approach them with an honest desire that all amiss in us may be rebuked by their teachings and be humbled into the dust before God in consequence thereof.

Third, the Scriptures are profitable “for correction.” The Greek word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but signifies “setting right.” The reproving is but a means to an end: it is a showing us what is wrong that it may be put right. Everything about us, both within and without needs correcting, for the fall has put man all out of joint with God and holiness. Our thoughts on everything are wrong and need readjusting. Our affections are all disorderly and need regulating. Our character is utterly unlike Christ’s and has to be conformed to His image. Our conduct is wayward and demands squaring with the Rule of righteousness. God has given to us His Word that under its guidance we may regulate our beliefs, renovate our hearts and reform our lives. Hence it answers but a poor end to read a chapter once or twice a day for the sake of decency, without any definite intention of complying with the mind of God as revealed therein. Since He has given us the Scriptures “for correction” we should ever approach them with a sincere purpose of bringing into harmony with them everything that is disorderly within us and irregular without us.

Fourth, the Scriptures are profitable “for instruction in righteousness.” That is the end for which the other three things are the means. As Matthew Henry pointed out: the Scriptures are “profitable to us for all the purposes of the Christian life. They answer all the ends of Divine revelation. They instruct us in that which is true, reprove us for all that which is amiss, direct us in all that which is good.” “Instruction in righteousness” refers not to the imputed righteousness of Christ, for that is included in “doctrine,” but relates to integrity of character and conduct—it is inherent and practical righteousness, which is the fruit of the imputed. For that we need “instructing” out of the Word, for neither reason nor conscience are adequate for such a task. If our judgment be formed or our actions regulated by dreams, visions, or supposed immediate revelations from Heaven, rather than by the plain meaning of the Holy Scriptures, then we slight them and God may justly give us up to our own delusions. If we follow the fashion, imitate our fellows, or take public opinion for our standard, we are but heathen. But if the Word of God is the only source of our wisdom and guidance, we shall be found treading “the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:6).

The Bible is something very different from a picture-book for amusing children, though it contains beautiful types and depicts scenes and events in a manner no artist’s brush could convey. It is something more than a precious mine of treasure for us to dig into, though it contains wonders and riches far more excellent than any unearthed at Kimberley. It has not been sufficiently realized that God has given us His Word for the ordering of our daily lives. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but the things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may DO all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). How very rarely do we hear or see that last clause quoted! Is not the omitting of it a significant and solemn comment on our times? God has given us his Word not for intellectual entertainment, not for the merely curious to exercise his imagination upon, not for making it a battleground of theological strife, but to be “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119: 105)—to point out the way in which we should walk and to sedulously avoid those by-ways which lead to certain destruction.

“For what things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Thus the whole of the Old Testament is for our instruction “in order that by patiently cleaving to the Lord in faith and obedience, and all our trials and temptations, and by taking comfort from the daily perusal of the Scriptures we might possess a joyful hope of Heaven, notwithstanding past sins and present manifold defects” (T. Scott). “Now all these things [concerning Israel’s sins in the wilderness and God’s judgments upon them] happened unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11) or warning: for us to take to heart, to heed, to avoid. We shall meet with similar temptations and there is still the same evil nature in us as was in them, and unless it be mortified, the same awful fate will overtake us. “Make me to go in the path of your commandments” (Psalm 119:35). It will profit us nothing, nay, it will add to our condemnation, if we read the preceptive parts of the Scriptures without attention and determination, through God’s help, to conform our conduct thereto.

“My little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not” (1 John 2:1). That is the design, bearing, and end not only of this Epistle but of all the Scriptures. That is the object at which every doctrine, every precept, every promise aims: “that you sin not.” The Bible is the only book in the world which pays any regard to sin against God. The revelation which it makes of God’s omniscience—”You know my down sitting and mine uprising, you understand my thoughts afar off” (Psalm 139:2)—says to me, sin not. So of His omnipresence—”The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3)—says to me, sin not. Are we taught the holiness of God? it is that we should be holy. Is the truth of resurrection revealed? it is that we “awake to righteousness and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34). For what purpose was the Son of God manifested? that “He might destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8). Precious promises are given us with the express design that we should “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

“Desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). In order to be nourished by the Word we must desire it, and like every other desire that one may be cultivated or checked—as after a time the manna was loathed by those who lusted for the flesh-pots of Egypt. The aim of that desire for the Word is “that you may grow thereby”: grow in knowledge, in grace, in holiness, “grow up into Christ in all things” (Ephesians 4:15); grow in fruitfulness to God and helpfulness to your fellows. The Word must not only be desired, but “received with meekness” (James 1:21): that is, with yieldedness of will and pliability of heart, with readiness to be molded by its holy requirements. It must also be “mixed with faith” (Heb, 4:2): that is, received unquestioningly as God’s own Word to me, appropriated and assimilated by me. It must be approached humbly and prayerfully, as the Hebrews had to bow down or go upon their knees to obtain the tiny manna on the ground. “Teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:12): their meaning, their application to all the details of my life, how to perform them.

If we would read the Scriptures to advantage, if our souls are to be nurtured by them, if we are to make true Christian progress, then it must be by earnest prayer and constant meditation.. It is only by pondering the words of God that they become fixed in our minds and exert a beneficial influence upon our thoughts and actions. Things forgotten have no power to regulate us, and Scripture is soon forgotten unless it be turned over and over in the mind. A wondrous blessing is pronounced upon the man who meditates in God’s law day and night: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). “These things write we unto you that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). Holiness and happiness are inseparably connected. Destruction and misery are in the ways of the wicked (Romans 3:16), but Wisdom’s ways are “ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:17).

9. Its Means

IV
4. Occupation with Christ. Clearly this comes next. We must have the Scriptures before we can have Christ, for they are they which testify of Him (John 5:39): where the Bible has not gone Christ is unknown. But in the Scriptures He is fully revealed: in the volume of the Book it is written of Him. In Him all its teachings center, for they are “the doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9). In Him all its precepts are perfectly fulfilled. In Him all its promises are certified (2 Corinthians 1:20). In Him all its prophecies culminate, for “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). Divorce doctrine from Christ and it is indeed “dry.” Separate precepts from Christ and we have no perfect exemplification of them. Sever the promises from Christ and they are no longer “Yes and Amen.” Part asunder the prophecies from Christ and they are of no profit to the soul, but rather enigmas for useless speculation. Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the written Word: “Jesus Christ” is the first name mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 1:1) and the last (Rev. 22:21), and the Old is filled with foreshadowings and forecasts of Him.

If the Christian desires the milk of the Word that he may grow thereby, it is that he “may grow up into him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). It is unto the image of God’s Son that the saint is predestined to be conformed. It is upon Christ, now seated at God’s right hand, he is to steadfastly set his affection (Colossians 3:1). It is with his eyes fixed upon Christ that he is to run the race which is set before him (Hebrews 12:2). It is of Christ he is to learn (Matthew 11:29), from His fullness he is to receive (John 1:16), by His commandments be directed (John 14:15). It is on Christ he is to feed, as Israel did on the manna in the wilderness (John 6). It is to Christ he is to go in all his troubles (Matthew 14:12), for He is a High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. It is for the honor and glory of Christ he is ever to aim (Philippians 1:20). In short, the Christian is so to act that he can say “For to me to live is Christ.”

Now in order to have fellowship with another there most be three things: that other must be known, he must be present, and I must have a free and familiar access to him. Thus it is with the soul and Christ. First, I must be personally acquainted with Him: He must be a living reality to my soul. Therefore it follows that if I am to have close fellowship with Him I must become better acquainted with Him, and in proportion as I do so, such will be my true progress. We agree with Pierce that the words “grow in grace” are explained (in part, at least) by the clause which immediately follows: “and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), for the second verse of that epistle tells us that grace and peace are multiplied unto us “through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus.” One of the chief things which retards the Christian, which renders him weak in faith and causes his graces to languish, is his failure to increase in the knowledge of his Lord and Savior, and thereby attain to a deeper and more intimate acquaintance with Him. How can we fully trust or set our affections upon One who is well near a stranger to us?

Though the Christian believes in an unseen Christ, he does not—he could not—trust in an unknown Christ. No, his testimony is “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12), which does not mean I know Him because I have believed, but rather I believed in Him because He stood revealed to my heart. Take the experience of the one who penned those words. There was a time when Paul was ignorant of Christ. Before his conversion the apostle knew Him not, and consequently he then had no faith in Him, no love for Him, no pantings after Him. And it is thus with all before regeneration: they knew not the things which belong to their everlasting peace. Paul was a great scholar, a strict moralist, a devout religionist, yet he was completely ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. He was trained by Gamaliel the famous teacher of that day, was deeply versed in the contents of the Old Testament, and had listened to the sermon of dying Stephen; and yet was a total stranger to the Christ of God. Nor did his theological training, philosophic mind or acquaintance with the Scriptures, lead him to a saving knowledge of Christ.

All that Paul knew of Christ was by teaching from above. It was God who enlightened his mind with a saving knowledge of the truth and who drew his heart unto the Lord Jesus by His own invincible grace and love. And thus it is with each one whom the Lord God omnipotent calls. Every person in his natural state is altogether ignorant of the true God and is an utter stranger to the alone and all-sufficient Mediator, the righteous Redeemer, who is mighty to save. And how are they brought into an acquaintance with Him? It is wholly of grace and through the supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit upon their souls. As the Spirit of wisdom and revelation He is pleased to quicken the soul with spiritual life and to illumine the mind with a knowledge of Divine Truth, imparting an inward spiritual perception of Christ to the heart thereby. The outward revelation of Christ to us is in the written Word, which sets Him forth and testifies of Him, in which He is clearly, freely, and fully exhibited. But that external revelation has no saving effect upon us until the Holy Spirit shines upon our blind minds, removes the veil which is over our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:14, 16), and opens our understandings that we might understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45) and what is written therein concerning Christ.

It is only as the soul is regenerated that it is capacitated to take in spiritual views of the person, office and work of Christ, to obtain a real and satisfying knowledge of His Godhood and manhood, the purpose and design of the Father in His miraculous incarnation, life, obedience, death, and resurrection. It is the great office and work of the Holy Spirit to “testify” of the Son (John 15:26), to “glorify” Him (John 16:14), to take of the things of Christ and “show unto” those for whom He died (John 16:15), to make Him known unto the hearts of poor sinners. He does this in and by the Word, after He has fitted the soul to receive it. Hence the apostle said “We know that the Son of God is come” (1 John 5:20). How did John and those to whom he wrote “know” that? His next words tell us: “and has given us an understanding that we may know him that is true.” A spiritual understanding, which is the gift of God, is a principal part of the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration, and it is by that spiritual understanding the quickened soul is enabled to receive from the Word a spiritual and supernatural knowledge of Christ, just as it is by means of the eye—and that alone—we can see and admire the glorious shining of the sun.

If it be asked, What are those sights which the Holy Spirit gives us whereby He begets faith in the heart or whereby He makes a discovery of Christ unto the soul? The answer is, the Spirit gives us no other views of Christ than what are in exact accordance with the revelation made of Him in the Scriptures of truth. But more specifically: the first discovery which the Spirit makes of Christ to the poor sinner is as a fully-suited and all-sufficient Savior, whose person and perfections are eternal and infinite, who was born into this world and called Jesus that should “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He makes known to the soul the wondrous love and amazing grace of Christ, His robe of righteousness, His efficacious blood which was shed for those deserving of naught but Hell. He thereby takes of the things of Christ and makes such a discovery of them that the soul is captivated, the will captured and the heart won to Him, and thereby the sinner is led to believe in His person, surrender to His scepter, and rest on His finished work. The Spirit enlightens the understanding, brings the will to choose Him as his absolute Lord, his heart to love Him, and his conscience to he satisfied with His sacrifice, and his whole being yields to be governed and guided by Him.

Thus Christ is revealed in the hearts of his people (Galatians 1:16) as their one hope of eternal glory. The Word of God is the sole rule and ground of their faith. Christ is exhibited therein as the immediate Object of it, and as the Spirit takes of the things of Him and reveals them to the renewed soul He draws forth its acts upon Christ as he is made known, and thereby He becomes real and precious to the soul; thereby the heart is brought into the enjoyment of his love, to delight in His perfections, to behold Him as “altogether lovely.” As Christ is made the Object of faith, faith is a spiritual perception of him and thereby He has become a living and present Reality. As the heart is engaged with Him, as the thoughts are exercised upon His person, His titles, his offices, His perfection, His work, the soul exclaims, “my meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord” (Psalm 104:34). Believers love not an unknown Christ, nor do they trust in One with whom they are unacquainted. Though unseen by the natural eye, when faith is in exercise that one can say “I know that my Redeemer lives.”

Now it is from this personal, inward, and spiritual knowledge of Christ, received from the Word, as taught by the Spirit, that faith in Christ takes its rise and love to Him springs therefrom as its proper cause. But all believers do not possess an equally clear and full knowledge of Christ. To some He is more fully revealed, while others have a vaguer view and lesser apprehension of Him, which constitutes the difference between a strong and a weak Christian. The weak believer knows but little of Christ and therefore does not trust or delight in Him so much as does a stronger one, for the latter differs from him in that he is led into a closer and fuller acquaintance with the Savior. That may be accounted for both from the Divine side of things and from the human. As we cannot see the sun but in his own light, so neither can we see the Sun of righteousness but in His light (Psalm 36:9). As we cannot see temporal things and objects without light, so faith cannot see Christ but as the Holy Spirit shines upon and enlightens it. Nevertheless, Christ is not capricious in His shining, nor is the Spirit arbitrary in His illumination.

Christ has declared “he who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me . . . and I will love him and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). But if the Christian yields to a spirit of self—pleasing, and for a season keeps not the commands of his Lord, then such precious manifestations of Him to his soul will be withheld. It is the office and work of the Spirit to take of the things of Christ and show them to the renewed, but if the believer disregards that injunction “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30) and allows things in his life which are displeasing to Him, so far from regaling him with fresh views of Christ he will withhold His cordials and comforts, and make him wretched until be is convicted of his backsliding and brought to full confession thereof. On the one hand the Christian who is favored with a deeper knowledge and clearer acquaintance with Christ frankly disavows any personal credit and freely ascribes his blessings wholly unto distinguishing grace; but on the other hand, the Christian who makes little progress in the school of Christ and enjoys but little intimate fellowship with Him, must take the entire blame to himself—a distinction which ever needs to be borne in mind.

Concerning Israel of old and the supply of food which God gave them in the wilderness it is recorded “and gathered some more, some less” (Exodus 16:17). The manna (type of Christ) was freely given, made accessible to all alike: if then some were more indolent to appropriate as goodly a portion as others, they had only themselves to blame. So it is with the saint and Christ. We are instructed to pray that we may be increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10), but if we are negligent to do so, or offer the petition only half-heartedly, we shall have not. We are assured “then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord” (Hos. 6:3). The Hebrew word for “follow on” signifies “persevere,” “follow after”: it is a forceful word, connoting earnestness and diligence. The way and means are there described: we must highly value and steadfastly endeavor alter the same, making it our principal quest (see Proverbs 2:1-4; Philippians 3:12-15), and then if we perform the prescribed duty we may certainly expect the promised blessing. But if we be lethargic and rest on our oars, no progress is made., and the fault is entirely ours.

Since the believer owes his salvation to Christ and is to spend eternity with Him, surely he should make it his chief business and absorbing concern to obtain a clearer and better knowledge of Him. No other knowledge is so important, so blessed, so satisfying. We do not mean a bare, theoretical, speculative and uninfluential knowledge of Him, but a supernatural, spiritual, believing, and transforming one. Said the apostle “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:9). Observe how comprehensive is this knowledge: “Christ, Jesus, Lord”—comprising the principal aspects in which He is set forth in the Word: “Christ,” respecting His person and office; “Jesus,” His work and salvation; “Lord,” His dominion and rule over us. Note too it is an appropriating knowledge: “Christ Jesus my Lord” to apprehend Him as mine, on good grounds, is the excellency of this knowledge. The demons know Him as Prophet, Priest and King, but they apprehend Him not with personal appropriation to themselves. But this knowledge enables its possessor to say “Who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

This spiritual and saving knowledge of Christ is an effectual one. As Hebrews 6:9 speaks of “things that accompany salvation,” so there are things which accompany this knowledge. “They that know your name [the Lord as revealed] will put their trust in him” (Psalm 9:10) it cannot be otherwise, and the better they know Him, the firmer and fuller will be their trust. “He who sees the Son and believes on him may have everlasting life” (John 6:40)—seeing the Son is put before believing as the cause which produces the effect. The more we study and meditate upon the glorious person of Christ and His perfect salvation, the more we realize the everlasting sufficiency of His life and death to save from all our sins and miseries, the more will faith be fed and spiritual graces nourished. So too the more will our hearts be inflamed and our affections drawn out to Him. It must be so, for “faith works by love” (Galatians 5:6). The more Christ is trusted the more He is endeared to the soul. The more we live in sights and views of all He has done for us, of all His office relations to us, the more glorious will He be in our esteem. It is a spiritual view of Christ by faith which removes guilt from the conscience, produces a sense of peace and joy in the heart, and enables the soul to say “my beloved is mine, and I am his.”

As this knowledge is accompanied by faith and love, so also is it with obedience. “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3)—we know no more than we practice! “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him” (Colossians 2:6)—submitting to His authority, believing His gospel, leaning on His arm, counting on His faithfulness, looking to Him or everything. To walk “in him” means to act in practical union with Him. The “walk” is to be regulated by His revealed will, to tread the path He has appointed for us. To submit to His will is the only true liberty, as it is the secret of solid peace and joy. To take His yoke upon us and learn of Him ensures genuine rest of soul. But as we only enjoy the good of Christ’s promises as they are received by faith (appropriated to myself and relied upon), so with His precepts—they must be personally taken to myself and submitted to. Hence we read of “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). So, too, they only can be performed by affection: “if you love me keep my commandments.”

In order to commune with Christ there must be a spiritual knowledge of Him and an acting faith upon Him. Said the one who most perfectly exemplified the Christian character “the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Christ was his all-absorbing Object, the Object of his faith and love. Christ was the One who had won his heart, whom he longed to please and honor, whose name and fame he sought to spread abroad, whose example he endeavored to follow. It was upon Him he fed by faith and unto Him he lived in all his actions. It was from Him he had received his spiritual life, and it was to glorify Him that he desired to spend and be spent. All our fellowship with Christ is by faith. It is faith which makes Him real—”seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). It is faith which makes Him present: “Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw and was glad” (John 8:56). It is faith which brings Christ down from Heaven into the heart (Ephesians 3:17). It is faith which enables us to prefer Him above all things and to say “there is none upon earth I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25).

“Of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace” (John 1: 16). The “we” are those spoken of in verses 12, 13. In verse 14 “full of grace and truth” has reference to His own personal perfections, but in verse 16 it is His mediatorial fullness which God has given Him for His people to draw upon. The word “fullness” is sometimes used for abundance, as in “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1), but as one of the Puritans pointed out, that is too narrow for its meaning here. In Christ there is not only a fullness of abundance, but of redundancy—an overflowing fullness of grace. There is a communication of this fullness of Christ to all believers, and they have it in a way of “receiving” (cf. Romans 5:11; Gal, 3:2; 4:5). That which believers receive from Christ is here said to be “grace for grace, by which is meant grace answerable to grace—as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” (Matthew 5:38) signifies an eye answerable to an eye. Whatever grace or holiness there is in Jesus Christ, there is something in the saint answerable thereto—there is the same Spirit in the Christian as in Christ.

There is in Christ, as the God-man mediator, a “fullness of grace” which is available for His people. There is laid up in Him, as in a vast storehouse, all that the believer needs for time and eternity. Of that fullness they have received regenerating grace, justifying grace, reconciling grace; from that fullness they may receive sanctifying grace, preserving grace, fruit-bearing grace. It is available for faith to draw upon: all that is required is that we expectantly bring our empty vessels to be filled by Him. There is a fullness of grace in Christ which infinitely exceeds our fullness of sin and want, and from it we are freely invited to draw, “Jesus stood and cried saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37). Those words are not to be limited to the sinner’s first coming to Christ nor is the “thirst” to be understood in any restricted sense. If the believer thirsts for spiritual wisdom, for purity, for meekness, for any spiritual grace, then let him come to the Fountain of grace and “drink”—what is drinking but “receiving,” our emptiness ministered unto by His fullness.

When poor Martha, weighed down by her “much serving” fretfully asked the Savior to chide her sister, He answered “But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42). What was that “good part” which she had chosen? This, she “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word” (v. 39). Mary had a felt sense of her need: she knew where that need could be supplied: she came to receive out of Christ’s fullness. And He declared that that is “the one thing needful,” for it includes everything else. Put yourself in that posture of soul, that expectation of faith, whereby you can receive from Him. To he occupied with, Christ was “the good part” which would never be taken from her. But in this restless age “sitting at the feet of Jesus” is a lost are. Instead of humbly recognizing their own deep need of being ministered to, puffed up with a sense of their importance and actuated by the energy of the flesh, they are “cumbered with much serving”—looking after the vineyards of others, but neglecting their own (Song of Sol. 1:6).

If the Christian is to make real progress he must needs be more occupied with Christ. As He is the sum and substance of all evangelical truth then an increasing acquaintance with His person, offices, and work cannot but nourish the soul and promote spiritual growth. Yet there must be constantly renewed acts of faith on Him if we are to draw from His fullness and be more conformed to His image. The more our affections be set on Him, the lighter shall we hold the things of this world and the less will carnal pleasures appeal to us. The more we spiritually meditate upon His humiliations and sufferings, the more will the soul learn to loathe sin and the more shall we esteem our heaviest afflictions but “light.” Christ is exactly suited to our every case and Divinely qualified to supply our every need. Look less within and more to Him. He is the only One who can do you good. Abhor everything which competes with Him in your affections. Be not satisfied with any knowledge of Christ which does not make you more in love with Him and conforms you more to His holy image.