The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. - John 20:1-20.
I DESIRE, the Lord helping me, to bring before you in these lectures what I may call the closing testimony and how we are prepared for the coming of the Lord. The church has failed as the "candlestick"; we see in the church at Ephesus that they had "left their first love," and they were threatened with the removal of the candlestick. The candlestick, or lamp-stand, implied that from the church, light would be found on the earth. Hence when things had come to their worst in Thyatira, there is no longer the candlestick, but "I will give him the morning star." We should be characterised now by looking for the Lord to come. The morning star is the harbinger of the day; not exactly the day, but the harbinger of the day. Anyone who is accustomed to see the morning star knows when he sees it that the day is at hand. It is not the day, but it is the harbinger of the day. Thus Peter says, "the day star arise in your hearts."
I desire in some measure to set before you your preparation for the Lord's coming. We read in Luke 12:47, of "that servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself." I am not speaking of the rapture, but of being prepared for the Lord to come, how we are ready for Him. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come." I do not think anyone is qualified to say "Come," but the bride. As Scripture presents it, no one can say, "Come," but the bride. It is not merely to say the word 'Come.' All the virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom; but the question is whether you are up to what is involved in the wonderful invitation, "Come"; whether you are really in heart asking the Lord to come back to earth. It is a very solemn thing for anyone to say, "Come."
You may ask, Would it not be right to say, "Come "? If truly said, it would be right; but remember it is the Spirit and the bride say, "Come," and the effect is that others may be induced to say it.
I desire, in these lectures, to lead you to see the formation and calling of the bride. I begin with THE RESURRECTION; and in order to make the subject plain, I shall divide it into sections.
The first section is :--
The Resurrection as it is to God.
You will not wonder if I proceed slowly and perhaps not always quite distinctly, because the subject, as I am presenting it, is new to me, and I have to speak carefully. But I see the importance of it, and I desire to convey it to you. The first part is to understand the resurrection as it is to God. The resurrection is a proof that a Man has glorified God. I cannot turn to every scripture which relates to it, but I will name the chapters. In John 12 the Lord says, "Father, save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The Son of God was glorified when He raised Lazarus, and He was glorified Himself when He was raised up; as we read in another place, He was "raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father." John 13:31 gives you the whole in a small compass; "Therefore when he [Judas] was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straight-way glorify him." I ask you to ponder the fact that a Man has glorified God. I believe there is an immensity conveyed in that -- a Man has glorified God, and the glory claimed that Man. I ask you to dwell for a moment upon what that is to God. It is not merely that Christ has come when man had failed under every trial. If you look at the history of man as the scripture recounts it, you will see that the more God revealed Himself to him (and in every new dispensation God was more revealed to man than in the previous one), the more he failed. And so at the end the Lord says, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain." But now what has come? God has laid help upon One that is mighty. His own arm has brought salvation to Him; He sends His Son, and the Son says, "I come to do thy will, O God." Not only did He in private and in public set forth everything to the satisfaction of God. He came as the healer of the breach -- but after having been for thirty years in all His walk and ways beautiful in the eye of God in private life, He so set forth God in His public ministry that on the holy mount there comes a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son; hear him." It culminates in the mount of Transfiguration, where the glory itself claims Him. And now from this point, He goes down to die. Not only was He in every way beautiful to God as a Man upon the earth, but now He will bear the judgement that rests upon man. That judgement is death; there are not merely sins on man, but death is on him. Hence the Lord descends from the holy mount to die, and He says, "This is your hour and the power of darkness." We know that in the garden of Gethsemane this perfect One, the delight of God as a Man here upon earth, anticipated the terrible judgement He was to bear. Great as that was, it was not all. The marvellous work was that He who came to bear the judgement on man, not only bore it, but in bearing the judgement He glorified God. You will see presently the effect of this. He not only bore the judgement due to man, gave up the life to which sin could be attached, but could say, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again." He so unswervingly maintained all that was due to God in that terrible moment, so glorified God, that He was "raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father." Now contemplate the resurrection as it is to God! God is no longer dealing with man as He had been dealing with him, working upon man, making trial of him; that is over. But now God works (blessed be His name!) from His own side. If you apprehend this it will be an immense help to you:-- God works now downwards from a Man in glory. If you apprehend that, you will get some idea of the resurrection as it is to God. He now works downwards, and there is no one saved now but by the light which comes from the glory of God resting on a Man at the right hand of God; it is the light out of heaven. And therefore, "If our gospel be hid " -- mark the expression -- " it is hid in them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ " -- (the correct reading) -- " should shine unto them." Man is utterly ruined, under the judgement of death; but we are looking now at the resurrection as it is to God. I hope you can see that now He works from another
Man. I am not yet looking at the resurrection as it is in relation to the believer, but as it is to God:-- even that when Christ bore the judgement on the man who dishonoured God, then He glorified God, so that instead of man being at the greatest distance, Man in His blessed Person is now at the right hand of God; and from that point God now works. If you apprehend that, you will find it a wonderful opening out to your soul, and a delight to your heart. The resurrection implies that there has been death (death is the judgement of God on Adam and his race); but it also assures us that the Man who died has risen out from among the dead, "In that he died he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth he liveth unto God." The man who was under judgement has been judicially terminated in the eye of God. But I am rather anticipating now what belongs to another section. So far is the first section, and I trust that you will ponder it, for if you do, I am sure you will get more from it than I can convey to you.
Now I come to the second section:--
The Resurrection as it is to Christ.
Now the first thing with Him is, that through it He has opened the way for God to express His heart to His full satisfaction. That which was a puzzle to the prodigal's elder brother, is made clear, even that the one who was a disgrace to the family should be greeted with the greatest affection, and set in the highest place, and that the one who had always been well conducted should not receive anything of the same character. Why was that? Because the prodigal is brought in on the ground of the glorified Man; the other is on the ground of his goodness. People dwell on the importance of forgiveness; but forgiveness -- great grace as that is -- is a very small part of the gospel; for the gospel is not merely the benefit and gain of the sinner, but there is God's part in it; as Christ said after His interview with the woman of Samaria, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of.... My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." He says, as it were, I want to let my Father's heart come out according to all its mighty volume, and express itself to a poor prodigal. I do not think we can at all estimate what the joy was to Christ, when He said, "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gayest me to do."
That is the first point in connection with the resurrection as it is to Christ. The second is that He has a new kindred. In John 12:24 He says, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." And again in chapter 20, "Go to my brethren." I know well, and I would like you to feel it, that while every one likes to have forgiveness, there is a terrible reluctance in our nature to accept the resurrection. Why? Because if you accept it, you must part with the old man. Nine-tenths of the believers who have faith in the virtue of the blood, have not in faith appropriated the resurrection. True they have got the good of the resurrection on God's part, even though they have not appropriated it; and it is an immense comfort to know that my acceptance with God is according to the perfection of Christ's work, not according to the measure in which I appropriate it. Acceptance with God never alters, nor can it be improved. Your own enjoyment of it will improve, but you cannot improve God's acceptance. But I have digressed. I was speaking of the resurrection as it is to Christ. It is consequent on His being heard from the horns of the unicorns that He takes His place in the midst of the church. And then He announces, "I will declare thy name unto my brethren." He now has brethren. "Both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." That is the new kindred, the many grains out of the corn of wheat. Hence He said to Mary Magdalene, "Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your God." Now He can make known the Father; "I will declare thy name unto my brethren"; or, as in John 17, "I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." It is revealed that now He has a company of His own order, or as we find in another scripture, "this is a great mystery." You do not get the mystery in Hebrews; but the great mystery is that we are of His flesh, members of His body; it is not that He is of us, but we are of Him. "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." I am now looking at the resurrection as it is to Him. Then as to Israel, though by dying He gave up all He was entitled to as man, yet "As concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David," Acts 13:34. And in Psalm 2 Jehovah says to Him, "This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." I desire that the youngest here should apprehend the wonderful change that has taken place as to everything on this earth because of the resurrection. I think we do not really apprehend it; I speak for myself; I am learning it, thank God, and I am increasingly impressed, and thankful to be impressed, with the magnitude of things consequent on the resurrection. But as I said before, I believe there is a natural reluctance in us to accept it.
The next section is:--
How God is to the Believer because of the Resurrection.
We have seen that the man under the judgement of death has gone in judgement in the cross of Christ, and the Man who bore that judgement and thus removed it, is the only Man now before the eye of God, so that God can be "just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." I have already spoken of the elder brother how unaccountable it was to him that the prodigal, who was a disgrace and a scandal, should be received with the greatest affection and distinction. Simply because he is received on the ground of the glorified Man, and not merely on the ground of a forgiven sinner. God can now come forth in the fulness of His heart to every returning one, because He accepts us "in the Beloved." No one can fully estimate the greatness of this reception; how the blessed God can greet the returning prodigal! We read of it as a parable; but it is a communication of infinite blessing to us. You could not be in a better acceptance, it could not be improved.
Next you have to enjoy this acceptance; that is your side and quite different. I press it upon every one of you (you will find it of great importance) -- do not confound your enjoyment of the acceptance with the acceptance itself. The acceptance is according to the greatness of what Christ is to God; your enjoyment of it is as you walk in the Spirit:the one is because of all that has been done; the other is as you know by the Spirit consciously the grace of God. Your faith must first be simple and clear, that God's acceptance of you could not be greater than it is. Next, do you enjoy it? That is quite another question. The prodigal son did not enjoy it at first; but he was brought into the enjoyment of it, he had to be fitted for it; but his fitness did not improve the acceptance, it made him capable of enjoying the acceptance. I am speaking of the resurrection now, how God is to the believer because of the resurrection; that the man who was under judgement has gone in judgement in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, who there glorified God. The man under judgement was not merely removed in the cross, but Christ glorified God in His death. The blessed Lord so unswervingly maintained, in the darkest and most distant spot, all that was due to God, that He glorified God there, and therefore He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father. Thus you can see how the resurrection is for God to us.
I turn now to the fourth section:--
The Resurrection as it is to the Believer with God.
This section is of the deepest importance to every one. I have no doubt that the lack of power and divine joy in believers is because they do not in faith understand the resurrection as it is for them with God. I hope you will not confound the resurrection as it is for God to you, with the resurrection as it is for you with God. You have seen, I trust, that the man under judgement has gone from the eye of God. If you look at Christ as man's surety, He has removed the man under judgement in His death, but He who bore the judgement has been raised from the dead. To the believer the man under judgement has gone in judgement in the eye of God, and the only Man now before God is "the Man Christ Jesus," who glorified Him in bearing the judgement, and He is at the right hand of God, and from Him in glory God now works in opening eyes and turning from darkness to light. This is God's side; but now for your side. You must first realise, and it is an immense grace that our old man is crucified with Christ and thus removed, hence you can account for the reluctance to receive the truth of the resurrection. You cannot be before God in the man who was removed in judgement in the cross of Christ. God never returns to that man. Lay hold of this by faith simply and distinctly, let not the enemy disturb you from it, that the man under judgement has gone in judgement from the eye of God, and the only man before His eye now, for every believer, is the Man who glorified Him. This is an immense step. This you accept in faith. Now comes your side. You are to be in keeping with the acceptance which you hold in faith; and now it is not that by faith you see yourself free of the law of sin and death, but you are so by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Many are hindered and damaged here, they seek to be free by believing that they are free, instead of being really so by the Spirit of God. God's grace has two parts, and you must bear them in mind; He has removed the man under judgement from His own eye in the cross, and as you have faith you enjoy it; next, He gives you the Holy Spirit, the power of God, to maintain you in keeping with His acceptance of you in Christ. Hence we find in Romans 5 that we are justified by faith, and next in Romans 8:2, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live"; you are clear. It is simple and wonderfully beautiful. God has removed it all from His own eye; hold that in faith ever. It is unalterable. One might say, Yes, but it is not gone from my eye; I am like the prodigal, I am distressed at my disparity. But God has given you the Spirit that you might be in Christ before Him in divine power, and thus as clear of the old man practically, as you are in God's eye because of the work of Christ. I am speaking now of the new position which you occupy by the Spirit of God. This is our side. It is as you walk in the Spirit you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. One might say, I lost my temper this morning. Then you were not walking in the Spirit. It is faith ever which appropriates God's side, for He never alters; you are always in the same acceptance. He never returns to the old order, He never revives it; I do not say He does not see you walking in the flesh; He does, and He will judge you for it if you do not judge yourself; hence we read of a man delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. When you understand your new position by grace, then you will understand that you are severed from the old man by the death of Christ; you are dead with Christ, and severed from the man under judgement, and now you learn to say, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me"; this is experimental. The man under judgement has gone in judgement from the eye of God (never to return) for the believer; you must keep to that. If you say, Oh, but it does return to me, it is because you are not walking in the Spirit. If you were walking in the Spirit, you would not fulfil the lusts of the flesh; and you are walking in the Spirit when Christ is paramount. Nothing can be more wonderful than the position in which God in His grace has set you. Finally, there is another great gain to us from the resurrection; we shall have a glorious body like unto His own glorious body (how little we know what that is), so that "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." Christ is the first-fruits of them that slept.
I have spoken on four sections, and I now come to the fifth, which is important for us to keep in mind:--
The Resurrection as it is to the Power of Evil.
Christ in rising from the dead has overcome all the power of evil. If you ponder on the immense range which the resurrection embraces you will be greatly helped. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil"; He fulfils the promise in Eden that one born of a woman should bruise the serpent's head. He could say, "This is your hour and the power of darkness"; but, as we read in Colossians 2, He triumphed over all in death; and as He says to John in Patmos, "I have the keys of hell and of death." I need not multiply passages; but you will see that He must reign till all enemies be put under His feet; "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet"; "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." And you see in Ephesians I:t9 that we share with Him in the power of His resurrection; "And [to know] what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us -- ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." You will say that this is a marvellous position accomplished by the resurrection of the Man Christ Jesus from the dead. A Man in the Person of Christ has overcome all the power of Satan; He submitted to the utmost of Satan's power, and then vanquished it. 'He in death, death o'erthrew.' God always, I need not say, was greater than Satan; but in the gospels we see the marvellous fact that a Man has greater power than Satan, so that the devil himself exclaimed, "Thou art the Son of God," Mark 3:I I. But now Christ has risen out of death. He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Eventually when the man child is caught up into heaven, Satan will be dislodged. That will not be fulfilled, I believe, until the church is caught up to be with Christ; then Satan is cast down. But even now, though we are in the world where Satan "as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (for there is no one for God here who is not assailed by him), "Whom resist, steadfast in the faith"; "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Why? Because he will find Christ in you. But that is not all. Look at Ephesians 6:10-11; "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Your power comes from Him who has risen from the dead. He glorified God, and has brought forth much fruit -- His brethren; and He has put us in this wonderful place of superiority to Satan here. We are often assailed by Satan, but the Lord allows us to be assailed in order that He may prove to us the superiority of His power. When Paul was imprisoned at Rome, the power of evil seemed to have succeeded; but the Lord used it as an occasion to reveal His mind more fully.
The concluding section is:--
The Resurrection as it is to all Creation.
You get an intimation of it in the chapter I have read in the words, "The first day of the week." We read of our blessed Lord that He is "The beginning of the creation of God"; everything in creation will be suited to Him. The immensity of the subject is beyond my ability to explain. It is more to be meditated on than to be explained; and I believe the more you meditate on it, the more it will open out to you, and you will see the wonderful new order of things because of the resurrection. When you see the resurrection as it is for God to us, that He can receive you in fullest affection and favour, because of Christ who glorified Him, bearing the judgement on man. He has given you the Spirit, so that you can say, The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Christ also is superior to all the power of evil, and He is the beginning of the creation of God, and He will make all things new. If you read the last chapter of 2 Peter, you will see that the millennium is not referred to, but that there will be "New heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." You get the same in Colossians, where we read that He will reconcile all things to Himself; things in heaven and things on earth; which was typified in Leviticus i6. I give you the chapters, because I trust the Lord will lead you all to meditate on the subject; I believe the great lack in souls is that they do not meditate on these things. There are three things necessary for any profit; the first is to receive; the second is to ruminate, or meditate; and the next is to assimilate; that is, be of it; you never will be of it if you do not ruminate.
I need not add more, but I trust the Lord will lead each one of you to have a deeper and fuller apprehension of the magnitude of the resurrection -- and I am sure, and I thank God for it, that the more you dwell on it, as it is to God and to yourself in relation to it, the more you will be impressed with.the blessedness of it -- for His name's sake.
