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Post by iconoclast on May 17, 2023 10:19:18 GMT -5
www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/owen/Communion_with_God_-_John_Owen.pdf
Chapter 1. The saints have communion with God –
In 1John 1:3, the apostle assures those to whom he wrote that the fellowship of believers “is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” The expression he uses speaks with such force that we have rendered it, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
The outward appearance and condition of the saints in those days was paltry and contemptible. Their leaders were considered the scum of the earth, the offscouring of all things. Inviting others to fellowship with them, and to participate in the precious things that they enjoyed, evoked a number of awkward encounters and objections: “What benefit is there in communion wit them? All it brings is sharing their troubles, reproaches, scorns, and all kinds of evils.” To prevent or remove these and similar objections, the apostle lets the believers know in earnest, that despite all the disadvantages of their fellowship, at least to a carnal view, in truth what they had was very honorable, glorious, and desirable. For “truly,” he says, “our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” This is so earnestly and directly asserted by the apostle, that we may boldly follow him with our affirmation, “That the saints of God have communion with him.” And a holy and spiritual communion it is, as I will demonstrate. Why this reference to the Father and the Son is distinct between them, must be fully examined later. Since sin entered the world, no man has had communion with God because of his sinful nature. He is light; we are darkness; and what communion has light with darkness? (2Cor.6:14). He is life; we are dead. He is love; we are enmity. What agreement can there be between us? Men in such a condition have neither Christ, nor hope, nor God in the world, Eph. 2:12. “Being alienated from the life of God through their ignorance,” chap. 4:18. Now, two cannot walk together unless they are agreed, Amos 3:3. So, while this distance between God and man exists, they cannot walk together in fellowship or communion. Our first interest in God was so lost by sin, that no recovery remained in ourselves. We deprived ourselves of all power to return to him. And God had not revealed that there was any way to regain access to him. Nor did he reveal that sinners could approach him in peace for any reason. Nothing that God made, and no attribute that he revealed, provided the least hint of such a possibility.
The manifestation of God’s grace and pardoning mercy is the only door we have to such communion. It is committed only to the one who atoned. He is the one in whom it is evidenced. He is the one by whom grace and mercy was purchased. He is the one through whom it is dispensed, and from whom it is revealed from the heart of the Father. Hence, this communion and fellowship with God is not expressly mentioned in the Old Testament. It is found there, but its clear light, and the boldness of faith contained in it, is discovered only in the gospel of the New Testament. There the Spirit administers it. By the Spirit we have this liberty of communion, 2 Cor. 3:17, 18. Abraham was the friend, of God, Isa. 41:8.
David was a man after his own heart. Enoch walked with him, Gen. 5:22. All of them enjoyed the substance of this communion and fellowship. But the way into the holiest of holies was not evident while the first tabernacle was still standing, Heb. 9:8. Although they had communion with God, they did not have parresian [NT:3954], Eph.3:12, which is a boldness and confidence in that communion. It came only after our High Priest entered into the most holy place, Heb. 4:16, 10:19. And so, the veil remained on those in the Old Testament. They did not have eleuterian [NT:1657], or freedom and liberty in their access to God, 2Cor. 3:15, 16, etc. But in Christ we now have boldness and confident access to God, Eph. 3:12. The saints of old were not familiar with this. This distance from God is removed by Jesus Christ alone. He has consecrated a new and living way for us “through the veil, that is, his flesh,” Heb. 10:20. The old way is sealed. “Through him we have access by one Spirit to the Father,” Eph. 2:18. “You who sometimes were far off, are made close by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace...,” verses 13, 14. More of this foundation of our communion with God will follow afterward.
On this new foundation, by this new and living way, sinners are admitted into communion with God. They have fellowship with him. It is a truly astonishing provision for sinners to have fellowship with God, the infinitely holy God.
Communion relates to things and persons. It means jointly participating in something, whether good or evil, duty or enjoyment, nature or actions. Sharing a common nature means all men have fellowship or communion in that nature. It is said of the elect, in Heb. 2:14, “Those children partook of” (shared or had fellowship with) “flesh and blood” (their common nature with mankind); “and, therefore, Christ likewise shared in the same fellowship.” There is also communion as to our state or condition, whether good or evil, or things internal and spiritual. Such is the communion of saints among themselves, or with regard to their experience of outward things. Christ shared a condition with the two thieves. They were all sentenced to the cross, Luke 23:40. They shared the evil condition they were judged to suffer under. And one of them requested, and obtained, a share in that blessed condition our Savior would enter shortly.
There is also a communion or fellowship in actions, whether those actions are good or evil. Among good actions is the communion and fellowship that the saints enjoy in the gospel, or in performing and celebrating the worship of God that is instituted in the gospel, Phil. 1:5. David rejoices in the same general kind of actions, Ps. 42:4. Among evil actions, there was communion in that cruel act of revenge and murder shared between the brothers Simon and Levi in Gen. 49:5.
Our communion with God is no single one of these; indeed it excludes some of them. It cannot be natural communion. It must be voluntary and by consent. It cannot be communion in a shared state or condition, but in actions. It cannot be communion in shared actions on a third party. It must be shared actions between God and us. The infinite disparity between God and man made the great philosopher conclude that there could be no friendship between them.
1 He could allow some undetermined closeness between friends; but in his understanding, there was no place for closeness between God and man. Another says that while there is a certain fellowship between God and man, it is only the general interaction of providence. Some expressed higher regard for this communion, but they understood nothing of which they spoke. This knowledge is hidden in Christ, as will be made apparent later. It is too wonderful for our sinful and corrupted nature to comprehend. Guessing only leads to terror and fear of death if we were to come into the presence of God. But as was said, we have a new foundation, and a new revelation of this privilege.
Communion is the mutual communication of the good things that those who commune delight in, based on the union that exists between them. This is how it was with Jonathan and David. Their souls clung to one another in love (1 Sam. 20:17). There was a union between them based on love. And they mutuallcommunicated all the outpourings of that love. In spiritual things this exchangeis more eminent. The outpourings or issues of that union are the most precious
and eminent possible.
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Post by Admin on May 17, 2023 22:59:36 GMT -5
Sometimes express mention is made only of the Father and the Son, as in John 1:3, “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” The particle “and” is both distinguishing and uniting. Also in John 14:23, “If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.” It is in this fellowship, or communion, that the Father and Son make their abode with the soul.
Sometimes only the Son is mentioned in this communion. 1 Cor. 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” And in Rev. 3:20, “If any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Sometimes the Spirit alone is mentioned. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all,” 2 Cor. 13:14. This distinct communion, then, of the saints with the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit, is very plain in the Scripture. Even so, it can be demonstrated further. I must give this caution beforehand: whatever is affirmed in pursuit of this truth, is done in relation to the explanation given in the beginning of the next chapter
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Post by Admin on May 18, 2023 0:48:14 GMT -5
CHAPTER II
The Saints' Distinct Communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit
— Understanding 1 John 5:7, 1 Corinthians 12:4–6, and Ephesians 2:18
—Joint Communion with the Father and Son; Sole Communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
—Respective Regard in Worship— Faith in the Father, Love towards Him
—Prayer and Praise
—The Son's Communion
—Our Communion with the Holy Spirit
—Further Confirmation of the Truth.
In the previous chapter, I established that the saints have communion with God and explained the nature of communion in
general. Now, I will discuss how this communion is carried out and what it entails. In terms of the distinct persons of the Godhead with whom they have fellowship, the saints have either distinct and particular communion or joint and common communion. It is important to understand that the saints have distinct communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (specifically with each of them individually), and we must first explore the unique aspects of this distinct communion with each person.
In 1 John 5:7, the apostle informs us that "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." They exist in heaven and bear witness to us. What is their testimony? It testifies to the sonship of Christ and the salvation of believers through His blood. The apostle discusses the ongoing process of salvation, involving both the shedding of blood and purification with water, which represent justification and sanctification. Now, how do they bear witness to this? As three distinct witnesses. When God testifies about our salvation, it is our duty to receive His testimony. And as He bears witness, we are to receive it. This receiving is done distinctly. The Father bears witness, the Son bears witness, and the Holy Spirit bears witness; they are three distinct witnesses. Thus, we are to receive their respective testimonies, and in doing so, we have communion with each of them individually. For our fellowship with
God, the act of giving and receiving testimony is a significant component. The nature of their distinct witness will be explained later.
In 1 Corinthians 12:4–6, the apostle discusses the distribution of gifts and graces among the saints and attributes them distinctly to the respective persons who are the source of these blessings. "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit"
—referring to the Holy Spirit in verse 11. "And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord"
—referring to the Lord Jesus in verse 5. "And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God"
—referring to the Father in Ephesians 4:6. Therefore, graces and gifts are bestowed and received accordingly.
Moreover, the same distinction is observed not only in the emanation of grace from God and the workings of the Spirit within us but also in all our approaches to God. "For through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). Our access to God, which involves communion with Him, is through Christ, in the Spirit, and unto the Father. In this context, the persons are considered as individually engaged in accomplishing God's revealed will in the gospel. At times, only the Father and the Son are explicitly mentioned, such as in 1 John 1:3: "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." The conjunction "and" both distinguishes and unites them. Additionally, John 14:23 states, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." It is in this communion that the Father and the Son abide with the soul.
Sometimes, the Son alone is mentioned for this purpose. For example, 1 Corinthians 1:9 states, "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." And in Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me"— which I will discuss later.
Sometimes, only the Holy Spirit is mentioned. In 2 Corinthians 13:14, it says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all." This distinct communion of the saints with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is clearly evident in the Scriptures, but it can still be further demonstrated. However, I must caution that whatever is affirmed in the pursuit of this truth is done in relation to the explanation that follows at the beginning of the next chapter. The means by which the saints enjoy communion with God in Christ are all the spiritual and holy acts and outpourings of their souls in those virtues and ways that encompass both the moral and prescribed worship of God. Faith, love, obedience, and other such virtues are the natural or moral worship of God, through which those who possess them have communion with Him. These acts can either be directly focused on God, without any outward means of manifestation, or they can be further expressed through solemn prayer and praise in the manner that He has appointed. The Scriptures clearly assign all these acts to the Father, Son, and Spirit, indicating that the saints, in all their expressions of worship, both purely moral and in accordance with prescribed forms, have regard for each person respectively. This will be further illustrated through specific instances to shed light on the assertion at hand. Regarding the FATHER, the saints yield faith, love, obedience, and more to Him in a distinct and specific manner. He is uniquely revealed in these ways as acting particularly towards them, which should motivate and stir them to respond accordingly. He testifies to and bears witness of His Son, as stated in 1 John 5:9, "This is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son." In His testimony, He becomes an object of belief. When He testifies (as the Father, because it pertains to the Son), His testimony is to be received by faith. This is affirmed in verse 10, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." To believe in the Son of God in this context means to receive the Lord Christ as the Son, the Son given to us for all the purposes of the Father's love, based on the credibility of the Father's testimony. Therefore, faith is immediately directed towards the Father in this act. The following words support this notion: "He that believeth not God" (referring to the Father who testifies to the Son) "hath made him a liar." Our Savior also says, "Ye believe in God" (meaning the Father as such), in John 14:1, followed by "Believe also in me" or "Believe in God; believe also in me." God, as the ultimate truth upon whose authority all divine faith is ultimately grounded, should not be considered in a specific personal sense, but rather comprehensively as the entire Deity. However, in this specific context, we speak of the testimony and authority of the Father (as such), which faith is distinctly fixed upon. This is further supported by the fact that the Son could not say, "Believe also in me" if it were not so. The same is also said about love. In 1 John 2:15, it states, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Here, it refers to the love that we have for Him, not the love that we receive from Him. The Father is presented as the object of our love, in contrast to the world which captures our affections
—the love of the Father. The term "Father" denotes the subject and object, not the effective cause, of the love in question. And this love for Him as a Father is what He calls His "honour" in Malachi 1:6.
Furthermore, when these virtues are expressed in prayer and praise, and when they are clothed with prescribed worship, they are specifically directed towards Him. In 1 Peter 1:17 and Ephesians 3:14-15, it is stated, "Ye call on the Father," and "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." Bowing the knee encompasses the entire act of worship, both the moral aspect of universal obedience that God requires and the particular ways in which it is carried out as appointed by Him. In Isaiah 45:23, it says,
"Unto me," says the Lord, "every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." In verses 24 and 25, it explains that this consists of acknowledging Him as righteousness and strength. Moreover, it sometimes encompasses the orderly submission of the entire creation to His sovereignty. However, in this passage by the apostle, it has a more limited meaning and is a figurative expression of prayer, derived from the most expressive bodily posture used in that duty. The apostle further clarifies this in Ephesians 3:16-17, explaining his intention and focus during that act of bowing his knees. The workings of the Spirit of grace in that duty are specifically directed to the Father as the source of the Deity and all good things
in Christ—the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore, the same apostle, in another instance, explicitly combines and yet distinguishes the Father and the Son in directing his supplications in 1 Thessalonians 3:11, "God himself even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." A similar example is found in Ephesians 1:3-4, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." I won't list all the many places where the various aspects of divine worship, which cannot be shared with anyone not God by nature without idolatry, and in which the saints have communion with God, are distinctly directed to the person of the Father.
2. The same is true in relation to the SON. In John 14:1, Christ says, "Ye believe in God...believe also in me." He urges them to believe specifically in Him, to have faith that is divine and supernatural
—the faith by which they believe in God, that is, the Father. There is a belief in Christ, namely, that He is the Son of
God, the Savior of the world. Neglecting this belief is what our Savior threatened to the Pharisees in John 8:24, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." In this sense, faith is not directly focused on the Son, as it is simply acknowledging Him (that is, the Christ) by accepting the testimony of the Father concerning Him. However, there is also a belief in Him, known as "Believing on the name of the Son of God" in 1 John 5:13 and John 9:36. It involves placing distinct faith, trust, and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the Son of God, which is frequently emphasized. In John 3:16, it says, "God so loved the world...that whosoever believeth in him" (that is, the Son) "should not perish." The Son, who is given by the Father, is the object of belief. "He that believeth on him is not
condemned" (verse 18). "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (verse 36). "This is the work of God, that ye
believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29, 40; 1 John 5:10). The foundation for all of this is established in John 5:23, "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." However, I have extensively discussed this honor and worship of the Son elsewhere and will not delve into it again. As for love, I will only add the apostolic benediction found in Ephesians 6:24, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," referring to divine love, the love of religious worship, which is the only pure Love of the Lord Jesus.
Furthermore, it is abundantly clear that faith, hope, and love, expressed through obedience and appointed worship, are distinctly owed by the saints and specifically directed to the Son. In Revelation 1:5-6, it states, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
This is further illustrated in Revelation 5:8, where it says, "The four living creatures, and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." In verses 13 and 14, it continues, "Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." The Father and the Son (He who sits upon the throne and the Lamb) are presented jointly yet distinctly as the appropriate object of all divine worship and honor forever and ever. Therefore, in his final invocation before his martyrdom, Stephen directs his faith and hope specifically to Him in Acts 7:59-60, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" and "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." He knew that the
Son of Man also had the power to forgive sins. The apostle also identifies this worship of the Lord Jesus as the distinguishing characteristic of the saints in 1 Corinthians 1:2, saying, "With all...that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours," referring to all the saints of God. Invocation generally encompasses the entirety of God's worship. This, then, is the rightful due of our Mediator, not only as God but also as the Son
—not solely as Mediator.
3. This is also true in relation to the HOLY SPIRIT of grace. The rejection of the Holy Spirit is still described as opposing and resisting Him. There is also a distinct mention of the love of the Spirit in Romans 15:30. The apostle specifically directs his supplication to the Spirit in the solemn benediction of 2 Corinthians 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." Such benedictions are essentially prayers. Additionally, the Holy Spirit is entitled to all appointed worship, starting from the institution of baptism in His name as stated in Matthew 28:19. More on these matters will be discussed later.
Now, in summary of what has been conveyed, every grace by which our souls reach out to God, every act of divine worship offered to Him, and every duty or obedience performed, are distinctly directed to the Father, Son, and Spirit. Through these and similar means, we engage in communion with God, as described before.
Furthermore, this becomes even more apparent when we consider how distinctly the persons of the Deity are revealed to act in the communication of the blessings in which the saints have communion with God. Just as all the spiritual aspirations of their souls are attributed to them respectively, their internal reception of God's communications to them is presented in such a way that indicates distinct origins and sources (not of being in themselves, but) of dispensations to us. This is demonstrated in two ways:
(1.) When the same thing is ascribed jointly and yet distinctly to all the persons in the Deity, as well as to each of them individually. Forexample, grace and peace are mentioned together in Revelation 1:4-5, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness," etc. The seven Spirits before the throne refer to the Holy Spirit of God, seen as the perfect source of every perfect gift and dispensation. All are mentioned together here, yet they are also distinguished in their communication of grace and peace to the saints. "Grace and peace be unto you, from the Father, and from," etc.
(2.) When the same thing is individually and separately attributed to each person. Indeed, there is no gracious influence from above, no infusion of light, life, love, or grace into our hearts that does not follow this pattern. I will provide only one comprehensive example that may be seen as encompassing all other aspects: TEACHING. God's teaching is the actual communication of every particular emanation from Himself to the saints, allowing them to partake in it.
The promise "They shall be all taught of God" encompasses the entire mystery of grace, both in its actual dispensation to us and in our becoming true recipients of it. Now, this teaching is assigned to:
[1.] The FATHER. The fulfillment of this promise is specifically attributed to Him in John 6:45, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." This teaching, which translates us from death to life, brings us to Christ, and enables us to participate in life and love in Him, comes from the Father. We hear from Him, we learn from Him, and He leads us to union and communion with the Lord Jesus. He is the one who draws us, regenerates us according to His will and by His own Spirit, and employs ministers of the gospel in this work, as seen in Acts 26:17-18.
[2.] The SON. The Father proclaims Him from heaven as the great teacher, as heard in the solemn charge to listen to Him that resounded from the excellent glory: "This is my beloved Son; hear him." His entire prophetic role, and a significant part of His kingly office, is focused on teaching. He is said to draw people to Himself, just as the Father does through His teaching, as mentioned in John 12:32. He does so with such efficacy that "the dead hear his voice and live." The teaching of the Son imparts life, breathes the spirit
—it is a powerful influence of light, shining into darkness; a communication of life that brings the dead to life; an opening of blind eyes and a transformation of hardened hearts; an outpouring of the Spirit and all its fruits. Therefore, He claims the privilege of being the sole master in Matthew 23:10, "One is your Master, even Christ."
[3.] The SPIRIT. In John 14:26, it says, "The Comforter, he shall teach you all things." The apostle also affirms in 1 John 2:27, "But the anointing which ye have received abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." This anointing of teaching, which is not only true but truth itself, refers specifically to the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, He also teaches us, having been given to us "that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:12). I have chosen this particular example because, as I mentioned before, it is comprehensive and includes most of the aspects that could be enumerated—quickening, preserving, and so on.
This, then, further emphasizes the truth that is clearly demonstrated
—since there is a distinct communication of grace from the different persons of the Deity, the saints must necessarily have distinct communion with them
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Post by Admin on Jul 20, 2023 0:08:27 GMT -5
John Lightfoot
3. ‘The Communion of Saints’ in An Exposition of Three Articles… (d. 1675)
pp. 64-65
“…when the Creed speaks of the ‘Catholic church,’ meaning true saints, that serve God in truth, it speaks not ‘multitude,’ though it mean ‘universal’. But it speaks, that such are scattered up and down the world; here some in one nation, there some in another; here one in one city, there another in another.
II. Therefore, ‘communion of saints’ cannot mean personal or local union, or communion: saints in one place, or in one lump, together: not a college of all saints in one place, but a communion betwixt them, as scattered here and there, all the world over. As there is a communion betwixt two friends, one in Turkey, another in England; one in New England, another in Old [England]…
How would you understand that, Mt. 24:31, ‘And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ By the ‘angels,’ he means his messengers the ministers; by the ‘sound of a trumpet,’ he means the gospel; by the whole he means, that, after the destruction of Jerusalem, of which the speech is in the verses before,–God, by the preaching of the Gospel, would fetch in his elect among all nations, or call home the gentiles. But how gather them together? What, into any one place, or country, or city? No, but into such a communion, as we are speaking of, in the several nations or countries, where they lived: one saint in Judea, another in Assyria, another in Greece: all staying in the place where they receive the gospel, and yet all gathered together into one communion.”
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pp. 80-82
“I. There is a communion of converse, and communion of affection… And there may be communion of affection, where there is no converse. Nay, there is, as it were, planted in morality, an affection of one excellent person to another. A valiant man loves a valiant man, though he never came near him. A scholar loves a scholar, that he has only heard of. Much more is such an affection planted in true Christianity in a heart truly religious, be he who he will, where he will; though he never saw him. As, ‘My delight is in the saints, and excellent on the earth,’ (Ps. 16:3) be they far off or near.
II. There is communion in ‘common interest,’ where, it may be, there is not communion in coomon converse. Those that never saw or heard of one another to converse together, yet may have communion in common interest. Englishmen meeting beyond sea, that never saw each other before, yet will take parts, and side together, as in the common interest of being countrymen.
There is a common interest in all the saints in the world, though at their never so great distance and separation, viz. glorifying God, and loving the Lord Jesus. As the apostle says, 1 Jn. 1:3, ‘Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.’…
This is the special center, in which saints meet, be they never so far asunder. And in this sense, their ‘gathering together,’ is to be understood (of which there is so frequent mention); not into one place; but into this one circle of loving, fearing, serving God; Zeph. 3:9, ‘That they may call upon the name of the Lord, and serve Him with one consent.’ In the Hebrew it is, ‘with one shoulder;’ as if many were together shouldering up the same weight or burden: all in their places jointly putting-to their endeavor to bear up the name, glory and honor, of God: east, west, north, south, every saint joining in this great work, and meeting in this holy point. As the twelve oxen under the brazen sea, their face to the four quarters of heaven, but their bodies all meeting to bear up the weight. Now,
III. They that are all of the same mind, all meet in this common interest towards God, cannot but love one another, though they know not one another. ‘My heart’ (says Deborah) ‘is towards the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people.’ (Judges 5:9) Did she know all their faces and persons? Could she call them by their names? No, but she could not but love them, be they who they would, that put-to their hands and shoulders to that common cause. We see, how men are ready to affect any that they hear to be of their opinion, humor and mind, though they never saw them. Much more does a saint love a saint, that is partner with him in this holy work. Though he knew not where to find him, or name him; yet if he be for God, he must have his heart; and loving God, he cannot but love whosoever loves Him.
IV. Accordingly they sympathize one with another; ‘Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.’ (1 Cor. 12:26)… It grieves a saint, if it be ill with any saint in the world; and he rejoices , if it go well with him. His heart is touched with his case, as with his own. As we are affected with the well or ill doing of any Englishman in any part of the world, for common interest of country’s sake.
Neh. 1:4, “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down, and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.’ ‘Why Nehemiah? thou are well enough; thou art in place of honor, pleasure, preferment.’–‘Oh! but it is ill with the people of God.’–And, Ps. 137:5-6, says the Psalmist, ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy:’ I can never forget Jerusalem.
V. Answerably, they have one another’s prayers. There is not a saint in the world, but has the prayers of all the saints in the world. Any child of God makes it conscience to pray for every child of God on earth. One member cannot but do its best for another. ‘And as many as walk according to this rule, Peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.’ (Gal. 6:16) ‘Pray for thyself, Paul, and for thine own churches’–‘Nay, but every saint wherever is a member of the same body that I am of; and, therefore, I must pray for them also.’ So Eph. 6:24, ‘Grace be with all them, that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.’ I love Christ, and cannot but love and pray for all that love Him.”
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2023 21:51:45 GMT -5
Here is a portion of a sermon by Vos on 25:14;
The Life in Communion with God
And now, finally, what is the lesson we ought to draw from the prominence of this feature in the spiritual experience portrayed by the Psalter? Are we sure that we feel with the frequency and intensity which our greater privileges demand the desire to meet with God? Or are we satisfied with that indirect relation to him which our service of him in his kingdom and our daily study of his word leads us to sustain? I need not tell you that there is a tendency at the present day to make the religious life seek the surface, the periphery; to detach it more or less from its center which lies in the direct face-to-face communion of the soul with God. The devotional is not so much in evidence as it has been in other periods of the church's history. There are two causes for this. The former of these may perhaps but little concern us. It is found in the modern reluctance to lay emphasis upon any religious practice which at all involves the idea of a clear, definite, personal knowledge and experience of God�in other words in agnostic tendencies. Its watchword is we can know little about God, but we can know what our religious duties are towards our fellow man. With this, I say, you and I may have little to do, although to some extent of even this we may feel the reflex influence.
But the other course concerns us directly. It lies in the stupendous multiplication of the out-going activities which the present practical age makes it incumbent upon every minister of the gospel to pursue. With all these centrifugal forces playing upon us, what wonder if sometimes the one centripetal force which ought to drive us to the heart of God for the cultivation of our own devotional life is less felt in our experience. And yet it is absolutely essential for us that we should not only have our seasons of communion with God, but that all the time in some degree we should carry with us into the outward and public work a living sense of our nearness to God and of his nearness to us because in this way alone can we make our service in the Lord's kingdom truly fruitful and spiritual. If the savor of this is wanting in our work, if we do not bring to the world when we come to it the unction and peace acquired in prayer, we cannot hope to impart any permanent blessing or to achieve any lasting results. Let us endeavor to cultivate diligently the devotional spirit of the Psalmists. Or, better still, let us take for our example the spirit of Jesus himself for whom notwithstanding the busy scenes of a most public career no distractions existed, to whom every call upon his strength became an occasion for meeting with God, a real contact with God, because the fountains of his strength lay hidden deep in the recesses of his inner life where he and the Father always beheld each other's face.
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