"Certain men... taught, saying, Except ye... ye
cannot..."
"There rose... the sect..., saying, It is necessary..."
(Acts 15:1,5).
"Except ye..."
"It is necessary..."
What history of confusion and
frustration is bound up with that clause! Here in
"Acts" we have the beginning of that history which has
reached such immense proportions today. It is the slogan of
numerous "Sects", parties, teachings, interpretations,
and emphases. Every one of these, either explicitly or
implicitly, by positive affirmation or by attitude and
implication, says: "Except ye... ye cannot"! It is a
barrier to fellowship, less or more. It throws believers into
uncertainty, and uncertainty always means weakness, or worse. It
was the first and mightiest threat to the Church, and it became
the battleground of the unity of God's people. The nature of this
contention was that it was, firstly, based upon tradition. That
is, there was originally something which had a principle of truth
in it, and that principle, or germ, could have organically
and spontaneously grown into a living spiritual body; but,
at some point, had been taken into men's hands and crystallized
into a set system and form. It was then handed down (Latin: trans,
across; dere, to give = passed on) in that set form.
With the extension of time it had become very hard, and people
gave much credit to it on the ground of antiquity. The setness,
and fixedness closed and bolted the door to further light, and
created biases, prejudices, suspicions, fears, and - in some
cases - bitterness and cruelty. It, in its fullest development,
hampered and eventually crucified the Lord of Glory. The Jews of
Paul's day were totally incapable of believing that a man could
separate himself from their tradition and, at the same time, be
devoted to their wellbeing.
But it is not always to a long
tradition that the divisive and limiting "Except ye"
applies. It can govern any aspect or emphasis of either truth or
error. Not least among the limitations of Christ's fullness is
the unbalanced state resulting from an over and undue emphasis
upon a particular aspect of truth. It may be an aspect which is
essential, but if it is out of relation and proportion to all
other essential aspects it will sooner or later 'run to seed' and
defeat its own ends. So many "Excepts" cut off so much
that is truly good and necessary, and close everything into
their own complexion. What we have said so far is surely enough
to indicate that just one expression - "Except ye... ye
cannot" can be the cause of deformity, limitation,
confusion, and suspicion; to say nothing of exclusion and
spiritual superiority, in the body corporate. It therefore
becomes necessary for us to get away from what works out as
negative ground (although it is so positive with those concerned
with it) and seek to be strong on what is positive. In this
matter we can snatch and steal the very term from the wrong usage
to the right.
(1) The
Beginning of the Christian Life
"Except a man be born
again he cannot..." (John 3:3,5). That is a categorical
imperative. Lest a certain easy acquiescence and agreement is the
reaction to the statement in our relating and applying it to
those who are obviously and unquestionably the sinners, the 'bad'
people, the drunkards, thieves, murderers, drug addicts, and
fornicators, let the force of the imperative hit us clean between
the eyes: that this imperative was not first said to the
poor woman taken in adultery, or to the Quisling tax-gatherer,
Zaccheus, or to the dying thief, etc; but it was said to the
teacher in Israel; a meticulous observer of the law; a Pharisee,
the straitest of religious sects; a man who attended all the
religious services and joined - conscientiously - in all the
traditional ritual of the most religious of nations! The context
of this declared necessity shows that by a repeated
"How", even such a man was incapable of knowing the
essential spiritual principles of the Kingdom of Heaven; hence
the force of the "Except" and the "Must". At
the very threshold and door of the Kingdom of God any and every
man must be as though he were not yet born, and to enter he must
be as one newly born. This necessity was repeatedly emphasised by
Christ to the Jews and their best representatives, and to His own
disciples (see Matthew 18:3). This is very sure ground to begin
with; but not only for belief; it is a truth to be "made
more sure" by experience! Without that we shall never really
be sure of anything. Given that, we shall be in a fairly certain
position, like that of the healed blind man - "Whether (this
or that) I know not. One thing I (do) know; whereas I was blind,
now I see." 'You cannot shake me on that!' 'How?' 'Well, I
cannot explain, but the fact, I know.'
(2) The
Maintenance and Maturing of the Christian Life
"Except ye eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have not life in
yourselves."
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (John
6:53,52).
"Except ye... ye have
not..."
If it is imperative that a new
entity is demanded for entrance into the Kingdom of God now, it
is equally imperative that such entities shall be sustained and
matured. The New Testament is full and emphatic on this matter.
In the miracle which led to the statement of the Lord it is clear
that He both recognises this necessity and acts supernaturally to
meet it. If the new birth is supernatural, so is the sustenance
of the newborn. If we try to grasp either naturally, as did
Nicodemus, we shall, as he, be defeated by the "How".
The basic mystery was the plight of the Pharisees in John 6, as
it was in the Pharisee of John 3. But it is not the method or
process that is of primary concern, but the fact. And yet the
"How" is answered in the New Testament. Let us first,
however, get quite clear on this - that we have got to be
fed in our new spiritual life for its maintenance as truly as the
natural body has to have food. Then, it is as true in the
spiritual as in the natural that normality is marked by growth
unto maturity. And, finally, that full, abundant, provision is
made for this by the Lord, even to twelve baskets' full over. Is
it necessary at this point to take time to show that it is not
normal to be born again and finish there? The whole New
Testament is against such an idea or state!
But when we have said that,
what of this "How" by which the imperative is answered,
and the "Except ye" satisfied?
The superficial answer is - of
course - feeding, and feeding on Christ. If many Christians were
asked what that means, they would probably answer that it is
feeding on His Word. Thus it might resolve itself into reading a
'portion' of the Bible every day. That is very good, and
important; but is that what 'feeding' really is? Is it not what
Christ becomes to us through the Word? Now this is an
immense matter, because Christ is so immense, and by this
'feeding' an immense Body has to be brought to full-growth and
stand complete in eternity. It is what Paul calls "the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ". Here, we
can only give an indication of what this feeding is, and it will
point to much more.
It is all a matter of
What
Christ is Made Unto Us
1 Corinthians 1:30 says:
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us
wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption." "Wisdom" here is inclusive. It is
really: "Wisdom; both righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption". These three things as the provision of the
wisdom of God are all that ever man needs to bring him to
full-growth and to glory.
What is the wisdom of God as
made unto us in His Son? Wisdom is more than the theory of
things. We may have a great deal of head knowledge and carry many
academic degrees, but at the same time be totally lacking in
wisdom. Cleverness is not always wisdom. Wisdom is the know-how
to do things. The builder rendered his account for labour, time
taken, and materials, but then added 50% for what he called
"Knowing how to do it". When God's verdict upon the
entire human race is that "there is none righteous, no,
not one" (Romans 3:10), and when every human effort and
recourse to make a single man righteous (that is, to be in right
standing with God) has utterly failed, a situation exists which
raises an ultimate question of wisdom; the know-how!
That is only the beginning of
the problem; it has to do with standing. Then the whole question
has to be faced as to condition; the changing of man's state. And
finally, there is the big issue of his full and final redemption
of spirit, soul and body. A new inner man; a new self-hood; and a
glorious, sinless, incorruptible body. You will agree that no
human wisdom can know how to do all this. Very well, then: it is
here that God's provision in His Son becomes the answer. It is
all this that is contained in the Bible that is food for our
hearts. The Bible is all about this "Bread of Life come down
from heaven" as the Life of the world. And it is here that
the great "Except ye" comes in. That challenge comes up
again and again very severely in the course of Christian life,
especially when we are under acute pressure. When the reality of
sin and righteousness arises because of adversity and trouble.
When the Lord allows some severe suffering, and He seems to hide
Himself and be silent. When, as in the case of the Bethany
sisters, He is called in and stays away, seeming to be
unsympathetic. Or when, like the disciples in the storm, He is
asleep and seemingly uncaring. Then the accuser is quick and
fierce to raise the question of sin and interpret the Lord's ways
as His condemnation of us. Or, further on; as we discover really
how imperfect we are, and what a long way we have to go to be
really like Him; so that the whole question of sanctification
lays our heart very low, even unto despair; and when the
weakness, infirmities, and breakdown of this mortal body seem to
becloud the hope of its redemption; then, what do we feed on? Do
we, as is so easy, feed on ourselves, what we are or are not; on
the adversities as being the end and the all? Then it is that
what Christ is made unto us becomes our wisdom; righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Wisdom as God's 'know-how'.
Righteousness over against our sinfulness. Sanctification as
offsetting our falling short. Redemption as assurance that full
and final deliverance for spirit, soul and body is assured
because already secured in Him.
Oh, that we did feed more upon
Him, and, in so doing, progress unto that ultimate!
First published in "A Witness and A
Testimony" magazine, Sep-Oct 1967, Vol 45-5