Man: his creatIon, calling and communion - Chambers, Oswald

Chapter IV Man: his creation, calling and communion
Readjustment by Redemption

1. Incarnation. Word made weak ( john 1:14) god-man

(a) self-surrender of trinity ( john 17:5; mark 13:32: Ephesians 4:10)

(b) self-same with trinity (Matthew 11:27; john 14:9)

2. Identification. Son made sin (2 Corinthians 5:2021) god and man

(a) day of his death (Matthew 16:21; mark 9:31; Romans 6:3)

(b) day of his resurrection (Romans 6:5; Philippians 3:10)

3. Invasion. Sinner made saint (Galatians 2:20) god in man

(a) the new man (2 Corinthians 5:17)

(b) the new manners (Ephesians 4:2232)

1. Incarnation. Word made weak

And the word was made weak, and dwelt among us . . . (see john 1:14).

The word trinity is not a bible word. Over and over again in the bible the triune god is revealed, so that the idea conveyed by the trinity is thoroughly scriptural. The following distinctions have existed from all eternity:

. The essence of godhead (esse) usually known as god the father;

.The existence of godhead (existere) usually known as god the son;

.The proceeding of godhead (procedere) usu- ally known as god the holy ghost.

One thing we have to guard against is the teaching that god became incarnate in order to realise himself; it is an unbiblical statement. God was self- sufficient before the son became incarnate. What is known as new theology springs from this fundamental error that god had to create something in order to realise himself; consequently we are told that we are essential to gods existence, that apart from us, god is not. If we start with that theory, then all that goes by the name of new theology follows easily. The bible has nothing to do with such conceptions. The creation and the incarnation are the outgoings of the overflowing life of the godhead. Another aspect of new theology is that god is all; the bible reveals that god is not all. The bible distinctly states that our universe is pluralistic, not monistic; that means there are other forces at work beside god, viz. , man and the devil. These are not god, and never will be. Man is meant to come back to god and to be in harmony with him through jesus christ; the devil will be at enmity with god for ever.

In Philippians 2:6 the form of god is mentioned. What is the form of god? In chapter ii we found that men have reasoned that because man was made in the image of god, therefore god had a body. We stated that this did not mean god had a corporeal form; and that whenever bodily members are mentioned in connection with god, the reference is to the incarnation. The godhead had a form originally, and that form is best implied by the term glory. The bible reveals that the godhead was absolutely self-sufficient. God did not need to be incarnated in order to realise himself; neither was the creation needed to enable god to realise himself.

Jesus Christ is not a being one-half god and one- half man. When george eliot 4 translated strausss life of Christ,5 this impossibility to human reason was presented to her mind, and it was along this line that she made shipwreck of her faith. The bible reveals that Jesus Christ is god-man, viz. , god incarnate, the godhead existing in flesh and blood.

(a) The self-surrender of the trinity

the incarnation is part of the self-surrender of the trinity. John 17:5 refers to this. And now, o father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory

Which i had with thee before the world was. Jesus Christ was not a being who became divine; he was the godhead incarnated, the word made weak. Jesus Christ emphatically alludes to his own limitations, and Paul says he emptied himself, i. E. , of the form of god, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

In mark 13:32 we see another indication of the limitations of our lord. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son, but the father. I am aware of the danger of attempting to sketch out the self- consciousness of Jesus; we cannot do it. We have to remember what the scriptures say about him that he was the godhead incarnate, and that he emptied himself of his glory in becoming incarnate. In the redemption, it was not god the son paying a price to god the father: it was god the father, god the son and god the holy ghost surrendering this marvellous being, the lord Jesus Christ, for one defi- nite purpose. Never separate the incarnation from the atonement. The incarnation is for the sake of the atonement. In dealing with the incarnation, we are dealing with a revelation fact, not with a speculation.

We find another allusion to the limitations of Jesus through his incarnation in the epistle to the Hebrews. To say that Jesus Christ could not be tempted flatly contradicts the word of god he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

(b) Self-same with trinity all things are delivered unto me of my father: and no man knoweth the son, but the father; neither knoweth any man the father, save the son, and he to whom so- ever the son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)

Jesus says here, in effect, i am the only medium for revealing the father; you cannot know the father through nature, or through the love of your friends, you cannot know the father in any other way than through me. Couple with that verse our lords words in john 14:6, 9, (Jesus saith unto him, i am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by mehe that hath seen me hath seen the father; and how sayest thou then, shew us the father? ), where he makes the same statement. No one knows anything about the father unless he accepts the revelation made of him by jesus christ. These statements come over and over again, and if we examine our lords teaching closely we shall find that he makes the final destiny of man depend on his relationship to himself.

(proverbs 8:2232)

Read in the light of the incarnation this passage is amazing. What solomon calls wisdom is the same word as logos in john 1, it means gods word expressing his thought. The trinity was self- sufficient; the incarnation was not meant to satisfy god, but for another purpose altogether. The thought is exactly the opposite, viz. , instead of man being necessary to complement god so that he might realise himself, the incarnation was in order that man might realise god and gain adjustment to him. The whole purpose of the incarnation is the redemption, viz. , to overcome the disasters of the fall and produce a being more noble than the original adam. At the climax of everything, the son resumes his original position in the trinity; the son gives up all to the father, and the trinity thus resolves itself again into this absolute self-sufficient deity (see 1 Corinthians 15:28).

2. Identification. Son made sin

. . . We pray you in Christs stead, be ye reconciled to god. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of god in him. (2 Corinthians 5:2021)

These verses reveal why god became incarnate, why the word was made weak, why the logos became possessed of a weak human frame, viz. , that the son might be identified with sin. The revelation is not that Jesus Christ was punished for our sins, that is a slighter aspect. The statement in verse 21 is astounding: he was made to be sin for us. Jesus Christ became identified not only with the disposition of sin, but with the very body of sin. He who had no sin, no connection in himself with the body of sin, became identified with sin, him who knew no sin, he made to be sin. Language can hardly bear the strain put upon it, but it may nevertheless convey the thought that Jesus Christ went straight through identification with sin in order that every man and woman on earth might be freed from sin through the atonement. He went through the depths of damnation, through the deepest depths of death and hell, and came out more than conqueror; consequently anyone and everyone who is willing to be identified with him will find that he is freed from the disposition of sin, freed from his connection with the body of sin, and that he too can come out more than conqueror because of what Jesus Christ has done.

(a) The day of his death

For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, the son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. (mark 9:31; see also Matthew 16:21; Romans 6:3)

By day we mean the period of time covered by our lords life on earth. Why was he born as a babe in such conditions that the mightiest empires of the world were simply not able to detect his existence? Why did he live those thirty years in Nazareth, and those three years of popularity, scandal and hatred, and why did he say he came on purpose to lay down his life? Our lord never presented his death as that of a martyr. He said i have power to lay [my life] down, and i have power to take it again. He laid down his life because of the great purpose behind in the mind of god. The only way we can explain Jesus Christ is the way he explains him self and he never explains himself away. Why did Jesus Christ live and die? The scriptures reveal that he lived and died and rose again that we might be readjusted to the godhead, i. E. , that we might be delivered from sin and be brought back into the relationship of favour with god. If we teach that Jesus Christ cannot deliver from sin we shall end in nothing short of blasphemy. Present that line of thinking before god, tell him that the atonement cannot deliver us from sin but can only give us a divine anticipation, and the danger and un-scripturalness of it will soon appear. The bible reveals that Jesus Christ became identified with sin in order that we might become the righteousness of god in him. Forgive- ness is a tremendous thing from our standpoint, but it is not the whole experimental meaning of the atonement for us. We can become so identified with Jesus Christ until we know that our old man is crucified with him, i. E. , that our connection with the body of sin is severed, and we may become the righteousness of god in him. This means we are readjusted to god and are free to fulfill all his commands.

(b) The day of his resurrection

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:5; see also Philippians 3:10)

by his resurrection, Jesus Christ has power to impart to us the holy spirit, which means a totally new life. The holy ghost is the deity in proceeding power who applies the atonement of the son of god in our experience. Jesus Christ laid all the emphasis on the coming of the holy spirit when he . . . Is come, he will guide you into all truth, and shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever i have said unto you; he will not only be with you, but he shall be in you. We hear on the right hand and on the left that this is the age of the holy spirit. Thank god it is, and the holy spirit is with all men that they might receive him. Just as god the father was rejected and spurned in the old testament dispensation, and jesus christ the son was despised and spurned in his dispensation, so god the holy ghost is despised (as well as flattered), in this dispensation. He is not given his right, we praise him and say that we rely on his power, but the question of receiving him that he may make real in us all that Jesus Christ did for us, is a rare experience. Immediately the holy spirit comes in as life and as light, he will chase through every avenue of our minds; his light will penetrate every recess of our hearts; he will chase his light through every affection of our souls, and make us know what sin is. The holy spirit convicts of sin, man does not. The holy spirit is that marvellous spirit that kept our lord when he was incarnate, spirit, soul and body in perfect harmony with absolute deity. When jesus said ye have no life in you, he meant the life he lived; and we cannot have that life saving through him. He that believeth on the son hath eternal life the life Jesus lived, holy spirit life. The holy spirit will take us, spirit, soul and body, and bring us back into communion with god; and if we obey the light he gives, he will lead us into identification with the death of Jesus, until we know experimentally that our old man, my right to myself, is crucified with him and our human nature is free now to obey the commands of god. The word substitution is never used in the bible, although the idea is a scriptural one. Substitution is always two fold not only is Jesus Christ identified with my sin, but i am so identified with him that the disposition which ruled him is in me.

(c) The day of his ascension

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew 28:18; see also 2 Corinthians 5:16)

At his ascension our lord became omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. This means that all he was in the days of his flesh, all that he was able to impart in the day of his resurrection, he is now almighty to bestow without measure on all obedient children of men. Jesus christ makes us one in holiness with himself, one in love with himself and ultimately one in glory with himself. He is the supreme sover- eign, and he is able to give to his people a supreme sovereignty. In the days of our flesh, he says, lo, i am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. He is with us in all power and in all wisdom, guiding, direct- ing, controlling and subduing. He is king of kings and lord of lords from the day of his ascension until now.

3. Invasion. Sinner made saint

I have been crucified with Christ; yet i live; and yet no longer i, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which i now live in the flesh i live in faith, the faith which is in the son of god, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20 RV)

Through the identification of Jesus Christ with sin we can be brought back again into perfect harmony with god; but god does not take away our responsibility

He puts upon us a new responsibility. We are made sons and daughters of god through the atonement and we have a tremendous dignity to maintain; we have no business to bow our necks to any yoke saving the yoke of the lord Jesus Christ. There ought to be in us a holy scorn whenever it comes to being dictated to by the spirit of the age in which we live. The age in which we live is governed by the prince of this world who hates Jesus Christ. His great doctrine is selfrealisation. We ought to be free from the dominion of the prince of this world; only one yoke should be upon our shoulders, the yoke of the lord Jesus. Our lord was meek towards his father, he let god almighty do what he liked with his life and never murmured; he never awakened self-pity, nor brought down sym- pathy for himself. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for i am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:2930).

Galatians 2:20 is the scriptural expression of identification with jesus christ in such a way that the whole life is changed. The destiny was getting wonderfully like the destiny of satan, viz. , self- realisation; now, paul says, it is no longer the destiny of self- realisation for me, but the destiny of christ- realisation, (and that life which i now live in the flesh i live in faith, the faith which is in the son of god, . . . ) that is, the very faith which governed Jesus Christ now governs him. Paul is not talking of elementary faith in Jesus, of the faith which is in the son of god, the very faith that was in Jesus is in me, he says. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. There is only one kind of holiness, and that is the holiness of the lord Jesus. There is only one kind of human nature, and that is the human nature of us all, and Jesus Christ by means of his identification with our human nature can give us the disposition that he had. We have to see to it that we habitually work out that disposition through our eyes and ears and tongue, through all the organs of our body and in every detail of our life. The apostle Paul has been identified with the death of Jesus Christ, his whole life has been invaded by a new spirit, he has been by one spirit . . . Baptized into one body, and now he has no longer any connection with the body of sin, that mystical body which ultimately ends with the devil. We are made part of the mystical body of Christ by sanctification.

We have used the term invasion because it gives the idea better than any other. The illustration our lord uses of the vine and the branches in john 15 is the most satisfactory one, because it indicates that every bit of the life in the branch which bears fruit is the result of an invasion from the parent stem: i am the vine, ye are the branches. Our life is drawn from the lord jesus, not only the spring and the motive of the life, but our actual thinking and living and doing. This is what Paul means when he talks about the new man in Christ Jesus. After sanctification that is where the life is drawn from. All my springs are in thee. Notice how god will wither up every other spring you have. He will wither up your natural virtues, he will break up confidence in your natural powers, he will wither up your confidence in brain and spirit and body, until you learn by practical experience that you have no right to draw your life from any source other than the tremendous reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. Thank god if you are going through a drying-up experience!

Our lord never patches up our natural virtues, he replaces the whole man from within, until the new man is shown in the new manners. God does not give new manners; we make our own, but we have to make them out of the new life (Ephesians 4:2232). Every detail of our physical life is to be absolutely under the control of the new disposition which god planted in us by means of identification with Jesus Christ, and we shall no longer be allowed to murmur cant. There is no such a word as cant in a Chris- tians vocabulary if he is rightly related to god; there is only one word and that is i can. I know how to be abased, and i know also how to abound: in every- thing and in all things have i learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want [rv ]. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:1213). And watch the kind of things Paul said he could do.

Manners refer to christian character, and we are responsible for our manners. God works the alteration within us now, says paul, work out what god works in, and we shall find when we are right with him that god uses the machinery of our circumstances to enable us to do it. God is not after satisfying us and glorifying us; he wants to manifest in us what his son can do. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (1 Thessalonians 2:10). The invasion of the life of Jesus Christ makes us sons and daughters of god. These are things that the angels desire to look into. It is as if they look down on us and say, look at that woman, how wonderfully like Jesus Christ she is; she used not to be, but look at her now. We know Jesus Christ did it, but we wonder how? Or, look at that man, he is just like his master, how did Jesus Christ do it?

Thank god we are not going to be angels, we are going to be something tenfold better. By the redemption of Jesus Christ there is a time coming when our bodies will be in the image of god. The body of our humiliation is to be conformed to the body of his glory, and our body will bear the image of god as our spirit does.

Man: his creatIon, calling and communion - Chambers, Oswald

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