TimothyJCross.org

Oct

2015

The Virgin-Born Saviour

Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

The Prophecy of Christ’s Virgin Birth

That Isaiah’s words here – addressed originally to King Ahaz of Judah some 800 years BC – had their ultimate fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ is the clear testimony of the New Testament. Isaiah prophesied of One to come Who, incredibly, was to be born without the normal instrumentality of a human father. When the Lord Jesus – God’s eternal Son – was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and born of her, this prophecy was fulfilled.

As the Christian Church grew, and her fundamental beliefs came to be encapsulated and defined in her creeds and statements of Faith, the ‘Virgin Birth’ of Christ – by which we mean the ‘virginal conception’ of Christ – came to be regarded as fundamental to the Faith, and hence included in the church’s creeds. If we deny that Christ was virgin born, we are at odds with the historic Christian Faith and cannot really claim to be a Christian. The Apostles’ Creed states:-

I believe …in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary …

The Shorter Catechism states similarly:-

Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to Himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.

The Mystery of Christ’s Virgin Birth

Virgin births are, of course, humanly speaking, impossible. In dealing with the virgin birth of Christ though, we are dealing with God, and with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). In Christ, no mere human was born but the pre-existent and eternal Son of God – the Second Person of the blessed Trinity.

People sometimes speak of ‘the miracle of life.’ Whilst we know what they mean, the term ‘the miracle of life’ is actually something of a misnomer. A new-born baby is wonderful, yet not really miraculous. Miracles are, by their nature, unusual, one-off events – but babies are born every day. New life is certainly mysterious and marvellous, but not, strictly speaking, miraculous. As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God Who makes everything (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

In the virgin birth of Christ though we are dealing with a unique, unusual, one-off, never to be repeated, incomparable miracle. Miracles present no problem to omnipotence. Christ’s conception was not a natural one but a supernatural one. His conception was not by an act of man but by an act of God.

The Reality of Christ’s Virgin Birth

When the virgin Mary – a young Jewish girl, living in Nazareth in Northern Israel – was enabled to conceive the Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, she was engaged to be married to one Joseph. Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). The intensely human details which Matthew records next, show that the account of the virgin birth of Christ is the plain, sober truth, rather than a clever and creative story spun by man. Virgin births were just not in Joseph’s mental framework at all – let alone in relation to his own wife to be. On realising that the woman to whom he was engaged was pregnant, Joseph was horrified and devastated. Although he loved her, he thought the worst of her. Surely Mary had been unfaithful and broken her sacred pledge. Surely now his marital hopes had ended almost before they had begun… Sadly, divorce seemed to be Joseph’s only option. Reading the account, we can almost feel the disappointment and depression descending on Joseph, but… But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:20ff.). It took an envoy from heaven to make Joseph change his mind!

Matthew next notes carefully that all of this was part of God’s redemptive plan, hence it was in complete accord with what God had already prophesied hundreds of years previously. He thus quotes the very verse from Isaiah with which we opened to prove his point: All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel’ (which means, God with us) (Matthew 1:22,23). In the virgin birth of Christ then Isaiah’s prophecy was most certainly and most gloriously fulfilled.

Luke’s account

Interestingly, significantly and fittingly, it is Luke’s Gospel which gives us the most detail in its recording of the virgin birth of Christ. We say this, as Luke was a medical doctor. Luke the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Luke alone relates the virgin birth of Christ from the angle of Mary His mother. It would seem that Mary had the confidence to confide in Dr Luke, and disclose to him the details withheld from the other accounts. The divine inspiration of the Scriptures apart, it is as though Luke had taken Mary into his surgery, from whence the material for the first chapter of his Gospel – with its detail concerning Christ’s virgin birth – was ascertained. Luke thus recorded for posterity how:-

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary … And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High…’ And Mary said to the angel ‘How shall this be, since I have no husband?’ And the angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God’ (Luke 1:26 ff.).

Christ’s birth then cannot be explained apart from the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit. He had no human father. God was always His Father. Christ existed before His birth on earth. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1,14). How did the latter occur? By His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, in fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The Necessity of Christ’s Virgin Birth

From a Biblical perspective, the virgin birth of Christ was an absolute necessity as much as it is an assured reality. Put negatively, if Jesus had been born of a human father, He would not have been a sinless Saviour, for He would have inherited our sinful nature. Had Christ not been sinless, He would have been unable to redeem sinners. Only a sinless One could offer up His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of others. Had Christ been born as a mere son of Adam – and not the Son of God – His death at Calvary would have been of no avail to us. We are sinners. We are so by nature and practice, being descendants of Adam. Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned (Romans 5:12). We have inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Christ though did not. He is the ‘Last Adam.’ His conception by the Holy Spirit ensured that no taint of sin was transmitted to His human nature. He is the sinless Son of God, hence His qualification to be the Saviour of sinners. He was born, not of the will of man but of God. His human nature was free from sin, hence His blood alone, shed at Calvary’s cross, has the power to save others from sin. Christ’s supernatural birth and Christ’s supernatural blood are inextricably linked. Redemption is only to be found in the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19).

What stream is that which sweeps away

My sins just like a flood

Nor lets one guilty blemish stay?

Tis Jesus’ precious blood.

The Glory of Christ’s Virgin Birth

The Christian marvels at the virgin birth of Christ, a virgin birth in total fulfilment of Isaiah 7:14: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son. The virgin birth of Christ elicits our humble adoration. The virgin birth of Christ though is just one facet of the incomparable person and work of the incomparable Saviour. Christ certainly entered into the world supernaturally – yet He also exited from the world in a supernatural way too. Christ certainly did inhabit a virgin womb for a season – but He also inhabited a virgin tomb too, from which He conquered the grave on the third day.

In dealing with Christ we are dealing with God. A true Christian, knowing His power to save, will never ever cast aspersions on either Christ’s virgin birth or any of the other miraculous phenomena connected with our Saviour.

Christ was, as Isaiah said He would be, ‘conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary.’ Christ’s virgin birth is both a doctrine to be believed and a hymn of praise to be sung. It was by this method that the pre-existent Son of God became incarnate ‘for us men and for our salvation.’

Christ by highest heaven adored

Christ, the everlasting Lord

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a virgin’s womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as Man with men to dwell

Jesus, our Immanuel.

Oct

2015

When Someone We Love Dies

WHEN SOMEONE WE LOVE DIES

My dear dad died on 12^th December 2014. He was 84 years and 6 days old. He had been suffering from dementia for a few years, so wasn’t quite the father I had known. We enjoyed a warm friendship though right up to his last day. I confess that I would be lying if I said that I don’t miss him and am not subject to bouts of sadness. Over the years I have experienced the devastating loss of a job, along with the loss of beloved family pets, but until my father’s death I had never experienced the bereavement which comes from the death of a close relative. But does the Bible have any comfort to those – and we will all suffer loss at sometime – in my condition? Yes it does. When we struggle with bereavement, we may take comfort from the Sovereignty of God, the Salvation of God and the Solace of God.

The Sovereignty of God

According to the Bible, the day of our death is not accidental but providential. It has been pre-determined by Almighty God; a date written in His diary, if you like. ‘In Thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them’ reads Psalm 139:16. The absolute sovereignty of God is, truth be told, the only ultimate comfort for the soul. His eternal decree is fixed and unalterable. He ‘accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will’ (Ephesians 1:11). ‘The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass’ (Shorter Catechism). This being so, we will not die a moment too soon, just as we will neither breathe a moment longer than God has ordained. There is ‘a time to be born and a time to die’ (Ecclesiastes 3:2). A death in the family never takes God by surprise. He knows best. We may safely trust His providence.

The Salvation of God

For the Christian, death is nothing less than the door through which we enter into a richer, fuller life – the porter which ushers us into the nearer presence of Christ our Saviour. We belong to Jesus. He has procured our eternal salvation when He died on Calvary’s cross to atone for our sins. Hence Paul could write ‘for me to live is Christ and to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:21) and ‘My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better’ (Philippians 1:23). You can be sure that once a Christian has tasted the bliss of God’s nearer presence in heaven that they would have no desire at all to return to this world with its sorrow and pain. For the Christian, death is a matter of being ‘away from the body and at home with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8) – awaiting the resurrection of the body on the Last Day, when Jesus returns to bring in the new heavens and the new earth.

But what if a loved one made no profession of Christ during their lifetime, as far as we know? It would, of course, be infinitely preferable to have the assurance that they were Christ’s, and thus now in heaven. Yet the Bible does not teach that everyone goes to heaven, whether they believe in Jesus or not … When we are unsure of a loved one’s eternal state, we may leave them with God. He knows what He is doing. His will, will be done. In Genesis 18:25 we read ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ and Psalm 119:137 reads ‘Righteous art Thou, O LORD, and right are thy judgments.’ No one who has ever lived and died will ever be able to accuse the Lord God of injustice or doing wrong. ‘The LORD is just in all His ways and kind in all His doings’ (Psalm 145:17).

The Solace of God

It is the universal experience of Christians that the Lord God, in His mercy, draws especially near to us during times of sadness and trouble. ‘The LORD is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit’ (Psalm 34:18). The God of the Bible is a God of both saving and sustaining grace. He will give us strength for each day and the ability to cope with the losses, crosses and difficulties He sees fit to send us in His providence. He is infinite in wisdom – far too wise to make mistakes. He is also infinite in love – too loving to be unkind. We know this because our Gospel affirms ‘god shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).

Grieving is a natural process which accompanies a loss. Yet grieving unduly is to be shunned, as it casts aspersions on God’s providence. Yet in our grief we may know the solace of God, as He is ‘the Father of mercies and god of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction’ (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). Jesus, our Saviour, is a Saviour of the utmost sympathy, who once wept at the death of a friend. The shortest verse of the Bible states ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35). And the Holy Spirit is known in the Bible as ‘the Comforter’ – the ‘Parakletos’ – the One called alongside us to help, strengthen and undertake for us.

The death of a loved one knocks away all our human props. ‘All other helpers fail, and comforts flee.’ But the Christian has a God to whom to turn. Through our tears, He will give us His solace, and prove to be all-sufficient for our need, until the day when ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes’ (Revelation 21:3).

I thank God for the life and love of my father, John Cross. And with Job, I say ‘The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD’ (Job 1:21).

Timothy Cross

www.TimothyJCross.org

Jun

2015

Jim Holmes Interviews Dr. Timothy Cross

Jim Holmes asks Timothy Cross a few questions. . .

Some months ago, I completed work on an editorial project involving Dr. Timothy Cross. Timothy, author of over thirty books, resides in Cardiff, Wales. When he first showed me his proposed manuscript, I liked it immediately, and recommended it for publication by the company I was working for at the time. Then, through a series of events, it ended up being brought into print by Christian Focus. The title chosen makes me think of Twitter. And that could be a blog post in and of itself!

I so much like the way that Timothy wrote the book, that I thought I should share some background to the story with you. It comes in the form of an interview. Enjoy!

To purchase a copy of the book, check out this link here or here.

Jim: The English language uses many sayings from the Bible, and people often quote them without even realizing they are quoting from the Word of God. You have been working on this fascinating book, “A Little Bird Told Me–Everyday Expressions from Scripture”, for some months. How did you first come up with the idea?

Timothy: Like an oak tree, the book grew from a small acorn! I kept on hearing politicians, colleagues and even footballers using expressions from the Bible without realizing it, and I thought that pointing out that these were biblical expressions, and explaining their meaning would make for interesting messages for my gospel slot on the monthly South Wales Talking Magazine. The response to the messages was very encouraging, and I typed up some of them and these were published as a mini series in the Evangelical Times. This wider audience response was also very favourable and I thought ‘I’m on to something here’. Surprisingly, the subject does not seem to be very well covered in Christian literature, and this motivated me to get a compilation of everyday expressions from the Bible and their meaning into print. My experience reveals that both Christians and non Christians seem to have a fascination for the origins of and background to expressions from the Bible which are in everyday use.

Jim: Tell us about some of the blessings to you personally in working on this project.

Timothy: If one is convinced that the Bible is no ordinary book but the very Word of God itself, then digging into Scriptures–whether it is preparing a sermon or researching a book or for personal devotions–is one of the greatest privileges and blessings possible this side of eternity. The more I study the Bible (and I have been at it a long time!) the more I am convinced of its divine inspiration. According to 2 Timothy 3:15, the purpose of ‘all Scripture’ is to lead us to Christ. Thus when a believer studies Scripture in the right spirit, the Lord Jesus always draws closer. The inspired Word and the incarnate Word, while distinguishable in principle, in practice are inextricable in our personal experience.

Jim: We’ve heard it said that all writers get “Writer’s Block”. Is this true of you? How do you deal with it?

Timothy: At the risk of being a heretic I have never suffered from ‘writer’s block’ and I have written over thirty books. A godly elder once told me that when it comes to sermon preparation, ‘Let the message make an impression on your soul, then there will be no trouble with expression.’ The same applies, I believe to Christian writing. Christian writing is unlike secular creative writing in that it is not original but rather a matter expounding the Scriptures which have been given. Saying that though all Christian writers and preachers aspire to expounding the Scriptures with both clarity and passion and not put any human barriers between them and the hearers/readers.

Jim: What was the most surprising or inspiring saying that you think you used in this book?

Timothy: When people say ‘I’m almost at my wits’ end’ they never fail to be surprised when you say to them, ‘Did you know that you have just quoted from Psalm 107:27?’ Choosing the most inspiring saying from the fifty-two is difficult. You are asking me to choose a Quality Street chocolate! I personally though find it incredibly heartwarming when Almighty God refers to His redeemed children as ‘The apple of my eye’–see Chapter 1.. This can only be explained by divine grace–God’s love for the undeserving and ill-deserving.

Jim: There are 52 readings in this book. That could seem an unusual number. Tell us about this.

Timothy: There was no predetermined plan to this, but rather just the way the work panned out. It began with six chapters, and I never thought that these would go beyond the South Wales Talking Magazine and Evangelical Times. The Lord’s people kept encouraging me, though, so I continued my research, and the chapters came to 31, which I thought would be suitable for daily devotionals–31 days being in most months. A publisher–you!–then asked me to increase the chapters to 52. I was reticent, as I was by then working on other writing projects. Before I knew it, though, extra ‘Everyday Sayings from the Bible’ came to my mind and attention, and these were written up. In fact I now have several extra chapters which are not included in the work. Books have an ideal length in my opinion. I like them to be neither too long nor too short. Fifty-two–the number of weeks in a year–seemed to be the ideal length. Each chapter is self contained while being in line with the overall theme. It can be read either one chapter at a time or a few chapters at a time in a pick up, put down manner. It might even make a daily travelling companion for someone commuting to work, or a spiritual ‘pick me up’ during the lunch hour.

Jim: You are very good at drawing lines of application from the truth you are writing about to us in our modern world. How would you advise ordinary people to cultivate this practice when dealing with family, friends and neighbours?

Timothy: If this compliment is true, it stems from my years in the pulpit. Pulpit preaching is a matter of the explanation and the application of a biblical text–not so much a matter of making the Bible relevant, but rather bringing people under its eternal relevance. While the Bible was written in a certain context which should always be borne in mind when accurately expounding it, as the Word of God it is also timeless. God is our eternal contemporary and thus His Word is always relevant. Similarly, human nature does not change even if human technology does. Those in Bible times shared the same hopes, fears, aspirations, stresses and perplexities as we do. But their needs–just as our needs–were met by the saving and sustaining grace of God in Christ.

Jim: Are you available to give talks to people at churches, conferences, etc., on the topics in this book? What is the best way for people to contact you if so?

Timothy: Yes!–though I have quite a full diary of preaching engagements, involved as I am in the local church. I am contactable via the contact section of my website.

Jim: Dr. Cross, it has been a pleasure interviewing you on this subject. Thank you for taking the time for this interview!

Timothy: You are more than welcome. If the readers find half the blessing in reading the work as the blessing I had in preparing the work, I will be more than amply repaid.

To purchase a copy of the book, check out this link here or here.

To read a sample excerpt from the book, click or tap here.

This interview is © copyright, blogspot52.com 2015 and may be reproduced in its entirety provided due acknowledgement is made of the copyright holder, with or without graphic or illustrative content.

Jun

2015

He Ascended into Heaven …

The day known as ‘Ascension Day’ by Christians who follow a church calendar, usually falls in May. It commemorates Christ’s glorious ascension into heaven, forty days after his victorious resurrection on the first ‘Easter Sunday’.

Luke provides the fullest description of this particular milestone in the work of the Saviour. He takes us, some two thousand years ago, to the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of the city of Jerusalem, and relates: ‘as they [that is, the disciples] were looking on, he [that is, the Lord Jesus] was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

‘And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”’ (Acts 1:9-11).

Mission accomplished

The Ascension reminds us that in dealing with Jesus we are dealing with no mere man, but with God himself in human flesh. The Lord Jesus entered our world in a supernatural manner, being conceived by the Holy Spirit in a virgin’s womb. It was thus most fitting that he should also exit from our world in a supernatural way, ascending into heaven on the clouds.

Picture the scene in heaven when the Son of God returned home to glory. What triumph and jubilation! He had perfectly fulfilled his Father’s plan of salvation and accomplished his mission.

He had left heaven for earth. He had died to save God’s elect from their sins, paying their penalty in full by dying on the cross in their place. He had triumphed over and defeated the grave when he rose victoriously from the dead on the third day. Now he was returning home.

The ascension is therefore rightly though of in terms of Christ’s coronation. Ascending into heaven, he took his seat at God’s right hand — the place of supreme approval and pre-eminence.

Psalm 24 may well give us a prophetic glimpse of this when it says, ‘Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up O ancient doors! That the King of Glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory’ (Psalm 24:9-10). Christ the crucified is now Christ crowned King:

The head that once was crowned with thorns

Is crowned with glory now;

A royal diadem adorns

The mighty Victor’s brow.

The highest place that heaven affords

Is his by sovereign right;

The King of kings and Lord of lords

And heaven’s eternal light.

Kingly office

Christ’s ascension and enthronement reminds us of his kingly office. As the Messiah, he fulfils the threefold office of prophet, priest and king in his one person. As King, he sits enthroned at God’s right hand. Christians contend for Christ’s crown and covenant, for our Saviour is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is due the worship, allegiance, obedience and obeisance appropriate to his worthy Name.

Our Saviour possesses unsurpassed authority, for he is the King of kings and Lord of lords! As the Shorter Catechism puts it, ‘Christ executeth the office of a king, subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies’.

An on-going ministry

Paradoxically, the ascension of Christ also teaches us about the continuation, as well as the conclusion, of Christ’s ministry. Ten days after his ascension, as he promised, Christ poured out his Holy Spirit on the infant church.

The Holy Spirit of God, although a divine person in his own right, can also be thought of as the presence of Jesus with his people on earth. He continues Christ’s ministry by applying to us the benefits of Christ’s redeeming work. The Shorter Catechism, again, states: ‘We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit’.

Thank God that we are not left to our own unaided devices when it comes to the essential matter of believing in Jesus, but that redemption is as divinely applied as it was divinely accomplished.

Thank God also that because Jesus sits at God’s right hand, his people have a much-needed ‘advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1). The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus is currently active on his people’s behalf, praying and interceding for his own — for ‘He ever lives to make intercession for us’ (Hebrews 7:25). This, of course, refers to Christ’s high priestly ministry: ‘we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God’ (Hebrews 4:14). Paul tells us that ‘Christ Jesus … is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us’ (Romans 8:34). It is a great comfort to know this. Without the Spirit’s advocacy on earth and the Saviour’s advocacy in heaven, no Christian would ever persevere in the Faith to the last. Our divine salvation is also a divine preservation.

Christ’s coming majesty

Finally, Christ’s ascension reminds us that he is coming again to this earth — to make all things new and put all things right. To quote Luke’s account once again: ‘This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’.

According to the Bible, history is linear, and is and will remain ‘ his-story’. The great culmination of history will be the Second Coming of Christ — and what a day it will be! When the Lord Jesus comes again, visibly in the clouds of heaven, to gather his church and judge the earth in righteousness, he will destroy all evil and put all his enemies under his feet.

Paul calls it ‘our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:13). It will certainly be a day of eternal consolation for those who, by God’s grace, have been brought into a personal saving-faith union with the Lord Jesus. But it will also be a day of remorse and eternal calamity to those who would have nothing to do with Jesus and have hardened their hearts against his saving rule.

Christ ascended into heaven …

Whether we follow a church calendar or not, the ascension of the Lord Jesus is not to be passed over lightly. Jesus is the incomparable Christ. He is the eternal Son of God. He was born miraculously, he lived miraculously, he died miraculously, and he rose from the grave miraculously.

He ascended into heaven miraculously and, miraculously, even today, is still at work in the world, bestowing salvation on lost sinners and building his church. He is also coming again — miraculously. The Bible tells us so, ‘For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet’ (1 Corinthians 15:25).

‘Ascension Day’ reminds us that there is no-one like the Lord Jesus — the Christ of the Scriptures, the head of all principality and power, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and in whom we are complete (Colossians 2:8-10).

Triumphant, Christ ascends on high,

The glorious work complete.

Sin, death and hell low vanquished lie

Beneath his awe-full feet.

There, with eternal glory crowned,

The Lord, the Conqueror reigns.

His praise the heavenly choirs resound

In their immortal strains.

© Timothy Cross

Featured image from www.publicdomainpictures.net

Jun

2015

Lessons from Bees

While sitting in my parents’ back garden recently, I was struck by the very pleasant sound of the singing of birds and humming of bees. I would like to have recorded it. Playing it back, you would have been hard pressed to know that it was an urban, not a rural, setting.

This got me thinking about the bees. Being rather partial to honey, I did a bit of research. Did you know the following facts?

A honey bee flaps its wings some twelve thousand times a minute. They are the only insects who produce food for human consumption; maintain a temperature of 33 degrees centigrade in their hives, even if it is minus 33 degrees outside; and communicate with each other by dancing.

There are references to honey in the Bible. The promised land of Canaan is described as ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ (Exodus 3:4). Then, in the time of Samson, we read about a swarm of bees that had made their nest in the carcass of a lion. From this, Samson invented a riddle which went: ‘Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet’ (Judges 14:14).

Designed

But are there any spiritual lessons to be gleaned from bees and honey? Yes there are. If we have the spiritual insight, when we consider how bees are designed and how a hive operates with queen bee and worker bees each knowing their specific role — along with the place of bees in the cycle of nature, in the pollination of plants — surely we have to stand in awe of God the great creator.

Does not an observation of the universe, both on the macro scale and micro scale, give evidence of intelligent design? How do we explain the stars? How do we explain the honey bee without bringing the almighty, all-wise God into the equation?

Divine creation is one of the main themes of the Bible. The message of the Bible can be summarised under headings of creation, man’s fall and redemption. Its opening pages tell us, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ ‘and God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind’ (Genesis 1:1,24).

The created order is the vehicle and theatre of God’s praise. As Mrs C. F. Alexander’s famous hymn puts it:

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Delectable

In the longest chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119, we read in verse 103, ‘How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth’.

The psalmist is surely describing every Christian’s testimony here. Christians have been given a spiritual taste — a love for God’s Word. Just as honey is energising and agreeable to the taste, so is the Bible, the written Word of the living God, to the believer.

It is the written revelation of the one, true God, and his plan of salvation to save a people for himself and his glory. It reveals the way in which condemned sinners can be eternally saved. Its message, in a nutshell, is that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).

There is, and there can be, no sweeter message than the saving grace and mercy of God to sinners, through Christ. ‘How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth’!

Disarmed

Finally, we note that bees possess a painful sting. No one wants a bee sting. One skin remedy for it, we are told, is to remove the barb left by the bee, and then, as the sting is acidic, neutralise it with a mild alkali, such as bicarbonate of soda.

In 1 Corinthians 15:56, Paul writes ‘the sting of death is sin’. Death and the afterlife would not be a problem for us if we did not have to stand before God as condemned sinners. The problem is though that we are sinners and we will have to stand before God one day. ‘It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment’ (Hebrews 9:27).

But in 1 Corinthians 15:55 Paul is able to proclaim, ‘O death, where is thy sting?’ Every Christian is able to echo Paul’s triumphant exclamation here, for Jesus has taken the sting of death away for all who believe in him. Jesus has neutralised death’s horrific effects by dying in our place and taking the punishment for our sins which we deserved.

The gospel affirms, ‘Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures’ (1 Corinthians 15:3) and assures us, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1).

The wonders of the honey bee then lead us to consider the wonder of God himself. He is a creator of infinite wisdom. He has given us his precious and sweet Word. And in his Son he has provided a way — the only way — in which our sins can be forgiven and fellowship with God restored and assured, for time and eternity.

© Timothy Cross

(Featured image from www.publicdomainpictures.net)

Jun

2015

Unusual events at Calvary

When the apostle Paul came to Corinth, he ‘decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (1 Corinthians 2:2). The cross of Christ lies at the heart of the heart of the Christian faith.

By ‘the cross’ we refer not to its wood, but its work — the redeeming work of Christ for sinners.

There was nothing particularly unusual about crucifixion in the first century. Gruesome and barbaric though it was, it was a common capital punishment when the Romans ruled.

When Christ was crucified, however, some very unusual events occurred which can only be explained supernaturally. These show that Christ’s crucifixion was as much an act of God as of cruel men.

Darkness

Let us consider three such unusual events. First, when Christ died at Calvary, a supernatural darkness covered the land. ‘When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour’ (Mark 15:33). From noon to 3.00pm, one day in Spring, it became midnight at midday! Something unique was happening.

Isaac Watts gave a clue when he wrote:

Well might the sun in darkness hide

And shut its glories in

When Christ the mighty Maker died

For man the creature’s sin.

Darkness in the Bible refers to divine judgement. Hell — the ultimate in divine judgement — is described by Jesus as ‘outer darkness’, where ‘men will weep and gnash their teeth’ (Matthew 8:12). Joel 2:2 describes God’s judgement as ‘a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness’.

The darkness of Calvary is explained by the fact that there Christ was being judged by God, not for his own sins, for he had none; but for the sins of others.

He was judged for our justification. He was punished, so that by believing in him we might be pardoned. He endured the darkness of hell, so we might forever bask in the light of heaven.

Isaiah prophesied, ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole and with his stripes we are healed’ (Isaiah 53:5), and the earliest ever Christian creed states succinctly that, ‘Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures’ (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Jesus then was forsaken by God in the depths of divine judgement, so that believers might be lifted up to the glories of heaven.

Curtain

When Christ died at Calvary, the Bible tells us that ‘the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom’ (Mark 15:38). This has no natural explanation.

The Jerusalem temple was modelled on the ancient tabernacle and divided into the holy place and holy of holies. The omnipresent God presenced himself in the holy of holies in a special way. Access to it was limited and barred, and a great curtain separated it from the holy place.

Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and only once a year with sacrificial blood on the annual Day of Atonement. But when Jesus died at Calvary, the curtain which prohibited entrance was torn in two.

It shows that the death of Christ accomplished something. He did not just die as a martyr or example, but as an atoning sacrifice for sinners. Sinners separated from God may now be reconciled to God, and gain access to God through the death of Christ.

‘We have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh’ (Hebrews 10:19).

Centurion

Thirdly, when Christ died at Calvary, a miracle occurred in the heart of a hardened sinner.

The Roman centurion supervising Christ’s crucifixion had no doubt witnessed many crucifixions in his time. Yet he was forced to confess that there was something very different about this one.

‘When the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God!’ (Mark 15:39). Almighty God had opened his eyes, so that he could see that Jesus was the very Son of God.

The value of Calvary lies in the identity of the one who died there. Only the eternal Son of God could offer himself up as an eternal sacrifice to atone for sinners. His blood alone can cleanse us from our sins and make us fit for heaven.

Yes, in the first century, crucifixion was a common event. But the crucifixion of Christ was unparalleled and unique. It alone saves from hell’s darkness, reconciles sinners to God, and is the sure ground of eternal salvation for all who, by God’s grace, put their faith in the crucified Christ.

For these reasons, every Christian has cause to say with Paul, ‘Far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world’ (Galatians 6:14).

© Timothy Cross

Dr Cross has authored many Christian books and articles, and has an honorary doctorate of sacred literature, from Christian Bible College, Rocky Mount, NC .

Mar

2015

Prison Praise

Did you know that when the good news of Jesus first reached the continent of what we now know as Europe, those who preached it spent a night in jail for their efforts?

The incident is recorded in Acts 16. A slave girl in Philippi, who earned her owners a lot of money by soothsaying, was converted to the Christian faith under the preaching of Paul and Silas.

Her conversion to Christ brought an abrupt end to her involvement in the black arts and a consequent financial loss to her owners. Her aggrieved owners engineered a mock trial for Paul and Silas before the city magistrates.

The magistrates turned a blind eye to the mob violence against Paul and Silas, beat them with rods and delivered them to the jailer, who ‘put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks’ (Acts 16:24).

So picture Paul and Silas. There they were, battered and bruised, and wallowing in a dark, dirty, depressing dungeon. How would you expect them to react to their plight? The way of God with them, when they were doing his will and work, seemed on the surface most painful and perplexing.

Remarkably, however, Luke records they did not utter even a murmur of complaint. Quite the opposite! There, in prison, they offered to God prison praise.

Doxology

A peal of doxology went up and out from those pained bodies, in those terrible conditions, in the prison at Philippi. ‘But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them’ (Acts 16:25).

So what a witness this is to God’s saving and sustaining grace! Paul and Silas obviously had a joy which this world cannot give, and which the adverse circumstances of this life could not take away from them.

A. Ironside comments: ‘Those dear men, afflicted, miserable, unable to sleep, could not move without anguish; yet, as they lay in that dungeon, their hearts went out to God, presenting their case before him and, assured he heard, they lifted up their hearts in glad thanksgiving for his grace’.

Some years after his release from jail in Philippi, Paul wrote a letter to the church located in that city. The letter to the Philippians was written during another spell in jail for the long suffering apostle — this time he found himself in a cell in Rome.

In Philippians 4:4, Paul exhorted the Philippian believers, amongst whom, no doubt, was the Philippian jailer and perhaps some of Paul’s fellow inmates from the jail in Philippi, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice’.

Joy

Joy is a duty enjoined on all Christians. Christians are exhorted to be joyful, and Christians have every reason to rejoice. When Paul wrote this exhortation, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’, his readers would know that he practised what he preached.

They would have known of Paul’s time in the jail in their city, along with his midnight joy and praise there — a joy completely contrary to his circumstances and surroundings.

All this begs the question, ‘What was the secret of Paul’s indestructible joy?’

The answer is on the surface of the exhortation he gave: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’. Our God is ‘the Lord’, the absolute master, ruler and orderer of all things. The assurance of his total control — and absolute sovereignty over all that is — is ultimately our only true comfort, solace and joy. Our God reigns!

On dark days and sunny days; in days of ease and days of stress; on happy days and sad days; in sickness and in health, God is on the throne and cannot be overthrown. He alone is King.

He is sovereign and has the sovereign right to exercise his sovereignty as his wisdom, love and power sees fit. ‘The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all’ (Psalm 103:19).

Strength

Secondly, Paul was able to ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ because he knew himself to be a recipient of God’s saving grace. And the deep conviction that we are actually loved by God is an inner source of joy and strength, which rises above adverse circumstances. ‘The joy of the Lord is your strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10).

Are we really loved by God? Yes! Romans 5:8 tells us that, ‘God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’. God sent his Son to be our Saviour. He procured salvation on Calvary’s cross.

And God has also sent his Holy Spirit to apply the work of Christ’s redemption personally to our hearts and souls. Romans 8:31 ff. is rhetorical when it asks, ‘If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?’

John Calvin allegedly ended every conversation with the words, ‘If God is for us, who is against us?’ He too then knew the secret of Christian joy.

So are we also able to offer ‘prison praise’? We might not be in a physical jail like Paul and Silas, but we can all feel trapped at times — trapped by our handicaps and limitations, trapped by our ailments and weaknesses, trapped by adverse circumstances, discouraged by little fruit for our labours, trapped by matters we are unable to change.

But, amidst all these, we are enjoined, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’. If God does not immediately release us from our prison, he will most certainly give us grace to sing our prison praise!

He is on the throne. He is all-wise and all-loving. He is working out his eternal will for the blessing of his people and glory of his name. Rejoice that he cannot be hindered or frustrated. Rejoice that he is a God of grace.

After all, he is the God who ‘so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org

Mar

2015

The Seal of the Holy Spirit

The seal of the Holy Spirit

The full-orbed Christian doctrine of God takes us to the doctrine of the holy Trinity, that is, that the one true God exists and has eternally existed in the three persons of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of these three divine persons, the Holy Spirit has been, arguably, the most neglected member of the Trinity in Christian thinking and preaching.

The Holy Spirit’s ministry however is absolutely indispensable. We would not and could not become Christians apart from his regenerating agency. It is the Holy Spirit of God who imparts to us all the blessings of God in Christ. Chief in his work is the effectual application of the redeeming work of Christ on the cross to our souls.

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and enables us to believe in Jesus, and so appropriate personally the salvation Christ procured at Calvary. The joy and peace which comes as a consequence of this is an experience which ‘none but Zion’s children know’.

In Scripture

A ministry of the Holy Spirit’s which receives even less mention in Christian preaching and writing is that of ‘sealing’ — yet this blessed ministry is written plainly on the pages of the Bible for the Christian’s encouragement, assurance and reassurance.

In Ephesians 1:13, Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus that ‘you … who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’. Here then is a distinguishing mark of a Christian.

How do we describe a Christian? In various ways. A Christian is chosen by God, saved by grace, called by God, redeemed by Christ, justified by faith. And a Christian is ‘sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’.

Paul says the same a little later in Ephesians when he exhorts ‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption’ (Ephesians 4:30). What though does Paul mean when he writes of this invisible, yet very real ‘seal’?

In the ancient world, visible seals were used on goods to attest their genuineness — something akin to our modern day trademarks. They were also utilised to mark ownership and to keep a legal document from being tampered with. A document had to arrive at court with an unbroken seal or it would be considered invalid.

The seal of God’s Holy Spirit then is proof that we genuinely belong to Jesus. It is the proof of our salvation. In Romans 8:9 Paul writes, ‘Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him’. The seal of the Holy Spirit is also one of the many ways in which the Bible describes the eternal security of one united to Christ in saving faith.

God our Father not only made us, but has also purchased us with the blood of his Son. We belong to him for ever. Nothing can undo our salvation, for God’s mark is upon us. By his Holy Spirit we are ‘sealed for the day of redemption’. ‘He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee’ (2 Corinthians 1:22).

In society

The Bible often comes to life when we consider it against its original background of first century, middle eastern context and customs. This is especially so here. The booklet The Bible Comes to Life, published by the Churches Ministry amongst Jewish People, casts light on the Holy Spirit’s sealing of the Christian when it explains that in the first century world of the Bible: ‘letters, books, documents and other possessions were sealed to indicate ownership, authority or the value of an article. Paul uses this old custom of sealing to show how the believer has been purchased and paid for by the blood of Christ’.

The same booklet also has an instructive paragraph about a corn seal which, it says, was: ‘made of wood and measures about 48x24x2 cms. On one side the monogram of the owner is deeply cut while on the other side is fixed the handle.

‘When a man has purchased a quantity of corn it is placed in a heap which he proceeds to seal carefully by pressing his monogram upon it. This is to warn all who pass by that the corn has been purchased and paid for and is the property of the person whose seal is upon it. Later the man will send a servant with a donkey to collect or redeem it in his name’.

So we can understand better what Paul meant when he referred to the Holy Spirit’s sealing of the Christian. A Christian is ‘sealed for the day of redemption’. We have been purchased by the blood of Christ. We belong to Jesus. We are his property, for he has paid for us and now owns us. His mark — the seal of the Holy Spirit — is upon us.

One day he is going to come and collect us and we shall be with him for ever. Jesus promised ‘I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also’ (John 14:3).

In suffering

The last book of the Bible — the book of Revelation — was written during the most troublesome, violent and unstable days. If anyone should have believed that a Christian could not be sure of salvation, or lose a salvation he once had, surely John, the author of Revelation, should have.

But, no. God gave John a vision. John was enabled to view salvation from a heavenly angle. In Revelation 7:2 ff. he tells how: ‘I saw another angel … with the seal of the living God, and he called … “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads”. And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty four thousand …’

This, of course, is highly symbolic. But symbolic of what? There were twelve tribes in Israel, and there were twelve apostles. 12×12=144. This then refers to God’s true church — the large number of his elect from all the ages who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. They have God’s seal upon them. They are a saved people, a safe people and a sealed people.

They will be a glorified people because no natural or supernatural power can break the Holy Spirit’s seal upon them. ‘Those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified’ (Romans 8:30).

‘Sealed for the day of redemption’. If, by God’s grace, you belong to Jesus, why not bow your head now and thank God for the blessed sealing of his Holy Spirit.

There on each he setteth

His own secret sign

They that have my Spirit

These, saith he, are mine.

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org

Mar

2015

The Unfinished Work of Christ

Is Christ’s work unfinished?

‘The finished work of Christ’ is one of the dearest doctrines of all to Protestants (see January 2013 ET). When Christ died on the cross, he did everything necessary to save us eternally.

His death has paid the full price for the eternal salvation of his people. ‘When Jesus therefore received the vinegar, he said, it is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost’ (John 19:30). ‘But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God’ (Hebrews 10:12).

So while it is an essential truth of the gospel that Christ’s work is finished, it is also true to say that the Bible teaches us of ‘the unfinished work of Christ’, that is, what the Lord Jesus is currently doing for his people.

The Bible teaches that Christ’s saving work is both accomplished and ongoing! This will be so until all of God’s people have been saved ‘to sin no more’.

According to the Bible, there are at least four aspects of the continuing work of Christ.

Saving

Christ has not finished drawing sinners to himself. Jesus stated, ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me’ (John 12:32). For his work at Calvary in the past to make any difference to an individual’s life in the present, it has to be applied to the human heart.

Christ continues, by his Holy Spirit, to draw sinners to himself. He convicts them of their sin and lost condition, and gives them saving faith to unite them to himself.

The Shorter Catechism states, ‘Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of God and renewing our will, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel’.

It is as true to define a Christian as one who has been drawn by Christ to himself, as it is to define a Christian as one who is justified by faith, redeemed by the blood or saved by grace.

Interceding

Christ has not finished interceding for sinners. Jesus is praying for his people. This is one aspect of his work as our High Priest. ‘[He] is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us’ (Romans 8:34); ‘wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them’ (Hebrews 7:25).

Jim Packer provides us with an excellent definition of this unfinished work: ‘Christ’s intercession [is] that heavenly activity … whereby he makes sure that all who come to God through him, pleading his name, trusting him for forgiveness, access, grace to help in time of need, and ultimate glory, will not be disappointed … it is certainly and infallibly efficacious [effective]’ (God’s words, J. Packer, p.118).

He died; but lives again

And by the throne he stands

There shows how he was slain

Opening his pierced hands

Our Priest abides and pleads the cause

Of us who have transgressed his laws.

Preserving

Christ has not finished preserving saved sinners. He not only makes us safe, but keeps us safe. If the barriers to our coming to faith in Christ were great, humanly speaking, so are the barriers to our persevering in the faith.

We face a continual battle against the world, flesh and devil, all of which threaten to make shipwreck of us and separate us from the Saviour. However, the Bible teaches that Christ keeps his own.

Jesus is stronger than Satan or sin. Jesus affirms concerning his own sheep, ‘I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand’ (John 10:28).

The Bible teaches the eternal security of those who are united to Christ. The Christ who saves us is actually the King of kings. There is no higher authority than his. No natural or supernatural power is a match for him. Paul is persuaded that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:39).

The Shorter Catechism, in explaining how his kingship is an aspect of his being our Redeemer, states, ‘Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies’.

Christ is infinitely worthy of our confidence and trust. He will not let us go. Some of the apostle Paul’s last recorded words were the confident affirmation, ‘And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever’ (2 Timothy 4:18). All of God’s children may make these words their own.

Preparing a home

Christ has not finished preparing a glorious home for his people. He is preparing a home in heaven for all who belong to him.

Remember those well known words which the Saviour uttered in the upper room: ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions [lit. “abiding places”]. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you’ (John 14:2).

Think of it! He is preparing a place for you. A place in glory, in God’s house, for all those he died to save. What must that place be like? The Christian’s glorious, eternal home will surely be greater than any human words can tell.

If you are a Christian then, and your faith is based on Christ’s finished work of redemption at Calvary, you can also rejoice and take great comfort from his ongoing work on your behalf.

Christ has some unfinished business! He is working for you today! He lovingly drew you to himself. He intercedes for you, keeping you in the protection of his work at Calvary. He keeps you from all evil and, in amazing grace, is preparing an exquisite home in heaven for you — a home in the Father’s house itself.

Thou art gone up before us Lord

To make for us a place

That we may be where now thou art

And look upon God’s face

O think of the home over there

By the side of the river of light

Where the saints all immortal and fair

Are robed in their garments of white.

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org

Jan

2015

The Passive Obedience of Christ

‘To obey is better than sacrifice’ (1 Samuel 15:22)

While struggling to learn New Testament Greek, I was taught to distinguish between the ‘active’ and ‘passive’ voices. My tutor’s explanatory illustration has stayed with me — Active voice; think, ‘Jesus healed the leper’. Passive voice, think, ‘The leper was healed by Jesus’.

At the very centre of the Christian faith lies the fact of Christ’s obedience to his Father — he ‘became obedient unto death, even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2:8). Although the two are profoundly intermeshed, theologians sometimes distinguish between the active and passive obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both were vital in relation to his procuring the salvation of his people.

The active obedience of Christ

By his active obedience we mean that Christ (uniquely among all the men who ever lived) kept the law of God perfectly. He lived a faultless life in every respect, being absolutely sinless in thought, word and deed.

This was an essential condition of his obtaining salvation for his people, since only a sinless person could atone for the sins of others; the substitutionary sacrifice must be ‘without blemish’ (Exodus 12:5).

The unanimous testimony of Scripture is that Christ was sinless. He alone could make the seemingly audacious claim, ‘I always do what is pleasing to [God]’ (John 8:46). And he alone could lay down the challenge to his enemies, ‘Which of you convicts me of sin?’ and be met by silence (John 8:46).

Christ’s active obedience, therefore, consisted in what he uniquely did. It was written prophetically of him, ‘I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my heart’ (Psalm 40:8).

Christ’s passive obedience

Christ’s passive obedience, on the other hand, consisted not so much in what he did but in what he suffered and endured. Famously, in the Garden of Gethsemane, contemplating his impending crucifixion, Jesus prayed, ‘Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done’ (Luke 22:42).

Here we see the Lord Jesus submitting to the will of God — a passive obedience that reached its culmination at Calvary.

Berkhof helpfully states that Christ’s ‘passive obedience consisted in his paying the penalty of sin by his sufferings and death, and thus discharging the debt of all his people’. And this definition accords with Scripture. Paul states that Christ ‘was put to death for our trespasses’ (Romans 4:25) while Peter writes ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree’ (1 Peter 1:24).

The Lord Jesus, then, submitted to the will of God both actively and passively. His active and passive obedience are synergistic — that is, they ‘work together’ in procuring the eternal salvation of God’s elect. ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5:19).

Our active obedience

However, we can also consider this matter of active and passive obedience in relation to our own Christian lives. What is the secret of true happiness? It surely results from living a life pleasing to God. But how do we please God? By obeying him both actively and passively.

Our active obedience consists in actively doing what God says ? by keeping his commandments, loving what he loves and shunning what he hates. Jesus said, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ (John 15:15).

A Scottish preacher is said to have prayed, ‘Lord, make me as obedient as it is possible for a saved sinner to be’ — and it was a good prayer. God our Maker knows what is best for us. To violating his laws — laws set out clearly in the Holy Scriptures — goes against the grain of our creation. Yet as fallen creatures this is what all people do continually and habitually (Romans 3:9-20).

But this is no longer the case for the true Christian. Redeemed by God’s grace and indwelt by God’s Spirit, the believer is both motivated and empowered to seek, know and actively obey the will of God.

It follows that our active obedience to God cannot be divorced from the Bible, for the Bible is the written revelation of God’s will. Thus Christians both are, and are to be, people of the Book — eager to read, heed and obey the revealed will of God in Scripture. If there is a ‘short cut’ to blessing, this is it.

Our passive obedience

But much less acknowledged is the need for God’s people to exercise passive obedience to the will of God. This is more of an ‘unseen’ matter, for it involves ‘being’ more than ‘doing’ — endurance rather than visible activity.

For example, God’s will for some may involve their being rendered inactive for a time — either short, long or seemingly interminable. In his providence he may see fit to send redundancy, illness or incapacity. His all-wise and eternal purposes may require crushing disappointments or the frustration of our plans. He may not see fit to give us visible fruit for our Christian service.

Such seemingly harsh providences will make us seek his grace that we might patiently exercise our passive obedience to his will. The proper response of faith in such instances is a meek submission to his dealings with us, continuing to trust him whatever betides.

We are to emulate Jeremiah and bear the yoke he has laid upon us — ‘Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, “Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it”’ (Jeremiah 10:19).

The God of the Bible has only one will — a ‘good, acceptable and perfect will’ that is implemented ‘according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will’ (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 1:11).

He is sovereign and in total control of the universe. His will is not arbitrary but ‘according to the counsel’ of an all-wise God. He knows what is best for his children. The Christian response to a seemingly harsh providence is thus one of passive obedience. ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him’ (1 Samuel 3:18).

The perfect will of God

The Christian, therefore, must not only seek God’s help in doing his will, but also seek God’s strength to endure his will. Oh to bear patiently whatever he sends our way! The passive graces of the Christian life ? humility, gentleness, patience, submission, steadfastness, faithfulness to God whatever our circumstance ? are not stressed sufficiently in an age of frenetic activity when everything seems driven by measurable results.

But who can deny that passive obedience is as pleasing in God’s sight as active obedience? Who will deny that the passive graces of the Christian life are just as much the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit as are love and joy? And who can deny that the passive will of God is, at times, far harder for us than the active will of God?

True Christian heroes are not always those in prominent positions in the church. We all aspire to be useful and fruitful. But what if God does not see fit to make us visibly so?

Sometimes the will of God for us is simply to be still before him: ‘Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him’ (Psalm 37:7). ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10). ‘For God alone my soul waits in silence’ (Psalm 62:1).

Waiting upon God

Waiting time is not necessarily wasted time. Under God, both busy and barren times may be sanctified for our blessing and his glory. It is a matter of distinguishing between active and passive obedience to God. Both have a place in his overall plan and sovereign will.

If you are currently struggling with passive obedience to God’s will for your life, you have my sympathy. But many of God’s people have walked this valley before you — including Katharina von Schlegel who in the early 18^th century penned words that have been a comfort and blessing to many since;

Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change he faithful will remain.

Be still my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend,

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

© Timothy Cross; originally published in Evangelical Times, reproduced with the kind permission of www.evangelicaltimes.org

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He Ascended into Heaven …

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The Seal of the Holy Spirit

The Unfinished Work of Christ

The Passive Obedience of Christ

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