Unsearchable Riches

Some of the Relationships of Christ to His People

By Edward Dennett

Chapter 5

CHRIST OUR LIFE.

WHEN the Lord Jesus came into the world, "darkness covered the earth, and thick darkness the people; " yea, the night of death prevailed throughout the whole globe. It was, to borrow the language of Job, in speaking of death, a land of darkness, and the shadow of death; "a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness" (Job x. 21, 22). For "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned " (Rom. v. 12). There was, therefore, not a ray of light to relieve the total darkness of man's state and condition. Not only so, but Satan also reigned; for through man's sin he had acquired rights over him, and thus held him in complete subjection to his will. He became, therefore, the prince of the world (John xii. 31). " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. iv. 4). "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John i. 1-4).

Christ, therefore, came into this scene of darkness; and at once there were two distinct moral spheres. Round about Him was darkness—the darkness of death; in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light and the darkness were thus in con tact; for the light shone in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. But there was Christ, having life in Himself, and hence He was "the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world " (John i. 9). It is true that few received it, but there was the light shining for every one, so that if any remained in darkness, it was because they did not turn their faces towards the light. " He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. -He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John i. 10-13). These only—as many as received Him—were illuminated, and being illuminated, they received life, for they were born of God.

During His earthly sojourn, Christ had life in Him self as the Son of God; and hence, "as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will" (John v. 21). For, indeed, as St. John tells us, " The life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us " (1 John i. 2); and as He Himself said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John x. 10). Every one, therefore, who believed on Him then was quickened, even as the saints of the old dispensation were quickened —born again; but "life more abundantly" could only be received after His death and resurrection; and hence the bestowal of everlasting life upon those who believe in the present dispensation is the fruit and consequence of His finished work. He Him self thus says, " Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him " (John xvii. 1, 2).

But why was it necessary that Christ should die to become the "Prince" of life (Acts iii. 15)? We have seen that death was the fruit—the wages of sin (Rom. vi. 23); and hence as long as the question of sin was undealt with, God's righteous claims upon man on account of it, unmet, unsatisfied, death must continue to reign. Man had incurred the penalty and con sequences of his deeds, and must lie under both the one and the other until he should be redeemed, until there should be found One qualified, able, and willing, to take up his case and settle it with God. Christ was that One —the Lamb of God's providing —"the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world " (John i. 29). He came, and by His death met all God's claims upon the sinner, for He went down under all the wrath that was the sinner's righteous due; and in the very place, and concerning the question of man's sin, made a full and perfect atonement, and so glorified God that God, in token of His satisfaction with His work, has raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in heaven. Now, therefore, He is the Living One, death has no more dominion over Him, and He can bestow eternal life upon all that come unto Him. " Therefore as by the offence of one (one offence) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (one righteousness) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life " (Rom. v. 18). It was God's holiness that made it necessary for Christ —being in the place which He occupied through grace—to die on the cross for sin; so that on the foundation of the expiation which He there accomplished, God can now righteously justify, and bring from death to life, every believer. There is no life, therefore, excepting in and through Christ. Hence, John can say, " He that believeth on the Son hath ever lasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him " (John iii. 36).

This scripture supplies us also with the means by which life is received. It is by faith alone. Hence our Lord says, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him (πιστεύων τῷ πέμψαντί με—believeth Him that sent Me) that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (κρίσιν—judgment); but is passed from death unto life" (John v. 24). Herein is displayed the grace of God. We had reaped the wages of our sin— death; we were dead in sins, and must for ever have continued under the penalty and the consequences of such a condition. But God was rich in mercy—and acting according to His own nature, from His own heart, commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And now while the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. It is His free—His gratuitous and blessed —gift to every one that receives His testimony, concerning the sinner, and concerning His Son. He has provided life—life out of death —and this life is free to every one who believes. " This is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life " (1 John v. 11, 12).

We thus see that every believer has eternal life. But it should be carefully observed that he is never said to have it in himself. There are two negative statements which have led some to make the inference; but an inference, even when rightly drawn, is not the Word of God. Thus our Lord speaking to the Jews said, " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you" (John vi. 53); and St. John says, " Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John iii. 15). These passages, however, must not be taken as signifying anything beyond the denial of the possession of eternal life on the part of those spoken of, for the representation of scripture, as in the passage already cited, is that "this life is in His Son." Having eternal life, we have it, therefore, only in Christ. Christ is in us—but this again is another aspect of truth—and having Christ we have eternal life; for it is Christ who is our life. But when speaking of eternal life, it is never said to be in ourselves, but always in " His Son." It is this fact which guarantees to us its absolute security, assures us that it can never be lost, for whoever would rob us of it, must first pluck us out of His hands; nay more, must pluck Him from His seat at the right hand of God.

Christ is our life. We may trace this truth a little further—or indicate some of its consequences. (1.) Our life is not here. This, indeed, is the statement of the apostle. " Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God " (Col. iii. 3). He has just been pointing out our responsibilities as connected with our being dead and risen with Christ. As dead with Him, we are not to act as alive (ζῶντες) in the world (Col. ii. 20). We follow the order of Christ. He has died out of this scene, has no present place in it; He is, as far as this world is concerned, a dead man. We, therefore, commence our Christian life by taking the place of death. We are buried with Christ in baptism (Col. ii. 12), and God's estimate of us is that we are dead. Hence our responsibility to walk accordingly, to mortify our members which are upon the earth, &c. (Col. iii. 5). Scripture teaches us that God has so completely associated us with Christ, that He counts us with Him as dead to sin (Rom. vi); dead to law (Rom. vii.); and dead to the world (Gal. vi.); and hence faith accepts His estimate as true. We have been brought through the death and resurrection of Christ out of this scene into a new place —so completely, that it can be said of us, " Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you " (Rom. viii. 9). Our life, therefore, is not here; it cannot be, for we are dead; but it is hid with Christ in God.

How blessed for us if we did but accept the full consequences of this truth! What an immense gain if we only started on the Christian life by accepting death upon all that we are by nature, and upon all around us! How it would lift us up out of our circumstances, if we looked steadfastly away from all that we see, up to where Christ is, and remembered that our life is there; that He is our life! What power it would give us over the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life! What a testimony would thus be borne by us to the claims of a Christ once rejected, but now glorified! We need to judge ourselves in these things, for we shall find that the secret of much of our weakness and failure lies in seeking our life in things of this world. But as the apostle teaches, if we are risen with Christ, we are to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. We are to have our minds (τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε) on things above, and not on things on the earth (Col. iii. 1, 2). That is, we should dwell, be occupied with, delight in the place to which we belong. Hence the exceeding importance of knowing our place, that we are dead and risen with Christ; for otherwise, we cannot say, this is not our rest; that we have no part in the scene through which we are passing; that our life is above. When an Englishman is living for a season in a foreign land, he has no interest in the place of his exile: his thoughts, his interests, and his associations —in other words, his life —are all connected with his home. So should it be with the believer. Having died and risen with Christ, all his " life-associations " should be connected with the place into which he has been brought; even as St. Paul says, " Our conversation (πολίτευμα) is in heaven; whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. iii. 20). Only then—when this truth is accepted —shall we know the joy of continual occupation with Christ. And, it may be added, the object of all God's dealings with us now is to bring us under the power of this truth. If we will find our life in things down here, He must bring in death upon them, and thus lead us through many a grief and bitter sorrow, that He may teach us for His own glory, and our blessing, that Christ —and Christ alone — is the life of His people. As one of old has said, " He often dims the brightness of this scene that we may behold the glory beyond; " and the place of the glory beyond is where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.

(2.) Since Christ is our life, it is that life — Christ — that we have to reveal as we pass through this scene. Indeed, we have no other. Hence St. Paul says, " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, hut Christ liveth in me " (Gal. ii. 20). There are three stages plainly marked in Scripture: first, " Ye are dead " —this is God's estimate; secondly, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead" (Rom. vi. 11), &c.; by faith we are to count ourselves dead, according to God's estimate; and thirdly, " Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Cor. iv. 10). These bodies of ours —once the instruments and servants of sin— God in His grace has now taken up that they may become the medium for the display of Christ.

This, then, is the whole of our responsibility —to express Christ in all that we are and do—since He is our life. This involves the bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, the constant application of the cross, —symbol of the power of death —to all that we are as natural men, that nothing of self in any way, nothing of mere nature, but only that which is of Christ, may be exhibited. Every one—at least every one who knows the evil and incurable character of the corruption of the flesh —understands that the flesh must not be permitted to have its way. If we are irritated —lose our temper—for example, we can all see that we have failed, and are ready to judge ourselves for it in the presence of God. But it is not every one who perceives that mere nature has to be kept under the application of the cross, as well as these evil forms of the flesh. And yet, if it is only the life of Jesus that is to be manifested, it is patent that nothing of what I am must be seen, or the presentation of Christ would be con fused and obscured. Surely we need greater watchfulness in this respect; for how often, in our leisure moments, in our intercourse even with saints, we display far more of our natural characteristics than of Christ. We meet and converse, and sometimes it will be that, while the intercourse is nothing but pleasure, when we examine it, in the light of such a responsibility as this, we have to confess that it was ourselves that were prominent, and not Christ. The geniality, humour, and wit did not savour of Him, but of our selves; and thus we failed—failed in the one object for which we have been redeemed and brought to God.

It is true that to meet such a responsibility will need incessant watchfulness, and unwavering fidelity. This is what the apostle says, always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus. Our seasons of relaxations are our special times of danger. We so often forget that our loins — if the figure may for a moment be changed — must always be girded, that having taken to ourselves the whole armour of God, and having done all, we have still to stand. And at the same time we must learn to be unsparing in self-judgment. Too often we are like Saul who reserved the best of the flocks and herds, under the pretext that they were for the Lord's service. No; nothing must be spared; but everything connected with me, as a natural man—all of self, flesh, and nature (we use the three terms that nothing may escape), must be kept under the cross—in the place of death. Then, and then only, will Christ shine forth. It is to accomplish this end that God has to deal so severely often times with us; for the earthen vessels must be broken, if the light within is to shine forth.

Where, does any one inquire, is the power to meet this responsibility? It is only to be found in being occupied with Christ in glory. " We all, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord " (2 Cor. iii. 18). Being thus trans formed, likeness to Christ will beam forth; we shall reflect the glory by which we are changed.

It is, therefore, not to be regarded as a mere figure of speech when we are told that we have been crucified with Christ; that we have put off the old man, and put on the new, &c. These things are solemn realities before God; and should be no less real to us—the foundation, indeed, of our place and blessing in Christ. We ourselves, then—all that we were by nature, as men in the flesh —are gone in the cross of Christ. Christ only remains; and He is our life; and He only is to be revealed through us in our walk and conversation. How inestimable the honour thus conferred upon us! And if we have any fellowship with God's delight in Christ, how we shall praise Him in that He has made such as we the vehicles for the presentation of His Christ in this dark world!

(3.) Christ is our life; and this will by and by be displayed. This is the point of the scripture referred to: "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ [who is] our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. iii. 3, 4). The life is hidden now, but when Christ shall appear, it will be publicly displayed —and that with Christ in glory. There are, however, two steps in this process, to each of which a few words may be given.

First, this involves the resurrection —or change of our bodies. For so great is the power of life in Christ risen that the bodies of His saints, whether living or in the grave, will be changed so as to lose every trace of their mortality. Hence the apostle, speaking of the resurrection of believers, says: " This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. xv. 53, 54). Victorious life—flowing from Christ—will reign supreme; and thus will our redemption be consummated. Our Lord Himself was the first to announce this blessed truth. Speaking to Martha, He said, " I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (John xi. 25, 26). He thus distinguished the two classes of saints—those who shall have died before, and those who should be living at, His return. The former shall be raised and the latter shall not die — according to that word of the apostle's, " We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Cor. xv. 51; see also 1 Thess. iv. 13-18). It was this prospect that lifted the apostle above all the circumstances by which he was surrounded. "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day;" and after pointing out the relation of the present light affliction to the future weight of glory, while looking at the things which are eternal, he says, " For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life " (2 Cor. v. 1-4). As one has beautifully said, " He saw in Christ glorified a power of life capable of swallowing up and annihilating every trace of mortality, for the fact that Christ was on high in the glory was the results of this power, and at the same time the manifestation of the heavenly portion that belonged to them that were His. Therefore the apostle desired not to be unclothed but clothed upon, and that that which was mortal in him should be absorbed by life, that the mortality that characterised his earthly human nature should disappear before the power of life which he saw in Jesus, and which was his life, that power was such that there was no need to die."

The time of this consummation is when the Lord returns to receive us unto Himself. This is definitively stated in 1 Thess. iv., " The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (vers. 16, 17). It is then that He will " change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. iii. 21).

The results, therefore, of Christ being our life will not be reached until the resurrection morning. Now we can rejoice in the knowledge that we have eternal life, and that, having it in Christ, it is ours for ever; but then we shall lose all trace both of mortality and corruption, for life and incorruptibility (ἀφθαρσία) have both been brought to light in the Gospel (2 Tim. i. 10). Into the full character of this we can now but feebly enter; and yet it is permitted us to raise our eyes to where Christ is, to see Him glorified, to know that having died, He dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him; and, as we behold Him, we are warranted by the Word of God to say, We shall be like Him; we shall share in all the fulness of life which is in Him; for God has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren. Surely as it is all of grace, to God alone belongs all the praise!

Secondly, there will be, as already said, the display of this life together with Christ in glory. This is the perfect contrast to our present condition, and is several times brought out, in other aspects, in the Scriptures. " Beloved," writes St. John, " now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear (or, it is not yet manifested) what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear (or, when He is manifested), we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is " (1 John iii. 2). This will be the utter reversal of our present seen condition. We are now God's children; but then it will be displayed that we are, in that we are like Christ. So also it is death now as far as this world is concerned: God says that we are dead, and we reckon ourselves to be so. But then—when we appear with Christ in glory, it will be displayed that He is our life, and that we are one with Him in that eternal life. Then we shall reign in life by One — Jesus Christ (Rom. v. 17).

Nor will the relationship be ever changed. As Christ is our life now, so will He be throughout eternity. Evermore we shall be able to say, With Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light we shall see light. Then all tears will have been wiped away, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things will have passed away (Rev. xxi. 4). For death, the last enemy, will ere this have been destroyed; and hence there will be for every saint of God the constant, perpetual, unhindered enjoyment of the power of that life "more abundantly," which he receives through Him who has died, risen again, and is now alive for ever more. What a contrast to our present circumstances! Death is upon the whole scene; and we have to bear always about the dying of Jesus. It is death, therefore, upon ourselves as well as upon all around. Then it will be life, and nothing but life, and life for evermore!  

"Fair the scene that lies before me;
     Life eternal Jesus gives;
While He waves His banner o'er me,
     Peace and joy my soul receives:
          Sure His promise!
     I shall live because He lives."

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