It is always a very dangerous thing for
me to say that I will try to
be brief.
Many of you have good reason to be
skeptical.
But it is at any rate in my
heart to try and gather into a few
words the predominant note and message of
this conference.
And as a key to that, I turn
you to the first letter to the Corinthians,
chapter 15, at
verse 25.
He must reign till he hath put all
his enemies
under
his feet.
Our eyes have been turned in these hours
to that throne, seen by Ezekiel through the
opened heavens with a man, the appearance as
of a man upon it about.
And we have seen, I trust, a little
of the truth.
That everything, everything that follows is just
the expression and manifestation of that throne.
And the absolute exaltation of the Lord Jesus
above all things.
Now when Paul wrote these words, we have
just read, he was not thinking of some
future time when Christ would reign and
put all his enemies under his feet.
He was not thinking of Jesus as waiting
for a time to come when something would
be done that would put him in that
position and bring about that result.
Whenever Paul, or for that matter, any of
the apostles, referred to Christ's exaltation and lordship,
he and they always regarded it and spoke
of it as a present thing.
They looked on into the future, saw something
more of its outworking, but to them it
was not a future thing in its beginning
or in its actuality.
To them it was now.
And when he said he must reign, he
meant he is reigning and must continue to
reign until he has made all his enemies,
or put all his enemies under his feet.
That is the thing that has to be
recovered in our consciousness and in our conviction.
That is the thing which has to be
restored to its place in the Church's life
and the Church's consciousness continually.
For to a very large extent, while the
Church adheres to the doctrine of the exaltation
of Christ, his kingship and lordship, the reality,
the power, and the consciousness of it has
been lost to a very large extent.
Church, in the beginning, lived in the consciousness
and in the power of the fact, as
it was to them, that Jesus was on
the throne.
Undoubtedly, unquestionably, he was on the throne.
He was Lord of all.
Peter affirmed it.
He is Lord of all.
Paul said God did set him far above
all rule and authority.
It's something accomplished.
That was their view of the matter.
That was their conviction.
That was their consciousness.
And it was so powerful with them as
to affect every aspect of their lives.
It was so at the beginning.
And until that is as true, as true
in the life and realization of the Church
in our time, the same results and effects
will not be found in the Church or
through the Church.
Believe me, dear friends, that if the progress
of the Gospel, if the mighty impact and
registration of Christ at that time, was such
as to not allow a comparison with the
deplorable state today in the Church, it was
due to this one thing.
You wish to trace the secret of their
power, their influence, their progress, their onward march
in spite of a world of terrible hostility,
persecution, martyrdom, and every other kind of adversity.
They marched forward terrible as an army with
banners, described as the people who had turned
the world upside down.
You wish to discover the secret.
You'll find it here.
He must reign.
He must reign till he hath put all
his enemies under his feet.
He is reigning.
Now I could do nothing, I know quite
well, to straighten your conviction as to the
truth as a truth, but that's where we
are left so helpless.
We can but emphasize the matter and are
cast so much upon the Holy Spirit to
make the thing live.
Nevertheless, nevertheless, we can be called back.
We can be warned.
We can be counseled.
We can be exalted.
And as far as that can be, it
shall be tonight.
Let us get into this thing a little
more deeply.
We have said that for the apostles the
reign of Christ had already begun.
It did obtain in their time.
How did they come to that conviction, to
that knowledge?
We will for our purpose keep to the
man whose words we have extracted, the man
Paul.
Paul's knowledge of Christ as reigning sprang out
of his personal experience of that fact.
He had had an encounter in his life
with the reigning, the glorified Lord.
And the Lord from heaven had had an
encounter with him.
It had become something in his own personal
experience, history, and life.
Yes, it was something very personal.
It has to be that.
Until it is that, it can be very
theoretical.
It has to be personally experimental.
And it was with Paul.
In that encounter on the way to Damascus,
two very personal words had been used.
And I think it all centers in that
fact.
First of all, Paul had been spoken to
by his own personal name.
Saul.
His own name called and reiterated.
He is being nailed down to this personal
level.
He is not getting away with it.
He is not being allowed to mistake what
he hears.
It's being directed to the man in his
own personal name.
He is not mixed up in a crowd.
He is not just met in a teaching.
It has come right straight at him.
As a man.
As an individual.
Saul.
Dear friends, while I am not suggesting, we
have all to have the same form of
encounter.
We have all to have the same crisis.
That is, we are all to have and
can have a point in our life when
we come face to face with the absolute
lordship of Jesus Christ.
And there is the crisis upon which all
the future turns.
It is a tremendous thing to come face
to face with the lordship.
It's a greater thing than coming face to
face with the saviourhood.
There are many people who are saved by
the saviour and own him as saviour.
But whose lives are seriously lacking in the
power of lordship.
Of his lordship.
That's a statement, we leave it.
And then the other very personal word was
when he said, Who art thou, Lord?
The answer came, I am Jesus.
And lest Saul should prevaricate and try to
evade dead round by saying, Yes, but our
country is full of men by that name.
Which Jesus do you mean?
The Lord safeguarded by saying, Whom thou persecutest.
The Jesus whom thou persecutest.
That's the one I am.
And Saul knew who that one was.
He knew who that one was.
He had but one Jesus in all his
thoughts and in all his plans.
And that one Jesus, he was determined to
blot out and wipe out of the world's
memory.
He was out to eradicate every trace of
that Jesus.
He knew that one right enough.
It was filling his consciousness at this very
time.
I am Jesus.
The one that you are persecuting.
See how possible the Lord made this matter.
Brought it right home to the man himself
and then to the very purpose of his
life.
The very thing to which he had dedicated,
consecrated all his strength of mind and body
for its destruction.
Brought it right home there.
I am Jesus.
Something like that, something like that is necessary,
is really necessary.
If the after results in his life are
to have any kind of repetition in the
church and in us, that he has got
to make this a matter where we are
not just one of a multitude, but a
matter where we personally and individually have come
under his personal domination and lordship.
Absolutely.
And our whole life, our whole life, yet
all our ambitions, all our enterprises, all our
commitments, everything is now brought under his lordship.
Tremendous thing.
But the glory of that throne weeps upon
the acceptance of its governance, its lordship.
From that transaction shall we call it, that
crisis, that vision, always afraid of that word,
that seeing.
And you don't need to have it visually
in a physical way.
We all know what that means inwardly.
From that vision, and that encounter, and that
crisis, everything else took its rise in the
life of Paul the Apostle.
Everything from that moment was transfigured, transformed, and
seen in an entirely new way in the
light of Jesus as on the throne.
I'm not straining, trying to exaggerate.
I'm only stressing what is so true and
so evident.
See, after that Paul went for a little
while to Damascus, and then he went away
to Arabia, spent a long time.
And he went there with his Bible, I'm
quite sure, all the evidences of it.
And the Bible in one hand, and Jesus
on the throne in the other.
You want to know your Bible, that's the
way, that's the key, that's the door.
Jesus on the throne and the Bible.
And he got a transfigured Bible.
He got a new Bible.
He saw his Bible with which he was
very familiar in a new and a living
light through, through that great truth, Jesus, Jesus
on the throne.
And as he went back over the Bible
that he had, right the way back, he
saw, yes, yes, that's what's here, inherent everywhere.
He saw that the Bible was really the
book of one thing, God's intention to have
a man and his kind in dominion, reigning
in glory.
This matter of the glory of a man
in heaven interpreted everything, explained everything.
You come to think of it, it does
open the Bible.
Why these awful conditions?
Because that's contrary to what God intended.
It declares it, it declares it.
You see, dear friends, if you could realize
it, as you look out on the world,
the awful conditions in the nations, you need
not look far afield.
Although it's very terrible out there, we only
have to look round about us.
The terrible conditions of suffering, of misery, of
evil.
Fuck them up.
Why?
Why does God allow it as the question
of the doubter, of the cynic?
The answer is here.
God allows that which is contrary to him
to shout at men that it is contrary.
He never meant it to be like that.
When things go wrong, God doesn't just pass
it over, smooth it over, and let it
go as though it didn't matter.
He makes it shout its own crime and
its own tragedy.
The world is screaming with its own tragedy,
and it's the tragedy of a missed purpose
of God.
Interpret that to the world, and you've got
a way of bringing in the gospel.
But we mustn't stay with all that.
See, the Bible sprang into life for Paul.
And it's an amazing thing how, from that
moment, he took his Bible with him everywhere,
and the one thing he was preaching was
Jesus is Lord.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
The exalted Lord, the exalted Christ, the glorified
Christ was his name.
And Paul preached from the Bible.
From the Bible.
It changed his Bible for him.
It was responsible for and accounted for his
whole mission and work.
What constituted him an apostle?
What was it that was the great business
to which he was committed?
Well, his mission and his work was impassioned
and motivated and controlled by this, just this
one thing, the absolute glory of the Lord
Jesus.
That Jesus should come into his rightful place
in this world and in human hearts.
That was the one motive, the one object,
the one dominating thing in all his work,
in all his mission.
It was not this and that and a
number of things, one central but all-inclusive
passion, Jesus, as Lord, to be that in
human lives.
His work and his mission were both transfigured
and controlled by this that had come into
his experience.
His sufferings and his endurance were made possible
by this vision.
Sometimes he makes light of his sufferings.
If ever a man suffered, I think that
man suffered.
Don't know that there were many ways in
which he did not suffer.
He suffered greatly, many sufferings and heavy sufferings.
But listen, our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, what if for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
while we look not at the things that
are seen, but things that are unseen, and
amongst those supremely and over them all, whom
having not seen ye loves, in whom now
believing, ye'll rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory.
Well, that's mixing Peter up with Paul, but
they're all in the same category and mood.
But the point, how was it that he
was able to endure and suffer triumphantly just
because of this basic and central thing, the
deep, strong sense, consciousness and conviction that Jesus
was on the throne.
I believe that this also was the key
to Paul's understanding of the church.
As no one else, perhaps, Paul had the
greatest comprehension and understanding of the church.
From eternity to eternity he goes right back
into the councils before the world was and
sees it there in the heart and thought
of God.
Comes right through and sees it in the
great consummation of the ages of the ages.
He had a marvelous comprehension of the church,
but listen to the things he says.
The highest things, the fullest things, the most
complete expression of the meaning of the church,
the vocation of the church.
As we have before said, he sums it
up in this matchless phrase.
Now unto him who is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think according to the power that worketh in
us, the church, unto him be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus unto
all ages forever and ever.
Glory in the church.
What glory?
Glory of the glorified Christ.
I could stay long, as you know, with
the matter of the church and its eternal
vocation and election to be the vessel of
the glory of Christ.
John puts it in his own symbolic way
at the end, in terms of the city.
It's simply the glory of Christ in expression
at last.
That's what the church was chosen for.
That is what the church is called unto,
to be the vessel, the seat of this
authority, this government and this glory.
Christ in glory gave the clue to Paul
as to the church and gave an ever
-growing explanation of its meaning.
The same thing accounted for his concern for
the churches.
Now no one will question that Paul had
tremendous concern for the churches.
He says that he travelled for them.
He wept day and night for them.
He longed and yearned over them, spent himself
for them.
Why?
What was the motive?
What prompted all that?
Ah, it was the glory of his Lord
Jesus.
Churches existed for the glory of Christ.
He said so.
It was all just for that one thing,
the glory of Christ.
And if there was any deflection, if there
was anything that was not right in a
church or in the churches, if anything could
be done whatsoever to help them, it was
all motivated by this one thing, that the
Lord Jesus should in all things be glorified.
See, he was governed in everything by this
thing.
And if we pass to the end of
it all and look at Paul's writings about
the coming again of the Lord, what is
it?
What is it that's uppermost with him in
the coming of the Lord?
Is it the end of his troubles?
Is it just for his own joy and
pleasure in getting to heaven?
Is it anything like that at all?
Oh no, it's the reign of his Lord.
That his Lord is coming into his own,
coming into his kingdom, coming into his rights,
coming to the place that he ought to
have and be seated that place universally.
That's the great thing.
One thing, giving birth and giving rise to
everything else.
He must reign.
He'll reign.
Christ is reigning.
Christ is active.
On several occasions he is spoken of as
on ascension having sat down in heaven.
Having sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty in heaven.
He sat down.
If you notice, whenever it is said that
he sat down, it is invariably related to
the finishing of his redemptive work.
That's done.
On the other hand, he stands.
No contradiction.
It's only an implication of a different meaning.
Stephen saw him, I see the heavens open
and the Son of Man standing.
The right hand of God standing.
He's spoken of as standing.
When it's a matter of the work of
redemption, it's finished.
There's nothing more to do.
He can sit down.
When it's a matter of the working out
of that redemption, here in this world he's
on his feet.
When there's a challenge to what he has
done, he rises up.
Stephen is in the presence of that challenge
and the Exalted Lord is on his feet.
He's on his feet for his testimony.
He's active, that's the point.
He's active.
He is not just passively sitting down and
waiting.
And waiting till his enemies are put under
him.
He is putting them under.
He stands to work this thing out.
Now, the activity of the reigning Lord is
seen in several ways, only to be mentioned.
Firstly, he is taking out of the nations
a people for his name.
For his name, a people out of the
nations.
Great illustration in the Old Testament that, of
course, is Israel in Egypt.
Taking a people out for his name.
It's a tremendous business that.
You can't do that sitting down.
What a business it was to get that
people out of Egypt for his name.
He extended the Prince of this world and
exhausted all his power and all his resources
and all his endurance.
And got them out.
We are left in no doubt about it.
That it was the Old Testament, the Old
Testament demonstration of the supreme power of God.
There is only one demonstration that exceeds that,
and that's New Testament.
When he raised him from the dead, the
exceeding greatness of the power.
Set him at his own right hand.
That's exceeding greatness of power.
But it was a tremendous thing to get
Israel out of Egypt as a people for
his name.
And it is no less a thing to
get this people out of the nations for
his name.
Prince of this world withstands some challenges at
every point in every way.
No soul is going to be released from
that bondage and that kingdom without a fight.
It's made far too easy.
People are put into a false position by
being made too easy.
If we did that, no.
We've got to stand into the throne for
souls.
To get them out.
But he's doing it.
In spite of so much.
Some of you here have come from those
parts of the world where the prince of
this world has a terrible home.
A very terrible home.
So much at his command.
And you know, you know something of what
it means to get just one soul out
of that.
Suffering and the travail and the anguish and
the cost bound up with getting one soul
out of a nation for his name.
It's a tremendous business.
It wants the throne.
A very terrible home.
So much at his command.
And you know, you know something of what
it means to get just one soul out
of that.
Suffering and the travail and the anguish and
the cost bound up with getting one soul
out of a nation for his name.
It's a tremendous business.
It wants the throne.
The mighty throne.
But he is doing it.
Point is, there is so much like Pharaoh
and Egypt, but greater than that, against this.
And yet he is doing it.
We are a little company from a number
of nations.
And we are here as a testament of
the fact that his power is greater than
every other power.
He is taking out of the nations, people,
for our present liking, too slowly.
But he is doing it.
Second thing he is doing is constituting the
life of that people on heavenly principles.
Which he had freer scope, fuller scope to
do it.
But he is doing that.
That is, he is inculcating the life and
laws of heaven into that people.
And again, the illustration is Israel at Sinai
and in the wilderness.
There the heavenly laws were given.
And they were constituted according to heavenly principles.
Tested, tried, proved, according to the laws of
heaven.
Stayed with that a long time.
Their very daily bread had to come from
heaven.
They had to live out of heaven.
Live on heaven.
Their life had to be indeed a heavenly
life.
There was nothing here to constitute them God's
people.
They had to be constituted on a heavenly
basis.
And that is what the Lord, the risen
Lord is seeking to do and is doing
with his people.
Only we understood again our experiences.
We should see that's the explanation and interpretation.
He is seeking to reconstitute us on a
heavenly basis of life.
I can only state it.
But he is energetically trying to do it.
Because we don't understand what he is doing,
we are so slow in the changeover.
Let us recognize the fact and take it
to heart.
And the third thing that he is doing
is putting all his enemies under his feet.
And that takes us with Israel over the
Jordan into the land.
See there how those nations were put under
the feet of Joshua through the people.
And the counterpart of that now is that
it is through his church that the Lord
Jesus is bringing his enemies under his feet.
Oh that we were more efficient in this,
that it were more true of us that
we like the people are putting the enemies
under our Joshua's feet.
That's a challenge, it's a truth.
But he is doing it, putting his enemies
under his feet and doing it through his
church.
So imperfectly, with such limitations, but that is
his way.
Old Gernal, the writer of the Christian in
Armour, speaking of the serpent's head being put
under the Lord's heel, in imagination sees the
Lord saying to his church, I have put
him under my heel, come you and put
your heel upon him.
Cooperation with the Lord Jesus in this matter
does speak softly, carefully.
There is something he is doing and you
can see the temptation that at once arises
to see how he has done it through
the centuries.
It's a tremendous story.
The very long term nature of it, the
extension of it over time may rob it
of some of its force in our consciousness.
If you could bring it all together, just
put it all together, the story of how
he has done it through the centuries, what
a story it would be.
Israel bonded itself against him and his Lordship.
Where is Israel?
Can Israel lift up its head all through
these centuries?
It's been bruised, unable to lift itself up,
impotent, paralyzed.
It bonded itself against the throne of the
exalted Christ.
Rome entered into the battle to try this
thing.
There's Caesar with all his mighty power and
resources determined, determined to destroy that name and
that power.
Where is Caesar?
Where is Rome and all its mighty power?
It's gone down into shame and into the
dust.
Has not been able to lift itself up
again.
I could go on like that.
In our own lifetime, most of us, we
have seen men who have made a bid
for world dominion and heaven says that's reserved
for one only.
And what has happened?
Man after man has ended his career in
ignominy.
Worse than that, who made that bid for
the place of God's Son, for the throne,
right up to date.
And it will be the same thing with
the rest of them.
It's reserved to him.
He must reign till he has put all
his enemies under his feet.
He will do it.
Back to Ezekiel, where we have found so
much on this very matter.
Ezekiel, how does he put it?
Right in the midst of his prophecies, right
at the very center of the book, with
this state of things, in Israel, in captivity,
the captivity itself, the mighty power of Babylon,
all these world powers, enthralling, holding, seeking this
place of absolute supremacy, Ezekiel cries, As from
God, I will overturn, overturn, overturn, till he
shall come, whose right it is, whose right
it is.
He must reign till he hath put all
his enemies under his feet.
May that transfigure the way for us.