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Horizoned by Purpose

by T. Austin-Sparks

First published in "A Witness and A Testimony" magazines, 1961-62

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 - "A Sign"

Chapter 3 - "A Watchman"

Chapter 4 - "The Lord is There"

Chapter 1

The consideration upon which we now enter follows immediately upon the former one, or runs parallel to it, namely 'Horizoned by Christ'.

When we speak of purpose being the horizon of all things, there is no contradiction of the other. We are not changing Christ for some thing called Purpose, we are only bringing into view the complement of Christ.

The Person and the Purpose are complementary, they form one whole. To rightly see the Person is to understand the Purpose. Purpose is not an abstract, detached, and impersonal thing, it is the extension of the Person, albeit something very definite.

We are now and here going to cite and link together two couplets of Scripture - Ezekiel 1:26; 48:35, and Eph. 1:9-12; 3:21: -

"...above the firmament... was the likeness of a throne, and upon... the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above."

"And the name of the city from that day shall be the LORD is there."

"Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him [Christ] unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ... according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will..."

"...unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus..."

In each of these two Scriptures two things are noticeable.

In Ezekiel, the beginning is a throne in Heaven and its Occupant - "a likeness... of a man upon it." The end of all the history contained in the book is a House, a Kingdom, and a City, with the final statement, "The LORD is there."

In 'Ephesians' (so called) the features are similar. The Letter begins with Christ exalted to the heavenly throne, and proceeds to the House, the Church, the Body, and the Lord as there - "...glory in the church..."

In Ezekiel, all that is between the beginning and the end is the expression of that throne. The end is the issue of the throne-activities, and it shows what all those throne-activities are leading to. The beginning is individual - one Man glorified and governing. The end is corporate, a people with the glory and the dominion.

The same is true of 'Ephesians'. The One in Heaven leads to the corporate Body in ascendency.

These two main features of the books explain and justify our bringing them together although there are many more corresponding features in them.

There are two factors which stand out in clear relief in Ezekiel and 'Ephesians' (and in many other places):

(a) All-governing purpose.

(b) The mighty energies of the Holy Spirit in relation thereto.

The connections, of course, are different, but they are one in principle.

ISRAEL = historical, earthly, temporal.

THE CHURCH = eternal, heavenly, spiritual.

Both were chosen - elect - for one thing in their respective realms; namely, the testimony of God in the universe.

The dealings of God with both are shown to be with that purpose in view.

From the history of Israel and the history of the Church one thing springs into light and is unmistakably evident, that is that

There is no Substitute for Light Once Given by God

Unfaithfulness to light once given by God results inevitably and unavoidably in confusion, weakness, bondage, limitation, and tentativeness.

These are clearly the features of Babylon in Israel's case, and of the Church's case in the twentieth century.

Someone has said that

"The Church of the first century was power-conscious.

The Church of the twentieth century is problem-conscious."

We could not improve on that, but we might paraphrase it by saying that

The Church of the first century was PURPOSE conscious.

The Church of the twentieth century is perplexity conscious.

'Ezekiel' is peculiarly the Old Testament book of God's reaction in judgment to lost distinctiveness of purpose. 'Revelation' is its New Testament counterpart, with many similar characteristics in symbolism.

When anything becomes something in itself, turning, in doctrine and practice, into a circle instead of a way and a means, confusion, frustration, and bondage become its characteristics; limitation and powerlessness will mark its existence.

We are now going to look more closely at this matter of lost distinctiveness.

That distinctiveness of life and testimony is demanded by God is self-evident in the whole Bible. A word frequently used to express God's thought as to His people is the word 'peculiar'.

"A Peculiar People"

"...ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me" (Exodus 19:5).

"...the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people" (Deuteronomy 14:2).

"...they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day that I do make, a peculiar treasure" (Malachi 3:17).

The Hebrew word segullah denotes 'an enclosure', i.e. something separated, a preserve, a protected area. The Greek word denotes something acquired as out of the ordinary (Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9).

So the Hebrews were a distinct race separated and hedged around for a distinct purpose. The time came in the days of the Prophets when they removed or destroyed their 'hedges', their spiritual boundaries, and the line of demarcation was obliterated so that all kinds of wild things grew around the 'choice vine'. This gave rise to the denunciations and warnings of the Prophets. The whole work of the Hebrew Prophets related to this one thing.

Each prophet had some distinctive feature of God's holiness for which he was fighting and suffering. The four - called 'Major' - represented four major characteristics of God. The twelve called 'Minor' (only because of the smaller size of the books bearing their names) - had each some particular feature of the testimony of God. Mixture is an abomination to God. The Prophets were a challenge and a call to recover distinctiveness of testimony through distinctiveness of life.

In the New Testament, Christians were known as the People of the Way. This was a distinguishing designation. Distinctiveness of testimony is not some testimony distinct from the whole purpose of God. Nor is it a special part of that whole. It only arises when the general state has lost its true character, its characteristic distinctiveness. It is not a system of teaching, a form of practice and procedure, an exclusiveness of fellowship. It is the life and lordship of the Spirit; it is the pure and powerful river of God vitalizing everything.

The whole battle rages around this distinctiveness of life and testimony. The Old Testament and the New are alike in this particular battle. The wall of Jerusalem was a symbolic representation of the Divine line of demarcation. Hence the sieges and battles. Hence the deeper spiritual meaning of 'Nehemiah'. The first three chapters of the book of 'Revelation' are a return movement of the Lord on this line in relation to New Testament churches.

The feature of the Fall and the mark of Satanic interference with what is of God is loss of distinctiveness, purity, transparency. Hence, when Satan is finally cast down, as in the last chapters of the 'Revelation', "that which maketh a lie" has no place, and everything is "clear as crystal".

So we come face to face with the major factor and the distinctiveness of the purpose of God.

1. The Inclusive Factor - The Energy of the Spirit

Looking back at Ezekiel it is impossible not to see that both the Prophet and his book are particularly characterized by the energies of the Spirit of God. Ezekiel was himself a man of the Spirit. The word occurs some twenty-five times. He was moved, carried, led, strengthened, and, indeed, entirely governed by the Spirit.

The book is a record of the goings of the Spirit. In the wheels, the living creatures, the visions, the valley of dry bones, the River, etc., the Spirit is represented as the energy of everything.

The New Testament counterparts are 'Acts', 'Ephesians' and, in particular, 'Revelation'.

The point is that in all this the Spirit is moving in relation to purpose in all the immediate diversities unto final completeness, the ultimate fulness.

Let it be clearly recognized that the end and object of all the Spirit's energies is to reproduce that Man in corporate expression for glory and government. That will be the Spirit's triumph and the vindication of the Man who 'emptied Himself, was found in fashion as a man, took the form of a bondslave, became obedient unto death, yea, the death of the Cross, wherefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name.'

Before we leave Ezekiel in this particular connection, that is, of the Spirit, it is important to note that such a vessel or vehicle of the Spirit's energies unto purpose is a wholly and utterly committed man. Surrender and submission to the Spirit is seen all the way along. The same thing was true of the men of the New Testament from Pentecost onward. Only so can God reach His end. Only so can we have anything resembling New Testament progress. 'Ephesians' as the Letter of eternal purpose gives a very large place to the Spirit. The Spirit is the Earnest of the inheritance. The Spirit is the Revealer of the inheritance. Hence the demand there "Be filled with the Spirit".

We suspend our consideration here for the time being, and then look at several distinctive features of the Spirit's energies in relation to purpose.

Chapter 2 - "A Sign"

Having laid the foundation upon which to build, we proceed with the superstructure. We have noted that the Holy Spirit is committed to make real, in history, in an elect people, and in individual Christians, the meaning of the Man in the Throne (Ezek. 1:26; Eph. 1:9-23). Israel's history - in blessing and rejection - is solely interpreted by this fact. It is the historical, temporal, and earthly side of the all-embracing truth. The Church, from Pentecost onward, is the embodiment of this truth in a spiritual way, and its glory or shame is governed by the measure in which the Holy Spirit is allowed to have His place in lordship.

Our next step will be to consider some distinctive features of these energies of the Holy Spirit.

The first of these is:-

1. A Dynamic Incentive

It is not difficult to see that men of the Spirit have always been in the grip of a captivating objective; mastered and dominated by a sense of Divine intention. In the case of Ezekiel, who is an example of all that we are saying, it is said right at the beginning of his vocation: "The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel". Here is the element of precision, urgency, and definiteness. The sense is traceable throughout his ministry. Dates, places, and measurements are meticulous. Discouragements, withstandings, and frustrations there were in abundance. Times were when he had to keep silence, but the fire flamed up anew, and the overmastering purpose carried him on again.

How true this was of the Apostles and of the Church in the earliest days. The Holy Spirit was truly in charge. He was the Custodian of God's eternal purpose in Christ, and Christ as the Divine Horizon was made the passion and dominating objective of all whom He mastered. It was so clear cut, so single-minded, so uncompromising, so all-consuming. Yes, Purpose was the dynamic-incentive of their life. That Divine Purpose came to them "expressly".

The next thing to note is:-

2. The Impact of Purpose

It was this dynamic of purpose which accounted for the impact that was registered upon people, situations, and the evil powers.

There was nothing tentative, indefinite, a beating of the air. Rather was there directness, deliberateness, and effectiveness.

This is more than a statement of fact, it is an explanation and it is a challenge. Can it be said that, in our time, because of an all-consuming and clearly-defined purpose, the Church is registering an unmistakable impact upon the world, locally and more widely?

The one all-important note which is so manifestly lacking in the Church at this time is the note of authority. This was a recognized and acknowledged feature of the Lord's presence and ministry when He was here in person. This also was an unmistakable characteristic of the Church in early days. The loss of this spiritual authority has let in many alternatives and substitutes, so that the present system is one of pretence, make-believe, show, striving after effect. The efforts and failures are pathetic.

But what is the essence of authority? It is not forcefulness of expression, neither is it strength of conviction. These and many other things may, or may not, accompany true authority, but they are not authority. The essence of authority is, that what is said or represented carries in its very truth the power of destiny. Sooner or later, that presentation will show itself to be a criterion. People and things will stand or fall according to the attitude taken toward it. In a time of upheaval, shaking, testing and trouble, people and work will stand or collapse, and the cause will be - in either case - that which God gave. The truth will be vindicated. This is borne out so evidently in Israel's history. This is what lies at the root of the first three chapters of the 'Revelation'. This is the explanation of the triumph or tragedy of so much that had its origin in God, and of many Christian lives. Authority is something that will have to be measured up to, you cannot get away from it. In spiritual things it is God. There can never be something of God present for which we shall not have to give an account. The Holy Spirit always speaks with authority, and when He speaks, destiny is present. As "all authority," has been given to Jesus, God's Son, in Heaven and on earth, the Holy Spirit presents and testifies to Him as the Horizon of judgment and destiny. There is impact when Christ is preached in the Holy Spirit. The proof of reality is not in the form of teaching, however orthodox and right. Neither is it in the form of practice and procedure, however correct. Isaiah was told to "declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins", and then was added, "Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways" (Isa. 58:1,2). The truth and reality is in the spiritual impact that brings people face to face with God.

The next characteristic of the Holy Spirit's energies is:

3. The Intelligence of Purpose

If, as we have said, 'Ezekiel' and 'Ephesians' are pre-eminently stamped with this element of Divine Purpose, it does not require deep investigation to see that spiritual intelligence is characteristic.

With Ezekiel it is: "I saw visions of God" - "I saw". The wheels that accompanied the "living creatures" were full of eyes. There was a continuous 'showing'. The element of clear, vivid, and meticulous perception was present in relation to the goings and purpose of God.

In 'Ephesians' we have, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ... may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation... that ye may know". The Letter itself is one of unparalleled spiritual intelligence, and this 'knowing' is exclusively bound up with "the eternal purpose".

An essential result of the Spirit's government and work is spiritual knowledge. Paul laid much emphasis upon this in both of his letters to Corinth.

Where the Holy Spirit has the ground of Christ to work upon there will be much light and intelligence among the saints. The tragedy of the average believer, and of many companies of believers, is their spiritual ignorance, their little understanding, the smallness of their apprehension of Christ. Why do not the Lord's people read such parts of His Word as, for instance, 1 Cor. 2; 2 Cor. 3, 4, and 'Ephesians', with the registration that what is there is God's mind for them to have by the eye-opening, revealing work of the Holy Spirit?

4. The Integration of Purpose

When we look at those parts - or that section - of Ezekiel's prophecies which have to do with the existing condition of Israel, we see a people disintegrated, scattered, and disrupted. God's view of them was revealed in the vision of the valley of dry bones: many - very many - bones: spread over the valley; unarticulated and unco-ordinated: bare, dry, and useless by reason of their dividedness. What a true picture of the state where the vision of God's all-integrating purpose has been lost! How true are the words we read in Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint [fall apart; go to pieces]".

The mighty movement of the Spirit in the valley was not just motivated by the desire to have the bones together - "bone to its bone" - and clothed and covered. It was governed by the purpose of Israel's election, to be the channel through which - after the flesh - God's Son would come. Unity is always - in God's thought - to bring Christ in in fulness. To hinder that all hell is set on the disintegration of the people of God.

The real incentive to union is the recognition that by it the fulness of Christ will come in. This is 'Ephesians', and if 'Ezekiel' ends with the triumphant shout, "The Lord is there", it is the effect and result of the vision and apprehension of the Man on the Throne, and God's purpose concerning Him.

Immediately after the Cross the disciples and the followers of Jesus were very much like the bones in the valley. The metaphor is changed but the effect was the same. "I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matt. 26:31). Scattered and peeled! Helpless and shattered! But note the effect of the Spirit's energies on the Day of Pentecost. Gathered and integrated! Co-ordinated and unified! Clothed and nourished! They were on their feet - an army. The integration was truly the effect of the energies of the Spirit, but the great feature of their integration was the vision and power of the Divine purpose concerning Jesus Christ. The book of 'Acts' is the book of Purpose energized by the Holy Spirit, and it is the book of concerted action on that basis.

No wonder Satan delights in and works so hard for division, especially where the vision of God's purpose in His Son is most fully and clearly present.

God's Reactions in Purpose

History is marked by repeated reactions on the part of God. We have devoted a whole book to show something of these specific reactions (God's Reactions to Man's Defections), but it is necessary to mention it here in special relation to the Purpose. We have seen that God's method and instrument in this matter has been an elect people. Election particularly relates to purpose, it is not willy-nilly, nor arbitrary. To fail in the matter of purpose is to nullify the election and to lose - not essentially salvation, but certainly - the inheritance, i.e., that specific inheritance connected with the vocation.

The Old Testament representation of this is Israel. The nation was "an elect nation" for a particular purpose. The whole nation was called according to that purpose. When the body as a whole lost its vocational character it was rejected and sent into exile. The vocation was recovered in a Remnant. This Remnant was a rebuke and example to the whole. When eventually and ultimately Israel - the nation - forfeited their vocation among the nations by rejecting the very One who was to justify both their election and their existence, they were rejected and lost their place among the nations, as for the last nearly two thousand years.

The Church as the eternally elect body then came in in relation to a far greater and higher purpose than that related to Israel. Let it be emphasized that the existence of the Church is bound up with purpose. Failure here will mean spiritual Babylon, i.e., confusion, bondage, weakness, and frustration. But God reacts in a Remnant - "Overcomers"; and throughout history a thin red line of faithful and true witnesses - individual and corporate - is traceable, when the general state has been decadent.

It is very instructive to note the way of the Spirit in His movements to recover this government of purpose. The movements and their features are all so consistent and harmonious with the object.

Note, then

(1) The Spirit's Sovereignty in Function

Ezekiel had his function entirely changed by the Spirit's government. The prophet was really a trained priest. Youths of priestly lineage were meticulously trained for their office up to the age of thirty years, when they entered upon the work for which the training was to fit them. At that age (Ezek. 1:1), when he should have taken up his active priestly function, Ezekiel had all that particular training set aside and was called into the work of a prophet. This was a complete change of function for which he had received no special training. It is impressive to note that the same was true of the one whom Jesus called the greatest of the prophets - John the Baptist. John was of priestly lineage and family. His father was an acting priest. But the sovereign will of God and the energy of the Spirit changed all that and called upon John to function in another way. Jesus, although not of priestly tribe or lineage, was God's High Priest and essentially filled that capacity. But in His earthly ministry He was "...a prophet mighty in deed and word..." (Luke 24:19). In each case the hour demanded the Prophet, and God sovereignly changed the function to meet that need. Strange, unlikely, and unexpected choices and means are made by God when He has a special purpose on hand. The instruments might complain of natural unfitness, lack of training or qualification, but the Spirit takes full responsibility and sovereignty is justified at the end.

Then note

(2) The Essential Vocation

In keeping with the purpose among the nations, and not as exclusive to the instrument, the inclusive title of the prophet is noted. Ninety times in 'Ezekiel' the designation "Son of man" is used. Among the Prophets this is peculiar to Ezekiel. We know that the favourite title chosen by the Lord Jesus Himself was "The Son of man". Only twice in the eighty-two times where it occurs was it used by others.

There is a similarity and a difference. Ezekiel has no article: he is just "son of man". Jesus always has the article "The Son of man". The similarity is not in Person, but in Vocation. The infinite difference is in Person.

The vocational similarity is found in the meaning of the title. It is that of identification with man; representation of man. The idea is a very large one; it brings into view God's concern for mankind. Not Israel, but all mankind is God's concern. Man has ever been God's particular interest. It was when man was created that God found His rest and pronounced His satisfaction on all. There was no evening to that Day.

Israel's vocation was meant to be to all men. The Church's vocation is to "all the world". Christ is identified with and representative of man in the thought of God. This is the essential feature of the prophet's ministry, which ministry is to reveal the Man, and to lead to Him. Anything that puts the minister in a separate class and marks him off as apart from other men is a violation of a principle of the Spirit's way, and will, sooner or later, prove to be a limitation among men. Ezekiel said that he "sat where they sat". That was not the condescending act of a superior, an official, one of a special class. No, it was a man amongst men, seeing with their eyes and feeling with their hearts, yet seeing with the eyes of God and feeling with the heart of God. Jesus adopted no garb, habit, tone of voice, or badge to mark Himself off as different or apart from others. There was ample prejudice, suspicion, criticism, and that kind of thing to question His authority, and He never tried to overcome this attitude or get any advantage by artificial, official, or formal means. Nothing was assumed, put on, or feigned to make an impression and gain acceptance. The Holy Spirit of anointing was His sole basis and source of authority. That was enough and the centuries testify to it. Note then again, the title chosen by Him and linked by Him with every phase of His life and history was not one that men would look upon with honour, respect and awe, but "the Son of man". Different indeed, but in nature, not in anything external. At the same time remember who He was! He "emptied himself... and being found in fashion as a man..." (Phil. 2:7,8). That is said of the One who, in His own right, was equal with God.

What we have been saying is still further conveyed in other designations attached to Ezekiel. God's method in relation to purpose is the matter which is before us.

(3) The Vessel as "A Sign"

"Son of man... I have set thee for a sign"

"Say, I am your sign." (Ezek. 12:6,11; 24:24).

The prophet himself was a sign. There were many signs, but these were God's ways with the prophet to make him the sign. Those ways of God with His servant were not ordinary and usual ways. They were unusual, singular, and often very enigmatical, incomprehensible, and inscrutable. The thing to note is that with God the history of the vessel was the history of the people pre-written. He went through their history in advance of them. He not only prophesied, he was the prophecy.

Paul, the Apostle, was a sign of this dispensation in this way. If Paul was "a chosen vessel" for the special purpose of bringing in the particular purpose of this dispensation, namely, the revelation of the Church, its nature, place, and vocation in the eternal counsels of God (the stewardship of the mystery, he called his ministry); then Paul's history ran along those lines from his conversion to his departure to be with Christ. We make the observation without embodying the great amount of evidence here.

Is this not a law of God when Purpose is in view? Those who are "the called according to his purpose", and especially those - individual or collective - who are instruments or vessels of the Purpose, are taken through quite unusual and, otherwise, inexplicable experiences. Theirs is no ordinary way. The Purpose unto which they are called, if they are committed to the Holy Spirit, will be wrought into their very beings. Theirs is no studied or second-hand ministry. They are the message before they speak it. For them to have to hand up their message would be to part with their very life. It is a very costly way, but would we have it otherwise? Such a ministry is only possible if a total break with all else has been made. Ezekiel had to do things that made him a laughingstock to others. Sometimes they thought that he was mad. Whatever they thought and said, the time came when they could see their own experience in the light of his personal history. They literally went the way that he had gone symbolically. How effective was his life with God!

Chapter 3 - "A Watchman"

It is not too strong a thing to say that, in human life, everything hangs on a sense of purpose. Lose that, and we lose all motive and incentive in living and working.

A distinguished psychologist and psychiatrist has said that about a third of his cases are suffering from no specific neurosis, but from senselessness and emptiness of their lives. He says: 'Among my patients from many countries, all of them educated persons, there is a considerable number who come to me, not because they are suffering from a neurosis, but because they could find no meaning in life.' Someone else has said: 'The outstanding feature of our time is confusion, a depressing consciousness of futility and helplessness, and secret despair.' This, and much more is all too true, and, for this reason, there is a primary demand to return to that realm where 'Purpose' is a dominant feature. It is not wrong to say that the revealed truth that the world is not going to be an easier and better place to live and work in as we approach the end of the age, constitutes the main battle for faith where God's people are concerned, and it would be a very easy thing to let hands hang down, and for the knees to become feeble.

Over against all this, then, it is to some point that we have been led to the consideration of the 'Horizon of Purpose'.

A third specific point has to follow on and fit into our previous chapter, but we must continually keep in view the full setting and context. What we have pointed out is that the idea of Purpose stands over the whole Bible revelation. This all-governing idea explains all God's activities and interests in creation and men. In the Scriptures it is clear that God's Son, now known as Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the inclusive and ultimate sphere of all that Divine Purpose: that His Coming into this world; His life, death, resurrection, and exaltation are all immediately and exclusively related to the realisation of the Purpose: that the Holy Spirit has come as the age-long custodian of God's Purpose concerning His Son.

Further, it is revealed that the Church is the eternally elect vessel and instrument in which, and through which that Purpose is to be - in the first place - realised, and then administered in larger realms in "the ages to come": that it is the Church, as the Body of Christ, which is "called according to his purpose", and "chosen in him before the foundation of the world": and that individuals can and will only come into the realisation of that Purpose in an organically related way in the Body corporate.

Again, this "on high calling" explains the particular and peculiar spiritual history - the discipline, suffering, and trial - of those who are so called. Any truly spiritual ministry unto this Purpose, and any representation of it in companies of committed people of God do experience and suffer every wile, stratagem, and malicious effort of the evil powers to break them up, wear them out, pull them down onto earthly ground, force them to compromise, and so on. They are the object of every kind of misrepresentation, treachery, cruelty, ostracism, and discrediting.

All the above is more than amply revealed in Scripture. Israel was elect to illustrate and demonstrate all this in an earthly and historical way, and their history is just the history of Divine Purpose on two sides, one positive, when they were on the line of the Purpose; the other negative, when they got away from it, as they now are.

The Church is that in which the principles of the Eternal Purpose are taken up in a spiritual, heavenly and eternal way. All this has been implicit in what we have said earlier.

We have been in 'Ezekiel' because there in a way more definite and clear the two sides mentioned above are embodied and represented. There certainly is the temporal and historic side as to Israel, and the spiritual principles are clearly observable in the symbolisms, figures, signs, and mysteries. But there is much in 'Ezekiel' which is super-historical, extra-local, -temporal, -earthly; and which cannot be realised in an earthly nation without doing serious violence to the first advent of Christ, the meaning of His Cross, and present position and work. The Letter to the Hebrews, the Letter to the Galatians, and other vital and categorical statements as to the fulness and finality of Christ's work - the "once for ever" sacrifice and redemption - cannot be set aside because of a failure to discern and discriminate between what was only intended to be an earthly object lesson - which forfeited its calling and vocation - and that eternal, heavenly reality which, in principle, is implicit in God's methods in every age.

Now then, back to 'Ezekiel'. In this book we have - in the main - two things. In relation to Purpose - which is so evidently characteristic and dominating throughout - there is, firstly, the instrument and vessel, elect and dealt with on the sole basis of vocation. That vocation being universal (unto all nations) for a witness (what they were) and a testimony (what they declared). It was the failure in this by exclusiveness, making themselves the limit or 'horizon', and by pride, jealousy, bigotry, and fear, withholding from the nations the knowledge of God and His concern for their salvation; it was this self-centredness and self-sufficiency which lost them their place and purpose. By judgment, discipline, warning, entreaty, and the voice of all the prophets, God sought to recall them to their position with Him in order to make them a blessing among the nations. This they finally and fully refused when the greatest of all the prophets - and more than a prophet - appeared among them, "whom they slew, hanging him upon a tree".

What we said at the beginning of this chapter about the malady of frustration and meaninglessness afflicting so many, has been literally true of the Jewish nation, ever since they were set aside, and the Church inherited what they forfeited - in a spiritual way. Let the Church take note of this solemn warning and avoid like a plague anything that would militate against its heavenly calling and vocation; and let it realise that it is 'horizoned' by Purpose, which "calling and election" must be made sure. Too many things have started out in the glorious emancipation and release of Christ in resurrection and have in course of time become something in themselves, jealous for themselves, fearful of being touched in their resources or 'work', or community; the result being that their original vitality and effectiveness has been largely lost. It is eventually some thing, whereas it was once the Lord.

Having seen the election of a corporate vessel, the other thing in 'Ezekiel' is the specific nature of its ministry. This we have seen as represented by two of the three designations of the Prophet, in this book, i.e., "son of man" and "a sign".

We now proceed to consider the third.

"A Watchman"

This is what Israel ought to have been to all the nations (illustrated, e.g., by Jonah and Nineveh). This is what the Church ought to be to the world. This is what every local church ought to be to its locality. But, in 'Ezekiel' where things are bad in the nation, the designation and its meaning apply to the people of God themselves; and in this connection we consider it here. It must now - while still being a call to the Church and churches as such - be a call for specific ministries within the Church. What we say then is, in the first place, to the servants of God.

"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:1-9).

This is not an altogether new idea or title for the Lord's servant. It occurs more than once in Isaiah in an objective and kind of abstract way. No one else but Ezekiel is mentioned as having been specifically appointed to this position.

It will be noted that this appointment took place very early in his ministry.

What then was the particular function of the Watchman, and what were his essential characteristics?

Firstly, and supremely, he was the custodian of the elect purpose of the people to whom he was appointed. The very existence of those people as related to the Divine purpose was very largely in his hands. In this respect, perhaps one of the most clamant and urgent needs of our time is of this prophetic function. There are Evangelists, whose function is related to the unsaved, and positively not the oversight of a local church. For the Evangelist to get - or be put - into such a position will sooner or later mean that he frustrates the full purpose of God by keeping God's people to a very limited and elementary measure of Christ. This is the tragedy of any evangelistic work which stops at itself. It is the tragedy of many so-called Gospel Missions and Mission Halls. They often serve to abort full purpose and spiritual maturity. Let the Evangelist - anointed of God - do his work, but let him - and all others - recognize that his work is only relative and not something in itself apart.

The world is now seeing the terrible spectacle of Christians and a 'Church' unable to meet and go through the awful fires of testing, and without the tremendous impact of an authoritative witness and message. In a day of spiritual declension or weakness, it is the Prophetic function that is needed.

The Watchman's Vocation is at Night

Firstly then, the Watchman must have a deep sense of the essential purpose for which God's people exist. He must know, with a heart-consuming 'burden' what one immense phrase means - "according to his purpose". It is his mission to instil into God's people this supremely important matter of "the on high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). The servant of the Lord is essentially one who has had his eyes opened, and that to the superlative purpose of salvation, grace, redemption.

This man must be one who can see in the dark.

He compasses the whole Horizon of Christ. He is alert to all that invades that Horizon to destroy or spoil the vocation of God's people. He cannot force them to heed his warning or obey his entreaty. His it is to see, to proclaim, to be faithful, to know.

We have heard it said without due thought that a people are the expression and representation of the ministry they receive. This is only half the truth. They may not lay it to heart; they may "hear and not give heed", "see and not perceive". They may be in the presence of the best that the Lord can give, and be a very poor expression of it. The point here is that the Watchman must be exonerated by his faithfulness. This is the message of Ezekiel 33. A people may disintegrate, lose out, and be a denial of all that God has said, but it must never be rightly laid to the charge of the Watchman.

It is costly, lonely, and wearisome work, this vocation of the Watchman. A psalmist said. "My soul looketh for the Lord, more than watchmen look for the morning" (Psalm 130:6). Often a watchman had to do a day's work and then be called to go on duty at night. How he longed for the first rays of dawn so that he could creep away for a little rest before the day's work began again. The Watchmen of God often long for the darkness to pass, but they must not sleep while it lasts. Within the meaning of this vocation there lies the necessity to discern and be able to interpret the portents, the processes, the implications of developments and events, especially as they affect the people of God.

His Horizon is Christ, and his supreme and inclusive business is to see the significance of Christ in God's eternal purpose.

The Watchman in the Prophets was a man depicted or described as a man with a 'burden' - "the burden of the word of the Lord".

So great are the issues of Purpose, so vital to life and work is the meaning of the Church's eternal vocation, that anyone who enters into it in reality will be one who has a deep sense of heavy responsibility. What he says is what he has seen! But it is unto the seeing that God would bring all His people, for only as they see can they fulfil their heavenly calling. The Church itself is meant to be a Body with eyes wide open. The quest of the Great Church-Apostle must be the quest of the Church itself - "a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the [full] knowledge of him" (Ephesians 1:17).

Chapter 4 - "The Lord is There"

When we speak of anything being a criterion, we mean just what the dictionary gives as the definition, i.e., 'the principle taken as the standard of judging'; 'any established law or principle by which propositions or opinions are compared, in order to discover their truth'. So a criterion is that by which the truth and value of any matter is determined. By such-and-such a principle or fact the whole thing stands or falls; is true or false. That then is our objective in relation to Divine Purpose. Can we put our finger definitely upon that Divine Purpose and see that it is the climax, the culmination of all God's ways? Well, what is that climax, that one Divine end, by which everything is to be judged, now and for ever?

In these chapters we have been allowing the prophet Ezekiel to be our guide and interpreter, seeing that the book which goes by his name is not only a book about prophecies and history, but a book of spiritual principles with a much greater context than earth and time. When we reach the end of that book, we find ourselves in the presence of that great ultimate, that universal climax, that realised purpose, and it is all summed up in the brief, though vast, phrase:

"The Lord is There".

What a wide field is opened by that climacteric phrase! The Bible is bounded by this supreme concept. It opens and closes with the presence of God with man. It is the governing issue throughout all its pages and phases. There are almost countless aspects of this one thing, but, be it so, the issue is just this alone: Is the Lord there or is He not? Is the Lord in that or is He not? Is the Lord with that, with him or her, in that place, in that decision or course, or is He not? That is the criterion. His presence with unfallen man and His departure from disobedient man is an eternal principle. His presence in the beginning indicates purpose. His presence by the Incarnation of His Son is unto the redemption of the purpose. His presence by the Holy Spirit is to make that purpose actual as an inward thing.

The major aspects force us back to basic considerations. Let us not hurry on with greatness of vision, but pause and quietly tell ourselves that what is more vital and important than anything else in all our life is that the Lord is with us. Futility, vanity, disappointment and remorse will most certainly overtake us, sooner or later, and overtake all our undertakings if, at length, it should be found that the Lord is not with us. It is a perilous thing to go on without the Lord. Moses, who did know something, cried: "If thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence". Mere assumption in this matter may well prove to have been fatal presumption. "Supposing him to be in the company" may lead to the necessity to retrieve the value of the whole journey (Luke 2:44).

The Bible shows that nothing can be done which will be of eternal value unless God is in it.

When we have settled this basic fact and let it become the ever- and all-dominating principle in life and work, we are ready to appreciate certain other things which stand out so clearly in this connection. The first of these is:

The Holy Spirit's Meticulous and Scrupulous Exactness.

If the Holy Spirit is jealous for the main object, He is shown to be equally jealous for the detailed features. This can be seen in various connections.

If the creation and man were intended for the presence of God, they had to be a meticulous expression of God's mind. God was Himself the Architect. God was Himself working scrupulously to a Pattern. (The whole Bible shows that Pattern to be His Son.) The Holy Spirit became the Custodian and energy of that Pattern. Nothing was haphazard, left to chance, or left to man or angels to conceive or design.

Another great and forceful example of the principle was the Tabernacle of Testimony. Here, again, nothing in design, even to a pin or a stitch, a measurement, a material, a position, was left to man. It was all to be according to "the pattern shewn". The Holy Spirit took charge of the artisans, and only when 'all things were according to the pattern' did God presence Himself. The slightest deflection would have meant that it was only an empty shell without God.

The same is to be noted in the Temple of Solomon and the Temple of Ezekiel's vision.

When it comes to the consummate presentation of that which (Him who) is typified in the Old Testament - the Incarnate Son of God - "Emmanuel, God with us" - again, the Spirit of God takes over and governs all the details of His conception, birth, life, history, works, death, resurrection, etc. See the place of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. God's Son will Himself declare that "the Son can no nothing of [out from] himself, but... the Father" (John 5:19).

After the Person comes

The Corporate Body - The Church.

The Architect is God the Father. The Builder is God the Son. The Custodian and energy is God the Holy Spirit.

Here, again, nothing in conception and planning is left to angels or men. If man interferes, insinuates himself, and tries to organize or run the Church, so much the worse for the man, as the New Testament both shows in results and declares in words. Nothing but confusion, frustration and shame can follow man's hand upon that which exists wholly for the presence of God.

The last chapters of the Bible must be read in the light of all the immediately preceding chapters. There we see the progressive judgment in every realm - beginning with the churches - of everything unsuitable to the presence of the Lord. The end is all that removed and a state - symbolically represented - which is suitable to Him, and "the Lord is there".

What a challenge all this is: to the Christian to "walk in the Spirit"; for the Church and the churches to be governed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The hand of man is a defiled thing. Only "he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart" can "ascend into the hill of the Lord". We may not put our hand on one another for judgment or control. We may not put our hand on the House of God. We may not (like Uzza) put our hand on the ark. Woe to Uzzah, to Ananias and Sapphira, to Diotrophes, who touch the holy things of the Lord's presence with fleshly hands of natural strength, ambition, and pride!

How safe it is to be where the Lord is if, through the Cross, we are made suitable. How dangerous it is even to draw near without taking off the shoes of association with the cursed world!

These are shorter chapters in the 'Horizon' series, but they are particularly concentrated and must be taken more for intrinsic values than for volume of material.