Our lord’s view of himself and his work—I - Chambers, Oswald

The Fact of Christ

But who say ye that i am? (RV ). Jesus Christ is not a being with a dual personality, he is a unique personality with two manifestations: son of god and son of man. He gives clear indication of how he lived a holy life, of how he thought and spoke, and he also gives clear expositions of god. Those expositions were given in a human body like ours, and the new testament reveals how it is possible for us to live the same kind of life that Jesus lived through the marvel of the atonement because the disposition which ruled him is ruling us. What god demands of us is the very holiness that Jesus Christ exhibited in his life. We can follow his steps by recognising the wonderful work he has done, and manifest daily the marvel of his grace. The first thing we have to do is to clear away the difficulties that have gathered round the fact of Christ.

1. Difficulties of an intellectual kind

(a) pre-conceptions

Being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph. (Luke 3:23 rv)

There were many pre-conceptions about our lord in his day, and this was a prevalent one. We do not bring with us those pre-conceptions, but we bring others; we have made up our mind that god will only come along certain lines, and like the religious people of his day, when he comes on another line, we do not recognise him. It is difficult for anyone brought up with religious conceptions to get rid of them in the right way. What mental conception do we bring with us when we come to study the lord Jesus christ? If, for instance, a man has an agnostic pre-conception, it will obscure every- thing the new testament says about god becoming incarnate. This pre-conception may not trouble us, but it is as well to recognise that it is there. An agnostic says, i cannot accept anything about deity, i can only accept facts about human nature, then if you tell him he must accept the fact that Jesus christ is the son of god, you will never get near him; but if you go on this line do you believe that Jesus christ was the best, the holiest man who ever lived? He is obliged to listen. You cannot expect a man to accept an abstract proposition that the bible is the word of god; that is not the first thing to bring before him, the first thing is what about Jesus christ? If he was the best, the holiest man who ever lived, he was least likely to be deceived about himself or to tell a lie; then will you ask for what he says god will give, viz. , the holy spirit? A man ceases to be an honest doubter the moment he refuses one way of getting at the truth because he does not like that way. The apostle peter, when he preached to the gentiles, spoke of Jesus not as the son of god but as Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of god. That reveals the way in which the holy ghost brought Jesus christ on to the platform on which men lived, and we have to do the same to-day. We have to be so controlled by the holy spirit, to so submit our intelligence to him, that Jesus christ is presented along the line that appeals to those to whom we talk.

(b) Prejudice

How can ye believe, which receive glory one of another, and the glory that cometh from the only god ye seek not? ( john 5:44 rv)

These words of Jesus bring out the very essence of prejudice, viz. , to foreclose judgement without sufficiently weighing the evidence. It is a moral impossibility for you to believe in me, Jesus says, not because you are bad, but because you have another standard in view, you seek honour one of another. Remember, we only see along the line of our preju- dice, and prejudice means ignorance; we are always prejudiced over what we know least about and we foreclose our judgement about iti have sealed the question, docketed it and put it into a pigeon-hole and i refuse to say anything more about it (cf. John 9:22). Then it is impossible for you to see along any other line until you are willing to take the packet out of the pigeon-hole, unseal it and open the question again. Every point of view which i hold strongly makes me prejudiced and i can see nothing else but that point of view, there is a ban of finality7 about it which makes me intolerant of any other point of view.

Up to the time of the resurrection the disciples saw only along the line of their old narrow Jewish prejudices; when they received the holy spirit from the risen lord, the operation that was performed on the inside enabled them to see along the line of Christs revelation (see Luke 24:31, 45). What takes place at new birth is an explosion on the inside (a lit-eral explosion, not a theoretical one) that opens all the doors which have been closed and life becomes larger, there is the incoming of a totally new point of view. The way a searchlight works is a very good illustration for prejudice. A searchlight illuminates only what it does and no more; but let daylight come, and you find there are a thousand and one things the search- light had not revealed. Whenever you get the light of god on salvation it acts like a searchlight, every- thing you read in the bible teaches salvation and you say, why, it is as simple as can be! The same with sanctification, and the second coming. When you come to the place where god is the dominant light you find facts you never realised before, facts which no one is sufficient to explain saving the lord Jesus christ. Christianity is not walking in the light of our convictions but walking in the light of the lord, a very different thing. Convictions are necessary, but only as stepping stones to all that god wants us to be. The apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 4:34but with me it is a very small thing that i should be judged of you, or of mans judgement: yea, i judge not mine own self. For i know nothing by myself; yet am i not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the lord. We have to get into the white light of Jesus christ where he is easily first, not our experience of him first, but jesus christ himself first, and our experi- ence the evidence that we have seen him.

2. Difficulties of a doctrinal kind

(a) distortions

Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life. . . . And ye will not come to me that ye may have life. ( john 5:3940 RV )

These verses reveal how a knowledge of the scrip- tures may distort the mind away from Jesus christ. Unless we know the living word personally first, the literal words may lead us astray. The only way we can understand the bible is by personal contact with the living word, then the holy spirit expounds the literal words to us along the line of personal experience. The words that i speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. The Jews knew the scriptures thoroughly, yet their minds were so distorted that when they saw Jesus christ they said, he hath a devil. There is a context to the bible, and Jesus christ is that context. The right order is personal relationship to him first, then the interpretation of the scriptures according to his spirit. Difficulties come because beliefs and creeds are put in the place of Jesus christ.

(b) Direction by belief (Philippians 3:18; cf.

Colossians 2:8, 1823)

For many walk, of whom i have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. . . . Who are the enemies of the cross of Christ? First of all, what was the cross of christ to paul? The cross of a martyr? No. The cross to Paul was the cross of god whereby he readjusted humanity to himself. But god forbid that i should glory, save in the cross of our lord Jesus christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and i unto the world (Galatians 6:14). If any one preaches ordinances, the precepts and doctrines of men, and ignores the cross, Paul says, i tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the revelation which god gave through Jesus christ. You can always detect the right kind of belief by a flesh-and-blood testimony. How many of us can say the life which i now live in the flesh (the life you know and see), i live by the faith of the son of god? Christian doctrines are the explanation of how Jesus christ makes us saints, but all the doctrine under heaven will never make a saint. The only thing that will make a saint is the holy ghost work- ing in us what Jesus christ did in the atonement. Jesus christ demands absolute devotion to himself personally, then the application of his principles to our lives. For what purpose? That we may under- stand him better. To be devoted to doctrines will twist us away from the centre; devotion to jesus christ relates our doctrines to the one center, jesus christ. Read the words of the spirit to the church in ephesusnevertheless i have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. The doctrines you teach are all right, but they have become un-centred, they are not centred in love for me. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works (revelation 2:5). Am i prepared to accept Jesus christs view of himself, or have i a point of view? Will i come to Jesus christ just as i am and face the fact that he says certain astounding things about himself ? Jesus Christ did not preach a gospel of hope: he came to re-organise humanity from the inside through a tre- mendous tragedy in his own life called the cross, and through that cross every member of the human race can be reinstated in gods favour and enter into a conscious inheritance of the atonement.

Jesus christ is the only medium god almighty has for revealing himself and no man knoweth the son, but the father; neither knoweth any man the father, save the son. . . . Our lord knows nothing about god being revealed in nature, in the love of our friends, etc. The poet talks about god being revealed in nature, but the poet does not remember that there is sin in the world: he sees clearly what gods idea is for man, but he forgets that we belong to a fallen race, consequently his poetry is only a vision, it cannot be worked out on mother earth.

. . . And he to whomsoever the son will reveal him (Matthew 11:27). Who are the ones to whom Jesus Christ will reveal god? Jesus Christ will reveal god to all who come to him, not those who accept certain creeds or doctrines, but those who come to him, with beliefs or without them, if they will only get straight through to him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and i will give you rest. And him that cometh to me i will in no wise cast out.