The Harp of God Part 24

[321]The hiding of this mystery was ill.u.s.trated by Jehovah in the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness and its furnishings.

The inside walls of the tabernacle were covered with pure gold. Inside the Holy were the golden candlestick, the table covered with gold for the s...o...b..ead, and the golden altar; and in the Most Holy, was the ark of the covenant. The tabernacle inside, therefore, was beautiful, but it was hidden from the people on the outside because it was covered with three heavy layers of cloth and skins. The priest ministered inside the tabernacle, and therefore was unseen by the people. As G.o.d thus hid these things which were typical of greater things, so he has hidden the glories and beauties of spiritual things, seen only by those who have come into relationship with him through Christ.

[322]The gospel age is the ant.i.typical day of atonement. With the Jews there was one day each year called the day of atonement. In that day the priest alone was in the Holy and the Most Holy; and even so on the ant.i.typical day of atonement no one is in the Holy condition except those who are in relationship with Christ, the great high priest. The Lord has been pleased to permit these during the gospel age to have some understanding of his Word, therefore receiving the sweet and refreshing music from his harp; and the light has grown in brilliancy and the music in harmony as the understanding has increased. To the world in general, Christians have been despised because not understood. The Lord of glory, when on earth, was despised because he was misunderstood. And so his true followers seem to be a mean and despised people. The poet has truly said:

"Why do they, then, appear so mean?

And why so much despised?

Because, of their rich robes, unseen, The world is not apprized."

[323]Satan has tried to counterfeit every part of Jehovah's plan; so he organized a religious system in the earth which is iniquitous and is known as "the mystery of iniquity". (2 Thessalonians 2:7; Revelation 17:5) This mystery of iniquity G.o.d will destroy in his great day of vengeance which is now on, and then the mystery of G.o.d will be more clearly revealed to mankind. It is revealed to individuals now as they come into Christ. It is important, therefore, for us to know how one becomes a member of the Christ, the great mystery of G.o.d.

BODY MEMBERS SELECTED

[324]The mystery of G.o.d involves an understanding and appreciation of the fundamental truths of repentance, consecration, justification, spirit-begetting, and sanctification. Let us now trace the steps of one in the world as he comes to Jehovah that he might be a member of the body of Christ.

[325]Because of the disobedience of father Adam, all of his children are born imperfect, all sinners. "There is none righteous, no, not one."

(Romans 3:10; 5:12) All such are out of harmony with G.o.d. They have no right to life. It has pleased Jehovah, then, during the gospel age to draw to Jesus, the great Redeemer and Deliverer, those who have the desire to come into harmony with him. The Prophet says: 'The reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'. (Psalm 111:10) The first thing essential for one becoming a Christian is an honest desire to know the Lord and to do his will. A man with this honest desire, then, realizes that he is a sinner and born such; and he has an honest desire to come to G.o.d. He learns that Jesus is his Redeemer and he wants to know more about him and do his will. In his mind he does not approve the ways of the world. He begins to think about the Lord and wants to know more about him. He begins to turn his face in the right direction. When he ceases to approve the course of the world, he is repentant to that extent. Repentance means a change of mind respecting one's relationship to evil.

[326]Jesus said: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him". (John 6:44) The man now is drawn to Jesus by what he learns of Jesus, what Jesus has done for him, and by his own desire to follow a different course. When one ceases to approve the worldly course and begins to seek after the Lord, he is in that condition mentioned by the Apostle as seeking G.o.d, "if haply they might feel after him, and find him". (Acts 17:27) When he is drawn to Jesus, seeking G.o.d, then he is converted. He is now in the condition spoken of by the Apostle when he said: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out". (Acts 3:19) Repentance means a change of mind respecting one's relationship to evil; and conversion means a change of one's course. But neither repentance nor conversion, nor both together, brings the individual into relationship with G.o.d. Being drawn to Jesus, he must exercise faith. Faith means _first_ to understand and believe that G.o.d exists; that he is the great rewarder of them that diligently seek him; that the Bible is his Word of truth; that Jesus is his beloved Son and our Redeemer; and _then_ to rely confidently upon these things and prove this reliance by his action.--Hebrews 11:1,6.

[327]He now needs information to increase his faith, and the Prophet has written: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple". (Psalm 19:7) To such now, as are feeling after G.o.d, through Christ Jesus this message comes: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". (Matthew 11:28) Heavy laden means to be weary of the sinful course of the world and to have a desire to be relieved of this burden. Such a one says: 'I am tired of the wrongful course. I want to follow the right course, to know G.o.d, and to do his will.'

[328]Now being drawn to Jesus, he learns through the Word that he must do something. To him Jesus says: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me'. (John 14:6) What can one who is now repentant and changing his course, but still a sinner, do to come into harmony with G.o.d? He is informed that it will cost him much. So Jesus says to him: 'Sit down and count the cost'. (Luke 14:28) He learns it will cost him all he has, namely, the surrender of himself to the Lord. The next step for one, then, to become a Christian is to make a consecration; that is to say, to commit himself to the Lord and his arrangements. And this he may do by saying in substance: 'Blessed Lord, I commit myself to thy arrangements; here I am. Do unto me according to thy holy will. I desire to do thy will.'

[329]Neither the Lord Jesus nor the heavenly Father coerces any one, but we must come to the Lord voluntarily, seeking his aid. This is clearly indicated as necessary to become the follower of Jesus by the words the Master used: 'If you will be my disciple, you must deny yourself, then take up your cross, and follow me'. (Matthew 16:24) Self-denial means an agreement to abandon one's selfish course and to agree to do the will of the Lord. It means a full and complete surrender of oneself unto the Lord. And this is consecration, the setting aside of oneself to do the Lord's will.

[330]Those who are selected to be members of the body of Christ, which selection is done during the gospel age, must be justified in order that they might be accepted. They are justified only for the purpose of being accepted as a part of the sacrifice of the Lord. On the typical day of atonement when the high priest of Israel slew the animals, the Lord's goat pictured this cla.s.s who come to the Lord in consecration. That goat must be perfect, without any blemish; thus foreshadowing how that all who are presented unto the Lord to be accepted as a part of the sacrifice of Jesus, and hence to become members of his body, must be perfect; and since man is imperfect himself something must be done for him in order to make him stand before the Lord Jehovah as perfect. He must be justified. Justification means to be made right with G.o.d. This must all be done in the acceptable time of the Lord. (Isaiah 49:8; 61:2) Any one coming to the Lord Jesus with an honest desire to be presented to the Father in the acceptable year or time may be a.s.sured that he will not be cast out, because Jesus said: "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out". (John 6:37) He would not decline to present any genuine consecration before the heavenly Father. Of course this consecration must be made before the person can be presented.

[331]Jehovah G.o.d is the great wise judge of the universe; and he sits to determine whether or not one thus presented is right or not. "It is G.o.d that justifieth."--Romans 8:33.

[332]The steps essential now to justification, as shown by the Scriptures, briefly stated, are these: (1) Faith in G.o.d and his promises, which is exercised and proven by making a surrender of ourselves to the Lord; (2) receiving the merit of Christ, and his presentation to the Father; and (3) the determination by Jehovah G.o.d that the one thus presented is right. The following Scriptures show these points in the order named: By faith are we justified (Romans 5:1); by the blood of Jesus are we justified (Romans 5:9); "It is G.o.d that justifieth". (Romans 8:33) Christ Jesus is the great High Priest. When we make a consecration of ourselves, then he presents us to the Father.

(John 6:37) But in order to make us acceptable or presentable to the Father, the merit of Jesus' sacrifice must be imputed to us. When he ascended on high, he deposited with Jehovah the ransom-price, the merit of his sacrifice, as we have seen, pictured by the blood. The second step, then, is taken when Jesus imputes to the one thus coming to the Lord the merit of his sacrifice, which makes him presentable to the Father, Jehovah; then Jehovah, upon the merit, determines, as the great judge, that the one thus presented is right, is justified, and is acceptable as a part of the sacrifice of his beloved Son. Thus Jehovah has been receiving sacrifices throughout the gospel age; but that acceptable year or time will soon pa.s.s, as indeed it is now pa.s.sing.

--Hebrews 3:13.

SPIRIT-BEGETTING

[333]The one that is justified before Jehovah is then counted right or justified that he might be a part of the great sacrifice of G.o.d's beloved Son Jesus, to the end that he might be a part of the mystery cla.s.s and ultimately reign with Christ. The next thing indicated by the Scriptures is the begetting of such a one as a new creature. Begetting means the beginning. The begetting of the new creature, then, means the beginning of a newness of life. When justified by Jehovah, there results to him the right to live as a human being on earth, and this is what he immediately sacrifices. At the same time Jehovah begets him to a hope of life upon the high or heavenly plane, because he is called to a "high calling", a "heavenly calling". (Philippians 3:14; Hebrews 3:1) This begetting is in the nature of a contract or an agreement. Covenant is also a word used for contract. In order to make a contract there must be two or more parties, and there must be a consideration pa.s.sing from one to the other. Where there are mutual promises, made on both sides, this is sufficient consideration. We will name the one whom we have been discussing as coming to justification Honest Heart.

[334]Honest Heart presents himself to the Lord Jesus the high priest, fully surrendering himself and agreeing to do the will of G.o.d. There is the promise on his part, then, and he is one party to the contract through his advocate, the Lord Jesus. And when Christ Jesus the high priest presents him to the Father, Jehovah, the Lord Jehovah in substance says to Honest Heart: 'In consideration of the fact that you have turned away from the wrongful course, and have come to Jesus, and have made a full surrender of yourself in consecration, thereby exercising faith in his blood shed for you and your faith in my plan; and in consideration of the further fact that my beloved Son has imputed to you his merit to make you acceptable before me, I accept you and determine that you are right or justified, and accepting you as a part of his sacrifice, I give to you my exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might become partaker of the divine nature'.--2 Peter 1:4.

[335]This is in harmony with St. James' statement: "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures". (James 1:18) The Psalmist shows that this begetting is in the nature of a contract when he says: "Gather my saints together unto me; those who have made a covenant [contract] with me by sacrifice". (Psalm 50:5) Honest Heart now being begotten has the promise of life upon the highest plane, the divine nature. He is begotten to a new hope of life. St. Peter thus writes: "Blessed be the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a hope of life by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of G.o.d through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time". (1 Peter 1:3-5) The inheritance to which Honest Heart is now begotten is an incorruptible inheritance, which is the divine nature. This means that if he is faithful unto death, faithful to his part of the contract, he is certain to be born upon the divine plane, for the reason that Jehovah is always faithful to his part of the contract; and so Jesus says: "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life".--Revelation 2:10.

[336]Any one thus presented by Jesus to the Father, Jehovah, justified, accepted and begotten, is designated in the Scriptures as a new creature. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are pa.s.sed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) There is now a newness of life, which does not result from being transferred to another climate, but from being given a new dominating factor in our lives, namely, the will of G.o.d. Honest Heart, or whoever takes this step, now has new hopes, new aims, new ambitions, new aspirations, and new ideas. He is not looking for earthly honor and glory; but he is looking forward to the time when he might be forever with the Lord in his kingdom and be a part of the seed of Abraham according to the promise, through which the blessings of mankind will come.

[337]This one is now dead from the standpoint of a human being, as the apostle Paul puts it: "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in G.o.d". (Colossians 3:3) The new creature now must be renewed, refreshed and invigorated and strengthened by knowledge, not by ordinary knowledge; but by an acquaintance with G.o.d's will and a deep appreciation of his plan. (Colossians 1:9) The world cannot know anything about this; only those who are in the relationship with the Lord. The whole world lies in the wicked one. (1 John 5:19) But now the new creature in Christ is admonished to be not conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of his mind, that he might prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of G.o.d.--Romans 12:2.

[338]The one begotten is begotten by the spirit of G.o.d, the holy spirit. He is also anointed. This anointing is received by reason of coming into the body of Christ. He is baptized into Christ's death; therefore baptized into Christ's body. To be baptized means to be immersed. To be baptized into Christ's death means to be immersed into the death of Christ. And so the Apostle puts it: "Know ye not, that so many of us as are baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3,4) Baptism in water is merely a symbol of the real baptism. It would do no one any good to be baptized in water unless he had first undergone the real baptism by being immersed into Christ.

[339]All of those who are thus inducted into the body of Christ receive the anointing through the head of the Christ, Jesus the beloved One.

This is ill.u.s.trated or pictured by G.o.d's dealings with Israel. In the type Aaron the high priest was anointed. "He [Moses] poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him."

(Leviticus 8:12) This anointing oil was poured upon Aaron's head and ran down upon his garment. (Psalm 133:2) Aaron the high priest was a type of the entire Christ, head and body. As the oil was poured upon his head and ran down to the skirt of his garments, so in ant.i.type, Jesus the head, at the time of his baptism in the Jordan, received the anointing of the holy spirit without measure (Matthew 3:16,17); and at Pentecost his disciples received the anointing of the holy spirit. And thereafter during the gospel age all who come into Christ receive this anointing through Christ Jesus the head by virtue of being inducted into the body of Christ.

[340]Those who are thus anointed have the spirit of the Lord and by virtue of his spirit are able to understand the mystery of G.o.d and to appreciate the fact that they have the promise of being joint-heirs with Christ Jesus in his kingdom. To be anointed means to be a.s.signed to a place in the body of Christ. "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of G.o.d: and if children, then heirs; heirs of G.o.d, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."--Romans 8:16,17.

SANCTIFICATION

[341]These new creatures in Christ, otherwise called members of his body, must now be transformed and made into the image and likeness of their Head. (Romans 8:29) They must be sanctified. Sanctification means to be set apart for the use of Jehovah. It means the process of making us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

(Colossians 1:12) It is the process of perfecting the saints. (Ephesians 4:12) This process begins when Jehovah accepts our consecration and begets us; and must continue until birth upon the spirit plane.

[342]Sanctification, then, is to be made holy, in the likeness of our Lord. Concerning such Jesus said: "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth". (John 17:17) The Christian now must feed upon or study the Word of G.o.d, learn its principles, learn of Jehovah's character and that of the Lord Jesus, and strive to conform his own life thereto. He now has set before him the hope of being made like the Lord in glory; and "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure". (1 John 3:3) This process of sanctification is done by the Lord through his Word. "Both he who sanctifies and those whom he is sanctifying have all one Father, and for this reason he is not ashamed to speak of them as brethren." (Hebrews 2:11, _Weymouth_) Here we see the sanctifier is the Lord Jesus Christ, and those whom he is sanctifying are the members of his body; and all of these have one Father, Jehovah G.o.d; therefore all of the one body, const.i.tuting the mystery of G.o.d.

[343]All this work of sanctification is done in what we designate the school of Christ; and it is only those who are in this school by being in Christ Jesus that can be sanctified and ultimately be a part of that glorious mystical body, the heavenly kingdom cla.s.s that will const.i.tute the great prophet, priest, and king.

[344]This mystery hid from ages and generations and made known only to the saints is, says the apostle Paul, the Christ; and the Christ in you is the hope of glory. Those who are in Christ and who have the spirit of Christ in them have the glorious hope of being born on the divine plane as members of the body of Christ. These are called to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; and to them are given all the exceeding great and precious promises contained in the Word of G.o.d. The Prophet speaking of them and to them said: "The nations shall see thy righteousness, and all the kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy G.o.d." (Isaiah 62:2,3) These have the promise: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory".

(Colossians 3:4) And "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father".--Matthew 13:43.

[345]The apostle Paul declares that he was made a minister, according to the gift of G.o.d, that he should preach to the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ, "and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in G.o.d, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the princ.i.p.alities and powers in heavenly places might be [made] known by the church the manifold wisdom of G.o.d, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord". (Ephesians 3:7-11) Thus we see that this great mystery is the Christ, and that for six thousand years Jehovah has been preparing for, developing and completing this great mystery; and that when completed, he will use the Christ as his prophet, priest, and king to minister unto the people, to rule over the people, and to bless the people, according to his promise.

[346]The Apostle declares that the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain, waiting for the manifestation of this great mystery. (Romans 8:19-22) The people do not know for what they are waiting. But when the great mystery is complete and Messiah's kingdom set up, then G.o.d will bring his long-promised blessings to mankind, and ultimately his will shall be done upon earth as it is done in heaven.

What is a mystery? -- 298.

How could Jehovah hide or keep secret his plan from others? -- 298.

Has he kept his plan secret? -- 298.

When Jesus was on earth, why did he teach by parables? -- 299.

Did the disciples always understand his meaning? -- 299.

Did he instruct the disciples how they would be taught after his departure? and if so, how? -- 299.

What is meant by the spirit of truth? -- 299.

When was the holy spirit given to the disciples? Give the Scriptural proof. -- 300.

What is the meaning of the term "holy ghost"? -- 300.

When did G.o.d's mystery begin to be understood by the disciples? -- 301.

What effect has the mystery had on Jews and so-called Christians? -- 301.

Define the mystery of G.o.d. -- 302.