Heaven in prospect, our being made like Jesus in glory, our being with Him, the joy of His presence, the absence of all evil, no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither any more pain; in a word, the presence, glory, and heavenly rest of our God, what incentives these to advance indefinitely in the career of holiness and piety! whilst we are made to feel by that which imparts to us fresh vigour, that we are still far from the goal which, through grace, we shall assuredly attain. How different this from the endeavour to make the whole revelation of the grace of God serve to set up afresh a species of Judaism! Paul, who, perhaps, stood foremost in the ranks of the soldiers of faith, has said: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor. xv. 19.) It was because he had received the first-fruits of the Spirit, that he groaned within himself (Rom. viii. 23); that he ran not as uncertainly, that he fought not as one that beateth the air, that he kept under his body and brought it into subjection. (1 Cor. ix. 26, 27.) This is not the rest that remaineth to the people of God. (Heb. iv. 9.) Are there no internal conflicts? or admitting that we have not any longer to struggle with an enemy indomitable and harassing us with all his might, is not continued watchfulness needed, for holding in one who, with malice and enmity unchanged, is ready at any moment to break out and do us hurt?

To love God, because He ought to be loved, and so to reflect His image in purity, is that which the law demanded. Grace presents the love of God towards us, when we were undeserving of that love. It places us, in Christ, upon a new and unchangeable ground of eternal joy. It presents God Himself under an aspect unknown to Adam, and impossible under the law; for the law of necessity requires perfect love in us; it cannot, it should not, spare the sinner.

By the regenerating power of the life of Christ we are renewed arter the image of God; but we are renewed on the principle of an eternal gratitude, which alone puts God in His right place with regard to the creature; and which puts the creature, fallen and made alive anew, in its place in relation to God.

193

A CHRISTIAN

WHO AND WHAT IS HE, NOW AND HEREAFTER?

A QUESTION PROPOSED AS A SUBJECT FOR CONSIDERATION AT A CHRISTIAN MEETING.

Ir is rather a solemn thing to say what a Christian is, especially when we think of what it is that made him one. God is acting, so as to glorify Himself. It is a solemn thing to be a revelation of that of which Christ is worthy-of the result of Christ's work, as it is said, "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." (Isa. liii. 11.) It does us good to think of this, because it makes us judge ourselves, to see how far we are really that. Not that we ever shall be the perfect display of it until we are Him" (1 John iii. 2), until we see Him as He is, and are conformed unto His image in glory. Still, if we bear Christ's name, we should seek to present a fitting result of His work in the world.

"like

Hence it becomes a solemn

That is what a Christian is. thing to say what he is. Still, whilst it is a solemn question, it is a matter of grace. There is such a comfort in this thought. Whilst most solemn, it is always happy, because it is of grace—the free, full, and sovereign grace of God. This all helps us a little.

With regard to the question itself, there is a great difference between what a Christian is "now," and what he will be "hereafter." Not as regards the spring of life, redemption, &c., but now, a Christian is the expression of the power of God in the midst of evil; hereafter, he will be the expression of the result of that power, which has put away the evil, when all the evil is put away.

Take us at our best estate now, a Christian is the expression of the power of God in the midst of the prevalence of evil. A Christian will not be that exactly hereafter; he will then be the expression of the result of God's power, in the highest sense, when the evil is put away.

As to the foundation in Christ's blood, and the power of His resurrection, and the love of God, this as much belongs to his state hereafter, as it is the basis of what he is now. God's love in Christ will be the spring of my joy then, as it is now.

One thing that gives such settledness of peace (as it regards his own soul's peace) to the Christian is, that it does not depend upon what he is now, or will be then, but upon that which is common to both states. The ground of it is the same now that it will be in heaven. The thing displayed may differ; but the ground of confidence is the same now as hereafter. As to the source and spring of it, in the love of God, His love is as true, and as perfect, and as complete, and as much manifested towards me now, as it will be when I am in glory; He cannot in His divine love go beyond the gift of His Son.

The life also that I have now is not another life to that I shall have then. No doubt the body hinders it. Its manifestation will be different; but the life is the same.

And the ground of peace changes not. That upon which I rest for eternity is just as much now as it will be thenthe blood of Christ. (Heb. ix. x.) (Heb. ix. x.) Whatever our conflicts, our conflicts (properly speaking) spring from that ground being entirely settled. Whoever is in doubt as to that has not got to God, or, otherwise, has not understood the ground of his standing. Unsettlement of soul may arise from a man's not having seen the gospel simply; but as to the ground of his standing, it is just as much accepted now as it will be then. There is not another Christ to die-no fresh blood to be shed. Nor is there another revelation to be made. There is not a love to spring up in the heart of God that has not been told out. There may be a fuller apprehension of that which has been accomplished, but there is nothing new, either to be accomplished or revealed.

Whoever has not got upon that ground (has not had that question settled in his soul) has not got, as yet, upon simple Christian ground. God may be working in his soul; but I do not call having life the getting upon simple Christian ground. There may be life without the knowledge of what God is as for us (of the perfectness of His love towards us, and of what He has done for us in Christ). Life may make me anxious, and hope, and have desires after God, and long to be assured of His favour, and the like; but, when we speak of a Christian," we speak of what a Christian is in Scripture, and Scripture always speaks of him -of a believer in any state-as to his standing. It is very

necessary to see this.

σε

We must not confound the exercises of a Christian with

the standing of a Christian. The ground of his standing is God's work. In his exercises there comes in himself-his flesh, his ignorance, and many other things (alas!) may be working. But it is entirely to God's thoughts, and not according to my thoughts, that my standing is to be judged of. Moreover, the exercises of my own soul are never the same as God's judgment about them.

When I am thinking of these it is my actual state that occupies me; but, were God to take notice of my actual state, He must condemn me. What He has regard to is the work of Christ for me, and my union with Him, not, in this respect, my actual state at all. It is always important to recollect that, because my own judgment of myself ought to be as to my actual state.

Whatever his exercises, however these may vary, the Christian is, in one sense, just the same, because he is in God's sight as Christ. Christ being the perfectly accepted. man at God's right hand, the Christian is looked at by God in the same position (Eph. ii. 6), sitting in heavenly places "in Christ." In that sense, there cannot be any difference; and the ground of our acceptance cannot ever be imperfect. I repeat, we must not confound the movements of life with the ground of our acceptance. We can never have that too simple and clear. It does not make one despise the first actings of life, its first movings and breathings, however feeble and imperfect. I do not despise my child because he is not a man.

In the Ephesians (where what a Christian is is fully brought out) men are viewed as the "children of wrath" in their very nature (necessarily heirs of wrath, because God is what He is, and man is what he is). Every other distinction is lost sight of, because, in his character of a sinner, man is brought fully into the light of God. But having thus told us what man is, the apostle does not stop with man, he turns round and begins at the other end; he now tells us what God is, that He is "rich in mercy," and (as the effect of this) that He has set us in heavenly places in Christ.

But when we come a little more to detail, I would recall the distinction that I made at first, that a Christian is now the expression of the power of divine life and the divine presence (divine life, I mean, aided by the power of God), in the midst of evil that he knows; but, hereafter, he will

be the blessed expression of the result of God's power when evil is put away. So with Christ (there was no evil, of course, in Him; yet, speaking abstractly, it was the same thing; in Him it was perfect) when here, He was what He was in the midst of evil. There cannot be any increase in it, in itself; but the manifestation of divine power in us is capable of an indefinite increase.

Redemption, however, precedes everything else. (I do not mean by this that it precedes the counsels of God.) First, "Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. v. 25-27.) Redemption precedes the washing. Washing may go on, but it comes after redemption. He makes her His, before He sets about making her what He would have her to be. There may not be a clear thought as to it; but the thing is done nevertheless.

Redemption being accomplished, the Lord sets about producing in us the effects and fruits of His grace in conformity to Himself.

The first effect of life in the midst of evil is not merely to see certain things, but to have the conscience exercised about certain things. The moment life begins to work, we get the consciousness of evil inside, as well as of evil outside; that is, it gives the judgment of evil in ourselves. Not that the instant Christ is presented to the soul in grace, the soul sees the evil plainly; it may see the grace and blessing, knowing evil in a general way, without being exercised about it through any definite application of what Christ is to the man within; there may be rather the loveliness of Christ attracting, than any deep work in the conscience. I can quite understand that. But then, before we get into a properly Christian state (the process may he longer or shorter), the necessary effect of life working is to give us the judgment of what man is, in the main bearing of his present condition, as looked at by the Holy Ghost. It brings in the consciousness of what we are in the presence of what Christ is. Then we get the man brought down into the distinct consciousness that it is all over with him. And it is all over with him. I mean by this, not merely that he has sinned and there is condemnation, but that he has no