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How often is it mistakenly seen that obedience is the way to Christ, instead of the fact that being in Christ first is the way to obedience. It’s God Himself that we’re after, then the obedience, or one can miss Him altogether, finding only a casual desire to be in Him and not the actual union. Let us venerate what He commands after venerating Him foremost! “Circumcision (obedience) is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter”—or law (Rom 2:29). This type of “circumcision” is not physical but done by the Spirit in separating the soul (Ro 8:9) from the “dominion” and “guilt” and of old nature (Rom 6:14; 8:1) by being “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pe 1:4), which is the new nature created in Christ’s “image” (Rom 8:29; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10).
Desiring obedience is greater than having to be commanded it, and this is the point of it all; not remaking the old nature but eternally implanting an altogether never-before-existing new nature! It must be the Lord Jesus first, then all else—especially obedience; for obedience is the outward evidence of inward salvation obtained (for others to see - Mat 5:16). Bearing obedience in the wrong way, with the wrong intention will mislead one from knowing where true obedience derives (the Holy Spirit using the “new man,” i.e. new nature - Eph 3:16).
Since Christ’s resurrection, one cannot be truly obedient (according to God’s provision) apart from the Spirit first imparting rebirth, which renders the soul under the consistent “work” of God “in you” (Phl 2:13). If one permanently leaves their profession of Christianity, it manifests that the soul has yet to be reborn, for the saved will never desire to leave Christ due to the “work in you.” This is plainly seen in numerous Scriptural passages, esp. 1Jo 2:19.
Obedience in the capacity of it being a means of receiving God’s “forgiveness” was within the function of the Law for Israel via the priesthood (e.g. Num 24-31); but God’s goal in this final earthly dispensation for the believer is to obey apart from threat (law), and in the capacity of a desirous heart (new nature or new man)—which is never in need of law as a motive (Gal 5:23)!
NC
“And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.” (Gen 8:6, 7). The unclean bird (Lev 11:13, 15) made its escape, and found, no doubt, a resting-place on some floating carcass. It sought not the ark again. Not so the dove; “She found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark . . . and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off” (Gen 8:9-11).
Here is the lovely emblem of the renewed mind, which, amid the surrounding desolation, seeks and finds its rest and portion in Christ; and not only so, but also lays hold of the earnest of the inheritance, and furnishes the blessed proof that judgment has passed away, and that a renewed earth is coming fully into view.
The carnal mind, on the contrary, can rest in anything and everything but Christ. It can feed upon all the uncleanness. “The olive leaf” has no attraction for it. It (carnal mind—NC) can find all it needs is a scene of death, and hence is not occupied with the thought of a new world and its glories; but the heart that is taught and exercised by the Spirit of God, can only rest and rejoice in that in which He rests and rejoices. It rests in the Ark of His salvation “until the time of the restitution of all things” (Act 3:21).
May it be thus with you and me. May the Lord Jesus be the abiding rest and portion of our hearts, that so we may not seek them in a world which is under the judgement of God. The dove went back to Noah, and waited for his time of rest: and we should ever find our place with the Lord Jesus, until the time of His exaltation and glory in the ages to come. “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb 10:37). All we want, as to this, is a little patience. May the Father direct our hearts into His love, and into “the patience of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:9).
It is interesting to look at this entire subject of the ark and the deluge, in connection with that most important and deeply significant ordinance of water baptism. A truly baptized person, that is, one as the apostle says, “obeys from the heart that type of doctrine to which he was delivered” (Rom 6:17), is one who has “passed” from the old world into the new (Jhn 5:24; 1Jo 3:14), in spirit and principle, and by faith.
The water rolls over his person, signifying that his “old man” is buried, that his place in nature is ignored—that his old man is entirely set aside—in short, that he has died (Rom 6:2; Gal 2:20; Col 2:20; 3:3). When he sinks beneath the water, expression is given to the fact that his name, place and existence in nature are put out of sight—is buried in the grave of the Lord Jesus, and never can come into the Father’s sight again (e.g. Psa 103:12).
When he rises up out of the water, expression is given to the truth that he only comes up as the possessor of a new life, even the resurrection-Life of the Lord Jesus. If He had not been raised from the dead, the believer could not come out of the water, but should remain buried beneath its surface, as the simple expression of the place which justly belongs to nature.
But, inasmuch as the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, in the power of a new life, having entirely put away our sins, we also come up out of the water; and, in so doing, set forth the fact that we are put, by the grace of God, and through the death of His Son, in full possession of a new life, to which divine righteousness inseparably attaches. “We are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Ro 6:4).
The ark had borne Noah and his family safely over the waters of judgement. It had carried him from the old into the new world, where he now takes his place as a worshiper; and be it observed, it was “unto the Lord” he erected his altar. Superstition would have worshiped the ark, as being the means of salvation. It is ever the tendency of the heart to displace God by His ordinances (pride ever seeks self wrongfully—NC). Now, the ark was a very marked and manifest ordinance; but Noah’s faith passed beyond the ark to the God of the ark; and hence, when he stepped out of it, instead of casting back a lingering look at it, or regarding it as an object of worship or veneration, he built an altar unto the Lord, and worshiped Him; and the ark is never heard of again (last incident in Gen 9:18—NC).
This teaches us a very simple, but at the same time, a very seasonable lesson. The moment the heart lets slip the reality of the Father Himself, there is no placing a limit to its declension; it is on the highway to the grossest forms of idolatry. In the judgement of superstition, the ordinance becomes everything, and God is shut out; and the name of God is only made use of to exalt the ordinance, and give it a deep hold and influence over the heart and mind.
Thus it was that the children of Israel worshiped the brazen serpent. That which had once been a channel of blessing to them, because used of God, became, when their hearts had departed from Him, an object of superstitious veneration. Hence Hezekiah has to break it in pieces, and call it “a piece of brass.” In itself, it was only “Nehushtan,” but when used of God, it was a means of rich blessing. Now, faith owned it to be what divine revelation said it was: but superstition, throwing, as it ever does, divine revelation overboard, lost the real purpose of God in the thing, and actually made a god of the thing itself (2Kings 18:4).
Is there not a deep lesson in all this for the present age? We live in an age of ordinances. The atmosphere which enwraps the professing church is impregnated with the elements of a traditional religion, which robs the soul of Christ and His divinely full salvation (i.e. growth from salvation—NC). It is not that human traditions boldly deny that there is such a person as Christ, or such a thing as the Cross of Christ: were they to do so, the eyes of many might be opened (instead of being distracted by improper comprehension of traditions - Mat 15:3, 9; Col 2:22—NC). However, it is not thus. The evil is of a far more insidious and dangerous character. Ordinances are added to Christ and the work of the Cross.
The sinner is not saved by Christ alone, but by Christ and ordinances (works—NC). Thus he is robbed of Christ altogether; for it will assuredly be found that Christ and ordinances will prove, in the sequel, to be ordinances and not Christ. This is a solemn consideration for all who stand up for a religion of ordinances (which are a must in their right place—NC). “If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” It must be Christ wholly, or not at all.
The Enemy persuades men that they are honoring Christ when thy make much of His ordinances (i.e. get the order wrong, it’s not works then rebirth, but the inverse—NC); whereas, all the while he knows full well that they are, in reality, setting Christ entirely aside, and deifying the ordinance. I would only repeat a remark which I have made elsewhere, namely, that superstition makes everything of ordinance (manifesting trust mostly in obedience of self rather than it’s all grace from what God “works” in us - Phl 2:13—NC); infidelity and mysticism make nothing of it; while faith uses it according to divine appointment.
—C H Mackintosh (1820-1896)
Miles J Stanford’s “None But The Hungry Heart” devotional excerpt for April 12
“The heart that is captivated by an object could never be at rest until it was with the one who had won it; for satisfaction you must be where He is. Love really does not think of anyone but its Object until it is quite sure of its place with Him, and then when at rest about itself it studies the mind and heart of the Object.
“I find that Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me when I was in a most unattractive state; but He makes me suitable to Himself, and I am so assured of the permanency of His love and of my association with Him that my heart is free to study Him. The more I am in His company, the more I acquire the tastes and characteristics which answer to His mind.
“There is an amazing effect of beholding the Lord’s glory. You may be transformed from some old taste without even feeling it; but you are transformed! And you cannot tell how. It is not the process that occupies you, but you are engrossed with the Lord. We are united to the glorified Lord where He is at home, and, blessed by God, which is our home, our life is there.”
-J B Stoney (1814-1897)
Desiring obedience is greater than having to be commanded it, and this is the point of it all; not remaking the old nature but eternally implanting an altogether never-before-existing new nature! It must be the Lord Jesus first, then all else—especially obedience; for obedience is the outward evidence of inward salvation obtained (for others to see - Mat 5:16). Bearing obedience in the wrong way, with the wrong intention will mislead one from knowing where true obedience derives (the Holy Spirit using the “new man,” i.e. new nature - Eph 3:16).
Since Christ’s resurrection, one cannot be truly obedient (according to God’s provision) apart from the Spirit first imparting rebirth, which renders the soul under the consistent “work” of God “in you” (Phl 2:13). If one permanently leaves their profession of Christianity, it manifests that the soul has yet to be reborn, for the saved will never desire to leave Christ due to the “work in you.” This is plainly seen in numerous Scriptural passages, esp. 1Jo 2:19.
Obedience in the capacity of it being a means of receiving God’s “forgiveness” was within the function of the Law for Israel via the priesthood (e.g. Num 24-31); but God’s goal in this final earthly dispensation for the believer is to obey apart from threat (law), and in the capacity of a desirous heart (new nature or new man)—which is never in need of law as a motive (Gal 5:23)!
NC
Our All-sufficient One
“And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.” (Gen 8:6, 7). The unclean bird (Lev 11:13, 15) made its escape, and found, no doubt, a resting-place on some floating carcass. It sought not the ark again. Not so the dove; “She found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark . . . and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off” (Gen 8:9-11).
Here is the lovely emblem of the renewed mind, which, amid the surrounding desolation, seeks and finds its rest and portion in Christ; and not only so, but also lays hold of the earnest of the inheritance, and furnishes the blessed proof that judgment has passed away, and that a renewed earth is coming fully into view.
The carnal mind, on the contrary, can rest in anything and everything but Christ. It can feed upon all the uncleanness. “The olive leaf” has no attraction for it. It (carnal mind—NC) can find all it needs is a scene of death, and hence is not occupied with the thought of a new world and its glories; but the heart that is taught and exercised by the Spirit of God, can only rest and rejoice in that in which He rests and rejoices. It rests in the Ark of His salvation “until the time of the restitution of all things” (Act 3:21).
May it be thus with you and me. May the Lord Jesus be the abiding rest and portion of our hearts, that so we may not seek them in a world which is under the judgement of God. The dove went back to Noah, and waited for his time of rest: and we should ever find our place with the Lord Jesus, until the time of His exaltation and glory in the ages to come. “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb 10:37). All we want, as to this, is a little patience. May the Father direct our hearts into His love, and into “the patience of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:9).
It is interesting to look at this entire subject of the ark and the deluge, in connection with that most important and deeply significant ordinance of water baptism. A truly baptized person, that is, one as the apostle says, “obeys from the heart that type of doctrine to which he was delivered” (Rom 6:17), is one who has “passed” from the old world into the new (Jhn 5:24; 1Jo 3:14), in spirit and principle, and by faith.
The water rolls over his person, signifying that his “old man” is buried, that his place in nature is ignored—that his old man is entirely set aside—in short, that he has died (Rom 6:2; Gal 2:20; Col 2:20; 3:3). When he sinks beneath the water, expression is given to the fact that his name, place and existence in nature are put out of sight—is buried in the grave of the Lord Jesus, and never can come into the Father’s sight again (e.g. Psa 103:12).
When he rises up out of the water, expression is given to the truth that he only comes up as the possessor of a new life, even the resurrection-Life of the Lord Jesus. If He had not been raised from the dead, the believer could not come out of the water, but should remain buried beneath its surface, as the simple expression of the place which justly belongs to nature.
But, inasmuch as the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, in the power of a new life, having entirely put away our sins, we also come up out of the water; and, in so doing, set forth the fact that we are put, by the grace of God, and through the death of His Son, in full possession of a new life, to which divine righteousness inseparably attaches. “We are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Ro 6:4).
The ark had borne Noah and his family safely over the waters of judgement. It had carried him from the old into the new world, where he now takes his place as a worshiper; and be it observed, it was “unto the Lord” he erected his altar. Superstition would have worshiped the ark, as being the means of salvation. It is ever the tendency of the heart to displace God by His ordinances (pride ever seeks self wrongfully—NC). Now, the ark was a very marked and manifest ordinance; but Noah’s faith passed beyond the ark to the God of the ark; and hence, when he stepped out of it, instead of casting back a lingering look at it, or regarding it as an object of worship or veneration, he built an altar unto the Lord, and worshiped Him; and the ark is never heard of again (last incident in Gen 9:18—NC).
This teaches us a very simple, but at the same time, a very seasonable lesson. The moment the heart lets slip the reality of the Father Himself, there is no placing a limit to its declension; it is on the highway to the grossest forms of idolatry. In the judgement of superstition, the ordinance becomes everything, and God is shut out; and the name of God is only made use of to exalt the ordinance, and give it a deep hold and influence over the heart and mind.
Thus it was that the children of Israel worshiped the brazen serpent. That which had once been a channel of blessing to them, because used of God, became, when their hearts had departed from Him, an object of superstitious veneration. Hence Hezekiah has to break it in pieces, and call it “a piece of brass.” In itself, it was only “Nehushtan,” but when used of God, it was a means of rich blessing. Now, faith owned it to be what divine revelation said it was: but superstition, throwing, as it ever does, divine revelation overboard, lost the real purpose of God in the thing, and actually made a god of the thing itself (2Kings 18:4).
Is there not a deep lesson in all this for the present age? We live in an age of ordinances. The atmosphere which enwraps the professing church is impregnated with the elements of a traditional religion, which robs the soul of Christ and His divinely full salvation (i.e. growth from salvation—NC). It is not that human traditions boldly deny that there is such a person as Christ, or such a thing as the Cross of Christ: were they to do so, the eyes of many might be opened (instead of being distracted by improper comprehension of traditions - Mat 15:3, 9; Col 2:22—NC). However, it is not thus. The evil is of a far more insidious and dangerous character. Ordinances are added to Christ and the work of the Cross.
The sinner is not saved by Christ alone, but by Christ and ordinances (works—NC). Thus he is robbed of Christ altogether; for it will assuredly be found that Christ and ordinances will prove, in the sequel, to be ordinances and not Christ. This is a solemn consideration for all who stand up for a religion of ordinances (which are a must in their right place—NC). “If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” It must be Christ wholly, or not at all.
The Enemy persuades men that they are honoring Christ when thy make much of His ordinances (i.e. get the order wrong, it’s not works then rebirth, but the inverse—NC); whereas, all the while he knows full well that they are, in reality, setting Christ entirely aside, and deifying the ordinance. I would only repeat a remark which I have made elsewhere, namely, that superstition makes everything of ordinance (manifesting trust mostly in obedience of self rather than it’s all grace from what God “works” in us - Phl 2:13—NC); infidelity and mysticism make nothing of it; while faith uses it according to divine appointment.
—C H Mackintosh (1820-1896)
Miles J Stanford’s “None But The Hungry Heart” devotional excerpt for April 12
“The heart that is captivated by an object could never be at rest until it was with the one who had won it; for satisfaction you must be where He is. Love really does not think of anyone but its Object until it is quite sure of its place with Him, and then when at rest about itself it studies the mind and heart of the Object.
“I find that Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me when I was in a most unattractive state; but He makes me suitable to Himself, and I am so assured of the permanency of His love and of my association with Him that my heart is free to study Him. The more I am in His company, the more I acquire the tastes and characteristics which answer to His mind.
“There is an amazing effect of beholding the Lord’s glory. You may be transformed from some old taste without even feeling it; but you are transformed! And you cannot tell how. It is not the process that occupies you, but you are engrossed with the Lord. We are united to the glorified Lord where He is at home, and, blessed by God, which is our home, our life is there.”
-J B Stoney (1814-1897)
