by
T. Austin-Sparks
November-December 1930
To Our Readers
Beloved of God,
This issue of the WITNESS AND TESTIMONY marks the passing from
one year to another. We do not make too much of this, being
people of Eternity and not of time, but these time-marks do
serve the purpose of helping us to register the progress and
development of the "Eternal Purpose." The year 1930 has been one
of marked intensification. This surely is realised by all the
Lord's people. Things are becoming more and more tense. The
process of this feature as foretold by Our Lord in the parable
of the Wheat and Tares is - despite the strong delusion - clear
to all who have spiritual discernment.
There is no doubt that, whether they like it or not, whether
they openly admit it or not, whether they surrender to it or put
it back and seek to go doggedly or despairingly on, a great
number of the people of God and the spiritual leaders are aware
of a breakdown, a hold up, a paralysis upon the institutions and
agencies of long standing; a famine period, a bankruptcy, and a
desperate need for some new thing of God. There is an almost
universal sense of such a need. This sense has been the occasion
of an organising of Christian forces to pray for revival. What
concerns us is, What kind of a revival does the Lord desire?
Every
true initiation of God has - so far as we can see
- been marked by a specific emphasis. We have elsewhere pointed
out that each such successive breaking in of God has been to
bring in some lost spiritual reality which was in the original
pattern. If our own registration of the will of God is a true
one, we believe that every fresh activity of the Holy Spirit
will be to have things more utterly according to Christ. This is
undoubtedly the objective of God as revealed everywhere in His
Word, and this is the goal of all the Spirit's energies. Wholly
according to Christ; that is the divine end in view! Such as
have this as their vision, dominating all work and living, are in
line with the resources of God, and will wax stronger and
stronger. It is not a movement, a testimony - as such - an
interpretation, a teaching, a sect, an enterprise. It is Christ!
During the past year more than ever in our experience we have
been occupied by the Lord with His Son, our Lord Jesus, and we
can truly say that it has been a year of unequalled depth, joy,
strength, and spiritual progress. There has come a sense of
solidarity and establishment which was a conscious need.
Beloved, the Lord is coming! But His Word everywhere makes it
unmistakably clear that unto His coming there must be that here
which shall be wholly according to His mind. "The Bride has made
herself ready." Rebekah must be in an absolutely detached and
responsive state. The Holy Spirit pleads for a decision saying,
"Hinder me not" (Genesis 24). There must be a state of
enrapturedness with the Lord Jesus before there can be a rapture
to Him (see same chapter and 1 Peter 1:8, 2 Cor. 11:2, Rev.
19:6-8). One of our perils today is that we should seek to
reconstruct or resuscitate things and methods which are no more
God's way, and be unwilling to put everything into the
melting-pot to have something more utterly than ever according
to Christ brought out by the Holy Spirit. We have travelled a
long way from the New Testament position. Evangelism has become
mainly a matter of getting men saved for the sake of their being
saved. The "deepening of spiritual life" has become a matter of
having Christians sanctified.
These and other things have become ends in themselves. In the
New Testament it is not so. The Apostles and first Christians
had a definite vision of a heavenly pattern for the fellowship
of the Lord's people, and their corporate vocation, and
everything was related to that. The end in view was not
individualistic in any sense, it was the Church conformed to
Christ. Corporate companies of the Lord's people under the
government of the Holy Spirit are a necessity to the Lord; just
as necessary to Him as is a laboratory to the chemist or
scientist for the demonstrating of certain laws and properties.
The manifold wisdom of God is to be made known to the
principalities and powers by the Church NOW. What the devil hates
is
companies of believers according to Christ. What
"Laodicea" sees is NOT an individualism as against fellowship,
but personal responsibility to see that we are where Christ is
and that we know what the Spirit is saying.
The "Revelation" does not contradict the entire teaching of
Christ and the Epistles, but consummates it. The only
individualism there is that of responsibility. The final word is
"as you see the day approaching assemble yourselves together
so
much the more." Surely, then, the end must see a
gathering
to
Him here leading unto our gathering unto Him at His
coming. "A great falling away" must be the signal for a
tightening of the bonds of fellowship on the part of the
faithful. If the Lord will enable us to fulfil a ministry by
which there is made clear what is according to Christ, we feel
that we shall have served the highest possible end. This is our
desire.
This little paper has readers in practically every nation, and
many in most. It is usually only sent by request, which means
that it is meeting a need. To all you dear fellow-heirs of
Christ we send our warmest greetings in His name. Many of us
have not met in the flesh, but we
shall meet, and if in
that day we can say that the link by the WITNESS AND TESTIMONY
here on earth meant a deeper and fuller appreciation of our One
Blessed Lord Jesus, then we shall have the greatest possible
occasion to rejoice together.
The Lord be with you.
Yours in His love and hope,
T. Austin-Sparks