"Arise, shine;
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1).
We have said a good deal
about the ground and nature of this light. We now go on
to ask, and briefly to answer, the question: What is this
light which is come, and the glory which is risen? And I
have no hesitation in saying that, inclusively, it is
that which has come peculiarly and particularly through
the instrumentality of the Apostle Paul. I know, of
course, that much light has come through others; but the
full light, concerning the Church and for the Church, the
spiritual Israel, has come through Paul, and it is mainly
stored up in the full and concentrated ministry of his
last letters. The final letters of Paul, that is, his
Church letters, are undoubtedly the light which has come,
and the glory which has risen.
Light
And Glory
Those two words - light
and glory - are characteristic of those final letters.
Not only are the words themselves there, but the truth is
there. What light! You find no such light anywhere else
in the Bible. Indeed, you are amazed at what this man
came to see. Light shining right back into eternity past,
light shining right on into eternity to be, light shining
right down on to this dispensation. And as for the glory,
again, it is a characteristic word - but it is also a
characteristic feature, is it not? "Unto Him be the
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus" (Eph.
3:21). What glory has arisen through that ministry! But
let me safeguard this by saying: this is not all the
light that has come, nor all the glory; but in its
fulness, its meridian, it has come through this channel.
The
Church The Vessel Of Resurrection
First of all, it is
light and glory concerning the Church's calling to be the
resurrection vessel of the Lord. That is an early
statement of the Ephesian letter. You will remember that
Paul is here dealing with the Church. In other letters he
deals with the individual, and refers to the individual's
union with Christ in death and resurrection. That is the
peculiar message to the Corinthians, for instance, where
he says much concerning personal conduct and personal
character. But when you come here to these last great
letters, especially Ephesians and Colossians, the idea of
Paul is all the time collective; and when he refers to
our being quickened together and raised together, he is
thinking of the Church - the quickened and raised Church.
As such it is the vessel of the resurrection - the vessel
of the resurrection power of Christ.
Now, of course, there
can be no Church without individuals, and therefore these
things have their personal application. The Apostle says
that this light which has come, which has risen upon us,
this glory which has appeared concerning the Church is in
order that we might "know… the exceeding
greatness of His power… according to that working of
the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ,
when He raised Him from the dead" (Eph. 1:18-20).
That is for the Church, which includes all individuals.
But the Church itself is a resurrection vessel, to
be the embodiment of the exceeding greatness of His
power. No one of us individually, nor any number of us
just as detached and unrelated individuals, can know the
exceeding greatness of His power, any more than we can
know any other aspect of His fulness. It is thus easier
to realize how the Church - the great company of the
elect, in its pilgrimage and its warfare, right through
all the ages, with all that it has had to encounter, and
all that is still set against it - requires the exceeding
greatness of His power to lift it up and out and
clear, as an emancipated, established, heavenly people.
Is it not a very
wonderful thing to realize that, wherever you and I may
be as a part of that whole, we are by this illumination
told that we are of the vessel of the resurrection - that
is, of the exceeding greatness of His power? I do not
know how much that comforts you, but if you had seen, as
I have seen the terrible, heartbreaking state of
Christians in certain parts of the world - the spiritual
limitation and weakness, and all that is set to deep them
so, and how little there is that can make it otherwise -
you would have come, as I have come, very near to the
point of despair over this matter.
May I say here that
these meditations are coming directly out of my
experience. This is no worked-up subject. I say again: if
you really knew the state of Christians and of the Church
in this world - the desperate situation, the need, the
limitation and the lack of that which would bring them
into greater fulness - you might well despair. You might
even raise the major questions: Does God really mean to
have His Church in fulness: Are we not attempting
something impossible? Have we not committed ourselves to
something that cannot be? Is it not going to break us,
shatter us? Is it, after all, a fact that this is what
God wants?
The answer is: The
light has been given - it "has come" - this IS
what God wants! And, blessed be God, because He wants
it, the power is there for it, and it is the power of
resurrection. Perhaps we want too much all at once,
perhaps we are impatient; but God is going to have it.
The vision has been given of a Church at the end filled
with glory. The light has come that that is how it is
going to be - spiritual fulness at last. God is not going
to be defeated, and the Church is the very vessel or
sphere of the power of the resurrection.
You and I well know
that, in so far as we apprehend this truth by faith that
we are a part of that, that we are on that ground and we
stand there, we shall come into the good of this power of
resurrection, and it will operate in us wherever we are.
It is the light that has been given, the calling of the
Church to be the vessel of resurrection life and power.
Therefore: "Arise, shine; …thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."
Now you may recall that
that was what we said about this light in our last
message: that here, in Isaiah 60, we have the other side
of the captivity - the other side, so to speak, of the
grave of Israel, when their grave of exile has been
opened and they have been called out on resurrection
ground. The word is: "Thy light has come". So
you see, this light is bound up with resurrection, and so
Paul's letter to the Ephesians begins with that.
"You did He quicken… God raised us up with
Him" (Eph. 2:1, 6); and "to us-ward" is
the "exceeding greatness of His power", as in
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The
Church The Vessel Of Light
The second thing in this
Isaiah message, which finds its spiritual fulfilment in
the ministry of Paul, is that the Church is called to be
the vessel of light, the light for all, unto the nations.
We have already seen what that light meant, how it worked
out, how effective it is shown to be in this chapter:
what tremendous impact it registered to the ends of the
earth, and how the nations are pictured as flowing toward
that light.
Now, it is perfectly
clear from this ministry of Paul that that is the
vocation of the Church - to be the vessel and the vehicle
of this light, the light which all need. Paul's great
prayer for the saints is for light - 'the eyes of their
heart being enlightened, that they might know…' And
then there follows the gradual unfolding of that light.
What a wonderful fulness it is! How many beams there are
to that light in his prayer! What there is to be known by
the Spirit of revelation opening the eyes of the heart!
The Church - and that means you and me - is definitely
called to be the vessel of light. The Lord's intention is
that, if people are wanting to see and wanting to know,
He shall be able to transmit such knowledge through us.
It will be found amongst the Lord's people.
That, as we know, is not
generally true. But this is the calling of the Church:
that wherever people are really seeking to know the
truth, know the Lord, to come into the light, the Lord
should have a vessel where that light can be found. It is
a challenge, as well as a statement of fact. It is
something that we must quite definitely lay hold of by
faith. You see, it is God's intention: therefore it must
be possible: therefore the Lord provides for what He
wants. It is not necessary for any child of God, who is
standing by faith in the good of the heavenly calling and
vocation, not to be a vehicle of light to others. Indeed,
it is a failure in our calling if we are not such - if
others are not seeing the light through us. I am not now
thinking in terms of our moving about with our Bibles,
trying to give people light, but of our being the
light. The Church is to be the light which is
given, and we are to be all "light in the Lord"
(Eph. 5:8).
Now, the enemy's great
work is to try to bring in darkness and shadows, by means
of anything that he can do to eclipse the light that the
Church is called to be. He has succeeded to a very large
degree in doing that, and he is always at it. We know
that as soon as there comes anything of difference,
disagreement, division, lack of love, there is a shadow,
there is darkness. But how blessed it is to realize that,
given the conditions required, there can be light which
radiates, as in this chapter, to the ends of the earth,
and people will flow to it. The flowing is because there
is something to which to flow, something that answers a
need. May the Lord put us in the position where need is
all the time being met, right out to the uttermost
bounds.
The
Church The Vessel Of Wealth
The next thing in this
chapter, as we pointed out, is wealth. How much is said
here about wealth! There is so much wealth that the whole
world seems to be enriched by it everywhere. This is no
mere fanciful imagination. This is something that the
Lord has really provided for, because He has called to it
- to have a people here on this earth who, wherever they
are, are the channels of the enrichment of others in all
directions, a people through whom there shall go out
spiritual riches.
Now you see how true
that is in Paul's ministry. What riches have been
disclosed to us through him! Here is a man who was
himself overwhelmed with the wealth into which he had
been brought. He would cry - "O the depth of the
riches…!" (Rom. 11:33). He would speak of the
"unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8); and
he has given us the light concerning a great deal of that
wealth. Look again into his ministry with that thought in
mind. What wealth there is! Ought we to be poor, ought we
to be in a state of spiritual penury? Ought we to be
living so that it is difficult to make ends meet? Ought
that to be the state of the Church - as, sadly enough, is
largely the case? Ought it to be so, in the light of all
this wealth?
Look again at the
unsearchable, inexhaustible wealth that has come to light
through this man alone. If you are familiar with these
vessels of light that are his letters, you will realize
that you have been taken out of your depth. There is a
phrase in this sixtieth chapter of Isaiah: "the
abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee" (vs.
5). It is a phrase which intimates, as perhaps nothing
else might intimate, how vast are the resources that God
has uncovered. A year or two ago we read in the papers
about the return of the fishing fleet on the East coast
of our own country. So great, so immense, was the haul
that a whole fleet of fishing boats had to wait for hours
because there were no berths for them. The harbour staff
just could not cope with them, and the fear was that the
great hauls of fish would have to be thrown back into the
sea. But that is only one little spot on this earth,
after all, a mere microcosm of the whole. We cannot
faintly imagine the content of the sea.
What, then, shall we say
of the abundance of the spiritual sea? What inexpressible
wealth! I have been trying to cope with it for upward of
forty years, and I am conscious yet that I am well-nigh
drowned in this sea. Every time you come to it in the
Spirit, you realize that its ranges are beyond you. Can
you cope with the wonderful light as to the counsels of
God before this world was? Can you cope with all that is
said about what is going to be in the ages of the ages?
It is beyond us altogether. But out of that fulness you
and I are called to be enriched for the sake of others.
The Church is called into this wealth. How wealthy we
should be! If you do not understand this, ask the Lord to
open your eyes to your inheritance in Christ. The Church
is called to be the vessel of resurrection, the vessel of
light which has come, the vessel of the wealth that has
been disclosed.
The
Church The Vessel Of Government
We find the matter of
government clearly touched on both in Isaiah 60 and in
these letters of Paul. Here is the picture from Isaiah:
"Kings (shall come) to the brightness of thy
rising" (vs. 3). In a word - You shall have power,
authority, government. Here are the rulers, the people
who are themselves supposed to be in the place of
government, and they are all bowing at your feet, they
are all going down before you. Surely that is superior
authority. Is there anything about that in Paul's
letters? Indeed there is. "…Made Him to sit at
His right hand… far above all rule, and authority,
and power, and dominion, and every name that is
named" (Eph. 1:20-21). Yes, even over principalities
and powers and world rulers of this darkness and
spiritual hosts of wickedness. And the Church is called
to that position. "…Raised us up with Him, and
made us to sit with Him in the heavenlies, in Christ
Jesus" (2:6). We have much to learn yet about that
place and power of governing, ruling, of spiritual
ascendancy; but we are saying that what the light has
shown to us is that that is the Church's place according
to God's mind. That is our place - the place of spiritual
government, ascendancy, power, in Christ.
If only we knew more
about it in practice! But may we be moved to realize that
this is not something to which we are to climb by
struggling. We have been brought there by Christ. He has
seated us together with Him in the heavenlies. He has
raised us, set us far above all. That is our place by
right. I think one thing that you and I need to learn -
although we have to be very careful about this, for some
people have got themselves into trouble on this matter,
developing a special phraseology and so on -
nevertheless, we have to learn how, in our prayer times
together, whether we be two or three or larger companies,
how really to stand in our place of authority and
government. We are all the time beseeching and imploring
and entreating, and striving and struggling and reaching
out to get somewhere, and we rarely take the position
that is ours in Christ to govern situations and spiritual
forces. And yet we are called to that - to rulership in a
spiritual way. That does not call for loud voices and
strident language. It is a spiritual position, but it is
a definite, positive exercise, to be made by us together
as the Church: the exercise of authority over other
authorities that are at work in this universe.
The
Light For All
You notice the
universality of what is spoken of in this sixtieth
chapter of Isaiah - how far-reaching it all is. "Thy
sons shall come from far" (vs. 4), "The wealth
of the nations" (vs. 5), and so on. It is very
comprehensive and extensive. This ministry is universal;
the value of this light is so far-reaching. And when you
turn to Paul's ministry, you find the same thing. This is
not just something for a little few in some odd corners
of the earth. This is something for all. May God deliver
us from exclusiveness - from tying up anything that He
has given us to ourselves, and to just little companies
here and there. God make us know that He has planted us
right in the midst of the nations, and that He has given
enough for all His people. We need constantly to watch
this matter, lest we should preserve things to certain
people who like this sort of thing. This light has been
given for all, and we must watch carefully against
anything and everything that prevents us seeing that it
is available for all. The Church's light is universal: it
is for everyone and everywhere.
And there is enough of
it. We are not going to lose anything - certainly we are
not going to run out of resources - if we enlarge
ourselves to all the Lord's people. The real way of our
own enlargement is the enlargement of our hearts to the
Lord's people. Be careful, then, and watchful against all
that which is ever the propensity of people who get light
- to reserve it for certain narrow circles. Remember that
it is not only for people who have seen it and responded
to it. But many of the lord's people are in danger of
interpreting things in this way. The effect of that is
pernicious. It is destructive to the very thing which the
Church exists. The light is for all, as the love is for
all. We must keep the open heart and the open mind. It is
amazing how many hungry and longing people there are just
shut up where there is no light. We have got to be always
watchful that the light is available for them all.
This is a very necessary
warning note. The Lord does not make His sun to shine
upon the good only: the light of the sun does good to
very bad people, very evil people as well. The Lord does
not say, 'Only the good people are going to have the
light, have the sun'. No, it is available for all. If the
light has come, and the glory has arisen, then it is like
the sun - for everyone. We get surprises, do we not? I am
ashamed to say that I have had some startling surprises.
One has met, say, some dear person with make-believe as
thick as paint, and everything that would set you back,
make you keep away: and yet upon making contact,
beginning to speak, one has found a heart that is hungry
and ready. That is not exaggeration, that is not fiction
- that is true. Hungry hearts and ready hearts are hidden
away behind things that would repel. We must keep the
light available for all, and never be put off.
I have spoken of
physical things, but there are other things that must not
put us off - ecclesiastical things, religious things,
denominational things - anything you like. Do not be put
off; do not allow your light to be withheld from anybody
because of these complexes toward what perhaps you think
is not the Lord's full thought. Keep open to all. You
will be in the way of surprises, and you will find that
there will be wonderful responses to the light, from very
unexpected quarters, if only you make it available.
It is a large thing,
this light. "The sun shall be no more thy light by
day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light
unto thee: but the Lord will be unto thee an everlasting
light" (Isa. 60:19). That is something very much
bigger than natural luminaries. How great is the Lord! If
our sun is great to the illumination and the warming of
the whole earth, how much more so the Lord! Do not keep
His light to yourself, do not tie it up in compartments.
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory
of the Lord is risen upon thee."