Reading: Rev. 5:1-14; 7:9-17.
In these chapters in the book of the Revelation we have the
final summing up of all things. The universe is represented as gathered and as
concerned, and in this final great summing up of everything we find right at
the centre that which speaks of the Cross, the Cross central and
universal in its significance. It is not only found there at the end, for here
we see things according to God's mind as from the beginning; and wherever we
look in the Word of God we shall find that the Cross occupies that place.
The Cross Basic to Everything
If we look back to that wonderful symbolical system in the
tabernacle, we shall find the Cross there at the centre and at the
circumference. The Cross is everywhere. At the heart of things there is the
mercy seat, blood sprinkled; all vessels, all curtains, everything, from the
inner sanctuary to the outer gate, all coming under the power of the Cross,
sprinkled with blood. The same is still true when we pass on to the temple,
and then when we move from that to the antitype Himself. If what we were
saying in a previous meditation is true, that the birth of the Lord Jesus took
place about the time of the feast of the Passover, then we find that His very
birth is the introduction of the Lamb, and He is the centre of all interest.
The shepherds caring for Paschal lambs leave the flocks and come to the
Lamb. Kings or wise men, whatever they were, from far off come to Him. Earth
is interested, heaven is interested, the angels are looking on; and hell too
is interested, as is very clearly seen by Herod's reaction. We pass to the day
when John proclaimed Him to the Passover multitudes as "the Lamb of God who
beareth away the sin of the world", and again the Lamb is central to the
universe. Heaven is opened and takes account of Him, and it is not long again
before hell lets it be known that it too is concerned; for immediately there
was the encounter with Satan himself in the wilderness. Then we move on
through His life on earth and we have to realize that He is the focal
point of the universe until He reaches the Cross: and it is quite clear that
He is the centre of things there. Jews and Gentiles are there, heaven and the
angels; and hell and the Devil are there, for it is the hour of the power of
darkness. And here at the end in the Revelation, all that is in heaven, in
earth and under the earth is gathered; archangels and angels, men out of every
tribe and tongue and nation, all gathered here, and, at the centre, the Lamb
in the midst of the throne. So then, the Cross is the centre of everything and
it is concerning that centrality and that universality that I have felt very
exercised that the Lord wants a fresh consideration.
When we speak much about the Cross, it must never be
thought that the Cross is some specific line of truth or teaching, so that we
compare it with other lines of truth and say, There is this line and there is
that line, there is this particular doctrine and that particular doctrine;
some emphasize the Cross, some emphasize sanctification, some emphasize the
Holy Spirit, and so on. If we did that, we should miss our way altogether. The
Cross is not a "line of truth": it is the very hub of all revelation. All
other things issue from the Cross and lead back to the Cross. It is the heart
of things. Of course, when we speak of the Cross we could use other terms. We
could speak of Christ crucified; and that indeed is what we mean. We could
speak of the death of Christ: that is involved and implied. When we speak of
the Cross, we mean every aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus in His
redemptive activity. It all centres in and issues from the Cross.
The Two Sides of the Cross
A word about the two sides of the Cross, the objective and
the subjective. These two sides must be maintained in perfect balance. We must
not give a greater importance to either over the other. It is possible to give
an undue weight to either. In the main, evangelical Christianity has today and
through the centuries placed the emphasis upon the objective side of the
Cross. The reaction to that, by reason of the recognition of the tremendous
importance of the other side, may carry with it the danger of an over-emphasis
there, and I do want, very earnestly and faithfully, to stress the importance
of the balance of these two things. I believe that, so far as we are
concerned, the Lord has given us the ministry of recovering the lost, or very
largely lost, message of the subjective side of the Cross, but I recognize
that can be mischievous if it is taken out of its right relation to the
objective side and can do a great deal of harm.
(a) The Objective Aspect
The objective side of the Cross is the very anchorage of
faith. There we have the whole ground of our position, and there is no value
whatever on the subjective side for us until the objective has been thoroughly
established. In the first place, position is a matter solely and simply of
faith in what has been done for us, and everything has been done for us in the
Cross of the Lord Jesus. Altogether without our being able to contribute one
iota to that work, it has been carried through in perfection for us. I am not
going to stay with the objective side, but I do want to get that settled. As I
have said, it settles the whole question of our position through faith. It
would be a fatal thing for me to pass on to deal with the subjective side of
the Cross until you are absolutely established on this matter of position. It
is a most dangerous thing for anybody to be brought to the other side and
faced with it until their faith is established and their anchorage of faith is
fastened in the objective work of Christ in His Cross. We can never move from
that - nor must we. That will be the ground upon which we shall be challenged
right up to the end. Really our battleground is not that of the subjective
work of the Cross, but of the objective. The whole purpose of the enemy's
assault is to rob us of that initial and fundamental assurance as to our
standing, as to our position, as to our acceptance, as to our relationship
with the Lord. I think we know that, but I do with all my heart lay emphasis
upon the necessity for every child of God being perfectly settled and certain
concerning what the Lord has done for us as an all-sufficient work, carrying
right through to the point where we are, despite our condition, through faith
reckoned righteous, and to have such assurance about it that, with every fresh
assault of the enemy, we are able to say that he cannot lay a charge at the
door of God's elect. He cannot; not because we are perfect; but because of a
perfect One who satisfies God for us.
(b) The Subjective Aspect
But then there is the other side. You might think that the objective side
is enough. But it is not enough. It is enough for acceptance, it is sufficient
for standing, for position, but it is afterward the ground upon which God
proceeds to deal with us, and the subjective side of the Cross has to do, not
with our position, but with our condition. The objective side is
related to our being in Christ, encircled by Christ, Christ encompassed, our
being seen only in Him through faith: the subjective side of the Cross has to
do with Christ in us, and with the making good in us of what has already been
made good in Him. The objective side has to to with what Christ is in Himself
- and never let us cease to contemplate Him in what He is in Himself for us to
God, from God to us - the subjective side has to do with what we are and what
we are to be.
The Cross is a fact perfectly established. It is an
established fact, an accomplished fact, an achieved fact, an end reached, a
work perfected, something which is settled for ever in heaven. In that Cross,
God has reached His end. The Lamb will never be more in the midst of the
throne than He is now. "Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies
the footstool of thy feet" is something which has been said, and obtains at
this moment. But the Cross is not only a fact perfectly established, the Cross
is an experience, with a crisis and a process, a crisis out of which a process
rises. The Cross is a basis of operations, and it is also the instrument by
which those operations are carried on. The Cross represents something that God
has done, but it also represents what God is going to do. He proceeds and
takes up His progressive work in us on the basis of His perfected work in His
Son. That is simple: but remember these things, bear them in mind. So then,
the Cross, as we have seen in our previous meditations, is the zero mark of
the creation, an end with a new beginning.
So, beloved, what we have in our hearts as we speak is not
to give the technique, the doctrine, the teaching about the Cross merely. We
have very practical things in mind. The whole question of our spiritual life,
growth, development, measure, is bound up with this matter. We are constantly
distressed by the slowness of our spiritual progress, the smallness of our
spiritual capacity. We are troubled about ourselves in these matters, and
those of us who have responsibility for others are very much troubled at times
because of their spiritual poverty and smallness. On the one hand, there is a
largeness which is not spiritual largeness, and it is always getting in the
way. It may take the form of activity, of doing, or it may be that of
assumption, knowing everything and being unteachable, a strength of position;
but we know that it is not spiritual measure, not real spiritual measure and
value, and it is something which holds the ground in the place of the Lord
Jesus Himself. On the other hand, there is the foolishness, the numerous
unwise things, the doing of silly things in the Lord's matters, and there is
that side of things in what is so small and limited, and it causes a lot of
trouble and a lot of heart exercise and heart burning. The whole matter is one
of retarded spiritual growth, and the limited measure of real knowledge of the
Lord.
One thing which marks that whole realm, whatever aspect may
be presented, is a failure in real inward knowledge of, and walk with, the
Lord. Well, this is a very practical question. It is a good subject for a
workers' conference, and we want to know what is the cause of this state. Why
are so few people really spiritually trustworthy so that you can count on
them, to whom you can go and be sure that you will get some spiritual
judgment, and understanding? Why? Well, countless questions like that could be
asked. We are dealing with the whole range of spiritual defectiveness. We are
not speaking about that quite legitimate spiritual infancy where you have no
right to expect very much that is mature. But we must rule out the time
factor, even in that. Do not let us think of spiritual maturity in terms of
time, of years. It is marvellous how one almost a babe in his or her
relationship with the Lord, in the matter of time, can begin to teach others
so early in a really spiritual way. They have leapt into things while others
who, so far as time is concerned, have been long, long on the road, are still
unable to give a real quota of spiritual value. We want to know why this is.
We are all concerned with the matter of spiritual growth, coming to fullness
and being of real value to the Lord.
Now that lies behind our present meditation, and I believe, beloved, that
spiritual growth hinges upon the question of the subjective side of the Cross.
Of course, if the problem be one of continuous breakdown in regard to
position, there is something wrong with the acceptance of the objective side
of the Cross. If you can never be sure as to whether people are going to be
found in faith, then it is time that the matter of position was dealt with and
settled once for all; but when it comes to a matter of growth and really
positive value to the Lord, then it is a question of the subjective side of
the Cross.
The Cross the Zero Mark of the Old Creation
There are some things that have to be settled, and the very
first thing that has to be settled for everyone of us, as rooted in the Cross
of the Lord Jesus, is man's complete incapacitation. The sooner we come to
recognize that in our hearts, the better it will be for us. It is written in
that Cross with letters for all to see, that man by nature, so far as the
things of God are concerned, is utterly incapacitated; that is, he has lost
his capacity for the things of God, he has not that in him which makes it
possible for him to enter livingly into the realm of the things of God. That
may seem to you to be a simple or elementary thing to say, but I tell you that
is a very, very serious and great matter. There has taken place a universal
injury in man's being; throughout his whole being from centre to circumference
he is injured, and by that injury is completely ruled out of any place in the
things of God.
In the matter of knowing, man not only does not, but cannot
know the things of the Spirit of God. Beloved, in you and in me, until the
Cross has become an experience, there is no faculty, no capacity, no ability
for knowing anything about the things of God. Of course, that at once raises
the question of the nature of spiritual knowledge. Oh, of course, we can know
the Bible and all that the Bible contains. We can become familiar with the
whole range of Biblical truth and doctrine and interpretation and know it all
in that kind of way. But when we have exhausted it throughout a long life of
application like that, we may still be without the very first glimmer of
spiritual knowledge. That is a tremendous thing to say, but it is a fact, or
the Word of God is not true. "Now the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God... he cannot know them" (1 Cor. 2:14). That is the word. Man
is utterly incapacitated by nature so far as spiritual knowledge is concerned;
and what is true in the matter of knowledge, is true in every other
connection. If he cannot know, he certainly cannot do the things of God. He
cannot work the works of God. No, in every way and connection man is
incapacitated. So that, for the smallest fragment of really living spiritual
knowledge in any direction whatever, there has to be a miracle.
What is a miracle? A miracle is that which transcends the
ordinary operation of nature. A miracle is something supernatural, and there
has to be a miracle for the first glimmer of real spiritual knowledge. It was
that which drew out that spontaneous exclamation of the Lord when Peter said,
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." That, as you know, stood
over against His interrogation, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And
men were guessing, men were giving their opinions, their judgment, their
reasoned conclusions, the result of their observations. The Lord says,
'Blessed art thou, Simon: flesh and blood is not the medium of that
revelation, but My Father which is in heaven'.
Now, beloved, it is a very important thing for us to get down to this
matter of the nature of our knowledge. I am going to ask you, How do you know
what you think you know about the things of the Lord? How do you know? Were
you brought up to believe that, were you taught that in childhood? Have you
come by that by going to meetings, by reading your Bible, by the general
system of Christian instruction, information, impartation, education? How do
you know? If you were challenged on any one point, how would you account for
your belief or knowledge? It is not an unimportant thing to sit down with this
inquiry, because there are multitudes of people whose heads are full of
things, and who are not counting one little bit with their knowledge. Their
knowledge does not mean anything. You see, when you have got it all, that
whole universe of information, the fact still remains that by nature you are
incapacitated, you "cannot." Yes, the very first glimmer of spiritual
knowledge comes by revelation and only that which comes by revelation is
living, is potent, is fruitful and effectual. That is true. Oh, I would appeal
to you to be careful what you take on in the way of teaching. I would not ask
you to adopt an attitude of questioning everything, and much less of
suspecting everything, projecting your head into everything, but I would
appeal to you to take everything before the Lord and say: Lord, that may be
true; as far as I can see, it is true. I am ready to believe that it is true,
but that has to come into my heart with the quickening power of the Holy
Spirit and become a living thing in me as revealed, and not merely as
something said or taught, proclaimed or believed by others; that has to become
my own personal revelation. Oh, if everybody had all they have got on that
basis, what a difference there would be!
Well now, our present point is this, that the zero mark of
this creation seen in the Cross of the Lord Jesus declares that we have no
capacity whatever by nature. The sooner we recognize that, the better. Really,
beloved, in the realm of God's things, we are fools all of us, utter fools. If
we go on long enough with the Lord, we shall know it, and we shall abominate
our own foolish talk about the things of God. We are fools. Now, we can get
down and use these natural abilities of ours, whether they be very small or
seemingly of some consequence, and we can give out the results of our study,
investigation and research on Divine things, on the Word of God, and
accumulate a great deal; but I want to say to you that our brains are
worthless in this matter. The brain will only be a vehicle, a channel, never a
means of discovery. Remember that! The very best human brain is never an
instrument or means of discovery of anything Divine. It cannot. Its use will
simply be as a channel through which revelation will pass for our intelligence
as human beings and as intelligent presentation to others. The brain is not
the seat of revelation at all: the brain is not the seat of spiritual
knowledge. So we can use the little brains that we have until they have
exploded and we have got nowhere!
The Test of the Cross
The Cross is, in every matter, a new beginning. As it is
the end and says that the old creation at its very best cannot get through,
cannot get on in the things of the Spirit of God, it also says, A new
beginning is here! You see, the Cross becomes the test. It is the test of all
authority. It is the test of all experience; the test of all authority and
experience is as to whether the Cross has been a crisic inward thing. When
something is given authoritatively, that is, given out as from one who claims
to have authority, I want to know the basis of that authority. By what
authority do you speak? When anyone speaks to me about an experience they have
had, that is not enough for me. Oh, do not be caught by people's experiences.
The most dangerous thing is for you to take on other people's experiences and
say you would like to have their experience. Multitudes of people have been
swept away by experiences of others. I know people who have been all their
lives praying, praying, praying for someone else's experience. Now, when an
experience is spoken of and set forth, that is not enough. We want to know
what is the basis of that experience. We want to test that experience as we
want to test that authority, and the test of all authority or experience is
here, namely, whether the Cross has in this or that case been a definite
crisic experience and become a living power.
You can have experiences, tremendous experiences, an almost
perfect counterfeit of Divine things rising out of your own soul life: and we
are fearfully and wonderfully made. I lay special stress upon that
fearfulness. The more we know about ourselves, the more terrible we realize we
are. It is not too strong to say that. We are terrible beings, in the sense
that the capacities of these human souls, of this psychic nature, carry us out
into realms of experience, of phenomena, of practice, of influence and even
achievement - oh, it is a terrible thing. And we can have experiences that we
might call - it is not meant as a judgment or a criticism - "Pentecostal
experiences," and I want to know whether that has sprung out of the work of
the Cross planted deeply in that strong psychic life, and if not, I repudiate
the experience.
The only safe ground of experience is that you are
crucified to your own soul, that the Cross has been planted in the centre of
all your psychic capabilities. Romans 6 is essential to Romans 8. Experience
and authority must be tested by the same instrument, by the same means. You
speak with authority, you make a declaration, you affirm this: now I want to
know whether that is the strength of your conviction or whether it springs out
of experience which is the fruit of your being a crucified man. The strength
of affirmation, the claim to know something, must be tested, and I want to
look behind the authority and behind the experience, and say, Am I dealing
with a really crucified man or woman? Does that man, that woman, know the
Cross really and truly over against the natural life, the soul life: strength
of mind, strength of will, strength of emotion. The test of everything is the
Cross. That is the negative side, I know, but it is important that we should
recognize once for all that in the Cross we have been cut off from that realm.
Now the subjective side means that God is going to work
back to His zero point, so far as all we are by nature is concerned. The
objective side is that we have accepted that once for all. Objectively we have
said, Christ is my only hope! Christ is my only righteousness! Christ and
Christ only is my salvation! There is none in myself! Well, objectively, we
are accepted on that ground of what He is for us unto God by His Cross. But
then the Holy Spirit begins on that ground to deal with us and to work
backward to God's zero point in the Cross, and the experience of every
believer who is truly governed of the Holy Spirit is this, that the longer
they go on and the further they go with the Lord, the further they go back.
Their advance in one sense is balanced by retreat in another. That is to say,
all the time they realize that they are being brought more and more to zero,
that their own powers consciously count for less and less. To put that
positively, they are more and more dependent upon the Lord for everything. But
that is simply bringing us back to our starting point. The Holy Spirit has not
come to undercut our position, our acceptance, but to make it good in our
experience, that what is true in Christ shall be true in us, that the Lamb's
wife, as we have put it, shall be conformed to the Lamb, without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing.
We have been on the negative side almost entirely, but we
shall not get anywhere until that is settled. It is an almost appalling thing
to contemplate the situation today. In the light of that, if that is true, we
might despair if we look out. Nevertheless, beloved, the test will come to
every life sooner or later. It will come to the whole of Christendom sooner or
later, and the test will come on this very ground. Questions will arise all
around. After all, what has been the proportion of our spiritual effectiveness
and fruitfulness? After all, what is going to stand through all the test?
Questions will arise in all directions as to the genuineness and reality of
the work of God, the knowledge which believers have. There must come, whether
the Church goes into the great tribulation or not - we will not discuss that -
but there must come in the very ordering of God a situation where the
foundations of God's people are tested, the foundation of their knowledge of
Him. Thus it becomes a critical matter as to the nature of their knowledge of
the Lord, whether really it is personal, experimental knowledge or whether it
is information. The work in which they have been engaged, what has it been?
Has it really been a case of God doing the work, or a thousand and one
self-propagated things entered upon in the Name of the Lord? It is going to be
tested. It must be tested. Every man's work shall be tried. That is the
declaration of God's Word - "the fire... shall prove each man's work of what
sort it is."
The Need for a Positive Attitude to our High Calling
Well now, if that is true, I think we can contemplate
rather an appalling result over a very large area. And I would say this to
you, that we must rule out all that sinister, evil, half-formed suggestion of
the optional about these things. We must take positive ground. The Lord Jesus
always sought to bring His disciples on to positive ground. "If any man love
me, he will keep my commandments." - "If any man love me..." In saying
that, He was only saying in other words, 'If a man really does not love, he
will be looking round for second lines, for ways out. If a man really does not
love Me, he will be saying, Is it really necessary? If a man love Me, he will
not say, Is it necessary? He will say, Has the Lord said it? Is that the Lord's
mind? Has the Lord given any indication that that is what He would desire?'
The one who loves will always be found taking the positive line; not, Must I?
Is it necessary? Cannot I get through without that?
Now, that is the test. And the point for us is this. Not to be like those
who say, "Well, there are so many multitudes of good Christian people who do
not accept it: they know the Lord; they are blessed, they are used"; and all
the rest of it. Do not come on to that ground. That is not good enough,
beloved. There were two-and-a-half tribes of Israel who refused to go over
Jordan, who said, "Bring us not over this Jordan", although the Lord's mind
had been made perfectly clear that all Israel should go over Jordan. Well,
they got blessing; they had pastures at the other side of Jordan. Yes, they
had a fair position. Do not be mistaken. Do not think that if you are not
going right on with the revealed thought of God, He is going to be spiteful.
That is not God. No, He will give you a good time. But the two-and-a-half
tribes lost in the end. They were the first to go into captivity. They were
out of the full will of God; and that means something. We have to come on to
positive ground. "If any man love me..." Is this God's full thought, then love
for the Lord Himself means that I can accept nothing less. I will go all the
way. My attitude for one dearly loved is, How much can I do? How far has that
one expressed a thought to which I can conform? That is the response of love,
that is the positive ground. And I say to you that you can have something less
than this if you like, and you can have blessing; but it is what ultimately
ranks that matters, is it not?