Angelic Obedience part II

When the way to the tree of life was to be closed against fallen man, cherubim were set to guard the entrance, and with their flaming sword rendered it unapproachable: when that way was again to be thrown open, and the twelve manner of fruits yielded in their season, and the leaves to be applied for the healing of the nations, twelve angels are represented as standing at the gates that are never to be shut, day or night, not armed to bar the passage, but as guards of honor welcoming the happy comers to that scene of everlasting felicity.  The variety of commissions which we know the angels to have executed among men, sufficiently attest their prompt obedience to every command of their glorious King, whom to serve is their privilege and joy: for "he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven." Dan.4:35. "Thinkest thou," said our Lord to the disciple who smote the high priest's servant, "thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than ten legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" Matt. 26:53, 54.

We now proceed to review the instances of angelic interference and as the work of vengeance is in no way consonant to the character of a holy angel, except when executed in loyal obedience to the command of his righteous King, who will punish evil-doers, we may class under the present head all the destructive operations of the heavenly host. 

The Lord needs no help of men or of angels; yet the armies of heaven stand around, eager to be employed against the enemies of his name and of his people.  To render a recompense to those who afflict Christ in his members, is indeed a part of angelic office, as David shows; when speaking of those who sought to destroy his soul, he says, "Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angels of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord persecute them." Psalm xxxv. 5, 6.  In virtue of this office, they will fulfill their terrible commission in the last days of the present dispensation. "The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13: 42. 

They will come fully prepared for the terrible work of that great day: "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1: 6, 7, 8.

He "who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire," (Psalm 104: 4,) has pre-ordained them to act a most conspicuous part in the transactions of the last days, we must turn to the book of Revelation, where a scene of awful magnificence is opened to us, in language of unparalleled grandeur.

Angelic Obedience

"See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book." Rev.22: 9

There is not, in the whole Bible, an instance where an angel appears to act independently of the divine command. Perfect submission is the unvaried character of the heavenly host. Our Lord expresses this, in the prayer that he has taught us to use: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When John would have worshiped the angel who showed him the wonderful things that he has recorded for us, he was prohibited in these words: "See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book." Rev.22: 9.

We cannot doubt that the Holy Spirit has so framed the word of truth as to be a perpetual antidote to every form of error that should creep into the world : and the "worshiping of angels," which constitutes a prominent mark of the Roman apostasy, is provided against by continually setting forth their entire dependence and subordination. They never appear but as messengers:

"God sent an angel into Jerusalem to destroy it." 1 Chron. 21:15. 

"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." Dan. 4:22. 

"The man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." Dan. 9:21.

  "At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth, and I am come." (v. 23.) 

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth." Luke 1:26.

  "Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews," Acts 12:11:

And in the last instance that is recorded by inspiration of an angelic mission, we read, "I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the Church." Rev. 22:16. However willingly performed to men, it is still a service appointed of God, and by him especially directed; they are "ministering spirits," sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. 1:14 ; and it is on this principle of holy obedience that we find them zealously executing God's righteous displeasure against the rebellious.

Spiritual Growth and Security

"Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:17

It is not a matter of personal preference whether we shall grow or not. It is a matter of vital necessity, for only thus can we be kept from retrograding. This the apostle hints in our text, "Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Growth is the remedy for declension and we must ever grow or go backward. So in 1 Peter 2 the same truth is expounded. "If ye do these things ye shall never fall. He that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." That is the very experience of conversion—it fades away and becomes but a dim recollection unless we press on to deeper and higher things.

Indeed, it is necessary for us to grow with an accelerated motion and to make more rapid progress the longer we continue in the Christian life. And so we have a very strong figure even in this passage expressing this thought. The word translated "abound" in our version, in the Greek is "multiply." "If these things be in you and multiply, they shall make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus." Let us not fail to notice the striking antithesis of the "add" in verse 3, and the "multiply" of verse 8. We all know in arithmetic the difference between addition and multiplication. The addition of nine to nine makes eighteen, but the multiplication of nine into nine reverses the figures and makes eighty-one, or nearly five times as much. Everything depends upon the size of the multiplier.  In the spiritual arithmetic the multiplier is God and infinitely higher than the highest digits of human calculation. God simply takes the surrendered heart and unites Himself with it, and the result is as many times greater than itself as God is greater than man.

Growth, Grace and Provisions part II

"According as His divine power hath given unto as all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to His glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." 2 Peter: 1-3

This is the conception of Christian life given in the first chapter of the gospel of John, in that wonderful little expression "grace for grace." That is to say, every grace that we need to exercise already exists in Christ, and may be transferred into our life from Him, as we "receive of His fullness, even grace for grace." On the mount, Moses was called to see and study a model of the Tabernacle. A few weeks later the same Tabernacle might be seen going up piecemeal in the valley below, and, when completed, was an exact replica of the shown to Moses in the mount; for God's explicit command was, "See that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shewed thee in the mount." Corresponding to this is the tabernacle which God is building in each of our lives. It is just as heavenly a structure as the other and far more important, and is meant to be, as it is, the dwelling-place of God. 

It, too, has its model in the mount, and we may see, by the eye of faith, the model of our life, the pattern, the plan of all the graces which we exemplify and the life which is to be built up, worked out, and established. All the materials for our spiritual building are there now, already provided, and the whole design fully wrought out in the purpose of God and the provisions of His grace. But we have to take these resources and materials moment by moment, step by step, and transfer them into our lives. We have not to make the graces ourselves, but take them, wear them, live them, and exhibit them. '' Of His fullness we receive grace for grace," His graces for our graces, His love for our love, His trust for our trust, His power for our strength.

Spiritual Growth

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18.

The apostle who has given us our text had already laid down the principles of spiritual growth in the opening chapter of his epistle with great fullness and marvelous clearness and power. There is no single paragraph in the Scriptures which more profoundly unfolds the depths and heights of Christian life than the first eleven verses of the first chapter of 2nd Peter. And the very point we are now referring to is made perfectly plain in these verses. The fifth verse is an injunction to grow in grace, but the preceding verses give us the standpoint from which this growth is to start. It is nothing less than the experience of sanctification. The persons to whom this is addressed are recognized as having already "escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust," and having already "become partakers of the divine nature."

These two facts constitute the whole of sanctification. It is that experience by which we become united to Christ in so divine and personal a sense that we become partakers of His nature, and the very person of Christ, through the Holy Ghost, comes to dwell in our hearts, and by His indwelling becomes to us the substance and support of our spiritual life. The converted soul is a human spirit born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit. The sanctified soul is that human spirit wholly yielded to and wholly possessed and occupied by God's indwelling presence, so as to be able to say, "Not I, but Christ liveth in me." 

The effect of this is to deliver from " the corruption that is in the world through lust." God's indwelling excludes the power of sin and evil desire, which is just what the word lust means. The Greek tenses here leave no room to doubt the question of time and the order of events. This deliverance from corruption precedes the command to grow.

It is very evident, therefore, that we do not grow into sanctification, but grow from sanctification into maturity. This corresponds exactly with the description of the growth of Christ Himself in the opening of the gospel of Luke. "The child grew and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him." Surely no one will dare to say that He grew into sanctification. He was sanctified from the very first. But He was a sanctified child and grew into manhood. And so still later, in Luke 2:5, it is added that, at the age of twelve years, "Jesus grew in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and man."

God's measureless measures part IV

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." 2 Corinthians 10:12

III.—THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE.

"In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence." Peter has used a parallel expression. "according to His abundant mercy He hath begotten us again unto a lively hope." This is God's standard and measure of salvation. He works and saves according to the riches of His grace. 

IV.—THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY.

Can we form any conception of the riches of His glory? Moses asked to see that glory but was told it was too bright for human gaze, and only in the distance and from behind could he dare to look upon it. A little glimpse of it the disciples beheld on the Mount of Transfiguration, but they were afraid of its brightness and their eyes were overcome with slumber under its spell. '' The heavens declare His glory, and the firmament showeth His handiwork," and some conception of the riches of His power and majesty may be gathered from these glorious constellations.  It is according to the riches of His glory that He is working out the new creation in our hearts and preparing the more glorious temple of the soul for His own eternal abode. It is according to the riches of His glory that He is willing to strengthen the heart for all patience and long-suffering. And it is according to the riches of His glory that He is able and ready to supply all our need. There is nothing too hard for such a God, too rich and glorious for His wisdom, grace and love. He looks at the littleness of our faith and cries, "Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. "He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."

God's measureless measures part III

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." 2 Corinthians 10:12

II.—HIS WORD.

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" is the sublime response of Mary to the angel's astonishing message, "be it unto me according to Thy Word." Never was faith put to a harder test. Never was woman asked to stand in so delicate a place of peril and possibility, of humbling shame and glorious everlasting honor. Realizing, perhaps, with every instinct of her maiden heart all that this might cost her, she meekly, unhesitatingly, without one question, one faltering breath, accepted the stupendous promise and responsibility and rose to meet the divine measure, "according to Thy word," and like an echo came back the heavenly benediction, '' Blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things that were told her from the Lord."

Beloved, are you living up to this great measure? Is faith resting and claiming, not according to signs and feelings, but according to His word? Is obedience walking, not according to the course of this world, or the moods of our capricious hearts, or the standards of men, or the example of others, or the traditions even of the church, but according- to His word? Are we Bible Christians and determined to believe and obey every word within these inspired and heavenly pages? Then we shall be found in '' the way everlasting," for "the grass withereth and the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever," and "he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."