Darby Synopsis

5. Colossians to Revelation

By John Nelson Darby

B&P

Bibles & Publications

5706 Monkland, Montréal, Québec H4A 1E6

BTP #nnnn

BibleTruthPublishers.com

59 Industrial Road, Addison, IL 60101, U.S.A.

BTP# 15311

Darby Synopsis

Contents

Colossians ......................................................................10

Colossians 1 ...................................................................13

Colossians 2 ...................................................................37

Colossians 3 ...................................................................53

Colossians 4 ...................................................................72

1essalonians ..............................................................78

1essalonians 1 ...........................................................80

1essalonians 2 ...........................................................95

1essalonians 3 .........................................................104

1essalonians 4 .........................................................114

1essalonians 5 .........................................................124

2essalonians ............................................................ 146

2essalonians 1 .........................................................148

2essalonians 2 .........................................................153

2essalonians 3 .........................................................170

1Timothy ...................................................................172

1Timothy 1.................................................................175

1Timothy 2.................................................................184

1Timothy 3.................................................................189

1Timothy 4.................................................................197

1Timothy 5.................................................................202

1Timothy 6.................................................................204

2Timothy ...................................................................209

2Timothy 1.................................................................211

2Timothy 2.................................................................234

2Timothy 3.................................................................245

2Timothy 4.................................................................256

Titus 266

Titus 1 .........................................................................267

Titus 2 .........................................................................276

Titus 3 .........................................................................280

Philemon .....................................................................288

Hebrews ......................................................................295

Hebrews 1 ...................................................................308

Hebrews 2 ...................................................................318

Darby Synopsis

Hebrews 3 ...................................................................329

Hebrews 4 ...................................................................338

Hebrews 5 ...................................................................346

Hebrews 6 ...................................................................351

Hebrews 7 ...................................................................360

Hebrews 8 ...................................................................365

Hebrews 9 ...................................................................368

Hebrews 10 .................................................................389

Hebrews 11 .................................................................410

Hebrews 12 .................................................................429

Hebrews 13 .................................................................439

James ...........................................................................444

James 1 ........................................................................449

James 2 ........................................................................454

James 3 ........................................................................459

James 4 ........................................................................461

James 5 ........................................................................463

1Peter .........................................................................470

1Peter 1 ......................................................................471

1Peter 2 ......................................................................483

1Peter 3 ......................................................................493

1Peter 4 ......................................................................498

1Peter 5 ......................................................................510

2Peter .........................................................................514

2Peter 1 ......................................................................516

2Peter 2 ......................................................................530

2Peter 3 ......................................................................532

1John ..........................................................................536

1John 1 .......................................................................538

1John 2 .......................................................................547

1John 3 .......................................................................568

1John 4 .......................................................................577

1John 5 .......................................................................592

2John ..........................................................................602

3John ..........................................................................605

Jude 608

e Revelation .............................................................617

Revelation 1 .................................................................623

Darby Synopsis

Revelation 2 .................................................................637

Revelation 3 .................................................................643

Revelation 4 .................................................................653

Revelation 5 .................................................................659

Revelation 6 .................................................................662

Revelation 7 .................................................................665

Revelation 8 .................................................................669

Revelation 9 .................................................................671

Revelation 10 ...............................................................673

Revelation 11 ...............................................................674

Revelation 12 ...............................................................678

Revelation 13 ...............................................................682

Revelation 14 ...............................................................687

Revelation 15 ...............................................................691

Revelation 16 ...............................................................694

Revelation 17 ...............................................................697

Revelation 18 ...............................................................700

Revelation 19 ...............................................................702

Revelation 20 ...............................................................707

Revelation 21 ...............................................................712

Revelation 22 ...............................................................717

Darby Synopsis

73258

Colossians

e scope of the epistle compared and contrasted

with that to the Ephesians; the state of the Ephesian and

Colossian Christians

e Epistle to the Colossians looks at the Christian as

risen with Christ, but not, as in that to the Ephesians, as

sitting in heavenly places in Christ. A hope is laid up for

him in heaven; he is to set his aections on things above,

not on things on the earth. He has died with Christ and

he is risen with Him, but not sitting in heavenly places in

Him yet. We have in it a proof of that which other epistles

demonstrate, namely, the blessed way in which our God in

His grace turns everything to the good of those that love

Him.

In the Epistle to the Ephesians the Holy Spirit had

developed the counsels of God with regard to the church-

its privileges. e Christians of Ephesus had nothing to be

reproached with:1 therefore the Holy Spirit could use the

occasion furnished by that faithful ock to unfold all the

privileges which God had ordained for the church at large,

by virtue of its union with Jesus Christ its Head, as well as

the individual privileges of the children of God.

(1. How painful it is to see this beloved church taken

afterwards as an example of the rst love being lost! But all

tends to the end.)

It was not so with the Colossians. ey had in some

measure slipped away from this blessed portion and lost

the sense of their union with the Head of the body; at

least, if it was not actually so, they were assailed by the

Colossians

danger and liable to the inuence of those who sought to

draw them away from it and subject them to the inuence

of philosophy and Judaism, so that the Apostle had to

occupy himself with the danger and not merely with their

privileges. is union with our Head (thank God!) cannot

itself be lost; but as a truth in the church or of realization

by individuals, it may. We know this but too well in the

church of the day we live<P005> in. is, however, gives

occasion to the Spirit of God to develop all the riches

and all the perfection which are found in the Head and

in His work, in order to recover the members of the body

from their spiritual feebleness or maintain them in the full,

practical enjoyment of their union with Christ and in the

power of the position gained for them by that union. For

us this is abiding instruction with regard to the riches that

are in the Head.

If the Epistle to the Ephesians delineates the privileges

of the body, that to the Colossians reveals the fullness that

is in the Head and our completeness in Him. us, in that

to the Ephesians the church is the fullness of Him who

lls all in all; in that to the Colossians, all the fullness of

the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily, and we are complete

in Him. ere is another dierence, however, which it is

important to remark. In the Epistle to the Colossians we

do not-save in the expression “love in the Spirit”- nd any

mention of the Holy Spirit. He is fully brought forward in

the Ephesians. But, on the other hand, we have Christ as

our life far more fully developed, of equal importance in

its place. In Ephesians we have more largely the contrast

of heathenism with Christian privilege and state. e

formation of the soul in living likeness to Christ is largely

developed in Colossians. It is more, in the well-known

Darby Synopsis

expressions, Christ in us than we in Christ, though these

cannot be separated. A further important dierence is that

in Ephesians the unity of Jew and Gentile in one body

holds a large place. In Colossians the Gentiles only are in

view, though in connection with the doctrine of the body.

ese dierences well noted, we may say that the two

epistles have a great resemblance in their general character.

Colossians 1

73259

Colossians 1

e great general resemblances in the two epistles

ey commence in nearly the same way.1 Both are

written from Rome, while the Apostle was a prisoner in

that city, and sent by the same messenger and on the same

occasion, as well probably as that to Philemon: so the names

and salutations give us reason to believe. e address to the

Ephesians places them perhaps<P006> more immediately

in connection with God Himself, instead of presenting

them as in brotherly communion on earth. ey are not

called brethren in Ephesians 1:1, only saints and faithful

in Christ Jesus. ey are viewed as walking on earth in

Colossians, though risen. Hence, there is a long prayer for

their walk, though on high and holy ground as delivered. In

Ephesians it begins with the full purpose and fruit of God’s

counsels. In that epistle the Apostle’s heart expands at once

in the sense of the blessings enjoyed by the Ephesians.

ey were blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly

places in Christ. For the Colossians there was a hope laid up

in heaven. And there is a preface of many verses referring

to the gospel they had heard and introducing his prayer

for their walk and state down here. is brings us where

Ephesians 1:7 brings us, but with a much more enlarged

development of the personal glory of Christ, and more in

a historical way of God’s actual dealings. It is also a more

personal church address than the Ephesians.

(1. e name of Timotheus is not found in the address

to the saints at Ephesus.)

Special characteristics of what is said to the Colossians

Darby Synopsis

But let us consider more closely that which is said to the

Colossians. e blessed calling of which the Apostle speaks

(Ephesians 1:3-10) and the privileges of the inheritance

(vss. 11-14) are wanting in Colossians; risen but on earth,

they are not sitting in heavenly places, all things being thus

their inheritance. It is not they in Christ there, but Christ

in them the hope of glory, and the prayer referred to above

lls up the chapter till we come to the common ground of

Christ’s glory in Colossians 1:15; and even here the divine

glory of Christ is brought out in Colossians, the simple fact

of the purpose of God as to Christ in Ephesians. And not

only we have not God’s inheritance ours; but in Colossians

the Spirit as earnest of it is not spoken of. is indeed we

have seen is characteristic of Colossians. e Spirit is not

spoken of, but life. We have the Person and divine glory

of Christ and our completeness in Him more insisted on

in Colossians; but not the saints’ place with God in the

same way. Further, as the saint is looked at as on earth,

not in Christ on high, his responsibility is brought in (ch.

1:23). Colossians 1:3 answers to Ephesians 1:16: only one

feels that there is more fullness in the joy of Ephesians

1:16. Faith in Christ and love to all saints are found in each

exordium, as the occasion of the writer’s joy.<P007>

e Apostle’s prayer in view of the Colossians’ need

e subject of his prayer is quite dierent. In the

Ephesians, where he develops the counsels of God

with regard to the church, he prays that the saints may

understand them, as well as the power by means of which

they participated in them. Here he prays that their walk

may be guided by divine intelligence. But this belongs

to another cause, to the point of view from which, in his

discourse, he looks at the saints. We have seen that in the

Colossians 1

Epistle to the Ephesians he views them as sitting in the

heaven-lies. eir inheritance, consequently, is that of all

things which are to be gathered together under Christ as

Head. Here he prays for them in view of a hope laid up for

them in heaven; his prayer, therefore, refers to their walk,

that it may be in harmony with the object which they had

set before them. As on earth and in danger of not adhering

to the Head, the believers in Colosse were in danger of

departing from that object. He prayed, therefore, in view

of that heavenly hope. ey had heard of this perfect and

glorious hope. e gospel had proclaimed it everywhere.

e Colossians’ danger and its remedy

It was this gospel preached in view of a hope laid up in

heaven which had produced fruit among men, fruit that

was characterized by its heavenly source. eir religion,

that which governed their heart in these relationships with

God, was heavenly. e Colossians were in danger of falling

back into the current of ordinances and of the religious

customs of man living in the world, whose religion was

in connection with the world in which he dwelt and not

enlightened, not lled with heavenly light. ere is nothing

but conscious union with Christ which can keep us securely

there. Ordinances to reach Him can have no place where

we are united to Him; the philosophy of human thoughts

none, where we possess livingly divine ones in Christ.

Nevertheless, how precious it is-even if we are not in

the full height of our calling-to have an object set before

our hearts which delivers us from this world and from the

inuences which hide God from us! Such is the Apostle’s

object in this scripture. He directs the eyes of the Colossians

to heaven, in order that they may see Christ there and regain

that sense of their union with the Head which they had in

Darby Synopsis

some measure lost or were in danger of<P008> losing. e

groundwork was, however, there-faith in Christ and love

to all saints. ey only needed realizing their union with

the Head; which, moreover, could alone maintain them in

the heavenly element above ordinances, above human and

earthly religion.

e Apostle’s starting point

e Apostle, in order to raise them up, sets out as usual

from the point where he found good in the saints to whom

he wrote. is heavenly hope had reached them and had

produced fruit. It is this which distinguishes Christianity

from all other religions, and in particular from the Jewish

system, which-although individuals who were in it by grace

sighed for heaven-hid God behind the veil and enveloped

the conscience in a series of ordinances at a distance from

Him.

e practical, heavenly life on earth of those risen

with Christ

Now, based upon this hope which placed the inner

life of the Christians in connection with heaven, the

Apostle prays that the Colossians may be lled with the

knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom and spiritual

understanding. It is the fruit of a risen man’s connection

with God on the earth. is is very dierent from

commandments and ordinances. It is the fruit of intimate

communion with God, of knowledge of His character and

of His nature by virtue of this communion; and, although

it refers to practical life, as belonging to the inner life, it

leaves ordinances completely behind. e Apostle had to

begin at this practical end, at Christian life. Perhaps the

Colossians did not at rst understand the bearing of these

instructions, but they contained a principle which, already

Colossians 1

planted in their heart and capable of being reawakened,

led them to the point which the Apostle aimed at, and

was at the same time a very precious privilege, the value

of which they were in a position to apprehend. Such is

charity. e Apostle develops their privileges in this respect

with force and clearness, as one to whom such a walk was

well-known, and, moreover, with the power of the Spirit

of God. ey are not in heaven but on earth, and this is

the path that suited those risen with Christ and looking

to heaven from the earth. It is divine life on earth, not the

Holy Spirit putting the soul of the believer at the<P009>

center of divine counsels, as in Ephesians 3 through Christ

dwelling in the heart by faith.

e knowledge of God’s will based on the soul’s

spiritual state by means of His Word: a worthy walk and

fruitful growth result and increasing knowledge of God

e rst principle of this practical heavenly life was

the knowledge of the will of God-to be lled with it, not

to run after it as a thing without us, nor in indecision, in

uncertainty, as to what it was, but to be lled with it by a

principle of intelligence which comes from Him and which

forms the understanding and the wisdom of the Christian

himself. e character of God was livingly translated in

the appreciation of everything that the Christian did. And

remark here that the knowledge of God’s will is based

on the spiritual state of the soul-wisdom and spiritual

understanding. And this is of all practical importance. No

particular direction by man as to conduct meets this at all-

rather saves us from the need of spiritual understanding. No

doubt a more spiritual mind may help me in the discernment

of God’s will;1 but God has connected the discovery of the

path of His will, His way, with the inward state of the soul

Darby Synopsis

and causes us to pass through circumstances-human life

here below-to test and to discover to ourselves what that

state is and to exercise us therein. e Christian has by

his spiritual state to know God’s ways. e Word is the

means (compare John 17:17,19). God has a way of His

own which the vulture’s eye has not seen, known only to

the spiritual man, connected with, owing from, and to,

the knowledge of God (compare Exodus 33:13). us the

Christian walks worthy of the Lord; he knows what becomes

Him2 and walks accordingly, that he may please Him in all

things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the

knowledge of God.<P010>

(1. It is one of the deceits of the heart that, when we

really know God’s will quite well, we go to ask advice of

one no more spiritual than ourselves.)

(2. ere are three measures given of the Christian’s

walk in this form: worthy of God who has called us to

His own kingdom and glory; worthy of the Lord, here;

and worthy of the vocation with which we are called, that

is, the Holy Spirit dwelling in the church, Ephesians 2;

developed as it is in the end of chapter 3.)

e measure of the Christian’s strength; a life in

harmony with God; its character, manifestation on earth

and form

It was not then only the character of life: this life was

productive; it bore fruit, and, as life grew up, by increasing

knowledge of God. But this connection with God brings in

another very precious consideration. Besides the character

and the living energy which are in relationship with this

knowledge, the strength of the Lord1 is developed in it

also. ey draw strength from Him. He gives it that they

might walk thus. “Strengthened,” he says, “with all power,

Colossians 1

according to the might of his glory.” Such is the measure

of the Christian’s strength for a life in harmony with the

character of God. us the character of this life is revealed

in the heavenly glory on high - Jesus Christ. On earth its

manifestation - as it had been in Jesus Christ-is realized in

all patience and long-suering with joy, in the midst of the

sorrow and aictions of the life of God in this world. is

form of the life, too, is striking: all divine strength according

to His glory given in order to be patient, to endure. What

a character it gives to the Christian’s life in this world! And

there is a generous bearing with others which it enables

us to maintain. Nor is anything a more manifest fruit of

power than this. Will, too, is here subdued. us, in spite of

all we have to endure, we have with God constant joy. It is

a blessed picture of the form in which divine life manifests

itself.

(1. e antecedent is, I think, here the Lord; but the

Lord and God are greatly merged in one thought.)

e life of endurance: its source, aim and present

possession

And here the Apostle connects this life of endurance

with that which is its source, its aim and its present

possession by faith. Walking thus we are full of joy, and

we give thanks to the Father who has made1 us meet to

share the portion of the saints in light. Here are the saints

established in their proper relationship with God (their

Father) in heaven-in the light, that which God is, and

in which He dwells. us we have the state of the soul,

the character of the walk, and the strength in which we

accomplish it. As to meetness for God in light, we possess

it. Moreover, we are translated into the kingdom of God’s

dear Son.<P011>

Darby Synopsis

(1. Take special notice here that it is not said, “Will

make us meet,” as a thing yet to be done and in which we

make progress.)

In the light: the means employed and the practical

character of the work which places us there

e means employed and the practical character of

the work which sets us in the light are then presented,

introducing us (as far as Colossians does) into the counsels

of God, but in a practical way-in their results future or

present, not in counsel nor as the mystery of His will.

e Father has delivered us from the power of darkness

and transported us into the kingdom of the Son of His

love. It is not a Jewish rule for man; it is an operation of

the power of God, who treats us as altogether by nature

the slaves of Satan and of darkness; and places us by an act

of that power in an entirely new position and relationship

with Himself. We see indeed here, if we examine the

principles in their origin, the same thing as in Ephesians

1:4-5; 2:1-6, as to our position before. But it is evident

that the fullness and deniteness of a new creation are

wanting.1 “e inheritance of the saints in light” and “the

kingdom of the Son of his love” remind us of Ephesians

1:4-5; but it is not the thing itself, as it is in God’s mind,

but our having been made meet for it when here; nor,

consequently, the development of a position with which

one is familiar as standing in it. e power and the love

of the Father have made us meet for it, and although the

character of God is necessarily there as light and love,

according to His relationship to His Son, yet what we

have here is not our own relationship with God Himself,

outside the question of whence He took us, but the work in

general which places us there in contrast with our previous

Colossians 1

position. He has delivered us from the power of darkness

and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; we

have part in the inheritance of the saints in light: but where

is the saint “without blame before him in love”? where our

relationship to Him, according to the counsels of Him who

saw only the good which He purposed in His own heart?

where the “children unto himself by Jesus Christ,” through

His predestination before the world was?<P012>

(1. We shall also see, farther on, that the starting point

is somewhat dierent, and, though Ephesian ground is

partially referred to, brings in man as he is found living in

sin, and less absolutely to God, who nds him already dead

in sins, and creates him according to His own counsels.

But of this hereafter. Further, in Ephesians 1:6 our place

is full grace in Christ; in Colossians 1 it is present, actual

deliverance from the power of darkness and translation

into the kingdom of the Son of His love-not χαρΙσ

(charis) or χαρΙτωσΙσ Εν τω ηγαΠημΕνω (charitosis en to

hegapemeno).)

Deliverance by God’s power and grace; the means

employed by the Spirit

In Ephesians deliverance is brought in as a consequence

of the position in which the heirs, the objects of the eternal

counsels of God, are seen.1 Here deliverance is the chief

subject. How dangerous and disastrous it is to depart from

the Head and to lose the full consciousness, in the light,

of our union with Him! How perfect and precious is that

grace which takes notice of our condition and brings us out

of it to God, to make us enjoy-according to the power and

grace of God-the inestimable position which He has given

us in Christ!

Darby Synopsis

(1. is belongs to the principle mentioned above. In

Ephesians, all is seen from the point of view of God’s

eternal counsels before evil existed, the good which He

purposed in Himself, although redemption was necessary

when evil had come in, and the glory of God Himself and

the basis of our glory in the accomplishment of them were

made good in it. In Colossians man in evil is the object of

grace.)

e means which the Spirit here employs to accomplish

this work of grace is the development of the glory of the

Lord, of the Son of His love.

e kingdom of the Son of His love

Here alone, I believe, is the kingdom called the

kingdom of the Son; and, I think, it is only as introducing

His Person as the center of everything and giving us the

measure of the greatness of the blessing. It is the kingdom

of One who has this place, the Son of His love, into which

we are introduced. It is indeed His kingdom; and in order

that we may apprehend the character of this kingdom as

it is now for us and our nearness to God as having part

in it, it is called the kingdom of the Son of His love. It

is this which is the present foundation and characteristic

of the relationship with God of those who are truly in

and of it. As the kingdom of the Son of Man, it is His

manifestation hereafter in glory and in government. Here

it is characterized by the relationship of the Son Himself

to the Father, in His Person, with the addition of that

which gives us a full title to share it-redemption through

His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

e glory of Jesus set in strong relief

e Apostle, having thus introduced the Son in His

relationship to the Father, as the central and mighty object

Colossians 1

which was to<P013> attract the heart of the Colossians

and set them free from the yoke of ordinances, sketches

now the dierent parts of the glory of that Person. If,

therefore, the assembly’s own glory is wanting, that of Jesus

is so much the rather set in stronger relief before us. us

God brings good out of evil and in every way feeds His

beloved people.

e Lord Jesus the image of the invisible God seen of

angels and men

e Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. It is

in the Son of His love that we see what God is (compare

John 1:18; and also 1John 1:2). is is the rst character of

His personal glory, the essential center of all the rest. Now,

in consequence of this proper character of His Person,

He takes by right the position of representing God in the

creation. Adam was created in some sort in the image of

God and placed as center in a creation that was subjected

to him. But, after all, he was only a gure of the Christ,

of Him who was to come. e Son, in His very Person, in

His nature (and for us as in the bosom of the Father), is

He who makes God known, because He presents Him in

His own Person and in a full revelation of His being and

of His character before men and in the whole universe;

for all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him.

Nevertheless, He is a man. He is thus seen of angels. We

have seen Him with our eyes or by faith. us He is the

image of the invisible God. e perfect character and

living representation of the invisible God have been seen

in Him. Wondrous truth for us with regard to the Person

of our Saviour!

e rstborn of all creation; its Creator and Head

Darby Synopsis

But then what place can He have in creation when He

has come into it according to the eternal counsels of God?

He could have but one, namely, that of supremacy without

contestation and without controversy. He is the rstborn

of all creation; this is a relative name, not one of date with

regard to time. It is said of Solomon, “I will make him my

rstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” us the

Creator, when He takes a place in creation, is necessarily

its Head. He has not yet made good His rights, because in

grace He would accomplish redemption. We are speaking

of His rights- rights which faith recognizes.<P014>

He is then the image of the invisible God, and, when He

takes His place in it, the rstborn of all creation. e reason

of this is worthy of our attention-simple, yet marvelous:

He created it. It was in the Person of the Son that God

acted, when by His power He created all things, whether

in heaven or in the earth, visible and invisible. All that is

great and exalted is but the work of His hand; all has been

created by Him (the Son) and for Him. us, when He

takes possession of it, He takes it as His inheritance by

right. Wonderful truth that He who has redeemed us, who

made Himself man, one of us as to nature, in order to do

so, is the Creator. But such is the truth.

Christ as Man having right to all things created by

Him and for Him

In connection with this admirable truth, it was a part

of God’s counsels that man should have dominion over

all the works of His hands. us Christ, as man, has it by

right and will take possession of it in fact. is part of the

truth of which we are speaking is treated in Hebrews 2;

we shall consider it in its place. I introduce it here merely

that we may understand the circumstances under which

Colossians 1

the Son takes possession. e Spirit speaks of the One who

is man, but the One who is at the same time Creator of all

things, the Son of God. ey were created by Him, they

were necessarily then created also for Him.

us we have hitherto the glory of the Person of Christ

and His glory in creation connected with His Person. In

Him is seen the image of the invisible God. He has created

all things: all is for Him; and He is the rstborn of all that

is created.

Christ, the Head of the body, the rstborn from among

the dead; His special place in relation to the church in

resurrection power; His preeminence in all things

Another category of glory, another supremacy, is now

presented. He takes a special place in relation to the assembly

in the power of resurrection. It is the introduction of divine

power, not in creation but in the empire of death; in order

that others may participate in His glory by redemption

and by the power of life in Him. e rst glory was, so to

speak, natural-the latter, special and acquired (although in

virtue of the glory of His Person) by under<P015>going

death and all the power of the enemy in it. Accordingly,

it is connected, as we have just said, with redemption and

with the introduction of others into the participation of

the same privileges. He is the Head of the body, which is

the assembly, the beginning, the rstborn from among the

dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence. He

is the rstborn of creation, He is the rstborn1 according

to the power of resurrection, in this new order of things

in which man is predestined to an entirely new position,

gained by redemption, and in which he participates in the

glory of God (as far as that which is created can do so), and

that by participating in divine life in Jesus Christ, the Son

Darby Synopsis

of God and everlasting life; and, as regards the assembly,

as members of His body. He is the rstborn of creation,

the rstborn from among the dead; the Creator and the

conqueror of death and the enemy’s power. ese are the

two spheres of the display of the glory of God. e special

position of the assembly, the body of Christ, forms a part

of the latter. He must have this resurrection glory, this

universal preeminence and superiority also, as being man,

for all the fullness (namely, of the Godhead; see chapter

2:9) was pleased to dwell in Him. What place could He

have except that of rst in all things! But, before speaking

of that which follows, some important remarks are yet to

be made on that which we have been considering.

(1. One of these preeminences depends on His divine

rights as Creator, the other on His work and on the power

displayed in His humanity in the act of resurrection. He

holds all as man and all by divine power; but in some sort

it may be said that one part of His glory depends on His

divinity, the other on His victory as man.)

Declared to be the Son of God with power by the

resurrection

e Son is here presented to us as Creator, not to the

exclusion of the Father’s power, nor of the operation of the

Spirit. ey are one, but it is the Son who is here set before

us. In John 1 it is the Word who creates all things. Here

and in Hebrews 1, it is under the name of Son that He,

who is also the Word, is revealed to us. He is the Word of

God, the expression of His thought and of His power. It

is by Him that God works and reveals Himself. He is also

the Son of God; and, in particular, the Son of the Father.

He reveals God, and he who has seen Him has seen the

Father. Inasmuch as born in this world by the operation

Colossians 1

of God through the<P016> Holy Spirit, He is the Son

of God (Psa. 2:7; Luke 1:35). But this is in time, when

creation is already the scene of the manifestation of the

ways and counsels of God. But the Son is also the name

of the proper relationship of His glorious Person to the

Father before the world was. It is in this character that He

created all things. e Son is to be gloried even as the

Father. If He humble Himself, as He did for us, all things

are put into His hands, in order that His glory may be

manifested in the same nature in the assumption of which

He humbled Himself.

And already the power of life and of God in Him is

manifested by resurrection, so that He is declared to be

the Son of God with power by the resurrection. is is the

proof of it.

“All the fullness of the Godhead”: the one Person of

Christ

In the Epistle to the Colossians that which is set before

us is the proper glory of His Person as the Son before the

world was. He is the Creator as Son. It is important to

observe this. But the persons are not separated in their

manifestation. If the Son wrought miracles on earth, He

cast out devils by the Spirit; and the Father who dwells in

Him (Christ) did the works. Also it must be remembered

that that which is said is said, when He was manifested in

the esh, of His complete Person, man upon earth. Not

that we do not in our minds separate between the divinity

and the humanity; but even in separating them we think

of the one Person with regard to whom we do so. We say,

Christ is God, Christ is man; but it is Christ who is the

two. I do not say this theologically, but to draw the reader’s

attention to the remarkable expression, “All the fullness was

Darby Synopsis

pleased to dwell in him.” All the fullness of the Godhead

was found in Christ.

e errors of the Gnostics

e Gnostics, who in later years so much harassed

the assembly, used this word “fullness” in a mystical and

peculiar sense for the sum and source (and yet, after all,

in the sense of a locality; for it had a ΟρΟσ (horos), limits

which separated it from everything else) of divinity which

developed itself in four pairs of beings-syzygies-Christ

being only one of a pair.1 It is not necessary to go further

into their reveries, except to observe that,<P017> with

dierent shades of thought, they attribute creation to a

god either inferior or evil, who also was the author of the

Old Testament. Matter, they said, did not proceed from the

supreme God. ey did not eat meat; they did not marry;

at the same time they gave themselves up to all sorts of

horrors and dissoluteness; and, strange to say, associated

themselves with Judaism, worshipped angels, etc.

(1. Indeed added to the four as supplementary.)

All the fullness dwelling in Christ

e Apostle was often in conict with these tools of

Satan. Peter also mentions them. Here Paul sets forth, by

the word of God, the whole fullness of the divinity of Christ.

Far from being something inferior, an emanation, or having

a place however exalted in those endless genealogies, all

the fullness itself dwelt in Him. Glorious truth with regard

to the Person of the Lord our Saviour! We may leave all

the foolish imaginations of man in the shade in order to

enjoy the perfect light of this glorious fullness of God

in our Head and Lord. All the fullness was in Him. We

know indeed the Father, but revealed by Him. We possess

indeed the Spirit, but the fullness of the Spirit was in Him,

Colossians 1

and because, having accomplished our redemption and

our purication, He then received that Spirit for us. And

God Himself in all His fullness was revealed, without any

reservation, in the Person of Christ; and this Christ is ours,

our Saviour, our Lord. He has been manifested to us and

for us. What a glorious truth for us!

It is for His own glory, no doubt, that He should be

known as He is, as love; but it is not the less true that

this revelation was in connection with us. It is not only the

Son revealing the Father, sweet and precious as that fact

is; it is the fullness of the Godhead as such that is revealed

and shown forth in Christ. It was the good pleasure of the

fullness to dwell there.

Reconciled to God by Christ; peace made through

the blood of His cross

But Christ was not only the Head of creation in virtue

of the divine glory of His Person and the Head of the

assembly as risen from among the dead and victorious over

the power of the enemy; creation and all those who were to

form the assembly were alike far from God, and the latter

were so even in their will; to be in <P018>relationship with

God they must be reconciled to Him. is is the second part

of the glory of Christ. Not only was it the good pleasure of

the fullness of the Godhead to dwell in Him, but by Him

to reconcile all things to Itself, having made peace by the

blood of the cross. is reconciliation of things in heaven

as well as on earth is not yet accomplished. Peace is indeed

made by the blood, but the power has not yet come in to

bring back the whole into actual relationship with God

according to the value of that blood.

us, in Israel, the blood was put upon the mercy-

seat, and expiation-peace-was made; but besides this,

Darby Synopsis

everything was sprinkled, and the sins of the people were

confessed. is, with regard to Israel and to creation, has

not yet been done. As to that which is outward, it remains

still at a distance from God, although peace is made. We

know that it is the good pleasure of God to reconcile all

things in heaven, and on the earth, by virtue of this blood.

All things shall be restored to order under a new rule.

e guilty, remaining in their sins, will be outside this

scene of blessing; but heaven and earth will be completely

freed from the power of evil (and even from its presence

during the millennium, as regards manifestation-still later,

absolutely from its presence itself), according to the virtue

of that blood which has separated between good and evil,

according to the character of God Himself, and so gloried

God that peace is made. God can act freely for blessing;

but here the work is twofold, like the glory of the Person

of Christ, and refers to the same objects as His glory. It is

in the counsels of God to reconcile unto Himself all things

in heaven and on the earth through Christ. But Christians

He has already reconciled. Once not only deled, like

the creature, but enemies in their minds, He has already

reconciled them in the body of His esh by means of

death. e perfect work which Christ accomplished in His

body, blotting out our sins and perfectly glorifying God

His Father, has brought us into relationship with God in

His holiness according to the ecacy of that work; that is

to say, it is ecacious to present us, perfectly reconciled,

holy, without blemish and without blame, before His face;

and with the consciousness of it, and of the love that has

wrought it, and the favor into which we are brought, so

that in the sense of this the heart is brought back to God:

Colossians 1

we are reconciled to God. is supposes that we continue

steadfast in the faith unto the end.<P019>

e occasion of warning; the worldwide testimony of

God’s love

e position of the Colossians gave room for this

warning, being viewed as walking on earth.1 We have

seen that they had a little departed, or were in danger of

departing, from the realization of their union with Christ.

(1. When the Christian is viewed as in Christ, there is

no “if”: we are in Him. When he is viewed as a pilgrim

here, we are on the road to actual glory and have to reach

the goal, and here “if” comes in and danger and the need

of being kept. But then we have the fullest assurance that

we shall be kept and never perish, and be conrmed to

the end, and the good work completed. us dependence

on God is maintained in the saved, and condence in His

faithfulness.)

It will be noticed also that the Apostle speaks of his gospel

as spread abroad in all the world. Grace had overstepped

the narrow limits of Judaism and the expectation of the

Messiah in order to make known the testimony of the

perfect love of God in the whole creation under heaven,

of which Paul was the instrument as the apostle of the

Gentiles.1

(1. Note here how clear and full the statement is: verse

14, redemption and forgiveness; verse 21, reconciliation

with God; verse 13, deliverance and introduction into the

kingdom; verse 12, we are made meet to be partakers of the

inheritance of the saints in light. All this we have, and so

are called to walk worthy of the Lord.)

Darby Synopsis

e two preeminences of Christ, the two

reconciliations, and the double character of Paul’s

ministry; the Word of God completed as to its subjects

Hitherto, then, the Spirit of God has set before us

the two pre-eminences of Christ, that over creation and

that over the assembly, and the two reconciliations which

answer to them; namely, rst, that of the things over which

Christ is set as Head, that is, of all things in heaven and

earth; and second, that of Christians themselves: the latter

already accomplished, the former yet to come. e ministry

of the Apostle had now the same double character. He has

not undoubtedly to preach in heaven; but his ministry

is exercised in every place under heaven where there is

a soul to hearken. He is a minister of that gospel; and

then he is a minister of the assembly, a distinct service or

ministry, making known its true position and its privileges,

connected indeed with the other, in that the gospel went

out also to the Gentiles to bring them in (vss. 23,25). By

this last instruction he completed the Word of God: an

important principle with regard to the exclusive<P020>

authority of the written Word, which shows that its

totality already exists, demonstrated by the subjects which

it comprises; subjects which are entirely completed, to the

exclusion of others which people may seek to introduce.

e circle of truths which God had to treat, in order to

reveal to us the glory of Christ and to give us complete

instruction according to His wisdom, is entire when the

doctrine of the assembly is revealed. ere were no others

to be added.1

(1. It is not a question here as to the dates of the books,

but of the circle of subjects. e law, the kingdom, the

Person of Christ, redemption and the ways of God had

Colossians 1

already been brought out; the doctrine of the assembly was

then to be revealed, in order to make the communications

of God complete as to their subjects.)

Persecution and suerings; the source of the enmity

of Judaism

But this doctrine in particular exposed the Apostle

to persecution and suerings, which the Jews, especially,

and the enemy sought in every way to inict upon him.

But he rejoiced in this as a privilege, because Christ had

suered on account of His love for the assembly-for His

own. e Apostle speaks here, not of the ecacy of His

death, but of the love which led Him to suer. Looked at

in this point of view, the Apostle could participate in His

suerings, and we also in our little measure; but the Apostle

in a peculiar manner, as the special witness-bearer to this

truth. If Christ had been content to accept the position

of Messiah according to man, He would have been well

received. If Paul had preached circumcision, the oense of

the cross would have ceased: man could have taken part in

the religion of God, if His religion had recognized man in

the esh. But if God is revealed, if His grace extends to the

Gentiles, if by this grace, and without having respect to the

Jew more than to the Gentile, He forms an assembly, which

is the body of Christ, sharing the heavenly glory of His

Son-this is what the esh cannot endure. To be thus shut

out as nothing worth before God, even in its religion, take

what pains it might-this is unbearable. is is the source

of the enmity of the Judaizing spirit, which is founded on

the esh, on man, and which is constantly reappearing in

the Apostle’s history, whether as exciting the hatred of the

heathen or as corrupting the doctrine of Christ and the

Darby Synopsis

simplicity of the gospel. Religion in the esh boasts its own

peculiar privileges (see Philippians 3).<P021>

Paul’s double ministry; the mystery made known

us we have a double ministry, as well as a double

preeminence of Christ, and a double reconciliation; and

each having a similar relationship the one to the other:

Christ, the Head of all things in heaven and earth, the

Head of the assembly; all things in heaven and earth are

to be reconciled, Christians are reconciled; Paul exercises

his ministry in the whole creation under heaven, he is the

minister of the assembly. Naturally, his ministry was limited

to the earth. In every respect the extent and bearing of the

glory of Christ and of the ministry went beyond the limits

of Judaism and were in contrast with the whole system.

e Apostle then insists on the second part of his

ministry, of which he had been just speaking; dwelling

however particularly on that which met the need of the

Colossians and developing it, in order to secure them in the

enjoyment of the whole circle of these precious truths. He

completed the Word of God by announcing this mystery,

which had been hidden from all ages and generations, but

was now manifested to the saints. No display of the ways

of God since the creation had (in the truths on which it

was founded, in the revelation of God-of His power, or

of His thoughts, which formed its basis and gave it its

character) contained the mystery contained in the doctrine

of the assembly. It had not been communicated to any of

those who formed part of the system which preceded it, or

who were the medium of light to others, as instrumental

in the revelation of the light of God. Angels, men, Israel,

the prophets-all were alike in ignorance of it. e assembly

(this body united to the Son of God become man and

Colossians 1

gloried) and the calling of the Gentiles into that unity

was hidden from them all.

Christ in us down here: the hope of glory;

the blessing and the power for every man

Now that Christ the Head of the assembly, the Head

of the body, was gloried, the mystery of this body was

made known. e Apostle here dwells on one particular

side of this subject, which, after the Person of Christ,

forms the center of all God’s ways. is side is Christ in

us, especially as Gentiles, the hope of glory. And in this

again we see how the saints are viewed as on earth, though

in the power of resurrection. e aspect here given of the

mystery<P022> is Christ in us down here, not union with

Him actually in glory, though inseparable from that. In

fact, this mystery was in every way a new thought, a new

truth. at which was known was a Messiah who should

be manifested among the Jews, the accomplishment of glory

in their midst; the Gentiles at most having part in it, as

subordinate to the people of God. But according to the

doctrine of the assembly, Christ invisibly dwelt in the

midst of the Gentiles,1 and even in them; and as to the

glory He was only the hope of it. A Christ dwelling in the

hearts of men, and of men formerly rejected and outside

the promises, and lling their hearts with joy and glory

in the consciousness of union with Himself-this was the

wondrous mystery prepared of God for the blessing of the

Gentiles. It was this Christ, a Christ such as this, whom

Paul preached, warning every man and teaching every man

according to the full development of the wisdom of God,

which wrought mightily in the Apostle by the Spirit, in

order that he might present every man in a spiritual state

answering to this revelation of Christ, as being also its

Darby Synopsis

fruit. Not that every man would receive it; but there was no

longer any limit. All distinction between them was blotted

out, alike by sin and by grace, and there was but one thing

to do; that is, to seek that every man, by the power of the

Word and the Spirit, should reect Christ and grow up

unto the stature of His fullness, as revealed in the doctrine

committed to the Apostle. He labored for this according to

the working of Christ in him; for Christ was not only the

object, but the power that wrought to form souls after His

own image.

(1. I have already remarked that the Gentiles are

especially in view in the Colossians, not the union of Jew

and Gentile in one.)

Colossians 2

73260

Colossians 2

e necessities and diculties of the way felt by Paul

as a man

Now this power wrought in the Apostle’s weakness;

in a human heart that felt the necessities of men and the

diculties that occurred by the way-that felt them as a

man, although according to God, and was the fruit of His

love. He desired that the Colossians should understand the

conict he had for them, and for all those who had never

seen him, in order that they might be <P023>encouraged

and be thoroughly united in love; so that they might

understand, in all the riches of a full assurance, the mystery

of God.

Union with Christ, realized in the heart, a safeguard

from the enemy’s wiles

e Apostle felt that it was this which they needed and

which would be a blessing to them. He knew that union

with Christ, realized in the heart, was a safeguard from the

wiles of the enemy, to which the Colossians were exposed.

He knew the unutterable value of this union, and even of its

realization by faith. He labored, he wrestled in prayer-for it

is indeed a conict-in order that the full sense of this union

with the glorious Head might be wrought in their hearts,

so that the Christ on high should be in them by faith. All

the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were found in the

mystery, of which this was to their souls the center and

the power. ey had not to seek elsewhere. Science, falsely

so called, might pretend to furnish them with heights to

which the simplicity of the doctrines of Christ did not

Darby Synopsis

reach; but, in fact, the wisdom of God and the depths of

His counsels left these cloudy eorts of the human mind

at an innite distance. Moreover, they were truth-reality-

instead of being but the creatures of imagination inspired

by the enemy.

Science, falsely so-called, and the eorts of the

human mind left at an innite distance by God’s simple

and marvelous revelations

For this reason, the Apostle had brought forward these

marvelous revelations of God respecting the double glory

of Christ and with regard to His Person. He declared them

in order that no one should beguile the Colossians with

enticing words. He avails himself of the order that existed

among them and of their faith to guard them against the

danger they were in from these thoughts, which might glide

unperceived into their minds, while all was yet going on

well and the consciousness of their faith was not touched.

is often happens. People have faith in Christ, they walk

well, they do not perceive that certain ideas overthrow

that faith; they admit them, while still maintaining the

profession of faith together with these ideas; but the force

of the truth and the sense of union with Christ and the

simplicity that is in Him are lost. e<P024> enemy has

so far attained his end. at which is received is not the

development of Christ, but something outside Him.

Man’s pretended knowledge and attempts at

explanation of the creation apart from God; Satan’s part

in his speculations

erefore, the Apostle says, “As ye have received Christ

Jesus the Lord, walk in him; rooted and built up in him, and

conrmed in the faith, even as ye have been taught.” When

we have received Christ, all the rest is but a development

Colossians 2

of that which He is and of the glory which the counsels

of God have connected with His Person. Knowledge, or

pretended knowledge, outside this does but turn us away

from Him, withdraw our hearts from the inuence of

His glory, throw us into that which is false, and lead our

souls into connection with the creation apart from God

and without possessing the key to His purposes. us,

since man is incapable of fathoming that which exists and

of explaining it to himself, his eorts to do so cause him

to invent a mass of ideas that have no foundation and to

endeavor to ll up the void that is found in his knowledge

through his ignorance of God by speculations, in which

(because he is at a distance from God) Satan plays the

chief part without man’s suspecting it.

Apparently inconsistent principles which cannot

be reconciled without Christ; man’s tendency and the

Christian’s safeguard

Man, as a child of Adam, is not at the center of the

immense system of God’s ways. Out of Christ and without

Christ, he does not know the center; he speculates, without

foundation and without end, only to lose himself more and

more. His knowledge of good and evil and the energy of

his moral faculties do but lead him astray the more, because

he employs them on higher questions than those which

simply relate to physical things; and they produce in him

the need of reconciling apparently inconsistent principles,

which cannot be reconciled without Christ. Moreover, the

tendency of man is always to make himself, as he is, the

center of everything; and this renders everything false.

Christians then ought to walk with simplicity in the

ways of the Lord, even as they have received Him; and

Darby Synopsis

their progress<P025> ought to be in the knowledge of

Christ, the true center and fullness of all things.

e dangers of philosophy and religion; Judaism as

the religion of the esh

When man occupies himself philosophically with all

things, the insuciency of his own resources always throws

him into the hands of an intellectual leader and into

tradition; and, when religion is the subject, into traditions

which develop the religion of the esh and are suited to its

powers and tendencies.

In those days Judaism had the highest pretensions to

this kind of religion, allied itself with human speculations

and adopted them, and even pursued them assiduously;

oering at the same time proofs of divine origin and a

testimony to the unity of the Godhead, which the absence

of the grossness of pagan mythology and the meeting of

human consciousness of the divine rendered credible. is

relative purity tended to remove-for enlightened minds-

that which was disgusting in the pagan system. e Jewish

system had, by the death of Jesus, lost all pretension to

be the true worship of God; and was therefore suited (by

the advantages it oered in the comparative purity of its

dogmas) to be an instrument of Satan in opposing the

truth. At all times it was adapted to the esh, was founded

on the elements of this world, because by its means, when

owned of God, God was proving man in the position

man stood in. But now God was no longer in it; and the

Jews, moved by envy, urged the Gentiles to persecution;

and Judaism allied itself to pagan speculations, in order

to corrupt and sap the foundations of Christianity and

destroy its testimony.

Colossians 2

In principle it is always thus. e esh may appear

for a time to despise tradition, but that which is purely

intellectual cannot stand in the midst of humanity without

something religious. It has not the truth nor the world

which belongs to faith, and for an immense majority

superstition and tradition are needed; that is to say, a

religion which the esh can lay hold of and which suits

the esh. God by His power may preserve a portion of the

truth or allow the whole to be corrupted; but in either case

true Christian position and the doctrine of the assembly

are lost.1<P026>

(1. ere were some very beautiful legends, embracing

partial truths, in the Gnostic system; but they had lost God

and truth and reality of conscience before God.)

We may indeed nd philosophy apart from the religion

of the esh, and the latter apart from the former; but in

this case philosophy is impotent and atheistic, the religion

of the esh narrow, legal, superstitious, and, if it can be so,

persecuting.

Human wisdom and men’s traditions in opposition to

a heavenly Christ who answers all our need

In our chapter we nd philosophy and the emptiness

of human wisdom united with the traditions of men,

characterized as “the elements of this world,” in opposition

to Christ: for we have a heavenly Christ who is a perfect

contrast to the esh in man living on earth, a Christ in

whom is all wisdom and fullness, and the reality of all that

which the law pretended to give or which it presented in

gure: and who is at the same time an answer to all our

wants. is the Apostle develops here, showing death and

resurrection with Him as the means of participating in it.

What we have and are in the Person of Christ

Darby Synopsis

And, rst, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in

Him bodily. Instead of the misty speculations of men and

fantastic aeons, we have the fullness of God bodily, in a real

human body, and thus ecaciously for us, in the Person of

Jesus Christ. In the second place, we are complete in Him;

we need nothing out of Christ.1 On the one side, we have,

in Him, God perfectly presented in all His fullness; on the

other side, we possess in Him perfection and completeness

before God. We are wanting in nothing as to our position

before God. What a truth! What a position! God, in His

perfect fullness, in Christ as man; we in Him before God,

in the perfection of what He is-in Him who is Head of all

principality and power, before which man in his ignorance

would incline to bend the knee! We are in Him, in whom

the fullness of the Godhead dwells as to His Person; in

Him, who is above all principality as to His position and

His rights as Christ, man exalted on high.<P027>

1. (ese expressions relate to the double character of

Christ already set before us in chapter 1. ey show

us what we have in Christ in a positive way, as that

which follows applies it to everything here below

which would prevent our enjoying it. In Christ is the

fullness of the Godhead, the object of our delight, in

whom we possess all things. We have also in Him a

position above all creation, in the perfection which

has placed Christ there. We are completed in Him

who is the Head of all principality and of all power.

As regards the phraseology, the change of a word, to

one not, however, better in itself, shows the mind of

the Apostle. In Him dwells all the completeness of

the Godhead bodily; and we are complete in Him.)

e Apostle then enters into some details of application

to demonstrate that the faithful have all in Christ, viewed

Colossians 2

according to the position which He has taken without

having anything to seek elsewhere here below.

e true circumcision

Circumcision (the divine token of the covenant with the

Jews, and of the putting o the esh, which was required

in order to form part of God’s people) had its reality in

Him. By the power of the life which is in Him, and which

is theirs-being made partakers of the ecacy of His death-

Christians account themselves to be dead and have put o

this body of sin by faith. is is the true circumcision of

Christ made without hands. Circumcision made by hands

was but the sign of this putting o the body of the esh-

the privilege of the Christian in Christ. Having a new life

in Christ, he has ecaciously put o the old man.

Buried with Christ and raised up with Him

We are buried with Christ by baptism (this is its

meaning), in which also we are risen with Him by faith in

this operation of the power of God whereby He was raised

from among the dead. Baptism was the sign and expression

of this;1 faith in the operation of God which raised Him, the

means by which is eected in us this marvelous resurrection

with Christ into a new state and scene- this happy death, or

rather this precious participation in the death of Him who

has accomplished all for us. And when I say “faith,” it is the

power of God’s Spirit working in us. But it is the power of

God Himself, as it wrought in Christ, which works in us

to give us the new standing in life. Viewed in connection

with our resurrection with Christ it implies-by the very

fact of our receiving it-that we are forgiven perfectly and

forever. We were under the burden of our sins and dead

in them. is burden Christ took upon Himself and died

for us, accomplishing what<P028> put away our sins in

Darby Synopsis

going down into death. Raised up with Him, inasmuch as

partaking of that life which He possesses as risen from the

dead, we have-like Him and with Him-left all that burden

of sin and condemnation behind us with the death from

which we have been delivered. erefore He says, “Having

forgiven you all trespasses.”

(1. Some do not connect “risen” with baptism. If so, I

apprehend the passage must be read thus: “In whom also ye

are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands,

in putting o the body of the esh by the circumcision of

Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism; in whom

also ye are risen together [meaning with Christ] through

faith.” Baptism clearly signies death, and it is not the

baptizing but the coming out of the water which can be

applied to resurrection. e giving of life is in no way the

sense of baptism even as a gure, but leaving the life of

Adam by death (the death of Christ) and entrance through

that gate into a wholly new place and position.)

Out of death and into life: various sides of the subject

in Ephesians, Romans and Colossians

Christ, when He arose, left death and the weight of

condemnation under which we were lying behind Him-

we also being raised up with Him. Naturally God, in

thus raising us up from the state in which we were, has

not raised us up to condemn us, or with condemnation

attached to this new life, which is Christ Himself. For

He had already borne the condemnation and satised the

justice of God and died for the putting away of sin before

He communicated this life to us. God brought us out of

death and condemnation with Christ who had borne it for

us. But this is connected with another aspect of this work

of grace, spoken of here, and also in Ephesians, and even in

Colossians 2

John 5 and 2Corinthians 5. He who is alive in sins is dead

in them towards God. If I look at him as alive in them, death

must come in and has come in on the cross (see Romans

6). is side is not brought forward in Ephesians; only

death in Romans; in Colossians, death and resurrection

in Christ, of which we have spoken. In Ephesians this is

not spoken of at all. We are viewed as dead in sins, dead

towards God, and all good is a new creation according to

God’s counsels. We are quickened together with Christ

when dead in sins. is also is taken up in Colossians: only

it is not spoken of as a new creation. But in both a new life

is given when we are dead; only Ephesians begins with this

in Christ raised and exalted, and by the same power in us.

In Colossians it is introduced as completing what is taught

of the administration of this doctrine of death in baptism

and our resurrection by faith of God’s operation in Christ.

In Ephesians grace nds us dead and quickens with Christ.

In Colossians it nds us alive in sins and brings in death

and resurrection, and completes this by quickening with

Christ.<P029>

e ordinances blotted out

All the ordinances, likewise, which belonged to the

rudiments of this world and which applied to man in

the esh and weighed as an unsupportable yoke upon

the Jews (and to which they endeavored to bring others

into subjection), which put the conscience always under

the burden of a service unaccomplished by man and a

righteousness unsatised in God-these ordinances were

blotted out. In them the Jew had put his signature, so to

speak, to his guiltiness; but the obligation was destroyed

and nailed to the cross of Christ. We receive liberty as well

as life and pardon.

Darby Synopsis

e might of spiritual wickedness; the Colossians

viewed on earth though risen; their danger and its remedy

is is not all. ere was the strength of principalities

and powers against us-the might of spiritual wickedness.

Christ has vanquished and despoiled them on the cross,

having triumphed over them in it. All that was against

us He has put aside, in order to introduce us, entirely

delivered from it all, into our new position. It will be seen

here that what the Apostle says of the work of Christ does

not go beyond that which He did for our deliverance, in

order to set us in the heavenly places. He speaks (vs. 10)

of the rights of Christ, but not as sitting in the heavenly

places, nor as leading the enemy captive; neither does he

speak of us as sitting in Him in the heavenlies. He has

done all that is necessary to bring us into them; but the

Colossians are viewed as on earth, though risen, and in

danger at least of losing the sense of the position which

was theirs in virtue of their union with Christ, and were in

danger of slipping back into the elements of the world and

of esh, of the man alive in the esh, not dead, not risen

with Christ; and the Apostle seeks to bring them back to

it by showing how Christ had accomplished all that was

requisite-had taken out of the way all that prevented their

attaining it. But he cannot speak of the position itself: they

were not consciously in it. In the things of God we cannot

comprehend a position without being in it. God may reveal

it. God may show us the way to it. e Apostle does so

here with regard to the Person of Christ, which alone could

bring them back to it; and at the same time he develops the

ecacy of His work in this respect, in order to set them free

from<P030> the shackles that kept them back and to show

them that all obstacles had been removed. But in detail he

Colossians 2

has to apply it to the dangers that beset them rather than

to display its glorious results in heaven.

e shadows and the Substance; the worship of

angels: apparent humility

Jewish ordinances were but shadows; Christ is the

substance. By bringing in angels as objects of homage and

thus putting them between themselves and Christ, they

would separate themselves from the Head of the body, who

was above all principalities. e simplicity of Christian faith

held fast the Head, from which the whole body directly

drew its nourishment and thus increased with the increase

of God. It looked like humility, thus to bring themselves

into relation with angels, as superior and exalted beings

who might serve as mediators. But there were two faults

of immense importance in this apparent humility. First, it

really was thorough pride-this pretension to penetrate into

the secrets of heaven of which they were ignorant. What

did they know of any position held by angels, which would

make them the objects of such homage? It was pretending

to mount up into heaven for and by themselves and to

measure their relations with God’s creatures without

Christ, and at their own will to connect themselves with

them. Second, it was to deny their union with Christ. One

with Him, there could be nothing between Him and them;

if there were anything, then they were dead and twice dead.

Besides, by this union they were one with Him who was

above the angels. United to Him, they received, as we have

seen, a communication, through all the members of the

body, of the treasures of grace and life which were in the

Head. e mutual links between the members of the body

itself were thereby strengthened, and thus the body had its

increase.

Darby Synopsis

Applications of the doctrine of being dead and risen

with Christ

Two applications of the doctrine that they are dead with

Christ and risen with Him follow (ch. 2:20). He applies

the principle of death to all the ordinances and to the

asceticism which treated the body as a thing vile in itself

which ought to be rejected; and<P031> (ch. 3:1) he uses

the resurrection to raise their hearts into a higher sphere

and to bring them back to Christ by looking up, they being

dead as regards the old man.1

(1. ese applications ow from chapter 2:11-12. It is

to be remarked that Romans from chapter 5:12 treats of

death to sin, in which man (as child of Adam) was alive. In

Ephesians man is reckoned as dead in sins as towards God.

Colossians takes up both: chapter 2:11-12 follows them

out, adding resurrection with Christ. Verse 13 follows

Ephesian doctrine. Chapter 2:20 and chapter 3:1 follow

on chapter 2:11-12, and we have the putting o of the old

and putting on of the new man.)

Philosophy and human tradition: the widespread,

ruinous eects of its principles

To make these instructions more plain by showing their

connection, we may remark that the Apostle points out the

double danger, namely, philosophy and human tradition,

in contrast with Christ (ch. 2:3; see verses 9-15). While

identifying us with Christ, he speaks of the bearing of the

work of Christ Himself rather than of this identication.

In verses 16-19 he applies it rst (vs. 16) to subjection

to ordinances, that is, to the Jewish side of their danger;

and then (vs. 18) to the Gnostic philosophy,1 science

falsely so called, which linked itself with Judaism (or to

which Judaism linked itself), reproducing itself under a

Colossians 2

new form. From verse 20 the Apostle applies our death

and resurrection with Christ to the same points, or to the

deliverance of the Colossians by raising their thoughts on

high.

(1. Although this word has the appearance of learning

and of not being scriptural, this is not the case. Science,

falsely so called, of which the Apostle speaks elsewhere,

is in Greek “gnosis,” whence this presumptuous and

corrupting philosophy was called “Gnosticism” and its

votaries “Gnostics.” It plays an immense part in the history

of the church, with which I have nothing to do here. But

its principles are frequently found in the New Testament,

brought forward by the apostles in order to combat them.

e Jews had largely fallen into the notion of a mediatorial

work of angels, though not in the form exactly of Gnostic

philosophy.)

But the Colossians are not the only ones who may

have been in this danger. In the main these principles have

been the ruin of the church at all times. ey are those

of the mystery of iniquity,1. which has so much ripened

since then and produced eects so various, and under

such dierent modications, on account of other<P032>

principles which have also acted, and under the sovereign

providence of God. We shall see the deep, simple and

decisive principle which is involved in it in the verses that

follow.

(1. is was working in the apostles’ days; Paul withstood

it in the energy of the Holy Spirit. After his departure that

power was gone. e historical church never had the two

great fundamental principles of Christianity, perfection in

Christ (“by one oering he hath perfected forever”) and

Darby Synopsis

the presence and leading power of the Holy Spirit down

here. ese were supplanted by sacraments and the clergy.)

e evil system judged as false by Christ’s work,

resurrection, and union with Him

e verses already quoted, as far as the twentieth, had

judged this whole Judeo-philosophic system from the

point of view of Christ’s work, of His resurrection, and of

union with Him in His heavenly position.

e system demonstrated as false and absurd; the

ordinances connected with corruptible things

at which follows judges it after our position. e

preceding verses had demonstrated that the system was

false, because Christ and His work were such as is declared

in them. e passage we are going to consider shows that

this system is absurd, cannot be applied to us, has no possible

application, because of our position. On the one hand, it

is a false system, null and void in all its parts, if Christ

is true and is in heaven; and, on the other hand, it is an

absurd system in its application to us, if we are Christians.

And for this reason: it is a system which supposes life in

this world, and relationships to be acquired with God,

having their foundation in that life, while it pretends to

mortify esh; and yet it addresses itself to persons who,

for faith, are dead. e Apostle says that we are dead to the

rudiments of this world, to all the principles on which its

life acts. Why, then, as though we were still living (alive) in

it, as though we were still alive in this world, do we subject

ourselves to ordinances which have to do with this life and

which suppose its existence-ordinances which apply to

things which perish in the use of them and which have

no connection with that which is heavenly and eternal?

ey have indeed a semblance of humility and self-denial

Colossians 2

as regards the body, but they have no link with heaven,

which is the sphere of the new life-of all its motives and

all its development; and they do not recognize the honor

of the creature, as a creature come out of the hand of God,

which, as such, has always its place and its honor. ey put

a man in and under the esh, while pretending to deliver

us from it, and they separate the believer from Christ by

<P033>putting angels between the soul and the heavenly

place and blessing; whereas we are united to Christ, who is

above all these powers, and we in Him.

ese ordinances had to do with merely corruptible

things- were not connected with the new life, but with

man living in his life of esh on the earth, to which life the

Christian is morally dead; and as far as regarded this life,

they did not recognize the body as a creature of God, as it

ought to be recognized.

Christ, the substance, lost; the dangers of the system

then and now

us, the system of ordinances had lost Christ, who

was their substance. It was connected with the pride

that pretended to penetrate heaven, in order to put itself

in relation with beings whom we do not know in such a

manner as to have any relations with them-pride which in

so doing separated from the Head of the body, Christ, and

thus disowned all connection with the source of life and

with the only true position of the soul before God. is

system falsied equally our position on earth by treating us

as though still alive after the old man, whereas we are dead;

and dishonored the creature as such, instead of recognizing

it as coming from the hand of God.

at which was a danger to Christians in the Apostle’s

days characterizes Christianity at the present time.

Darby Synopsis

e Christian’s position set forth in warning of danger

and for instruction

e Christian’s position was thus set forth, but in its

application thus far rather to the danger of Christians than

to their heavenly privileges. us grace has provided us

with all we need, using every privilege, using the faith of

some, giving warnings and instruction above all price, and

turning the faults of others to account.<P034>

Colossians 3

73261

Colossians 3

Exhortation to Christians as risen with Christ: they

are dead because Christ died for them, and now they are

alive in Christ; that life is hidden in God

Now begin the direct exhortations founded on the truth

that has been developed, and adapted to the state in which

the Colossians were; that is, viewed as risen with Christ,

but not sitting in heavenly places.

Risen with Christ, they were to set their aections on

things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God,

and not on things on the earth. e two could not go

together. To look, to have one’s motives, above and below

at the same time is impossible. Be tempted by things, have

to resist them, we may; but this is not to have them as

our object. e reason for this is, however, found in our

position: we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in

God. It does not say, “We must die.” Man cannot do this by

will: we cannot deny will by will. Nor would the will of the

esh ever do it. If it acts, it does not abdicate. We are dead:

this is the precious, comforting truth with regard to the

Christian by virtue of Christ having died for him. He has

received the life of Christ, and all that Christ did for him

in that life belongs to him. us he is dead, because Christ

died for him. e life with which the power of temptation,

guilt and the attacks of sin are connected exists no longer

to faith. By death all that was connected with it has come

to an end. Now that which was connected with the life

of the old man was sin, condemnation, weakness, fear,

powerlessness against the assaults of the enemy-all that is

Darby Synopsis

past. We have a life, but it is in Christ; it is hidden with

Him in God. We are not yet manifested in its glory, as we

shall be manifested before the eyes of all in heaven and

earth. Our life is hidden, but safe in its eternal source. It

has the portion of Christ, in whom we possess it. He is hid

in God, so also is our life: when Christ shall appear, we

shall also appear with Him.

e individual character of our life in Christ, hidden,

but safe in its eternal source

It will be remarked that the Apostle does not speak here

of our union with Christ, but of our life, of the fact that

we are dead and<P035> that our life is hid with Him in

God. He does not speak of the assembly with regard to our

position; he speaks, no doubt, of Christ as being its Head, as

to His personal glory, but not of it as to us. He speaks of us

individually. Each one has his own life in Christ truly, but

as his own; it is not union with other Christians. We have

this life in Christ, but it is not here our union as one body

with Him. It is the individual character of the Christian, to

whom Christ, the Head, is everything.

e absence of any mention of the Holy Spirit in the

epistle; life in Christ and its nature

at which is also highly important to observe in

connection with this truth is that in this epistle there

is nothing said of the Holy Spirit. e Apostle speaks

practically of their love in the Spirit, but in the instruction

of the epistle he does not name Him. Even when he says,

“ere is neither Jew, nor Greek,” it is in the new man, not

because we are one in Christ. e individual was to cleave

to the Head. He was no longer living in this world; he was

dead, and his life hid with Christ in God. But this was for

himself; he was to know it and hold it fast for himself, as

Colossians 3

necessary truth, that he might be preserved from the wiles

of the enemy. In a word, it is life in Christ. Elsewhere we

see many of the things which the Apostle here mentions

spoken of as the fruit of the Spirit, by which communion

and union are maintained; but here it is simply in the

nature of the life that these fruits have their source. It is

quite natural, consequently, that the compass and the

assemblage of all spiritual relationships in one, in Christ,

which we nd in the divine instruction when the Holy

Spirit is introduced are wanting here.

e Holy Spirit and His work characterizing

Ephesians

In the Epistle to the Ephesians this operation of the

Holy Spirit is found everywhere and characterizes the

whole of that which is developed in communion with the

Head, Christ, with whom we are united in one body by

the Spirit. us we are individually sealed by the Spirit of

promise, the earnest of our inheritance; we all have access

to the Father by one Spirit; we are also builded together for

a habitation of God through the Spirit; the union of the

Gentiles in one body is now revealed by the Spirit; saints

are<P036> strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man;

there is one body and one Spirit; we are not to grieve the

Spirit; we are to be lled with Him; the Word itself is the

sword of the Spirit. e union of the body with Christ, our

resurrection with Him, that we are sitting in the heavenlies

in Him-all that ows from this union is fully developed;

but at the same time the Holy Spirit, who unites us to Him,

and unites us all together as one body, and who here below

characterizes the presence of God in the church, who acts

in us, secures our future, and becomes our strength in the

present-the Holy Spirit, I repeat, is found everywhere, to

Darby Synopsis

complete the truth and to give it its present force for us

here below.

Many of the exhortations in the Epistle to the Ephesians

are nearly the same as those to the Colossians. But in the

Epistle to the Ephesians they are connected with the

Spirit; in that to the Colossians, with the action of the

Word and of grace in the heart. is gives an immense

range and a connectedness to the doctrine of the Epistle

to the Ephesians, in that which regards our position here

below, because it brings in God Himself, and as dwelling in

us by the Spirit, and lling us, whether as in the individual

or in the oneness of the body; and gives the full scope of

the counsels of God.

e possession of life set forth in Colossians

Yet the possession of life is in its way as important as

the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It makes

the blessing ourselves, not merely an operation in us, and,

as we have seen, the character of divine life is far more fully

developed; whereas in Ephesians it is more contrast with

the previous state.

e action and presence of the Holy Spirit as

presented in Romans

In the Epistle to the Romans we have (ch. 8) this

action and presence of the Holy Spirit presented in a very

remarkable way as to the individual. He characterizes us

vitally in the principle of our resurrection, is the witness

in us that we are children, lling us with joy and with the

hope of glory as heirs, the support of our weakness and the

source of our petitions and our groans. In the Epistle to the

Romans it is in connection with our personal relationship

to God; in that to the Ephesians, as the presence of God

Colossians 3

in us in connection with our union to Christ as one

body.<P037>

e Holy Spirit’s purpose and starting point in

Ephesians

and Colossians and the dierent character of the

epistles

ere is another thing to be noticed here which throws

light on the purpose of the Holy Spirit in these epistles.

e starting point in that to the Ephesians is the counsels

of God. Man is looked at as he is, without one pulse of life

as regards God; he is dead in trespasses and sins, by nature

the child of wrath. God is rich in mercy; He raises him

up with Christ, who in grace went down into death, and

places him according to His counsels in the same position

as that Christ is in. We are His workmanship, created

anew in Christ Jesus. God is pleased to bring us into His

presence according to His own counsels and His nature. It

is not said that we are dead with Christ. Man is not viewed

as living in the esh, so that in one way or in another he

had to die. is was not necessary. e Ephesians were to

apprehend, on the one hand, the full contrast between God

and man according to His counsels; and on the other, man’s

sinful state according to nature. In their epistle all is the

work of God Himself according to the original purpose

of His own heart, of His nature, and of His will;1 man is

already dead, and even Christ is not brought in as to His

place till viewed as dead, and thereon risen and exalted on

high.

(1. Hence we have no justication in Ephesians. It treats

of a new creation.)

e Colossian danger, living in the world; its remedy,

dead and risen with Christ

Darby Synopsis

e Colossians were in danger of subjecting themselves

to ordinances, and thereby were in a position to consider

man as living in the world; and the Apostle makes them

feel that they are dead with Christ. He was obliged in grace

to follow them where they were, for their danger was to

take man into consideration as living on the earth; in order,

nevertheless, to show that the Christian had already died

with Christ, and his life on earth was as risen with Him.

e Ephesian standpoint: dead in sins and quickened

together with Christ

In the letter to the Ephesians man is not said to die

with Christ. He is dead in his sins when God begins to act

towards him.

No<P038> man is alive to God. e Christian is

quickened together with Christ, Christ Himself rst viewed

as dead.

Life and the new nature set forth in Colossians and

the energy of God in Ephesians

is character of the Colossians, however, the dwelling

on life or the new man, has its value for us all, and a great

value, because the life, the new nature, and grace working

in it, are much less brought forward in the Epistle to the

Ephesians, where the subject is the energy of God, who

creates men in Christ and unites them to Him, lls the

believer and the assembly here with the nature and the

character of the new man, and thereby of Christ, yea, of

God Himself.1 One might suppose that there was only the

Holy Spirit acting in the fullness of His power and lling

the individual and the assembly. But in this Epistle to the

Colossians we nd that there is a new nature, an intrinsic

change, not of the esh indeed, but of the man. For we are

viewed, not merely as quickened by the Son, but as dead

Colossians 3

and risen with Christ, the Man who had died, so as to have

passed out of-put o-the old standing of a child of Adam,

and into a risen one with Christ-put on the new man. is

is at once a standing and a state before God, a source of

tastes, of sentiments, of desires, of arguments, and of moral

capacities which are in connection with the very nature of

God, who has caused it to spring up in the heart. We are

renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created

us. But this source is a life, which<P039> needs that the

Holy Spirit should reveal to it the objects that are suited to

it, and that awaken these tastes and feelings, which satisfy

them and cause them to grow. It needs that the Spirit of

God should act in it to give it strength; but it is a real life,

a nature which has its tastes attached to its very existence;2

which, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, is conscious

of its own existence; and in which we are the children of

God, being born of Him.

(1. is dierence is of deep interest and brings out the

character of the Epistle to the Ephesians in a remarkable

way-an epistle in which everything is inuenced by the

high point of view taken by the Spirit and ows from

the original and eternal counsels of God and from His

operation to bring those counsels to perfection-the settled

purposes of His own heart. He desires to have-He creates-

something in order to show forth the immense riches of

His grace. He has taken the dead and the lost: but they are

only the objects of His operations, suited to make these

manifest on account of their own condition. He does not

work upon the nature of man, because it is contrary to

His own, in order to destroy this contrariety. He quickens

from the dead and creates. In Colossians the death of the

old man is spoken of, which it was necessary to take into

Darby Synopsis

consideration. God be praised, we are entitled to view it as

already dead, because Christ has died for us.

I may add here to that which I have said of the Holy

Spirit that when the Apostle speaks in Colossians of the

power of hope in us, he does not mention the earnest of the

Spirit. It is still Christ in us, the hope of glory. roughout

it is Christ, and Christ as life.)

(2. With this dierence between the actings of the Spirit

and the existence of the new life is connected the liberty

of the soul. When we are born of God, we have necessarily

a taste for holiness; love acts in us; we take pleasure in the

righteousness of God. But, by virtue of these sentiments,

although my heart appreciates love in God, and this love

attracts me and inspires me with a measure of condence,

yet my conscience condemns me, I feel that I am not

that which I love. I am under the law and uncertain of

my relationship with God. When I have learned the value

of Christ’s blood, that He is my righteousness, the Holy

Spirit dwelling and acting in me gives me the sense of my

relationship with God. I have the consciousness of it in

my soul, and the Holy Spirit bears witness of it. ere is

liberty.)

e new nature, and the old man and the new

Neither is it unimportant that we should learn, with

regard to the life of the esh, and when thinking of it,

although it be on the negative side, that we are dead; that

God recognizes nothing belonging to the old man; that

He takes pleasure in a new nature, which is indeed ours by

grace, but which is of God Himself, and which is the moral

reection of His own.

We are dead, then, and our life is hid with Christ in

God. We have members on earth-no recognized life; and

Colossians 3

we have to put to death1 all these members of the old man.

e Christian has to deny them practically as belonging

to the old man, while his life is there where Christ is.

ey bring down the wrath of God upon the children of

disobedience. Christians walked in these things when they

had their life in them; but this is no longer the case; and

they deny not only gross sins, the fruit of positive lusts (ch.

3:5-6), but all the workings of an unbroken will and an

unsubdued heart, every indication of the actings of the will

of that nature which knows not God and is not ruled by

His fear, all anger and malice and falsehood owing from

selshness or the fear of man (vs. 8). Truth reigns in the

heart which has put o the old man,<P040> according

to the simplicity of the new man,2 which is renewed also

in knowledge after the image of Him who created it (vss.

9-10). e new man walks in the light. It is not only that

there is a conscience which judges good and evil according

to that which man ought to be according to his nature as

a responsible being; there is a new man who judges the

old man altogether, judging good and evil according to the

knowledge of God. Such is the putting o.

(1. It is a very dierent thing from dying to sin. is

supposes evil in the thing that dies (save, of course, in the

case of Christ, who did it for those who had); whereas

putting to death is an act of power in that which is good-

the new man.)

(2. ese three form the whole character of evil in

man: generally, violence and corruption, the last taking the

twofold form of lust and falsehood. So, before the ood,

the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was lled

with violence. Falsehood is Satan’s form of corruption, and

violence also characterizes him. e Lord declares him to

Darby Synopsis

be a liar and a murderer (John 8:44). Man adds the lust

because of esh.)

Before Christianity, and after: new apprehensions of

the divine life which knows God

Before Christianity, which is the full revelation of God,

there were indeed, as need not be said, souls born anew;

but their rule, when a rule was denitely given, was man’s

responsibility (whatever piety and grace might inspire),

and the law, which was the perfect measure of that which

man, as a being responsible to God, ought to be. Saints

then did not distinguish between a new and an old man,

although of necessity they had the conscience of the old

man and the tastes of the new in measure in many respects.

e sense, for instance, of the evil of falsehood had not at

all the same place as with the Christian. Now the new man

is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created

him.1 God Himself in His nature is the standard of good

and evil, because the new man has the knowledge of what

that nature is; he is made a partaker of it, and he has the

light of God. It is an intelligent participation by grace in

the nature of God, which is the marvelous and precious

privilege of the Christian. God works in this nature; but

by communicating it, He has placed man in this position.

Christ is the perfect model of this image, the type of the

new man.<P041>

(1. Note here the dierence of the corresponding

phrase in Ephesians. ere the Christian is created after

God in righteousness and true holiness. Here it is the new

apprehensions of the divine life which knows God. It is our

state, not God’s creative act. Not that this contradicts the

Ephesian view; on the contrary, “renewed” here is another

word from Ephesians. It is that which is wholly new, never

Colossians 3

was there before (ανακαΙνΟυμΕνΟΙ; anakainoumenoi). In

Ephesians “renewed” is what is kept fresh and new.)

Putting on the character of Christ: the divine check

on taking amiable nature for divine grace

Other dierences have disappeared: there remains but

the old man, which we only acknowledge as dead, and the

new man. To the latter Christ is all; so that there is none but

He whom they see and whom they acknowledge, and He is

in all believers. ey put on, therefore, as such, as elect, holy,

beloved (Christ being their life), the character of Christ,

mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearing

one another, and forgiving one another if oense has been

given, even as Christ has done to us.1 Finally, they put

on love, the bond of perfectness, that which gives a divine

character to all the qualities that have been enumerated

and that were manifested in Christ, and a divine check on

taking amiable nature for divine grace, for divine love is

holy.

(1. Remark here how patience and graciousness and

long-suering characterize the Christian. It is remarkable

how this is the case everywhere. So must it be in a world

like this. So was it in Christ. So in 1Corinthians 13 the

traits of charity are all subjective and of this character. Not

that that is a denition of charity, but it is characteristic of

it. Where these traits are wanting, charity is.)

And note here that the putting on of these qualities

is in the consciousness of the blessed place before God

expressed in the words “elect of God, holy and beloved.” It

is as such. Nor can we do it otherwise. It is in the sense of

this wondrous favor that grace develops itself in our hearts.

So in Ephesians: “As dear children.”

Darby Synopsis

Peace as the crown, seal and bond of the Christian’s

walk in unity; resultant thanksgiving

Several of these qualities may be resembled by things

in nature; but the energy, the features, the bond of divine

love, which acts in the sense of communion with God, are

totally wanting in the latter; and this gives a character, a

completeness, a righteousness of application, a perfection,

a propriety, and an energy to the manifestation of these

qualities, which love alone can give. For it is indeed God

Himself who is there, acting in His nature which He has

imparted to us. For He who dwells in love dwells in God,

and God in him. With regard to the state of the soul,

there is a crown to this walk, wherewith they who follow

it constantly are adorned. e peace of Christ reigns in the

heart, that sweet and ineable peace which nothing could

disturb, though His spirit passed through everything to

try it, for He walked ever with God. God has also<P042>

called us to this; He is the God of peace. And here the

Apostle introduces the oneness of the body, not as to its

privileges in Christ, but as to the fact that Christians are

called to be together in the unity of which peace is the seal

and the bond. And then there will be thanksgiving; for the

soul is conscious of the love and the activity of God, and

everything ows to it from that love.

e activity of the soul; the Word of Christ its

directing power; praise and thanksgiving

But, besides peace and thanksgiving towards God, there

is the development of life in the knowledge of what is

revealed, its food and joy. is too is enjoyed in the activity

of life and love towards others. e enjoyment of God and

of that which is in His presence leads to this activity of

the soul. When the latter is real, it is the joyful liberty of a

Colossians 3

nature that is itself in the activity of love that is natural to it

and which receives its energy from communion with God,

according to His nature. e word of Christ unfolds all

that is revealed to the soul as that in which it lives, and in

which it expands itself, and is thus the rule, and active and

directing power, because it is the expression of that nature,

and the revelation of all its ways, and of its active energy in

love in Him.

e Apostle, therefore, exhorts that the word of Christ

may dwell in them richly. is is the development, according

to the perfection of God, of the new man, and the wisdom

of God to form and direct him. Paul desires that Christians

may fully realize this. It is by communion with the Lord,

holding communion with Him, that it is done. e word

being that in which the wisdom is found; also according to

this development the saints can teach and admonish each

other.1 But in this case it is not only wisdom that we learn

and that is displayed in us, but aections in connection

with Him in whom we have found this wisdom, so that

these expressions of the life of Christ, as true wisdom

in the world, nd their voice in our hearts in praise, in

thanksgiving, in singing His excellency. All the intimate

aections in which spiritual life develops itself express

themselves, according to what we have learned: they ow

from the Spirit of Christ and are the expression of the soul’s

connection with Him and of the feelings this produces in

the heart. Christ in His Person, in the consciousness of His

presence,<P043> as the object of our thoughts, and in the

moral fruits proceeding thence, sustains the communion

and the communications of the soul that is occupied with

His praises.

Darby Synopsis

(1. It is simpler to put the stop after “one another,” and

only a comma before “teaching.”)

Christ Himself as the aim and object of the heart and

mind in all we do

But this consciousness of relationship with Christ, in the

life which is of Him in us, applies to everything. Nothing

is done without Him. If He is the life, all which that life

does has Him for its end and object, as far as the heart is

concerned. He is present as that which is the governing

motive and gives its character to our actions, and which

preoccupies our heart in performing them. Everything

relates to Him: we do not eat without Him (how can we

when He is our very life?); we do not drink without Him;

what we say and what we do is said and done in the name

of the Lord Jesus. ere is the sense of His presence; the

consciousness that everything relates to Him, that we can

do nothing-unless carnally-without Him, because the life

which we have of Him acts with Him and in Him, does not

separate from Him, and has Him for its aim in all things,

even as water rises to the height from which it descended.

is is what characterizes the life of the Christian. And

what a life! rough Him, dwelling in the consciousness of

divine love, we give thanks to our God and Father.

Observe here that the Christian life is not only

characterized by certain subjective qualities which ow

from Christ, but by its having Christ Himself for the aim

and object of the heart and mind in all that we do in every

respect. Christ personally reigns in and is present to the

heart in everything.

Christ known

To the inexperienced eye of man nature is often

confounded with grace; but the intelligent consciousness

Colossians 3

of Christ as the heart’s object, of His presence, of the

seal of His approval when one thinks of Him, cannot be

confounded with anything. ere is nothing that resembles

it, nothing that can appear to take its place. When He

reveals Himself to our heart, and the heart walks with

Him, and communes with Him in all things, and seeks

only the light of His countenance, the seal of His favor on

the soul in all things, then He is known, well-known. ere

is none but He who thus<P044> communicates Himself to

the soul when it walks in the way of His will, as expressed

in the Word.

e Christian character of diverse relationships of

life: their charm and depth when marked by grace

After these great and important principles of the new

life, the Apostle enters into the diverse relationships of life,

giving warnings against that which would endanger them,

by showing what the Christian character of each one of

them is. To the wife, obedience-aection was natural to

her. “y desire shall be to thy husband.” To the husband,

aection and kindness-his heart may be indierent and

hard. Children are to be obedient; fathers, gentle, in order

that the children’s aections may not be estranged from

them and that they may not be induced to seek that

happiness in the world which they ought to nd in the

sanctuary of the domestic circle, which God has formed

as a safeguard for those who are growing up in weakness;

the precious home (if Christ is acknowledged) of kind

aections, in which the heart is trained in the ties which

God Himself has formed; and that in connection with the

Lord, and which, by cherishing the aections, preserves

from the passions and from self-will; and which, where its

strength is rightly developed, has a power that, in spite of

Darby Synopsis

sin and disorder, awakens the conscience and engages the

heart, keeping it away from evil and the direct power of

Satan. For it is God’s appointment.

I know indeed that another power is required to deliver

the heart from sin and to keep it from sin. Nature, even

as God created it, does not give eternal life, nor does it

restore innocence or purify the conscience. We may, by the

energy of the Spirit, consecrate ourselves to God outside

these relationships, renounce them even, if God should call

us by more powerful obligations, as Christ teaches us in

the gospel. e rights of Christ over man lost by sin are

sovereign, absolute and complete. He has redeemed him;

and the redeemed one is no longer his own, but belongs

to Him who gave Himself for him. Where relationships

exist, sin indeed has perverted everything and corrupted

the will; passions come in; but the relationships themselves

are of God: woe to him who despises them as such! If grace

has wrought and the new life exists, it acknowledges that

which God has formed. It well knows that there is no good

in man, it knows that sin has marred everything,<P045>

but that which sin has marred is not itself sin. And where

these relationships exist, the renunciation of self-will,

death to sin, the bringing in of Christ, and the operation

of life in Him restore their power; and if they cannot give

back the character of innocence (lost forever), they can

make them a scene for the operations of grace, in which

meekness, tenderness, mutual help, and self-denial, in

the midst of the diculties and sorrows which sin has

introduced, lend them a charm and a depth (even as Christ

did in every relationship) which innocence itself could not

have presented. It is grace acting in the life of Christ in us

which develops itself in them.

Colossians 3

To be without natural aection is a sign of hopeless

apostasy and estrangement from God, of the complete

selshness of the last days.

I am not drawing a false picture, or speaking poetically,

as though the bright side were all; I only say that God has

formed these relationships, and that whosoever fears God

will respect them. Grace is requisite. ey give occasion,

through their intimacy itself, to all that is most painful,

if grace does not act in them. e Apostle warns us here

of this danger. If the Lord is the bond in them, if our still

closer union with Him forms the strength of our natural

relationships, then grace reigns here as elsewhere; and,

to those who stand in these relationships, they become a

scene for the lovely display of the life of Christ.

e work of grace: its eect upon the conscience even

when the heart is not converted

It will be observed how the Apostle consequently

introduces Christ into them, and especially in regard to

those who are subject in them, wives and children; in order

to sanctify, by so exalted a motive, the obedience suited to

their position. He does this still more where the tie is not

of nature but one which has its origin in a sinful world-

and from sin itself-that between slaves and their masters.

Grace does not set itself to change the state of the world

and of society, but to lead souls to heaven by renewing

them after the image of God. I doubt not that it has very

much altered for the better the social condition of man;

because, through bringing the conscience immediately

before the only true God whom it has revealed in His own

perfections, and establishing by its authority that of the

natural relationships in the human family,<P046> grace

has had its eect upon that conscience even where the

Darby Synopsis

heart was not converted, and has furnished it with a rule in

that which regards morality. But Christianity, as to its own

doctrine, treats the world as alienated from God and lying

in evil-man as the child of wrath and lost.

Man’s state and the soul’s connection with God and

what is eternal

Christ, the Son of God (who if He had been received

could have put all things right, and who will hereafter by His

kingdom establish righteousness and peace), was rejected

by the world, and the friendship of the world is enmity

against God. e state of man is treated in the gospel in

a deeper way than in regard to his social condition. It is

viewed with reference to the soul’s connection with God,

and consequently with that which is eternal. God imparts

a new life unto us, in order that we may enjoy those new

relationships with Himself which redemption has gained

for us. Now as Christ, while living, was the expression of the

love and the omnipotent goodness of God in the midst of a

fallen creation, so, being now rejected by the world (which

thus condemned itself), Christ, who dwells by His grace

in the heart of one who has received life, becomes to that

heart a source of happiness in communion with the love of

God, which lifts it up and sets it above circumstances, be

they what they may. e slave, in possessing Christ, is free

in heart; he is the freed man of God Himself. e master

knows that he himself has a Master, and the relationship

in which he nds himself takes the form of the grace and

love that reigns in the heart of him who in it exercises his

authority.

e Christian slave: his Master and his reward

But as I have said, to the poor slave Christ is especially

presented as a resource. He may serve his master, whether

Colossians 3

a good or bad one, with faithfulness, meekness and

devotedness; because in so doing he serves the Lord

Himself and is conscious that he does so. He will have his

reward there where nothing is forgotten that is done to

glorify Christ, and where masters and slaves are all before

Him who has no respect of persons.

Two principles act in the heart of the Christian slave: his

conscience in all his conduct is before God; the fear of God

governs him, and not his master’s eye. And he is conscious

of his <P047>relationship to Christ, of the presence of

Christ, which sustains and lifts him above everything. It is

a secret which nothing can take from him, and which has

power over everything, because it is within and on high-

Christ in him, the hope of glory. Yes, how admirably does

the knowledge of Christ exalt everything that it pervades;

and with what consoling power does it descend into all

that is desolate and cast down, all that groans, all that is

humbled in this world of sin!

ree times in these two verses, while holding their

conscience in the presence of God, the Apostle brings

in the Lord, the Lord Christ, to ll the hearts of these

poor slaves and make them feel who it was to whom they

rendered service. Such is Christianity.

Darby Synopsis

73262

Colossians 4

General exhortations to persevering prayer in

communion with God and with thanksgiving

e Apostle ends his epistle with some important

general exhortations.

He desires that the saints should continue through

prayer in communion with God, and in the sense of their

dependence on Him, conscious of His nearness to them,

and of His readiness to hear them. For that which speaks to

the heart for our walk is not enough; the soul must know its

own relations with God, exercising itself in those relations;

and it must receive directly from Him that which assures

it of His love. ere must be perseverance in this. We are

in conict with evil, which has a hold upon our own hearts

if we are without the strength of God. We must therefore

commune with God. We must watch therein with settled

purpose of heart, not merely as an occasional thing: anyone

can cry out when he is in need. But the heart separated

from the world and all that is of it occupies itself with God,

with all that regards the glory of His name, according to

the measure in which we are concerned in it.

e conict is carried on with a tender and freed spirit,

having only His glory as the object, both in the assembly

and in the individual walk. But thus one understands

that God works and that He does not forsake us, and

thanksgiving is always mingled with the prayers we address

to Him.<P048>

e Apostle’s own dependence; the clear distinction

between God’s family and the world

Colossians 4

Paul felt his dependence on this blessing, and he asked

for a share also in their prayers, that God might open his

mouth and that he might proclaim the gospel as he ought

to do.

Now we are in a hostile world, in which hostility is

easily awakened where it does not already exist openly, and

in which oense is quickly taken at things wherein perhaps

we neither saw nor intended evil. We must take away the

occasion even from those that seek it and walk in wisdom

with respect to them that are without.

How clearly the within and the without are here

distinguished! ose within, whom God acknowledges,

His family, His assembly-they are His own. ose without,

they are the world, those who are not joined to the Lord.

e distinction is plainly marked, but love is active towards

them that are without, and, being itself in the enjoyment

of communion with God, it is careful to do nothing that

might prevent others from enjoying it.

God acting upon the heart of the natural man by

circumstances and using those who walk with Him as

His voice to sinners

But there was something more: they were to redeem

the time. e natural man, taken up with his own aairs

and disinclined to serious things, gave Christian love little

opportunity to set grace and truth before him and make

him care for his own soul, thus serving the Lord and using

time in His name. e heart of man cannot always escape

the inuence of surrounding circumstances, which bear

witness to his heart and conscience that he is under the

dominion of sin and already eating its bitter fruits here

below-circumstances which bring to his conscience the

remembrance of a too much forgotten God, which speak

Darby Synopsis

with the mighty voice of sorrow to a broken heart, glad at

least to have a resource in God when his hand is pierced by

the broken reed on which he leaned. God Himself acts upon

man by these circumstances, and by every circumstance of

life. One who is walking with the Lord knows how to avail

himself of them. Satan may indeed deceive a man, but he

cannot prevent God at all times from speaking to the heart.

It is a happy thing so to walk with God that He can use us

as His voice, when He would thus speak to poor sinners.

Our<P049> speech ought always to be the expression of

this separation from evil, this power of the presence of

God which keeps us inwardly apart from it, so as to make

that power felt by others; and that, in all the questionings

which arise in the heart of man, wandering out of the way

in confusion and darkness, and even leading others astray

thereby, we may know how to give an answer which comes

from the light and conveys light.

e bearer of the epistle commended and witness

borne to the love of others

Tychicus was to carry the testimony of the interest

which the Apostle took in the welfare of the Colossians,

and of his condence in their interest in him. Paul bears

witness to the love of others, and to their concern also in

the progress of the gospel and the prosperity of the faithful.

Marcus now commended, after formerly drawing

back

Marcus, who had formerly drawn back from the toils of

the work, receives a testimony here on the Apostle’s part

and a still better one later (2Tim. 4:11), for he had made

himself useful to the Apostle himself. Such is grace. e

secret of the interest Barnabas took in him comes out here:

he was nearly related to him. is dear servant of God

Colossians 4

was from Cyprus too. He went there and took Mark with

him. e esh and Judaism nd their way everywhere. e

power of the Spirit of God is requisite to raise us above and

set us beyond their inuence.

Demas: the Apostle’s silence as to him explained by

his later conduct

Demas receives no special testimony. e Apostle

conveys his greetings, but is silent as to himself. Only in the

Epistle to Philemon is he named as a fellow-laborer of the

Apostle. Afterwards he forsook Paul. He was a brother: the

Apostle admits his claim but says nothing; he had nothing

to say. “And Demas,” for Paul’s style is terribly cold.

e epistle “from Laodicea” not written to the

Laodiceans

We may observe that the Epistle to the Ephesians was

written at the same time and sent by this same Tychicus.

e one “from<P050> Laodicea” is, I doubt not, one that

they were to receive from that assembly, written by Paul,

and by which the saints at Colosse were to prot; possibly

the Epistle to the Ephesians, which he may have had

communicated to the Laodiceans. Be this as it may, all that

is said is that it was one of which the assembly at Laodicea

was in possession, and by no means that it was directly

addressed to them: rather the contrary. It is very possible

that a letter, or a hundred letters, may have been written

by Paul to others, which it was not in the purposes of God

to preserve for the universal assembly: but here there is

no proof that a letter had been written to the Laodiceans.

Tychicus was the bearer of two: he may have been the

bearer of three, one of which diered only in some details

of application which might serve to conrm the Colossians

without being in the main another divine communication

Darby Synopsis

for other days; but, I repeat, it does not appear to be so

from that which is said here. It might be said, a letter

“from Laodicea,” because it was there, instead of a letter

to Laodicea; but it is not the usual mode of expression.

We have seen that the letter to the Ephesians is another

communication of the Spirit of God. It has been preserved

for us. We do not know whether that from Laodicea was

the same, communicated by them to the Christians of that

city; or another, which they were to send to the Colossians

(an assembly in their vicinity), and which-adding nothing

to the divine relations-has not been preserved for us.

It appears that Christians were not very numerous at

Laodicea. e Apostle salutes the brethren there. ere

were some who assembled in the house of one Nymphas;

they were not in a case to have a letter addressed to them

in particular: still the Apostle does not forget them. But

that which he says here is an almost certain proof that the

Apostle had not addressed any epistle to them. He would

not have sent greetings through the Colossians to the

brethren in Laodicea if, at the same time, he had written a

special epistle to the latter. e case is plain enough: there

were brethren at Laodicea, but not in great numbers, and

not in that distinct position which gave rise to an epistle.

But this little assembly in the house of Nymphas was not

to be forgotten; it should prot by the epistles addressed to

other assemblies more considerable than itself, and whose

condition required an epistle, or gave occasion to write one

which epistles were transmitted to Laodicea, according to

the Apostle’s order.<P051>

e epistles to be mutually read and enjoyed

With regard to the Epistle to the Colossians, it is not

a supposition. e Apostle commands them expressly to

Colossians 4

have it read in the assembly at Laodicea. e latter had also

received another epistle from some other assembly, and the

Colossians were to prot by it in the same manner. e two

assemblies, which were near each other, were mutually to

enjoy the spiritual favors that were granted them.

Individuals not forgotten; Archippus exhorted

e Apostle does not forget individuals even. Archippus

receives a solemn exhortation to take heed to the ministry

which the Lord had committed to him and to fulll his

service.

e Apostle had not seen these assemblies (ch.

2:1).<P052>

Darby Synopsis

73263

1essalonians

e date of the essalonian epistles, the

circumstances which occasioned them and their subjects

We nd in the epistles to the essalonians, and

especially the rst (for in the second it was already needful

to guard that freshness from the perdious attacks of the

enemy), the condition and the hope of the Christian as such

in this world in all its freshness. ese two epistles are the

rst that Paul wrote, unless we except that to the Galatians,

the date of which is uncertain. Already long occupied

with the work, it is only when this work was considerably

advanced that in watching over it he guards it by means of

his writings-writings as we have seen, various in character,

according to the state of the churches, and according to

the divine wisdom which, by this means, deposited in the

Scriptures that which would be necessary for all ages.

Newly converted, the Christians at essalonica suered

much from the persecution of the world-a persecution

which the Jews of that place had already previously stirred

up against Paul himself. Happy at the gracious work there

and rejoicing in the state of his dear children in the faith

(a testimony to which was borne everywhere, even by the

world), the Apostle opens his heart; and the Holy Spirit

sets forth by his mouth what that Christian condition was

upon the earth which was the source of his joy in the case

of the essalonians; and what the hope which threw its

light upon the believer’s existence, shining around him

through his whole life, and illuminating his path in the

wilderness. In a word, the Christian character is unfolded

1essalonians

to our eyes with all its motives and its joys, and that in

connection with the testimony of God and the hope which

is our strength in bearing it.

e doctrine of Christ’s coming specially presented

as linked with every spiritual relationship

We all know that the doctrine of the coming of Christ,

which uni<P053>versally accompanies the work of the

Spirit that attaches our hearts to Him in the rst spring of

a new life, is specially presented to us in these two epistles.

And it is not merely formally taught as a doctrine; it is

linked with every spiritual relationship of our souls, it is

displayed in all the circumstances of the Christian’s life. We

are converted in order to wait for Him. e joy of the saints

in the fruits of their labors is realized in His presence. It is

at the coming of Christ that holiness has all its value, its

measure being seen in that which is then manifested. It is

the consolation when Christians die. It is the unexpected

judgment of the world. It is unto the coming of Christ

that God preserves His own in holiness and blameless. We

shall see these points set forth in detail in the dierent

chapters of the rst epistle. We only point them out here.

In general, we shall nd that personal relationships and

the expectation of His appearing have a remarkable and

enlivening freshness in this epistle in every respect. e

Lord is present to the heart-is its object; and Christian

aections spring up in the soul, causing the fruits of the

Spirit to abound.

Darby Synopsis

73264

1essalonians 1

Knowing the Father: the relationship and aection of

little children

In these two epistles only is an assembly said to be “in

God the Father,” that is to say, planted in this relationship,

having its moral existence-its mode of being-in it. e

life of the assembly developed itself in the communion

that owed from this relationship. e Spirit of adoption

characterizes it. With the aection of little children the

essalonians knew the Father. us John says, when

speaking of the little children in Christ, “I write unto

you because ye have known the Father.” It is the rst

introduction into the position of liberty in which Christ

has placed us- liberty before God and in communion with

Him. Precious position! to be as children to One who loves

as a Father, with all the liberty and tender aection of that

relationship, according to divine perfection. For here it is

not the adaptation of Christ’s human experience to the

wants in which He acquired it (precious as that grace is);

it is our introduction into the unmingled enjoyment of the

light and of the divine aections displayed in the character

of the<P054> Father. It is our communion, tender and

conding but pure, with Him whose love is the source of

all blessing. Nor do I doubt that, freshly brought out of

heathenism as the essalonians were, the Apostle refers to

their knowledge of the one true God the Father in contrast

with their idols.

1essalonians 1

e essalonian Christian life and Paul’s joyful

remembrance of its rst fresh impressions; the three

divine motives of it: their source and spring

e Apostle, in declaring (as was his custom) that

which he felt respecting them-the aspect in which they

appeared to his heart and mind, speaks neither of gifts,

as to the Corinthians, nor of the grand features of an

exaltation that embraced the Lord and all saints, as to the

Ephesians and even to the Colossians (with the addition

of that which their state required); nor of the brotherly

aection and fellowship of love which the Philippians had

manifested in their connection with himself; nor of a faith

that existed apart from his labors, and in communion with

which he hoped to refresh himself, adding to it that which

his abundant gifts enabled him to impart to them, as he

writes to the Romans whom he had not yet seen.

Here it is the life itself of the Christian in its rst fresh

impressions, in its intrinsic qualities, as it developed itself

by the energy of the Holy Spirit on earth, the life of God

here below in them, which he remembers in his prayers

with so much satisfaction and joy. ree great principles,

he tells the Corinthians (1Cor. 13) form the basis and ever

abide as the foundation of this life-faith, hope and love.

Now these three were the powerful and divine motives

of the life of the essalonians. is life was not merely a

habit; it owed, in its outward activities, from immediate

communion with its source. ese activities were quickened

and maintained by divine life and by keeping the eye

constantly xed upon the object of faith. ere was work

and labor and endurance.

Ephesus and essalonica compared

Darby Synopsis

ere were the same in Ephesus, as we see it in Revelation

2. But here it was a work of faith, labor undertaken by love,

endurance fed by hope. Faith, hope and love are, we have

seen, the springs of Christianity in this world. e work,

the labor, the en<P055>durance continued at Ephesus,

but ceased to be characterized by these great and mighty

principles. e habit continued, but the communion was

wanting. ey had forsaken their rst love.

e rst to the essalonians is the expression of the

living power in which the assembly is planted: Ephesus, in

Revelation 2, of its rst departure from that state.

e work of faith, labor of love and endurance of hope

May our work be a work of faith, drawing its strength, its

existence even, from our communion with God our Father!

May it be, each moment, the fruit of the realization of that

which is invisible, of the life which lives in the certainty,

the immutable certainty, of the Word! May it thus bear the

impress of the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ

and be a testimony to it.

May our labor in service be the fruit of love, not

performed merely as duty and obligation, although it is

this, if we know that it is before us to be done!

May the patience that we must have, in order to go

through this wilderness, be, not the necessity we feel

because the path is before us, but an endurance sustained

by the hope that belongs to our view of Jesus by faith and

that is waiting for Him!

e twofold character of faith, hope and love for the

heart and conscience

ese principles, faith, hope and love, form our character

as Christians:1 but they cannot be, and ought not to be,

formed in us without having objects. Accordingly, the

1essalonians 1

Spirit presents them here. ey have a twofold character.

e heart rests by faith in Jesus, waits for Him, counts upon

Him, links itself with Him in its walk. He has walked here

below, He represents us in heaven, He watches over us as

the Good Shepherd. He loves His own; He nourishes and

cherishes them: our faith and our hope keep Him always in

view. e conscience is before God our Father; it is not in the

spirit of fear: there is no uncertainty as to our relationship.

We are the children of a Father who loves us perfectly;

but we are before God. His light has authority and power

in the conscience:<P056> we walk in the sense that His

eye is upon us, in love but upon us. And light makes

everything manifest. It judges all that might weaken the

sweet and peaceful realization of the presence of God and

our communion with Jesus and our condence in Him,

the intimacy of the communion between our souls and the

Lord. ese two principles are of all importance for abiding

peace, for the progress of our souls. Without them the soul

ags. e one sustains condence, the other keeps us in the

light with a good conscience. Without the latter, faith (not

to say more) loses its liveliness; without the former, the

conscience becomes legal, and we lose spiritual strength,

light and ardor.

(1. ey are found oftener in Paul’s writings than is

thought; as 1essalonians 5:8 and Colossians 1:4-5. In

2essalonians 1:3 we have faith and love, but he has to

clear up their thoughts as to hope.)

e means of the soul’s progress;

Paul’s life conrming his testimony

e Apostle reminds them also of the means used by

God to produce this condition, that is, the gospel, the

Word, brought in power and in much assurance to the soul

Darby Synopsis

by the Holy Spirit. e Word had power in their heart-

came to it as the Word of God; the Spirit Himself revealed

Himself in it, giving the consciousness of His presence; and

the consequence of this was the full assurance of the truth

in all its power, in all its reality. e Apostle’s life, his whole

conduct, conrmed the testimony which he bore-formed

a part of it. Accordingly (it is always the case), the fruit of

his labors answered in character to him who labored; the

Christianity of the essalonians resembled that of Paul. It

was like the walk of the Lord Himself whom Paul followed

so closely. It was “in much aiction,” for the enemy could

not bear so plain a testimony, and God granted this grace

to such a testimony and “with joy of the Holy Spirit.”

True testimony in the power of the Spirit

Happy testimony to the power of the Spirit working in

the heart! When this is so, everything becomes testimony

to others. ey see that there is in Christians a power of

which they are ignorant, motives which they have not

experienced, a joy which they may sco at but which they

do not possess; a conduct which strikes them and which

they admire, although they do not follow it; a patience

which shows the impotence of the enemy in striving against

a power that endures everything and that rejoices in spite

of all his<P057> eorts. What can we do with those who

allow themselves to be killed without becoming less joyful,

nay, whom it makes more so; who are above all our motives

when left to themselves, and who, if oppressed, possess

their souls in perfect joy in spite of all our opposition; and

who are unconquered by torments, nding in these only an

occasion for bearing a stronger testimony that Christians

are beyond our power? At peace, life is all of it a testimony;

death, even in torture, is still more so. Such is the Christian,

1essalonians 1

where Christianity exists in its true power, in its normal

condition according to God-the word (of the gospel) and

the presence of the Spirit, reproduced in the life, in a world

estranged from God.

e world as a witness to the gospel’s power

us it was with the essalonians; and the world, in

spite of itself, became an additional witness to the power of

the gospel. An ensample to believers in other places, they

were the subject of report and conversation to the world,

which was never weary of discussing this phenomenon, so

new and so strange, of people who had given up all that

governed the human heart, all to which it was subject, and

worshipped one only living and true God, to whom even the

natural conscience bore testimony. e gods of the heathen

were the gods of the passions, not of the conscience. And

this gave a living reality, an actuality, to the position of

Christians and to their religion. ey waited for His Son

from heaven.

Happy indeed were those Christians whose walk and

whole existence made of the world itself a witness for the

truth, who were so distinct in their confession, so consistent

in their life, that an apostle did not need to speak of that

which he had preached, of that which he had been among

them. e world spoke of it for him and for them.

e importance of the testimony; the character of

that borne by the essalonians

A few words on the testimony itself, which, simple as

it may be, is of great importance and contains principles

of great moral depth. It forms the basis of the whole life,

and of all the Christian aections also, that are unfolded in

the epistle, which, besides this development, contains only

a special revelation of the circumstances and the order of

Darby Synopsis

the coming of Christ to call His<P058> people to Himself

and of the dierence between that event and the day of the

Lord to judge the world, although this latter follows on

the former.

at which the Apostle points out, as the testimony

borne by the faithful walk of the essalonians, contained

three principal subjects: rst, they had forsaken their idols

to serve the living and true God; second, they were waiting

for His Son from heaven, whom He had raised from

among the dead; third, the Son was a safeguard from the

wrath which was to be revealed.

Christianity giving a positive object-God Himself-

for man’s need

An immense fact-simple but of vast import-

characterizes Christianity. It gives us a positive object;

and this object is nothing less than God Himself. Human

nature may discover the folly of that which is false. We

scorn false gods and graven images; but we cannot get

beyond ourselves, we cannot reveal anything to ourselves.

One of the most renowned names of antiquity is pleased

to tell us that all would go well if men followed nature (it

is manifest that they could not rise above it); and, in fact,

he would be in the right if man were not fallen. But to

require man to follow nature is a proof that he is fallen,

that he has degraded himself below the normal state of

that nature. He does not follow it in the walk that suits

its constitution. All is in disorder. Self-will carries him

away and acts in his passions. Man has forsaken God and

has lost the power and center of attraction that kept him

in his place and everything in his own nature in its place.

Man cannot recover himself, he cannot direct himself; for,

apart from God, there is nothing but self-will that guides

1essalonians 1

man. ere are many objects that furnish occasion for the

acting of the passions and the will; but there is no object

which, as a center, gives him a regular, constant and durable

moral position in relationship with that object, so that his

character should bear its stamp and value. Man must either

have a moral center, capable of forming him as a moral

being, by attracting him to itself and lling his aections,

so that he shall be the reex of that object; or he must act

in self-will, and then he is the sport of his passions; or,

which is the necessary consequence, he is the slave of any

object that takes possession of his will. A creature, who is a

moral being, cannot subsist without an object. To be self-

sucing is the characteristic of God.<P059>

Man in innocence and happiness

e equilibrium which subsisted in the unconsciousness

of good and evil is lost. Man no longer walks as man, having

nothing in his mind outside his normal condition, outside

that which he possessed; not having a will, or, which comes

to the same thing, having a will that desired nothing

more than it possessed, but that gratefully enjoyed all that

was already appropriated to its nature, and especially the

companionship of a being like himself, a help who had his

own nature, and who answered to his heart-blessing God

for everything.

e will of man; his condition under paganism

Now man wills. While he has lost that which formed

the sphere of his enjoyment, there is in him an activity

which seeks, which is become unable to rest without aiming

at, something further; which has already, as will, thrown

itself into a sphere that it does not ll, in which it lacks

intelligence to apprehend all that is there and power to

realize even that which it desires. Man, and all that has been

Darby Synopsis

his, no longer suces man as enjoyment. He still needs an

object. is object will either be above or below the man. If

it be below, he degrades himself below himself; and it is this

indeed which has taken place. He no longer lives according

even to nature (as he to whom I have alluded says), a state

which the Apostle has described in the beginning of the

Epistle to the Romans with all the horrors of the plain

truth. If this object be above himself and below God, there

is still nothing to govern his nature, nothing that puts him

morally in his place. A good being could not take this

place to exclude God from it. If a bad object gains it, he

becomes to the man a god, who shuts out the true God

and degrades man in his highest relationship-the worst of

all degradations. is too has taken place. And since these

beings are but creatures, they only can govern man by that

which exists and by that which acts upon him. is is to

say, they are the gods of his passions. ey degrade the idea

of the divinity: they degrade the practical life of humanity

into slavery to the passions (which are never satised and

which invent evil when they are surfeited with excess in

that which is natural to them) and are thus left without

resource. Such, in fact, was the condition of man under

paganism.<P060>

Man’s need met: God has revealed Himself in Christ

as the object of man’s heart

Man, and above all, man having knowledge of good

and evil, should have God for his object; and as an object

that his heart can entertain with pleasure, and on which his

aections can be exercised: otherwise he is lost. e gospel-

Christianity-has given him this. God, who lls all things,

who is the source of, in whom is centered, all blessing, all

good-God, who is all love, who has all power, who embraces

1essalonians 1

everything in His knowledge, because everything (except

the forsaking of Himself) is but the fruit of His mind and

will-God has revealed Himself in Christ to man, in order

that his heart, occupied with Him, with perfect condence

in His goodness, may know Him, may enjoy His presence,

and may reect His character.

God’s Object-His Son; God’s immense grace

displayed to those “in Christ”

e sin and misery of man have but lent occasion to an

innitely more complete development of what this God is,

and of the perfection of His nature, in love, in wisdom and

in power. But we are here considering only the fact that

He has given Himself to man for an object. Nevertheless,

although the misery of man has but given room for a much

more admirable revelation of God, yet God Himself must

have an object worthy of Himself to be the subject of His

purposes, and in order to unfold all His aections. is

object is the glory of His Son-His Son Himself. A being of

an inferior nature could not have been this to Him, although

God can glorify Himself in His grace to such a one. e

object of the aections and the aections that are exercised

with regard to it are necessarily correlative. us God has

displayed His sovereign and immense grace with regard to

that which was the most wretched, the most unworthy, the

most necessitous; and He has displayed all the majesty of

His being, all the excellence of His nature, in connection

with an object in whom He could nd all His delight and

exhibit all that He is in the glory of His nature. But it is as

man-marvelous truth in the eternal counsels of God!-that

this object of God the Father’s delight has taken His place

in this glorious revelation by which God makes Himself

known to His creatures. God has ordained and prepared

Darby Synopsis

man for this. us the<P061> heart that is taught by the

Spirit knows God as revealed in this immense grace, in the

love that comes down from the throne of God to the ruin

and misery of the sinner; he nds himself, in Christ, in the

knowledge and in the enjoyment of the love which God

has for the object of His eternal delight, who also is worthy

of being so; of the communications by which He testies

that love (John 17:7-8); and, nally, of the glory which

is its public demonstration before the universe. is latter

part of our ineable blessedness is the subject of Christ’s

communications at the end of John’s Gospel (chapters 14,

16 and, in particular, 17).1

(1. Compare Proverbs 8:30-31 and Luke 2:14, where

read, “Good pleasure in men.” It is beautiful to see the

angels unjealously celebrating it. Love downwards in grace

is great according to the misery and unworthiness of the

object; upwards as the aection of the soul according to the

worthiness; see both in Christ (Eph. 5:2). In both in Christ

self is wholly given up. He gave, not sought, Himself. e

law takes self as measure as to the neighbor and supposes

him on the same footing. ere is no love downwards.)

e immediate position and relationship of a child of

God

From the moment that the sinner is converted and

believes the gospel and (to complete his state, I must add) is

sealed with the Holy Spirit, now that the blessed Lord has

wrought redemption, he is introduced-as to the principle

of his life-into this position, into these relationships with

God. He is perhaps but a child; but the Father whom he

knows, the love into which he has entered, the Saviour on

whom his eyes are opened, are the same whom he will enjoy

when he shall know as he is known. He is a Christian; he

1essalonians 1

is turned from idols to God and to wait for His Son from

heaven.

e character of life in its manifestation: the life of

God and life from God

We may observe that the subject here is not the power

which converts, nor the source of life. Of these other

passages speak clearly. Here it is the character of the life

in its manifestation. Now this depends on its objects. Life

is exercised and unfolded in connection with its objects

and thus characterizes itself. e source from which it

ows makes it capable of enjoying it; but an intrinsic life

which has no object on which it depends is not the life of

a creature. Such life as that is the prerogative of God. is

shows the folly of those who would have a subjective life, as

they say, without its having a positively objective character;

for this<P062> subjective state depends on the object with

which it is occupied. It is the characteristic of God to be

the source of His own thoughts without an object-to be,

and to be self-sucing (because He is perfection, and the

center and source of everything), and to create objects

unto Himself, if He would have any without Himself. In a

word, although receiving a life from God which is capable

of enjoying Him, the moral character of man cannot be

formed in him without an object that imparts it to him.

God Himself our Object, manifested in Christ who

reveals His grace as God and Father

Now God has given Himself to us for an object and

has revealed Himself in Christ. If we occupy ourselves

with God in Himself (supposing always that He had thus

revealed Himself), the subject is too vast. It is an innite

joy; but in that which is simply innite there is something

wanting to a creature, although it is his highest prerogative

Darby Synopsis

to enjoy it. It is necessary to him, on the one hand, in

order that he may be in his place and that God may have

His place in regard to him, and, on the other hand, that

which exalts him so admirably. It must be so; and it is the

privilege given unto us, and given unto us in a priceless

intimacy, for we are children, and we dwell in God, and

God in us; but with this in itself there is a certain weight

upon the heart in the sense of God alone. We read of “a far

more exceeding and abundant weight1 of glory.” It must be

so: His majesty must be maintained when we think of Him

as God, His authority over the conscience. e heart-God

has so formed it-needs something which will not lower its

aections, but which may have the character of companion

and friend, at least to which it has access in that character.

(1. Weight and glory are the same word in Hebrew-

cabod.)

It is this which we have in Christ, our precious Saviour.

He is an object near to us. He is not ashamed to call us

brethren. He has called us friends; all that He has heard

from His Father He has made known to us. Is He then a

means of our eyes being turned away from God? On the

contrary, it is in Him that God is manifested, in Him that

even the angels see God. It is He who, being in the bosom

of the Father, reveals to us His God and Father in this sweet

relationship and as He knows Him Himself. And not only

this, but He is in the Father, and the Father in Him, so

that He<P063> who has seen Him has seen the Father. He

reveals God to us, instead of turning us away from Him.

In grace He has already revealed Him, and we wait for the

revelation of glory in Him. Already also on the earth, from

the moment that He was born, the angels celebrated the

good pleasure of God in man, for the object of His eternal

1essalonians 1

delight had become a man. And now He has accomplished

the work which makes possible the introduction of others,

of sinners, into the enjoyment with Himself of this favor

of God. Once enemies, “we are reconciled to God by the

death of his Son.”

Reconciled to God to joyfully serve Him and wait for

His Son from heaven

It is thus that God has reconciled us to Himself. By

faith thus knowing God, we “turn from idols to serve the

living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.”

e living and true God is the object of our joyful service.

His Son, whom we know, who knows us, who will have

us to be where He is, who has identied us with His own

glory and His glory with us, He who is a gloried man

forever and rstborn among many brethren is the object

of our expectation. We expect Him from heaven, for our

hopes are there, and there the seat of our joy.

We have the innity of a God of love, the intimacy and

the glory of Him who has taken part in all our inrmities,

and, without sin, has borne all our sins. What a portion is

ours!

God’s judgment of evil imperative; consequent

impending wrath; deliverance from it

But there was another side of the truth. Creatures are

responsible; and, however great His love and His patience,

God cannot allow evil nor contempt of His authority: if

He did, all would be confusion and misery. God Himself

would lose His place. ere is a judgment; there is wrath to

come. We were responsible; we have failed. How then shall

we enjoy God and the Son in the way that I have spoken

of ?

Darby Synopsis

Here comes in the application of the third truth of which

the Apostle speaks: “which delivered us from the wrath to

come.” e work of Christ has perfectly sheltered us from

this wrath; He took our place in responsibility on the cross

to put away sin for us by the sacrice of Himself.<P064>

e three great elements of Christian life

ese then are the three great elements of Christian

life. We serve the living and the true God, having forsaken

our idols outward or inward. We expect Jesus for glory;

for this sight of God makes us feel what this world is, and

we know Jesus. As to our sins and our conscience, we are

perfectly cleansed; we fear nothing. e life and walk of the

essalonians was a testimony to these truths.

1essalonians 2

73265

1essalonians 2

e Apostle’s own walk and conduct

Having established these great principles, the Apostle,

with an open and overowing heart, appeals to his whole

walk among them as a proof of his having walked in the

same spirit as in their own case he was rejoicing in. It

was not that he exhorted others, while availing himself

of their aection, for his own advantage. It was not that

he encouraged them to endure aictions, without having

courage himself to undergo the same. Ill-treated and

insulted at Philippi, he was bold in God to renew his

attacks on the kingdom of darkness at essalonica, and

that with great energy. He had not used attering words

to win them; he had set the truth before them, as being

himself the servant of God. He had worked with his own

hands, that he might not be burdensome to them. All was

before God in the light and by the energy of the Holy

Spirit, and in a spirit of devotedness; even as he desired that

they should walk as they knew he had walked among them,

as holily, justly and unblamably; as also he had exhorted

them, with all aection and tenderness, to walk worthy of

God, who had called them unto His own kingdom and

glory.

We see again in this expression the close relationship

of the Christian, in his individual character, with God.

He has his portion in God’s own kingdom and glory, and

his conduct should become such a position. Here it is his

own position in relationship with God, as before it was his

relationship with God and the Lord Jesus.<P065>

Darby Synopsis

e Word and work of God; the fruit of His servants’

labors, answering to the character of their work

e Apostle then speaks of the means by which this

world of new thoughts was acquired by the Christian. It was

that God had spoken to reveal Himself and His counsels.

God had committed the gospel to Paul (ch. 2:4), and he

had acted as being in the presence of God and responsible

to Him.

e essalonians also, on their part, had received the

word, not as the word of Paul, but as the word of God

Himself addressed to them by the mouth of Paul. It is

interesting, as for us also a serious thought, to observe that

(with regard to the manifestation of the power of God

down here), although the work is of God, the fruit of His

servants’ labors answers to the character and depth of that

labor itself. us the bonds of grace are established, and

communion; there is mutual understanding. e work

manifests the workman. e laborer rejoices in that which

his heart had desired for the souls that are the fruit of his

labor; and these know how to appreciate the walk and the

work of the laborer, acknowledging the power of grace

in him who was the means of bringing them into this

position; and the one and the others, knowing God, rejoice

in the fellowship of His grace.

Paul was very largely with God in his own soul and in

his work. e essalonians had, in consequence, received

the word in the same power; and they, with him, were thus

in communion with God according to that power and that

intimacy.

Jewish and Gentile Christians suering from their

own fellow-countrymen

1essalonians 2

We see here, in passing, the Jews deprived of this

relationship with God, the remnant of that people received,

and suering from the enmity of the mass. e elect from

among the Gentiles awakened, on their part, the hostility

of their fellow-countrymen by the testimony which they

bore against the prince of this world in their Christian

walk and by their confession of a heavenly Christ-a Christ

whom the world had rejected.<P066>

e Jews’ jealousy and refusal of God’s grace,

transferring our hopes from earth to heaven

e religion of the Jews had become pure jealousy

of others. e pretension to the exclusive possession of

religious privileges- very precious when they enjoyed it

with God as a testimony of His favor-was nothing but a

spring of hatred, when God in the fullness of His sovereign

grace chose to bless others who had a right to nothing. By

this exclusive pretension they denied the rights of God,

who had formerly chosen them as a people; they denied

His grace, according to which He acted towards sinners,

and which would have been the source of better blessings

for themselves. But, meantime, their refusal to come in had

transferred the scene of our hopes and our joys from earth

to heaven, where we know the Lord, and where He will

remain until He comes to assert His claims over the earth.

Before He asserts them, He will take us to Himself.

e Jews set aside as a nation; better privileges than

those forfeited granted to Christians

Meanwhile, the Word of God is the source of our

condence- the revelation of glory, of truth and of love.

It is mighty in them that believe. e Jews are set aside.

By their opposition to grace towards the Gentiles, they

had taken the position of enmity against God in grace, and

Darby Synopsis

wrath was come upon them to the uttermost. It was not

yet executed; but they had put themselves in this position.

It was not only that they had broken the law, they had

already killed their prophets who were sent to them in

grace; they had already slain the Christ, Jesus the Lord.

Sovereign grace alone could bring in a remedy. is they

resisted; because, according to that grace, God was good

to the Gentiles and granted to them, at the same time as

to themselves, better privileges than those which they had

forfeited. Wrath, therefore, was nally come upon them as

a nation. Christians were now in the enjoyment of better

privileges in place of the Jews.

e reception of the Word: what it reveals

It is not here the moment for explaining the future

dealings of God with the remnant of that people. e

Apostle speaks here of the people in order to show that

the only ones in relation with God were Christians-those

who had received the Word. It was the re<P067>ception of

the Word by faith, and nothing else, which brought souls

really into relationship with God. Hereditary privileges

were found to be, in their nature, opposition to grace and

sovereignty, and thus to the character and rights of God

Himself; for God is sovereign, and God is love.

e Word reveals grace; it is obeyed by believing it.

And, brought into relationship with God, the Christian

walks in His communion and in His ways and waits for

the Son, in whom He has revealed Himself to men. is is

the fruit of that which the Christian has received through

believing-an ecacious principle of life and a light from

God for the way.

Joys mingled with conict

1essalonians 2

e Apostle blessed God that it was thus with the

essalonians; and, having made this point clear, he

returns to the joy of his communion with them in the

positive blessing which the revelation of God in their

hearts by the Word had brought them. He would gladly

have seen them to enjoy this communion in fellowship

with them face to face; but as long as it was by the Word

only that the knowledge of God was obtained-in a word,

by faith-as long as the Lord was absent, another result

owed from this fact; namely, that these joys were mingled

with conict-conict, however, which, although to the

eye of man interrupting enjoyment, made it more sweet,

more real, preserved its heavenly character, and made the

Lord Himself, from whom they could not be separated,

the center, the common point in which hearts were united,

with the consciousness that they were in the wilderness

and that they were awaiting a scene and a time in which

evil and the enemy’s power would no longer be, but where

Christ would be all. Joyful hope, holy happiness, powerful

link of the heart to Christ! When He shall be all, our joy

will be complete, and all saints will possess it. Paul wished

to have seen them again, and had so even twice, but Satan

hindered it. e time should come when he would fully

enjoy both them and his labor among them, by seeing

them in full possession of glory at the coming of Christ.

True Christian life fully developed in love and

holiness

In the Apostle himself, when at essalonica, Christian

life was fully developed in love and in holiness. He had

been among them<P068> in tenderness, as a mother

cherishes her children; ready to impart not only the gospel

to them but even his own life, so dear were they to him.

Darby Synopsis

100

He had been at the same time holy and without blame in

all his conduct. What energy of life and love springing up

by the power of God, regardless of all the consequences

save the blessing of the elect and the glory of God! is is

true Christian life. e heart, not lled with questionings

through unbelief but strong in faith, counts on God in

order to serve God. us love is free, beside oneself for

God, prudent and full of consideration only for the good

of others. And what bonds this creates! Persecution only

hastens the work by compelling to go elsewhere, when

perhaps the laborer would be tempted to enjoy the fruits

of his labor in the society of those who had been blessed

through him (compare chapter 2:2). ough absent, the

Apostle’s heart was still bound to them; he remembered his

beloved ones; he prayed for them; he blessed God for the

grace bestowed on them; assuring himself with joy, when

he thought of it, their portion in glory as the elect of God

(ch. 1:3-4; 2:13).

Looking forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus

e bond remained rm; and, the way to present

enjoyment of personal communion being obstructed by

the devices of Satan (by permission of God), his heart

rose higher and sought the full satisfaction of the want

produced in it by love, in the moment when a Christ

present in His power should have removed all obstacles

and accomplished the purposes of God with respect to the

saints; when His love should have borne all its precious

fruits in them; and when Paul and his dear children in the

faith should enjoy together all that grace and the power of

the Spirit should have wrought in them. Unable for the

moment to satisfy the desires of his heart by seeing them,

it was to that hour that Paul looked. And observe that, if he

1essalonians 2

101

does so, it is because his heart was already lled with it for

himself. e power of the Spirit, acting in accordance with

the truth, always leads the heart to that hour. It impels the

heart to labor in love in the midst of this world, causes thus

the opposition of the darkness of this world to the light

(whether on the part of man or of the prince of darkness)

to be realized, and makes us always feel the need of that

day of light, when evil shall no longer be present to hinder

the happiness of the new man in his enjoyment of that

which is good, in his communion<P069> with those dear

to God, and, above all, in the enjoyment of the presence of

his gloried Saviour, who has loved him and who (for the

exercise of his faith) is at present hidden from him.

e joyous coming of the Lord, lling the believer’s

heart

It is He who is the source and object of all these

aections, who sustains and nourishes them, who attracts

them ever to Himself by His perfections and by His love,

and, in the sorrows of the Christian life, carries the heart

onward thus to the day of our being with Himself, to the day

of His coming, when the heart will be free to occupy itself

with all that binds us to Him without interruption. is

thought of His presence has the mastery, when the heart

is fresh in the divine joy of redemption. We nd this here.

We are converted to wait for Him (ch. 1); we shall enjoy

the communion of saints and the fruit of our labors when

He returns (ch. 2); that day gives its force and its measure

to our thoughts respecting holiness (ch. 3); it destroys the

anguish of heart which would otherwise accompany the

death of the saints (ch. 4); it is for that day we are kept

(ch. 5). e coming of the Lord, the presence of Jesus, lls,

therefore, the believer’s heart, when life is springing up in

Darby Synopsis

102

its freshness-lls it with a joyous hope, the fulllment of

which shines bright before our eyes, there where all our

desires will be accomplished.

Satan’s opposition turned into blessing

To return to the end of chapter 2, the link which Satan

sought to break by interrupting its enjoyment was but the

rather strengthened by being connected with the coming

of the Lord. e current of the Spirit, against which he had

been allowed to set up this dike, though turned from its

natural bed, could not be stopped, for its waters ever ow;

they gushed out in waves that enriched all around them,

taking their course towards that sea which contained the

fullness of those waters and fed the source from which they

sprang.

e fruit of the Spirit’s work in us and by us to be

crowned at Christ’s coming

It should be observed here that the special fruits of our

labors are not lost; they are found again at the coming of

Christ. Our<P070> chief personal joy is to see the Lord

Himself and to be like Him. is is the portion of all

saints; but there are particular fruits in connection with the

work of the Spirit in us and by us. At essalonica the

spiritual energy of the Apostle had brought a number of

souls to God and to wait for Jesus, and into a close union in

the truth with Himself. is energy would be crowned at

the coming of Christ by the presence of these believers in

the glory as the fruit of his labors. God would thus crown

the Apostle’s work by bearing a striking testimony to its

faithfulness in the presence of all these saints in glory;

and the love which had wrought in Paul’s heart would be

satised by seeing its object in glory and in the presence of

Jesus. ey would be his glory and joy. is thought drew

1essalonians 2

103

yet closer the bonds that united them and comforted the

Apostle in the midst of his toils and suerings.

Darby Synopsis

104

73266

1essalonians 3

e circumstances surrounding Paul’s forced removal

from essalonica; his aection and care for the new

converts there

Now this forced removal of the Apostle as the chief

laborer, without weakening the bond between him and the

disciples, formed other links which would consolidate and

strengthen the assembly, knitting it together by that which

every joint supplied. is is connected (all things are but

the instruments of the power and wisdom of God) with

the circumstances of which the Acts of the Apostles give

us the principal details.

After the persecutions excited by the Jews, the Apostle

made a short stay at essalonica and was then obliged

to leave that city and go to Berea. Even there the Jews of

essalonica followed him and inuenced those of Berea,

so that the Berean brethren had to provide for his safety.

e person to whom they committed him brought him

to Athens; Silas and Timotheus remained at Berea for

the moment, but soon at his command rejoined him at

Athens. Meantime, a violent persecution raged against

the Christians at essalonica, a city of importance,

in which, as it appears, the Jews had already exercised

a considerable measure of inuence over the heathen

population-an inuence that was undermined by the

progress of Christianity, which the Jews in their blindness

rejected.<P071>

e Apostle, learning this state of things from Silas

and Timotheus, was concerned at the danger his new

1essalonians 3

105

converts ran in being shaken in faith by the diculties

that beset their path while they were still young in the

faith. His aection would not allow him to rest without

putting himself in communication with them, and already

from Athens he had sent Timotheus to inquire into their

condition and to establish their hearts by reminding them

that while yet with them he had told them these things

would happen. During his absence Paul left Athens and

went to Corinth, where Timotheus again comforted him

by the good tidings he brought from essalonica, and

the Apostle resumed his labors at Corinth with renewed

energy and courage (see Acts 18:5).

e occasion of the letter; the laborer strengthened

and encouraged; their happiness his greatest joy

On the arrival of Timotheus Paul wrote this letter.

Timotheus had informed him of the good state of the

essalonian Christians-that they held fast the faith,

that they greatly desired to see the Apostle, and that they

walked together in love. In the midst of his sorrows and of

the opposition of men-in a word, of the aictions of the

gospel-the Apostle’s spirit is refreshed by these tidings. He

is himself strengthened, for if the faith of the laborer is the

means of blessing to souls, and in general the measure of the

outward character of the work, the faith of the Christians

who are the fruit of his labors, and who correspond to it,

is in return a source of strength and encouragement to the

laborer; even as their prayers are a great means of blessing

to him.

Love nds in their spiritual welfare both its food and its

joy; faith, that which sustains and strengthens it. e Word

of God is felt in it. “I live,” says the Apostle, “if ye stand

fast in the Lord. What thanks,” he adds, “can we render

Darby Synopsis

106

to God for you, for all the joy wherewith we rejoice for

your sakes before God?” Beautiful and aecting picture of

the eect of the operation of the Spirit of God, delivering

souls from the corruption of the world and producing the

purest aections, the greatest self-renunciation for the

sake of others, the greatest joy in their happiness-divine

joy, realized before God Himself, and the value of which

was appreciated in His presence by the spiritual heart that

abode in it, the heart which, on the part of that God of

love, had been the means of its existence.<P072>

Paul as a laborer, not a master, dependent on God for

his work

What a bond is the bond of the Spirit! How selshness

is forgotten and disappears in the joy of such aections! e

Apostle, animated by this aection, which increased instead

of growing weary by its exercise, and by the satisfaction it

received in the happiness of others, desires so much the

more, from the essalonians being thus sustained, to see

them again; not now for the purpose of strengthening them,

but to build upon that which was already so established,

and to complete their spiritual instruction by imparting

that which was yet lacking to their faith. But he is, and he

ought to be, a laborer and not a master (God makes us feel

this), and he depends entirely on God for his work and for

the edication of others. In fact, years passed away before

he saw the essalonians again. He remained a long time

at Corinth, where the Lord had much people; he revisited

Jerusalem, then all Asia Minor where he had labored

earlier; thence he went to Ephesus, where he abode nearly

three years; and after that he saw the essalonians again,

when he left that city to go to Corinth, taking his journey

1essalonians 3

107

by the way of Macedonia, in order not to visit Corinth

before the restoration of the Christians there to order.

Paul’s submission to the will of God as his Father, and

to Christ as the Son over God’s house

“God himself”-it is thus that the Apostle’s desire

and his submission to the will of God expresses itself-

“God himself direct our way unto you.” His desire is

not vague. He refers to God as to his Father, the source

of all these holy aections, Him who holds the place of

Father to us and orders all things with a view to the good

of His children, according to that perfect wisdom which

embraces all things and all His children at once. “Our

God and Father himself,” the Apostle says. But there is

another consideration-not, assuredly, in opposition to this,

for God is one, but which has another and less individual

character: and he adds, “And our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ

is Son over God’s house, and besides joy and blessing and

individual aections, there was the progress, the welfare and

the development of the whole assembly to be considered.

ese two parts of Christianity act assuredly upon each

other.<P073>

e assembly’s well-being and the individual

aections, dependent on the government of a Lord like

Jesus and the love of a Father

Where the operation of the Spirit is full and unhindered,

the well-being of the assembly and the individual aections

are in harmony. If anything is lacking in the one, God

uses the failure itself to act powerfully on the other. If the

assembly as a whole is weak, individual faith is exercised in a

special manner, and more immediately upon God Himself.

ere are no Elijahs and Elishas in the reign of Solomon.

On the other hand, the watchful care of the assembly

Darby Synopsis

108

by those divinely engaged in it is the true energy of its

spiritual organization, strengthens the life, and reawakens

the spiritual aections of its slumbering members. But the

two things are dierent. erefore, the Apostle adds to

“our God and Father … and our Lord Jesus Christ,” who,

as we have said, according to Hebrews 3, is Son over His

house. It is a blessing that our path depends on the love of a

Father, who is God Himself, acting according to the tender

aections expressed by that name; and, as to the well-being

of the assembly, that it depends on the government of a

Lord like Jesus, who loves it with a perfect love: and who,

although He took such a place, is the God who created

all things, the Man who has all power in heaven and on

earth, to whom Christians are the objects of incessant and

faithful care- care which He expends in order to bring the

assembly nally unto Himself in glory according to the

counsels of God.1

(1. It is well here to recall that, though Christ is Son over

God’s house, as Lord He is not Lord over the assembly but

over individuals. Besides this, He is in a general sense Lord

of all. But His action towards individuals ministers to the

well-being of the assembly.)

e power and exercise of love

Such then was the Apostle’s rst wish, and such were

they with regard to whom he formed it. Meanwhile, he

must leave his beloved essalonians to the immediate care

of the Lord on whom he depended (compare Acts 20:32).

To that his heart turns. May God “direct my way to come

to you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in

love one toward another and toward all.”

And his heart could present its aection for them, as

the pattern of that which they ought to feel for others. is

1essalonians 3

109

power of love<P074> maintains the heart in the presence

of God and makes it nd its joy in the light of His presence

and earnestly desire that all saints may be in His presence,

their hearts tted for it and there. For God is love, and

the exercise of love in the Christian’s heart (fruit of the

presence and the operation of the Spirit) is, in fact, the eect

of the presence of God; and at the same time it makes

us feel His presence, so that it keeps us before Him and

maintains sensible communion in the heart. Love may

suer and thereby prove its strength, but we are speaking

of the spontaneous exercise of love towards the objects

which God presents to it.

Love as the bond of perfectness, the true means of

blessing; two great principles as to God and our Lord

Jesus

Now, being thus the development of the divine nature

in us and the sustainment of our hearts in communion

with God Himself, love is the bond of perfectness, the

true means of holiness, when it is real. e heart is kept,

far away from the esh and its thoughts, in the pure light

of the presence of God, which the soul thus enjoys. For

this reason the Apostle prays, while waiting to give them

more light, that the Lord would increase love in them,

in order to establish their hearts unblamable in holiness

before God even our Father in the presence of our Lord

Jesus Christ with all His saints. Here we nd again the

two great principles of which I spoke at the end of chapter

1: God in the perfection of His nature; and the Lord Jesus

in the intimacy of His connection with us-God, however,

as Father, and Jesus as Lord. We are before God, and Jesus

comes with His saints. He has brought them to perfection;

Darby Synopsis

110

they are with Him, and thus before God known in the

relationship of Father.

e actual and present expectation of the Lord’s

coming and the consummation of the work

Observe also that everything refers to this hope: it was

an actual and present expectation. If they were converted,

it was to serve God and to wait for His Son from heaven.

Everything related to that wondrous moment when

He should come. at which holiness was would be

demonstrated when they should be before God, and the

saints would be with their Head; moreover, manifested with

Him in glory, even as then they should also fully<P075>

enjoy the fruit of their labor and the reward of love in the

joy of all those whom they had loved.1

(1. It is very striking how holiness here and manifestation

in glory are brought together as one thing in Scripture,

only the veil drawn aside when the glory is there. Even

Christ was declared Son of God with power according to

the Spirit of holiness by resurrection. We beholding the

glory with unveiled face are changed into the same image

from glory to glory. So here; we are to walk in love, to be

unblamable in holiness. We should have said here; but

no, the veil is drawn at the appearing of our Lord Jesus

Christ with all His saints. In Ephesians 5 He washes us

with the Word, to present us a glorious body without spot

to Himself.)

e scene which would be the consummation of the

work is presented here in all its moral bearing. We are before

God, in His presence, where holiness is demonstrated in

its true character; we are there for perfect communion

with God in the light, where the connection of holiness

with His nature and with the manifestation of Himself is

1essalonians 3

111

apparent; even as this manifestation is in connection with

the development of a nature in us, which by grace sets us in

relationship with Him.

“Unblamable in holiness before God”

“Unblamable,” he says, “in holiness,” and in holiness

“before God.” He is light. What immense joy, what power,

through grace, in this thought, for the time present, to keep

ourselves manifested before Him! But only love, known in

Him, can do this.

A relationship of love giving the nature of God to His

children

But also we add “our Father.” It is a known and real

relationship, which has its own peculiar character, a

relationship of love. It is not a thing to be acquired, and

holiness is not the means of acquiring it. Holiness is the

character of our relationship with God, inasmuch as we

have received His nature as His children, and it is the

revelation of the perfection of that nature in Him in love.

Love itself has given us that nature and has placed us in that

relationship; practical holiness is its exercise in communion

with God, having fellowship with Him in His presence

according to the love which we thus know, that is, God

Himself as He has revealed Himself towards us.<P076>

e accomplishment of God’s ways as to those whom

He has given to Jesus; the power and joy of love

But the heart is not alone: there is companionship in

this joy and in this perfection; and above all it is with Jesus

Himself. He will come, He will be present, and not only

He who is the Head, but all the saints with Him will be

there also. It will be the accomplishment of the ways of

God respecting those whom He had given to Jesus. We

shall see Him in His glory, the glory which He has taken

Darby Synopsis

112

in connection with His coming for us. We shall see all the

saints in whom He will be admired, and see them in the

perfection which our hearts desire for them now.

Observe also that love makes us rise above the

diculties, the persecutions, the fears, which the enemy

seeks to produce. Occupied with God, happy in Him,

this weight of aiction is not felt. e strength of God

is in the heart; the walk is sensibly connected with the

eternal happiness possessed with Him, and the aiction

is felt to be but light and for a moment. Nor this only; we

suer for Christ’s sake: it is joy with Him, it is intimacy

of communion, if we know how to appreciate it, and all is

invested with the glory and salvation that are found at the

end-“at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his

saints.”

e Lord’s coming linked with practical, daily life

In reading this passage one cannot but observe the

immediate and living way in which the Lord’s coming is

linked with daily, practical life, so that the perfect light of

that day is thrown upon the hourly path of the present

time. By the exercise of love they were to be established in

holiness before God at the coming of Christ. From one day

to another, that day was looked for as the consummation

and the only term they contemplated to the ordinary life

of each day here below. How this brought the soul into

the presence of God! Moreover, as I have already in part

observed, they lived in a known relationship with God

which gave room for this condence. He was their Father;

He is ours. e relationship of the saints to Jesus was

equally known. e saints were “his saints.” ey were all

to come with Him. ey were associated with His glory.

ere is nothing equivocal in the expression. Jesus, the

1essalonians 3

113

Lord, coming with all His saints, allows us to think of no

other event than His return in glory. en also will He

be glo<P077>ried in His saints, who will already have

rejoined Him to be forever with Him. It will be the day of

their manifestation as of His.

Darby Synopsis

114

73267

1essalonians 4

e dangers of former habits

e Apostle then turns to the dangers that beset the

essalonians in consequence of their former habits (and

which were still those of the persons that surrounded them),

habits in direct contradiction to the holy and heavenly joy

of which he spoke. He had already shown them how they

were to walk and to please God. In this way he had himself

walked among them (ch. 2:10). He would exhort them to a

similar conduct with all the weight that his own walk gave

him, even as he would desire their growth in love according

to the aection he had for them (compare Acts 26:29). It is

this which gives authority to the exhortation and to all the

words of a servant of the Lord.

Purity: the new and high ground on which Christianity

places us; despising God and His Spirit

e Apostle takes up especially the subject of purity,

for the pagan morals were so corrupt that impurity was

not even accounted to be sin. It appears strange to us that

such an exhortation should have been needful to such

lively Christians as the essalonians; but we do not make

allowance enough for the power of those habits in which

persons have been brought up, and which become, as it were,

a part of our nature and of the current of our thoughts, and

for the action of two distinct natures under the inuence

of these, though the allowance or cultivation of one soon

deadens the other. But the motives given here show upon

what entirely new ground, as regards the commonest

morality, Christianity places us. e body was but as a vessel

1essalonians 4

115

to be used at will for whatever service they chose. ey

were to possess this vessel, instead of allowing themselves

to be carried away by the desires of the esh; because they

knew God. ey were not to deceive their brethren in

these things,1 for the Lord would take vengeance. God

has called us to holiness: it is with Him that we have to

do; and if anyone despised his brother, taking advantage of

his feebleness of<P078> mind to encroach upon his rights

in this respect, it would be to despise not man but God,

who would Himself remember it, and who has given us

His Spirit; and to act thus would be to despise that Spirit,

both in one’s self and in one’s brother in whom He also

dwells. He who was wronged in this way was not only the

husband of a wife, he was the dwelling-place of the Holy

Spirit and ought to be respected as such. On what high

ground Christianity places a man, and that in connection

with our best aections!

(1. Εν τω ΠραγματΙ (en to pragmati) is a euphemism for

“these things.”)

Brotherly love; glorifying the Lord in daily life

As touching brotherly love-that new mainspring of their

life- it was not necessary to exhort them: God Himself had

taught them, and they were an example of love to all. Only

let them abound in it even more and more; walking quietly,

working with their own hands, so as to be in no man’s debt,

that in this respect also the Lord might be gloried.

A new revelation as to the essalonians’ hope: those

who had died would equally have their part in the Lord’s

coming; the distinction between Christ’s coming for His

own and His day of judgment on the world

Darby Synopsis

116

Such were the Apostle’s exhortations. at which follows

is an absolutely new revelation for their encouragement

and consolation.

We have seen that the essalonians were always

expecting the Lord. It was their near and immediate hope

in connection with their daily life. ey were constantly

expecting Him to take them to Himself. ey had been

converted to wait for the Son of God from heaven. Now

(from want of instruction) it appeared to them that the

saints who had recently died would not be with them

to be caught up. e Apostle clears up this point and

distinguishes between the coming of Christ to take up

His own and His day, which was a day of judgment to the

world. ey were not to be troubled with regard to those

who had died in Christ1<P079> as those who had no hope

were troubled. And the reason which he gives for this is a

proof of the strict connection of their entire spiritual life

with the expectation of Christ’s personal return to bring

them into heavenly glory. e Apostle, in comforting them

with regard to their brethren who had lately died, does

not say a word of the survivors rejoining them in heaven.

ey are maintained in the thought that they were still

to look for the Lord during their lifetime to transform

them into His glorious image (compare 2Corinthians 5

and 1Corinthians 15). A special revelation was required to

make them understand that those who had previously died

would equally have their part in that event. eir part, so to

speak, would resemble that of Christ. He has died, and He

has risen again. And so will it be with them. And when He

should return in glory, God would bring them-even as He

would bring the others, that is, the living-with Him.

1essalonians 4

117

(1. It has been thought that the Apostle speaks here

of those who had died for His name’s sake as martyrs. It

may have been so in consequence of the persecutions, but

δΙα τΟυ ΙησΟυ (dia tou Jesou) would be a singular way of

expressing it; δΙα (dia) with a genitive is used for a state

of things, a condition that we are in, that characterizes us.

Being in Christ, their removal was but falling asleep, not

dying. ey had this position by means of Jesus, not for His

name’s sake. (Compare, however, 2Corinthians 4:14.))

Express revelation as to details of the Lord’s coming:

those who sleep in Jesus will be with Him when He

appears; the dead in Christ shall rise rst, and the living

shall be caught up to meet the Lord

Upon this the Apostle gives some more detailed

explanation of the Lord’s coming in the form of express

revelation, showing how they would be with Him so as to

come with Him when He appears. e living will not take

precedence of those who sleep in Jesus. e Lord Himself

will come as the Head of His heavenly army, dispersed for

a time, to gather them to Himself. He gives the word. e

voice of the archangel passes it on, and the trumpet of God

is sounded. e dead in Christ will rise rst, that is to say,

before the living go up. en we who shall be alive and

remain shall go with them, all together, in the clouds to

meet the Lord in the air. So shall we be forever with the

Lord.

His people, like their Lord, to ascend in the clouds;

the Christian’s heavenly association with Christ

It was thus that the Lord Himself ascended; for in all

things we are to be like Him-an important circumstance

here. Whether transformed or raised from the dead, we

Darby Synopsis

118

shall all go up in the clouds. It was in the clouds that He

ascended, and thus we shall be ever with Him.<P080>

Caught up together; God’s power sealing the

Christians’ life and His work and bringing them into the

glory of Christ

In this part of the passage, where he explains the details

of our ascension to the Lord in the air, nothing is said of

His coming down to the earth; it is our going up (as He

went up) to be with Him.1 Neither, as far as concerns us,

does the Apostle go farther than our gathering together to

be forever with Him. Nothing is said either of judgment

or of manifestation; but only the fact of our heavenly

association with Him in that we leave the earth precisely as

He left it. is is very precious. ere is this dierence: He

went up in His own full right, He ascended; as to us, His

voice calls the dead, and they come forth from the grave,

and, the living being changed, all are caught up together. It

is a solemn act of God’s power, which seals the Christians’

life and the work of God, and brings the former into the

glory of Christ as His heavenly companions. Glorious

privilege! Precious grace! To lose sight of it destroys the

proper character of our joy and of our hope.

(1. In order that we may all return-be brought back

with Him-together.)

Other consequences follow, which are the result of His

manifestation; but that is our portion, our hope. We leave

the earth as He did; we shall forever be with Him.

Words of comfort if believers die

It is with these words that we are to comfort ourselves

if believers die-fall asleep in Jesus. ey shall return with

Him when He shall be manifested; but, as regards their

1essalonians 4

119

own portion, they will go away as He went, whether raised

from the dead or transformed, to be forever with the Lord.

All the rest refers to His government of the earth: an

important subject, a part of His glory; and we also take

part in it. But it is not our own peculiar portion. is is,

to be with Him, to be like Him, and even (when the time

shall come) to quit in the same manner as Himself the

world which rejected Him, and which has rejected us, and

which is to be judged.

I repeat it: to lose sight of this is to lose our essential

portion. All lies in the words, “So shall we ever be with

the Lord.” e Apostle has here explained how this will

take place.1 Remark here that<P081> verses 15-18 are a

parenthesis, and that chapter 5:1 follows on chapter 4:14;

chapter 5 showing what He will do when He brings the

saints with Him according to chapter 4:14.

(1. Compare 2 Corinthians 5:1-4. We have already

remarked as a fact that this passage is a new, distinct

revelation. But the bearing of this fact appears here and

proves that it has much importance. e Christian’s life is

so connected with the day (that is to say, with the power of

the life of light of which Christ lives), and Christ who is

already in glory is so truly the believer’s life, that he has no

other thought than to pass into it by this power of Christ’s,

which will transform him. (See 2 Corinthians 5:4.) It

required a new and accessory revelation to explain that

which was wanting to the intelligence of the essalonians,

how the dead saints should not lose their part in it. e

same power would be applied to their dead bodies as to the

mortal bodies of the living saints, and all would be caught

up together. But the victory over death was already gained,

and Christ, according to the power of resurrection, being

Darby Synopsis

120

already the believer’s life, it was but natural, according to

that power, that he should pass without dying into the

fullness of life with Christ. is was so much the natural

thought of faith that it required an express and, as I have

said, an accessory revelation to explain how the dead should

have their part in it. To us now it presents no diculty. It

is the other side of this truth which we lack, which belongs

to a much more lively faith and which realizes much more

the power of the life of Christ and His victory over death.

No doubt the essalonians should have considered that

Christ had died and risen again, and not have allowed the

abundant power of their joy in realizing their own portion

in Christ to hide from them the certainty of the portion of

those who slept in Him. But we see (and God allowed it

that we might see) how the life which they possessed was

connected with the position of the Head triumphant over

death. e Apostle does not weaken this faith and hope,

but he adds (that they may be comforted by the thought)

that the triumph of Christ would have the same power

over the sleeping as over the living saints; and that God

would bring back the former as well as the latter with Jesus

in glory, having caught them up together as their common

portion to be forever with Him.

To us also God gives this truth, this revelation of His

power. He has permitted thousands to fall asleep, because

(blessed be His name!) He had other thousands to call in;

but the life of Christ has not lost its power, nor the truth

its certainty. We as living ones wait for Him because He is

our life. We shall see Him in resurrection, if haply we die

before He comes to seek us; and the time draws near.

Observe, also, that this revelation gives another direction

to the hope of the essalonians, because it distinguishes

1essalonians 4

121

with much precision between our departure hence to join

the Lord in the air and our return to the earth with Him.

Nor this only; but it shows the rst to be the principal

thing for Christians, while at the same time conrming

and elucidating the other point. I question whether the

essalonians would not better have understood this return

with Christ than our departure hence all together to rejoin

Him. Even at their conversion they had been brought to

wait for Jesus from heaven. From the rst the great and

essential principle was established in their hearts-the

Person of Christ was the object of their hearts’ expectation,

and they were separated thereby from the world.

Perhaps they had some vague idea that they were to

appear with Him in glory, but how it was to be accomplished

they knew not. ey were to be ready at any moment for

His coming, and He and they were to be gloried together

before the universe. is they knew. It is a summary of the

truth.

Now the Apostle develops more than one point here

in connection with this general truth. First, they would

be with Christ at His coming. is, I think, is a happy

application of a truth which they already possessed, giving

a little more precision to one of its precious details. At the

end of chapter 3 we have the truth plainly stated (although

it was still indistinct in their hearts, since they thought the

dead in Christ would be deprived of it) that all the saints

should come with Jesus-an essential point as to the character

of our relationship to Him. So that Jesus was expected-

the saints should be together with Jesus at the time of

His coming-all the saints should come with Him. is

xed and gave precision to their ideas on a point already

more or less known. Second, that which follows is a new

Darby Synopsis

122

revelation on the occasion of their mistake with regard to

those who slept. ey thought indeed that the Christians

who were ready should be gloried with Christ when He

came back to this world; but the dead- were they ready?

ey were not present to share the glorious manifestation

of Christ on the earth. For, I doubt not, the vague idea that

possessed the mind of the essalonians was this: Jesus

would return to this world, and they who were waiting

for Him would share His glorious manifestation on the

earth. Now the Apostle declares that the dead saints were

in the same position as Jesus who had died. God had not

left Him in the grave; nor would He those who had, like

Him, been there. God would also bring them with Him

when He should return in glory to this earth. But this was

not all. e coming of Christ in glory to the earth was not

the principal thing. e dead in Christ should be raised

and then, with the living, should go to meet the Lord in

the air, before His manifestation, and return with Him to

the earth in glory; and thus should they be ever with the

Lord. is was the principal thing, the Christian’s portion;

namely, to dwell eternally with Christ and in heaven. e

portion of the faithful was on high- was Christ Himself,

although they would appear with Him in the glory. For

this world it would then be the judgment.)

e Christian’s peculiar, essential portion: “ever with

the Lord”; daily living in expectation of the Lord

In this important passage, then, we nd the Christian

living in an expectation of the Lord, which is connected

with his daily life and which completes it. Death, then, is

only an accessory which may take place, and which does not

deprive the Christian of his portion when his Master shall

return. e proper expectation of the Christian is entirely

1essalonians 4

123

separated from all which follows the<P082> manifestation

of Christ and which is in connection with the government

of this world.

e Lord’s personal coming with full authority over

death; the dead saint not losing his rights; all leaving the

earth to be with Christ in heaven

e Lord comes in Person to receive us to Himself;

He does not send. With full authority over death, which

He has conquered, and with the trump of God, He calls

together His own from the grave; and these, with the living

(transformed), go to meet Him in the air. Our departure

from the world exactly resembles His own: we leave the

world, to which we do not belong, to go to heaven.<P083>

Once there, we have attained our portion. We are like

Christ, we are forever with Him, but He will bring His

own with Him, when He shall appear. is then was the

true comfort in the case of a Christian’s death, and by no

means put aside the daily expectation of the Lord from

heaven. On the contrary, this way of viewing the subject

conrmed it. e dead saint did not lose his rights by

dying-by sleeping in Jesus; he should be the rst object of

his Lord’s attention when He came to assemble His own.

Nevertheless, the place from which they go forth to meet

Him is the earth. e dead should be raised-this was the

rst thing-that they might be ready to go with the others;

and then from this earth all would depart together to be

with Christ in heaven. is point of view is all-important,

in order to apprehend the true character of that moment

when all our hopes will be consummated.

Darby Synopsis

124

73268

1essalonians 5

e Lord’s coming again into the world; the position

of Christians and the unbelieving distinguished; light

and its judgment of unbelievers

e Lord’s coming again into this world assumes,

therefore, a very dierent character from that of a vague

object of hope to a believer as a period of glory. In chapter

5 the Apostle speaks of it, but in order to distinguish

between the position of Christians and that of the careless

and unbelieving inhabitants of the earth. e Christian,

alive and taught of the Lord, ever expects the Master. ere

are times and seasons; it is not needful to speak to him

concerning them. But (and he knows it) the day of the

Lord will come, and like a thief in the night, but not for

him: he is of the day; he has part in the glory which will

appear in order to execute judgment on the unbelieving

world. Believers are the children of light; and this light,

which is the judgment of unbelievers, is the expression of

the glory of God-a glory which cannot endure evil, and

which, when it shall appear, will banish it from the earth.

e Christian is of the day that will judge and destroy the

wicked and wickedness itself from o the face of the earth.

Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, and the faithful will

shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.<P084>

e fate of the world and the professing church

e world will say, “Peace and safety,” and in all security

will believe in the continuance of its prosperity and the

success of its designs, and the day will come suddenly upon

them. (Compare 2Peter 3:3.) e Lord Himself has often

1essalonians 5

125

declared it (Matt. 24:36-44; Mark 13:33-36; Luke 12:40;

17:26; 21:35).

It is a very solemn thing to see that the professing

church (Rev. 3:3) which says that it lives and is in the truth,

which has not yatira’s character of corruption, is yet to

be treated as the world-at least, unless it repents.

Security and fear both existing; the shadow of coming

events

We may, perhaps, wonder to nd the Lord saying of a

time like this that men’s hearts will be failing them for fear

and for looking after those things that are coming on the

earth (Luke 21:26). But we see the two principles-both

security and fear-already existing. Progress, success, the

long continuance of a new development of human nature-

this is the language of those who mock at the Lord’s

coming; and yet beneath it all, what fears for the future are

at the same time possessing and weighing down the heart!

I use the word “principles,” because I do not believe that

the moment of which the Lord speaks is yet come. But the

shadow of coming events falls upon the heart. Blessed are

they that belong to another world!

Children of the light, living in the day, exhorted; the

three great principles of 1Corinthians 13 to characterize

the Christian’s courage and steadfastness

e Apostle applies this dierence of position-namely,

that we belong to the day, and that it cannot, therefore,

come upon us as a thief-to the character and walk of the

Christian. Being a child of the light, he is to walk as such.

He lives in the day, though all is night and darkness around

him. One does not sleep in the day.

ey that sleep sleep in the night: they that are drunken

are drunken in the night; these are the works of darkness.

Darby Synopsis

126

A Christian, the child of the day, must watch and be sober,

clothing himself with all that constitutes the perfection of

that mode of being which belongs to his position-namely,

with faith and love and<P085> hope-principles which

impart courage and give him condence for pressing

onwards. He has the breastplate of faith and love; he

goes straight forward, therefore, against the enemy. He

has the hope of this glorious salvation, which will bring

him entire deliverance, as his helmet; so that he can lift

up his head without fear in the midst of danger. We see

that the Apostle here brings to mind the three great

principles of 1Corinthians 13 to characterize the courage

and steadfastness of the Christian, as at the beginning he

showed that they were the mainspring of daily walk.

Faith, hope and love exercised for our comfort and

building up

Faith and love naturally connect us with God, revealed

as He is in Jesus as the principle of communion; so that

we walk with condence in Him: His presence gives us

strength. By faith He is the glorious object before our eyes.

By love He dwells in us, and we realize what He is. Hope

xes our eyes especially on Christ, who is coming to bring

us into the enjoyment of glory with Himself.

Consequently the Apostle speaks thus: “For God hath

not appointed us to wrath” (love is understood by faith,

that which God wills-His mind respecting us), “but

to obtain salvation.” It is this which we hope for; and he

speaks of salvation as the nal deliverance “by our Lord

Jesus Christ”: and he naturally adds, “Who died for us, that

whether we wake or sleep” (have died before His coming or

be then alive), “we should live together with Him.” Death

does not deprive us of this deliverance and glory; for Jesus

1essalonians 5

127

died. Death became the means of obtaining them for us;

and if we die, we shall equally live with Him. He died for

us, in our stead, in order that, happen what may, we should

live with Him. Everything that hindered it is put out of our

way and has lost its power; and, more than lost its power,

has become a guarantee of our unhindered enjoyment of

the full life of Christ in glory; so that we may comfort

ourselves-and more than that, we may build ourselves up-

with these glorious truths, through which God meets all

our wants and all our necessities. is (vs. 10) is the end of

the special revelation with regard to those who sleep before

the coming of the Lord Jesus, beginning with chapter

4:13.<P086>

e various ways in which the Apostle here speaks of

the Lord’s coming

I would here call the reader’s attention to the way in

which the Apostle speaks of the Lord’s coming in the

dierent chapters of this epistle. It will be noticed that the

Spirit does not present the church here as a body. Life is

the subject-that of each Christian, therefore, individually:

a very important point assuredly.

Chapter 1: e personal expectation of the Son of

God, Jesus, the heart’s desire

In chapter 1 the expectation of the Lord is presented

in a general way as characterizing the Christian. ey are

converted to serve the living and true God and to wait for

His Son from heaven. Here it is the object itself that is

presented, the Person of the Lord. God’s own Son shall

come and shall satisfy all the heart’s desire. is is neither

His kingdom, nor the judgment, nor even rest; it is the Son

of God; and this Son of God is Jesus, risen from among the

dead, and who has delivered us from the wrath to come;

Darby Synopsis

128

for wrath is coming. Each believer, therefore, expects for

himself the Son of God-expects Him from heaven.

Chapter 2: Love as regards others satised at His

coming; association with the saints

In chapter 2 it is association with the saints, joy in the

saints at the coming of Christ.

Chapter 3: Responsibility in liberty, joy and holiness;

the Lord manifested with His saints

In chapter 3 responsibility is more the subject-

responsibility in liberty and in joy; but still a position before

God in connection with the Christian’s walk and life here

below. e Lord’s appearing is the measure and test time

of holiness. e testimony rendered by God to this life,

by giving it its natural place, takes place when Christ is

manifested with all His saints. It is not here His coming for

us, but His coming with us. is distinction between the

two events always exists. For Christians even and for the

church, that which refers to responsibility is always found

in connection with the appearing of the Lord; our joy, with

His coming to take us to Himself.<P087>

Chapter 4: Victory over death; our common departure

hence to be with Jesus

us far, then, we have the general expectation of the

Lord in Person, His Son from heaven; love satised at His

coming as regards others; holiness in its full value and full

development. In chapter 4 it is not the connection of life

with its full development in our being actually with Christ,

but victory over death (which is no barrier to this); and,

at the same time, the strengthening and establishment of

hope in our common departure hence, similarly to that of

Jesus, to be forever with Him.

e happy condition of the essalonians

1essalonians 5

129

e exhortations that conclude the epistle are brief; the

mighty action of the life of God in these dear disciples made

them comparatively little needed. Exhortation is always

good. ere was nothing among them to blame. Happy

condition! ey were perhaps not suciently instructed

for a large development of doctrine (the Apostle hoped to

see them for that purpose); but there was enough of life, a

personal relationship with God suciently true and real, to

build them up on that ground. To him that has shall more

be given. e Apostle could rejoice with them and conrm

their hope and add to it some details as a revelation from

God. e assembly in all ages is proted by it.

Life in the Spirit as seen in Philippians and in

essalonians

In the Epistle to the Philippians we see life in the

Spirit rising above all circumstances as the fruit of long

experience of the goodness and faithfulness of God; and

thus showing its remarkable power when the help of the

saints had failed, and the Apostle was in distress, his life

in danger, after four years’ imprisonment, by a merciless

tyrant. It is then that he decides his case by the interests of

the assembly. It is then that he can proclaim that we ought

always to rejoice in the Lord and that Christ is all things to

him, to live is Christ, death a gain to him. It is then that he

can do all things through Him who strengthens him. is

he has learned. In essalonians we have the freshness of

the fountain near to its source; the energy of the rst spring

of life in the believer’s soul, presenting all the beauty and

purity and vigor of its rst verdure under the inuence of

the sun that had risen upon them and made<P088> the sap

of life rise, the rst manifestations of which had not been

Darby Synopsis

130

deteriorated by contact with the world or by an enfeebled

view of invisible things.

e work of God and His laborers to be known,

appreciated and acknowledged

e Apostle desired that the disciples should

acknowledge those who labored among them and guided

them in grace and admonished them, and esteem them

greatly for their work’s sake. e operation of God always

attracts a soul that is moved by the Holy Spirit and

commands its attention and its respect: on this foundation

the Apostle builds his exhortation. It is not oce which

is in question here (if such existed), but the work which

attracted and attached the heart. ey ought to be known:

spirituality acknowledged this operation of God. Love,

devotedness, the answer to the need of souls, patience in

dealing with them on the part of God- all this commended

itself to the believer’s heart: and it blessed God for the care

He bestowed upon His children. God acted in the laborer

and in the hearts of the faithful. Blessed be God, it is an

ever-existing principle and one that never grows weaker!

e same Spirit produced peace among themselves.

is grace was of great value. If love appreciated the work

of God in the laborer, it would esteem the brother as in the

presence of God: self-will would not act.

Communion with God the power and His Word the

guide to obey the Apostle’s exhortations as to others

Now this renunciation of self-will, and this practical

sense of the operation and presence of God, gives power to

warn the unruly, to comfort the fearful, to help the weak,

and to be patient towards all. e Apostle exhorts them to

it. Communion with God is the power and His Word the

guide in so doing. In no case were they to render evil for evil,

1essalonians 5

131

but to follow that which was good among themselves and

towards all. All this conduct depends on communion with

God, on His presence with us, which makes us superior to

evil. He is this in love; and we can be so by walking with

Him.<P089>

e Apostle’s brief exhortations giving a ne picture

of Christian walk

Such were the Apostle’s exhortations to guide their

walk with others. As regards their personal state, joy,

prayer, thanksgiving in all things, these should be their

characteristics. With respect to the public actings of the

Spirit in their midst, the Apostle’s exhortations to these

simple and happy Christians were equally brief. ey were

not to hinder the action of the Spirit in their midst (for

this is the meaning of quenching the Spirit); nor to despise

that which He might say to them, even by the mouth of the

most simple, if He were pleased to use it. Being spiritual,

they could judge all things. ey were, therefore, not to

receive everything that presented itself, even in the name

of the Spirit, but to prove all things. ey were to hold fast

that which was good; those who by faith have received the

truth of the Word do not waver. One is not ever learning

the truth of that which one has learned from God. As to

evil, they were to abstain from it in all its forms. Such were

the Apostle’s brief exhortations to these Christians who

indeed rejoiced his heart. And in truth it is a ne picture of

Christian walk, which we nd here so livingly portrayed in

the Apostle’s communications.

e God of peace: peace enjoyed in His presence

He concludes his epistle by commending them to the

God of peace, that they might be preserved blameless until

the coming of the Lord Jesus.

Darby Synopsis

132

After an epistle like this, his heart turned readily to the

God of peace; for we enjoy peace in the presence of God-

not only peace of conscience but peace of heart.

Perfect rest of heart: the reason of its absence

In the previous part we found the activity of love in

the heart; that is to say, God present and acting in us, who

are viewed as partaking, at the same time, of the divine

nature, which is the spring of that holiness which will be

manifested in all its perfection before God at the coming

of Jesus with all His saints. Here it is the God of peace to

whom the Apostle looks for the accomplishment of this

work. ere it was the activity of a divine principle in us-a

principle connected with the presence of God and our

communion<P090> with Him. Here it is the perfect rest

of heart in which holiness develops itself. e absence of

peace in the heart arises from the activity of the passions

and the will, increased by the sense of powerlessness to

satisfy or even to gratify them.

Finding our rest in God

But in God all is peace. He can be active in love; He

can glorify Himself by creating what He will; He can act

in judgment to cast out the evil that is before His eyes.

But He rests ever in Himself, and both in good and in evil

He knows the end from the beginning and is undisturbed.

When He lls the heart, He imparts this rest to us: we

cannot rest in ourselves; we cannot nd rest of heart in the

actings of our passions, either without an object or upon

an object, nor in the rending and destructive energy of our

own will. We nd our rest in God-not the rest that implies

weariness, but rest of heart in the possession of all that

we desire, and of that which even forms our desires and

fully satises them, in the possession of an object in which

1essalonians 5

133

conscience has nothing to reproach us and has but to be

silent, in the certainty that it is the supreme good which

the heart is enjoying, the supreme and only authority to

whose will it responds-and that will is love towards us.

God bestows rest, peace. He is never called the God of

joy. He gives us joy truly, and we ought to rejoice; but joy

implies something surprising, unexpected, exceptional, at

least in contrast with, and in consequence of, evil. e peace

that we possess, that which satises us, has no element of

this kind, nothing which is in contrast, nothing which

disturbs. It is more deep, more perfect, than joy. It is more

the satisfaction of a nature in that which perfectly answers

to it, and in which it develops itself, without any contrast

being necessary to enhance the satisfaction of a heart that

has not all which it desires or of which it is capable.

God, as we have said, rests thus in Himself-is this rest

for Himself. He gives us, and is for us, this entire peace. e

conscience being perfect through the work of Christ who

has made peace and reconciled us to God, the new nature-

and, consequently, the heart-nds its perfect satisfaction in

God, and the will is silent; moreover, it has nothing further

to desire.<P091>

God glorifying Himself in Christians in reconciliation

It is not only that God meets the desires that we have:

He is the source of new desires to the new man by the

revelation of Himself in love.1 He is both the source of

the nature and its innite object; and that, in love. It is His

part to be so. It is more than creation; it is reconciliation,

which is more than creation, because there is in it more

development of love, that is to say, of God: and it is thus

that we know God. It is that which He is essentially in

Christ.

Darby Synopsis

134

(1. Hence, there is the opposite to weariness in the

heavenly enjoyment of God; because He who is the innite

object of enjoyment is the innite source and strength of

capacity to enjoy, though we enjoy as recipient creatures.)

In the angels He glories Himself in creation: they

excel us in strength. In Christians He glories Himself

in reconciliation, to make them the rstfruits of His new

creation, when He shall have reconciled all things in heaven

and on earth by Christ. erefore it is written, “Blessed

are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children

[sons] of God.” ey have His nature and His character.

e God of peace sanctifying those who are the fruit

of redemption and the objects of His love

It is in these relationships with God-or, rather, it is God

in these relationships with us in peace, in His communion,

who develops sanctication, our inward conformity of

aection and intelligence (and, consequently, of outward

conduct) with Him and His will. “e God of peace

himself sanctify you wholly.” May there be nothing in us

that does not yield to this benignant inuence of peace

which we enjoy in communion with God! May no power

or force in us own anything but Himself! In all things may

He be our all, so that He only may rule in our hearts!

He has brought us perfectly into this place of blessedness

in Christ and by His work. ere is nothing between

us and God but the exercise of His love, the enjoyment

of our happiness, and the worship of our hearts. We are

the proof before Him, the testimony, the fruit, of the

accomplishment of all that He holds most precious, of that

which has perfectly gloried Him, of that in which He

delights, and of the glory of the One who has accomplished

it, namely, of Christ, and of His work. We are the fruit of

1essalonians 5

135

the <P092>redemption that Christ has accomplished and

the objects of the satisfaction which God must feel in the

exercise of His love.

God in grace is the God of peace for us; for here divine

righteousness nds its satisfaction, and love its perfect

exercise.

Man-body, soul and spirit-in all the parts of his being

consecrated to God

e Apostle now prays that, in this character, God

may work in us to make everything respond to Himself

thus revealed. Here only is this development of humanity

given-“body, soul, and spirit.” e object is assuredly not

metaphysical, but to express man in all the parts of his

being; the vessel by which he expresses that which he is,

the natural aections of his soul, the elevated workings of

his mind, through which he is above the animals and in

intelligent relationship with God. May God be found in

each, as the mover, spring and guide!

In general the words “soul and spirit” are used without

making any distinction between them, for the soul of man

was formed very dierently from that of animals in that

God breathed into his nostrils the breath (spirit) of life,

and it was thus that man became a living soul. erefore, it

suces to say soul as to man, and the other is supposed. Or,

in saying spirit, in this sense the elevated character of his

soul is expressed. e animal has also its natural aections,

has a living soul, attaches itself, knows the persons who

do it good, devotes itself to its master, loves him, will even

give its life for him; but it has not that which can be in

relationship with God (alas! which can set itself at enmity

against Him), which can occupy itself with things outside

its own nature as the master of others.

Darby Synopsis

136

e Spirit then wills that man, reconciled with God,

should be consecrated, in every part of his being, to the

God who has brought him into relationship with Himself

by the revelation of His love and by the work of His grace,

and that nothing in the man should admit an object

beneath the divine nature of which he is partaker; so that

he should thus be preserved blameless unto the coming of

Christ.<P093>

God’s will in the various relationships in which He

has placed us

Let us observe here that it is in no wise beneath the

new nature in us to perform our duties faithfully in all

the various relationships in which God has placed us; but

quite the contrary. at which is required is to bring God

into them, His authority, and the intelligence which that

imparts. erefore it is said to husbands to live with their

wives “according to knowledge,” or intelligence; that is to

say, not only with human and natural aections (which, as

things are, do not by themselves even maintain their place),

but as before God and conscious of His will. It may be

that God may call us, in connection with the extraordinary

work of His grace, to consecrate ourselves entirely to

it; but otherwise the will of God is accomplished in

the relationships in which He has placed us, and divine

intelligence and obedience to God are developed in them.

Finally, God has called us to this life of holiness with

Himself; He is faithful, and He will accomplish it. May

He enable us to cleave to Him, that we may realize it!

Blameless at the coming of our Lord

Observe again here how the coming of Christ is

introduced, and the expectation of this coming, as an

integral part of Christian life. “Blameless,” it says, “at the

1essalonians 5

137

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” e life which had

developed itself in obedience and holiness meets the Lord

at His coming. Death is not in question. e life which we

have found is to be such when He appears. e man, in

every part of his being, moved by this life, is found there

blameless when Jesus comes. Death was overcome (not yet

destroyed): a new life is ours. is life, and the man living

of this life, are found, with their Head and source, in the

glory. en will the weakness disappear which is connected

with his present condition. at which is mortal shall be

swallowed up of life: that is all. We are Christ’s: He is our

life. We wait for Him, that we may be with Him and that

He may perfect all things in the glory.

e distinction between being perfectly sanctied in

Christ as born again and practical sanctication

Let us also here examine a little into that which this

passage teaches us with regard to sanctication. It is

connected indeed<P094> with a nature, but it is linked

with an object; and it depends for its realization on the

operation of another, namely, of God Himself; and it is

founded on a perfect work of reconciliation with God

already accomplished. Inasmuch as it is founded on an

accomplished reconciliation, into which we enter by

the reception of a new nature, the Scriptures consider

Christians as already perfectly sanctied in Christ. It is

practically carried out by the operation of the Holy Spirit,

who, in imparting this nature, separates us-as thus born

again-entirely from the world. It is important to maintain

this truth and to stand very clearly and distinctly on this

ground: otherwise, practical sanctication soon becomes

detached from a new nature received and is but the

amelioration of the natural man and then it is quite legal,

Darby Synopsis

138

a return- after reconciliation-into doubt and uncertainty,

because, though justied, the man is not accounted meet for

heaven-this depends on progress so that justication does

not give peace with God. Scripture says, “Giving thanks

to the Father, who hath made us meet for the inheritance

of the saints in light.” Progress there is, but it is not in

Scripture connected with meetness. e thief was meet for

paradise and went there. Such views are an enfeebling, not

to say destructive, of the work of redemption, that is, of its

appreciation in our hearts by faith.

Set apart for God personally and forever;

consequent justication; practical realization

and development of it through the Word

We are, then, sanctied (it is thus the Scripture most

frequently speaks) by God the Father, by the blood and the

oering of Christ, and by the Spirit-that is to say, we are

set apart for God personally and forever. In this point of

view justication is presented in the Word as consequent

upon sanctication, a thing into which we enter through

it. Taken up as sinners in the world, we are set apart by

the Holy Spirit to enjoy all the ecacy of the work of

Christ according to the counsels of the Father: set apart

by the communication of a new life, no doubt, but placed

by this setting apart in the enjoyment of all that Christ

has gained for us. I say again, It is very important to hold

fast this truth both for the glory of God and for our own

peace: but the Spirit of God in this epistle does not speak

of it in this point of view, but of the practical realization

of the development of this life of separation from the

world<P095> and from evil. He speaks of this divine

development in the inner man, which makes sanctication

a real and intelligent condition of soul, a state of practical

1essalonians 5

139

communion with God, according to that nature and to the

revelation of God with which it is connected.

In this respect we nd indeed a principle of life which

works in us-that which is called a subjective state: but it is

impossible to separate this operation in us from an object

(man would be God if it were so), nor, consequently, from

a continual work of God in us that holds us in communion

with that object, which is God Himself. Accordingly,

it is through the truth by the Word, whether at rst in

the communication of life or in detail all along our path.

“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”

e new man dependent on the love and strength of

another

Man, we know, has degraded himself. He has enslaved

himself to the lusts of the animal part of his being. But

how? By departing from God. God does not sanctify

man apart from the knowledge of Himself, leaving man

still at a distance from Him; but, while giving him a new

nature which is capable of it, by giving to this nature

(which cannot even exist without it) an object-Himself,

He does not make man independent, as he wished to be:

the new man is the dependent man; it is his perfection-

Jesus Christ exemplied this in His life. e new man is

a man dependent in his aections, who desires to be so,

who delights in, and cannot be happy without being so,

and whose dependence is on love, while still obedient as a

dependent being ought to be.

e new nature holy in its desires and tastes

us they who are sanctied possess a nature that is holy

in its desires and its tastes. It is the divine nature in them,

the life of Christ. But they do not cease to be men. ey

have God revealed in Christ for their object. Sanctication

Darby Synopsis

140

is developed in communion with God and in aections

which go back to Christ and which wait for Him. But the

new nature cannot reveal an object to itself; and still less

could it have its object by setting God aside at its will. It

is dependent on God for the revelation of Himself. His

love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom

He has given us; and the same Spirit takes of the things of

Christ and communicates them to us. us we grow in the

knowledge of God, being<P096> strengthened mightily

by His Spirit in the inner man, that we may “comprehend

with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth,

and height; and know the love of Christ which passeth

knowledge,” and be lled unto the fullness of God. us,

“we all with open face beholding the glory of the Lord, are

changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the

Spirit of the Lord.” “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that

they also may be sanctied through the truth.”

We see by these passages, which might be multiplied,

that we are dependent on an object, and that we are

dependent on the strength of another. Love acts in order

to work in us according to this need.

Practical sanctication wrought in us by the Holy

Spirit’s power

Our setting apart for God, which is complete (for it is by

means of a nature that is purely of Himself, and in absolute

responsibility to Him, for we are no longer our own, but are

bought with a price, and sanctied by the blood of Christ

according to the will of God, who will have us for His

own), places us in a relationship, the development of which

(by an increasing knowledge of God, who is the object of

our new nature) is practical sanctication, wrought in us by

the power of the Holy Spirit, the witness in us of the love

1essalonians 5

141

of God. He attaches the heart to God, ever revealing Him

more and more, and at the same time unfolding the glory

of Christ and all the divine qualities that were displayed in

Him in human nature, thus forming ours as born of God.

Love, the activity of the new nature, the means of

sanctication

erefore it is, as we have seen in this epistle, that love,

working in us, is the means of sanctication (ch. 3:12-13).

It is the activity of the new nature, of the divine nature in

us; and that connected with the presence of God; for he

that dwells in love dwells in God. And in this chapter 5 the

saints are commended to God Himself, that He may work

it in them; while we are always set in view of the glorious

objects of our faith in order to accomplish it.<P097>

e sanctifying eect of communion and waiting for

Christ

We may here more particularly call the reader’s

attention to these objects. ey are God Himself and the

coming of Christ: on the one hand, communion with

God; on the other, waiting for Christ. It is most evident

that communion with God is the practical position of the

highest sanctication. He who knows that we shall see

Jesus as He now is and be like Him puries himself even

as He is pure. By our communion with the God of peace

we are wholly sanctied. If God is practically our all, we

are altogether holy. (We are not speaking of any change in

the esh, which can neither be subjected to God nor please

Him.) e thought of Christ and His coming preserves us

practically, and in detail, and intelligently, blameless. It is

God Himself who thus preserves us, and who works in us

to occupy our hearts and cause us continually to grow.

Darby Synopsis

142

e joy of communion with God and with Christ;

waiting with Christ as well as for Him

But this point deserves yet a few more words. e

freshness of Christian life in the essalonians made it, as

it were, more objective; so that these objects are prominent

and very distinctly recognized by the heart. We have already

said that they are God the Father and the Lord Jesus. With

reference to the communion of love with the saints as his

crown and glory, he speaks only of the Lord Jesus. is has

a special character of reward, although a reward in which

love reigns. Jesus Himself had the joy that was set before

Him as sustainment in His suerings, a joy which thus

was personal to Himself. e Apostle also, as regarded his

work and labor, waited with Christ for its fruit. Besides

this case of the Apostle (ch. 2), we nd God Himself and

Jesus as the object before us, and the joy of communion

with God-and this, in the relationship of Father-and with

Christ, whose glory and position we share through grace.

e sphere of communion founded on relationship

with God as Father

us it is only in the two epistles to the essalonians

that we nd the expression “to the church which is in God

the Father.”1<P098> e sphere of their communion is

thus shown, founded on the relationship in which they

found themselves with God Himself in the character of

Father (1ess. 1:3,9-10; 3:13; 4:15-16; and here verse

23). It is important to remark that the more vigorous and

living Christianity is, the more objective it is. It is but

saying that God and the Lord Jesus have a greater place in

our thoughts; and that we rest more really upon them. is

Epistle to the essalonians is the part of Scripture which

instructs on this point; and it is a means of judging many

1essalonians 5

143

a fallacy in the heart and of giving a great simplicity to our

Christianity.

(1. Perhaps, too, in connection with their recent

deliverance from idols to the one true God the Father and

the Lord Jesus Christ.)

e epistle to be read to all; the Apostle’s relationship

maintained; the least of God’s saints not forgotten

e Apostle closes his epistle by asking for the prayers

of the brethren, saluting them with the condence of

aection and adjuring them to have his epistle read to

all the holy brethren. His heart forgot none of them. He

would be in relationship with all according to this spiritual

aection and personal bond. Apostle towards all of them,

he would have them recognize those who labored among

them, but he maintained withal his own relationship. His

was a heart which embraced all the revealed counsels of

God on the one hand and did not lose sight of the least of

His saints on the other.

e manner of the Apostle’s instruction: precious

known and possessed truths applied that the

essalonians might be established and clear before he

touched on their error and mistakes

It remains to take notice of one interesting circumstance

as to the manner in which the Apostle instructs them. He

takes, in the rst chapter, the truths which were precious to

their heart, but were still somewhat vaguely seized by their

intelligence, and as to which they were indeed fallen into

mistakes, and employs them (in the clearness in which he

possessed them himself) in his practical instructions and

applies them to known and experienced relationships, that

their souls might be well established on positive truth and

clear as to its use, before he touched on their error and the

Darby Synopsis

144

mistakes they had made. ey waited for His Son from

heaven. is they already possessed clearly in their hearts;

but<P099> they would be in the presence of God when

Jesus comes with all His saints. is was clearing up a very

important point without directly touching the error. eir

heart got straight as to the truth in its practical application

to what the heart possessed. ey understood what it was

to be before God the Father. It was much more intimate

and real than a manifestation of terrestrial and nite glory.

Further, they would be before God when Jesus came with

all His saints: a simple truth which demonstrated itself to

the heart by the simple fact that Jesus could not have some

only of His assembly. e heart seized this truth without

an eort; yet in doing so it was established, as was the

understanding also, in what made the whole truth clear,

and that in view of the relationship of the essalonians to

Christ and those that were His. e joy even of the Apostle

in meeting them all (those who had died consequently, as

well as the living) at the coming of Jesus placed the soul on

an entirely dierent ground from that of being found here

and blessed by the arrival of Jesus when they were here

below.

Having a certain xed basis of truth, they could set

aside without diculty an error not in accord with it

us enlightened, conrmed, established in the real

bearing of the truth which they possessed already, by a

development of it which connected itself with their best

aections and with their most intimate spiritual knowledge,

founded on their communion with God, they were ready

with certain xed basis of truth to enter on and set aside

without diculty an error which was not in accord with

what they now knew how to appreciate at its just value, as

1essalonians 5

145

forming part of their moral possessions. Special revelation

made all clear as to details. is manner of proceeding is

very instructive.<P100>

Darby Synopsis

146

73269

2essalonians

e purpose of the epistle

In the Second Epistle to the essalonians, the Apostle

corrects some errors into which these disciples had fallen

with regard to the day of the Lord through certain false

teachers; as in part of the rst epistle he had enlightened

the ignorance of the believers themselves respecting the

portion of the saints at the coming of Christ to take them

to Himself-a point on which they were evidently but little

instructed.

e Jewish inuence explaining what the Apostle

wrote in his two epistles

A measure of Jewish darkness was on their minds; and

they were, in some points, still subjected to the inuence of

that unhappy nation, which was ever struggling to maintain

a position lost through its unbelief.

is Jewish inuence enables us to understand why

the Apostle spoke as he did in chapter 2:15-16 of the rst

epistle. At that time this inuence showed itself in the

tendency of the essalonians to lose sight of the heavenly

side of the Lord’s coming, to think that He would return

to the earth and that they should then be gloried with

Him-as a Jew might have believed-and that the dead

saints would therefore not be present to share this glory. I

do not say that this thought had assumed a denite form

in the minds of the essalonians. To them the principal

and living object was the Lord Himself, and they were

awaiting His return with hearts full of joy and life; but the

heavenly side of this expectation had not its place clearly

2essalonians

147

marked in their minds, and they connected the coming too

much with the manifestation, so that the earthly character

predominated, and the dead seemed to be shut out from it.

When the second epistle was written, this Jewish

inuence had<P101> another character; and the false

teachers were more directly concerned in it.

Darby Synopsis

148

73270

2essalonians 1

Error as to “the day of the Lord”: false teaching that

the day of judgment had already come, because of their

dreadful persecution

e faithful at essalonica had learned to contemplate

“the day of the Lord” as a day of judgment. e Old

Testament had spoken much of this day of the Lord, a

day of darkness and unparalleled judgment, a day of trial

to men (compare Isaiah 13, Joel 2 and Amos 5:18). Now

the essalonians were undergoing dreadful persecution.

Perhaps their hope of an earthly intervention of the Lord,

during their lifetime, was weakened. e Apostle at least

rejoiced at the increase of their faith and the abundant

exercise of their love, while he is silent with regard to their

hope; and the joy of Christian life is not found here as

it was manifested in the rst epistle. Nevertheless, they

were walking well, and the Apostle gloried in them1 in the

churches of God. But the false teachers proted by their

condition to mislead them by means of their suerings,

which weighed more heavily on their hearts from the joy

of hope being a little weakened; and at the same time

the remains of the inuence of Judaizing thoughts, or of

habits of mind formed through them, furnished occasion

to the assaults of the enemy. e instrument of the subtle

malice told them that the day of the Lord, that fearful

time, was already come-the word (ch. 2:2) is not “at hand,”

but “come,” “present”2-and all that the essalonians were

suering, and by which their hearts were shaken, appeared

like a testimony to prove it and to conrm the words of the

2essalonians 1

149

false teachers. Was it not written that it should be a day of

trial and anguish?<P102>

(1. In the rst epistle he says he needed not to speak

of them, seeing that the world itself recounted everywhere

the principles by which they were governed. We shall see a

similar dierence all through. It is no longer the same fresh

energy of life.)

(2. See Romans 8:38 and 1Corinthians 3:22, where

it (ΕνΕστωτα; enestota) is translated “present,” in contrast

with “things to come.”)

Inspiration and the Apostle’s own name given as

authority for the false teaching; Satan’s dominion of fear

e words of these teachers, moreover, had the pretension

of being more than human reasoning; it was a word of the

Lord, it was the Spirit who spoke, it was a letter from an

inspired channel: and so bold and wicked were they in

regard to this matter that they did not fear to adduce the

Apostle’s own name as their authority for declaring that

the day was come. Now the dominion of fear, which Satan

can exercise over the mind, when it is not kept of God

in peace and joy, is astonishing. “In nothing terried by

your adversaries” is the Apostle’s word to the Philippians,

“which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you

of salvation, and that of God.” In such a state of mind as

this, everything is believed; or rather everything is feared,

and nothing is believed. e heart gives itself up to this fear

and is ready to believe anything; for it is in darkness and

knows not what to believe. us the Apostle exhorts the

essalonians (ch. 2) not to be soon shaken in mind so as

to lose their stability in the truth, and not to be troubled.

Darby Synopsis

150

e error dealt with by building on the knowledge

already possessed and applied to the moment’s

circumstances

e Apostle deals with the case in the same manner as

in the rst epistle. Before entering on the error, he treats the

same subject in its true light, building upon the knowledge

which the essalonians already possessed. Only he sets it

forth with clearness in its application to the circumstances

of the moment. By this means they were delivered from the

inuence of the error and from the disturbance of mind

which it had caused; and were rendered capable of looking

at the error, as being themselves outside it, and of judging

it according to the instruction that the Apostle gave them.

Persecution: the seal of worthiness in the time when

the wicked did their own will; the day of the Lord: the

time to punish the wicked, when His people should be at

rest and the wicked in distress

ey were persecuted and were in distress and suering,

and the enemy took advantage of it. e Apostle puts

that fact in its right place. He encourages them with the

thought that it was a<P103> kind of seal upon them of

their being worthy of the kingdom for which they were

suering. But more, the “day of the Lord” was the coming

of the Lord in judgment; but it was not to make His own

suer that He was coming-it was to punish the wicked.

Persecution, therefore, could not be the day of the Lord;

for in persecution the wicked had the upper hand and did

their own will and inicted suering on those whom the

Lord loved. Could that be His day? e Apostle does not

apply this argument to the question, but he puts the facts

in their place; so that all the use which the enemy made of

them fell of itself to the ground. e truth of the facts was

2essalonians 1

151

there in its simplicity, giving them their evident and natural

character. When God should take the thing in hand, He

would recompense tribulation to those who troubled His

children, and these should have rest-should be in peace.

e moment of their entering into this rest is not at all

the subject here, but the contrast between their actual

condition and that which it would be if Jesus were come.

It was not to persecute and harass His own that He was

coming. In His day they should be at rest and the wicked in

distress; for He was coming to punish the latter by driving

them away forever from the glory of His presence. When

we understand that the essalonians had been induced

to believe that the day of the Lord was already come, the

import of this rst chapter is very plain.

God’s righteous judgment; the glorious manifestation

of the Lord Jesus

Two principles are here established. First, the righteous

judgment of God: it is righteous in His eyes, on the one

hand, to reward those who suer for His kingdom’s sake:

and, on the other, to requite those who persecute His

children. In the second place, the glorious manifestation of

the Lord Jesus: His own should be in rest and happiness

with Him when His power should be in exercise.

e two reasons for judgment

We see also here two reasons for judgment-they did not

know God and they did not obey the gospel of our Lord

Jesus Christ. All being without excuse as to the testimony

that God had ever given concerning Himself, some among

them had added the rejection of the positive revelation of

His grace in the gospel of Christ to their<P104> abuse of

their natural relationship with God and their forgetfulness

of His majesty.

Darby Synopsis

152

e blessed result of the Lord’s manifestation in

glory; what the essalonians’ persecution proved

Meanwhile, the Apostle presents the positive result

in blessing of the manifestation of Jesus in glory. He will

come to be gloried in His saints and to be admired in

all them that have believed in Him, and therefore in the

essalonians: a thorough proof, at least, that they were

not to view their persecuted condition as a demonstration

that the day was come. With regard to themselves, they

were thus entirely delivered from the confusion by which

the enemy sought to disquiet them; and the Apostle could

treat the question of this error with hearts which, as to

their own condition, were set free from it and at rest.

e Apostle’s prayer for them in their suerings

ese considerations characterized his prayers on their

behalf. He sought from God that they might always be

worthy of this vocation and that the Lord might be gloried

in them by the power of faith, which would shine the

brighter through their persecutions; and that afterwards

they might be gloried in Him at the manifestation of His

glory according to the grace of God and of the Lord Jesus

Christ.

2essalonians 2

153

73271

2essalonians 2

Answering the error by truth

Now that the Apostle has placed their souls on the

ground of truth, he enters upon the subject of the error,

showing that which had occasioned his remarks. Of this

we have already spoken.

In answering this error and in guarding them from the

wily eorts of seducers, he puts everything in its place here

by appealing to precious truths of which he had already

spoken. eir gathering together unto Christ in the air was

a demonstration of the impossibility of the day of the Lord

being already come.

Two proofs that the day of the Lord had not come

Moreover, with regard to this last he presents two

considerations: rst, the day could not be already come,

since Christians<P105> were not yet gathered to the Lord,

and they were to come with Him; second, the wicked one

who has then to be judged had not yet appeared, so that

the judgment could not be executed.

e Apostle had already instructed the essalonians

with regard to this wicked one, when at essalonica;

and in the former epistle he had taught them concerning

the rapture of the church. In order that the Lord should

come in judgment, iniquity must have reached its height

and open opposition to God have been manifested. But

the truth had another and a more precious side: the saints

were to be in the same position as Christ, to be gathered

together unto Him, before He could manifest Himself

Darby Synopsis

154

in glory to those outside. But these truths require a more

connected examination.

e rapture of the church must precede the Lord’s

coming in manifestation

eir gathering together unto Christ before the

manifestation was a truth known to the essalonians; it

is not revealed here, it is used as an argument. e Lord

Jesus was coming, but it was impossible that He should be

without His church in the glory. e King would indeed

punish His rebellious subjects; but, before doing so, He

would bring to Himself those who had been faithful to

Him amid the unfaithful, in order to bring them back with

Him and publicly to honor them in the midst of the rebels.

But the Apostle here speaks only of the rapture itself, and

he adjures them only by that truth not to allow themselves

to be shaken in mind as though the day were come. What

an assured truth must this have been to Christians, since

the Apostle could appeal to it as to a known point, on

which the heart could rest! e relationship of the church

to Christ, its being necessarily in the same position with

Him, rendered the idea that the day was already come a

mere folly.

e apostasy must previously take place and then the

man of sin be revealed

In the second place, the already known fact is asserted

that the apostasy must previously take place, and then the

man of sin be revealed. Solemn truth! Everything takes its

place. e forms and the name of Christianity have long

been maintained; true Christians have been disowned;

but now there should be a public <P106>renunciation of

the faith-an apostasy. True Christians should have their

true place in heaven. But, besides this, there should be a

2essalonians 2

155

person who would fully realize in sin the character of man

without God. He is the man of sin. He does his own will-it

is but Adam fully developed; and, incited by the enemy, he

opposes himself to God (it is open enmity against God),

and he exalts himself above all that bears the name of God;

he assumes the place of God in His temple. So that there

is apostasy, that is, the open renunciation of Christianity

in general, and an individual who concentrates in his own

person (as to the principles of iniquity) the opposition that

is made against God.

e religious character assumed by the wicked one: a

god for the earth; sin characterizing a man who proclaims

his independence of God

It will be noticed that the character of the wicked one is

religious here, or rather antireligious. e Apostle does not

speak of a secular power of the world, whatever its iniquity

may be. e man of sin assumes a religious character. He

exalts himself against the true God, but he shows himself as

God1 in the temple of God. Observe here that the sphere

is on earth. It is not a god for faith. He shows himself as a

god for the earth. e profession of Christianity has been

abandoned. Sin then characterizes an individual, a man,

who lls up the measure of the apostasy of human nature,

and, as a man, proclaims his independence of God. e

principle of sin in man is his own will. He arises, as we have

already seen, out of the rejection of Christianity. In this

respect, also, evil is at its height.

(1. “As God” is to be left out before “sitteth,” in chapter

2:4.)

A man’s public self-exaltation and deance of the God

of Israel, arrogating to himself God’s place and honors

Darby Synopsis

156

is man of sin exalts himself above God, and, sitting as

God in the temple of God, he dees the God of Israel. is

last feature gives his formal character. He is in conict with

God, as placing himself publicly in this position-showing

himself as God in the temple of God. It is the God of

Israel who will take vengeance on him.<P107>

Christianity, Judaism, natural religion, all are rejected.

Man takes a place there on earth, exalting himself above

it all, in opposition to God; and, in particular, arrogating

to himself (for man needs a God, needs something to

worship) the place and the honors of God, and of the God

of Israel.1

(1. In 1John 2 we nd the double character of the

Antichrist as regards Christianity and Judaism. He denies

the Father and the Son, rejects Christianity; he denies that

Jesus is the Christ, which is Jewish unbelief. His power is

the working of Satan, as we nd here. As man he sets up to

be God. So that his impiousness is manifested in every way.

As the question is more upon the earth, it is the God of the

earth, the Man withal from heaven, who judges him.)

e rst object of human ambition; Satan’s rst

suggestion

ese verses present the wicked one in connection with

the state of man, and with the dierent relationships in

which man has stood towards God. In them all he shows

himself as apostate, and then he assumes the place of

God Himself-the rst object of human ambition, as its

attainment was the rst suggestion of Satan.

Man, unrestrained and inspired by Satan, in

opposition to God: man against the Man, the Lord Jesus

In that which follows, we see not the condition itself

of apostasy with regard to the dierent positions in which

2essalonians 2

157

God had placed man, but simply man unrestrained, and

the work of Satan. e man is but the vessel of the enemy’s

power.

Man in whom is the fullness of the Godhead, the Lord

Jesus, and man lled with the energy of Satan are opposed

to each other. Before, it was man forsaking God, wicked,

and exalting himself. Here, it is opposition against God

on the part of man, unrestrained, and inspired by Satan

himself. Consequently, we have (not the wicked one, but)

the lawless-the unbridled-one. e principle is the same,

for sin is lawlessness (see 1John 3:4, Greek). But in this

rst case man is viewed in his departure from God, and in

his guiltiness; in the second, as acknowledging none but

himself.

A barrier existing against the progress and

manifestation of the man of sin; the character of the evil

To this condition in which all restraint will be removed,

a barrier has yet existed.<P108>

e Apostle had already told them of the apostasy

and of the manifestation of the man of sin. He now says

that the essalonians ought to know the hindrance that

existed to his progress and his manifestation before the

appointed time. He does not say that he had told them,

but they ought to know it. Knowing the character of the

wicked one, the barrier revealed itself. e main point here

is that it was a barrier. e principle of the evil was already

at work: a barrier alone prevented its development. Its

character, when developed, would be unbridled will which

exalts and opposes itself.1

(1. Note this point. All was ready and complete in the

Apostle’s time, only restrained. So Christ was ready to

Darby Synopsis

158

judge. Only the patience of God waits, in the accepted

time.)

Evil bridled by the power of God acting in government

here below; when the assembly is gone and the Holy

Spirit no longer dwells here, the unbridled evil assumes

denite shape in the man of sin

Unbridled self-will being the principle of the evil, that

which bridles this will is the barrier. Now it exalts itself

above all that bears the name of God, or to which homage

is paid: that which hinders it, therefore, is the power of God

acting in government here below as authorized by Him.

e grossest abuse of power still bears this last character.

Christ could say to Pilate, “ou couldest have no power

against me, except it were given thee from above.” Wicked

as he might be, his power is owned as coming from God.

us, although men had rejected and crucied the Son of

God, so that their iniquity appeared to be at its height,

the hindrance still existed in full. Afterwards God, having

sent His Spirit, gathers out the church, and, although the

mystery of iniquity began immediately to work mingling

the will of men with the worship of God in Spirit, God

had always (He still has) the object of His loving care

upon the earth. e Holy Spirit was here below; the

assembly, be its condition what it might, was still on earth,

and God maintained the barrier. And as the porter had

opened the door to Jesus in spite of all obstacles, so He

sustains everything, however great the energy and progress

of evil. e evil is bridled: God is the source of authority

on earth. ere is one who hinders until he be taken out

of the way. Now when the assembly (the assembly, that

is, as composed of the true members of Christ) is<P109>

gone, and consequently the Holy Spirit as the Comforter

2essalonians 2

159

is no longer dwelling here below, then the apostasy takes

place,1 the time to remove the hindrance is come, the evil

is unbridled, and at length (without saying how much time

it will take) the evil assumes a denite shape in him who

is its head. e beast comes up from the abyss. Satan-not

God-gives him his authority; and in the second beast all

the energy of Satan is present. e man of sin is there.

Here it is not outward and secular power that is spoken of,

but the religious side of Satan’s energy.

(1. e principle of this may be widely at work

individually, as in 1John 2 it had begun, but the open,

public manifestation was to come. Jude gives the creeping

in to produce corruption; John, the going out which

characterizes the Antichrist.)

e changing instruments who compose the barrier;

evil at work; its full development prevented only by

God’s hindrance

With regard to the individual instruments who compose

the barrier, they may change every moment, and it was not

the object of the Holy Spirit to name them. He who was

the one of them that existed when this epistle was written

would not be so at the present time; to have named him

then would have been of no use to us in the present day.

e object was to declare that the evil which should be

judged was already working, that there was no remedy

for it, that it was only a hindrance on God’s part which

prevented its full development: a principle of the highest

importance with regard to the history of Christianity.

e source of the “perdition”: rejection of goodness

and direct enmity

Whatever form it might take, the apostasy of the men

who would renounce grace would necessarily be more

Darby Synopsis

160

absolute than any other. It is opposition to the Lord. It

has the character of an adversary. e other principle of

human iniquity enters into it, but this is the source of

the “perdition.” It is the rejection of goodness; it is direct

enmity.<P110>

When the mystery of iniquity ceases to be a mystery:

the Holy Spirit restraining evil, consequently the rapture

of the church removes the hindrance

“at which hinders” is in general only an instrument,

a means, which prevents the manifestation of the man of

sin-the wicked one. So long as the assembly is on earth, the

pretension to be God in His temple cannot take place or

at least would have no inuence. Satan has his sphere, and

must needs have it, in the mystery of iniquity; but there is

no longer a mystery when the place of God in His temple is

openly taken. at which hinders is therefore still present.

But there is a person active in maintaining this hindrance.

Here I think indeed that it is God in the Person of the

Holy Spirit, who, during the time called “the things that

are,” restrains the evil and guards divine authority in the

world. As long as that subsists, the unrestrained exaltation

of wickedness cannot take place. Consequently, I do not

doubt but that the rapture of the saints is the occasion

of the hindrance being removed and all restraint loosed,

although some of the ways of God are developed before

the full manifestation of the evil.

ree points conrming the threefold barrier to the

manifestation of the man of sin

is thought does not rest upon great principles only:

the passage itself supplies elements which show the state

of things when the power of evil develops itself. First, the

apostasy has already taken place. is could hardly be said

2essalonians 2

161

if the testimony of the assembly still subsisted, as it had

in time past, or even yet more distinctly as being freed

from all false and corrupting elements. Second, authority-

as established of God, so far as exercising a restraint on

man’s will in God’s name-has disappeared from the scene,

for the wicked one exalts himself against all that is called

God and to which homage is paid and presents himself as

God in the temple of God. Compare Psalm 82, where God

stands among the gods (the judges) to judge them before

He inherits the nations. Before that solemn hour when

God will judge the judges of the earth, this wicked one,

despising all authority that comes from Him, sets himself

up as God: and that on the earth, where the judgment will

be manifested. And then, third, in place of the Holy Spirit

and His power manifested on the earth, we nd the<P111>

power of Satan, and with precisely the same tokens that

bore witness to the Person of Christ. So that the passage

itself, whether as to man or as to the enemy, gives us (in the

three points of which we have spoken) the full conrmation

of that which we have ventured to set forth.

e assembly, the powers ordained by God upon the

earth, the Holy Spirit present here as the Comforter in

lieu of Christ, have all (as regards the manifestation of the

government and the work of God) given place to the self-

willed, unbridled man and to the power of the enemy. In

saying this we speak of the sphere of this prophecy, which,

moreover, embraces that of the public testimony of God

on earth.

Man in rebellion against God displayed in the Jewish

temple as the apostate manifestation of Satan’s power

Denitively then we have man here in his own nature-

as it has displayed itself by forsaking God-in the full

Darby Synopsis

162

pursuit of his own will in rebellion against God; the willful

man, developed as the result of apostasy from the position

of grace in which the assembly stood, and in contempt of

all the governmental authority of God on the earth. And

since that authority had shown itself directly and properly

in Judea, this contempt and the spirit of rebellion in man,

who exalts himself above everything, but who cannot be

heavenly (heaven, and all pretension to heaven, is given

up by man, and lost by Satan), display themselves by man

taking the place of God in His temple under the most

advanced form of Jewish apostasy and blasphemy. At the

same time Satan acts-God having loosed his bridle-with

a power (a lying power indeed, but) which gives the same

testimony before men as that which the works of Christ

did to the Saviour; and also with all the skill that iniquity

possesses to deceive. It is in the wicked, the lawless one,

that Satan works these things. Our consideration of

the development of the latter part of this solemn scene

will come (God willing) in the Book of Revelation. We

may add that there we have this wicked one as the false

Messiah, and as prophet, in the form of his kingdom-two

horns like a lamb. He had been cast down from heaven

where he had been anti-priest, and now takes up Christ’s

titles on earth of king and prophet. In Daniel 11 he is seen

as king; here, as the unbridled man, and in particular as

the result of the<P112> apostasy,1 and the manifestation

of Satan’s power. In a word, instead of the assembly, the

apostasy; instead of the Holy Spirit, Satan; and instead of

the authority of God as a restraint upon evil, the unbridled

man setting himself up as God on the earth.

(1. We may remark that the apostasy develops itself under

the three forms in which man has been in relationship with

2essalonians 2

163

God: nature-it is the man of sin, unrestrained, who exalts

himself; Judaism-he sits as God in the temple of God;

Christianity-it is to this that the term “apostasy” is directly

applied in the passage before us.)

e wicked one presenting himself as Messiah; Satan

making himself prophet and king in the man he inspires;

counterfeiting God’s work to deceive men

Another circumstance, already mentioned, demands

particular attention. I have said that he presents himself as

the Messiah (that is to say, in His two characters as king

and prophet, which are His earthly characters). In heaven

Satan has then nothing more to do; he has been cast out

from thence, so that there is no imitation of the Lord’s

high priesthood. In that respect Satan had, in his own

person, acted another part. He was previously in heaven

the accuser of the brethren. But, at the time of which we

are speaking, the assembly is on high, and the accuser of

the brethren is cast out never to return there. In a man

inspired by him he makes himself prophet and king. And

in this character he does the same things (in falsehood) as

those by which God had sanctioned the mission of Christ

before men (compare Acts 2:22). In Greek the words are

identical.1 I would also recall here another solemn fact in

order to complete this picture. In the history of Elijah we

nd that the proof of the divinity of Baal or that of Jehovah

is made to rest upon the fact of their respective servants

bringing down re from heaven. Now in Revelation 13 we

learn that the second beast brings down re from heaven in

the sight of men. So that we nd here the marvelous works

that sanctioned the Lord’s mission, and there that which

proved Jehovah to be the true and only God. And Satan

performs both in order to deceive men.<P113>

Darby Synopsis

164

(1. Only the word for “miracle” or “power” is plural in

Acts 2.)

ese things to take place in relation to the Jews in

connection with the rejection of Christ and reception of

Antichrist

is may give us an idea of the state in which they will

be; and it indicates also that these things will take place

in relation with the Jews, under the double aspect of their

connection with Jehovah and their rejection of Christ and

reception of Antichrist.

ose to whom God sends a lie in judgment

us, thank God, the truth is abundantly conrmed

that these things do not relate to the assembly, but to those

who, having had opportunity to prot by the truth, have

rejected it and loved iniquity. Neither does it relate to the

heathen, but only to those among whom the truth has

been set forth.1ey refused it, and God sends a lie, and

an ecacious lie, that they may believe it. He does this in

judgment: He did the same thing with the nations (Rom.

1:24,26,28); He did it also with the Jews (Isa. 6:9-10); He

does it here with nominal Christians. But it does relate to

the Jews as a nation that rejected the truth-the testimony

of the Holy Spirit (Acts 7)-but still more to Christians (in

name); in short, to all those who will have had the truth

presented to them.

(1. I only allude here to the connection between the

renunciation of Christianity and the development of

apostate Judaism, which are linked together in the rejection

of the true Christ and the denial of the Father and the Son-

features given in 1John as characteristic of the Antichrist.

But I am persuaded that the more we examine the Word,

the more we shall see (perhaps with surprise) that this

2essalonians 2

165

fact is conrmed. Moreover, the turning back to Judaism,

and the tendency to idolatry by the introduction of other

mediators and patrons, and the losing sight of our union

with the Head, and thus of the perfection and deliverance

from the law which are ours in Christ, have, at all times,

characterized the mystery of iniquity and the principle of

apostasy. e Apostle had incessantly to combat this. at

of which we spoke above is but its full manifestation.)

With nominal Christians this has necessarily the

character of apostasy, or at least it is connected with this

apostasy, and is consequent upon it; as verse 3 teaches us,

the apostasy takes place, and then the man of sin is revealed.

e characteristics of the false Christ, precisely the

opposite of those of Christ

In connection with his character of the man of sin he

presents himself without restraint in the temple of God,

showing himself<P114> that he is God.1 In relation to the

lying power of Satan and his ecient work, he presents

himself in the character of Christ-he is the Antichrist,

assuming, consequently, a Jewish character. It is not only

the pride of man exalting itself against God, but the power

of Satan in man deceiving men, and the Jews in particular,

by a false Christ; so that, if it were possible, the very elect

would be deceived. We may remark that all these characters

are precisely the opposite of Christ-falsehood instead of

truth, iniquity instead of righteousness, perdition instead

of salvation.

(1. is is the culminating point in his character as

an apostate who has renounced grace. e ninth and

following verses develop his positive and deceitful activity

by which he seeks to win men. is explains the mixture

Darby Synopsis

166

(which, moreover, generally exists) of atheism in will, and

superstition.)

e occasion of the evil and the scene in which it

develops

It is to a power like this, of lies and destruction, that

man- having forsaken Christianity and exalted himself in

pride against God-will be given up. e apostasy (that is to

say, the renunciation of Christianity) will be the occasion

of this evil; Judea and the Jews, the scene in which it ripens

and develops itself in a positive way.

e Antichrist allied with Jewish unbelief; Satan’s

throne among the Gentiles strengthened; idolatry

brought in

e Antichrist will deny the Father and the Son (that

is, Christianity); he will deny that Jesus is the Christ (this

is, Jewish unbelief). With the burden upon him of sin

against Christianity, grace, and the presence of the Holy

Spirit, he will ally himself with Jewish unbelief, in order

that there may be not only the full expression of human

pride, but also for a time the Satanic inuence of a false

Christ, who will strengthen the throne of Satan among the

Gentiles occupied by the rst beast to whom the authority

of the dragon has been given. He will also set up his own

subordinate throne over the Jews, as being the Messiah,

whom their unbelief is expecting; while at the same time he

will bring in idolatry, the unclean spirit long gone out who

then returns to his house which is devoid of God.<P115>

e judgment of Antichrist and its means: the return

of the Lord Jesus in glory

And now, with regard to his destruction (whom the

Lord Jesus will consume with the spirit of His mouth

and destroy with the manifestation of His presence, or

2essalonians 2

167

of His coming), the rst of these means characterizes the

judgment; it is the Word of truth applied in judgment

according to the power of God. In the Revelation, it

says that the sword proceeds out of His mouth. Here He

is not spoken of in the character of a man of war, as in

Revelation 19. e spirit of His mouth is that inward and

divine power which kindles and executes the judgment. It

is not an instrument, it is the divine source of power which

executes its purpose by a word (compare Isaiah 30:33). But

there is another aspect of this judgment. e Lord, the

man Jesus, will return. His return has two parts-the return

into the air to take His assembly to Himself, and the public

manifestation in glory of His return.

e Lord’s public manifestation in glory:

the obedient Man who humbled Himself

destroying the lawless one who exalted himself

In the rst verse of our chapter we have read of His

return and our gathering together unto Him. Here, verse

8, is the manifestation of His presence publicly in creation.

At the time of this public manifestation of His coming He

destroys the whole work and power of the wicked one. It

is the Man formerly obedient and humbling Himself on

the earth, exalted of God, and become Lord of all, who

destroys the lawless man that has exalted himself above

everything and made himself as God, instead of being

obedient to God.

e taking away of the assembly and the apostasy

necessary before Satan displays his power in the man of

sin

is evil-on the side of Satan’s inuence-was already

working in the Apostle’s time; only it was bridled and kept

back, until that which restrained it should no longer be on

Darby Synopsis

168

the scene. en should the wicked one be revealed. To sum

up, the taking away of the assembly and the apostasy were

rst necessary; and then this<P116> man should present

himself as an unbelieving Jew,1 and the power of Satan

would be displayed in him.

(1. I do not say that his rst appearance will be the

apostasy of Judaism; I do not think it will be. He will

present himself to them as being the Christ, but according

to the hopes and passions of the Jews. But afterwards it will

be an apostasy even from Judaism, as had partially been

the case in the days of the Maccabees-a fact which the

Spirit uses in Daniel 11 as a gure precursive of the time

of Antichrist. He is from his rst appearance an unbeliever

and the enemy of God, an apostate as to the assembly, and

denying that Jesus is the Christ.

We are taught positively by John that the rejection

of Christianity and Jewish unbelief are united in the

Antichrist.

It appears that apostasy with regard to Christianity

and Jewish unbelief are connected and go together; and

afterwards Jewish apostasy and open rebellion against God,

which, causing the cry of the remnant, brings in the Lord,

and all is ended. Now the Apostle (ch. 2:3-4) presents

the complete picture of man’s iniquity, developed when

apostasy from the grace of the gospel had taken place (he

exalts himself even to the making himself God), without

touching the Jewish side or the manifested power of Satan.

ese verses show us the man of sin is the result of the

apostasy which will break out in the midst of Christendom.

Verse 9 begins to teach us, in addition, that the coming

of this wicked one is also in immediate connection with

a mighty display of the energy of Satan, who deceives by

2essalonians 2

169

means of marvelous works and a strong delusion to which

God gives men up and of which we have spoken in the

text. It is man and Satan here, with enough to show its

connection with Judaism in the last days (even as the

mystery of iniquity was linked with Judaism in the days of

the Apostle), although it is not the occasion of giving the

details of the Jewish development of the evil. We must look

for these details elsewhere, where they are in their place, as

in Daniel. e Apocalypse and 1John furnish us with the

means of connecting them: we do but allude here to this

connection.)

e far dierent future of the essalonian believers

as companions of the Lord Himself

Now this Satanic inuence was for those who had

rejected the truth. Of the essalonians-to whom he had

given these explanations respecting the day which they

fancied was come-the Apostle thought very dierently.

God had chosen these “brethren beloved of the Lord” from

the beginning for salvation, through sanctication of the

Spirit and belief of the truth, to which He had called them

by Paul’s gospel (and that of his companions), and to the

obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus. How dierent was

this from the visitations of the day of the Lord, and the

circumstances of which the Apostle had spoken! ey were

numbered among those who should be the companions in

that day of the Lord Jesus Himself.<P117>

Darby Synopsis

170

73272

2essalonians 3

e Apostle’s exhortations and prayer

ere is nothing very particular in the Apostle’s

exhortations. His great concern was the explanation which

we have been considering. He prays that God and the

Lord Jesus Himself, who had given them the sure and

everlasting consolations of the gospel, would comfort their

hearts and establish them in every good word and work.

He asks for their prayers that he may be preserved in his

labors. He could not but expect to nd men unreasonable

and animated with enmity, for faith was not the portion of

all. It was only a case for the protecting hand of God. With

regard to them he counted for this end on the faithfulness

of the Lord. He reckoned also on their obedience and prays

God to direct their hearts towards these two points, of

which we have spoken when studying the rst epistle, the

love of God and the patient waiting with which the Christ

waited-the two points in which the whole of Christian life

is summed up with regard to its objects, its moral springs.

Christ Himself was waiting-sweet thought! ey were to

wait with Him, until the moment when His heart and the

hearts of His own should rejoice together in their meeting.

It was this which they needed. On the one hand, they

had believed that the dead saints would not be ready to

go and meet the Lord; on the other, they had thought

the day of the Lord already come. e enjoyment of the

love of God, and peace of heart in waiting for Christ, was

necessary for them.

2essalonians 3

171

Neglect of their ordinary labors and refusal to listen

to his admonitions rebuked

is excitement into which they had been led had also

betrayed itself in some among them by their neglect of their

ordinary labors, “working not at all, but being busybodies,”

intermeddling in the aairs of others. e Apostle had set

them a very dierent example. He exhorts them to be rm

and to withdraw from those who would not hearken to

his admonitions, but continued to walk disorderly and in

idleness; not, however, in such a manner as to treat them as

enemies, but to admonish them as brethren.<P118>

Decline apparent, but Paul prays for them for peace

always and by all means

It will be observed here that there is no longer the

same expression of the energy of communion and of life

as previously (compare chapter 3:16 with 1essalonians

5:23). Nevertheless, the Lord was still the Lord of peace;

but the beauty of that entire consecration to God, which

would shine forth in the day of Christ, does not present

itself to the Apostle’s mind and heart as in the rst epistle.

He prays for them, however, that they may have peace

always and by all means.

e authenticity of Paul’s letters assured

e Apostle points out the method by which he assured

the faithful of the authenticity of his letters. With the

exception of that to the Galatians, he employed other

persons to write them, but he attached his own signature

in order to verify their contents to the church, adding the

prayer or blessing.<P119>

Darby Synopsis

172

73273

1Timothy

e peculiar bearing and character of the epistles to

Timothy and Titus

e epistles to Timothy and Titus have naturally a

peculiar bearing and character, being addressed to persons

deputed by the Apostle to act in his name or to care for

the churches during his absence. eir application to us is

none the less direct on this account, because they not only

instruct us with regard to the state of the church, and the

pastoral care which the Apostle bestowed on it, but the

line of conduct in which Timothy is charged to lead the

faithful is that which the faithful ought always themselves

to follow. Nevertheless, to confound the directions given to

Timothy and Titus with the words addressed immediately

to the faithful would be to cast confusion upon ministry in

its best sense.

e general contents of the First Epistle to Timothy

A great part of this First Epistle to Timothy requires but

little development; not because it is without importance,

but because it contains directions-so plain and simple

that explanation would be superuous-and practical

exhortations which would only be obscured and their force

and point taken away by attempting to enlarge upon them.

On the other hand, some general principles of great

importance for the position of the assembly in general are

contained in this epistle.

God’s character presented as a Saviour-God to the

world, represented by His people as a God of love

1Timothy

173

God assumes here, in a peculiar way, the character of

a Saviour-God with regard to the world: a principle of

great importance in all that concerns our conversation in

the world and our dealings with men. We represent in our

religious character a God<P120> of love. is was not the

case in Judaism. He was indeed the same God; but there

He took the character of a lawgiver. All were indeed to

come to His temple according to the declaration of the

prophets, and His temple was open to them; but He did

not characterize Himself as a Saviour-God for all. In Titus

we nd the same expression.

An outline of the contents of the epistle

In these condential communications to his dear

children in the faith and companions in the work, we can

understand that the Apostle would clearly establish the

great principles on which the administration committed to

him rested. at all men were the objects of God’s dealings

in grace was the general basis on which this administration

was founded-that the character of God towards the world

was that of a Saviour (compare 2Corinthians 5). e law

has its place and it still has it, as the Apostle shows-the

conviction of unrighteous men.1 But the sovereign mercy

of God was the starting point of all that the Apostle had to

declare. is thought, this spirit, was to govern the worship

even of believers. Details follow. Notwithstanding this

love to the world, there was upon the earth an assembly

of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth, and

the witness to it on earth. e Person of Christ, and all

that concerns Him, is the subject of its confession, the

foundation of its existence, and the object of its faith.

is faith would be assailed in the last days by the enemy,

who, under the pretense of sanctity, would set himself

Darby Synopsis

174

up against God the creator and preserver of all men and

of believers in particular. Directions for the walk of the

assembly compose the remainder of the epistle. Conduct

suitable to all is set before Timothy to make him, as well

as ourselves, understand that which bets the assembly of

God. We will now look more closely into the contents of

this epistle.<P121>

(1. Not here, specially, that anyone is under it, or that

it is a rule of life for a people of God, but a rule of right

and wrong to demonstrate evil to any conscience. In verse

5 we have the end of the commission of the gospel on

the other hand, partaking of the divine nature-love and

holiness, acting up to responsibility, a good conscience and

the heart fully devoted to God, receiving His Word and

trusting Him.)

1Timothy 1

175

73274

1Timothy 1

e Saviour-God and Paul’s commission

From its commencement the Apostle designates God

as the Saviour-God. Paul is the apostle of Jesus Christ by

the commandment of God our Saviour. e Lord Jesus

Christ is the condence and the hope of the soul.

e dierence between the Apostle’s wish for an

individual and that for an assembly

We observe also that the Apostle’s wish diers from

that which he expresses when addressing an assembly:

“Grace, mercy,” he says, “and peace.” He does not say

“mercy” to the assemblies, which stand before God as

such, in consequence of the mercy shown them, and which

(however low their condition might be) are viewed as

assemblies according to the nature in which they live by the

Spirit, in which there is no question of mercy, because that

nature is itself of God. Grace and peace are that which they

are to enjoy on the part of God. But when an individual is

in question, whatever his piety or faithfulness may be, he

is both esh and spirit, his career has yet in part at least to

be provided for, having always need of mercy. erefore,

the Apostle wishes it to Timothy as well as to Titus.1 In

the case of Philemon he adds “the church in thy house,”

and his wish has, therefore, no longer the personal form.

But with Timothy and Titus it is the Apostle’s intimacy

with his beloved fellow-laborers. He knew how much they

needed mercy. It was his own resource, that which he had

experienced for the comfort of his own soul.

Darby Synopsis

176

(1. ere is, however, some question as to the reading

in Titus.)

Timothy charged to watch over the doctrine taught;

the twofold character of the evil introduced

e special object for which Paul had left Timothy at

Ephesus, when he went into Macedonia, was that he might

watch over the doctrine which was taught; but, being

there, he gives him directions for the interior order of the

assembly. e evil which the enemy sought to introduce,

with regard to doctrine, had a twofold character: fables

of human imagination and the introduction of the law

into Christianity. As to the former, it was pure evil and

<P122>edied no one. e Apostle does not here say much

about it; he forewarned them of the evil; and the faith of

the assembly at Ephesus was sound enough to allow him

to treat the whole system as mere fables and genealogies.

e Spirit gave warning that in later times it would have

more disastrous consequences; but at present there was

only need to guard the faithful from it as that which was

worthless. Timothy was charged by the Apostle to attend

to this.

Our service: a sure token for those guided by the

Spirit

But that which is committed to us in Christianity, as

service, is always, both in its object and its character, at the

height of the eternal principles of God and belongs to the

foundation of our moral relations with Him.

e object of Paul’s mandate is the love of a pure

heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, and never

the subtleties of argument or of human imagination. is

is a sure token for souls that are sound in the faith and

guided by the Spirit of God. Speculative questions do not

1Timothy 1

177

act on the conscience, nor bring into the presence of God.

Some had forsaken these great landmarks of Christianity,

turning aside to vain discussions. And here we again nd

those same corrupters of Christianity, who, after having

rejected the Saviour, sowed the Apostle’s path with thorns-

Judaizing teachers. ey desired to inculcate the law. e

human mind is adequate to this.

Judaizing teachers; the law and its use contrasted with

the gospel of the glory

Now we see here the way in which one who is at the

height of the truth of God can put everything in its true

place. Paul treats the produce of human imagination as

mere fables, but the law was of God and could be made

useful if rightly employed. It was of great service to

condemn, to judge evil, to slay-to show the judgment of

God against every wrong thing forbidden by the gospel

which revealed the glory of the blessed God-a glory which

tolerated no evil and which had been committed to the

Apostle. It could be used to act upon the conscience in

this way, but it did not build up the righteous; and, if any

were under the law, they were under the curse. As a sword

for the conscience, it may be used. But grace alone is the

source of our preaching and the stay of our souls.<P123>

ese two systems and their respective places are

presented in verses 5-17, which form a kind of parenthesis,

the Apostle resuming his address to Timothy in verse 18.

e use of the law is explained in verses 8-13. e Apostle,

in a certain sense, lowers it here, while acknowledging

its utility in its place, as the weapon of righteousness for

condemnation, and contrasts it with the gospel which is

connected with the glory of God Himself which this gospel

Darby Synopsis

178

proclaims, as the law is connected with the wickedness

which it condemns.

God’s grace to the chief of sinners making him the

most powerful of witnesses to His grace and Christ’s

work

Having spoken of the gospel of the glory which had

been committed to him, the Apostle turns to the sovereign

grace that brought him into the knowledge of this glory

which is the testimony to the accomplishment of the work

of grace.

“I give thanks,” he says, “to Jesus Christ our Lord, who

hath counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who

was before a blasphemer and persecutor and injurious.”

is indeed was grace.

e Apostle speaks of two things in his conversion: the

one, how God could have compassion on him in such a

state-he was in ignorance; the other, the purpose of God

that the Apostle should be a pattern of grace to all. at he

was in ignorance and unbelief, although a condition which

made mercy possible (for had he been an enemy, knowing

and willing it, while acquainted with the grace of the

gospel, it would have been impossible), yet that condition

was no excuse for his sin; he puts pure and perfect grace

forward, as having abounded in his case-he was the chief

of sinners. is indeed was true. e high priests had

resisted the Holy Spirit to the uttermost. Paul had joined

them in it: but he was not satised with that. He desired to

be the active enemy of the faith wherever it existed and to

destroy the name of Jesus. He had done much at Jerusalem,

but he wished to satiate his hatred even in foreign cities.

We know his history in the Acts. e living expression

of Jewish resistance to grace, he was also among men

1Timothy 1

179

the expression of the most active human enmity to Him

whom God would glorify. Grace was greater than the sin,

the patience of God more perfect than the perseverance of

man’s hostility. e latter was limited by man’s importance,

the former has no limit in the<P124> nature of God but

that of His own sovereign will. Guilty as man may be, his

sin cannot so reach God as to disturb the independent

action of His nature or change His purposes. He was

pleased to show forth in Paul a pattern of the sovereignty

of that grace and perfect goodness-to the Jews hereafter,

who as a nation will be in Saul’s condition-to all men as

the enemies of God and by nature children of wrath. e

chief, the most active, the most inveterate of enemies was

the best and most powerful of witnesses that the grace of

God abounded over sin and that the work of Christ was

perfect to put it away.

Paul’s ascription of praise: its foundation

“Unto God”-being such in His nature, and having the

development of all the ages in His counsels-“unto the only

God, invisible, incorruptible,” he ascribes all praise and all

glory. Such was the foundation of Paul’s ministry in contrast

with the law. It was founded on the revelation of grace;

but it was a revelation connected with the experience of its

application to his own case. Peter, guilty of denying a living

Saviour, could speak to the Jews of grace that met their case,

which was his own; Paul, formerly the enemy of a gloried

Saviour and the resister of the Holy Spirit, could proclaim

grace that rose above even that state of sinfulness, above

all that could ow from human nature-grace that opened

the door to the Gentiles according to God’s own counsels,

when the Jews had rejected everything, substituting the

heavenly assembly for them-grace that suced for the

Darby Synopsis

180

future admission of that guilty nation to better privileges

than those which they had forfeited.

Such was the call of this apostle, such his ministry.

Having shown the opposition between that which was

committed to him and the law (while arming the

usefulness of the latter, not as a rule to the righteous or a

guide to God’s people, but as judging wrong), he resumes

his address to Timothy in that which refers to the details

of his mission among the Ephesians.

e commission entrusted to Timothy with authority

based on divine testimony; the faith as the truth

At the end of chapter 1 he commits the charge to him-

sends him his mandate. e term he employs relates to

verses 3 and 5. He had left Timothy at Ephesus in order

to command some per<P125>sons there not to teach other

doctrines than the truths of the gospel. Now the end of

the command, of this evangelical commission, was love

owing from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith

unfeigned. For the gospel, while revealing the marvelous

counsels of God, maintains the great eternal principles of

His nature. It is this which distinguishes truth from the

lofty pretensions of heretical imaginations; it requires that

man should be in relationship with God really in heart and

in truth according to those principles. And this commission

the Apostle now entrusted to Timothy, his own son in the

faith. He was to maintain it with an authority that had

its basis in divine testimony, but which he held formally

from the Apostle who appointed him to it; not merely of

his own accord, but according to prophecies which had

pointed him out for this purpose and which were a means

of strength to him in the conict he was thus brought

into. e conditions of victory were in accordance with

1Timothy 1

181

the nature of the commission. He was to keep the faith

and a good conscience. Now faith here is the doctrine of

Christianity; yet not merely as doctrine, but as that which

the soul held between itself and God as coming from Him.

He had to maintain the truth, the Christian doctrine, but

to hold it as so revealed by God Himself to the soul that

it should be the truth. e light should possess, with well-

dened outlines, the authority of God.

e faith and a good conscience: its loss and the

consequences

It was the faith, that which God had revealed, received

with certainty as such-as the truth.

But, to be in communion with God, the conscience

must be good, must be pure; and if we are not in

communion with God, we cannot have the strength that

would maintain us in the faith, that would enable us to

persevere in the profession of the truth, as God gives it

to us. Satan has then a hold upon us, and if the intellect

of one in this state is active, he falls into heresy. e loss

of a good conscience opens the door to Satan, because it

deprives us of communion with God; and the active mind,

under Satan’s inuence, invents ideas instead of confessing

the truth of God. e Apostle treats the fruit of this state

as “blasphemies”; the will of man is at work, and the higher

the subject, the more an unbridled will, possessed by the

enemy, goes astray and exalts itself against God and<P126>

against the subjection of the whole mind to the obedience

of Christ, to the authority of the revelation of God.

Delivered unto Satan: an apostolic act of power for

eventual good

e Apostle had delivered up two persons of this

character to Satan-that is to say, outwardly. ough already

Darby Synopsis

182

deceived by him, they were not under his dominion as

having power to torment and make them suer. For in the

assembly (when in its normal state) Satan has no power

of that kind. It is guarded from it, being the dwelling-

place of the Holy Spirit and protected by God and by the

power of Christ. Satan can tempt us individually; but he

has no right over the members of the assembly as such.

ey are within, and, weak as they may be, Satan cannot

enter there. ey may be delivered to him for their good.

is may take place at all times-witness the history of Job.

But the assembly ought to have the knowledge and be the

guardian and instrument of the accomplishment of the

dealings of God with His own. Within the assembly is the

Holy Spirit; God dwells in it as His house by the Spirit.

Without is the world of which Satan is the prince. e

Apostle (by the power bestowed on him,1 for it is an act of

positive power) delivered these two men into the power of

the enemy-deprived them of the shelter they had enjoyed.

ey had listened to the enemy-had been his instruments.

It was not in the assembly, with members of Christ, that

this should have taken place. ey must be made to feel

what he was to whom they had given ear. God thus made

use of Satan himself as a rod for the good of His rebellious

children. Satan should instruct them, through the pains

he would make them suer, of whatever kind it might be,

whether anguish of soul or of body, and the latter is the

immediate eect, in order that their will might be broken

and brought into subjection to God. Solemn discipline!

Marvelous power in the hands of man, but a proof that

the love of God can order all things for the purpose of

delivering a soul and bringing it to Himself.<P127>

1Timothy 1

183

(1. We must not confound this act of power with

discipline, which is the act of the assembly and its formal

duty. In 1Corinthians 5 the Apostle joins the assembly

to himself in this act of power, but he delivered with the

power of Christ. e duty of the assembly is stated there in

verse 13. As to the saints’ or assembly’s part, when God has

exercised discipline, see 1John 5:16 and James 5:14-15.)

Darby Synopsis

184

73275

1Timothy 2

e dealings of the Saviour-God with men under the

gospel; one mediator the distinctive truth of Christianity

e Apostle proceeds to give instructions, founded on

the great principles which he had established-on grace.

e Jewish spirit might look on Gentile kings as enemies,

and on Gentiles in general as unworthy of divine favor. e

persecution of which Christians were the object gave the

esh occasion to nourish these dispositions and to enter into

the spirit of the law. Grace rises above all these thoughts-

all these feelings of the heart. It teaches us to think of all

men with love. We belong to a Saviour-God, who acts in

the gospel towards all men with love. Especially were they

to pray for kings and those who had places in the world,

that God would dispose their hearts to allow us to live in

peace and quietness in all honesty. is was well-pleasing

to a Saviour-God, who was willing that all men should be

saved and be brought to know the truth. e subject here is

not the counsels of God, but His dealings with men under

the gospel. He acts in grace. It is the acceptable time-the

day of salvation. He opens the door through the blood

of Christ and proclaims peace and a sure reception to all

who come. e work is done; His character fully gloried

with regard to sin. If they refuse to come, that is the will

of man. at God will fulll His counsels after all makes

no change in His dealings, nor in the responsibility of

men. We have love to proclaim to all-in the spirit of love

in our ways towards them. e distinction between Jew

and Gentile totally disappears here. ere is one God, and

1Timothy 2

185

one mediator between God and men, a Man, Christ Jesus.

ese are the two great truths which form the basis of all

true religion. Judaism had already been the revelation and

testimony in the world of the rst: there was one only God.

is remains eternally true but did not suce to bring men

into relationship with God. With regard to men He abode

within the veil in the darkness which shrouded His majesty.

Christianity, while fully revealing the one God, presents

the second truth: there is one mediator between God and

men. ere is one, and there is but one. It is as true that

there is but one mediator as that there is but one God. is

is the great and distinctive truth of Christianity.<P128>

One mediator a man, who gave Himself a ransom for

all; the sinner’s need

Two things here characterize the mediator. He is a

man; He gave Himself a ransom for all. e time for this

testimony was ordered of God.

Precious truth! We are in weakness, we are guilty,

we could not bring ourselves near to God. We needed a

mediator who, while maintaining the glory of God, should

put us into such a position that He could present us to

God in righteousness according to that glory. Christ gave

Himself as a ransom. But He must be a man in order to

suer for men and to represent men. And this He was. But

this is not all. We are weak-here, where we are to receive

the revelation of God; and weak, with regard to the use

of our resources in God and our communion with Him-

even when our guilt is blotted out. And, in our weakness to

receive the revelation of God, Christ has revealed God, and

all that He is in His own Person, in all the circumstances

wherein man could have need either in body or in soul.

He came down into the lowest depths in order that there

Darby Synopsis

186

should be none, even of the most wretched, who could

not feel that God in His goodness was near him and was

entirely accessible to him-come down to him-His love

nding its occasion in misery; and that there was no need

to which He was not present, which He could not meet.

e Man Christ Jesus still the same for us on high

It is thus that He made Himself known on earth; and,

now that He is on high, He is still the same. He does not

forget His human experiences: they are perpetuated by His

divine power in the sympathizing feelings of His humanity,

according to the energy of that divine love which was their

source and their motive power. He is still a man in glory

and in divine perfection. His divinity imparts the strength

of its love to His humanity, but does not set aside the latter.

Nothing could resemble such a mediator as this; nothing

could equal the tenderness, the knowledge of the human

heart, the sympathy, the experience of need. In the measure

which divinity could give to what He did, and in the strength

of its love, He came down, took part in all the sorrows of

humanity, and entered into all the circumstances in which

the human heart could be, and was wounded, oppressed

and discouraged, bowing down under<P129> the evil. No

tenderness, no power of sympathy, no humanity, like His;

no human heart that can so understand, so feel with us,

whatever the burden may be that oppresses the heart of

man. It is the Man, the Christ Jesus, who is our mediator;

none so near, none who has come down so low and entered

with divine power into the need, and all the need, of man.

e conscience is puried by His work, the heart relieved

by that which He was and which He is forever.

Christ pointed out as the one and only mediator

1Timothy 2

187

ere is but One: to think of another would be to snatch

from Him His glory, and from us our perfect consolation.

His coming from on high, His divine nature, His death,

His life as man in heaven, all point Him out as the one and

only mediator.

e mediator between God and all men in their need

But there is another aspect of this truth, and of the fact

that He is a man. It is, that He is not merely a mediator as

a priest upon His throne, between Israel and the Lord; not

simply the Messiah, in order to place Israel in relationship

with their God, but a man between God and men. It is

according to the eternal nature of God Himself and to the

need of men in His presence. It was of these truths, eternal

and of universal bearing, that Paul was the herald and the

apostle.

e due time of the revelation of worldwide, eternal

facts to Gentiles and Jews

Possessing a character that belongs to all ages and that

goes beyond them, all these facts had their time to be

revealed.

All means dependent on man’s use of them had been

tried with men-and in vain, as to recalling him to God;

and now the necessary foundations of their relationship

with God had to be set forth, laid by God Himself, and

the Gentiles were to hear the testimony of grace. And such

was the Apostle’s testimony, “a teacher of the Gentiles in

the faith and in the truth.”

Suited conduct to God’s grace; Eve’s sin and its

judgment; the rst Adam contrasted with Christ

Paul has plainly now laid the foundations, and he

proceeds, therefore, to details. Men were to pray everywhere,

lifting up pure<P130> hands, without wrath and without

Darby Synopsis

188

vain human reasonings. Women were to walk in modesty,

adorned with good works, and to learn in silence. A woman

was forbidden to teach or to exercise authority over men;

she was to abide in quietness and silence. e reason given

for this is remarkable, and shows how, in our relations with

God, everything depends on the original starting point. In

innocence Adam had the rst place; in sin, Eve. It was Eve

who, being deceived, brought in transgression. Adam was

not deceived, guilty as he was of disobeying God. United

to his wife, he followed her, not deceived by the enemy

but weak through his aection. Without the weakness, it

was this which the second Adam did in grace; He followed

His deceived and guilty bride, but in order to redeem and

deliver her by taking her faults upon Himself. Eve suered

on earth the penalty of her fault in a way which is a mark of

the judgment of God; but walking in modesty, with faith

and love and holiness, she shall be delivered in the hour of

her trial; and that which bears the stamp of judgment shall

be an occasion of the mercy and succor of God.

1Timothy 3

189

73276

1Timothy 3

e qualities necessary for a bishop or a deacon, and

the wife of the latter

e Apostle next points out to Timothy the qualities

necessary for a bishop or a deacon, as well as for the wife

of the latter.1 He supposes here that there were some who

desired to undertake this work. It was a good work. To care

for souls and have a vigilant eye upon the walk of believers;

to watch over them in order that the members of Christ

should answer to His love and lose no Christian privilege;

to do this by maintaining that happy order and that precious

unity which were realized at that time, and to protect the

ock of the Lord against the ravaging wolves that were

seeking to invade it: this indeed was valuable work, and

he on whose heart the Lord had thus laid the souls of His

people might well desire to undertake it. e Apostle felt

this: it was a true and faithful saying; but certain qualities

were needed to make anyone t for such<P131> a charge.

Gifts are not included among them, unless the being “apt

to teach” might be so considered; but even this is presented

as a quality-the man must have aptness2 for it-not as a

gift. Power to use such truth with others was very useful

in fullling his charge, without saying at all that he taught

publicly in the assembly. e essential thing was that which

gave moral weight.

1. So it would read in English; but I see no reason why

γυναΙκασ (gunaikas) should not apply to the elders’

wives. It runs really thus: “In like manner [the]

deacons. . . . In like manner [the] wives.” See, however,

remarks on page 132.

Darby Synopsis

190

(1. Some translate this word “ready to learn.”)

Timothy was not left at Ephesus to appoint elders; but

these were the qualities necessary to a bishop, and Paul

exhorts him to be watchful on this point.

It is not needful to enter into the details of these

qualities; they are plain enough, as well as those required

for a deacon.

“e condemnation of the devil” and “the snare of the

devil” distinguished

We see what was the subject of “the condemnation of

the devil”: he exalted himself at the thought of his own

importance (compare Ezekiel 28). “e snare of the devil”

is another thing. If a man is not of good report, he will

yield somewhere to the enemy, because he will not dare to

withstand him boldly.

e wives of deacons: the scope of women’s work

It will be noticed that the Apostle speaks of the wives

of deacons, and not those of bishops1 (except to say that

these must be the husbands of one wife only). Bishops

had a charge, in which they were occupied with souls and

exercised authority in the church, in which women were

not to act. Deacons were necessarily occupied with family

details and circumstances. In these women might well be

concerned and often very useful. In the spiritual cares of

elders they had nothing to do. It was requisite, therefore,

that the wives of deacons should possess qualities which

would cause their husbands to be respected, and at the

same time guard themselves from becoming busybodies

and talebearers.

(1. But see note, page 131.)

e importance of the deacons’ service

1Timothy 3

191

Faithfulness in the charge of a deacon-the exercise

of which, in fact, is a matter of the greatest delicacy and

requires much Christian love and patience-was a means

of acquiring strength<P132> in the work of God. Stephen

and Philip are examples of this: their spiritual powers soon

carried them beyond their services as deacons.

e early, happy condition of the assembly

What was the assembly in those happy days? at

which surely it always is in the sight of God; but then, in

fact, when love displayed itself in an order maintained by

the energy of the Holy Spirit and when the oneness of the

entire body developed itself in the action of all its members,

it was the house of God. ank God, it is so always; yet

what a dierence since then in its practical condition!

e assembly on earth as the house of God below

But let us here examine the character which the Apostle

gives to the assembly on earth. He wrote hoping soon

to come, but in order that, in case he might tarry long,

Timothy should know how to conduct himself. He then

tells us what the assembly is.

In the rst place it is the house of God. God dwells in it

upon the earth (compare Ephesians 2:22). We understand

that it is here viewed as on the earth, because the Apostle is

speaking of how to behave in it. But this truth is important. It

gives a character to the assembly of the highest importance

for us with regard to our responsibility. It is not a vague

thing, composed of the dead, of the living-a thing which

we know not where to nd, because one part of it is alive

on the earth and another part consists of souls in heaven. It

is the house of God here below, in which we have to behave

(whatever other position we may hold) in a manner that

becomes the house of God. God dwells in the assembly

Darby Synopsis

192

upon earth. We cannot too earnestly remember this fact.

Whatever would bring confusion into the presentation of

the truth, through the idea that some are dead and that

the whole assembly is not here, comes from the enemy

and is in opposition to the Word. e assembly, viewed as

subsisting on earth, is the house of God.

e assembly of the living God

In the second place it is the assembly of the living God.

God, in whom is the power of life, in contrast with men and

with dead idols, has an assembly not of the world, having

set it apart for<P133> Himself. It is not a nation like Israel.

at people were the assembly of God in the wilderness.

e assembly is now the assembly of the living God.

e pillar and support of the truth, maintaining it on

earth

In the third place it is the pillar and support of the truth.

Christ on earth was the truth. (He is so always, but He

was so on the earth.) He is now hidden in God. e

assembly is not the truth: the Word of God is the truth.

His Word is truth. Truth exists before the assembly; it is

faith in the truth which gathers the assembly together. But

the assembly is that which maintains the truth on earth.1

When the assembly is gone, men will be given up to a

strong delusion.

(1. But the assembly does not teach. Teachers teach

the assembly, but by faithfulness in holding fast the truth

taught, it sustains it in the world.)

It may be that there is only a little remnant of those

that call themselves Christians who maintain the Word

of truth; but it is not the less true that the assembly-as

long as it remains here below-is the only witness for the

truth upon the earth. It is God’s witness to present the

1Timothy 3

193

truth before men. At the end, that which God owns as

such will be the feeble ock at Philadelphia; and then that

which is in the responsible position of being the assembly

(Laodicea) will be spued out of the mouth of Christ, who

Himself takes the character of Amen, the faithful and true

Witness. But the assembly as planted by God on the earth

is the pillar and support of the truth. Authority is not the

question here, but the maintenance and presentation of the

truth. at which does not maintain and present the truth

is not the assembly as God understands it.

e characteristics of the house of God

e presence, then, of the living God and the profession

of the truth are the characteristics of the house of God.

Wherever this assembly of the living God is, wherever the

truth is, there is His house.2<P134>

(2. us, in order to judge what the assembly is, we

must know and be able to distinguish the truth and the

living God. It is this which the Apostle says with regard to

the individual, “e Spirit is truth.” ese are the cardinal

points with regard to unbelief and faith, the truth and the

Spirit; and the Word of God is the truth.)

e mystery of piety, the living center of what is

essential to the relations between God and men

e mystery of piety, which lies at the very center of

what the assembly maintains before the world, is great

and relates essentially to the Person of Christ. e Apostle

naturally does not here develop all the dierent parts of the

truth, but that which is the living center of the whole-that

which is essential to the relations between God and men.

God Himself manifested in the esh in the revelation

of the Person of Christ

Darby Synopsis

194

God had been manifested in the esh; marvelous

truth, in fact! ere, where all is confusion and sin, in the

nature of him in whom all this sin and all this confusion

are introduced, the center of all blessing, He who is light

itself, He who as the light puts everything morally in its

place, and who by the fact of His presence shows that love

is above everything, God who is love, has been manifest

in the esh. Where sin was, there was love above the sin.

Man, who is the slave of evil, sees here in his own nature

the source and the power of all good. In the center of evil

and of weakness, in human nature, God Himself has been

manifested. Was there then evil in Him who was such?

Did He undergo the lot of the common bondage? By no

means. Truly in the same circumstances, in the same nature,

He proved superior to all evil, perfect in all respects. e

absence of all sin was made evident by the power of the

Holy Spirit during His whole life (if men had been able

to discern it; and, in fact, it was manifest to the conscience

of every man, for He was pure light shining upon all), and

with power by the resurrection (compare Romans 1:4).

us God was made visible to the angels, was preached

to the Gentiles (not merely the God of the Jews),

became the object of faith in the world (it was not the

manifestation of visible power, claiming His rights and

His glory), and at last took a place on high in the glory

whence He had descended. It is thus that God is known

in the assembly according to the truth. ere is no truth

outside the maintenance of this revelation of the Person of

Christ.<P135>

e viewpoint of the epistle: Christians not spoken

of as God’s family but as the house of God, His witness

towards men

1Timothy 3

195

It is worthy of notice that in this epistle, and even in the

second, the Apostle speaks nowhere of the relationship of

Christians with God as His children, of the privileges of

children, or of that which is known within in the intimacy

of the family. He speaks of truths that are essential as

testimony before the world; that which the assembly

is externally, that which it is as witness of God towards

men. It is the house of God, the assembly of the living

God, the pillar and support of the truth: that which it is as

responsible in the world, and in order that all should learn

what God is. e mystery of piety, of which the assembly

is the vessel for testimony, answers to this. It is the grand,

essential truth on which all relation between God and men

is founded, by means of which God has to do with men.

erefore also he says previously, “ere is but one God,

and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ

Jesus.”

We have not here the privileges of children, nor the

heavenly bride of Christ, but the foundation of God’s

relations with all men. us the Father is not named, nor

even the Spirit, except here in connection with the Lord’s

Person, as the justication of His testimony. It is God, the

mediator, and man, and the assembly as the vessel and

depositary of this truth of the testimony of God; or else

evil spirits turning men away from the faith. is deserves

all attention.

e assembly, as maintaining the rights of the Creator

and Saviour-God, must itself be maintained in moral

order

Not only, as we have seen elsewhere, the testimony of the

grace of the gospel maintains the great eternal principles of

the nature and glory of God, and His relations according

Darby Synopsis

196

to that glory with men; but even in the pains the Apostle

takes that the assembly may be cared for and guarded,

during his absence, from the assaults of the enemy and from

disorder and improprieties within; it is not of its internal

privileges that he speaks. God is set before us, and the Lord

Jesus Christ. God, in the majesty of His immutable truth,

in His relations with men as such, and in the revelation

of Himself in the esh-God was in Christ, reconciling

the<P136> world; dwelling in the assembly, in order that

it should present and maintain the truth before the world-

the truth (as we have seen) with regard to Christ, of the

revelation of God in Him. God desires to be in relation

with men: it is thus that He accomplishes it. e assembly

maintains the rights of the Creator and Saviour-God on

the earth. e assembly itself must be maintained in moral

order, that it may confront the enemy who is in the world

and be able to sustain this testimony.

1Timothy 4

197

73277

1Timothy 4

Apostates bringing in doctrines of demons, exalting

themselves against God’s authority and denying His

revelation

But there would be some who departed from the faith,

from this knowledge of the one Creator and Saviour-God-

Him who was manifested in the esh. ey would attack

precisely these points which we have named. It might be

that they would pretend to carry the idea of Christian

privileges farther than all others had done, as well as that

of profound knowledge of God; but they would sin against

rst principles, against the faith which connected the

Saviour-God revealed in Christianity with the one only

Creator-God. According to Christianity, the eternal God

had not only created the world but had revealed Himself in

Christ. ese apostates, bringing in doctrines of demons,

would seek to deny that it was this one and only God of

nature who had manifested Himself in grace. Seduced by

demons and their conscience being seared, they forbade

that which God had established in creation, that which He

had given to man in full right after the ood: as though

the superior holiness which they preached and relationship

with a more exalted God were not consistent with such

customs. Forsaking the real and practical holiness of

communion with God and of His commandments by

Christ, they created a false sanctity for themselves, which

denied that which God had ordained from the beginning,

and thus exalted themselves against the authority of Him

Darby Synopsis

198

who had ordained it, as though He was an imperfect or

perhaps evil being.<P137>

e faithful put on guard; the incontestable right of

the one God maintained

us the restraint of the fear of God was lost, and the

door opened to licence and dissoluteness. e Spirit of

God warned the assembly of this, and the faithful Apostle

communicates it to Timothy and through him puts the

faithful on their guard. He does not, therefore, speak of

privilege. Faithful to the glory of God, he returns to the

rst principles of His glory and maintains the incontestable

rights of the one and only God; faithful to God, not making

boast of his knowledge, but seeking in love to guard the

assembly from all departure from God.

ose who forsake the faith here not to be confounded

with the general apostasy spoken of in 2essalonians

We must not confound the few here who forsake the

faith with the general apostasy of 2essalonians. Here

a few depart from the truth, seduced by demons; and the

assembly still subsists to be guarded from the invasion of

these hurtful principles. Quite another thing is the general

apostasy and the manifestation of the man of sin, which is

not mentioned here at all.

Error distinguished from the general apostasy; the

remedy: God’s gifts sanctied by the Word and prayer

Here we have the faithfulness which repels error by

truth, reminding the brethren of the latter, in order that

they may not be seduced. ere it is the manifestation of

the one who sits in the temple of God and who is destroyed

by the brightness of the Lord’s presence. Here all that had

to be done was to recall in simplicity the goodness of the

Creator, and that His gifts, received with thanksgiving,

1Timothy 4

199

were always good, and not to be refused: assuredly not

that they were to use them for the gratication of their

lusts, but as sanctied by the Word of God, which brought

them to us as God’s gifts, and by prayer, which connects us

with God in using them. ey were to be received as from

Him, as the gift of His hand; and they were sanctied,

as is the case with everything that comes from Him and

bears the stamp of His will and His goodness. Man had

forfeited everything in forsaking God: what he had he

had not now with God, would eat merely as an animal,

and worse as having left God. e Word of God replaced

the relation<P138>ship in grace, and prayer used it on this

footing. Here (although in other circumstances it has gone

much further) the monastic principle, in the heart and in

form, is fully judged; however sincere any individual may

be who seeks to follow it in order to honor God. God does

not withdraw the gifts on which man, so to speak, has

seized by his will; but his use of them, instead of being the

gratication of his will and lusts, is now as received from

God by His will in thankfulness, and owning Him.

Timothy encouraged to be a good servant of Christ

and warned against the idle speculation of the human

mind

is, in fact, the Apostle shows in that which follows.

By teaching thus, Timothy would be a good servant

of Jesus Christ, nourished in the truth: bodily exercise

proted little, but godliness much-both here below and

for eternity; warning him again against the idle and

protless speculation of the human mind, to the danger

of which he continually recurs. It is for this doctrine of

God-true and worthy of all acceptation-that the Apostle

labored and suered reproach; because he had faith in the

Darby Synopsis

200

living God, who, by His providence and by His supreme

power,1 governed, preserved and took care of all men, and

especially of those that believed. It was this same only God,

Creator and Saviour, in whom he trusted while laboring

for the Lord. Timothy was to teach this and enforce it with

authority.

(1. Compare Matthew 10:29.)

Timothy’s own service and God-given authority

strengthened; encouragement to take continual heed to

what he taught and to himself personally

Afterwards, in connection with this authoritative

instruction, the Apostle speaks of the person and position

of Timothy himself. He was young, but he was to maintain

his place, and gain by his conduct that weight which years

did not yet give him. He was to be an example to the

believers and occupy himself, till Paul came, with reading,

exhortation and instruction. Moreover, in his case God

had given a special preparation for his work; he was not

to forget or neglect it. A gift had been imparted to him:

God had pointed him out to this end by prophecy; and this

immediate testimony from God, to which the operation of

His power was united,<P139> had been accompanied by

the seal of testimony from man, that is, that of the elders

among the Christians (compare Acts 13:1-3).

us all things concurred to strengthen Timothy in

his service and in the authority that he exercised at that

moment in place of the Apostle. He should always present

the weight of an irreproachable conduct, which would

have its inuence over hearts and consciences; but he was

inwardly strengthened by the consciousness of having been

formally set apart by God for the work; the gift of God

had been imparted to him, and the sanction of all that had

1Timothy 4

201

weight in the assembly had been laid, as a seal, upon him.

us strengthened, he was to devote himself to the things

of the Lord in such a manner that his progress should be

evident to all men-a demonstration of his communion

with the Lord. At the same time, he was to take heed to

himself and to the doctrine, and that continually, which

should be the means of salvation both to himself and to

those who heard him.

Darby Synopsis

202

73278

1Timothy 5

Outward order: what is suitable to an upright walk

and seemly for individuals in their testimony here

Having thus considered the laborer, the Apostle returns

to the details of the work, in which Timothy was to display

his diligence and watchful care. Everywhere here the subject

is that which is suitable outwardly to an upright walk,

that which is seemly, whether with regard to the position

of individuals or with respect to the world. e Apostle

speaks of elders; of widows, of that which is becoming

for younger widows; of the honor due to faithful elders,

those among them especially who were teachers also. ere

is nothing inward, nothing of the soul’s relationships to

God; but everything refers to the public testimony which

suited the position of men in this world before God. It is

important to remark this, that although our joy lies in our

heavenly privileges, in our communion, yet we can never

with impunity neglect ordinary duties or moral proprieties;

we must take knowledge of the practical dangers that

would beset us, owing to that which the esh is.

We may notice that provision was made for all widows

who had no relatives able to maintain them; and also that

there were elders who did not teach.<P140>

Against an elder, Timothy was not to receive an

accusation, unless there were two or three witnesses.

Timothy exhorted not to hastily sanction anyone who

did not show he deserved it

All this bears testimony to the fact that the Apostle

gives these directions with a view to outward order; for

1Timothy 5

203

the maintenance of that which is respectable in the eyes

of all, and of respect for all that ought to be respected. At

the same time, Timothy was to be careful not to give, by

the laying on of hands, his sanction to anyone who did not

oer moral guarantees that, in the position he had taken,

he deserved this mark of respect from others. It would

be, on Timothy’s part, to become a partaker in the sins of

which such a one might be guilty. He was not to lay hands

hastily on anyone.

Some men’s sins were open and proclaimed beforehand

the judgment that awaited them. e sins of others were

hidden: they would nd them again at the great day. But

this was a reason why he should do nothing in his charge

with precipitation; he was also to keep himself pure.

Timothy’s habitual temperance shown and Paul’s

respect and heartfelt tenderness to his fellow-laborer

Timothy’s habitual temperance is here seen: weak in

body, the Apostle recommends him to use his liberty by

taking a little wine-a pleasing instance of grace. We have

here a proof of the habits of this faithful servant. e Spirit

shows us how carefully he kept himself from exciting or

satisfying his passions in the least thing (at the same time

that there is perfect liberty to use everything that is good

when there is a true reason for it), and also the Apostle’s

tender interest in his fellow-laborer in the gospel. It is

a little parenthesis attached to the expression, “Be not a

partaker of other men’s sins,” but it has great beauty. is

aectionate watchfulness became the Apostle; he desired

holiness in his representative, but he well knew how to

respect Timothy and to maintain the decorum which he

had enjoined and to exhibit his heartfelt tenderness. Verse

24 is connected with verse 22.<P141>

Darby Synopsis

204

73279

1Timothy 6

Directions to Christian servants and masters: the

need and reason for them

e Apostle then goes equally into detail with regard to

servants, that is, slaves. ey were to respect their masters

in order that the doctrine of the Lord should not be

blasphemed.

When the masters were believers, there was naturally

more familiarity, for they were one in Christ, and thence

the danger (for the esh is crafty) that the servants might

not treat their masters with the respect due to them. e

Apostle guards against this abuse of Christian love, and

of the just intimacy and condence which ought to exist

between brethren; but which, on the contrary, was a motive

for the servant to render all honor to his master, by treating

him with more love and with the same respect.

As representing God in this world, Timothy exhorted

to show the character of a man of God, turning away

from evil and showing contentment and godliness

It was necessary that the Apostle should be rm. All

other instruction-all refusal to receive the wholesome

words of Christian doctrine, the words of Christ and

the doctrine which is according to practical godliness-

proceeded from the esh, from human pride in those who

wished to take advantage of godliness, and make it a means

of gain. From such persons Timothy was to turn away.

Godliness was indeed gain, if they were contented with

what they had; and the Christian, who does not belong to

this world, if he has food and raiment, ought to be content

1Timothy 6

205

therewith. He brought nothing into this world and will

certainly carry nothing out of it. And the love of money

is a root of all sorts of evil. Seduced by this covetousness,

some had wandered away from Christian faith and had

pierced their hearts with sorrow. e desire to be rich was

the path of snares and temptation, of foolish and hurtful

lusts. Timothy was to ee these things, as a man of God.

is is always the thought here: he was in the world on the

part of God; he represented Him for his part in the work.

He was, therefore, to follow after other things than earthly

riches-the character of a man of God- righteousness,

godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness: these<P142>

were the things which, in man, presented God to the world

and gloried Him.

Warfare: the energy of faith necessary; Timothy’s

good confession remembered

Meanwhile, there was conict: he must ght the good

ght of faith. If anyone represents God in the world, there

must be warfare, because the enemy is there. e energy

of faith was also necessary in order to lay hold of eternal

life in the midst of the seduction and diculties which

the “things that are seen” presented. God, moreover, had

called Timothy to this, and he had made a good confession

before many witnesses.

e Apostle’s solemn charge

Finally, the Apostle charges him most solemnly in

the presence of God, the source of life for all things, and

of Christ Jesus who had Himself borne witness without

wavering before the powers of this world, placing him

under the responsibility of keeping the commandment

without spot, unrebukable until the appearing of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Darby Synopsis

206

e assembly’s responsibility; its manifestation and

rewards for faithfulness

It will be noticed here that, as Paul had not spoken

in the epistle of the privileges of the assembly, but of its

responsibility, so neither does he here speak of its being

caught up but of its manifestation, when the fruits of

faithfulness (or of failure in it) will be gathered, and

everyone be in his place in the visible glory according to

his work. All are like Christ, all enter into His joy; but to sit

at His right and left hand in His kingdom is the portion of

those for whom it is prepared by His Father, who bestows

it according to the work which He has granted each to

perform, giving him power to accomplish it, although in

grace He reckons it as our own.

Christ’s faithfulness; His open manifestation in glory

Christ Himself is here viewed as the faithful man (vs.

13), whom God will manifest in glory before all creatures

at the time ordained in His counsels.<P143>

Responsibility before the world; glory as its result

All here is responsibility before the world, or glory as

the result of that responsibility. e supreme, invisible God

is maintained in His majesty; and He presents the Lord

Jesus Christ in the creation as its center, and repository of

His glory-He who dwells in light inaccessible, whom, in

His divine essence, man has not seen and cannot see.

e remarkable character of the epistle in its unique

presentation of the inaccessible majesty of God

is character of the epistle is very remarkable. Nowhere

else is the inaccessible majesty of God, as God, thus

presented. His character is often the subject of instruction

and manifestation. Here He alone has essential immortality.

He dwells in inaccessible light. He is ever invisible to the

1Timothy 6

207

eyes of men. He alone has power. He has dominion over all

who reign. It is God in the abstraction of His essence, in

the proper immutability of His being, in the rights of His

majesty, veiled to all men.

Christ as the center of the visible glory; displaying

it as Man; manifested by God here that all should

acknowledge Him

Now Christ will be the center of the visible glory.

Having part in the divine glory before the world was,

He displays, in the human nature in which He took part,

this glory, which is rendered visible in Him, causing His

own to participate in His joy and in all that He has in

this character; but here, He is manifested by God, and in

order that all should acknowledge Him.1 And it is our

responsibility, faithfulness to which will be manifested in

that day, which is here set before us. However small may be

our share of responsibility, it is of such a God as this that

we are the representatives on earth. Such is the God before

whom we are to walk, and whose majesty we are to respect

immediately in our conduct, and also in our relations to all

that He has made.<P144>

(1. In Revelation 19 He is King of kings and Lord of

lords. Here He who is so manifests Him. So in Daniel 7.

e Son of Man is brought to the Ancient of Days, but in

the same chapter the Ancient of Days comes.)

Timothy told to warn the rich not to trust in their

riches but in God, and to be rich in good works; he

himself again exhorted to hold fast the truth and avoid

profane and vain babblings and oppositions of human

science

e Apostle concludes his exhortation to Timothy by

engaging him to warn the rich not to rest on the uncertainty

Darby Synopsis

208

of riches, but on the living God who gives us richly all

things to enjoy. It is still the supreme and Creator-God who

is before our eyes. Moreover, they were to be rich in good

works and ready to give; to be rich in those dispositions

which would be of value, which would lay up a store (this

is but a gure) against the time to come; and to lay hold

of that which really is life. e Apostle repeats his urgent

exhortation to Timothy to keep that which had been

committed to him, to avoid profane and vain babblings,

holding fast the sound and sanctifying truth, and to have

nothing to do with oppositions of human science, which

pretended to penetrate into divine things as though they

were subject to its knowledge. is was the origin of the

fall of many with regard to Christian faith.

Souls maintained by the majesty of God in the

practical sobriety in which peace dwells

I do not doubt that, in the manner in which the

Apostle here sets God before us, he refers to the foolish

imaginations to which, under the inuence of the enemy,

men were abandoning themselves. us he speaks of these

with relation to the majesty of His being as the one only

God in whom is all fullness, and with regard to the sobriety

of practical morality, which keeps the heart under the

inuence of that truth, and apart from the false and vain

speculations in which the pride of man indulged itself. He

maintained souls by the majesty of the only God in the

practical sobriety in which peace dwells.

Soon will the veil be drawn aside by the appearing

of Jesus, whom the Almighty God will display to the

world.<P145>

2Timothy

209

73280

2Timothy

e peculiar character of the epistle as the expressions

of Paul’s heart in sight of the church’s failure and

departure

e Second Epistle to Timothy has a very peculiar

character. It is the expression of his heart, who outside

Palestine had, under God, founded and built the assembly

of God on earth, and it was written in sight of its failure

and its departure from the principles on which he had

established it. God remained faithful; His foundation was

sure and immovable; but the work committed into the

hands of men was already enfeebled and decaying. e

consciousness of this state of things, which, moreover,

betrayed itself in the way in which the Apostle himself

was then forsaken, oppressed his heart; and he pours it out

into the bosom of his faithful Timothy. By this means, the

Spirit instructs us in the solemn truth that the church has

not kept its rst estate and sets before us the ways of safety

for those who seek God and desire to please Him in such

a state of things as this.

e Apostle John’s witness

e Apostle John gives the history of the fall of the

assembly here below, and of its judgment, and that of the

world likewise. He also sets before us a life which, apart

from all questions of the assembly’s condition, abides ever

the same, which renders us capable of enjoying God and

makes us resemble Him in His nature and character.

Paul’s painful experience that of all the servants of

God; man’s failure; the sure foundation

Darby Synopsis

210

As a witness, John was to remain until the Lord came:

but Paul sees for himself the ruin of that which he had

built and watched over so faithfully. He had spent himself

for the assembly, <P146>accomplishing that which was

behind of the suerings of Christ; and he had to see that

which he had so much loved (which he had cared for even

as a mother cherishes her nursling which he had planted

as God’s plant on the earth) grow feeble as to its condition

and testimony in the world, depart from the source of

strength, and become corrupt. What a painful experience!

But it is that of the servant of God in all ages and in all

dispensations. He sees indeed the power of God acting to

plant the testimony on earth, but he sees that men soon

fail in it. e house inhabited by the Holy Spirit becomes

dilapidated and in disorder. Nevertheless (and we love

to repeat it with the Apostle), the sure foundation of the

Lord abides forever. Whatever may be the condition of the

whole company, the individual is always to depart from all

iniquity and to maintain, by himself if need be, the true

testimony of the name of the Lord. is can never fail the

faithful soul.

e Apostle’s comfort when aicted and forsaken

In view of the mixture and confusion which began

to show itself in the assembly, the Apostle’s comfort was

founded on these two principles, while remembering and

joyfully availing himself of the communion and faithfulness

of some precious souls. He had such as Timothy and

Onesiphorus, amid the aictions of the gospel and the

sorrow of being forsaken by so many who were seals to his

testimony before the Lord.

2Timothy 1

211

73281

2Timothy 1

e Apostle’s standpoint of grace and individual life

outside church privileges

e Apostle begins by taking the ground of grace and of

individual life-which never changes in essential character-

outside church privileges. Not that these had changed; but

he could no longer connect them with the general body on

earth. He calls himself here an Apostle according to the

promise of eternal life which is in Christ Jesus. It is not

merely the Messiah, it is not the head of the body, it is the

promise of life which is in Him.<P147>

Paul’s desire to see Timothy expressed in the

condence of a friend

Paul addresses his dearly beloved son Timothy, whose

aection he remembers. He desired greatly to see him,

being mindful of his tears, shed probably at the time when

Paul was made prisoner, or when he was separated from

him on that occasion, or when he heard of it. It is the

condence of a friend that is speaking to one whose heart

he knew. We see something of this, but in the perfection

that was peculiar to Himself, in Jesus on the cross, in that

which He said to John and to His mother. A similar form

would have been unsuitable in Paul. e aections of men

show themselves in and by their wants, the wants of their

hearts; those of the Lord by His condescension. With Him

all is in itself perfect. With us it is only by grace that all is

in its right place. But when separation to service in power,

which knows but that, is over, nature according to God has

Darby Synopsis

212

its right place. In the consecrated meat oering that was to

be made with re, honey had no place.

Paul’s personal position; the character of his ancestors

in God’s service; the personal, unfeigned faith of those

of Timothy

Verse 3. e Apostle does not speak any longer of the

high character of his work, but of his personal position

rightly felt according to the Spirit. He had served God,

following in the steps of his forefathers, with a pure

conscience. In every way he was a vessel made unto

honor. For more than one generation his ancestors were

distinguished for a good conscience; and personal piety,

founded on the truth, showed itself in the service of God.

Paul was not here expressing a judgment as to the inward

condition of each generation: it was their character. He

calls to mind a similar fact with regard to Timothy, in

whose case, however, personal faith is referred to, known to

Paul himself, so that the bond, though of personal feeling,

was Christian.1 Judaism, as to its outward obligations, is

totally absent; for the father of Timothy was a Greek, and

the marriage of his Jewish mother was unclean according

to the law, and would have rendered Timothy also unclean

and <P148>deprived him of Jewish rights; and, in fact,

he had not been circumcised when an infant. Paul did it,

which was also not according to the law, unless Timothy

had become a proselyte. Both heathens and their children

were excluded, as we read in Nehemiah. Paul’s act was

above the law. Here he takes no notice of it; he leaves the

Gentile father out of sight and speaks only of the personal,

unfeigned faith of Timothy’s mother and grandmother,

and that of his beloved disciple himself.

2Timothy 1

213

(1. It is indeed the basis of the exhortation of verse

6. When the faith of so many is giving way, he turns to

the personal condence which his heart had in Timothy,

nourished up through grace by the atmosphere he had

lived in.)

Multiplied diculties and unfaithfulness only

occasions for the exercise of faith; the special gift of the

Spirit conferred on Timothy

e state of the assembly was only an additional occasion

for the exercise of his faith and for his zealous activity of

heart and courage. Diculties and dangers multiplied on

every hand; the unfaithfulness of Christians was added to

all the rest. But God is nonetheless with His people. God

has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and

of a sound mind, so that the Lord’s laborer, the man of God,

he who kept himself in communion with God in order to

represent Him on the earth, was to stir up the gift that was

in him, and (as the Apostle expresses it with admirable and

touching force and clearness) to endure the aictions of

the gospel according to the power of God. Here, in the case

of Timothy, the Apostle could make mention of a special

gift of the Spirit, which had been conferred upon Timothy,

through the laying on of hands. In the rst epistle he had

spoken of the prophecy which had called him or pointed

him out for the possession of this gift, and told us that it

had been accompanied by the laying on of the hands of the

elders; here he tells us that the laying on of his own hands

was the means of bestowing it upon him.

When and how to persevere in God’s work, maintain

courage, and have necessary strength and grace

e Apostle reminds him of this proof of power and

reality in his ministry (and in that of Paul himself), in view

Darby Synopsis

214

of this period when its exercise was more dicult. When all

is prosperous and the progress of the gospel is remarkable,

so that even the world is struck with it, the work is found

to be easy, in spite of diculties and opposition; and-such

is man-even in consequence of this<P149> opposition one

is bold and persevering. But when others, Christians even,

forsake the laborer, when evil and the deceptions of the

enemy come in, when love has grown cold, and, because

one is faithful, prudence takes alarm and desires a less

forward walk, to stand rm in circumstances like these, to

persevere in the work and maintain one’s courage, is not

an easy thing. We must possess Christianity with God,

so that we know why we stand fast: we must be ourselves

in communion with Him, in order to have the strength

necessary to continue laboring in His name, and the

sustainment of His grace at all times.

Timothy’s gift and the inheritance of every Christian;

the aections of the gospel; God’s purpose and work;

what the enemy’s eorts show

God then has given us the Spirit of power and of love

and of a sound mind; the Apostle had received such a

position from God that he had been able to bestow on

Timothy the gift needed for his service; but the state of

spirit and soul which could use it was part of the inheritance

of every Christian who leaned really on God. Nor was he

to be ashamed either of the testimony, which was losing

outwardly its onward current in the world, nor of Paul who

was now a prisoner. How precious to possess that which

is eternal, that which is founded on the power and on the

work of God Himself! ere were indeed the aictions

of the gospel, but he should take part in them and not

shrink, enduring according to the power of God. God has

2Timothy 1

215

saved us, has called us with a holy calling, not according

to our works, as though anything depended on man, but

according to His own purpose and His grace given us in

Christ Jesus before the world began. is is the sure and

immovable foundation, a rock for our souls, against which

the waves of diculty break in vain, showing a strength

which we could not resist for a moment, but showing also

their total powerlessness against the purpose and work of

God. e eorts of the enemy only prove that he is without

strength, in the presence of that which God is and of that

which He has done for us. And the Apostle identies his

ministry with this and the suerings he was undergoing.

But he knew whom he had believed and his happiness was

safe laid up with Him.<P150>

Seeking the power of the Spirit and abiding on God’s

immutable foundation

at which we have to seek is the power of the Spirit,

in order that we may realize this gift of God by faith and

that we may abide, as to our hearts, as to our practical faith,

in the sense of our union with Christ, upon this immutable

foundation, which is nothing less than the immutability

and the glory of God Himself. For His purpose has been

manifested; that purpose, which gave us a place and a

portion in Christ Himself, was now manifested through

the appearance of that very Christ.

God’s purpose, before the world existed, to manifest

a people united with His Son in glory; this purpose was

life-eternal life and incorruptibility

It is no longer a nation chosen in the world to display in

it the principles of the government of God and of His ways

in righteousness, in patience, in kindness, and in power on

the earth (however unchangeable His counsels, however

Darby Synopsis

216

sure His calling), as manifested in His dealings with regard

to the people whom He called.

It is a counsel of God, formed and established in Christ

before the world existed, which has its place in the ways of

God, outside and above the world, in union with the Person

of His Son, and in order to manifest a people united with

Him in glory. us is it a grace which was given us in Him,

before the world was. Hidden in the counsels of God, this

purpose of God was manifested with the manifestation of

Him in whom it had its accomplishment. It was not merely

blessings and dealings of God with regard to men-it was

life, eternal life in the soul, and incorruptibility in the body.

us Paul was apostle according to the promise of life.

Death annulled by Christ in His resurrection; life and

incorruptibility brought to light by the gospel to all men

While Christ Himself was alive, although life was in

Him, this purpose of God was not accomplished with

respect to us. e power of life, divine power in life, was

to manifest itself in the destruction of the power of death

brought in by sin and in which Satan reigned over sinners.

Christ then in His resurrection has annulled death, and

by the gospel has brought to light both life<P151> and

incorruptibility, that is to say, that condition of eternal life

which puts the soul and the body beyond death and its

power. us the glad tidings of this work were addressed

to all men. Founded in the eternal counsels of God,

established in the Person of Christ, the work necessary

for its fulllment being accomplished by Him, possessing

a character altogether outside Judaism, and the mere

government of God in the earth, Paul’s gospel was unto all

men. Being the manifestation of the eternal counsels and

power of God, having to do with man as lying under the

2Timothy 1

217

power of death, and with the accomplishment of a victory

that placed man beyond that power, and in an entirely new

condition which depended on the power of God and His

purposes, it addressed itself to man, to all men, Jews or

Gentiles without distinction. Knowing Adam dead by sin

and Christ alive in the power of divine life, he announced

this good news to man-deliverance, and a totally new state

of things.

Paul not ashamed to suer for the gospel because of

the power of Him in whom he believed; life in Christ

untouched by the death of the body, but brought to light

only in Christ and His resurrection

It was to proclaim this gospel that the Apostle had been

called as a herald. It was for this he suered and, in the

sense of what had caused it, was not ashamed to suer.

For he knew whom he had believed; he knew His power.

He believed in the gospel that he preached, and therefore

in the victorious power of Him in whom he believed. He

could die with regard to the life that he had received from

the rst Adam, he could be dishonored and put to shame

in the world and by the world: life in Christ, the power

by which Christ had won a place for man outside the

condition of the rst Adam, life as Christ now possesses it

was not touched thereby. Not that life had not been there

before, but death and he that had the power of death were

not overcome, and all was dark beyond the closing tomb:

a lightning ash might pass across the gloom, adequate

ground be laid for the just conclusion of the Pharisee, but

life and incorruptibility were not brought to light but in

Christ and His resurrection.<P152>

Condence in the Person of Christ; the power of the

truth linked with the love which applies and maintains it

Darby Synopsis

218

But this is not all which is here expressed. e Apostle

does not say, “In what I have believed,” but “whom”: an

important dierence, which places us (as to our condence)

in connection with the Person of Christ Himself. e

Apostle had spoken of the truth, but truth is allied to the

Person of Christ. He is the truth; and in Him truth has life,

has power, is linked with the love which applies it, which

maintains it in the heart and the heart by it. “I know,” says

the Apostle, “whom I have believed.” He had committed

his happiness to Christ. In Him was that life in which the

Apostle participated; in Him, the power that sustained

it and that preserved in heaven the inheritance of glory

which was his portion where this life was developed.

Paul’s sure expectation in the coming day

Encouraged by this hope and committing himself to

Jesus, he had endured all things for Him and for those

who were His; he had accepted all suering here, he was

ready to die daily. His happiness, in the glory of that new

life, he had committed to Jesus; he labored, meanwhile, in

aiction, sure of nding again, without being deceived,

that which he had committed to the Lord, in the day when

he should see Him and all his sorrows ended. It was in the

expectation of that day, in order to nd it again at that day,

that he had committed to Him his happiness and his joy.

e Apostle’s career soon to be nished; Timothy

exhorted to hold fast the truth in its power and value

Moreover, his own career would soon be nished; his

eyes, therefore, turn towards Timothy for the welfare of

the assembly here below. He exhorts him to be steadfast,

to hold fast the truth, as he had taught it to him (it was

the testimony of the Lord), but the truth in its realization

by faith in Christ, and according to the power of love that

2Timothy 1

219

is found in communion with Him. It is this which, as we

have seen, the Apostle had realized. e truth, and living

grace in Jesus, in faith and in love, which gave it its power

and its value-these are, as it were, the pivots of strength and

faithfulness at all times, and especially for the man of God,

when the assembly in general is unfaithful.<P153>

Truth as the inspired expression of what God was

pleased to reveal

Truth as it was taught by the apostles and expressed

by them, the manner in which they presented the truth,

“the form of sound words,” is the inspired expression of

that which God was pleased to reveal; and that, in all the

relationships in which the truth is linked together, in all its

dierent parts, according to the living nature and power

of God, who is necessarily its center as He is its source.

Nothing except revelation could be this expression. God

expresses everything as it is, and in a living way; and by His

word all exists. He is the source and the center of all things.

All ow from Him-are in relation with a living Person,

namely Himself, who is their source, from whom all hold

their existence. is existence only subsists in connection

with Him; and the relationship of all things to Him, and

between themselves, is found in the expression of His

mind-in that measure, at least, in which He puts Himself

in relation with man in all these things. If evil comes in, as

regards will or its consequences in judgment, it is because

this relationship is broken; and the relationship that is

broken is the measure of the evil.

e immense importance of the Word of God, the

expression of the relationships of all things to God; its

analogy to the living Word

Darby Synopsis

220

us we see the immense importance of the Word

of God. It is the expression of the relationship of all

things to God; whether as regards their existence-that is,

creation-or with respect to His counsels; or even as to His

own nature, and the relationship of man with Him, and

the communication of life received from Him, and the

maintenance of His true character. It comes from heaven

as did the living Word, reveals what is there; but adapts

itself, as the living Word did, to man here, directs him

where there is faith here, but leads him up there where the

living Word is gone as man.

e more we consider the Word, the more we shall see

its importance. Analogously to Christ the living Word,

it has its source on high, and reveals what is there, and

is perfectly adapted to man down here, giving a perfect

rule according to what is up there, and, if we are spiritual,

leading us up there: our conversation is in<P154> heaven.

We must distinguish between the relationship in which

man stood as child of Adam, and as child of God. e law

is the perfect expression of the requirements of the former,

the rule of life to him; it is found to be to death. Once we

are sons of God, the life of the Son of God as man down

here becomes our rule of life. “Be ye imitators of God as

dear children, and walk in love as Christ hath loved us.”

e Word made esh; Christ is the truth

In His nature, as the author of all existence, and the

center of all authority and subsistence outside Himself,

God is the center of all, and the upholder of all. As to His

counsels, Christ is the center, and here man has a peculiar

place; wisdom’s good pleasure was eternally in Him, and

all is to be under His feet. In order that the nature and the

counsels of God should not be separated (which indeed

2Timothy 1

221

is impossible, but what was in His counsels in order that

it might not be), God became man. Christ is God made

manifest in esh, the Word made esh. us the divine

nature, the expression of that nature, is found in that

which is the object of His counsels, that which forms their

center. us Christ is the truth-is the center of all existing

relationships: all have reference to Him. We are, through

Him, for Him, or we are against Him: all subsist by Him. If

we are judged, it is as His enemies. He is the life (spiritually)

of all that enjoy the communication of the divine nature;

even as He sustains all that exists. His manifestation brings

to light the true position of all things. us He is the truth.

All that He says, being the words of God, are spirit and

life; quickening, acting according to grace, judging with

regard to the responsibility of His creatures.

Christ as the revelation of love and truth, of all that

God is; faith and love nd their existence in the revelation

of God as a Saviour in Christ

But there is yet more than this. He is the revelation of

love. God is love, and in Jesus love is in action and is known

by the heart that knows Him. e heart that knows Him

lives in love, and knows love in God. But He is also the

object in whom God is revealed to us and has become the

object of entire reliance. Faith is born by His manifestation.

It existed indeed through partial <P155>revelation of this

same object, by means of which God made Himself known;

but these were only partial anticipations of that which has

been fully accomplished in the manifestation of Christ, of

the Son of God. e object is the same: formerly, the subject

of promise and prophecy; now, the personal revelation of

all that God is, the image of the invisible God, the One in

whom the Father also is known.

Darby Synopsis

222

us faith and love have their birth, their source, in the

object which by grace has created them in the soul: the

object in which it has learned what love is, and with regard

to which faith is exercised. By Him we believe in God. No

one has ever seen God: the only begotten Son, who is in

the bosom of the Father, He has revealed Him.

Truth is thus revealed, for Jesus is the truth, the

expression of that which God is, so as to put all things

perfectly in their place, in their true relationships with God

and with each other. Faith and love nd the occasion of

their existence in the revelation of the Son of God, of God

as a Saviour in Christ.

e communication of truth and of the knowledge

of God; the Holy Spirit’s work in creation and on the

creature

But there is another aspect of the accomplishment of

the work and of the counsels of God, which we have not

yet spoken of: that is, the communication of the truth and

of the knowledge of God. is is the work of the Holy

Spirit, in which the truth and the life are united, for we

are begotten by the Word. It is divine energy in the Deity,

acting in all that connects God with the creature or the

creature with God. Acting in divine perfection as God,

in union with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit

reveals the counsels of which we have spoken and makes

them eectual in the heart, according to the purpose of

the Father, and by the revelation of the Person and work

of the Son. I have said “divine energy,” not as a theological

denition-which is not my object here-but as a practical

truth, for, while attributing all that regards the creature to

the Father (except judgment, which is entirely committed

to the Son, because He is the Son of Man) and to the

2Timothy 1

223

Son, the immediate action in creation and on the creature,

wherever it takes place, is attributed to the Spirit.

e Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

when this earth was formed; by His Spirit the heavens

were garnished; we<P156> are born of the Spirit; sealed

with the Spirit; holy men of God spake by the Spirit; gifts

were the operation of the Spirit distributing to whom He

would; He bears witness with our spirits; He groans in

us; we pray by the Holy Spirit, if that grace is bestowed

upon us. e Lord Himself, born as man in this world,

was conceived by the Holy Spirit; by the Spirit of God He

cast out devils. e Spirit bears witness of all things, that is

to say, of all truth in the Word: the love of the Father, the

nature and the glory of God Himself, His character, the

Person and glory and love of the Son, His work, form the

substance of His testimony, with all that relates to man in

connection with these truths.

e Word communicated by the means of men in a

form adapted to men, but its source is divine; the eects

of its reception

e Spirit’s witness to these things is the Word, and-

produced by means of men-takes the shape of the truth

formally set forth by revelation. Christ is the truth, as we

have seen, the center of all the ways of God; but what

we are now speaking of is the divine communication of

this truth; and in this way it can be said that the Word

is the truth.1 But, although communicated by means of

men, so that it takes a form adapted to man, its source is

divine; and He who has communicated it is divine: He of

whom it is said, “He shall not speak of himself” (that is

to say, from Himself- apart from the Father and the Son).

Consequently, the revelation of the truth has all the depth,

Darby Synopsis

224

the universality of relationship, the inseparable connection

with God (without which it would not be truth, for all

that is separate from God is falsehood), which truth itself

possesses-necessarily possesses-because it is the expression

of the relationships which all things have to God in Christ;

that is to say, of God’s own thoughts, of which all these

relationships are but the expression. It is true that this

revelation also judges all that is not in accordance with

these relationships, and judges according to the value of the

relationship that is broken with regard to God Himself, and

the place which this relationship has in His mind.2 When

this word is received through the quick<P157>ening work

of the Holy Spirit in the heart, it is ecacious; there is

faith, the soul is in real, living, practical relationship with

God according to that which is expressed in the revelation

it has received. e truth-which speaks of the love of God,

of holiness, of cleansing from all sin, of eternal life, of the

relationship of children-being received into the heart places

us in real, present, living relationship with God, according

to the force of all these truths, as God conceives them and

as He has revealed them to the soul. us they are vital and

ecacious by the Holy Spirit; and the consciousness of

this revelation of the truth, and of the truth of that which

is revealed, and of really hearing the voice of God in His

Word, is faith.

(1. Hence also it is said (1John 5), “e Spirit is truth.”)

(2. is is true as regards guilt. But God, being perfectly

revealed, and that in grace as the Father and the Son, our

apprehension of the ruin in which we are goes deeper far

than the sense of guilt as the breach of previously existing

relationships. We were guilty according to our place as men.

But we were αθΕΟΙ (atheoi), without God in the world,

2Timothy 1

225

and (when God is known) this is awful. e beginning of

Romans treats the question of guilt; Ephesians 2, the state

we were in; John 5:24 briey resumes grace as to both.

e relationship now is an entirely new one, founded on

purpose, redemption and our being children of God.)

Truth inherent in the revealed Word: the divine

expression of what is innite to the nite

But all this is true in the revealed Word before I believe

in it, and in order that I may believe in it-may believe in

the truth- although the Holy Spirit alone makes us hear

the voice of God in it, and so produces faith. And that

which is revealed in it is the divine expression of that which

belongs to the innite on the one side and is expressed in

the nite on the other; of that which has the profoundness

of the nature of God, from whom all proceeds, with whom

and with whose rights all is in relationship, but which is

developed-since it is outside God-in creation and in the

nite.

e union of God and man in the Person of Christ is

the center-we may say (now that we know it) the necessary

center-of all this, as we have seen. And the inspired Word

is its expression according to the perfection of God, and

(we bless God for it, as the Saviour is the grand subject

of the Scriptures, “for,” said He, “they testify of me”) in

human forms.<P158>

e Word is the divine and only expression of the

divine nature, persons, and counsels adapted to nite

man: one whole

But this Word, being divine, being inspired, is the divine

expression of the divine nature, persons and counsels.

Nothing that is not inspired in this way can have this

place-for none but God can perfectly express or reveal what

Darby Synopsis

226

God is-hence, innite in what ows in it; because it is the

expression of, and connected with, the depths of the divine

nature, and so in its connection innite, though expressed

in a nite sense, and so far nite in expression, and thus

adapted to nite man. Nothing else is the divine expression

of the divine mind and truth, or is in direct union with

the unmixed source, even though it sprang from the same

source. e immediate connection is broken; that which is

said is no longer divine. It may contain many truths, but

the living derivation, the innite, the union with God, the

immediate and uninterrupted derivation from God, are

wanting. e innite is no longer there. e tree grows

from its root and forms one whole; the energy of life

pervades it-the sap which ows from the root. We may

consider one part, as God has set it there, as a part of the

tree; we may see the importance of the trunk; the beauty

of the development in its smallest details, the stateliness of

the whole, in which the vital energy combines liberty and

harmony of form. We see that it is a whole, united in one

by the same life that produced it. e leaves, the owers,

the fruit, all tell us of the warmth of that divine Sun which

developed them, of the gushing, inexhaustible stream

which nourishes them. But we cannot separate one part, be

it ever so beautiful, from the tree, without depriving it of

the energy of life and its relationship with the whole.

eology: man’s mind apprehending truth and

seeking to give it a new form

When the power of the Spirit of God produces the

truth, it develops itself in union with its source, whether

in revelation or even in the life and in the service of the

individual; although in the two latter cases there is a

mixture of other elements, owing to the weakness of the

2Timothy 1

227

man. When a man’s mind apprehends the truth and he

seeks to give it a form, he does it according to the capacity

of man, which is not its source; the truth as he expresses

it, even<P159> were it pure, is separated in him from its

source and its totality; but, besides this, the shape that a

man gives it always bears the stamp of the man’s weakness.

He has only apprehended it partially, and he only produces

a part of it. Accordingly, it is no longer the truth. Moreover,

when he separates it from the whole circle of truth in

which God has placed it, he must necessarily clothe it in a

new form, in a garment which proceeds from man: at once

error mixes with it. us it is no longer a vital part of the

whole, it is partial, and thereby not the truth; and it is, in

fact, mixed with error. at is theology.

e truth expressed by God in a perfect form in words

of certainty

In the truth there is, when God expresses it, love,

holiness, authority, as they are in Him the expression of

His own relationships with man and of the glory of His

being. When man gives it a shape, all this is wanting

and cannot be in it, because it is man who shapes it. It

is no longer God speaking. God gives it a perfect form;

that is to say, He expresses the truth in words of certainty.

If man gives it a form, it is no longer the truth given of

God. erefore, to hold fast the truth in the form God has

given it, the type, the shape in which He has expressed it,

is of all importance: we are in relationship with God in it

according to the certainty of that which He has revealed.

is is the sure resource of the soul, when the assembly has

lost its power and its energy, and is no longer a sustainment

to feeble souls; and that which bears its name no longer

Darby Synopsis

228

answers to the character given it, in the rst epistle, “the

pillar and support of the truth.”1

(1. e doctrines or dogmas of Scripture have their

importance and their adaptation to the simplest soul in this,

that they are facts, and so objects of faith, not notions. us

Christ is God, Christ is man, the Holy Spirit is a person,

and the like are facts for faith realized in the simplest soul.)

What is to be held fast

e truth, clear and positive truth, given as a revelation

from God in the words-clothed with His authority-by

which He has given the truth a form, communicating the

facts and the divine thoughts which are necessary for the

salvation of men and for their participation in divine life-

this it is which we are to hold fast.<P160>

e form of sound words

We are only sure of the truth when we retain the

very language of God which contains it. By grace I may

speak of the truth in all liberty, I may seek to explain it, to

communicate it, to urge it on the conscience, according to

the measure of light and spiritual power bestowed upon

me; I may endeavor to demonstrate its beauty and the

connection between its various parts. Every Christian, and

especially those who have a gift from God for the purpose,

may do this. But the truth which I explain and propose

is the truth as God has given it, and in His own words in

the revelation He has made. I hold fast the form of sound

words, which I have received from a divine source and

authority: it gives me certainty in the truth.

e assembly’s duty in regard to the truth as subject

to it and guided by it

And here it is important to remark the assembly’s part

when faithful. She receives, she maintains the truth in her

2Timothy 1

229

own faith; she guards it, she is faithful to it, she is subject to

it, as a truth, a revelation, which comes from God Himself.

She is not the source of the truth. As an assembly she does

not propagate it-does not teach it. She says, “I believe,” not,

“Believe.” is last is the function of ministry, in which man

is always individually in relationship with God by means

of a gift which he holds from God, and for the exercise

of which he is responsible to God. is is all-important.

ose who possess these gifts are members of the body.

e assembly exercises her discipline with regard to all that

is of the esh in them, in the exercise or apparent exercise

of a gift, as in all else. She preserves her own purity without

respect of persons as to their outward appearance, being

guided therein by the Word (for this is her responsibility);

but she does not teach, she does not preach.

e assembly as the fruit of the Word and not its

source

e Word goes before the assembly, for she has been

gathered together by the Word. e apostles, a Paul, those

who were scattered abroad by the persecution, a thousand

faithful souls, have proclaimed the Word, and thus the

assembly has been gathered out. It has been said that the

assembly was before the Scriptures.<P161> As regards the

written contents of the New Testament, this is true; but the

preached Word was before the assembly. e assembly is

its fruit, but is never its source. e edication even of the

assembly, when it has been gathered together, comes direct

from God, through the gifts which He has bestowed; the

Holy Spirit distributing to each according to His will.

e preservation of the truth through the Scriptures;

the possibility of error in preaching to be tried and judged

by the Scriptures

Darby Synopsis

230

e Scriptures are the means which God has used to

preserve the truth, to give us certainty in it; seeing the

fallibility of the instruments by whom it is propagated,

since revelation has ceased.

If at the beginning He lled certain persons with His

Spirit in such a way that error was excluded from their

preaching, if besides this He then gave revelations in which

there was nothing but His own word, yet as a general rule

preaching is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the heart, and its

spirituality is only in measure, and there is the possibility of

error. Here, whatever may be the power of the Spirit’s work,

we have to judge (see Acts 17:11; 1Corinthians 14:29).

Farther on we shall see that in forming this judgment, it is

the Scriptures which assure those who are led of God.

Ministry, the assembly, and the written Word

We have thus in the ways of God respecting this subject

three things closely united, yet dierent: ministry, the

assembly, and the Word of God, that is, the written Word;

when it is not written, it belongs to the order of ministry.

Ministry-as regards the Word, for this is not the only

service- preaches to the world, and teaches or exhorts the

members of the assembly.

e assembly enjoys communion with God, is fed, and

grows by means of that with which its dierent members

supply it. It preserves, and, in its confession, bears witness

to the truth. It maintains holiness, and, by the grace and

presence of the Holy Spirit, enjoys mutual communion;

and, in love, cares for the temporal need of all its members.

e written Word is the rule which God has given,

containing all that He has revealed. It is complete (Col.

1:25). It can, because it<P162> is the truth, be the means

of communicating the truth to a soul: the Holy Spirit can

2Timothy 1

231

use it as a means; but at all events it is the perfect rule, the

authoritative communication of the will and the mind of

God, for the assembly.

Faithful obedience to mark the assembly, the minister

and the individual

e assembly is subject, is to be faithful, to have no

will. It does not reveal, it maintains by its confession, it

watches over that which it has, it does not communicate;

it has received and is faithfully to keep. e man directs,

that is, Christ: the woman obeys and is faithful to her

husband’s thoughts-at least ought to be so (1Cor. 2): this

is the assembly. e oracles of God are committed to her.

She does not give them; she obeys them.

e minister is bound individually to the same

faithfulness. is we understand; and in our epistle we

have especially to do with this individual responsibility.

at which the assembly is in this respect is revealed in

the rst epistle (ch. 3:15). Here it is the individual who

is to hold fast this form of sound words which he has

received from a divine source, for such the Apostle was, in

his apostolic function, as an instrument. Neither Timothy

nor the assembly could frame such a form of sound words;

their part was to hold it fast, having received it.

And here, as we have said, however unfaithful the

assembly may be, the individual is bound to be faithful and

always to be so.

e inspired Word to be held fast in the form in which

it has been expressed by divine authority in the Holy

Spirit’s power; unfaithfulness contemplated

is, therefore, is what we have to do: the truth which

is set before us in the inspired Word we are (and I am) to

hold fast, in the form in which it is presented to us. I am

Darby Synopsis

232

to hold it fast, not merely as a proposition, but in union

with the Head, in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.

Strength to fulll comes from above. For here another

point is brought before us. e Holy Spirit has been given

indeed to the assembly; but a period of unfaithfulness is

here contemplated (vs. 15). He has been given to the man of

God, to each Christian, and to each servant with reference

to the service appointed him. By the Holy Spirit we are to

keep the good<P163> thing that has been committed to

us. In days like those, this was the duty of the man of God;

and in our day, things have gone much further. Possessing

the promise of life, and forsaken by the mass of Christians,

he is to hold fast the truth in the words in which it has been

expressed by divine authority (this is what we have in the

Word, and not merely doctrine: people may say that they

have the doctrine of Peter and Paul, but they cannot say

that they have their words, the form of the truth as Paul

and Peter gave it, elsewhere than in their writings); and

he is to hold it fast in faith and love, which are in Christ.

Moreover, he is to keep, by the power of the Holy Spirit,

the substance of the truth, that which has been given us as

a treasure-the deposit of divine truth and riches, which has

been given us as our portion here below.

e Apostle forsaken; the sentiments that should

animate the man of God at such a time

In verses 15-18 we nd that the mass had quite turned

away from the Apostle, so that the aection and faithfulness

of one became very precious to him. What a change

already since the beginning of the gospel! Compare the

essalonians, the Ephesians: they were the same people

(for Ephesus was the capital of what is here called Asia)

2Timothy 1

233

among whom Paul had preached, so that all Asia had heard

the gospel; and see how they had all now forsaken him!

We must not, however, suppose that they had all

abandoned the profession of Christianity; but their faith had

become weak, and they did not like to identify themselves

with a man who was in disgrace with the authorities, who

was despised and persecuted, a prisoner-a man whose

energy brought reproach and personal diculties upon

himself. ey withdrew from him, and left him to answer

alone for himself. Sad result of spiritual decline!

Darby Synopsis

234

73282

2Timothy 2

Sentiments that should animate the man of God

But what sentiments should animate the man of God

at such a moment? He must be strong in the grace that

is in Christ Jesus. Christ was not changed, whatever the

case might be with men; and he who suered from their

desertion could, without being discouraged, exhort his

beloved Timothy to persevere steadily in the<P164> Word.

Nor do we nd anywhere the man of God called to more

full and unhesitating courage than in this epistle, which is

the testimony of the failure and ruin of the assembly.

e truth to be kept, propagated and communicated

to other faithful men

e truth was the special treasure committed to him;

and he was not only to keep it, as we have seen, but to

take care that it was propagated and communicated to

others after him, and perhaps still further. at which he

had heard from Paul in the presence of many witnesses

(who could conrm Timothy in his convictions respecting

the truth, and certify others that it was indeed what he

had received from Paul) he was to communicate to faithful

men, who were capable of teaching others. is was the

ordinary means. It is not the Spirit in the assembly, so that

the assembly was an authority; it is no longer revelation.

Timothy, well instructed in the doctrine preached by

the Apostle, and conrmed in his views by many other

witnesses who had likewise learned of Paul, so that it

was common to all as known, received truth, was to take

care that it should be communicated to other faithful

2Timothy 2

235

men. Neither had this anything to do with giving them

authority, with consecrating them, as has been said. It is

the communication to them of the truth which he had

received from Paul.

is procedure shuts out the idea of the assembly as the

propagator of the truth. It was the business of the faithful

son in the faith of the Apostle, of the ministry.

Timothy himself not an authority but a communicator

of known, revealed truth

Timothy himself was not an authority either. He was

an instrument for the communication of the truth and was

to enable others to be so likewise: a very dierent thing

from being the rule of the truth. at which he had heard-

and the other witnesses served as a guarantee against the

introduction of anything false, or even of his own opinions,

if he had been inclined to entertain them- that he was to

communicate.

It is thus that, in the ordinary sense, ministry is continued;

care is taken by competent persons for the communication,

not of authority, but of the truth, to other faithful persons.

God can raise<P165> up anyone whom He chooses and

give him the energy of His Spirit; and where this is found,

there is power and an eectual work: but the passage we

are considering supposes the careful communication of the

truth to persons t for this work. Both principles equally

shut out the idea of the communication of ocial authority,

and the idea of the assembly being either an authority

with regard to the faith or the propagator of the truth.

If God raised up whom He pleased, in whatever way He

pleased, the means which He employed (when there was

no special operation on His part) was to cause the truth to

be communicated to individuals capable of propagating it.

Darby Synopsis

236

is is a widely dierent thing from bestowing authority,

or the exclusive or ocial right to preach. And it was

known, revealed truth he was to communicate, that had

the direct authority of revelation-what Paul’s writings can

alone furnish us now, or, of course, other inspired writings.

e practical conditions of divine service

e Apostle goes on to show the qualities that Timothy

ought to possess in order to carry on the work amid the

circumstances that surrounded him, and in which the

assembly itself was found. He must know how to endure

hardships, vexations, diculties, sorrows, as a good soldier

of Jesus Christ; he must beware of entangling himself with

the aairs of life. A soldier, when in service, could not do

so, but must be free from every hindrance, that he may

please the one who had called him to arms. So also, as in

the lists, he must ght according to rule, according to that

which became the Lord’s servant and was conformable to

the Lord’s will. And he must labor rst, that he may have a

right to enjoy the fruit of his labor. ese are the practical

conditions of divine service for whosoever engages in it. He

must endure, be unentangled in the world, ght lawfully,

and labor on rst1 before he looked for fruits.

(1. Read “laboring rst.”)

e fundamental principle of truth and the suerings

of ministry

e Apostle returns to the elementary but fundamental

principles of the truth and to the suerings of ministry,

which, moreover, were in nowise a hindrance to the

operations of the Spirit of God in extending the sphere

in which the truth was propagated<P166> and the Word

of God made known. Nothing could restrain the power of

that instrument of the work of God.

2Timothy 2

237

e two pivots of the truth: God’s faithfulness and

His power in resurrection

e truth of the gospel (dogma is not the subject here)

was divided into two parts, of which the Apostle speaks

also in the Epistle to the Romans: the fulllment of the

promises and the power of God in resurrection. “Jesus

Christ, of the seed of David; raised from the dead.” ese,

in fact, are, as it were, the two pivots of the truth. God

faithful to His promises (shown especially in connection

with the Jews); and God mighty to produce an entirely new

thing by His creative and quickening power, as manifested

in the resurrection, which also put the seal of God upon

the Person and the work of Christ.

Participation in the suerings of Christ: its privileges

and encouragements

e aictions found in the path of service in the gospel

assume here a high and peculiar character in the mind

of the suering and blessed Apostle. It is participation

in the suerings of Christ, and, in the case of Paul, to a

very remarkable degree. e expressions he uses are such

as might be employed in speaking of Christ Himself as

regards His love. As to the propitiation, naturally no other

could take part in that: but in devotedness and in suering

for love and for righteousness, we have the privilege of

suering with Him. And here what part had the Apostle

with these suerings? “I endure,” he says, “all things for the

elect’s sakes.” is is truly what the Lord did. e Apostle

trod closely on His footsteps and with the same purpose

of love-“that they might obtain the salvation which is

in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” Here, of course, the

Apostle has to add, “Which is in Christ Jesus”; still, the

Darby Synopsis

238

language is marvelous in the lips of any other person than

the Lord Himself. For it is what Christ did.

Observe also here that the greater the suerings are

(how small are ours on this account!) as the fruits of this

love for the objects of the counsels of God, the greater is

our privilege, the more do we participate in that which was

the glory of Christ here below.

is thought sustains the soul in aiction of this kind:

one has the same object as the Lord Himself. e energy

of love in<P167> preaching the gospel addresses itself to

the whole world. Perseverance, in the midst of aiction

and diculties and desertion, is sustained by the feeling

that one is laboring for the accomplishment of God’s

counsels. One endures all things for the elect, for God’s

elect, in order that they may have salvation and eternal

glory. is feeling was in Paul’s heart. He knew the love

of God, and he sought-at the cost of whatever suering

it might be in the tumultuous sea of this world-that they

who were the objects of the same love should enjoy the

salvation and the glory which God bestowed. is was a

faithful saying, that is, that which he had just declared; for

if we should die with Christ, we should also live with Him;

if we should suer, we should also reign with Him. If any

denied Him, He would also deny them; the consequences

of such an act remained in all their force, they were linked

with the immutability of His nature and His being, and

were displayed in the authority of His judgment; He could

not deny Himself because others were unfaithful.

Timothy strengthened and directed; the soul’s

immutable refuge and its seal with two sides

Timothy was strengthened to maintain these great

principles, which belonged to the moral nature of the Lord,

2Timothy 2

239

and not allow himself to be drawn aside by speculations

which only subverted souls and corrupted the faith. He was

to show himself a workman approved of God, one who,

being lled with the truth, and knowing how to unfold it

in its various parts, according to the mind and purpose of

God, would not be ashamed of his work in the presence

of those who might judge it. e profane and useless

thoughts of human speculation he was to avoid. ey

could not but go on to produce ungodliness. ey might

have a great show of depth and height (as in the case of

the assertion that the resurrection had already taken place,

which in a eshly way went beyond all bounds with regard

to our position in Christ)- these doctrines which eat like

a canker. ose of whom the Apostle spoke had already

overthrown the faith of some, that is, their conviction as to

the truth and profession of the truth. But here the soul of

the Apostle found its refuge in that which is immutable,

be the failure of the assembly or man’s unfaithfulness ever

so great. e sure foundation of God remained. It had this

seal: the Lord knew them that were His. is was God’s

side, which <P168>nothing could touch.1e other was

man’s: he who professed the name of the Lord was to

depart from all iniquity. is was man’s responsibility, but

it characterized the work and fruit of grace wherever that

work was genuine and the true fruit borne.

(1. is, while a profound source of comfort, is a proof

of decline; for men ought to know who are the Lord’s too.

It is not, “e Lord added daily to the assembly such as

should be saved.”)

e outward assembly assuming the character of a

great house; individual faithfulness to purge oneself

Darby Synopsis

240

from what is evil established and set above all other

considerations

But here we have distinct evidence of the state of things

which this epistle contemplates: namely, that the outward

assembly had taken quite a new character, very dierent

from that which it had at the beginning; and that now

the individual was thrown upon his personal faithfulness

as a resource and as a means of escape from the general

corruption. e sure foundation of God remained-His

divine knowledge of those that are His; and individual

separation from all evil; but the outward assembly assumes,

in the eyes of the Apostle, the character of a great house.

All kinds of things are found in it, vessels of honor and

vessels of dishonor, precious and vile. e man of God was

to purge himself from the latter, to stand apart and not dele

himself with that which was false and corrupt. is is a

principle of all-importance, which the Lord has given us in

His Word. He allowed the evil to display itself in apostolic

times, so far as to give occasion for the establishment of

this principle by revelation, as that which was to govern

the Christian. e unity of the assembly is so precious, it

has such authority over the heart of man, that there was

danger, when failure had set in, lest the desire for outward

unity should induce even the faithful to accept evil and

walk in fellowship with it, rather than break this unity. e

principle, therefore, of individual faithfulness, of individual

responsibility to God, is established and set above all other

considerations; for it has to do with the nature of God

Himself, and His own authority over the conscience of

the individual. God knows them that are His: here is the

ground of condence. I do not say who are. And let those

that name the name of Jesus separate themselves from all

2Timothy 2

241

evil. Here I get what I can recognize. To<P169> maintain

in practice the possibility of union between that name and

evil is to blaspheme it.

e rule of Christian faithfulness for the vessel unto

honor t for the Master’s use

e whole of that which calls itself Christian is looked

at here as a great house. e Christian is of it outwardly,

in spite of himself; for he calls himself a Christian, and the

great house is all that calls itself Christian. But he cleanses

himself personally from every vessel which is not to the

Lord’s honor. is is the rule of Christian faithfulness; and

thus personally cleansed from fellowship with evil, he shall

be a vessel unto honor t for the Master’s use. Whatsoever

is contrary to the honor of Christ, in those who bear His

name, is that from which he is to separate himself.

Discipline for individual faults is not the subject here,

nor the restoration of souls in an assembly that has in part

lost its spirituality; but a line of conduct for the individual

Christian in respect of that which dishonors the Lord in

any way.

ese instructions are solemn and important. at

which makes them needful is sorrowful in its nature; but it

all helps to exhibit the faithfulness and grace of God. e

direction is plain and precious when we nd ourselves in

similar circumstances. Individual responsibility can never

cease.

Individual responsibility to God and His will can

never cease nor diminish, even when Christendom fails

When the Holy Spirit acts energetically and triumphs

over the power of the enemy, these individuals who are

gathered together in the assembly develop their life in it

according to God and His presence, and the spiritual power

Darby Synopsis

242

which exists in the whole body acts upon the conscience,

if needed, and guides the heart of the believer: so that the

individual and the assembly ow on together under the

same inuence. e Holy Spirit, who is present in the

assembly, sustains the individual at the height of God’s

own presence. Strangers even are obliged to confess that

God is there. Love and holiness reign. When the eect

of this power is no longer found in the assembly, and by

degrees Christendom no longer answers to the character of

the assembly as God formed it, yet the responsibility of the

individual to God has not ceased on that <P170>account.

It can never either cease or diminish, for the authority and

the rights of God Himself over the soul are at stake.

e character of individual responsibility

But in a case like this, that which calls itself Christian is

no longer a guide, and the individual is bound to conform

himself to the will of God, by the power of the Spirit,

according to the light he has from God.

God may gather the faithful together. It is grace on

His part; it is also His mind. But individual responsibility

remains-responsibility not to break the unity, feeble

as it may be, wherever it is possible according to God:

but responsibility to preserve the divine character of

Christianity in our walk and to respond to the revelation

we have received of His nature and of His will.

Separation unto Christ and from evil

By purging himself from all those who are unto

dishonor, the servant of God shall be unto honor, sanctied

and prepared for every good work. For this separation from

evil is not merely negative; it is the eect of the realization

of the Word of God in the heart. I then understand what

the holiness of God is, His rights over my heart, the

2Timothy 2

243

incompatibility of His nature with evil. I feel that I dwell

in Him and He in me; that Christ must be honored at

all costs; that that which is like Him alone honors Him;

that His nature and His rights over me are the only rule

of my life. at which thus separates me unto Him, and

according to what He is, separates me thereby from evil.

One cannot walk with those who dishonor Him, and, at

the same time, honor Him in one’s own walk.

e sanctifying character of the exhortation; the rule

to distinguish and associate with those who call on the

Lord out of a pure heart

at which follows shows the sanctifying character of

this exhortation. e Apostle says, “Flee also youthful lusts;

but seek righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that

call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” is is to breathe the

pure atmosphere which is found in the Lord’s presence; in

which the soul enjoys health and strength. All that corrupts

is far away. And, further,<P171> we nd, what is so often

contested, that we can and are to distinguish those who

call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. We do

not decide who are the Lord’s: He knows them. But we are

to associate ourselves with those who manifest themselves,

such as call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ose I am

to know, own and walk with. e statement that I cannot

know who these are is in deance of an express rule of

Scripture, applicable to a state where, through corruption,

many who may possess Christianity are not so manifested.

e avoidance of vain questions

As we nd throughout these epistles, the Apostle

exhorts to avoid vain questions, in which there is no divine

instruction. ey only produce barren discussions and strife;

and the servant of the Lord is not to strive. He comes, on

Darby Synopsis

244

God’s part, to bring the truth in peace and love. He is to

maintain this character in the expectation that God, in His

grace, will give repentance to those who oppose (for it is

the heart and conscience that are in question), that they

may acknowledge the truth.

e truth of God addressed to the heart and

conscience; Satan’s error occupying the mind

e truth of God is not a thing of human understanding;

it is the revelation of that which God is, and of His counsels.

Now we cannot have to do with God without the heart

and conscience being engaged. It is not the revelation to

us of God, if this is not the case. Christians are brought

into connection with the divine being Himself, and in

acts which ought to have the most powerful eect on the

heart and conscience; if they do not, both the one and the

other are in a bad state and hardened. e Spirit of God,

no doubt, acts on the understanding and by it; but the

truth lodged in it is addressed to the conscience and to the

heart, and if these are not reached by the truth, nothing is

done. Nor indeed is anything really understood till they

are. For in divine truth things are understood before words,

as “born again” (compare John 8:43). On the other hand,

by means of error, by occupying the mind with the error,

Satan shuts God out of it and leads the whole man captive,

so that he does the will of that enemy to the soul.<P172>

2Timothy 3

245

73283

2Timothy 3

Perilous days; the enemy’s inuence and work in

Christendom

Now this evil inuence would too surely be exercised.

e power of the holy truth of God would be lost in the

assembly and among Christians; and those who bore this

name would become (under the inuence of the enemy)

the expression of the will and passions of man, while still

maintaining the forms of godliness; a peculiar condition,

which betrays in a remarkable way the inuence and the

work of the enemy. is was to be expected; and they would

be perilous days.

e enemy deceiving souls by a form of godliness; the

activity of this evil; God’s exposure and judgment of its

teachers

e open opposition of the enemy is doubtless a painful

thing, but he deceives souls by the specious appearances of

which the Apostle here speaks-that which bears the name

of Christianity, that which before men has the character

of godliness, and which the esh will accept as such much

more readily than that which, because it is true godliness, is

contrary to the esh. Nevertheless, all the worst features of

the human heart are linked with the name of Christianity.

What then does the testimony become? It is, so to speak,

an individual prophecy, clothed in sackcloth.

ere is activity in this perilous evil of the last days:

these deceivers would creep into houses and gain the ear

of feeble souls, who, governed by their passions, are ever

learning yet never learn. Teachers like these resist the truth,

Darby Synopsis

246

they are men of corrupt minds, reprobate as to the faith;

but they shall proceed no further. God will make manifest

their folly and their falseness by means even of their own

pretensions, which they can no longer maintain.

e man of God is to turn away from such men, while

they are yet deceiving and exercising their inuence. God

will expose them in due time. All will then judge them and

condemn their pretensions; the spiritual man does so while

they are deceiving the others in security.<P173>

Heathen degradation reproduced under Christianity,

accompanied by hypocrisy; departure from and

corruption of the true doctrine of the mediator

We may remark here that which evidences the sad and

dangerous character of the days of which the Apostle is

speaking. If we compare the lists of sins and abominations

which Paul gives at the beginning of the Epistle to the

Romans as characterizing heathen life and the moral

degradation of men during those times of darkness and

demon worship with the catalog of sins that characterize

those who have the form of godliness, we shall nd that it

is nearly the same, and morally quite the same; only that

some of the open sins which mark the man who has no

outward restraint are wanting here, the form of godliness

precluding them and taking their place.

It is a solemn thought that the same degradation which

existed among heathens is reproduced under Christianity,

covering itself with that name, and even assuming the

form of godliness. But, in fact, it is the same nature, the

same passions, the same power of the enemy, with but

the addition of hypocrisy. It is only the departure from

and corruption of the true doctrine of the mediator; as

paganism was that of the true doctrine of the only God.

2Timothy 3

247

e conduct of the man of God with regard to the

vessels unto dishonor

Dierent directions are given for the conduct of the

man of God, with regard to the vessels unto dishonor, and

the men who act in the spirit of the last days. From the

former he is to purge himself: he is to think of faithfulness

in his own walk; and by cleansing himself from those vessels

which do not honor the name of Christ, which (although

in the great house) do not bear the stamp of a pure desire

for His glory, he shall be a vessel unto honor, t for the

Master’s use. By keeping apart from such vessels, he is

sheltered from the inuences that impoverish and degrade

the testimony he has to render to Christ, he is pure from

that which deteriorates and falsies that testimony.

His conduct and testimony to the corrupt opposers

of the truth

In the other case-that of the men who gave the

character of “perilous” to the last days, the corrupt opposers

of the truth,<P174> bearing the name of godliness-with

regard to these his testimony is to be distinct and plain.

Here he is not merely to cleanse himself; he testies his

moral abhorrence, his loathing, of those who, being the

instruments of the enemy, bear this character of formal

piety. He turns away from them and leaves them to the

judgment of God.

Timothy’s pattern

Timothy had the walk and spirit of the Apostle for his

pattern. He had been much with him; he had seen, in times

of trial, his patience and his suerings, the persecutions he

had endured; but the Lord had delivered him out of all. It

would be the same with all who sought to live according

to godliness, which is in Christ Jesus:1 they should endure

Darby Synopsis

248

persecution. Evil men and seducers would wax worse

and worse, deceiving others, and being, at the same time,

deceived themselves.

(1. We get the dierence of the state of things in this

case also. It is not all Christians who will be persecuted, but

all who will live godly in Christ Jesus.)

e character of the last days and the twofold progress

of evil

e character of the last days is strongly marked here

and gives no hope for Christianity as a whole. e progress

of evil is described as developing itself in two distinct

characters, to which we have already alluded. e great

house-Christendom as a whole-in which there are vessels

to dishonor, from which we are to purge ourselves, and the

positive activity of corruption, and of the instruments who

propagate it and resist the truth, although they who corrupt

themselves assume the form of godliness. Under this last

aspect the wicked will go on growing worse and worse;

nevertheless, the hand of God in power will demonstrate

their folly.

e character of the seducers and of the mass seduced

We may distinguish, in this second category, the general

character of pride and corruptness in all who submit to

this malignant inuence, and those who themselves labor

to extend it. Of the latter of this class, the Apostle says,

are they who creep into houses. e character is that of

the mass who are seduced; but<P175> there are seducers.

ese resist the truth, and their folly shall be manifested.

It may be that God may demonstrate it, wherever there

is faithfulness, in order to save His own from it; but, in

general, their evil work will go on, and the seduction grow

worse and worse, until the end, when God will make

2Timothy 3

249

manifest the folly of those who have departed from Him,

and given themselves up to the errors of the human mind,

and labored to maintain and propagate them.

Timothy’s safeguard-the truth received as a divine

communication through individuals such as the apostles

e Apostle then tells Timothy of the safeguard on

which he may rely to preserve himself, through grace,

steadfast in the truth, and in the enjoyment of the salvation

of God. Security rests upon the certainty of the immediate

origin of the doctrine which he had received; and upon the

scriptures received, as authentic and inspired documents,

which announced the will, the acts, the counsels, and

even the nature of God. We abide in that which we have

learned, because we know from whom we have learned it.

e principle is simple and very important. We advance

in divine knowledge, but (so far as we are taught of God)

we never give up, for new opinions, that which we have

learned from an immediately divine source, knowing that

it is so. By a source immediately divine, I mean, a person

to whom God Himself has communicated the truth by

revelation with authority to promulgate it. In this case I

receive what he says (when I know him to be such) as a

divine communication. It is true that the Scriptures always

remain as a counter proof, but when-as in the case of the

apostles-a man is proved to be the minister of God, gifted by

Him for the purpose of communicating His mind, I receive

what he says in the exercise of his ministry as coming from

God. It is not the assembly that is in view in this case. It

cannot be the vessel of divine truth directly communicated

to it from God. Individuals are always that. We have seen

that its part is to confess the truth when communicated,

not to communicate it. But we here speak of a person to

Darby Synopsis

250

whom and by whom God immediately reveals the truth-

such as the apostles and prophets. God has communicated

to them, as elect vessels for this purpose, that which He

desired to communicate to the world, and they have so

communicated. None could do it who had not received it

himself from God as a revelation: if this<P176> is not the

case, the man himself has some part in it. I could not then

say, “I know of whom I have learned it,” as knowing that it

came immediately from God and by divine revelation.

When God had something to communicate to the

assembly itself, He did it by means of such persons as

Paul and Peter. e assembly is composed of individuals;

it cannot receive a divine revelation in a mass, as the

assembly, except it be by hearing in common a divine voice,

which is not God’s way. e Holy Spirit distributes to

everyone, severally as He will. ere are prophets, and the

Spirit says, “Separate unto me Barnabas and Paul.” Christ

has given gifts to men, some apostles, some prophets, etc.

Accordingly, the Apostle says here, not “where,” but “of

whom” thou hast learned these things.

Divine truth directly made known by inspiration to

such men as Paul with authority to impart it

Here, then, is the rst foundation of certainty, strength

and assurance for the man of God with regard to divine

truth. It has not been revealed to him immediately. It was

Paul and other instruments, whom God chose for this

special favor. But he knows of whom he has learned it;

even of one (here it was Paul) to whom it had been directly

made known by inspiration, and who has authority from

God to impart; so that they who learn of him know that it

is divine truth, exactly as God communicated it (compare

2Timothy 3

251

1Corinthians 2), and in the form in which He was pleased

to communicate it.

e Holy Scriptures, the written Word, a permanent

authority and revelation, contrasted with the unrecorded

prophecies which were not necessary for nor applicable

to God’s people at all times

ere is another means, which has a character of its

own; the Scriptures, which are as such the foundation of

faith to the man of God, and which direct him in all his

ways. e Lord Jesus Himself said (speaking of Moses), “If

ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”

His words were the words of God; He does not contrast the

authority of what He said with that of the written word,

but the means of communication. God has been pleased to

employ that means as a permanent authority. Peter<P177>

says, “No prophecy of scripture . . .” ere have been many

prophecies which are not written; they had the authority

of God for those persons to whom they were addressed.

For the Word speaks more than once of prophets-who

must therefore have prophesied-without communicating

their prophecies to us. ey were instruments for making

known the will of God, at the moment, in order to guide

His people in their actual circumstances, without its being

a revelation necessary to the people of God at all times, or

applicable either to the world, to Israel, or to the assembly

in all ages. It was not a general and permanent revelation

from God for the instruction of the soul at all periods.

A multitude of things, spoken by Jesus Himself, are

not reproduced in the Scriptures; so that it is not only a

question of from whom we have heard a truth, but also of

the character of that which has been communicated. When

it is for the permanent prot of the people or the assembly

Darby Synopsis

252

of God, God caused it to be written in the Scriptures, and

it abides for the instruction and the food of His children

in all ages.

e apostles as teachers authorized by the Lord; the

entire Holy Scripture having authority as making known

God’s will and truth

e expression, “Knowing of whom thou hast learned

them,” establishes us on personal, apostolic authority,

viewing the apostles as teachers authorized by the Lord.

John says, “ey who are of God hear us.” It is not necessary

that Scripture should be written by apostles; God has made

known therein His will and the truth, and has committed

the sacred deposit to His people for the prot of all ages.

e Scriptures have authority as such. And it is not that

which, as a spiritual man, one may receive from them, that

by which we have proted (as to application to one’s soul

that is indeed all); but it is the entire Holy Scripture, such

as we possess it, which has this authority.

e Scriptures as divine authority to guard against

error and

give instruction; faith in Christ requisite to use them

aright

From his childhood Timothy had read the Holy

Scriptures; and these writings, such as he had read them

as a child, guarded him-as divine authority-against error,

and furnished him with<P178> the divine truths needful

for his instruction. To use them aright, faith in Christ was

requisite: but that which he used was the scripture known

from his youth. e important thing to observe here is that

the Apostle is speaking of the Scriptures, as they are in

themselves, such as a child reads them; not even of that

2Timothy 3

253

which a converted or spiritual man nds in them, but

simply the holy writings themselves.

e Old and New Testaments having the same

character and authority

It may perhaps be said that Timothy as a child possessed

only the Old Testament. Agreed: but what we have here is the

character of all that has a right to be called Holy Scripture.

As Peter says as to the writings of Paul, these “they wrest,

as they do also THE OTHER SCRIPTURES.”1 From

the moment that we acknowledge the New Testament

as having a title to that name, its writings possess the

same character and have the same authority as the Old

Testament.

(1. is, too, is the real sense of Romans 16:26, where

we should read, “By prophetic writings.”)

What the Scriptures are; their inspiration

e Scriptures are the permanent expression of the

mind and will of God furnished as such with His authority.

ey are His expression of His own thoughts. ey edify,

they are protable: but this is not all-they are inspired. It is

not only that the truth is given in them by inspiration. It is

not this which is here stated. ey are inspired.

e double source of authority of the greater part of

the New Testament

e greater part of the New Testament is comprised in

the rst source of authority, “knowing of whom thou hast

learned them,” namely, all that which the apostles have

written; because, in learning the truth therein, I can say I

know from whom I have learned it-I have learned it from

Paul or from John or from Peter. But, besides this, being

received as scriptures, they have the authority of divine

writings, to which, as a form of communication, God has

Darby Synopsis

254

given the preference above the spoken word. ey<P179>

are the permanent rule by which every spoken word is to

be judged.

e object and power of the inspired Scriptures

In a word, the Scriptures are inspired. ey teach, they

judge the heart, they correct, they discipline according

to righteousness, in order that the man of God may be

perfect, that is, thoroughly instructed in the will of God,

his mind formed after that will and completely furnished

for every good work. e power for performing these

comes from the actings of the Spirit. Safeguard from error,

wisdom unto salvation, ow from the Scriptures; they are

capable of supplying them. We are to abide in that which

we have learned from the apostles and to be governed by

the writings of God.

e Scriptures the foundation and warrant of the

ministry of the Word, silencing all opposition in the

believer

Does this perfect and supreme authority of the Scriptures

set aside ministry? By no means; it is the foundation of the

ministry of the Word. One is a minister of the Word; one

proclaims the Word-resting on the written Word-which is

authority for all, and the warrant for all that a minister says,

and imparting to his words the authority of God over the

conscience of those whom he teaches or exhorts. ere is,

in addition to this, the activity of love in the heart of him

who exercises this ministry (if it be real), and the powerful

action of the Spirit, if he be lled with the Holy Spirit.

But that which the Word says silences all opposition in the

heart or mind of the believer.

It was thus that the Lord answered Satan, and Satan

himself was reduced to silence.

2Timothy 3

255

e Scriptures as the rule given of God; the action of

the Spirit is in ministry; the Word of God our authority

since the subjects of revelation were completed by Paul

He who does not submit to the words of God thereby

shows himself to be a rebel against God. e rule given of

God is in the Scriptures; the energetic action of His Spirit

is in ministry, although God can equally act upon the heart

immediately by the Word itself.<P180> Nevertheless,

ministry, since the revelations of God were completed,

could not be an authority, or there would be two authorities;

and if two, one must be a needless repetition of the other,

or else, if they diered, no authority at all.

If the revelations were not complete, no doubt there

might be more. e Old Testament left untold the history

of Christ, the mission of the Holy Spirit, the formation

of the assembly; because these facts not being yet

accomplished could not be the subject of its historical and

doctrinal instructions, and the assembly was not even the

subject of prophecy. But all is now complete, as Paul tells

us that he was a minister of the assembly to complete the

Word of God (Col. 1:25). e subjects of revelation were

then completed.

Darby Synopsis

256

73284

2Timothy 4

Timothy solemnly exhorted to more energetically

devote himself to ministry because of the assembly’s

decline and its worse future condition

Observe that the Apostle insists, as a matter of

responsibility, that Timothy should devote himself to his

ministry with so much the more energy that the assembly

was declining, and self-will in Christians was gaining the

ascendancy; not that he throws any doubt upon its being

a constant duty to do so at all times, whether happy or

unhappy. e Apostle, as we have seen, has two dierent

periods in view; the decline of the assembly, which had

already begun, and the still worse condition that was yet

future. e special application of the exhortation here is

to the rst period, “Be instant,” he says, “in season, out of

season . . . for the time will come when they will not endure

sound doctrine . . . and they shall turn away their ears from

the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

In how positive and distinct a way the Apostle sets the

fall of the assembly before us! Its impaired condition in his

day was to him but a point of progress (according to his

judgment in the Spirit) towards a yet more entire fall; when,

although still calling itself Christian, the mass of those who

assumed the name of Christ would no longer endure the

sound doctrine of the Holy Spirit. But, come what might,

laboring with patience and diligence and energy as long

as they would hearken, he was to be watchful, to endure

aictions, to seek after souls still unconverted (a great

proof<P181> of faith when the heart is burdened with the

2Timothy 4

257

unfaithfulness of those within), and fully to exercise his

ministry; with this additional motive, that apostolic energy

was disappearing from the scene (ch. 4:6).

e appearing of the Lord in connection with

responsibility: individuals and Christendom judged

But there is yet something to notice at the beginning

of this chapter. Fullness of grace, it is apparent, does not

here characterize the epistle. His exhortation to Timothy

is “before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge

the quick and dead at his appearing and his kingdom.”

We have already spoken of this: the appearing of Jesus is

in connection with responsibility; His coming is with the

object of calling us to Himself in connection with our

privileges. Here it is the rst of these two cases; not the

assembly or the Father’s house, but God, the appearing

and the kingdom. All that is in relation to responsibility,

government, judgment, is gathered together in one point

of view. e Apostle, however, is not speaking of the

assembly, nor does he throughout the epistle. e assembly,

moreover, as such, is not judged; she is the bride of the

Lamb. Individuals are judged. Christendom, which bears

its name and responsibility, and necessarily so while the

Holy Spirit is here below, is judged. We are warned of it in

Ephesus (Rev. 2). Nay, judgment begins there. is is the

assembly viewed as the house, not the body.

Grace and not judgment as the portion of the assembly

e portion of the assembly, and even of its members

as such, is grace and not judgment. She goes to meet the

Lord before His appearing. Here the Apostle speaks of

His appearing and His kingdom. It is as appearing in glory

and clothed with the authority of the kingdom that He

exercises judgment. e presentation of the assembly to

Darby Synopsis

258

Himself completes the work of grace with regard to that

assembly. When the Lord appears, we shall appear with

Him in glory; but it will be the glory of the kingdom

(as we see in the transguration), and He will judge the

living.<P182>

e authority of the kingdom of Christ; judgment to

be exercised

He will maintain the authority of His kingdom, as a

new order of things, for a long period; and judgment

will be exercised, if the occasion for it arises, during its

whole continuance, for a king shall reign in righteousness;

judgment and righteousness will be united. Before giving

back this kingdom to God the Father, He judges the dead,

for all judgment is committed to the Son. So that the

kingdom is a new order of things founded on His appearing,

in which judgment is exercised. e kingdom is founded

by the exclusion of Satan from heaven. It is established and

its authority put in exercise at the appearing of the Lord.

e consciousness that this judgment is going to be

exercised gives an impulse to love in the carrying out of

ministry, gives it earnestness, and strengthens the hands by

the sense of union with Him who will exercise it and also

by the sense of personal responsibility.

e Apostle’s near departure making the duty of a

man of God more urgent

e Apostle uses his near departure as a fresh motive

to exhort Timothy to the full exercise of his ministry. His

own heart expands at the thought of that departure.

e absence, therefore, of apostolic ministry, so serious

a fact with regard to the assembly’s position, makes the

duty of the man of God the more urgent. As Paul’s absence

is a motive for working out our own salvation with fear and

2Timothy 4

259

trembling, so is it also a motive for him who is engaged in

the work of the gospel to devote himself more than ever

to his ministry, in order to supply as far as possible the

lack of apostolic service by earnest care for souls, and by

instructing them in the truth that he has learned.

Building upon the one foundation already laid

We cannot be apostles or lay the foundation of the

assembly. is is already done. But we may build upon

that foundation by the truth which we have received from

the Apostle, by the Scriptures which God has given us, by

an unwearied love in the truth for souls. e foundation

is not to be laid a second time. We give its value to the

foundation, we give it its place, by building upon<P183>

it, and by caring for the souls and the assembly, to which

apostleship has given an ever-abiding place and foundation

before God. is is what we have to do in the absence of

the gift that lays the foundation.

e character that God appointed has already been

stamped on the work: the one foundation has been laid.

e assembly has its one and sole place according to the

counsels of God. e rule given of God is in the Word.

We have but to act as the Apostle leads according to

the impulse already given by the Spirit. We cannot have

apostolic authority: no one is an apostle in any such sense.

is could not be, because we do not lay the foundation;

it would be to deny that which has already been done. e

foundation has been laid. We can labor according to the

measure of our gift; and so much the more devotedly, in

proportion as we love the work which the Apostle wrought

and because he is no longer here to sustain it.

e Apostle’s work; the reward for his labor and

faithfulness

Darby Synopsis

260

As to the Apostle, he had nished his work; if others

were unfaithful, he had been faithful. In the good ght of

the gospel of God he had fought to the end and successfully

resisted all the attacks of the enemy. He had nished his

course: it only remained for him to be crowned. He had kept

the faith committed to him. e crown of righteousness,

that is to say, the one bestowed by the righteous Judge who

acknowledged his faithfulness, was laid up and kept for

him. It was not till the day of retribution that he would

receive it. We see plainly that it is reward for labor and

for faithfulness that is here meant. is - or its opposite

- characterizes the whole epistle, and not the privileges of

grace.

Each one rewarded according to his own labor and

our common portion in grace; what the Lord’s appearing

will eect; love for the One who will appear

e work of the Spirit through us is rewarded by the

crown of righteousness, and everyone will have a reward

according to his labor. Christ brings us all according to

the grace of God into the enjoyment of His own glory to

be with Him and like Him. is is our common portion

according to the eternal counsels of God; but<P184>

a place is prepared by the Father and given by the Son

according to the work wrought by the power of the Spirit

in each believer in his particular position. It is not Paul

only who will receive this crown from the righteous Judge;

all who love the Lord’s appearing will appear with Him

in the glory that is personally destined to each, and that is

adjudged to him when the Lord appears. Detached from

this world, sensible that it is a perverse and rebellious one,

feeling how much the dominion of Satan burdens the

heart, the faithful long for the appearance of Him who

2Timothy 4

261

will put an end to that dominion, to rebellion, oppression

and misery, by bringing in - in His goodness, although by

judgment - deliverance, peace, and freedom of heart, on

the earth.

e Christian will share the Lord’s glory when He shall

appear: but this world also will be delivered.

We see here, too, that the privileges of the assembly

as such are not the subject, but the public retribution

manifested when Jesus shall appear to all; and the public

establishment of His glory. e heart loves His appearing;

not only the removal of evil, but the appearance of Him

who removes it.

e progress of evil; Paul isolated and alone, forsaken

by Demas from purely worldly motives

In that which follows we see what progress the evil

had already made, and how the Apostle counts upon the

individual aection of his dear son in the faith. Probably

there were good reasons for the departure of many, certainly

for that of some; nevertheless, it is true that the rst thing

that presents itself to the Apostle’s mind is the departure

of Demas from purely worldly motives. e Apostle felt

himself isolated. Not only had the mass of Christians

abandoned him, but his companions in labor had gone

away. In the providence of God he was to be alone. He begs

Timothy to come soon. Demas had forsaken him. e rest,

from various motives, had quitted him; some he had sent

away in connection with the work. It is not said that Demas

had ceased to be a Christian-had publicly renounced the

Lord; but it was not in his heart to bear the cross with the

Apostle.<P185>

Mark, who once had failed, now faithful and useful;

Paul’s opportunity to study and write

Darby Synopsis

262

In the midst of these sorrows a ray of grace and light

shines through the darkness. e presence of Mark-whose

service Paul had formerly refused, because he had shrunk

from the perils of laboring among the Gentiles and had

turned back to Jerusalem-is now desired by him, because he

was useful for the ministry. It is most interesting to see, and

a touching proof of the grace of God, that the aictions of

the Apostle and the work of grace in Mark combine to set

before us, as faithful and useful to Paul, the one who once

had failed, and with whom the Apostle would then have

nothing to do. We also see the aections and condence

displayed in the smallest details of life. Full of power by the

Spirit of God, the Apostle is gentle, intimate and conding

with those who are upright and devoted. We see too that

at the close of his life, devoted as he was, the occasion had

presented itself for study (in connection assuredly with his

work) and for writing that which he wished carefully to

preserve-possibly his epistles.

is has an important place in scriptural instruction

with regard to the life of the Apostle. Paul was lost, so

to speak, for the greater part, in the power of the Spirit;

but when alone, with sober mind, he occupies himself

intelligently and carefully about the things of God.

Timothy warned as to an enemy whose reward will

be a righteous one; God overruling all; Paul’s strong and

simple condence

He warns Timothy with regard to a man who had

shown his enmity, and puts him on his guard against him.

We see here also that the epistle bears the character of

righteousness, grace having had its course. “e Lord,” he

says, “reward him according to his deeds.” As for those who

had not courage to stand by him, when he had to answer

2Timothy 4

263

as a prisoner, he only prays for them. He had not been

discouraged. His heart, broken by the unfaithfulness of

the assembly, was strong in confessing the Lord before the

world, and he can testify that, if forsaken by men, the Lord

Himself stood with him and strengthened him. at he

had to answer before the authorities was but an occasion

to proclaim again in public that for which he was made

a prisoner.<P186> Glorious power of the gospel where

faith is in exercise! All that the enemy can do becomes a

testimony, in order that the great, kings, those who were

otherwise inaccessible, should hear the word of truth, the

testimony of Jesus Christ.

e faithful witness was also delivered out of the lion’s

mouth. His strong and simple condence counted on the

Lord to the end. He would preserve him from every evil

work unto His heavenly kingdom.

e time of his departure was at hand but it was to be

with his Lord and have a place in the heavenly kingdom

If the time of his departure was at hand, if he had to

fall asleep instead of being changed, he had not ceased

to be among those who looked for the Lord’s appearing.

Meanwhile, he was going to be with Him, to have a place

in the heavenly kingdom.

No miraculous power granted to the apostles for their

private interests

He salutes the brethren with whom Timothy was

connected and begs him to come before the winter. We

also learn here that the miraculous power granted to the

apostles was exercised in the Lord’s service, and not for

their private interests, nor as their personal aection might

suggest; for Paul had left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

Darby Synopsis

264

e sorrowful circumstances under which the epistle

was written; Paul’s testimony and courage

It is evident that this epistle was written when the

Apostle thought his departure near at hand and when the

faith of Christians had grievously declined, which was

proved by their having forsaken the Apostle. His faith was

sustained by grace. He did not hide from himself that all

was going wrong: his heart felt it-was broken by it; he saw

that it would grow worse and worse. But his own testimony

stood rm; he was strong for the Lord through grace.

e strength of the Lord was with him to confess Christ

and to exhort Timothy to so much the more diligent and

devoted an exercise of his ministry, because the days were

evil.<P187>

Love to the Lord makes us sensible of the ruin of the

assembly but gives condence in Him as never-failing in

faithfulness amid the ruin

is is very important. If we love the Lord, if we feel

what He is to the assembly, we feel that in the latter all

is in ruin. Personal courage is not weakened, for the Lord

remains ever the same, faithful, and using His power for

us: if not in the assembly which rejects it, it is in those who

stand fast that He will exercise His power according to the

individual need created by this state of things.

May we remember this. Insensibility to the state of the

assembly is not a proof that we are near the Lord, or that

we have condence in Him; but in the consciousness of this

ruin, faith, the sense of what Christ is, will give condence

in Him amid the ruin which we mourn. Nevertheless,

it will be observed that the Apostle speaks here of the

individual, of righteousness, of judgment, and not of the

assembly. If the latter is spoken of outwardly as the great

2Timothy 4

265

house, it contains vessels to dishonor, from which we are to

purge ourselves. Yet the Apostle foresaw a still worse state

of things-which has now set in. But the Lord can never fail

in His faithfulness.

e directions given in 1 Timothy and those of

2Timothy

e rst of Timothy gives directions for the order of the

assembly; the second, for the path of the servant of God

when it is in disorder and failure.<P188>

Darby Synopsis

266

73285

Titus

e object of the epistle to Titus and those to Timothy

e Epistle to Titus is occupied with the maintenance

of order in the churches of God.

e special object of those written to Timothy was the

maintenance of sound doctrine, although speaking of other

things with regard to which the Apostle gives directions for

the conduct of Timothy. is the Apostle himself tells us.

In the First Epistle to Timothy we see that Paul had left

his beloved son in the faith at Ephesus, in order to watch

that no other doctrine was preached there; the assembly is

the pillar and support of the truth. In the second epistle we

nd the means by which Christians are to be strengthened

in the truth when the mass have departed from it.

Titus 1

267

73286

Titus 1

e subject of the book: its character and tone

Here, in Titus, the Apostle says expressly that he had

left him in Crete to set in order things that were yet

wanting and to establish elders in every city. Although

more or less the same dangers presented themselves to

the mind of Paul as when writing to Timothy, yet we nd

that the Apostle enters at once upon his subject, with a

calmness which shows that his mind was not preoccupied

in the same way with those dangers, and that the Spirit

could engage him more entirely with the ordinary walk

of the assembly; so that this epistle is much more simple

in its character. e walk that becomes Christians, with

regard to the maintenance of order in their relationships

to each other, and the great principles on which this walk

is founded, form the subject of the book. e state of the

assembly comes but little before us. Truths that ow more

entirely from the Christian revelation, and that characterize

it, have more place in this epistle than in those addressed

to <P189>Timothy. On the other hand, prophecies

concerning the future condition of Christianity and the

development of the decline that had already commenced

are not repeated here. While stating in a remarkable way

certain truths with respect to Christianity, the tone of the

epistle is more calm, more ordinary.

e promise of life and the revelation of God as the

Father distinguishing Christianity from Judaism

e promise of life is particularly spoken of here as

well as in Timothy. Moreover, this promise distinguishes

Darby Synopsis

268

Christianity, and the revelation of God (as the Father) in

Christ, from Judaism.

e great boundaries of Christianity set forth as

characterizing Paul’s apostleship and the subject of his

ministry

But in this epistle the great boundaries of Christianity

are set forth at the outset. e faith of the elect, the truth

which is according to godliness, the promise before the

world began of eternal life, and the manifestation of the

Word of God through preaching are the subjects of the

introduction. e title of “Saviour” is here, as in Timothy,

added to the name of God as well as to that of Christ.

e revelation of a life subsisting before the world

was; the faith of the elect

is introduction is not without importance. at

which it contains is presented to Titus by the Apostle as

characterizing his apostleship, and as the special subject of

his ministry. It was not a development of Judaism, but the

revelation of a life and of a promise of life which subsisted

(that is, in Christ, the object of the divine counsels) before

the world was. Accordingly, faith was found, not in the

confession of the Jews, but in the elect brought by grace to

the knowledge of the truth. It was the faith of the elect: this

is an important truth, and that which characterizes faith

in the world. Others may indeed adopt it as a system; but

faith is in itself the faith of the elect.

Among the Jews this was not the case. e public

confession of their doctrine, and condence in the promises

of God, belonged to everyone who was born an Israelite.

Others may pretend to the<P190> Christian faith; but it

is the faith of the elect. Its character is such that human

nature neither embraces it nor conceives it, but nds it

Titus 1

269

to be a stumbling-stone. It discloses a relationship with

God, which to nature is inconceivable and at the same

time presumptuous and insupportable. To the elect it is the

joy of their soul, the light of their understanding, and the

sustainment of their heart. It places them in a relationship

with God which is all that their heart can desire, but which

depends entirely on that which God is; and this the believer

desires. It is a personal relationship with God Himself;

therefore, it is the faith of God’s elect. Hence, also, it is for

all the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

Faith in the heart and confession of the truth before

men

is faith of God’s elect has an intimate character in

relation to God Himself. It rests on Him, it knows the secret

of His eternal counsels-that love which made the elect

the object of His counsels. But there is another character

connected with it, namely, confession before men. ere is

the revealed truth by which God makes Himself known

and claims the submission of man’s mind and the homage

of his heart. is truth places the soul in a true relationship

with God. It is truth according to godliness.

e confession of the truth, therefore, is an important

character of Christianity and of the Christian. ere is in

the heart the faith of the elect, personal faith in God and in

the secret of His love; and there is confession of the truth.

e hope of faith-eternal life having its source in God

Now that which formed the hope of this faith was

not earthly prosperity, a numerous posterity, the earthly

blessing of a people whom God acknowledged as His own.

It was life eternal, promised of God in Christ before the

world was, outside the world and the divine government of

Darby Synopsis

270

the world and the development of the character of Jehovah

in that government.

It was eternal life. It is in connection with the nature

and with the character of God Himself; and, having its

source in Him, proceeding from Him, it was the thought

of His grace, and declared to be such in Christ, before a

world existed into which the rst man was introduced

in responsibility (his failure in which is his history up to

Christ, the second Man, and the cross in which He<P191>

bore its consequences for us, and obtained that eternal

life for us in its full glory with Himself) and which was

the sphere of the development of God’s government over

that which was subject to Him-a very dierent thing from

the communion of a life by which one participates in His

nature, and which is its reection. is is the hope of the

gospel (for we are not speaking of the assembly here),

the secret treasure of the faith of the elect, of which the

revealed Word assures us.

Life eternal promised before the world began

“Promised before the world began” is a remarkable and

important expression. One is admitted into the thoughts

of God before the existence of this changing and mingled

scene, which bears witness of the frailty and sin of the

creature-of the patience of God, and His ways in grace

and in government. Eternal life is connected with the

unchangeable nature of God; with counsels which are as

abiding as His nature, with His promises, in which He

cannot deceive us, and to which He cannot be unfaithful.

Our portion in life existed before the foundation of

the world, not only in the counsels of God, not only in

the Person of the Son, but in the promises made to the

Son as our portion in Him. It was the subject of those

Titus 1

271

communications from the Father to the Son, of which

we were the objects, the Son being their depositary.1

Marvelous knowledge which has been given us of the

heavenly communication of which the Son was the object,

in order that we might understand the interest which we

have in the thoughts of God, of which we were the objects

in Christ before all the ages!

(1. Compare Proverbs 8:30-31, and Luke 2:14, and

Psalm 40:6-8, “hast thou opened” being really, “thou hast

dug ears for me”-that is, prepared a body, the place of

obedience, or a servant (Phil. 2); so translated by LXX and

accepted in Hebrews as just.)

e Word as the communication of God’s eternal

thoughts in Christ, the revelation on which faith is

founded

at which the Word is becomes also more clear to us

through this passage. e Word is the communication, in

time, of the eternal thoughts of God Himself in Christ. It

nds man under the power of sin and reveals peace and

deliverance, and it shows how he can have part in the

result of God’s thoughts. But these thoughts themselves

are nothing else than the plan, the eternal<P192> purpose,

of His grace in Christ, to bestow on us everlasting life in

Christ-a life which existed in God before the world was.

e Word is preached, manifested (that is, the revelation of

the thoughts of God in Christ). Now those thoughts gave

us eternal life in Christ; and this was promised before the

ages. e elect, believing, know it and possess the life itself.

ey have the witness in themselves; but the Word is the

public revelation on which faith is founded and which has

universal authority over the consciences of men, whether

Darby Synopsis

272

they receive it or not. Just as in 2Timothy 1:9-10, it is

presented as salvation, but then made manifest.

Faith in a personally held, known truth: the varied

presentation of the gospel by Peter, Paul and John

It will be observed that faith here is faith in a personally

held, known truth; a faith which only the elect can have,

who possess the truth as God teaches it. “e faith” is

used also for Christianity as a system in contrast with

Judaism. Here it is the secret of God in contrast with a

law promulgated to an outward people. is promise,

which dated from before the revealed ages and which was

sovereign in its application, was especially committed to

the Apostle Paul that he might announce it by preaching.

To Peter the gospel was committed more as the fulllment

of the promises made to the fathers, which Paul also

recognizes, with the evangelical events that conrmed and

developed them by the power of God manifested in the

resurrection of Jesus, the witness of the power of this life.

John presents life more in the Person of Christ and then

imparted to us, the characteristic fruits of which he sets

forth.

Paul’s greater intimacy of condence in Timothy;

why Titus was left in Crete, invested with authority and

instructed to render him competent

We shall nd that the Apostle has not the same intimacy

of condence in Titus as in Timothy. He does not open

his heart to him in the same way. Titus is a beloved and

faithful servant of God and also the Apostle’s son in the

faith; but Paul does not open his heart to him in the same

manner-does not communicate to him his anxieties, his

complainings-does not pour out his soul to him<P193>-as

he did to Timothy. To tell of all one sees that is heartbreaking

Titus 1

273

and disquieting in the work one is engaged in- that is the

proof of condence. One has condence with regard to

the work, and one speaks of it with regard to oneself, with

regard to all, and there is no restraint, no measuring how

far one ought to speak of oneself, of what one feels, of all

things. is the Apostle does with Timothy, and the Holy

Spirit has been pleased to portray it for us. In writing to

Timothy doctrine above all occupied the Apostle’s mind:

by its means the enemy wrought and endeavored to ruin

the assembly. Bishops only come into mind as an accessory

thing. Here they have a primary place. Paul had left Titus in

Crete to set in order the things that were yet wanting, and

to ordain elders in every city, as he had already commanded

him. It is not here a question of the desire anyone might

have to become a bishop, nor (in that view) of describing

the character suitable to this charge, but of appointing

them; and for this task Titus was furnished with authority

on the Apostle’s part. e necessary qualications are made

known to him, in order that he might be able to decide

according to apostolic wisdom. So that, on the one hand,

he was invested by the Apostle with authority to appoint

them, and, on the other hand, instructed by him with

respect to the requisite qualications. Apostolic authority

and wisdom concurred to render him competent to perform

this grave and important work.

Apostolic care; Titus’s approved delity furnished

with

Paul’s own authority; authority in the assembly of

God

We see also that this apostolic delegate was authorized

to set in order that which was necessary to the welfare of

the assemblies in Crete. Already founded, they yet needed

Darby Synopsis

274

directions with regard to many details of their walk; and

apostolic care was requisite to give them these, as well as for

the establishment of functionaries in the assemblies. is

task the Apostle had committed to the approved delity of

Titus, furnished with his own authority by word of mouth

and here in writing; so that to reject Titus was to reject

the Apostle and, consequently, the Lord who had sent

him. Authority in the assembly of God is a serious thing-a

thing that proceeds from God Himself. It can be exercised

through inuence by the gift of God; by functionaries,

when God establishes them by instruments whom He has

chosen and sent for this purpose.<P194>

e qualications of a bishop

It is not necessary here to enter upon the detail of

qualications that were needed to ll the oce of bishop

suitably. ey are, in the main, the same as those mentioned

in the epistle to Timothy. ey are qualities, not gifts;

qualities-outward, moral and circumstantial-that proved

the tness of the individual for the charge of watching

over others. It may perhaps occasion surprise that the

absence of gross misconduct should have a place here;

but the assemblies were more simple than people think,

and the persons of whom they were composed had but

recently come out from the most deplorable habits; and

therefore a previous conduct that commanded the respect

of others was necessary to give weight to the exercise of the

oce of superintendence. It was also needful that he who

was invested with this charge should be able to convince

gainsayers. For they would have to do with such, especially

among the Jews, who were always and everywhere active in

opposition to the truth, and subtle in perverting the mind.

e character of the Cretans

Titus 1

275

e character of the Cretans occasioned other diculties

and required the exercise of peremptory authority; Judaism

mingled itself with the eect of this national character. It

was needful to be rm and to act with authority, that they

might continue sound in the faith.

Ordinances and traditions; talk of knowing God but

denying Him in their works

Moreover, he had still to speak concerning ordinances

and traditions, those evil plagues in the church of God

which provoke Him to jealousy, and which, by exalting

man, are opposed to His grace. One thing was not pure,

another was forbidden by an ordinance. God claims the

heart. To the pure all things are pure; for him whose heart

is deled it needs not to go out of himself to nd that

which is impure; but convenient, in order to be able to

forget what is within. e mind and conscience are already

corrupt. ey talk of knowing God, but in their works they

deny Him, being unprotable and reprobate as regards

every work really good.<P195>

Darby Synopsis

276

73287

Titus 2

Titus charged to see that everyone walked in

agreement with moral and relative propriety; the

danger of forgetfulness of grace and holy order among

Christians

Titus, who was not only to appoint others for the

purpose, but, being there clothed with authority, was

himself to watch over the order and moral walk of the

Christians, was charged (as is the case throughout these

three epistles) to see that everyone, according to his position,

walked in agreement with moral and relative propriety-an

important thing, and which shelters from the attacks of

Satan, and from confusion in the assembly. True liberty

reigns in the assembly; moral order secures this; and the

enemy nds no better occasion to dishonor the Lord and

ruin the testimony and throw all into disorder, thus giving

the world occasion to blaspheme, than the forgetfulness of

grace and holy order among Christians. Let us not deceive

ourselves: if these proprieties are not maintained (and

they are beautiful and precious), then the liberty (and it

is beautiful and precious, and unknown to the world, who

are ignorant of what grace is), the excellent liberty of the

Christian life, gives room for disorder which dishonors the

Lord and throws moral confusion into everything.

Men destroying Christian liberty where there is

disorder; the true remedy; the Spirit recognizing every

relationship which God has formed; Christians to act

suitably to the relationship

Titus 2

277

Often, in perceiving that the weakness of man has given

occasion to disorder where Christian liberty reigns, instead

of seeking the true remedy, men have destroyed the liberty;

they banish the power and operation of the Spirit-for

where the Spirit is, there is liberty in every sense-the joy

of the new relationships in which all are one. But, while

severing every bond for the Lord’s sake when necessary,

the Spirit recognizes every relationship which God has

formed; even when we break them-as death does-through

the exigency of the call of Christ, which is superior to them

all. But while we are in them (the call of Christ apart),

we are to act suitably to the relationship. Age and youth,

husband and wife, child and parent, slave and master, all

have their own<P196> proprieties to maintain towards

each other, a behavior in accordance with the position in

which we stand.

Sound doctrine maintaining all the moral properties;

the foundation of the saints’ conduct

“Sound doctrine” takes account of all this, and, in its

warnings and exhortations, maintains all these proprieties.

is is the instruction which the Apostle here gives to

Titus, with regard to aged men, aged women, young women

(relatively to their husbands, their children and their whole

life, which should be domestic and modest); young men, to

whom Titus was to be always a pattern; slaves, with their

masters; and then the duties of all towards magistrates,

and indeed towards all men. But, before taking up this

last point, he establishes the great principles which are the

foundation of the conduct of the saints among themselves

in this world. eir conduct towards magistrates and the

world has a dierent motive.

Darby Synopsis

278

e basis and motive for Christian conduct in the

assembly; the motive for the character of their walk in

the world

e conduct of Christians, as such, in the assembly has

for its basis and motive the special doctrines of Christianity.

We nd these doctrines and motives in chapter 2:11-15,

which speaks of that conduct.

e particular motive for the character of their walk,

with regard to the world, we nd in the third and following

verses of chapter 3.

A summary of Christianity as a practical reality for

men: God’s grace bringing salvation

Chapter 2:11-15 contains a remarkable summary of

Christianity, not exactly of its dogmas, but as a practical

reality for men. Grace has appeared. It has appeared, not

limited to a particular people, but to all men; not charged

with temporal promises and blessings but bringing

salvation. It comes from God to men with salvation. It does

not expect righteousness from men; it brings salvation to

those that need it. Precious and simple truth, which makes

us know God, which puts us in our place, but according to

the grace which has overleaped every barrier in order to

address itself, in the sovereign goodness of God, to every

man on the earth!<P197>

Perfect instruction with regard to our walk in this

world

Having brought this salvation, it instructs us perfectly

with regard to our walk in this world; and that in relation

to ourselves, and to other men, and to God. Renouncing all

ungodliness, and all lusts that nd their gratication in this

world, we are to bridle the will of the esh in every respect

and to live soberly; we are to acknowledge the claims of

Titus 2

279

others and to live righteously; we are to own the rights of

God over our hearts and to exercise godliness.

Our future enlightened by grace

But our future also is enlightened by grace. It teaches us

to wait for the blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory

of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

What grace does; what Christ has done

Grace has appeared. It teaches us how to walk here

below and to expect the appearing of the glory in the Person

of Jesus Christ Himself. And our hope is well founded.

Christ is justly precious to us. We can have full condence

of heart in thinking of His appearing in glory, as well as

the most powerful motive for a life devoted to His glory.

He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and

to purify for Himself a people who should belong to Him

in His own right and be zealous-according to His will and

His nature- of good works.

Christianity as the work of the grace of God

is is what Christianity is. It has provided for all,

the past, the present and the future, according to God. It

delivers us from this world, making of us a people set apart

for Christ Himself, according to the love in which He gave

Himself for us. It is purication, but a purication which

consecrates us to Christ. We belong to Him as His peculiar

portion, His possession in the world; animated with the

love that is in Him, in order to do good to others and bear

testimony to His grace. is is a precious testimony to that

which Christianity is, in its practical reality, as the work of

the grace of God.<P198>

Darby Synopsis

280

73288

Titus 3

e eect of grace on the conduct of Christians

towards the world

With respect to the conduct of Christians towards

the world, grace has banished violence, and the spirit of

rebellion and resistance which agitates the heart of those

who believe not, and which has its source in the self-will

that strives to maintain its own rights relatively to others.

e Christian has his portion, his inheritance, elsewhere;

he is tranquil and submissive here and ready to do good.

Even when others are violent and unjust towards him, he

bears it in remembrance that once it was no otherwise with

himself: a dicult lesson, for violence and injustice stir up

the heart; but the thought that it is sin, and that we also

were formerly its slaves, produces patience and piety. Grace

alone has made the dierence, and according to that grace

are we to act towards others.

Man after the esh; the kindness of a Saviour-God;

the sense of what we were and the way God has acted

combine to govern our conduct towards others

e Apostle gives a grievous summary of the

characteristics of man after the esh-that which we once

were. Sin was foolishness-was disobedience; the sinner was

deceived-was the slave of lusts, lled with malice and envy,

hateful, and hating others. Such is man characterized by sin.

But the kindness of God, of a Saviour-God, His goodwill

and charity towards men (sweet and precious character of

God!)1 has appeared. e character that He has assumed is

that of Saviour, a name especially given Him in these three

Titus 3

281

epistles, in order that we should bear its stamp in our walk,

that it should pervade our spirit. Our walk in the world

and our conduct towards others depend on the principles

of our relationships with God. at which has made us

dierent from others is not some merit in ourselves, some

personal superiority: we were sometime even as they. It is

the tender love and grace of the God of mercy. He has

been kind and merciful to us: we have known<P199> what

it is, and are so to others. It is true that in cleansing and

renewing us this mercy has wrought by a principle, and in

a sphere of a life, that are entirely new, so that we cannot

walk with the world as we did before; but we act towards

others who are still in the mire of this world, as God has

acted towards us to bring us out of it, that we might enjoy

those things which, according to the same principle of

grace, we desire that others also should enjoy. e sense of

what we once were and of the way in which God has acted

towards us combine to govern our conduct towards others.

(1. In Greek it is the word philanthropy, which in

Scripture is only used in speaking of God; and which,

moreover, has much greater force than the English word,

because phil is a special aection for anything, a friendship.)

e double character of God’s work in us

Now when the kindness of a Saviour-God appeared, it

was not something vague and uncertain; He has saved us,

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but

according to His mercy by washing and renewing us. is

is the double character of the work in us, the same two

points which we nd in John 3 in the Lord’s discourse

with Nicodemus; except that here is added that which has

now its place because of the work of Christ, namely, that

the Holy Spirit is also shed on us abundantly to be the

Darby Synopsis

282

strength of that new life of which He is the source. e

man is washed, cleansed. He is washed from his former

habits, thoughts, desires, in the practical sense. We wash a

thing that exists. e man was morally bad and deled in

his inward and outward life. God has saved us by purifying

us; He could not do it otherwise. To be in relationship with

Himself there must be practical purity.

Purication by means of regeneration:

a new life, new thoughts, new creation

But this purication was thorough. It was not the outside

of the vessel. It was purication by means of regeneration;

identied with the communication of a new life, no doubt,

which is the source of new thoughts, in connection with

God’s new creation, and capable of enjoying His presence

and in the light of His countenance, but which in itself is

a passage from the state we were in into a wholly new one,

from esh by death into the status of a risen Christ.<P200>

e power acting in and accompanying the new life;

an energy imparting and producing what is new

But there was a power which acted in this new life and

accompanies it in the Christian. It is not merely a subjective

change, as they say. ere is an active, divine Agent who

imparts something new, of which He is Himself the source-

the Holy Spirit Himself. It is God acting in the creature

(for it is by the Spirit that God always acts immediately on

the creature); and it is in the character of the Holy Spirit

that He acts in this work of renewal. It is a new source of

thoughts in relationship with God; not only a vital capacity,

but an energy which produces that which is new in us.

e Holy Spirit, as shed on us, continues to maintain

by His power the enjoyment of relationship

Titus 3

283

It has been a question, When does this renewal by the

Holy Spirit take place? Is it at the commencement, or is it

after the regeneration1 of which the Apostle speaks? I think

that the Apostle speaks of it according to the character of

the work; and adds “shed on us” (that which characterizes

the grace of this present period) to show that there is an

additional truth, namely, that the Holy Spirit, as “shed

on us,” continues in order to maintain by His power the

enjoyment of the relationship into which He has brought

us. e man is cleansed in connection with the new order

of things; but the Holy Spirit is a source of an entirely new

life, entirely new thoughts; not only of a new moral being,

but of the communication of all that in which this new

being develops itself. We cannot separate the nature from

the objects with regard to which the nature develops itself,

and which form the sphere of its existence and characterize

it.

(1. ΠαΛΙγγΕνΕσΙα (paliggenesia), the word here used, is

not being born again (αναγΕνναω; anagennao). It is used,

besides this passage, only in the end of Matthew 19 for the

millennium. e renewing of the Holy Spirit is a distinct

thing from the regeneration. is last is a change of one

state of things to another.)

e Spirit the source of the thoughts and whole moral

being of the new man; we are not only born of Him but

He works in us

It is the Holy Spirit who gives the thoughts, who creates

and<P201> forms the whole moral being of the new man.

e thought and that which thinks cannot be separated,

morally, when the heart is occupied with it. e Holy Spirit

is the source of all in the saved man: he is ultimately saved,

because this is the case with him.

Darby Synopsis

284

e Holy Spirit does not only give a new nature; He

gives it us in connection with an entirely new order of

things (“a new creation”), and lls us as to our thoughts

with the things that are in this new creation. is is the

reason that, although we are placed in it once for all, this

work-as to the operation of the Holy Spirit-continues;

because He ever communicates to us more and more of

the things of this new world into which He has brought

us. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them to

us; and all that the Father has is Christ’s. I think that the

“renewing of the Holy Spirit” embraces all this; because

He says, “Which he has shed on us abundantly.” So that it

is not only that we are born of Him, but that He works in

us, communicating to us all that is ours in Christ.

Jesus Christ the means; the fullness of enjoyment by

the power of the Holy Spirit

e Holy Spirit is shed on us abundantly by means of

Jesus Christ our Saviour, in order that, having been justied

by the grace of this Saviour, we should be heirs according to

the hope of eternal life. I think that the antecedent of “that,”

verse 7, is “the washing of regeneration and the renewing

of the Holy Spirit”; and that the sentence, “which he shed

on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,” is an

accessory parenthesis introduced to show us that we have

the fullness of the enjoyment of these things by the power

of the Holy Spirit.

Justied by the grace of Christ which gives eternal

life; heirs according to the hope of eternal life

us He has saved us by this renewing that we may be

heirs according to the hope of eternal life. It is nothing

outward, earthly, or corporeal. Grace has given us eternal

life. In order to this, we have been justied by the grace

Titus 3

285

of Christ.1 us there is energy, power, hope, through

the rich gift of the Holy Spirit. In order to<P202> our

participating in it, we have been justied by His grace, and

our inheritance is in the incorruptible joy of eternal life.

(1. It is because “Christ” is in the parenthesis, and not

in the principal sentence, that we read ΕκΕΙνΟυ (ekeinou).)

God’s mercy and the riches of His grace

God has saved us, not by works-nor by means of1

anything that we are, but by His mercy. But then He has

acted towards us according to the riches of His own grace,

according to the thoughts of His own heart.

(1. Here, as everywhere, the responsibility of man and

God’s saving grace, by which purpose also is accomplished,

are clearly distinguished.)

Brought with thanksgiving to God to feel what our

eternal portion is before Him; the conscience acted upon

to respect all that He has established

With these things the Apostle desires that Titus should

be occupied-with that which brings us with thanksgiving

into practical connection with God Himself and makes us

feel what our portion is, our eternal portion, before Him.

is acts upon the conscience, lls us with love and good

works, makes us respect all the relationships of which God

Himself is the center. We are in relationship with God

according to His rights; we are before God, who causes

everything that He has Himself established to be respected

by the conscience.

Gnostic Judaism, setting itself up against the gospel,

to be avoided

Idle questions and disputes on the law Titus was to

avoid, together with everything that would destroy the

simplicity of our relationship with God according to the

Darby Synopsis

286

immediate revelation of Himself and of His will in Jesus

Christ. It is still the Gnostic Judaism setting itself up

against the simplicity of the gospel; it is the law and human

righteousness, and that which, by means of intermediate

beings, destroys the simplicity and the immediate character

of our relationship with the God of grace.<P203>

Directions to reject, after repeated admonition, one

who tries to set up his own opinions and thus form

parties in the assembly; his self-condemnation

When a man tried to set up his own opinions, and by

that means to form parties in the assembly, after having

admonished him once and a second time, he was to be

rejected; his faith was subverted. He sins, he is judged of

himself. He is not satised with the assembly of God, with

the truth of God: he wants to make a truth of his own.

Why is he a Christian, if Christianity, as God has given

it, does not suce him? By making a party for his own

opinions he condemns himself.

e Christian activity produced by the love of God;

pains taken that the ock should enjoy all the help

supplied

We have, at the end of the epistle, a little glimpse of

the Christian activity which the love of God produces, the

pains taken that the ock should enjoy all the help with

which God supplies the assembly. Paul wished that Titus

should come to him: but the Cretans needed his services;

and the Apostle makes the arrival of Artemas or Tychicus

(the latter well-known by the services he had rendered to

Paul) the condition of the departure of Titus from the eld

in which he was laboring. We nd too that Zenas, a lawyer,

and Apollos, who had also displayed his active zeal at

Titus 3

287

Ephesus and Corinth, were disposed to occupy themselves

in Crete with the work of the Lord.

Two kinds of laborers; the Apostle’s freedom from

jealousy; counsel to Christians to learn to do useful work

Observe also that we have the two kinds of laborers:

those who were in personal connection with the Apostle as

fellow-laborers, who accompanied him, and whom he sent

elsewhere to continue the work he had begun, when he

could no longer carry it on himself; and those who labored

freely and independently of him. But there was no jealousy

of this double activity. He did not neglect the ock that

were dear to him. He was glad that any who were sound

in the faith should water the plants which he himself had

planted. He encourages Titus to show them all aection

and to provide whatever they needed in their journey. is

thought <P204>suggests to him the counsel that follows;

namely, that it would be well for Christians to learn how

to do useful work in order to supply the wants of others as

well as their own.

Special aections and relationships in the assembly

of God

e Apostle ends his epistle with the salutations that

Christian love always produces; but, as we saw at the

beginning, there is not here the same expansion of heart

that we nd in Paul’s communications to Timothy. Grace

is the same everywhere; but there are special aections and

relationships in the assembly of God.<P205>

Darby Synopsis

288

73289

Philemon

e purpose of the epistle: love awakening sentiments

which circumstances tended to extinguish in Philemon’s

heart

e very beautiful and interesting Epistle to Philemon

does not require much comment; it is an expression of the

love which works by the Spirit within the assembly of God

in all the circumstances of individual life.

Written for the purpose of awakening in Philemon

sentiments which certain events had a tendency to

extinguish in his heart, this epistle is suited to produce

those feelings in the reader more than to be the object of

explanation.

e tenderness and strength of God’s love; the

development of tender and delicate considerations with

a dignity and delicacy of application

It is a ne picture of the way in which the tenderness

and the strength of the love of God, working in the heart,

occupies itself with every detail wherein that love might

be wounded, or that might be an occasion for its growth

and manifestation. In this point of view the epistle is as

important as beautiful; for this development of tender and

delicate consideration in the midst of the Apostle’s gigantic

labors, and of the immense truths that formed the basis of

relationship between all creatures and God in Christ, gives a

very peculiar character to Christianity and shows its divine

nature; since He who reveals the most profound truths, and

puts them in their right place in the circle of divine thought,

does so as speaking of a known thing, as communicating

Philemon

289

His own thoughts; and can (being the Spirit of the God of

love) ll the heart with considerations which love only can

suggest, with a dignity which manifests their source, and

with a delicacy of application<P206> which shows that,

whatever be the grandeur of His thoughts, He is at liberty

to consider everything.

e human mind and God’s thoughts; the revelations,

communication and demonstration of God’s character

of love

When the human mind is occupied with elevated

subjects, it feels their weight and bends under the load; it

is absorbed; it has to abstract itself, to x its attention. God

reveals His own thoughts; and, vast as they may be to the

human mind, they ow with the clearness and connectedness

that is natural to them, when He communicates them by

His chosen instruments. e latter are free to love; for the

God who employs them and inspires them is love. It is a

more essential part of their task to present Him thus than

even to speak of the deep things. Accordingly, when they

are moved by that love, the character of Him who sends

them is demonstrated as that of the God who is the source

of love, by a perfect consideration for others, and the most

delicate attention to those things which their hearts would

feel.

Christian aections bearing the stamp of their origin

Moreover, this love develops itself in relationships

formed by the Holy Spirit Himself, between the members

of the body of Christ, that is to say, between men. Springing

from a divine source and always fed by it, Christian

aections assume the form of human regard, which, by

exhibiting love and the opposite of selshness, bear the

stamp of their origin. Love, free from self, can and does

Darby Synopsis

290

think of all that concerns others and understands what will

aect them.

Onesimus, Philemon and Archippus

Onesimus, a fugitive slave, had been converted by means

of Paul in his bonds. Philemon, a rich man or at least one

of easy fortune, received the assembly in his house (his wife

being also converted), and in his measure labored himself

in the Lord’s work. Archippus was a servant of the Lord,

who ministered in the assembly, perhaps an evangelist; at

any rate, he took part in the conicts of the gospel and was

thus associated with Philemon and the assembly.<P207>

e fugitive slave sent back; the whole assembly

addressed; Paul’s appeal to Philemon

e Apostle, in sending Onesimus back, addresses

the whole assembly. is is the reason that we have here

“grace and peace” without the addition of “mercy,” as when

individuals only are addressed by the apostles. His appeal

on behalf of Onesimus is to Philemon; but the whole

assembly is to interest itself in this beloved slave, who was

become a child of God. eir Christian hearts would be

a support and a guarantee for the conduct of Philemon;

although the Apostle expects pardon and kindness for

Onesimus from the love of Philemon himself as a servant

of God.

e Apostle’s right to command abandoned

that Onesimus’s pardon might be

Philemon’s own spontaneous act

Paul (as was his custom) recognizes all the good that

was in Philemon and uses it as a motive to Philemon

himself, that he might let the feelings of grace ow out

freely, in spite of anything that the return of Onesimus

might excite in the esh or any displeasure that Satan

Philemon

291

might try to reawaken in him. e Apostle would have that

which he desired for Onesimus to be Philemon’s own act.

e enfranchisement of his former slave, or even his kind

reception as a brother, would have quite a dierent bearing

in that case, than if it had arisen from a command on the

Apostle’s part; for Christian aection and the bonds of love

were in question. He gives due weight to the right he had

to command, but only in order to abandon it and to give

more force to his request; and at the same time he suggests

that the communion of Philemon’s faith with the whole

assembly of God and with the Apostle-that is, the way in

which his faith connected him, in the activities of Christian

love, with the assembly of God and those appointed by

him to labor in it, and with the Lord Himself-which had

already shown itself so honorably in Philemon, would have

its full development in the acknowledgement of all the

Apostle’s rights over his heart.

In verse 6 we must read, “Every good thing which is in

us.”<P208>

Paul taking everything upon himself for his dear child

in the faith; the unfaithful, valueless servant becoming

protable

It is beautiful to see the mixture of aection for

Onesimus- which shows itself in an anxiety that makes

him plead every motive which could act on the heart of

Philemon-with the Christian feeling that inspired him

with full condence in the kindly aections of this faithful

and excellent brother. e return of his fugitive slave was

indeed likely to stir up something in his natural heart; the

Apostle interposes his letter on behalf of his dear child

in the faith, born in the time of his captivity. God had

interposed the work of His grace, which ought to act on the

Darby Synopsis

292

heart of Philemon, producing altogether new relationships

with Onesimus. e Apostle beseeches him to receive his

former slave as a brother, but it is evident (vs. 12), although

Paul wished it to be the spontaneous act of the master

whom Onesimus had wronged, that the Apostle expected

the aranchisement of the latter. Be that as it may, he takes

everything upon himself for his dear son. According to

grace Onesimus was more protable to Philemon, as well

as to Paul, than formerly, when the esh had made him an

unfaithful and valueless servant; and this he should rejoice

in (vs. 11). Paul alludes to the name of “Onesimus,” which

means “protable.” Finally, he reminds Philemon that he

was indebted to him for his own salvation-for his life as a

Christian.

e reason God brought Onesimus to Rome

Paul at this moment was a prisoner at Rome. God had

brought Onesimus there (whither all resorted) to lead him

to salvation and the knowledge of the Lord, in order that

we should be instructed and that Onesimus should have a

new position in the Christian assembly.1 It was apparently

towards the end of the Apostle’s imprisonment. He hopes

at least soon to be released and tells Philemon to prepare

him a lodging.<P209>

(1. It seems to me, from the way in which the Apostle

speaks, that he even thought Onesimus would be an

instrument of God in the assembly, useful in the Lord’s

service. He would have retained him to minister to himself

in the bonds of the gospel; but he respects his connection

with Philemon. It was also much better for the soul of

Onesimus that he should submit himself where he had

done wrong; and if he was to be free, that he should receive

his freedom from the love of Philemon.)

Philemon

293

Onesimus probably of Colosse; Paul’s loving care for

this new convert

We nd the names again in the Epistle to the Colossians.

ere the Apostle says, “Onesimus, who is one of you”; so

that, if it be the same, he was of Colosse. It seems likely,

because there is Archippus also, who is exhorted to take

heed to his ministry. If it be so, the fact that he speaks thus

of Onesimus to the Christians at Colosse is another proof

of his loving care for this new convert. He lays him thus

upon the hearts of the assembly, sending his letter by him

and Tychicus. In the Epistle to the Ephesians there are no

salutations; but the same Tychicus is its bearer. Timothy

is joined with Paul in the address of the Epistle to the

Colossians, as well as in this to Philemon. It was not so in

the Epistle to the Ephesians; but in that to the Philippians,

to whom the Apostle hoped to send Timothy ere long,

their two names are again united.

I do not draw any conclusions from these last details;

but they furnish ground for inquiry into details. Each of

the four epistles was written during the Apostle’s captivity

at Rome, and when he was expecting to be delivered from

that captivity.

Love reigning and bearing fruit in all the details of

life

with the recognition of every existing right and feeling

Finally, that which we have especially to remark in the

Epistle to Philemon is the love which, in the intimate

center of this circle (guarded all around by an unparalleled

development of doctrine), reigned and bore fruit, and bound

the members of Christ together, and spread the savor of

grace over all the relationships in which men could stand

towards each other, occupying itself about all the details

Darby Synopsis

294

of life with a perfect propriety and with the recognition of

every right that can exist among men and of all that the

human heart can feel.<P210>

Hebrews

295

73290

Hebrews

e distinct place of the epistle showing us Christ in

heaven while His people are in feebleness on the earth

e important nature of the Epistle to the Hebrews

demands that we should examine it with peculiar care. It

has its own, very distinct place. It is not the presentation of

Christian position in itself, viewed as the fruit of sovereign

grace, and of the work and the resurrection of Christ, or

as the result of the union of Christians with Christ, the

members of the body with the Head-a union which gives

them the enjoyment of every privilege in Him. It is an

epistle in which one who has apprehended indeed the

whole scope of Christianity, considered as placing the

Christian in Christ before God, whether individually or as

a member of the body, looks, nevertheless, at the Lord from

here below; and presents His Person and His oces as

between us and God in heaven, while we are in feebleness

on earth, for the purpose of detaching us (as walking on

earth) from all that would attach us in a religious way to

the earth; even when-as was the case among the Jews-the

bond had been ordained by God Himself.

is epistle shows us Christ in heaven, and, consequently,

that our religious bonds with God are heavenly, although

we are not yet personally in heaven ourselves nor viewed

as united to Christ there. Every bond with the earth is

broken, even while we are walking on the earth.

e epistle addressed to the Jews; their religious

relationships, solemnly appointed by God Himself, to be

Darby Synopsis

296

acknowledged and abandoned because Christ in heaven

takes their place

ese instructions naturally are given in an epistle

addressed to the Jews, because their religious relationships

had been earthly and, at the same time, solemnly appointed

by God Himself.

e<P211> heathen, as to their religions, had no formal

relationships except with demons.

In the case of the Jews, this rupture with the earth was

in its nature so much the more solemn, the more absolute

and conclusive, from the relationship having been divine.

is relationship was to be fully acknowledged and entirely

abandoned, not here because the believer is dead and risen

again in Christ, but because Christ in heaven takes the place

of all earthly gures and ordinances. God Himself, who

had instituted the ordinances of the law, now established

other bonds, dierent indeed in character; but it was still

the same God.

God’s relationships with Israel to be resumed in

future blessing on earth; the standpoints of the Roman

and Ephesian epistles: their object

is fact gives occasion for His relationships with Israel

being resumed by Him hereafter, when the nation shall be

reestablished and in the enjoyment of the promises. Not

that this epistle views them as actually on that ground; on

the contrary, it insists on what is heavenly, and walking by

faith as Abraham and others who had not the promises, but

it lays down principles which can apply to that position,

and in one or two passages it leaves (and ought to leave) a

place for this ultimate blessing of the nation. e Epistle

to the Romans, in the direct instruction which it furnishes,

cannot leave this place for the blessings proper to the

Hebrews

297

Jewish people. In its point of view all are alike sinners, and

all in Christ are justied together before God in heaven.

Still less in the Epistle to the Ephesians, with the object

which it has in view, could there be room for speaking of

the future blessing of God’s people on the earth. It only

contemplates Christians as united to their heavenly Head,

as His body; or as the habitation of God on earth by the

Holy Spirit. e Epistle to the Romans, in the passage that

shows the compatibility of this salvation (which, because

it was of God, was for all without distinction) with the

faithfulness of God to His promises made to the nation,

touches the chord of which we speak even more distinctly

than the Epistle to the Hebrews; and shows us that Israel

will - although in a dierent way from before - resume

their place in the line peculiar to their heirs of promise;

a place which, through their sin, was partially left vacant

for a time to allow the bringing in of the Gentiles on the

principle of faith into<P212> this blessed succession. We

nd this in Romans 11. But the object in both epistles is to

separate the faithful entirely from earth, and to bring them

into relationship religiously with heaven; the one (that

to the Romans) as regards their personal presentation to

God by means of forgiveness and divine righteousness; the

other, with respect to the means that God has established,

in order that the believer, in his walk here below, may nd

his present relationships with heaven maintained and his

daily connection with God preserved in its integrity.

I have said preserved, because this is the subject of the

epistle;1 but it must be added that these relationships are

established on this ground by divine revelations, which

communicate the will of God and the conditions under

which He is pleased to connect Himself with His people.

Darby Synopsis

298

(1. It will be found, I think, that in Hebrews the exercise

of the heavenly priesthood is not applied to the case of a

fall into sin. It is for mercy and grace to help in time of

need. Its subject is access to God, having the High Priest

on high; and this we always have. e conscience is always

perfect (ch. 9-10) as to imputation and thus going to

God. In 1John, where communion is spoken of, which is

interrupted by sin, we have an advocate with the Father if

any man sin-this also founded on perfect righteousness and

propitiation in Him. e priesthood of Christ reconciles a

perfect heavenly standing with God, with a weak condition

on earth ever liable to failure-gives comfort and dependence

in the path through the desert.)

e epistle addressed to Hebrews on the ground of

a relationship which still existed, though its force was

retained only as they acknowledged the Messiah; its rst

words

We should also remark that in the Epistle to the

Hebrews, although the relationship of the people with

God is established on a new ground, being founded on the

heavenly position of the mediator, they are considered as

already existing. God treats with a people already known

to Him. He addresses persons in relationship with Himself

and who for a long period have held the position of a people

whom God had taken out from the world unto Himself. It

is not, as in Romans, sinners without law or transgressors

of the law, between whom there is no dierence, because

all have alike come entirely short of the glory of God,

all alike are the children of wrath, or, as in Ephesians, an

entirely new creation unknown before. ey were in need

of some better thing; but those here addressed were in that

need because they were in relationship with<P213> God,

Hebrews

299

and the condition of their relationship with Him brought

nothing to perfection. at which they possessed was, in

fact, nothing but signs and gures; still, the people were,

I again say, a people in relationship with God. Many of

them might refuse the new method of blessing and grace,

and consequently would be lost; but the link between the

people and God is accounted to subsist: only that, Messiah

having been revealed, a place among that people could not

be had but in the recognition of Messiah.

It is very important for the understanding of this

epistle to apprehend this point, namely, that it is addressed

to Hebrews on the ground of a relationship which still

existed,1 although it only retained its force insofar as

they acknowledged the Messiah, who was its cornerstone.

Hence, the rst words connect their present state with

previous revelations, instead of breaking o all connection

and introducing a new thing as yet unrevealed.

(1. He sancties the people with His own blood. ey

count the blood of the covenant wherewith they were

sanctied an unholy thing. ere is no inward sanctifying

operation of the Spirit spoken of in Hebrews, though there

are exhortations to the pursuit of holiness.)

e reason the epistle does not contain the name of

its author; God’s communications by the Messiah begun

when Jesus was on earth

Some remarks on the form of the epistle will help us to

understand it better.

It does not contain the name of its author. e reason

of this is touching and remarkable. It is that the Lord

Himself, according to this epistle, was the Apostle of

Israel. e apostles whom He sent were only employed to

conrm His words by transmitting them to others, God

Darby Synopsis

300

Himself conrming their testimony by miraculous gifts.

is also makes us understand that, although as Priest the

Lord is in heaven for the exercise of His priesthood there,

and in order to establish on new ground the relationship

of the people with God, yet the communications of God

with His people by means of the Messiah had begun when

Jesus was on earth living in their midst. Consequently, the

character of their relationship was not union with Him

in heaven; it was relationship with God on the ground of

divine communications and of the service of a mediator

with God.<P214>

e epistle, a discourse from a teacher

Moreover, this epistle is a discourse, a treatise, rather

than a letter addressed in the exercise of apostolic

functions to saints with whom the writer was personally in

connection. e author takes the place of a teacher rather

than of an apostle. He speaks, doubtless, from the height

of the heavenly calling, but in connection with the actual

position of the Jewish people; nevertheless, it was for the

purpose of making believers at length understand that they

must abandon that position.

e time for the nation’s judgment drawing nigh

e time for judgment on the nation was drawing near;

and with regard to this the destruction of Jerusalem had

great signicance, because it denitely broke o all outward

relationship between God and the Jewish people. ere was

no longer an altar or sacrice, priest or sanctuary. Every link

was then broken by judgment and remains broken until it

shall be formed again under the new covenant according

to grace.

More contrast in the epistle than comparison

Hebrews

301

Further, it will be found that there is more contrast than

comparison. e veil is compared, but then, closing the

entrance to the sanctuary, now, a new and living way into

it; a sacrice, but then repeated, so as to say sins were still

there, now once for all so that there is no remembrance of

sins; and so of every important particular.

e Jewish system about to be destroyed by God;

believers

exhorted to come forth from it and bear the Lord’s

reproach

e author of this epistle (Paul, I doubt not, but this

is of little importance) employed other motives than that

of the approaching judgment to induce the believing Jews

to abandon their Judaic relationships. It is this last step,

however, which he engages them to take; and the judgment

was at hand. Until now they had linked Christianity with

Judaism; there had been thousands of Christians who were

very zealous for the law. But God was about to destroy

that system altogether-already, in fact, judged by the Jews’

rejection of Christ and by their resistance to the testimony

of the Holy Spirit. Our epistle engages believers to come

forth entirely<P215> from that system and to bear the

Lord’s reproach, setting before them a new foundation

for their relationship with God in a High Priest who is

in the heavens. At the same time, it links all that it says

with the testimony of God by the prophets through the

intermedium of Christ, the Son of God, speaking during

His life on earth, though now speaking from heaven.

e continuity of the new position with the former;

the revelation of a heavenly Christ; Paul’s position and

teaching

Darby Synopsis

302

us the new position is plainly set forth, but continuity

with the former is also established; and we have a glimpse,

by means of the new covenant, of continuity also with that

which is to come-a thread by which another state of things,

the millennial state, is connected with the whole of God’s

dealings with the nation, although that which is taught and

developed in the epistle is the position of believers (of the

people), formed by the revelation of a heavenly Christ on

whom depended all their connection with God. ey were

to come forth from the camp; but it was because Jesus, in

order to sanctify the people with His own blood, suered

without the gate. For here there is no continuing city: we

seek one that is to come. e writer places himself among

the remnant of the people as one of them. He teaches with

the full light of the Holy Spirit, but not those to whom he

had been sent as an apostle, with the apostolic authority

which such a mission would have given him over them.

It will be understood that in saying this we speak of the

relationship of the writer, not of the inspiration of the

writing.

Messiah’s glorious Person; sympathies and heavenly

glory rst made prominent that they might follow Him

and bear His reproach

While developing the sympathies of Christ and His

suerings, in order to show that He is able to compassionate

the suering and the tried, the epistle does not bring

forward His humiliation nor the reproach of the cross, till

quite at the end when-His glory having been set forth-the

author engages the Jew to follow Him and to share His

reproach.

e glory of the Messiah’s Person, His sympathies, His

heavenly glory are made prominent in order to strengthen

Hebrews

303

the <P216>faltering faith of the Jewish Christians and

to fortify them in their Christian position, that they

might view the latter in its true character; and that they

themselves, being connected with heaven and established

in their heavenly calling, might learn to bear the cross and

to separate themselves from the religion of the esh, and

not draw back to a Judaism just ready to pass away.

What marks the epistle as addressed to Hebrews

We must look, then, in this epistle for the character of

relationships with God, formed upon the revelation of the

Messiah in the position which He had taken on high, and

not for the doctrine of a new nature; approach to God in

the holiest, impossible in Judaism, but no revelation of the

Father, nor union with Christ on high.

He is speaking to persons who were familiar with the

privileges of the fathers.

God who had spoken by the prophets now had

spoken in the Person of His Son: the connection of this

revelation with the former words

God had spoken to the fathers by the prophets at

dierent times and in dierent ways; and now, at the end

of those days, that is to say, at the end of the days of the

Israelite dispensation, in which the law ought to have

been in vigor, at the end of the times during which God

maintained relationship with Israel (sustaining them with

a disobedient people by means of the prophets)-at the end,

then, of those days God had spoken in the Person of the

Son. ere is no breach to begin a wholly new system. e

God who had spoken before by the prophets now went on

to speak in Christ.

It was not only by inspiring holy men (as He had

done before), that they might recall Israel to the law and

Darby Synopsis

304

announce the coming of the Messiah. Himself had spoken

as the Son-in [His] Son. We see at once that the writer

connects the revelation made by Jesus1 of the thoughts

of God with the former words addressed to Israel by the

prophets. God has spoken, he says, identifying himself

with His people, to us, as He spake to our fathers by the

prophets.<P217>

(1. We shall see that, while showing at the outset that

the subject of his discourse had seated Himself at the right

hand of God, he speaks also of the communications of the

Lord when on earth. But even here it is in contrast with

Moses and the angels as far more excellent. All has in view

the deliverance of the believing Jews from Judaism.)

Messiah having spoken, the glory of His Person and

position laid open

e Messiah had spoken, the Son of whom the

Scriptures had already testied. is gives occasion to lay

open, according to the Scriptures, the glory of this Messiah,

of Jesus, with regard to His Person, and to the position He

has taken.

And here we must always remember that it is the

Messiah of whom he is speaking-He who once spoke on

the earth. He declares indeed His divine glory; but it is the

glory of Him who has spoken which he declares, the glory

of that Son who had appeared according to the promises

made to Israel.

e twofold glory of Christ as Son of God and Son of

Man; the solemn authority of His Word

is glory is twofold, and in connection with the

twofold oce of Christ. It is the divine glory of the Person

of the Messiah, the Son of God. e solemn authority of

His Word is connected with this glory. And then there is

Hebrews

305

the glory with which His humanity is invested according to

the counsels of God-the glory of the Son of Man; a glory

connected with His suerings during His sojourn here

below, which tted Him for the exercise of a priesthood

both merciful and intelligent with regard to the necessities

and the trials of His people.

Summary of chapters 1-2 as the foundation of the

doctrine of the epistle

ese two chapters are the foundation of all the doctrine

of the epistle. In chapter 1 we nd the divine glory of the

Messiah’s Person; in chapter 2:1-4 (which continues the

subject), the authority of His Word; and in verses 5-18 His

glorious humanity. As man, all things are put in subjection

under Him; nevertheless, before being gloried, He took

part in all the suerings and in all the temptations to which

the saints, whose nature He had assumed, are subjected.

With this glory His priesthood is connected: He is able

to succor them that are tempted, in that He Himself has

suered being tempted. us He is the Apostle and the

High Priest of the “called” people.<P218>

Chapters 3:7-4:13: Christ’s accessory glory as Head

over God’s house; consequent exhortations

To this twofold glory is joined an accessory glory: He is

Head, as Son, over God’s house, possessing this authority

as the One who created all things, even as Moses had

authority as a servant in the house of God on earth. Now

the believers, whom the inspired writer was addressing,

were this house, if at least they held fast their confession

of His name unto the end. For the danger of the Hebrew

converts was that of losing their condence, because there

was nothing before their eyes as the fulllment of the

promises. Consequently, exhortations follow (ch. 3:7-4:13)

Darby Synopsis

306

which refer to the voice of the Lord, as carrying the Word

of God into the midst of the people, in order that they

might not harden their hearts.

Chapters 4:14-12:2: e priesthood and sacrice of

Christ; exhortations founded thereon

From chapter 4:14 the subject of the priesthood is

treated, leading to the value of the sacrice of Christ, but

introducing also the two covenants in passing, and insisting

on the change of the law necessarily consequent upon the

change of priesthood. en comes the value of the sacrice

very fully in contrast with the gures that accompanied

the old; and on which, and on the blood which was shed in

them, the covenant itself was founded. is instruction on

the priesthood continues to the end of verse 18 in chapter

10. e exhortations founded thereon introduce the

principle of the endurance of faith, which leads to chapter

11, in which the cloud of witnesses is reviewed, crowning

them with the example of Christ Himself, who completed

the whole career of faith in spite of every obstacle, and who

shows us where this painful but glorious path terminates

(ch. 12:2).

Chapters 12:3-13:25: Trials in the path of faith;

warning and encouragement; the Christian position

under the cross; separation from Judaism

From chapter 12:3 he enters more closely into the

trials found in the path of faith and gives the most solemn

warning with regard to the danger of those who draw

back, and the most precious encouragements to those who

persevere in it, setting forth the relationship into which

we are brought by grace: and nally in<P219> chapter

13 he exhorts the faithful Hebrews on several points of

detail, and in particular on that of unreservedly taking the

Hebrews

307

Christian position under the cross, laying stress on the fact

that Christians alone had the true worship of God, and

that they who chose to persevere in Judaism had no right

to take part in it. In a word, he would have them to separate

themselves denitely from a Judaism which was already

judged and to lay hold of the heavenly calling, bearing the

cross here below. It was now a heavenly calling, and the

path a path of faith.

Such is the summary of our epistle. We return now to

the study of its chapters in detail.

Darby Synopsis

308

73291

Hebrews 1

e believing remnant addressed; the true glory of

Messiah, the object of faith only

We have said that in chapter 1 we nd the glory of the

Person of the Messiah, the Son of God, by whom God

has spoken to the people. When I say “to the people,” it is

evident that we understand the epistle to be addressed to

the believing remnant, partakers, it is said, of the heavenly

calling, but considered as alone holding the true place of

the people.

It is a distinction given to the remnant, in view of the

position which the Messiah took in connection with His

people, to whom in the rst instance He came. e tried

and despised remnant, viewed as alone really having their

place, are encouraged, and their faith is sustained by the

true glory of their Messiah, hidden from their natural eyes,

and the object of faith only.

e Son should have been expected by the Jews; what

did not suit their carnal hearts

“God” (says the inspired writer, placing himself among

the believers of the beloved nation), “has spoken to us in

the person of his Son.” Psalm 2 should have led the Jews to

expect the Son, and they ought to have formed a high idea

of His glory from Isaiah 9 and other scriptures, which, in

fact, were applied to the Messiah by their teachers, as the

rabbinical writings still prove. But that He should be in

heaven and not have raised His people to the possession

of earthly glory-this did not suit the carnal state of their

hearts.<P220>

Hebrews 1

309

e heavenly glory and position of Messiah; His

people’s heavenly position; Christ’s perfect sympathy as

Man to maintain their communion with heaven

Now it is heavenly glory, this true position of the

Messiah and His people, in connection with His divine

right to their attention and to the worship of the angels

themselves, which is so admirably presented here, where the

Spirit of God brings out, in so innitely precious a manner,

the divine glory of Christ, for the purpose of exhorting His

people to belief in a heavenly position; at the same time

setting forth in what follows His perfect sympathy with us,

as man, in order to maintain their communion with heaven

in spite of the diculties of their path on earth.

e assembly not found in Hebrews, but its Saviour

presented in His Person, work and priesthood; the

heavenly calling

us, although the assembly is not found in the Epistle

to the Hebrews, save in an allusion to all comprised in

the millennial glory in chapter 12, the Saviour of the

assembly is there presented in His Person, His work

and His priesthood, most richly to our hearts and to our

spiritual intelligence; and the heavenly calling is in itself

very particularly developed.

e Saviour’s work a part of the manifestation of His

divine glory

It is also most interesting to see the way in which the

work of our Saviour, accomplished for us, forms a part of

the manifestation of His divine glory.

e Son as the Creator

“God has spoken in the Son,” says the inspired author

of our epistle. He is then this Son. First, He is declared

Heir of all things. It is He who is to possess gloriously as

Darby Synopsis

310

Son everything that exists. Such are the decrees of God.

Moreover, it is by Him that God created the worlds.1 All

the vast system of this universe, those unknown worlds

that trace their paths in the vast regions of space<P221>

in divine order to manifest the glory of a Creator-God, are

the work of His hand who has spoken to us, of the divine

Christ.

(1. A particular interpretation has, by some, been given

to the word αΙωνασ (aionas) translated “worlds”; but it is

certain that the word is used by the LXX (that is, in the

Hellenistic or scriptural Greek) for the physical worlds. )

e personal glory of Christ in full; the Messiah who

has taken His place in the heavens; whoever believed in

it would be brought out of Judaism

In Him has shone forth the glory of God: He is the

perfect impress of His being. We see God in Him, in all that

He said, in all that He did, in His Person. Moreover, by the

power of His word He upholds all that exists. He is, then,

the Creator. God is revealed in His Person. He sustains all

things by His word, which has thus a divine power. But

this is not all (for we are still speaking of the Christ); there

is another part of His glory, divine indeed, yet manifested

in human nature. He who was all this which we have just

seen, when He had by Himself (accomplishing His own

glory,1 and for His glory) wrought the purication of our

sins, seated Himself at the right hand of the majesty on

high. Here is in full the personal glory of Christ. He is,

in fact, the Creator, the revelation of God, the upholder

of all things by His word, He is the Redeemer. He has by

Himself purged our sins; has seated Himself at the right

hand of the majesty on high. It is the Messiah who is all

this. He is the Creator-God, but He is a Messiah who

Hebrews 1

311

has taken His place in the heavens at the right hand of

majesty, having accomplished the purication of our sins.

We perceive how this exhibition of the glory of Christ, the

Messiah, whether personal or that of position, would bring

whoever believed in it out of Judaism, while linking itself

with the Jewish promises and hopes. He is God, He has

come down from heaven, He has gone up thither again.

(1. e Greek verb has here a peculiar form, which gives

it a reective sense, causing the thing done to return into

the doer, throwing back the glory of the thing done upon

the one who did it.)

Christ’s position much higher than that of angels;

proved by the Scriptures; the glory of Christianity so

much above that of the law

Now those who attached themselves to Him found

themselves, in another respect also, above the Jewish

system. at system was ordained in connection with

angels; but Christ has taken a position much higher than

that of angels, because He has for His<P222> own proper

inheritance a name (that is, a revelation of what He is)

which is much more excellent than that of angels. Upon

this the author of this epistle quotes several passages from

the Old Testament which speak of the Messiah, in order

to show that which He is in contrast with the nature and

the relative position of angels. e signicance of these

passages to a converted Jew is evident, and we readily

perceive the adaptation of the argument to such, for the

Jewish economy was under the administration of angels,

according to their own belief-a belief fully grounded on the

Word.1 And, at the same time, it was their own scriptures

which proved that the Messiah was to have a position much

more excellent and exalted than that of angels, according

Darby Synopsis

312

to the rights that belonged to Him by virtue of His nature,

and according to the counsels and the revelation of God:

so that they who united themselves to Him were brought

into connection with that which entirely eclipsed the law

and all that related to it, and to the Jewish economy which

could not be separated from it, and whose glory was angelic

in character. e glory of Christianity- and he speaks to

those who acknowledged Jesus to be the Christ-was so

much above the glory of the law, that the two could not be

really united.

(1. See Psalm 68:17; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19.)

e title of “My Son” applied to Messiah born on

earth: His relationship in time with God; its use in Psalm

2 and in Hebrews 1:5

e quotations begin by that from Psalm 2. God, it is

written, has never said to any of the angels, “ou art my

Son, this day have I begotten thee.” It is this character of

Sonship, proper to the Messiah, which, as a real relationship,

distinguishes Him. He was from eternity the Son of the

Father; but it is not precisely in this point of view that He is

here considered. e name expresses the same relationship,

but it is to the Messiah born on earth that this title is here

applied. For Psalm 2, as establishing Him as King in Zion,

announces the decree which proclaims His title. “ou art

my Son, this day have I begotten thee” is His relationship

in time, with God. It depends, I doubt not, on His glorious

nature; but this position for man was acquired by the

miraculous birth of Jesus here below and demonstrated

as true and determined in its true<P223> import by

His resurrection. In Psalm 2 the testimony borne to this

relationship is in connection with His kingship in Zion, but

it declares the personal glories of the King acknowledged

Hebrews 1

313

of God. By virtue of the rights connected with this title, all

kings are summoned to submit themselves to Him. is

psalm, then, is speaking of the government of the world,

when God establishes the Messiah as King of Zion, and

not of the gospel. But in the passage quoted (Heb. 1:5), it

is the relationship of glory in which He subsists with God,

the foundation of His rights, which is set forth, and not the

royal rights themselves.

e Son in His relationship with God and not His

eternal relationship with the Father

is is likewise the case in the next quotation: “I will

be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son.” Here

we plainly see that it is the relationship in which He is

with God, in which God accepts and owns Him, and not

His eternal relationship with the Father: “I will be to him

a Father.” us it is still the Messiah, the King of Zion,

the Son of David, for these words are applied in the rst

place to Solomon, as the son of David (2Sam. 7:14 and

1Chron. 17:13). In this second passage the application of

the expression to the true son of David is more distinct.

A relationship so intimate (expressed, one may say, with

so much aection) was not the portion of angels. e Son

of God, acknowledged to be so by God Him-self-this is

the portion of the Messiah in connection with God. e

Messiah then is the Son of God in an altogether peculiar

way, which could not be applied to angels.

Angels called to worship the Firstborn, the Heir,

having universal preeminence

But still more-when God introduces the Firstborn

into the world, all the angels are called to worship Him.

God presents Him to the world; but the highest of created

beings must then cast themselves at His feet. e angels of

Darby Synopsis

314

God Himself-the creatures that are nearest to Him-must

do homage to the Firstborn. is last expression also is

remarkable. e Firstborn is the Heir, the beginning of the

manifestation of the glory and power of God. It is in this

sense that the word is used. It is said of the Son of David,

“I will make him my rstborn, higher than the kings of the

earth”<P224> (Psa. 89:27). us the Messiah is introduced

into the world as holding this place with regard to God

Himself. He is the Firstborn-the immediate expression

of the rights and the glory of God. He has universal

preeminence.

Messiah’s positional glory

Such is, so to speak, the positional glory of the Messiah.

Not only Head of the people on earth, as Son of David,

nor even only the acknowledged Son of God on the earth,

according to Psalm 2, but the universal Firstborn; so that

the chief and most exalted of creatures, those nearest to

God, the angels of God, the instruments of His power

and government, must do homage to the Son in this His

position.

Messiah’s proper and personal glory

Yet this is far from being all; and this homage itself

would be out of place if His glory were not proper to

Himself and personal, if it were not connected with His

nature. Nevertheless, that which we have before us in this

chapter is still the Messiah as owned of God. God tells us

what He is. Of the angels He says, “He maketh his angels

spirits, and his ministers a ame of re.” He does not make

His Son anything: He recognizes that which He is, saying,

“y throne, O God, is forever and ever.” e Messiah may

have an earthly throne (which also is not taken from Him,

Hebrews 1

315

but which ceases by His taking possession of an eternal

throne), but He has a throne which is forever and ever.

e Lord’s divinity and eternal throne; companions

for the faithful Man whose place is so far above them

e scepter of His throne, as Messiah, is a scepter of

righteousness. Also He has, when here below, personally

loved righteousness and hated iniquity: therefore God

has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His

fellows. ese companions are the believing remnant

of Israel, whom He has made by grace His fellows,

although (perfectly well-pleasing to God by His love of

righteousness-and that, at all costs) He is exalted above

them all. is is a remarkable passage, because, while, on

the one hand, the divinity of the Lord is fully established as

well as His eternal<P225> throne, on the other hand, the

passage comes down to His character as the faithful man

on earth, where He made pious men-the little remnant of

Israel who waited for redemption- His companions; at the

same time it gives Him (and it could not be otherwise) a

place above them.

e humbled Man recognized as Jehovah’s fellow and

the poor remnant owned as fellows of the divine Saviour

e text then returns to the glory given Him as Man,

having the preeminence here as in all things.

I have already remarked elsewhere that while, as we

read in Zechariah, Jehovah recognizes as His fellow the

humbled man, against whom His sword awakes to smite;

here, where the divinity of Jesus is set forth, the same

Jehovah owns the poor remnant of believers as the fellows

of the divine Saviour. Marvelous links between God and

His people!

Darby Synopsis

316

Possessing the eternal throne of righteousness, Christ

is recognized by God and gloried above all others

Already then in these remarkable testimonies He has

the eternal throne and the scepter of righteousness: He is

recognized as God although a Man, and gloried above all

others as the reward of righteousness.

e Saviour cut o in the midst of His days was the

Creator Himself

But the declaration of His divinity, the divinity of the

Messiah, must be more precise. And the testimony is of

the greatest beauty. e psalm that contains it is one of

the most complete expressions we nd in Scripture of

the sense which Jesus had of His humiliation on earth, of

His dependence on Jehovah, and that, having been raised

up as Messiah from among men, He was cast down and

His days shortened. If Zion were rebuilt (and the psalm

speaks prophetically of the time when it shall take place),

where would He be, Messiah as He was, if, weakened and

humbled, He was cut o in the midst of His days (as was

the case)? In a word, it is the prophetic expression of the

Saviour’s heart in the prospect of that which happened to

Him as a man on the earth, the utterance of His heart to

Jehovah, in those days of humiliation, in <P226>presence of

the renewed aection of the remnant for the dust of Zion-

an aection which the Lord had produced in their hearts,

and which was therefore a token of His goodwill and His

purpose to reestablish it. But how could a Saviour who was

cut o have part in it (a searching question for a believing

Jew, tempted on that side)? e words here quoted are the

answer to this question. Humbled as He might be, He was

the Creator Himself. He was ever the same;1 His years

could never fail. It was He who had founded the heavens:

Hebrews 1

317

He would fold them up as a garment, but He Himself

would never change.

(1. e words translated, “ou art the same” (Atta

Hu), are by many learned Hebraists taken-at least Hu-as

a name of God. At any rate, as unchangeably the same, it

amounts to it. e not failing years are endless duration

when become a man.)

e testimony rendered to the Messiah by the

scriptures of the Jews

Such then is the testimony rendered to the Messiah by the

scriptures of the Jews themselves-the glory of His position

above the angels who administered the dispensation of the

law; His eternal throne of righteousness; His unchangeable

divinity as Creator of all things.

e present place of Christ is His own place

One thing remained to complete this chain of glory-

that is, the place occupied at present by Christ, in contrast

still with the angels (a place that depends, on the one hand,

upon the divine glory of His Person; on the other, upon the

accomplishment of His work). And this place is at the right

hand of God, who called Him to sit there until He had

made His enemies His footstool. Not only in His Person

glorious and divine, not only does He hold the rst place

with regard to all creatures in the universe (we have spoken

of this, which will take place when He is introduced into

the world), but He has His own place at the right hand of

the majesty in the heavens. To which of the angels has God

ever said this? ey are servants on God’s part to the heirs

of salvation.<P227>

Darby Synopsis

318

73292

Hebrews 2

e exhortation to believing Jews as to the word

spoken, the word of salvation

is is the reason why it is so much the more needful to

hearken to the word spoken, in order that they should not

let it pass away from life and memory.

God had maintained the authority of the word that was

communicated by means of angels, punishing disobedience

to it, for it was a law. How then shall we escape if we neglect

a salvation which the Lord Himself has announced? us

the service of the Lord among the Jews was a word of

salvation, which the apostles conrmed and which the

mighty testimony of the Holy Spirit established.

Such is the exhortation addressed to the believing Jews,

founded on the glory of the Messiah, whether with regard

to His position or His Person, calling them away from

what was Jewish to higher thoughts of Christ.

e Lord’s testimony to Israel: its conrmation

We have already remarked that the testimony, of

which this epistle treats is attributed to the Lord Himself.

erefore, we must not expect to nd in it the assembly (as

such), of which the Lord had only spoken prophetically;

but His testimony in relation to Israel, among whom He

sojourned on the earth, to whatever extent that testimony

reached. at which was spoken by the apostles is only

treated here as a conrmation of the Lord’s own word,

God having added His testimony to it by the miraculous

manifestations of the Spirit, who distributed His gifts to

each according to His will.

Hebrews 2

319

e Lord’s glory as Son of Man, in connection with

the world to come, excluding angels altogether

e glory of which we have been speaking is the personal

glory of the Messiah, the Son of David; and His glory in

the time present, during which God has called Him to sit

at His right hand. He is the Son of God, He is even the

Creator; but there is also His glory in connection with the

world to come, as Son of Man. Of this chapter 2 speaks,

comparing Him still with the angels; but here<P228> to

exclude them altogether. In the previous chapter they had

their place: the law was given by angels; they are servants, on

God’s part, of the heirs of salvation. In chapter 2 they have

no place, they do not reign; the world to come is not made

subject to them-that is, this habitable earth, directed and

governed as it will be when God shall have accomplished

that which He has spoken of by the prophets.

All things put under the feet of the Son of Man

e order of the world, placed in relationship with

Jehovah under the law, or “lying in darkness,” has been

interrupted by the rejection of the Messiah, who has taken

His place at the right hand of God on high, His enemies

being not yet given into His hand for judgment, because

God is carrying on His work of grace and gathering out the

assembly. But He will yet establish a new order of things

on the earth; this will be “the world to come.” Now that

world is not made subject to angels. e testimony given in

the Old Testament with regard to this is as follows: “What

is man, that thou art mindful of him; or the son of man

that thou visitest him? ou hast made him a little lower

than the angels; thou hast crowned him with glory and

honor; thou hast set him over the works of thy hands; thou

hast put all things under his feet.” us all things without

Darby Synopsis

320

exception (save He who has made them subject to Him)

are, according to the purpose of God, put under the feet of

man, and in particular of the Son of Man.

e testimony of Psalms 1, 2 and 8 to Christ made

lower than the angels as Man, rejected and exalted

When studying the Book of Psalms, we saw that which

I recall here, namely, that this testimony in Psalm 8 is, with

regard to the position and dominion of Christ as man, an

advance upon Psalm 2. Psalm 1 sets before us the righteous

man, accepted of God, the godly remnant with which

Christ connected Himself; Psalm 2, the counsels of God

respecting His Messiah, in spite of the eorts made by the

kings and governors of the earth. God establishes Him as

King in Zion and summons all the kings to do homage to

Him whom He proclaimed to be His Son on the earth.

Afterwards we see that being rejected the remnant suers,

and this Psalm 2 is what Peter quotes to prove the rising

up of the<P229> powers of the earth, Jewish and Gentile,

against Messiah (Acts 4:25-26). But Psalm 8 shows that

all this only served to enlarge the sphere of His glory.

Christ takes the position of man and the title of Son of

Man, and enjoys His rights according to the counsels of

God; and, made lower than the angels, He is crowned with

glory and honor. And not only are the kings of the earth

made subject to Him, but all things, without exception, are

put under His feet.1 It is this which the Apostle quotes

here. e Christ had already been rejected and His being

established as King in Zion put o to be accomplished at a

later period. He had been exalted to the right hand of God,

as we have seen; and the wider title had accrued to Him,

although the result was not yet accomplished.

Hebrews 2

321

(1. Compare the answer of Christ to Nathanael at the

end of John 1; also Matthew 17 and Luke 9, where the

disciples are forbidden to announce Him as the Christ, and

He declares He is about to suer as Son of Man, but shows

them the coming glory.)

e partial fulllment of Psalm 8 a guarantee of its

completion; why Christ was made lower than angels;

crowned with glory and honor

To this the epistle here calls our attention. We see not

yet the accomplishment of all that this psalm announces,

namely, that all things should be put under His feet; but

a part is already fullled, a guarantee to the heart of the

fulllment of the whole. Made a little lower than the

angels in order to suer death, He is crowned with glory

and honor. He has suered death, and He is crowned in

reward for His work, by which He perfectly gloried God

in the place where He had been dishonored, and saved man

(those who believe in Him) where man was lost. For He

was made lower than the angels, in order that, by the grace

of God, He should taste death for all things. It appears

to me that the words “for the suering of death” and “a

little lower than the angels” go together; and “so that by

the grace of God” is a general phrase connected with the

whole truth stated.

Entering into the circumstances where men were and

undergoing the consequences; made perfect through

suerings; we taste death because of sin, He, because of

grace for sin

is passage then, which is thus applied to the Lord,

presents Him as exalted to heaven when He had undergone

the death<P230> which gave Him a right to all in a new

way while waiting till all is put under His feet. But there

Darby Synopsis

322

is another truth connected with this. He had undertaken

the cause of the sons whom God is bringing to glory, and

therefore He must enter into the circumstances in which

they were found, suer the consequences thereof, and be

treated according to the work He had undertaken. It was

a reality; and it was tting that God should vindicate the

rights of His glory, and should maintain it with reference

to those who had dishonored Him, and that He should

treat the One who had taken their cause in hand, and who

stood before Him in their name, as representing them in

that respect. God would bring the captain of their salvation

to perfection through suerings. He was to undergo the

consequences of the situation into which He had come.

His work was to be a reality, according to the measure

of the responsibility which He had taken upon Himself,

and it involved the glory of God where sin was. He must

therefore suer; He must taste death. It is by the grace

of God that He did so-we, because of sin; He, because of

grace for sin.

Christ and the sanctied ones as all one company; not

ashamed to call these His brethren

is shows us the Christ standing in the midst of those

who are saved, whom God brings to glory, although at

their head. It is this which our epistle sets before us-He

who sancties (the Christ) and they who are sanctied (the

remnant set apart for God by the Spirit) are all of one: an

expression, the force of which is easily apprehended, but

dicult to express, when one abandons the abstract nature

of the phrase itself. Observe that it is only of sanctied

persons that this is said. Christ and the sanctied ones are

all one company, men together in the same position before

God. But the idea goes a little further.

Hebrews 2

323

It is not of one and the same Father; had it been so, it

could not have been said, “He is not ashamed to call them

brethren.” He could not then do otherwise than call them

brethren.

If we say “of the same mass,” the expression may be

pushed too far, as though He and the others were of the

same nature as children of Adam, sinners together. In this

case He would have to call every man His brother; whereas

it is only the children whom God has given Him, “sanctied”

ones, that He so calls. But He and the sanctied ones are

all as men in the same nature and position <P231>together

before God. When I say “the same,” it is not in the same

state of sin, but the contrary, for they are the Sanctier and

the sanctied, but in the same truth of human position as

it is before God as sanctied to Him; the same as far forth

as man when He, as the sanctied one, is before God. On

this account He is not ashamed to call the sanctied His

brethren.

e children given Him called His brethren only

when His work was nished

is position is entirely gained by resurrection; for

although, in principle, the children were given to Him

before, yet He only called them His brethren when He

had nished the work which enabled Him to present them

with Himself before God. He said indeed “mother, sister,

brother”; but He did not use the term “my brethren” until

He said to Mary of Magdala, “Go to my brethren, and say

unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and

to my God and your God.” Also in Psalm 22 it is when

He had been heard from the horns of the unicorn that He

declared the name of a Deliverer-God to His brethren, and

that He praised God in the midst of the assembly.

Darby Synopsis

324

e disciples’ link with the Father not formed until

after Christ’s resurrection

He spoke to them of the Father’s name while on earth,

but the link itself could not be formed; He could not

introduce them to the Father, until the grain of wheat,

falling into the ground, had died; until then He remained

alone, whatever might be the revelations that He made to

them; and, in fact, He declared the name of His Father

to those whom He had given Him. Still He had actually

taken the human position, and He Himself was in this

relationship with God. He kept them in the Father’s name,

they were not yet united to Him in this position; but He

was as man in the relationship with God in which they also

should be, when brought in by redemption into association

with Himself. at which He does in the latter part of the

Gospel by John is to place His disciples- in the explanations

He gave of the condition in which He left them-in the

position which He, in fact, had held in relationship with

His Father on earth, and in testimony to the world, the

glory of His Person as representing and revealing His

Father being <P232>necessarily distinct. And, in seeking

to associate with them, He associated them with Himself

and Himself with them when He ascended to heaven,

although no longer corporeally subject to the trials of their

position.1

(1. is, however, in relationship with God. ey did

not represent nor make known the Father as He did. Also,

while we are brought into the same glory with Christ and

the same relationship with the Father, the personal glory

of Christ as Son is always carefully secured. It has been

justly remarked to the same purpose by another that He

never says “our” Father with the disciples. He tells them

Hebrews 2

325

to say “our,” but says “my and your,” and it is much more

precious.)

Christ calling His people “brethren” only when risen;

associating godly men, the remnant, with Himself

He was not ashamed then to call them brethren, saying,

though risen, yea, only when risen, “I will declare thy name

unto my brethren, I will praise thee in the midst of the

assembly.” And speaking of the remnant separated from

Israel, He says, “Behold I and the children whom God

hath given me are for signs unto the two houses of Israel”;

and again, “I will put my trust in him”-another quotation

from Isaiah 8. So in the Psalms, especially in Psalm 16,

He declares that He does not take His place as God- “my

goodness extendeth not to thee,” but that He identies

Himself with the excellent of the earth-that all His delight

is in them. is is again the remnant of Israel called by

grace.

Christ associates these sanctied men, godly men on

earth, with Himself. In the passage quoted it is still His

place on earth: His suerings, His exaltation, future glory,

divinity are, as we have seen, added here.

Christ conforming Himself to the children’s position,

taking part in esh and blood; the reason: Satan

conquered

Having taken this place as of, but at the head of, the

chosen band-their servant in all things, He must conform

Himself to their position. And this He did: the children

being partakers of esh and blood, He took part in the

same; and this, in order that by death He might put an

end to the dominion of him who had the power of death

and deliver those who, through fear of death, had been

subjected all their life to the yoke of bondage.

Darby Synopsis

326

Here also (the Apostle seeking always to display the

glorious and ecacious side, even of that which was most

humbling, in <P233>order to accustom the weak heart of

the Jews to that portion of the gospel) we nd that the

Lord’s work goes far beyond the limits of a presentation

of the Messiah to His people. Not only is He glorious

in heaven, but He has conquered Satan in the very place

where he exercised his sad dominion over man and where

the judgment of God lay heavily upon man.

e motive and means of man’s deliverance; the seed

of Abraham

Moved by a profound love for man, the Son-become

the Son of Man-enters in heart and in fact into all the

need, and submits to all the circumstances, of man in order

to deliver him. He takes (for He was not in it before) esh

and blood, in order to die, because man was subjected

to death; and (in order to destroy him who exercised his

dominion over man through death, and made him tremble

all his lifetime in the expectation of that terrible moment,

which testied of the judgment of God, and the inability of

man to escape the consequences of sin) the condition into

which disobedience to God had plunged him. For verily the

Lord did not undertake the cause of angels, but that of the

seed of Abraham, and in order to proclaim the work that

was necessary for them, and to represent them ecaciously

and really before God, He must needs put Himself into

the position and the circumstances in which that seed were

found, though not the state they were personally in.

It will be remarked here that it is still a family owned of

God, which is before our eyes, as the object of the Saviour’s

aection and care-the children whom God had given Him,

children of Abraham after the esh, if in that condition

Hebrews 2

327

they answered to the designation of “seed of Abraham” (this

is the question of John 8:37-39), or his children according

to the Spirit, if grace gives it them.

Christ the priest able to sympathize with His own in

all their conicts and diculties

ese truths introduce priesthood. As Son of Man, He

had been made a little less than the angels, and, crowned

already with glory and honor, was hereafter to have all

things put under His feet. is we do not yet see. But He

took this place of humiliation in order to taste death for the

whole system that was afar from God and to gain the full

rights of the second Man, by glorifying<P234> God there,

where the creature had failed through weakness, and where

also the enemy, having deceived man by his subtlety, had

dominion over him (according to the righteous judgment

of God) in power and malice. At the same time, he tasted

death for the special purpose of delivering the children

whom God would bring to glory, taking their nature and

gathering them together as sanctied ones around Himself,

He not being ashamed to call them brethren. But it was thus

that He was to present them now before God, according

to the ecacy of the work which He had accomplished for

them; He would become a priest, being able through His

life of humiliation and trial here below to sympathize with

His own in all their conicts and diculties.

Suering or yielding; the esh does not suer, but

enjoys; the new man’s need of succor against the esh

He suered-never yielded. We do not suer when we

yield to temptation: the esh takes pleasure in the things

by which it is tempted. Jesus suered, being tempted, and

He is able to succor them that are tempted. It is important

to observe that the esh, when acted upon by its desires,

Darby Synopsis

328

does not suer. Being tempted, it, alas! enjoys. But when,

according to the light of the Holy Spirit and the delity

of obedience, the Spirit resists the attacks of the enemy,

whether subtle or persecuting, then one suers. is the

Lord did, and this we have to do. at which needs succor

is the new man, the faithful heart, and not the esh. I need

succor against the esh, and in order to mortify all the

members of the old man.

Needed help given by the One who has suered being

tempted; Jesus’ faithfulness and love equally perfect

Here the needed help refers to the diculties of the

faithful saint in fullling all the will of God. is is where

he suers, this is where the Lord-who has suered-can

succor him. He trod this path, He learned in it that which

can be suered there from the enemy and from men. A

human heart feels it, and Jesus had a human heart. Besides,

the more faithful the heart is, the more full of love to God,

and the less it has of that hardness which is the result of

interaction with the world, the more will it suer. Now

there was no hardness in Jesus. His faithfulness and His

love<P235> were equally perfect. He was a man of sorrows,

acquainted with grief and weariness. He suered being

tempted.1

(1. Four distinct grounds may be noticed in the chapter

for the humiliation of Jesus: it became God-there was His

glory; the destruction of Satan’s power; reconciliation or

really propitiation by death; and capacity for sympathy in

priesthood.)

Hebrews 3

329

73293

Hebrews 3

e Lord as the Apostle and High Priest of believers

among the Jews

us the Lord is set before us as the Apostle and High

Priest of believers from among the Jews, the true people. I

say, “From among the Jews,” not that He is not our priest,

but that here the sacred writer places himself among the

believing Jews, saying “our”; and, instead of speaking of

himself as an apostle, he points out Jesus as the Apostle;

which He was in Person among the Jews. In principle, it is

true of all believers. at which He has said is the Lord’s

word, and He is able to succor us when we are tempted. We

are His house.

Moses, the faithful servant in the house, contrasted

with Christ, the Son over His house

For we have here a third character of Christ. He is a

“Son over his house.” Moses was faithful in all the house

of God as a servant, in testimony to the things that were

afterwards to be proclaimed. But Christ is over God’s

house; but it is not as a servant but as a Son. He has built

the house. He is God.

Moses identied himself with the house, faithful

therein in all things. But Christ is more excellent; even as

he who builds the house is more excellent than the house.

But He who builds all things is God. And this is what

Christ did. For, in fact, the house (that is, the tabernacle

in the wilderness) was a gure of the universe; and Christ

passed through the heavens, as the high priest passed into

the sanctuary. All was cleansed with blood, even as God

Darby Synopsis

330

will reconcile all things by Christ in the heavens and on the

earth. In a certain sense, this universe is the house of God.

He deigns to inhabit it. Christ created it all. But there is a

house which is more properly His own. We are His house,

taking it for granted that we persevere to the end.<P236>

e danger of the Hebrew Christians of forsaking a

Christianity and an unseen Christ for visible things

e Hebrew Christians were in danger-being attracted

by their former habits, and by a law and ceremonies which

God Himself had established-of forsaking a Christianity,

in which Christ was not visible, for things that were visible

and palpable. e Christ of Christians, far from being a

crown of glory to the people, was only an object of faith,

so that, if faith failed, He was deprived of all importance

to them. A religion that made itself seen (the “old wine”)

naturally attracted those that had been accustomed to it.

e Builder and the house

But, in fact, Christ was much more excellent than

Moses; as he who has built the house had more honor than

the house. Now this house was the gure of all things, and

He who had built them was God. e passage gives us this

view of Christ and of the house, and also says that we are

this house. And Christ is not the servant here; He is the

Son over God’s house.

e assembly as the body of Christ and its proper

privileges not found in this epistle

We must always remember that which has been already

remarked, namely, that in this epistle we have not the

assembly as the body of Christ in union with Himself; nor

even the Father either, except as a comparison in chapter 12.

It is God, a heavenly Christ (who is the Son of God), and

a people, the Messiah being a heavenly mediator between

Hebrews 3

331

the people and God. erefore, the proper privileges of the

assembly are not found in this epistle- they ow from our

union with Christ; and here Christ is a Person apart, who is

between us and God, on high while we are here.

ere are still a few remarks which we may add here in

order to throw light on this point and to assist the reader

in understanding the rst two chapters, as well as the

principle of the instructions throughout the epistle.

e work of Christ as presented in chapter 1

In chapter 1 Christ accomplishes by Himself as a

part of His divine glory the purication of sins and seats

Himself at the right hand of God. is work, observe, is

done by Himself. We have<P237> nothing to do with it,

save to believe in and enjoy it. It is a divine work which this

divine Person has accomplished by Himself; so that it has

all the absolute perfection, all the force, of a work done by

Him, without any mixture of our weakness, of our eorts,

or of our experiences. He performed it by Himself, and it

is accomplished. ereupon He takes His seat. He is not

placed there-He seats Himself upon the throne on high.

e present state of the gloried Man; looking

forward to future, full blessing in the Son of Man

In chapter 2 we see another point which characterizes

the epistle-the present state of the gloried Man. He is

crowned with glory and honor; but it is with a view to

an order of things which is not yet accomplished. It is

the Person of the Man Christ which is presented, not the

assembly in union with Him, even when He is beheld as

gloried in the heavens. is glory is viewed as a partial

accomplishment of that which belongs to Him, according

to the counsels of God, as the Son of Man. Hereafter, this

Darby Synopsis

332

glory will be complete in all its parts by the subjugation of

all things.

e present glory, therefore, of Christ makes us look

forward to an order of things yet future, which will be full

rest, full blessing. In a word, besides the perfection of His

work, the epistle sets before us the sequel of that which

belongs to the Christ in Person, the Son of Man, not the

perfection of the assembly in Him. And this embraces the

present time, the character of which, to the believer, depends

on Christ’s being now gloried in heaven while waiting for

a future state, in which all things will be subjected to Him.

Christ crowned as Son of Man; Christ gloried, once

dead on account of man

In this chapter 2 we see also that He is crowned. He is

not seen sitting there as in His own original right, though

He had that glory before the world was, but, having been

made a little less than the angels, God crowns Him. We

also plainly see that although the believing Hebrews are

especially in view, and even all Christians are classed

under the title of Abraham’s seed on the earth, yet that

Christ is viewed, nevertheless, as the Son of Man, and not

as the Son of David; and the question is put, “What is

man?” e answer (the precious answer for us) is, Christ

gloried,<P238> once dead on account of man’s condition.

In Him we see the mind of God with regard to man.

Christians viewed as Abraham’s seed, as forming part

of the chain of the heirs of promise on earth, and not as

the assembly

e fact that Christians themselves are viewed as the

seed of Abraham plainly shows the way in which they

are considered as forming part of the chain of the heirs

Hebrews 3

333

of promise on earth (as in Romans 11), and not as the

assembly united to Christ as His body in heaven.

e earthly and heavenly parts of God’s counsels

foreseen

in connection with the present position of the Son of

Man;

the blessing of the remnant; the force of “us” in the

epistle

e work is perfect; it is the work of God. He has by

Himself made purication of sins. e full result of the

counsels of God with regard to the Son of Man is not yet

come. us the earthly part can be brought in, as a thing

foreseen, as well as the heavenly part, although the persons

to whom the epistle is addressed had part in the heavenly

glory-participated in the heavenly calling- in connection

with the present position of the Son of Man.

e remnant of the Jews, as we have said, are considered

as continuing the chain of the people blessed on earth,

whatever heavenly privileges they may also possess or

whatever their special state may be in connection with

the Messiah’s exaltation to heaven. We have been grafted

into the good olive tree, so that we share all the advantages

here spoken of. Our highest position, and the privileges

belonging to it, are not here in view. Accordingly, as writing

to Hebrews and as one among them, he addresses them,

that is to say, Christians and believing Israelites. is is the

force of the word “us” in the epistle; we must bear it in

mind, and that the Hebrew believers always form the word

“us,” of which the writer is also a part.

As I have said, we rightly appropriate it to ourselves in

principle; but to have a clear view of his meaning, we must

Darby Synopsis

334

put ourselves at the point of view which the Spirit of God

has taken.<P239>

Hardening the heart; consequences of departure

from what was acknowledged to be true; the danger of

forsaking the living God; the word “today” expressing

the patient activity of God’s grace and long-suering

No one ought to harden his heart; but this word is

especially addressed to Israel, and that until the day when

Christ shall appear. In speaking of it, the author returns

to the word that had formerly been addressed to Israel;

not now in order to warn them of the danger they would

incur by neglecting it, but of the consequences of departing

from that which they had acknowledged to be true. Israel,

when delivered out of Egypt, had provoked God in the

wilderness (it was indeed the case also of Christians in

this world), because they were not at once, and without

diculty, in Canaan. ose to whom he wrote were in

danger of forsaking the living God in the same way; that is,

the danger was there before their eyes. ey should rather

exhort each other, while it was still called today, in order

that they might not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

is word “today” is the expression of the patient activity of

God’s grace towards Israel even unto the end. e people

were unbelieving; they have hardened their hearts; they

have done so, and will alas! do so to the end, until judgment

come in the Person of the Messiah-Jehovah, whom they

have despised. But until then God loves to reiterate, “Today,

if ye will hear my voice.” It may be that only a few will

hearken; it may be that the nation is judicially hardened,

in order to admit the Gentiles; but the word “today” still

resounds for everyone among them who has ears to hear,

until the Lord shall appear in judgment. It is addressed to

Hebrews 3

335

the people according to the long-suering of God. For the

remnant who had believed it was a special warning not to

walk in the ways of the hardened people who had refused

to hearken-not to turn back to them, forsaking their own

condence in the word which had called them, as Israel did

in the wilderness.

Practical danger: unbelief through sin and God’s

faithfulness

As long as the “today” of the call of grace should

continue, they were to exhort one another, lest unbelief

should glide into their hearts through the subtlety of sin.

It is thus that the living God is forsaken. We speak thus

practically, not with reference to the<P240> faithfulness

of God, who certainly will not allow any of His own to

perish, but with regard to practical danger, and to that

which would draw us away-as to our responsibility-from

God, and forever, if God did not intervene, acting in the

life which He has given us, and which never perishes.

Sin’s eects: the warning against it arrests the living,

the dead despise it and perish; Israel in the wilderness

Sin separates us from God in our thoughts; we have no

longer the same sense either of His love, His power or His

interest in us. Condence is lost. Hope, and the value of

unseen things, diminish; while the value of things that are

seen proportionately increases. e conscience is bad; one

is not at ease with God. e path is hard and dicult; the

will strengthens itself against Him. We no longer live by

faith; visible things come in between us and God, and take

possession of the heart. Where there is life, God warns by

His Spirit (as in this epistle), He chastises and restores.

Where it was only an outward inuence, a faith devoid of

life, and the conscience not reached, it is abandoned.

Darby Synopsis

336

It is the warning against so doing that arrests the living.

e dead-they whose consciences are not engaged, who

do not say, “To whom shall we go? thou hast the words

of eternal life”-despise the warning and perish. is was

the case with Israel in the wilderness, and God sware

unto them that they should not enter into His rest (Num.

14:21-23). And why? ey had given up their condence

in Him. eir unbelief-when the beauty and excellence of

the land had been reported to them-deprived them of the

promised rest.

Israel deprived of the promised rest through unbelief;

the position of believers in connection with better

promises

e position of the believers to whom this epistle is

addressed was the same as this, although in connection

with better promises. e beauty and excellence of the

heavenly Canaan had been proclaimed to them. ey

had, by the Spirit, seen and tasted its fruits; they were in

the wilderness; they had to persevere to maintain their

condence unto the end.<P241>

Doubting Christians not here contemplated;

the exhortation given to preserve the Christian in

condence; the use of the epistle to sanction doubts a

device of the enemy; a good conscience

Observe here-for Satan, and our own conscience when

it has not been set free, often make use of this epistle-that

doubting Christians are not here contemplated, or persons

who have not yet gained entire condence in God: to those

who are in this condition its exhortations and warnings

have no application. ese exhortations are to preserve the

Christian in a condence which he has, and to persevere, not

to tranquilize fears and doubts. is use of the epistle to

Hebrews 3

337

sanction such doubts is but a device of the enemy. Only

I would add here that, although the full knowledge of

grace (which in such a case the soul has assuredly not yet

attained) is the only thing that can deliver and set it free

from its fears, yet it is very important in this case practically

to maintain a good conscience, in order not to furnish the

enemy with a special means of attack.

Darby Synopsis

338

73294

Hebrews 4

Israel’s failure through unbelief to enter into rest; the

rest yet to come; believers enter into it

e Apostle goes on to apply this part of Israel’s history

to those whom he was addressing, laying stress on two

points: rst, that Israel had failed of entering into rest

through unbelief; second, that the rest was yet to come, and

that believers (those who were not seeking rest here, but

who accepted the wilderness for the time being) should

enter into it.

He begins by saying, “Let us fear lest, a promise being

left us of entering into his rest, any should seem to come

short of it,” not attain to it. For we have been the objects

of the proclamation of glad tidings, as they were in times

past. But the word addressed to them remained fruitless,

not being mixed with faith in them that heard it: for we

which have believed do enter into rest. e rest itself is

yet to come, and it is believers who enter into it. For a

rest of God there is, and there are some who enter into it:

inasmuch as it is written, “ey,” that is, those (pointing out

a certain class who are to be excluded) “shall not enter into

my rest.”<P242>

God’s rest in the rst creation: some were to enter

into it, but Israel did not because of unbelief

God had wrought in creation, and then rested from

His works when He had nished them. us, from the

foundation of the world, He has shown that He had a rest,

as in the passage already quoted, “If they shall enter into

my rest”; but this, showing that the entering in was yet in

Hebrews 4

339

question, showed that into God’s rest in the rst creation

man had not entered. Two things then are evident-some

were to enter in, and the Israel to whom it was rst proposed

did not enter in because of their unbelief. erefore He

again xes a day, saying, in David, long after the entrance

into Canaan, “Today-as it is written-today, if ye will hear

his voice, harden not your hearts.”

e rest of God was not the rest of entering into

Canaan but is yet to come, assured by God’s Word

Here a natural objection occurs to which the passage

gives a complete answer, without speaking of the objection

itself. e Israelites had indeed fallen in the wilderness,

but Joshua had brought the people into Canaan which

the unbelievers never reached; the Jews were there, so that

they did enter into the rest as to which the others failed.

e answer is evident. It was long after this that God said

by David, “I sware in my wrath, if they shall enter into

my rest.” If Joshua had given rest to Israel, David could

not afterwards have spoken of another day. ere remains,

therefore, a rest for the people of God. It is yet to come;

but it is assured by the Word of God-a truth, the bearing of

which is immediately seen with regard to the connection

of the believing Jews with the nation, in the midst of which

they were tempted to seek a rest that, for the moment, faith

did not aord them, and being enfeebled saw but dimly

before it. To have God’s rest one must persevere in faith.

Present, apparent rest was not the true rest. God’s rest was

still to be waited for. Faith alone acknowledged this and

sought for none in the wilderness, trusting to the promise.

God still said, “Today.”

Darby Synopsis

340

e state of the people was worse than the rest that

Joshua gave them; which, as their own psalms prove, was

no rest at all.<P243>

What the exhortation to enter that rest shows

As to the order of the verses, the exhortation in verse 11

depends on the whole course of what precedes, the argument

having been completed by the testimony of David coming

after Joshua. After the creation God indeed rested; but He

said after that, “If they shall enter into my rest,” so that men

had not entered into that rest. Joshua entered into the land;

but the word by David, coming long after, proves that the

rest of God was not yet attained. Nevertheless, this same

testimony, which forbade the entrance into rest because

of unbelief, showed that some are to enter in: otherwise

there was no need of declaring the exclusion of others for

a special cause, nor warning men that they might escape

what hindered their entering in. No parenthesis is needed.

e exhortation

Now, as long as anyone had not ceased from his works,

he had not entered into rest; he who has entered into it has

ceased from work, even as God ceased from His own works

when He entered into His rest. “Let us therefore use all

diligence” is the exhortation of the faithful witness of God,

“that we may enter into that rest”- the rest of God-in order

that we may not fall after the same example of unbelief.

e rest of God; the Christian’s future rest from all

his works; the blessed rest that remains

We should especially observe here that it is the rest of

God which is spoken of. is enables us to understand

the happiness and perfection of the rest. God must rest

in that which satises His heart. is was the case even in

creation-all was very good. And now it must be in a perfect

Hebrews 4

341

blessing that perfect love can be satised with, with regard

to us, who will possess a heavenly portion in the blessing

which we shall have in His own presence, in perfect

holiness and perfect light. Accordingly, all the toilsome

work of faith, the exercise of faith in the wilderness, the

warfare (although there are many joys), the good works

practiced there, labor of every kind will cease. It is not only

that we shall be delivered from the power of indwelling

sin; all the eorts and all the troubles of the new man will

cease. We are already set free from the law of sin; then our

spiritual exercise for God will cease. We<P244> shall rest

from our works-not evil ones. We have already rested from

our works with regard to justication, and therefore in that

sense we have now rest in our consciences, but that is not

the subject here-it is the Christian’s rest from all his works.

God rested from His works-assuredly good ones-and so

shall we also then with Him.

We are now in the wilderness; we also wrestle with

wicked spirits in heavenly places. A blessed rest remains

for us, in which our hearts will repose in the presence of

God, where nothing will trouble the perfection of our rest,

where God will rest in the perfection of the blessing He

has bestowed on His people.

e believer not to expect that rest here; an earthly

rest for the earthly people and a heavenly one for the

partakers of the heavenly calling

e great thought of the passage is that there remains

a rest (that is to say, that the believer is not to expect it

here) without saying where it is. And it does not speak

in detail of the character of the rest, because it leaves the

door open to an earthly rest for the earthly people on the

Darby Synopsis

342

ground of the promises, although to Christian partakers of

the heavenly calling God’s rest is evidently a heavenly one.

e instrument God uses to judge unbelief; the

Word of God: its power, character, work, eects and

consequences

e Apostle then sets before us the instrument which

God employs to judge the unbelief and all the workings of

the heart which tend, as we have seen, to lead the believer

into departure from the position of faith and to hide God

from him by inducing him to satisfy his esh and to seek

for rest in the wilderness.

To the believer who is upright in heart this judgment

is of great value, as that which enables him to discern all

that has a tendency to hinder his progress or make him

slacken his steps. It is the Word of God, which-being the

revelation of God, the expression of what He is, and of

all that surrounds Him, and of what His will is in all the

circumstances that surround us-judges everything in the

heart which is not of Him. It is more penetrating than

a two-edged sword. Living and energetic, it separates

all<P245> that is most intimately linked together in our

hearts and minds. Whenever nature-the “soul” and its

feelings- mingles with that which is spiritual, it brings

the edge of the sword of the living truth of God between

the two, and judges the hidden movements of the heart

respecting them. It discerns all the thoughts and intentions

of the heart. But it has another character, coming from God

(being, as it were, His eye upon the conscience), it brings us

into His presence; and all that it forces us to discover, it sets

in our conscience before the eye of God Himself. Nothing

is hidden, all is naked and manifested to the eye of Him

with whom we have to do.1

Hebrews 4

343

(1. e connection between the Word addressed to man

and God Himself is very remarkable here. )

Such is the true help, the mighty instrument of God

to judge everything in us that would hinder us from

pursuing our course through the wilderness with joy and

with a buoyant heart strengthened by faith and condence

in Him. Precious instrument of a faithful God, solemn

and serious in its operation; but of priceless and innite

blessing in its eects, in its consequences.

It is an instrument which, in its operations, does not

allow “the desires of the esh and of the mind” liberty

to act; which does not permit the heart to deceive itself;

but which procures us strength and places us without any

consciousness of evil in the presence of God, to pursue our

course with joy and spiritual energy. Here the exhortation,

founded on the power of the Word, concludes.

Another succor-the priesthood: the great High

Priest, Jesus the Son of David

But there is another succor, one of a dierent character,

to aid us in our passage through the wilderness; and that

is priesthood-a subject which the epistle here begins and

carries on through several chapters. We have a high priest

who has passed through the heavens-as Aaron through

the successive parts of the tabernacle-Jesus, the Son of

David.<P246>

e ability of Jesus to sympathize with weakness and

diculties: now beyond the reach of pain and trial, He

can provide, care and sympathize in it

He has, in all things, been tempted like ourselves, sin

apart; so that He can sympathize with our inrmities.

e Word brings to light the intents of the heart, judges

the will, and all that has not God for its object and its

Darby Synopsis

344

source. en, as far as weakness is concerned, we have His

sympathy. Christ, of course, had no evil desires: He was

tempted in every way, apart from sin. Sin had no part in it

at all. But I do not wish for sympathy with the sin that is in

me; I detest it, I wish it to be mortied-judged unsparingly.

is the Word does. For my weakness and my diculties

I seek sympathy; and I nd it in the priesthood of Jesus.

It is not necessary, in order to sympathize with me, that a

person should feel at the same moment that which I am

feeling-rather the contrary. If I am suering pain, I am not

in a condition to think as much of another’s pain. But in

order to sympathize with him I must have a nature capable

of appreciating his pain.

us it is with Jesus, when exercising His priesthood.

He is in every sense beyond the reach of pain and trial, but

He is man; and not only has He the human nature which

in time suered grief, but He experienced the trials a saint

has to go through more fully than any of ourselves; and His

heart, free and full of love, can entirely sympathize with

us, according to His experience of ill, and according to the

glorious liberty which He now has, to provide and care for

it. is encourages us to hold fast our profession in spite

of the diculties that beset our path; for Jesus concerns

Himself about them, according to His own knowledge and

experience of what they are, and according to the power of

His grace.

e throne of grace; what we nd there

erefore, our High Priest being there, we can go with

all boldness to the throne of grace, to nd mercy and the

grace suited to us in all times of need: mercy, because we are

weak and wavering; needful grace, because we are engaged

in a warfare which God owns.

Hebrews 4

345

Observe, it is not that we go to the High Priest. It is

often done, and God may have compassion; but it is a proof

that we do not fully understand grace. e Priest, the Lord

Jesus, occupies Him<P247>self about us-sympathizes with

us, on the one hand; and on the other, we go directly to the

throne of grace.

Darby Synopsis

346

73295

Hebrews 5

e purpose of the exhortation to go boldly to the

throne of grace

e Spirit does not here speak positively of falls; we

nd that in 1John 2. ere also it is in connection with

communion with His Father, here with access to God.

His purpose here is to strengthen us, to encourage us to

persevere in the way, conscious of the sympathies which we

possess in heaven, and that the throne is always open to us.

e Lord’s priesthood compared with that of Aaron

e epistle then develops the priesthood of the Lord

Jesus, comparing it with that of Aaron; but, as we shall

see, with a view to bring out the dierence rather than the

resemblance between them, although there is a general

analogy, and the one was a shadow of the other.

is comparison is made in chapter 5:1-10. e line

of argument is then interrupted, though the ground of

argument is enlarged and developed, till the end of chapter

7, where the comparison with Melchisedec is pursued; and

the change of law, consequent on the change of priesthood,

is stated, which introduces the covenants and all that relates

to the circumstances of the Jews.

e duties, shortcomings and honors of the Aaronic

priesthood

A priest, then, as taken from among men (he is not here

speaking of Christ, but of that with which he compares

Him), is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,

that he may oer both gifts and sacrices for sins; he is

able to feel the miseries of others, because he is himself

Hebrews 5

347

compassed with inrmity, and oers, therefore, for himself

as well as for the people. Moreover, no one takes this honor

to himself, but receives it, as Aaron did, being called of

God. e epistle will speak further on of the sacrice-

here of the person of the priest, and of the order of the

priesthood.<P248>

e personal and ocial glory of Christ as high priest

So the Christ gloried not Himself to become a high

priest. e glory of His Person, manifested as man on the

earth, and that of His function are both of them plainly

declared of God: the rst, when He said, “ou art my

Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Psa. 2); the second,

in these words, “ou art a priest forever after the order

of Melchisedec” (Psa. 110). Such, then, in both personal

and ocial glory is the High Priest, the expected Messiah,

Christ.

What brought the glorious One near to the miseries

of men

But His glory (although it gives Him His place in honor

before God, and consequent on redemption, so that He

can undertake the people’s cause before God according to

His will) does not bring Him near to the miseries of men.

It is His history on earth which makes us feel how truly

able He is to take part in them. “In the days of his esh,”

that is, here below, He went into all the anguish of death

in dependence on God, making His request to Him who

was able to save Him from it. For, being here in order to

obey and to suer, He did not save Himself. He submitted

to everything, obeyed in everything, and depended on God

for everything.

e Lord’s fear was His piety; feeling the whole

weight of death and sin; His perfect obedience

Darby Synopsis

348

He was heard because of His fear. It was proper that He

who took death on Himself, as answering for others, should

feel its whole weight upon His soul. He would neither

escape the consequences of that which He had undertaken

(compare chapter 2), nor fail in the just sense of what it was

thus to be under the hand of God in judgment. His fear

was His piety, the right estimation of the position in which

sinful man was found, and what must come from God

because of it. For Him, however, to suer the consequences

of this position was obedience. And this obedience was to

be perfect, and to be tried to the utmost.

e glorious Son of God perfected; the cause of

eternal salvation; saluted by God as “high priest after the

order of Melchisedec”

He was the Son, the glorious Son of God. But though

this was so, He was to learn obedience (and to Him it was

a new thing),<P249> what it was in the world, by all that

He suered. And, having deserved all glory, He was to

take His place as the gloried Man-to be perfected; and

in that position to become the cause of eternal salvation

(not merely temporal deliverances) to them that obey

Him; a salvation which should be connected with the

position that He had taken in consequence of His work of

obedience, saluted by God as “high priest after the order of

Melchisedec.”

e condition of those to whom the epistle was

addressed, requiring milk instead of meat

at which follows to the end of chapter 6 is a

parenthesis which refers to the condition of those to whom

the epistle is addressed. ey are blamed for the dullness

of their spiritual intelligence and encouraged at the same

time by the promises of God; the whole with reference to

Hebrews 5

349

their position as Jewish believers. Afterwards, the line of

instruction with regard to Melchisedec is resumed.

For the time, they ought to have been able to teach:

nevertheless, they needed that someone should teach them

the elements of the oracles of God-requiring milk instead

of meat.

e hindrance in traditional religion and ordinances

We may observe that there is no greater hindrance to

progress in spiritual life and intelligence than attachment

to an ancient form of religion, which, being traditional and

not simply personal faith in the truth, consists always in

ordinances and is consequently carnal and earthly. Without

this, people may be unbelievers; but under the inuence

of such a system piety itself-expended in forms-makes a

barrier between the soul and the light of God: and these

forms which surround, preoccupy and hold the aections

captive prevent them from enlarging and becoming

enlightened by means of divine revelation. Morally (as the

Apostle here expresses it) the senses are not exercised to

discern both good and evil.

But the Holy Spirit will not limit Himself to the

narrow circle and the weak and futile sentiments of human

tradition, nor even to those truths which, in a state like

this, one is able to receive. In such a case Christ has not

His true place. And this our epistle here develops.<P250>

Milk and solid food: infancy and manhood

Milk belongs to babes, solid food to those who are of

full age. is infancy was the soul’s condition under the

ordinances and requirements of the law (compare Galatians

4:1-7). But there was a revelation of the Messiah in

connection with these two states-of infancy and of manhood.

And the development of the word of righteousness, of the

Darby Synopsis

350

true, practical relationships of the soul to God according to

His character and ways, was in proportion to the revelation

of Christ, who is the manifestation of that character, and

the center of all those ways. erefore it is that, in chapter

5:12-13, the epistle speaks of the elements, the beginning,

of the oracles of God, and of the word of righteousness;

in chapter 6:1, of the word of the beginning, or of the rst

principles, of Christ.

Hebrews 6

351

73296

Hebrews 6

e full revelation of Christ’s glory; the doctrine

belonging to infancy in contrast with the strength and

savor of Christian revelation; what Christ Himself is

Now the Spirit will not stop at this point with Christians,

but will go on to that full revelation of His glory which

belongs to them that are of full age and indeed forms us

for that state.

We easily perceive that the inspired writer tries to make

the Hebrews feel that he was placing them on higher and

more excellent ground, by connecting them with a heavenly

and invisible Christ; and that Judaism kept them back in

the position of children. is, moreover, characterizes the

whole epistle.

Nevertheless, we shall nd two things here: on the

one hand, the elements and the character of doctrine

that belonged to infancy, to “the beginning of the word

of Christ,” in contrast with the strength and heavenly

savor that accompanied the Christian revelation; and, on

the other hand, what the revelation of Christ Himself

is in connection with this last spiritual and Christian

system.<P251>

Why the Christian system is distinguished from the

doctrine of the Person of Christ

But the epistle distinguishes between this system and

the doctrine of the Person of Christ, even looked at as

man,1 although the present position of Christ gives its

character to the Christian system. e distinction is made-

not that the condition of souls does not depend on the

Darby Synopsis

352

measure of the revelation of Christ and of the position

He has taken, but-because the doctrine of His Person

and glory goes much farther than the present state of our

relationship with God.

(1. e Sonship of Christ, however, here below, cannot

be separated from His eternal Sonship, for this lends its

character to the relationship in which He stands as Son on

earth in time. e passage in the text refers to verses 5 and

8, compared with verses 6 and 10 of chapter 5. Compare

also the beginning of John 17.)

e elementary doctrines of the times when Christ

was not manifested and Christian privileges enjoyed in

virtue of the Messiah’s work and glorication

e things spoken of in chapter 6:1-2 had their place,

because the Messiah was then yet to come: all was in a

state of infancy. e things spoken of in verses 4-5 are

the privileges that Christians enjoyed in virtue of the

work and the glorication of the Messiah. But they are

not in themselves the “perfection” mentioned in verse 1,

and which relates rather to the knowledge of the Person of

Christ Himself. e privileges in question were the eect

of the glorious position of His Person in heaven.

It is important to attend to this, in order to understand

these passages. In the infancy spoken of in verses 1-2, the

obscurity of the revelations of the Messiah, announced at

most by promises and prophecies, left worshippers under

the yoke of ceremonies and gures, although in possession

of some fundamental truths. His exaltation made way for

the power of the Holy Spirit here below: and on this the

responsibility of souls which had tasted it depended.

Hebrews 6

353

e epistle’s full revelation to prevent Jews from

forsaking Christian privileges to return to the former

things

e doctrine of the Person and the glory of Jesus forms

the subject of revelation in the epistle, and was the means

of deliverance<P252> for the Jews from the whole system

which had been such a heavy burden on their hearts; it

should prevent their forsaking the state described in verses

4 and 5, in order to return into the weakness and (Christ

having come) the carnal state of verses 1 and 2.

e epistle then does not desire to establish again the

true but elementary doctrines which belonged to the times

when Christ was not manifested, but to go forward to the

full revelation of His glory and position according to the

counsels of God revealed in the Word.

New things in connection with Messiah’s heavenly

glory characterized by the Spirit’s power

e Holy Spirit would not go back again to these

former things, because new things had been brought in in

connection with the heavenly glory of the Messiah, namely,

Christianity characterized by the power of the Holy Spirit.

e former things of Judaism left behind and

Christianity’s new things abandoned, nothing was left

But if anyone who had been brought under that power,

who had known it, should afterwards abandon it, he could

not be renewed again to repentance. e former things of

Judaism must be, and were, left behind by that into which

he had entered. Christians could not deal with souls by

them; and, as for the new things, he had given them up.

All God’s means had been employed for him and had

produced nothing.

Darby Synopsis

354

e Hebrew who had once acknowledged the national

sin of the crucixion of Messiah and then retracted it

was personally guilty of the crime, knowingly and of his

own will

Such a one-of his own will-crucied for himself the Son

of God. Associated with the people who had done so, he

had acknowledged the sin which his people had committed

and owned Jesus to be the Messiah. But now he committed

the crime,1 knowingly and of his own will.<P253>

(1. I do not think “afresh” ought to be inserted: the

emphasis is on doing it for himself.)

Miracles as testifying of the Messiah’s glorication,

a partial anticipation of full deliverance, the “powers of

the world to come”

e judgment, the resurrection of the dead, repentance

from dead works had been taught. Under that order

of things the nation had crucied their Messiah. Now

power had come; which testied of the glorication of

the crucied Messiah, the Son of God, in heaven; and

which by miracles destroyed (at least in detail) the power

of the enemy who was still reigning over the world. ese

miracles were a partial anticipation of the full and glorious

deliverance which should take place in the world to come,

when the triumphant Messiah, the Son of God, should

entirely destroy all the power of the enemy. Hence, they

are called the “powers of the world to come.”

e Spirit’s power exercised in anticipation of

deliverance and the word of grace preached

e power of the Holy Spirit, the miracles wrought in

the bosom of Christianity were testimonies that the power

which was to accomplish that deliverance-although still

hidden in heaven-existed, nevertheless, in the glorious

Hebrews 6

355

Person of the Son of God. e power did not yet accomplish

the deliverance of this world oppressed by Satan, because

another thing was being done meanwhile. e light of God

was shining, the good word of grace was being preached,

the heavenly gift (a better thing than the deliverance of

the world) was being tasted; and the sensible power of the

Holy Spirit made itself known, while waiting for the return

in glory of the Messiah to bind Satan, and thus accomplish

the deliverance of the world under His dominion.

Speaking generally, the power of the Holy Spirit,

the consequence of the Messiah’s being gloried above,

was exercised on earth as a present manifestation and

anticipation of the great deliverance to come. e revelation

of grace, the good Word of God, was preached; and the

Christian lived in the sphere where these things displayed

themselves, and was subjected to the inuence exercised in

it. is made itself to be felt by those who were brought in

among Christians. Even where there was no spiritual life,

these inuences were felt.<P254>

e full revelation of grace and power known and

rejected, a return to Judaism impossible: Christ forsaken,

there was no other means to lead the soul to repentance

But, after having been the subject of this inuence

of the presence of the Holy Spirit, after having tasted

the revelation thus made of the goodness of God, and

experienced the proofs of His power, if anyone then forsook

Christ, there remained no other means for restoring the

soul, for leading it to repentance. e heavenly treasures

were already expended: he had given them up as worthless;

he had rejected the full revelation of grace and power, after

having known it. What means could now be used? To return

to Judaism, and the rst principles of the doctrine of Christ

Darby Synopsis

356

in it, when the truth had been revealed, was impossible: and

the new light had been known and rejected. In a case like

this there was only the esh; there was no new life. orns

and briars were being produced as before. ere was no real

change in the man’s state.

Comparison of the power of Christianity with

Judaism; the Holy Spirit’s power; tasting the good Word

When once we have understood that this passage is

a comparison of the power of the spiritual system with

Judaism, and that it speaks of giving up the former, after

having known it, its diculty disappears. e possession

of life is not supposed, nor is that question touched. e

passage speaks, not of life, but of the Holy Spirit as a

power present in Christianity. To “taste the good word” is

to have understood how precious that Word is; and not the

having been quickened by its means.1 Hence, in speaking

to the Jewish Christians he hopes better things, and things

which accompany salvation, so that all these things could

be there and yet no salvation. Fruit there could not be. at

supposes life.

(1. So in Matthew 13 some with joy receive it, but there

was no root.)

Encouragement to those who had shown proofs of life

e Apostle does not, however, apply what he says to the

Hebrew Christians: for, however low their state might be,

there had been fruits, proofs of life, which in itself no mere

power is; and he continues his discourse by giving them

encouragement, and motives for perseverance.<P255>

e state and privileges of professors before and after

Christ was gloried

It will be observed, then, that this passage is a comparison

between that which was possessed before and after Christ

Hebrews 6

357

was gloried-the state and privileges of professors, at these

two periods, without any question as to personal conversion.

When the power of the Holy Spirit was present, and there

was the full revelation of grace, if any forsook the assembly,

fell away from Christ, and turned back again, there was

no means of renewing them to repentance. e inspired

writer, therefore, would not again lay the foundation of

former things with regard to Christ-things already grown

old-but would go on, for the prot of those who remained

steadfast in the faith.

e future earthly state, the millennial world

We may also remark how the epistle, in speaking of

Christian privileges, does not lose sight of the future earthly

state, the glory and the privileges of the millennial world.

e miracles are the miracles of the world to come; they

belong to that period. e deliverance and the destruction

of Satan’s power should then be complete; those miracles

were deliverances, samples of that power. We saw this point

brought into notice (ch. 2:5) at the beginning of the doctrine

of the epistle; and in chapter 4 the rest of God left vague

in its character, in order to embrace both the heavenly part

and the earthly part of our Lord’s millennial reign. Here

the present power of the Holy Spirit characterizes the ways

of God, Christianity; but the miracles are a foretaste of the

coming age, in which the whole world will be blessed.

God’s promises conrmed by His oath and the

personal guarantee of the heavenly mediator; the

heavenly character of the hope; the double character of

blessing

In the encouragements that it gives them, the epistle

already calls to mind the principles by which the father

of the faithful and of the Jewish nation had walked, and

Darby Synopsis

358

the way in which God had strengthened him in his faith.

Abraham had to rest on promises, without possessing that

which was promised; and this, with regard to rest and glory,

was the state in which the Hebrew Christians then were.

But at the same time, in order to give full <P256>assurance

to the heart, God had conrmed His word by an oath,

in order that they who build upon this hope of promised

glory might have strong and satisfying consolation. And

this assurance has received a still greater conrmation. It

entered into that within the veil, it found its sanction in the

sanctuary itself, whither a forerunner had entered, giving

not only a word, an oath, but a personal guarantee for the

fulllment of these promises, and the sanctuary of God

as a refuge for the heart; thus giving, for those who had

spiritual understanding, a heavenly character to the hope

which they cherished; while showing, by the character of

Him who had entered into heaven, the certain fulllment

of all the Old Testament promises, in connection with a

heavenly mediator, who, by His position, assured that

fulllment; establishing the earthly blessing upon the rm

foundation of heaven itself, and giving at the same time

a higher and more excellent character to that blessing by

uniting it to heaven, and making it ow from thence.

We have thus the double character of blessing which

this book again presents to our mind, in connection with

the Person of the Messiah, and the whole linked by faith

with Jesus.

e Aaronic order set aside; Christ’s heavenly

Melchisedec

priesthood, pointing out a future royalty not yet

manifested

Hebrews 6

359

Jesus has entered into heaven as a forerunner. He is

there. We belong to that heaven. He is there as high priest.

During the present time, therefore, His priesthood has a

heavenly character; nevertheless, He is priest, personally,

after the order of Melchisedec. It sets aside, then, the

whole Aaronic order, though the priesthood be exercised

now after the analogy of Aaron’s, but, by its nature, points

out in the future a royalty which is not yet manifested.

Now the very fact that this future royalty was connected

with the Person of Him who was seated at the right hand

of the majesty on high, according to Psalm 110, xed

the attention of the Hebrew Christian, when tempted

to turn back, on Him who was in the heavens, and made

him understand the priesthood which the Lord is now

exercising; it delivered him from Judaism, and strengthened

him in the heavenly character of the Christianity which he

had embraced.<P257>

Darby Synopsis

360

73297

Hebrews 7

e personal dignity of Melchisedec and the

importance of his priesthood: the only thing testied of

him

e epistle, returning to the subject of Melchisedec,

reviews, therefore, the dignity of his person and the

importance of his priesthood. For on priesthood, as a means

of drawing nigh to God, the whole system connected with

it depended.

Melchisedec then (a typical and characteristic person,

as the use of his name in Psalm 110 proves) was king

of Salem, that is, king of peace, and, by name, king of

righteousness. Righteousness and peace characterize his

reign. But above all he was priest of the Most High God.

is is the name of God as supreme Governor of all things-

Possessor, as is added in Genesis, of heaven and earth. It is

thus that Nebuchadnezzar, the humbled earthly potentate,

acknowledged Him. It was thus He revealed Himself to

Abraham, when Melchisedec blessed the patriarch after he

had conquered his enemies. In connection with his walk of

faith, the name of God for Abraham was “e Almighty.”

Here Abraham, victorious over the kings of the earth, is

blessed by Melchisedec, by the king of righteousness, in

connection with God as Possessor of heaven and earth, the

Most High. is looks onward to the royalty of Christ, a

priest upon His throne, when by the will and the power

of God He shall have triumphed over all His enemies-a

time not yet arrived-rst fullled in the millennium, as it

is commonly expressed, though this rather refers to the

Hebrews 7

361

earthly part. Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedec. His

royalty was not all, for Psalm 110 is very clear in describing

Melchisedec as priest, and as possessing a lasting and

uninterrupted priesthood. He had no sacerdotal parentage

from whom he derived his priesthood. As a priest, he had

neither father nor mother; unlike the sons of Aaron, he

had no genealogy (compare Ezra 2:62); he had no limits

assigned to the term of his priestly service, as was the case

with the sons of Aaron (Num. 4:3). He was made a priest,

like-in his priestly character-to the Son of God; but, as yet,

the latter is in heaven.

e fact that he received tithes from Abraham, and that

he blessed Abraham, showed the high and preeminent

dignity of this otherwise unknown and mysterious

personage. e only thing that is testied of him-without

naming father or mother,<P258> commencement of life,

or death that may have taken place-is that he lived.

e dignity of his person was beyond that of Abraham,

the depositary of the promises; that of his priesthood was

above Aaron’s, who in Abraham paid the tithes which Levi

himself received from his brethren. e priesthood then is

changed, and with it the whole system that depended on it.

Proofs that the priesthood and its whole system were

changed

Psalm 110 interpreted by faith in Christ-for the epistle,

we need not say, speaks always to Christians-is still the

point on which its argument is founded. e rst proof,

then, that the whole was changed is that the Lord Jesus,

the Messiah (a priest after the order of Melchisedec),

did not spring evidently from the sacerdotal tribe, but

from another, namely, that of Judah. For that Jesus was

the Messiah, they believed. But, according to the Jewish

Darby Synopsis

362

scriptures, the Messiah was such as He is here presented;

and in that case the priesthood was changed, and with it

the whole system. And this was not only a consequence

that must be drawn from the fact that the Messiah was of

the tribe of Judah, although a priest; but it was requisite

that another priest than the priest of Aaron’s family should

arise, and one after the similitude of Melchisedec, who

should not be after the law of a commandment which had

no more power than the esh to which it was applied, but

who should be according to the power of a never-ending

life. e testimony of the psalm to this was positive: “ou

art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

e bringing in of a better hope; the law and God’s

grace

For there is, in fact, a disannulling of the commandment

that existed previously, because it was unprotable (for

the law brought nothing to perfection); and there is the

bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw nigh to

God.

Precious dierence! A commandment to man, sinful

and afar from God, replaced by a hope, a condence,

founded on grace and on divine promise, through which

we can come even into God’s presence.

e law, doubtless, was good; but separation still

subsisted between man and God. e law made nothing

perfect. God was ever<P259> perfect, and human

perfection was required; all must be according to what

divine perfection required of man. But sin was there, and

the law was consequently without power (save to condemn);

its ceremonies and ordinances were but gures, and a heavy

yoke. Even that which temporarily relieved the conscience

brought sin to mind and never made the conscience perfect

Hebrews 7

363

towards God. ey were still at a distance from Him. Grace

brings the soul to God, who is known in love and in a

righteousness which is for us.

e superiority of the new priesthood and its

covenant; Jesus’ priesthood compared with that of Aaron

e character of the new priesthood bore the stamp, in

all its features, of its superiority to that which existed under

the order of the law and with which the whole system of

the law either stood or fell.

e covenant connected with the new priesthood

answered likewise to the superiority of the latter over the

former priesthood.

e priesthood of Jesus was established by oath; that of

Aaron was not. e priesthood of Aaron passed from one

person to another, because death put an end to its exercise

by the individuals who were invested with it. But Jesus

abides the same forever; He has a priesthood that is not

transmitted to others. us He saves completely, and to

the end, those that come unto God by Him, seeing that He

ever lives to intercede for them.

e Christian’s position; our need met by the One

whom heaven’s purity and glory required; a completed

work

Accordingly, “such a high priest became us.” Glorious

thought! Called to be in the presence of God, to be in

relationship with Him in the heavenly glory, to draw near

to Him on high, where nothing that deles can enter,

we needed a high priest in the place to which access was

given us (as the Jews in the earthly temple), and such a

One as the glory and purity of heaven required. What a

demonstration that we belong to heaven, and of the exalted

nature of our relationship with God! Such a priest became

Darby Synopsis

364

us: “Holy, harmless, undeled, separate from sinners,

exalted above the heavens”-for so are we, as to our position,

having to do with God there-a priest who needs not to

renew the sacrices, as though any work to put away sin still

remained to be done, or their sins could still be imputed to

believers; for then it would be impossible<P260> to stay in

the heavenly sanctuary. As having once for all completed

His work for the putting away of sin, our priest oered His

sacrice once for all when He oered up Himself.

e high priests under the law

contrasted with the Son of God

For the law made high priests who had the inrmities

of men, for they were men themselves; the oath of God,

which came after the law, establishes the Son, when He is

perfected forever, consecrated in heaven unto God.

We see here that, although there was an analogy and the

gures of heavenly things, there is more of contrast than of

comparison in this epistle. e legal priests had the same

inrmities as other men; Jesus has a gloried priesthood

according to the power of an endless life.

Hebrews 8

365

73298

Hebrews 8

e new priesthood implying a change in the sacrices

and the covenant

e introduction of this new priesthood, exercised in

heaven, implies a change in the sacrices and in the covenant.

is the inspired writer develops here, setting forth the

value of the sacrice of Christ, and the long-promised

new covenant. e direct connection is with the sacrices;

but he turns aside for a moment to the two covenants, a

so wide-embracing and all-weighty consideration for the

Christian Jew who had been under the rst.

Chapter 8 in this respect is simple and clear; the last

verses only give room for a few remarks.

e sum of the doctrine presented

e sum of the doctrine we have been considering is

that we have a high priest who is seated on the throne

of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the heavenly

sanctuary which is not made with hands. As such, He must

have an oering to present there. Jesus, were He on earth,

would not be a priest; there were priests on earth according

to the law, in which all things were but gures of the

heavenly things; as Moses was told to make all according to

the pattern that was shown him in the mount. But<P261>

the ministry of Jesus is more excellent, because He is the

mediator of a better covenant, spoken of in Jeremiah 31,

which is here quoted; a clear and simple proof that the rst

covenant was not to continue.

e two covenants

Darby Synopsis

366

We again nd here that particular development of the

truth which was called for by the character of the persons

to whom this letter was addressed.

e rst covenant was made with Israel; the second

must be so likewise, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah.

e epistle, however, in this passage only makes use of the

fact that there was to be a second covenant, in order to

demonstrate that the rst was to last no longer. It had

grown old and was to vanish away. He recites the terms

of the new covenant. We shall nd that he makes use of it

afterwards. In that which follows, he contrasts the services

that belonged to the rst with the perfect work on which

Christianity is founded. us, the extent and the value of

the work of Christ are introduced.

Although there is no diculty here, it is important to

have light with regard to these two covenants, because

some have very vague ideas on this point, and many souls,

putting themselves under covenants-that is, in relationship

with God under conditions in which He has not placed

them-lose their simplicity, and do not hold fast grace and

the fullness of the work of Christ, and the position He has

acquired for them in heaven.

A covenant dened; the old and the new

A covenant is a principle of relationship with God on

the earth-conditions established by God under which

man is to live with Him. e word may, perhaps, be used

guratively, or by accommodation. It is applied to details

of the relationship of God with Israel, and so to Abraham

(Gen. 15), and like cases; but, strictly speaking, there are

but two covenants, in which God has dealt with man on

earth, or will-the old and the new. e old was established

Hebrews 8

367

at Sinai. e new covenant is made also with the two

houses of Israel.1<P262>

(1. We have also, at the end of the epistle, the expression,

“e blood of the everlasting covenant.” “Covenant” he

uses, I doubt not (as the word “law” also is used), because it

was commonly employed as the condition of relationship

with God, and “eternal” is characteristic of the Hebrews.

ere have been, and will be, covenants in time and for the

earth; but we have eternal conditions of relationship with

God, of which the blood of Christ is the expression and

security, founded in everlasting grace, and righteousness

as well as grace, by that precious blood, in which all the

character and all the purpose of God have been made good

and gloried, as well as our sins been put away.)

e gospel is not a covenant, but the revelation of the

salvation of God. It proclaims the great salvation. We enjoy,

indeed, all the essential privileges of the new covenant, its

foundation being laid on God’s part in the blood of Christ,

but we do so in spirit, not according to the letter.

e new covenant will be established formally with

Israel in the millennium. Meanwhile, the old covenant is

judged by the fact that there is a new one.

Darby Synopsis

368

73299

Hebrews 9

Characteristics of the rst covenant

e epistle, recounting some particular circumstances

which characterized the rst covenant, shows that neither

were sins put away, nor was the conscience purged by its

means, nor the entrance into the holiest granted to the

worshippers. e veil concealed God. e high priest went

in once a year to make reconciliation-no one else. e way

to God in holiness was barred. Perfect, as pertaining to the

conscience, they could not be through the blood of bulls

and of goats. ese were but provisionary and gurative

ordinances, until God took up the real work itself, in order

to accomplish it fully and forever.

e value and extent of the sacrice of Christ

But this brings us to the focus of the light which God

gives us by the Holy Spirit in this epistle. Before proving

by the scriptures of the Old Testament the doctrine that he

announced, and the discontinuance of the legal sacrices-

of all sacrice for sin-the writer, with a heart full of the

truth and of the importance of that truth, teaches the value

and the extent of the sacrice of Christ (still in contrast

with the former oerings, but a contrast that rests on the

intrinsic value of the oering of Christ). ese three results

are presented: rst, the opened way into the sanctuary was

manifested, that is, access to God Himself, where He is;

<P263>second, the purication of the conscience; third, an

eternal redemption (I may add the promise of an eternal

inheritance).

Hebrews 9

369

e opened way into the sanctuary: access to God

Himself

One feels the immense importance, the inestimable

value, of the rst. e believer is admitted into God’s own

presence by a new and living way which He has consecrated

for us through the veil, that is to say, His esh; has constant

access to God, immediate access to the place where He is,

in the light. What complete salvation, what blessedness,

what security! For how could we have access to God in

the light, if everything that would separate us from Him

were not entirely taken away through Him who was once

oered to bear the sins of many? But here it is the precious

and perfect result, in this respect, which is revealed to

us, and formally proved in chapter 10, as a right that we

possess, that access to God Himself is entirely and freely

open to us. We are not indeed told in this passage that we

are seated there, for it is not our union with Christ that

is the subject of this epistle, but our access to God in the

sanctuary. And it is important to note this last, and it is as

precious in its place as the other. We are viewed as on earth,

and being on earth we have free and full access to God in

the sanctuary. We go in perfect liberty to God, where His

holiness dwells, and where nothing that is contrary to Him

can be admitted. What happiness! What perfect grace!

What a glorious result, supreme and complete! Could

anything better be desired, remembering too that it is our

dwelling-place? is is our position in the presence of God

through the entrance of Christ into the sanctuary.

e purication not only of sins but of the conscience

e second result shows us the personal state we are

brought into, in order to the enjoyment of our position;

that we may, on our part, enter in freely. It is that our

Darby Synopsis

370

Saviour has rendered our conscience perfect, so that we

can go into the sanctuary without an idea of fear, without

one question as to sin arising in our minds. A perfect

conscience is not an innocent conscience which, happy in

its unconsciousness, does not know evil and does not know

God revealed in holiness. A perfect conscience knows God;

it is cleansed, and, having the knowledge of good and evil

according to the light of God Himself, it knows that it is

puried from all evil according<P264> to His purity. Now

the blood of bulls and goats, and the washings repeated

under the law, could never make the conscience perfect.

ey could sanctify carnally, so as to enable the worshipper

to approach God outwardly, yet only afar o, with the veil

still unrent. But a real purication from sin and sins, so

that the soul can be in the presence of God Himself in the

light without spot, with the consciousness of being so, the

oerings under the law could never produce. ey were but

gures. But, thanks be to God, Christ has accomplished

the work; and, present for us now in the heavenly and

eternal sanctuary, He is the witness there that our sins

are put away; so that all conscience of sin before God is

destroyed, because we know that He who bore our sins

is in the presence of God, after having accomplished the

work of expiation. us we have the consciousness of being

in the light without spot. We have the purication not only

of sins but of the conscience, so that we can use this access

to God in full liberty and joy, presenting ourselves before

Him who has so loved us.

Christ abiding in heaven: an eternal redemption

e third result, which seals and characterizes the two

others, is that Christ, having once entered in, abides in

heaven. He has gone into the heavenly sanctuary to remain

Hebrews 9

371

there by virtue of an eternal redemption, of blood that has

everlasting validity. e work is completely done and can

never change in value. If our sins are eectually put away,

God gloried, and righteousness complete, that which

once availed to eect this can never not avail. e blood

shed once for all is ever ecacious.

Our high priest is in the sanctuary, not with the blood

of sacrices, which are but gures of the true. e work has

been done which puts sin away. is redemption is neither

temporal nor transitory. It is the redemption of the soul,

and for eternity, according to the moral ecacy of that

which has been done.

Here then are the three aspects of the result of the work

of Christ: immediate access to God; a purged conscience;

an eternal redemption.<P265>

e high priest of good things to come; Messiah’s

reign on earth; the Christian’s present relationship

ree points remain to be noticed before entering on

the subject of the covenants, which is here resumed.

First, Christ is a high priest of good things to come. In

saying “things to come,” the starting point is Israel under

the law before the advent of our Lord. Nevertheless, if these

good things were now acquired, if it could be said, “We have

them,” because Christianity was their fulllment, it could

hardly be still said-when Christianity was established-

“good things to come.” ey are yet to come. ese “good

things” consist of all that the Messiah will enjoy when He

reigns. is also is the reason that the earthly things have

their place. But our present relationship with Him is only

and altogether heavenly. He acts as priest in a tabernacle

which is not of this creation: it is heavenly, in the presence

of God, not made with hands. Our place is in heaven.

Darby Synopsis

372

Christ’s precious oering up of Himself as man to

God, and by the eternal Spirit

In the second place, “Christ oered himself, by the

eternal Spirit,1 without spot, to God.” Here the precious

oering up of Christ is viewed as an act that He performed

as man, though in the perfection and value of His Person.

He oered Himself to God-but as moved by the power

and according to the perfection of the eternal Spirit. All the

motives that governed this action, and the accomplishment

of the fact according to those motives, were purely and

perfectly those of the Holy Spirit; that is, absolutely divine

in their perfection, but of the Holy Spirit acting in a man (a

man without sin who, born and living ever by the power of

the Holy Spirit, had never known sin; who, being exempt

from it by birth, never allowed it to enter into Him); so

that it is the Man Christ who oers Himself. is was

requisite.<P266>

(1. e reader will remark how anxiously, so to speak,

the epistle here attaches the epithet “eternal” to everything.

It was not a temporary or earthly ground of relationship

with God, but an eternal one; so of redemption; so of

inheritance. Corresponding to this, as to the work on earth,

it is once for all. It is not unimportant to notice this as to

the nature of the work. Hence, the epithet attached even

to the Spirit.)

e perfection, purity and eternal value of the oering

us the oering was in itself perfect and pure, without

delement; and the act of oering was perfect, whether in

love or in obedience, or in the desire to glorify God, or to

accomplish the purpose of God. Nothing mingled itself

with the perfection of His intent in oering Himself.

Hebrews 9

373

Moreover, it was not a temporary oering, which

applied to one sin with which the conscience was burdened

and which went no farther than that one, an oering

which could not, by its nature, have the perfection spoken

of, because it was not the Person oering up Himself, nor

was it absolutely for God, because there was in it neither

the perfection of will nor of obedience. But the oering of

Christ was one which, being perfect in its moral nature,

being in itself perfect in the eyes of God, was necessarily

eternal in its value. For this value was as enduring as the

nature of God who was gloried in it.

e freewill oering of obedience: its results for us

It was made, not of necessity, but of free will, and in

obedience. It was made by a man for the glory of God, but

through the eternal Spirit, ever the same in its nature and

value.

All being thus perfectly fullled for the glory of God,

the conscience of everyone that comes to Him by this

oering is purged; dead works are blotted out and set aside;

we stand before God on the ground of that which Christ

has done.

Christian position; serving the living God in love

contrasted with Judaism

And here the third point comes in. Being perfectly

cleansed in conscience from all that man in his sinful nature

produces, and having to do with God in light and in love,

there being no question of conscience with Him, we are in a

position to serve the living God. Precious liberty! in which,

happy and without question before God according to His

nature in light, we can serve Him according to the activity

of His nature in love. Judaism knew no more of this than

it did of perfection in conscience. Obligation towards God

Darby Synopsis

374

that system indeed maintained; and it oered a certain

provision for that which was needed for outward failure.

But to have a perfect conscience, and then to serve God in

love, according to His will-of this it knew nothing.<P267>

is is Christian position: the conscience perfect by

Christ,1 according to the nature of God Himself; the

service of God in liberty, according to His nature of love

acting towards others.

(1. For in Christ we are the righteousness of God. His

blood cleanses us on God’s part. Jesus wrought out the

purication of sins by Himself, and gloried God in so

doing.)

e Jewish system characterized by the holy place

For the Jewish system, in its utmost advantages, was

characterized by the holy place. ere were duties and

obligations to be fullled in order to draw near, sacrices

to cleanse outwardly him who drew near outwardly.

Meanwhile, God was always concealed. No one entered

into “the holy place”: it is implied that the “most holy” was

inaccessible. No sacrice had yet been oered which gave

free access, and at all times. God was concealed: that He

was so characterized the position. ey could not stand

before Him. Neither did He manifest Himself. ey served

Him out of His presence without going in.

It is important to notice this truth, that the whole system

in its highest and nearest access to God was characterized

by the holy place, in order to understand the passage before

us.

Judaism identied with the rst part of the tabernacle,

the gure showing there was no access to God; God only

approached by a priesthood; heaven then spoken of

Hebrews 9

375

Now the rst tabernacle-Judaism as a system-is

identied with the rst part of the tabernacle, and that

open only to the priestly part of the nation, the second part

(that is, the sanctuary) only showing, by the circumstances

connected with it, that there was no access to God. When

the author of the epistle goes on to the present position of

Christ, he leaves the earthly tabernacle-it is heaven itself

he then speaks of, a tabernacle not made with hands, nor

of this creation, into which he introduces us.

e rst tent or part of the tabernacle gave the character

of the relationship of the people with God, and that only by a

priesthood. ey could not reach God. When we approach

God Himself, it is in heaven; and the entire rst system

disappears. Everything was oered as a gure in the rst

system, and even as a gure showed that the conscience was

not yet set free, nor the presence of God<P268> accessible

to man. e remembrance of sins was continually renewed

(the annual sacrice was a memorial of sins, and God was

not manifested, nor the way to Him opened).

e two opposite systems: the typical things and

heaven, the true sanctuary

Christ comes, accomplishes the sacrice, makes the

conscience perfect, goes into heaven itself; and we draw

nigh to God in the light. To mingle the service of the rst

tabernacle or holy place with Christian service is to deny

the latter; for the meaning of the rst was that the way to

God was not yet open; the meaning of the second, that it

is open.

God may have patience with the weakness of man. Till

the destruction of Jerusalem He bore with the Jews; but

the two systems can never really go on together, namely, a

Darby Synopsis

376

system which said that one cannot draw nigh to God, and

another system which gives access to Him.

Christ is come, the high priest of a new system, of “good

things,” which, under the old system, were yet “to come”;

but He did not enter into the earthly most holy place,

leaving the holy place to subsist without a true meaning.

He is come by the (not a) more excellent and more perfect

tabernacle. I repeat it, for it is essential here: the holy place,

or the rst tent, is the gure of the relationship of men with

God under the rst tabernacle (taken as a whole); so that

we may say, “the rst tabernacle,” applying it to the rst

part of the tabernacle, and pass on to the rst tabernacle

as a whole, and as a recognized period having the same

meaning. is the epistle does here. To come out of this

position, we must leave typical things and pass into heaven,

the true sanctuary where Christ ever lives, and where no

veil bars our entrance.

e guarantee for every promise-Christ in heaven

Now it is not said that we have “the good things to

come.” Christ has gone into heaven itself, the high priest

of those good things, securing their possession to them

that trust in Him. But we have access to1 God in the

light by virtue of Christ’s presence there.<P269> at

presence is the proof of righteousness fully established;

the blood, an evidence that our sins are put away forever;

and our conscience is made perfect. Christ in heaven is

the guarantee for the fulllment of every promise. He has

opened an access for us, even now, to God in the light;

having cleansed our consciences once for all-for He dwells

on high continuously- that we may enter in, and that we

may serve God here below.

Hebrews 9

377

(1. It is all important thoroughly to understand that it is

into the presence of God that we enter; and that, at all times,

and by virtue of a sacrice and blood which never lose their

value. e worshipper, under the former tabernacle, did

not come into the presence of God; he stayed outside the

unrent veil. He sinned-a sacrice was oered: he sinned

again-a sacrice was oered. Now the veil is rent. We are

always in the presence of God without a veil. Happen what

may, He always sees us-sees us in His presence-according

to the ecacy of Christ’s perfect sacrice. We are there now,

by virtue of a perfect sacrice, oered for the putting away of

sin, according to the divine glory, and which has perfectly

accomplished the purication of sins. I should not be in the

presence of God in the sanctuary, if I had not been puried

according to the purity of God, and by God. It was this

which brought me there. And this sacrice and this blood

can never lose their value. rough them I am, therefore,

perfect forever in the presence of God; I was brought into

it by them.)

e new covenant founded on the blood of Christ;

the eternal inheritance

All this is already established and secured; but there

is more. e new covenant, of which He is mediator, is

founded on His blood.

e way in which the Apostle always avoids the direct

application of the new covenant is very striking.

e transgressions that were imputed under the rst

covenant, and which the sacrices it oered could not

expiate, are by the blood of the new covenant entirely

blotted out. us they which are called - observe the

expression (vs. 15) - can receive the promise of the eternal

inheritance; that is to say, the foundation is laid for the

Darby Synopsis

378

accomplishment of the blessings of the covenant. He says,

“e eternal inheritance,” because, as we have seen, the

reconciliation was complete, our sins borne and cancelled,

and the work by which sin is nally put away out of God’s

sight accomplished, according to the nature and character

of God Himself. is is the main point of all this part of

the epistle.

e necessity that sin and sins be entirely put away;

the mediator of the new covenant who has paid the

ransom

It is because of the necessity there was for this sacrice-

the necessity that sins, and nally sin, should be entirely

put away,1<P270> in order to the enjoyment of the eternal

promises (for God could not bless, as an eternal principle

and denitively, while sin was before His eyes), that Christ,

the Son of God, Man on earth, became the mediator of

the new covenant, in order that by death He might make a

way for the permanent enjoyment of that which had been

promised. e new covenant, in itself, did not speak of a

mediator. God would write His laws on the hearts of His

people and would remember sins no more.

(1. e work in virtue of which all sin is nally put away

out of God’s sight-abolished-is accomplished, the question

of good and evil is come to a nal issue on the cross, and

God perfectly gloried when sin was before Him; the result

will not be nally accomplished till the new heavens and

the new earth. But our sins having been borne by Christ

on the cross, He rises, atonement being made, an eternal

testimony that they are gone forever, and that by faith we

are now justied and have peace. We must not confound

these two things, our sins being put away, and the perfectly

glorifying God in respect of sin, when Christ was made sin,

Hebrews 9

379

the results of which are not yet accomplished. As regards

the sinful nature, it is still in us; but Christ having died, its

condemnation took place then, but, that being in death, we

reckon ourselves dead to it, and no condemnation for us.)

e covenant is not yet made with Israel and Judah. But

meanwhile, God has established and revealed the mediator,

who has accomplished the work on which the fulllment

of the promises can be founded in a way that is durable

in principle, eternal, because connected with the nature of

God Himself. is is done by means of death, the wages

of sin, and by which sin is left behind; and expiation for

sins being made according to the righteousness of God, an

altogether new position is taken outside and beyond sin.

e mediator has paid the ransom. Sin has no more right

over us.

e implication of a “testament”: death necessary

before men could be in relationship with God

Verses 16-17 are a parenthesis, in which the idea of

a “testament” (it is the same word as “covenant” in the

Greek, a disposition on the part of one who has the right of

disposal) is introduced, to make us understand that death

must have taken place before the rights acquired under the

testament can be enjoyed.1

(1. Some think that these two verses are not a

parenthesis speaking of a testament, but a continuation

of the argument on the covenant, taking the word

δΙαθΕμΕνΟυ (diathemenou) to mean, not the testator, but

the sacrice, which put a seal, more solemn than an oath,

on the obligation of observing the covenant. It is a very

delicate Greek question, on which I do not here enter. But

I cannot say they have convinced me.)

Darby Synopsis

380

is necessity of the covenant being founded on the

blood of a victim was not forgotten in the case of the rst

covenant. Everything was sprinkled with blood. Only,

in this case, it was the <P271>solemn sanction of death

attached to the obligation of the covenant. e types

always spoke of the necessity of death intervening before

men could be in relationship with God. Sin had brought

in death and judgment. We must either undergo the

judgment ourselves, or see our sins blotted out through it

having been undergone by another for us.

ree applications of the blood: the requisite

foundation in atonement, purication from sin’s

delement, remission of sins by the blood shed

ree applications of the blood are presented here. e

covenant is founded on the blood. Delement is washed

away by its means. Guilt is removed by the remission

obtained through the blood that has been shed.

ese are, in fact, the three things necessary. First,

the ways of God in bestowing blessing according to His

promises are connected with His righteousness, the sins of

those blessed being atoned for, the requisite foundation of

the covenant, Christ having withal gloried God in respect

of sin, when made sin on the cross.

Second, the purication of the sin by which we were

deled (by which all things, that could not be guilty, were,

nevertheless, deled) is accomplished. Here there were

cases in which water was typically used: this is moral and

practical cleansing. It ows from death; the water that

puries proceeded from the side of the holy Victim already

dead. It is the application of the Word- which judges all

evil and reveals all good-to the conscience and the heart.

Hebrews 9

381

ird, as regards remission. In no case can this be

obtained without the shedding of blood. Observe that it

does not here say “application.” It is the accomplishment

of the work of true propitiation, which is here spoken

of. Without shedding of blood there is no remission. All-

important truth! For a work of remission, death and blood-

shedding must take place.

Two consequences of atonement and reconciliation

to God-the necessity of a better sacrice and the single,

perfect oering

Two consequences ow from these views of atonement

and reconciliation to God.<P272>

First, it was necessary that there should be a better

sacrice, a more excellent victim, than those which were

oered under the old covenant, because it was the heavenly

things themselves, and not their gures, that were to be

puried. For it is into the presence of God in heaven itself

that Christ has entered.

Second, Christ was not to oer Himself often, as the

high priest went in every year with the blood of others.

For He oered up Himself. Hence, if all that was available

in the sacrice was not brought to perfection by a single

oering once made, He must have suered often since the

foundation of the world.1

(1. And He must have repeatedly suered, for there

must be reality in putting away sin.)

Why God allowed ages to pass before accomplishing

His work of grace

is remark leads to the clear and simple declaration

of the ways of God on this point-a declaration of priceless

value. God allowed ages to pass (the dierent distinct

periods in which man has in divers ways been put to the

Darby Synopsis

382

test, and in which he has had time to show what he is)

without yet accomplishing His work of grace. is trial of

man has served to show that he is bad in nature and in will.

e multiplication of means only made it more evident

that he was essentially bad at heart, for he availed himself

of none of them to draw near to God. On the contrary, his

enmity against God was fully manifested.

When God had made this plain, before the law, under

the law, by promises, by the coming and presence of His

Son, then the work of God takes the place, for our salvation

and God’s glory, of man’s responsibility-on the ground of

which faith knows man is entirely lost. is explains the

expression (vs. 26) “in the consummation of the ages.”

e measure of man’s sin lled up by the rejection of

Jesus: the consummation of the ages

Now this work is perfect, and perfectly accomplished.

Sin had dishonored God, and separated man from Him.

All that God had done to give him the means of return

only ended in aording him opportunity to ll up the

measure of his sin by the rejection of Jesus. But in this the

eternal counsels of God were fullled, at least the moral

basis laid, and that in innite perfection, for<P273> their

actual accomplishment in their results. All now in fact,

as in purpose always, rested on the second Adam, and on

what God had done, not on man’s responsibility, while that

was fully met for God’s glory (compare 2Timothy 1:9-10;

Titus 1:1-2). e Christ, whom man rejected, had appeared

in order to put away sin by the sacrice of Himself. us it

was morally the consummation of the ages.

Sin will be entirely blotted out as the result of God’s

work and power; to faith this is already realized

Hebrews 9

383

e result of the work and power of God are not yet

manifested. A new creation will develop them. But man,

as the child of Adam, has run his whole career in his

relationship with God: he is enmity against God. Christ,

fullling the will of God, has come in the consummation

of ages, to put away sin by the sacrice of Himself, and His

work to this end is accomplished. is is the moral power

of His act,1 of His sacrice before God; in result, sin will

be entirely blotted out of the heavens and the earth. To

faith this result, namely, the putting away of sin, is already

realized in the conscience,2 because Christ who was made

sin for us has died and died to sin, and now is risen and

gloried, sin (even as made it for us) left behind.

(1. e more we examine the cross from God’s side of it,

the more we shall see this: man’s enmity against God, and

against God come in goodness, was absolutely displayed;

Satan’s power in evil over man too; man’s perfectness in

love to the Father and obedience to Him; God’s majesty

and righteousness against sin, and love to sinners, all He

is; all good and evil perfectly brought to an issue, and that

in the place of sin, that is, in Christ made sin for us. When

sin was as such before His face in the sinless One where

it was needed and God perfectly gloried, and indeed the

Son of Man too, morally the whole thing was settled, and

we know it: the actual results are not yet produced.)

(2. e judgment, which will fall upon the wicked, is not

sin. Much more also is involved in the work and position

of Christ, even heavenly glory with God: but it is not our

subject here.)

e result announced: the believer’s own sins blotted

out since they were laid on Christ on the cross at His rst

Darby Synopsis

384

coming; His second appearance not for judgment but

unto salvation

Moreover, this result is announced to the believer-to

those who are looking for the Lord’s return. Death and

judgment are the lot<P274> of men as children of Adam.

Christ has been oered once to bear the sins of many; and

“unto them that look for him shall he appear the second

time without sin unto salvation,” not to judgment.

For them, as to their standing before God, sin is even

now put away: as Christ is, so are they; their own sins are

all blotted out. Christ appeared the rst time in order to

be made sin for us, and to bear our sins; they were laid

upon Him on the cross. And, with regard to those who

wait for Him, those sins are entirely put away. When He

returns, Christ has nothing to do with sin, as far as they

are concerned. It was fully dealt with at His rst coming.

He appears the second time to deliver them from all the

results of sin, from all bondage. He will appear, not for

judgment, but unto salvation. e putting away of sin on

their behalf before God has been so complete, the sins of

believers so entirely blotted out, that, when He appears the

second time, He has, as to them, nothing to do with sin.

He appears apart from sin, not only without sin in His

blessed Person-this was the case at His rst coming-but

(as to those who look for Him) outside all question of sin,

for their nal deliverance.

e character of the Lord’s second coming; seen not

by the world but by those who look for Him; the time of

their deliverance

“Without sin” is in contrast with “to bear the sins of

many.”1 But it will be remarked that the taking up of the

assembly is not <P275>mentioned here. It is well to notice

Hebrews 9

385

the language. e character of His second coming is the

subject. He has been manifested once. Now He is seen by

those who look for Him. e expression may apply to the

deliverance of the Jews who wait for Him in the last days.

He will appear for their deliverance. But we expect the

Lord for this deliverance, and we shall see Him when He

accomplishes it even for us. e Apostle does not touch

the question of the dierence between this and our being

caught up, and does not use the word which serves to

announce His public manifestation.2 He will appear to

those who expect Him. He is not seen by all the world, nor

is it consequently the judgment, although that may follow.

e Holy Spirit speaks only of them that look for the Lord.

To them He will appear. By them He will be seen, and it

will be the time of their deliverance; so that it is true for us,

and also applicable to the Jewish remnant in the last days.

(1. It is of moment to see the dierence between verses

26 and 28. Sin had to be put away abstractedly out of

God’s sight, and hence He had to be perfectly gloried in

respect of it, in that place where sin was before Him. Christ

was made sin, appeared to abolish it out of God’s sight,

ΕΙσ αθΕτησΙν τησ αμαρτΙασ (eis athetesin tes hamartias).

Besides this, our sins (guilt) were in question, and Christ

bore them in His own body on the tree. e sins are borne,

and Christ has them no more. ey are gone as guilt before

God forever. e work for the abolition of sin in God’s

sight is done, and God owns it as done, having gloried

Jesus who has gloried Him as to it when made sin. So that

for God the thing is settled, and faith recognizes this, but

the result is not produced. e work is before God in all its

value, but the sin still exists in the believer and in the world.

Faith owns both, knows that in God’s sight it is done, and

Darby Synopsis

386

rests as God does in it, but the believer knows that sin is

still, de facto, there and in him: only he has a title to reckon

himself dead to it-that sin in the esh is condemned, but

in the sacrice for sin, so that there is none for him. e

αθΕτησΙσ (athetesis) is not accomplished, but what does it

is; so that God recognizes it, and so does faith, and stands

perfectly clear before God as to sin and sins. He that is

dead (and we are, as having died with Christ) is justied

from sin. Our sins have all been borne. e diculty partly

arises from “sin” being used for a particular act, and also

abstractedly. In the word “sins” there is no such ambiguity.

A sacrice for sin may apply to a particular fault. Sin

entered into the world is another idea. is ambiguity has

produced the confusion. )

(1. ΟφθησΕταΙ (ophthesetai), φανΕρωθησΕταΙ

(phanerothesetai), or ΕΠΙφανΕΙα (epiphaneia).)

us the Christian position and the hope of the world

to come, founded on the blood and on the mediator of the

new covenant, are both given here. e one is the present

portion of the believer, the other is secured as the hope of

Israel.

How wonderful is the grace which we are now

considering!

Christ’s grace and goodness; the ecacy of His

accomplished work; in God’s presence as white as snow

ere are two things that present themselves to us

in Christ- the attractions to our heart of His grace and

goodness, and His work which brings our souls into the

presence of God. It is with the latter that the Holy Spirit

here occupies us. ere is not only the piety which grace

produces; there is the ecacy of the work itself. What

is this ecacy? What is the result for us of His work?

Hebrews 9

387

Access to God in the light without a veil, ourselves entirely

clear of all sin before Him, as white as snow in the light

which only shows it. Marvelous position for us! We have

not to wait for a day of judgment (assuredly coming as

it is), nor to seek for means of approach to God. We are

in His presence. Christ appears in the presence of God

for us; and not only this: He remains there ever;<P276>

our position, therefore, never changes. It is true that we

are called to walk according to that position. But this does

not touch the fact that such is the position. And how came

we into it? and in what condition? Our sins entirely put

away, perfectly put away, and once for all, and the whole

question of sin settled forever before God, we are there

because Christ has nished the work which abolished it,

and without it in God’s sight. So that there are the two

things-this work accomplished, and this position ours in

the presence of God.

e contrast between Christianity and Judaism

We see the force of the contrast between this and

Judaism. According to the latter, divine service, as we have

seen, was performed outside the veil. e worshippers did

not reach the presence of God. us they had always to

begin again. e propitiatory sacrice was renewed from

year to year-a continually repeated testimony that sin still

was there. Individually they obtained a temporary pardon

for particular acts. It had constantly to be renewed. e

conscience was never made perfect, the soul was not in

the presence of God, this great question was never settled.

(How many souls are even now in this condition!) e

entrance of the high priest once a year did but furnish a

proof that the way was still barred, that God could not be

approached, but that sin was still remembered.

Darby Synopsis

388

But now the guilt of believers is gone, their sins washed

away by a work done once for all; the conscience is made

perfect; nor is there any condemnation for them. Sin in

the esh has been condemned in Christ when a sacrice

for sin, and Christ appears ever in the presence of God for

us. e High Priest remains there. us, instead of having

a memorial of sin reiterated from year to year, perfect

righteousness subsists ever for us in the presence of God.

e position is entirely changed.

Man’s lot now dependent on Christ, not on Adam

e lot of man (for this perfect work takes us out of

Judaism) is death and judgment. But now our lot depends

on Christ, not on Adam. Christ was oered to bear the sins

of many1-the work is<P277> complete, the sins blotted

out, and to those who look for Him He will appear without

having anything to do with sin, that question having been

entirely settled at His rst coming. In the death of Jesus,

God dealt with the sins of those who look for Him; and

He will appear, not to judge, but unto salvation-to deliver

them nally from the position into which sin had brought

them. is will have its application to the Jewish remnant

according to the circumstances of their position; but in an

absolute way it applies to the Christian, who has heaven

for his portion.

(1. e word “many” has a double bearing here, negative

and positive. It could not be said “all,” or all would be saved.

On the other hand, the word “many” generalizes the work,

so that it is not the Jews only who are its object.)

Hebrews 10

389

73300

Hebrews 10

Christ oered Himself once for all

e essential point established in the doctrine of the

death of Christ is that He oered Himself once for all. We

must bear this in mind, to understand the full import of

all that is here said. e tenth chapter is the development

and application of this. In it the author recapitulates his

doctrine on this point and applies it to souls, conrming

it by Scripture, and by considerations which are evident to

every enlightened conscience.

e sacrice of the law the shadow of things to come

and not their true image

e law, with its sacrices, did not make the worshippers

perfect; for, if they had been brought to perfection, the

sacrices would not have been oered afresh. If they were

oered again, it was because the worshippers were not

perfect. On the contrary, the repetition of the sacrice was

a memorial of sins; it reminded the people that sin was

still there, and that it was still before God. In eect the

law, although it was the shadow of things to come, was

not their true image. ere were sacrices; but they were

repeated, instead of there being one only sacrice of eternal

ecacy. ere was a high priest, but he was mortal, and the

priesthood transmissible. He went into the holiest, but only

once a year, the veil which concealed God being unrent,

and the high priest unable to remain in His presence, the

work being not perfect. us there were indeed elements

which plainly indicated the constituent parts, so to speak,

of the priesthood of the good things to come; but the

Darby Synopsis

390

state of the worshippers was in the one case quite the

opposite<P278> of that which it was in the other. In the

rst, every act showed that the work of reconciliation was

not done; in the second, the position of the high priest and

of the worshipper is a testimony that this work has been

accomplished, and that the latter are perfected forever in

the presence of God.

e repetition of sacrices; Christ’s one sacrice the

demonstration of its eternal ecacy

In chapter 10 this principle is applied to the sacrice.

Its repetition proved that sin was there. at the sacrice

of Christ was only oered once was the demonstration of

its eternal ecacy. Had the Jewish sacrices rendered the

worshippers really perfect before God, they would have

ceased to be oered. e Apostle is speaking (although the

principle is general) of the yearly sacrice on the day of

atonement. For if, through the ecacy of the sacrice, they

had been permanently made perfect, they would have had

no more conscience of sins and could not have had the

thought of renewing the sacrice.

Drawing nigh; Christ’s work excluding all other and

all repetition of the same

Observe, here, that which is very important, that

the conscience is cleansed, our sins being expiated, the

worshipper drawing nigh by virtue of the sacrice. e

meaning of the Jewish service was that guilt was still

there; that of the Christian, that it is gone. As to the

former, precious as the type is, the reason is evident:

the blood of bulls and of goats could not take away sin.

erefore, those sacrices have been abolished, and a work

of another character (although still a sacrice) has been

accomplished-a work which excludes all other, and all the

Hebrews 10

391

repetition of the same, because it consists of nothing less

than the self-devotedness of the Son of God to accomplish

the will of God, and the completion of that to which He

was devoted: an act impossible to be repeated, for all His

will cannot be accomplished twice, and, were it possible, it

would be a testimony of the inadequacy of the rst, and so

of both.

e Son of God taking the place of submission and

obedience, the duty of fullling all God’s will

is is what the Son of God says in this most solemn

passage (vss. 5-9), in which we are admitted to know,

according to the grace<P279> of God, that which

passed between God the Father and Himself, when He

undertook the fulllment of the will of God-that which

He said, and the eternal counsels of God which He carried

into execution. He takes the place of submission and of

obedience, of performing the will of another. God would

no longer accept the sacrices that were oered under the

law (the four classes of which are here pointed out), He

had no pleasure in them. In their stead He had prepared a

body for His Son; vast and important truth! For the place

of man is obedience. us, in taking this place, the Son of

God put Himself into the position to obey perfectly. In fact,

He undertakes the duty of fullling all the will of God, be

it what it may-a will which is ever “good, acceptable, and

perfect.”

Taking the form of a servant

e psalm says, in the Hebrew, “ou hast digged1 ears

for me,” translated in the Septuagint, “ou hast prepared

me a body”; words which, as they give the true meaning, are

used by the Holy Spirit. For “the ear” is always employed as

a sign of the reception of commandments, and the principle

Darby Synopsis

392

of obligation to obey, or the disposition to do so. “He hath

opened mine ear morning by morning” (Isa. 50), that is, has

made me listen to His will, be obedient to His commands.

e ear was bored, or fastened with an awl to the door, in

order to express that the Israelite was attached to the house

as a slave, to obey, forever. Now in taking a body, the Lord

took the form of a servant (Phil. 2). Ears were digged for

Him. at is to say, He placed Himself in a position in

which He had to obey all His Master’s will, whatever it

might be. But it is the Lord Himself2 who speaks in the

passage before us: “ou,” He says, “hast prepared me a

body.”<P280>

(1. It is not the same word as to “bore,” or thrust through,

in Exodus 21 nor as “open” in Isaiah 50. e one (digged) is

to prepare for obedience, the other would be to bind to it

forever, and to subject to the obedience when due. Exodus

21 intimates the blessed truth that, when He had fullled

His personal service on earth, He would not abandon

either His assembly or His people. He is ever God, but ever

man, the humbled man, the gloried and reigning man, the

subject man, in the joy of eternal perfection.)

(2. As throughout the epistle, the Messiah is the

subject. In the psalm it is the Messiah who speaks, that is,

the Anointed here below. He expresses His patience and

faithfulness in the position which He had taken, addressing

Jehovah as His God; and He tells us that He took this

place willingly, according to the eternal counsels respecting

His own Person. For the Person is not changed. But He

speaks in the psalm according to the position of obedience

which He had taken, saying always, I and me, in speaking

of what took place before His incarnation.)

Hebrews 10

393

e veil lifted from what took place in heaven between

God and the Word who undertook to do His will

Entering more into detail, He species burnt oerings

and oerings for sin, sacrices which had less of the

character of communion, and thus had a deeper meaning;

but God had no pleasure in them. In a word, the Jewish

service was already declared by the Spirit to be unacceptable

to God. It was all to cease, it was fruitless; no oering that

formed part of it was acceptable. No; the counsels of God

unfold themselves, but rst of all in the heart of the Word,

the Son of God, who oers Himself to accomplish the will

of God. “en said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the

book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God.” Nothing

can be more solemn than thus to lift the veil from that

which takes place in heaven between God and the Word

who undertook to do His will. Observe that, before He

was in the position of obedience, He oers Himself in

order to accomplish the will of God, that is to say, of free

love for the glory of God, of free will; as One who had the

power, He oers Himself. He undertakes obedience, He

undertakes to do whatsoever God wills. is is indeed to

sacrice all His own will, but freely and as the eect of His

own purpose, although on the occasion of the will of His

Father. He must needs be God in order to do this, and to

undertake the fulllment of all that God could will.

Why the great mystery of divine interaction is

communicated to us; the Lord’s complete submission

We have here the great mystery of this divine

communication, which remains ever surrounded with its

solemn majesty, although it is communicated to us that

we may know it. And we ought to know it; for it is thus

that we understand the innite grace and the glory of this

Darby Synopsis

394

work. Before He became man, in the place where only

divinity is known, and its eternal counsels and thoughts

are communicated between the divine persons, the Word-

as He has

declared it to us, in time, by the prophetic Spirit-such

being the will of God contained in the book of the eternal

counsels, He who was able to do it oered Himself freely

to accomplish that will. Submissive to this counsel already

arranged for Him, He yet oers Himself in perfect freedom

to fulll it. But in oering He submits, yet at the same time

undertakes to do all that God, as God,<P281> willed. But

also in undertaking to do the will of God, it was in the

way of obedience, of submission and of devotedness. For

I might undertake to do the will of another, as free and

competent, because I willed the thing; but if I say, “To do

thy will,” this in itself is absolute and complete submission.

And this it is which the Lord, the Word, did. He did it

also, declaring that He came in order to do it. He took a

position of obedience by accepting the body prepared for

Him. He came to do the will of God.

Jesus’ life on earth the expression of what He was in

heaven as revealed to us

at of which we have been speaking is continually

manifested in the life of Jesus on earth. God shines through

His position in the human body; for He was necessarily

God in the act itself of His humiliation; and none but God

could have undertaken and been found in it; yet He was

always, and entirely and perfectly, obedient and dependent

on God. at which revealed itself in His existence on

earth was the expression of that which was accomplished

in the eternal abode, in His own nature. at is to say (and

of this Psalm 40 speaks), that which He declares and that

Hebrews 10

395

which He was here below are the same thing; the one in

reality in heaven, the other bodily on earth. at which

He was here below was but the expression, the living, real,

bodily manifestation of what is contained in those divine

communications which have been revealed to us, and

which were the reality of the position that He assumed.

And it is very important to see these things in the free

oer made by divine competency, and not only in their

fulllment in death. It gives quite a dierent character to

the bodily work here below.

e revelation in Psalm 40 requisite to explain how

the Lord became a servant of His own free will

In reality, from chapter 1 of this epistle, the Holy Spirit

always presents Christ in this way. But this revelation in the

psalm was requisite to explain how He became a servant,

what the Messiah really was; and to us it opens an immense

view of the ways of God, a view, the depths of which-

clearly as it is revealed, and through the very clearness of

the revelation-display to us things<P282> so divine and

glorious that we bow the head and veil our faces, as having

had part, as it were, in such communications, on account of

the majesty of the persons whose acts and whose intimate

relationships are revealed. It is not here the glory that

dazzles us. But even in this poor world there is nothing to

which we are greater strangers than the intimacy of those

who are, in their modes of life, much above ourselves. What

then, when it is that of God! Blessed be His name! ere is

grace that brings us into it, and that has drawn nigh to us in

our weakness. We are then admitted to know this precious

truth, that the Lord Jesus undertook of His own free will

the accomplishment of all the will of God, and that He

was pleased to take the body prepared for Him in order

Darby Synopsis

396

to accomplish it. e love, the devotedness to the glory of

God, and the way in which He undertook to obey are fully

set forth. And this-the fruit of God’s eternal counsels-

displaces (by its very nature) every provisional sign: and

contains, in itself alone, the condition of all relationship

with God, and the means by which He glories Himself.1

(1. Remark, also, here not only the substitution of

the reality for the ceremonial gures of the law, but the

dierence of principle. e law required for righteousness

that man should do the will of God, and rightly. at was

human righteousness. Here Christ undertakes to do it, and

has accomplished it in the oering up of Himself. His so

doing the will of God is the basis of our relationship with

God, and it is done, and we are accepted. As born of God

our delight is to do God’s will, but it is in love and newness

of nature, not in order to be accepted.)

e eect of Christ’s sacrice in regard to

sanctication

e Word then assumes a body, in order to oer Himself

as a sacrice. Besides the revelation of this devotedness of

the Word to accomplish the will of God, the eect of His

sacrice according to the will of God is also set before us.

He came to do the will of Jehovah. Now faith

understands that it is by this will of God (that is, by His

will who, according to His eternal wisdom, prepared a

body for His Son) that those whom He has called unto

Himself for salvation are set apart to God, in other words,

are sanctied. It is by the will of God that we are set apart

for Him (not by our own will), and that by means of the

sacrice oered to God.

We shall observe that the epistle does not here speak of

the communication of life, or of a practical sanctication

Hebrews 10

397

wrought by<P283> the Holy Spirit:1 the subject is the

Person of Christ ascended on high, and the ecacy of His

work. And this is important with regard to sanctication,

because it shows that sanctication is a complete setting

apart to God, as belonging to Him at the price of the

oering of Jesus, a consecration to Him by means of that

oering. God took the unclean Jews from among men and

set them apart-consecrated them to Himself; so now the

called ones, from that nation, and, thank God ourselves

also, by means of the oering of Jesus.

(1. It speaks of this last in the exhortations, chapter

12:14. But in the doctrine of the epistle, “sanctication” is

not used in the practical sense of what is wrought in us.)

Christ’s oering is once for all; His session at God’s

right hand demonstrating the state He has brought us

into

But there is another element, already pointed out, in

this oering, the force of which the epistle here applies to

believers, namely, that the oering is “once for all.” It admits

of no repetition. If we enjoy the eect of this oering,

our sanctication is eternal in its nature. It does not fail.

It is never repeated. We belong to God forever according

to the ecacy of this oering. us our sanctication,

our being set apart to God, has-with regard to the work

that accomplished it-all the stability of the will of God,

and all the grace from which it sprang; it has, too, in its

nature, the perfection of the work itself, by which it was

accomplished, and the duration and the constant force of

the ecacy of that work. But the eect of this oering is

not limited to this setting apart for God. e point already

treated contains our consecration by God Himself through

the perfectly ecacious oering of Christ fullling His

Darby Synopsis

398

will. And now the position which Christ has taken, in

consequence of His oering up of Himself, is employed

in order clearly to demonstrate the state it has brought us

into before God.

e priests among the Jews-for this contrast is still

carried on-stood before the altar continually to repeat the

same sacrices which could never take away sins. But this

Man, when He had oered one sacrice for sins, sat down

forever1 at the right<P284> hand of God. ere-having

nished for His own all that regards their presentation

without spot to God-He awaits the moment when His

enemies shall be made His footstool, according to Psalm

110: “Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies

thy footstool.” And the Spirit gives us the important reason

so innitely precious to us: “For he hath perfected forever

them that are sanctied.”

(1. e word translated here “forever” is not the same

word that is used for eternally. It has the sense of continually,

without interruption, ΕΙσ τΟ δΙηνΕκΕσ (eis to dienekes).

He does not rise up or stand. He is ever seated, His work

being nished. He will indeed rise up at the end to come

and fetch us, and to judge the world, even as this same

passage tells us.)

e force of the word translated “forever”

Here (vs. 14) as in verse 12, on which the latter

depends, the word “forever” has the force of permanence-

uninterrupted continuity. He is ever seated, we are ever

perfected, by virtue of His work and according to the perfect

righteousness in which, and conformably to which, He sits

at the right hand of God upon His throne, according to

that which He is personally there, His acceptance on God’s

Hebrews 10

399

part being proved by His session at His right hand. And

He is there for us.

e righteousness of the throne; the origin and

foundation of our position; divine testimony to it and its

application; sins remembered no more

It is a righteousness suited to the throne of God, yea, the

righteousness of the throne. It neither varies nor fails. He

is seated there forever. If then we are sanctied-set apart to

God-by this oering according to the will of God Himself,

we are also made perfect for God by the same oering, as

presented to Him in the Person of Jesus.

We have seen that this position has its origin in the

will, the goodwill of God (a will which combines the grace

and the purpose of God), and that it has its foundation

and present certainty in the accomplishment of the work

of Christ, the perfection of which is demonstrated by the

session at the right hand of God of Him who accomplished

it. But the testimony-for to enjoy this grace we must know

it with divine certainty, and the greater it is, the more would

our hearts be led to doubt it-the testimony upon which we

believe it must be divine. And this it is. e Holy Spirit

bears witness to us of it. e will of God is the source of the

work; Christ, the Son of God, accomplished it; the Holy

Spirit bears witness to us of it. And here the application

to the people, called by grace and<P285> spared, is in

consequence fully set forth, not merely the fulllment of

the work. e Holy Spirit bears us witness. “eir sins and

iniquities will I remember no more.”

Blessed position! e certainty that God will never

remember our sins and iniquities is founded on the

steadfast will of God, on the perfect oering of Christ,

now consequently seated at the right hand of God, and on

Darby Synopsis

400

the sure testimony of the Holy Spirit. It is a matter of faith

that God will never remember our sins.

e epistle addressed to Hebrews; the covenant

alluded to

We may remark here the way in which the covenant is

introduced; for although, as writing to “the holy brethren,

partakers of the heavenly calling,” he says, “a witness to us,”

the form of his address is always that of an epistle to the

Hebrews (believers, of course, but Hebrews, still bearing

the character of God’s people). He does not speak of the

covenant in a direct way, as a privilege in which Christians

had a direct part. e Holy Spirit, he says, declares, “I will

remember no more.” It is this which he quotes. He only

alludes to the new covenant, leaving it aside, consequently,

as to all present application. For after having said, “is is

the covenant,” the testimony is cited as that of the Holy

Spirit, to prove the capital point which he was treating, that

is, that God remembers our sins no more. But he alludes to

the covenant (already known to the Jews as declared before

of God) which gave the authority of the Scriptures to this

testimony, that God remembered no more the sins of His

people who are sanctied and admitted into His favor, and

which, at the same time, presented these two thoughts;

rst, that this complete pardon did not exist under the

rst covenant: and, second, that the door is left open for

the blessing of the nation when the new covenant shall be

formally established.

Sins being remitted, there is no more oblation for sin;

in Christ: liberty to enter into the holy place; represented

by the great high priest

Another practical consequence is drawn: sins being

remitted, there is no more oblation for sin. e one sacrice

Hebrews 10

401

having obtained remission, no others can be oered in order

to obtain it. Remembrance of this one sacrice there may

indeed be, <P286>whatever its character; but a sacrice to

take away the sins which are already taken away, there cannot

be. We are, therefore, in reality on entirely new ground-on

that of the fact that by the sacrice of Christ our sins are

altogether put away, and that for us, who are sanctied and

partakers of the heavenly calling, a perfect and everlasting

permanent cleansing has been made, remission granted,

eternal redemption obtained. So that we are, in the eyes of

God, without sin, on the ground of the perfection of the

work of Christ, who is seated at His right hand, who has

entered into the true holiest, into heaven itself, to sit there

because His work is accomplished.

us all liberty is ours to enter into the holy place (all

boldness) by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way,

that is His esh, to admit us without spot into the presence

of God Himself, who is there revealed. For us the veil is

rent, and that which rent the veil in order to admit us has

likewise put away the sin which shut us out.

We have also a great high priest over the house of God,

as we have seen, who represents us in the holy place.

Perfect righteousness and the priesthood: full liberty

to enter into the holiest

On these truths are founded the exhortations that follow.

One word before we enter on them, as to the relation that

exists between perfect righteousness and the priesthood.

ere are many souls who use the priesthood as the means

of obtaining pardon when they have failed. ey go to

Christ as a priest, that He may intercede for them and

obtain the pardon which they desire, but for which they

dare not ask God in a direct way. ese souls-sincere as

Darby Synopsis

402

they are-have not liberty to enter into the holy place. ey

take refuge with Christ that they may afresh be brought

into the presence of God. eir condition practically is

that in which a pious Jew stood. ey have lost, or rather

they have never had by faith, the real consciousness of their

position before God in virtue of the sacrice of Christ.

I do not speak here of all the privileges of the assembly:

we have seen that the epistle does not speak of them.

e position it makes for believers is this: those whom

it addresses are not viewed as placed in heaven, although

partakers of the heavenly calling; but a perfect redemption

is accomplished, all guilt entirely put away for the people

of God, who remembers<P287> their sins no more. e

conscience is made perfect- they have no more conscience

of sins-by virtue of the work accomplished once for all.

ere is no more question of sin, that is, of its imputation,

of its being upon them before God, between them and

God. ere cannot be, because of the work accomplished

upon the cross. e conscience therefore is perfect; their

representative and high priest is in heaven, a witness there

to the work already accomplished for them.

us, although the epistle does not present them as in the

holiest, as sitting there-like in the Epistle to the Ephesians-

they have full liberty, entire boldness, to enter into it. e

question of imputation no longer exists. eir sins have

been imputed to Christ. But He is now in heaven-a proof

that the sins are blotted out forever. Believers, therefore,

enter with entire liberty into the presence of God Himself,

and that always-having no more forever any conscience of

sins.

Hebrews 10

403

Sins interrupting communion but making no change

in our position; the twofold eect of Christ’s presence at

God’s right hand; our Advocate

For what purpose then is priesthood? What is to be

done with respect to the sins we commit? ey interrupt

our communion; but they make no change in our position

before God, nor in the testimony rendered by the presence

of Christ at the right hand of God. Nor do they raise

any question as to imputation. ey are sins against that

position, or against God, measured by the relationship we

are in to God, as in it. For sin is measured by the conscience

according to our position. e perpetual presence of

Christ at God’s right hand has this twofold eect for us:

rst, perfected forever we have no more conscience of

sins before God, we are accepted; second, as priest He

obtains grace to help in time of need, that we may not

sin. But the present exercise of priesthood by Christ does

not refer to sins: we have through His work no more

conscience of sins, are perfected forever. ere is another

truth connected with this, found in 1John 2: we have an

Advocate1 with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. On

this our communion<P288> with the Father and with His

Son Jesus Christ is founded and secured. Our sins are not

imputed, for the propitiation is in all its value before God.

But by sin communion is interrupted; our righteousness is

not altered-for that is Christ Himself at God’s right hand

in virtue of His work; nor is grace changed, and “he is the

propitiation for our sins”; but the heart has got away from

God, communion is interrupted. But grace acts in virtue

of perfect righteousness, and by the advocacy of Christ,

on behalf of him who has failed; and his soul is restored

to communion. Nor is it that we go to Jesus for this; He

Darby Synopsis

404

goes, even if we sin, to God for us. His presence there is the

witness of an unchangeable righteousness which is ours;

His intercession maintains us in the path we have to walk

in, or as our Advocate He restores the communion which is

founded on that righteousness. Our access to God is always

open. Sin interrupts our enjoyment of it, the heart is not in

communion; the advocacy of Jesus is the means of rousing

the conscience by the action of the Spirit and the Word,

and we return (humbling ourselves) into the presence of

God Himself. e priesthood and advocacy of Christ refer

to the condition of an imperfect and feeble, or failing,

creature upon earth, reconciling it with the perfectness of

the place and glory in which divine righteousness sets us.

e soul is maintained steadfast or restored.

(1. ere is a dierence in detail here; but it does not

aect my present subject. e High Priest has to do with our

access to God; the Advocate with our communion with the

Father and His government of us as children. e Epistle

to the Hebrews treats of the ground of access and shows us

to be perfected forever; and the priestly intercession does

not apply to sins in that respect. It brings mercy and grace

to help in time of need here, but we are perfected forever

before God. But communion is necessarily interrupted by

the least sin or idle thought-yea, really had been, practically

if not judicially, before the idle thought was there. Here the

advocacy of John comes in: “If any man sin,” and the soul

is restored. But there is never imputation to the believer.)

Exhortation to draw near in faith’s full assurance

Exhortations follow. Having the right thus to approach

God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance

of faith. is is the only thing that honors the ecacy of

Christ’s work, and the love which has thus brought us to

Hebrews 10

405

enjoy God. In the words that follow, allusion is made to the

consecration of the priests-a natural allusion, as drawing

near to God in the holiest is the subject. ey were

sprinkled with blood and washed with water, and then

they drew nigh to serve God. Still, although I doubt not of

the allusion to the priests, it is quite natural that baptism

should have given rise to it. e anointing is not spoken of

here-it is the power or privilege of the moral right to draw

nigh.<P289>

Again, we may notice that, as to the foundation of the

truth, this is the ground on which Israel will stand in the

last days. In Christ in heaven will not be their place, nor

the possession of the Holy Spirit as uniting the believer to

Christ in heaven; but the blessing will be founded on water

and on blood. God will remember their sins no more; and

they will be washed in the clean water of the Word.

Perseverance in a full confession of Christ and

considering one another; no other sacrice for sin if the

one Sacrice were deliberately abandoned to walk in sin

e second exhortation is to persevere in the profession

of the hope without wavering. He who made the promises

is faithful.

Not only should we have this condence in God for

ourselves, but we are also to consider one another for

mutual encouragement; and, at the same time, not to fail

in the public and common profession of faith, pretending

to maintain it, while avoiding the open identication of

oneself with the Lord’s people in the diculties connected

with the profession of this faith before the world. Besides,

this public confession had a fresh motive in that the day

drew nigh. We see that it is the judgment which is here

presented as the thing looked for-in order that it may act

Darby Synopsis

406

on the conscience and guard Christians from turning back

to the world, and from the inuence of the fear of man-

rather than the Lord’s coming to take up His own people.

Verse 26 is connected with the preceding paragraph (vss.

23-25), the last words of which suggest the warning of

verse 26; which is founded, moreover, on the doctrine of

these two chapters (ch. 9-10), with regard to the sacrice.

He insists on perseverance in a full confession of Christ,

for His one sacrice once oered was the only one. If any

who had professed to know its value abandoned it, there

was no other sacrice to which he could have recourse,

neither could it be ever repeated.

ere remained no more sacrice for sin. All sins were

pardoned by the ecacy of this sacrice: but if, after

having known the truth, they were to choose sin instead,

there was no other sacrice by virtue even of the perfection

of that of Christ. Nothing but judgment remained. Such

a professor, having had the knowledge of the truth and

having abandoned it, would assume the character of an

adversary.

e case, then, here supposed is the renunciation of the

con-fes<P290>sion of Christ, deliberately preferring-after

having known the truth-to walk according to one’s own

will in sin. is is evident, both from that which precedes

and from verse 29.

Christianity’s two great privileges; warning if these

means of salvation were renounced, nothing remained

but judgment

us we have (chapters 6 and 10) the two great privileges

of Christianity, what distinguishes it from Judaism,

presented in order to warn those who made profession

of the former, that the renunciation of the truth, after

Hebrews 10

407

enjoying these advantages, was fatal; for if these means

of salvation were renounced, there was no other. ese

privileges were the manifested presence and power of the

Holy Spirit, and the oering which, by its intrinsic and

absolute value, left no place for any other. Both of these

possessed a mighty ecacy, which, while it gave divine

spring and force, and the manifestation of the presence of

God on the one hand, made known, on the other hand, the

eternal redemption and the perfection of the worshipper;

leaving no means for repentance, if anyone abandoned the

manifested and known power of that presence; no place

for another sacrice (which, moreover, would have denied

the ecacy of the rst), after the perfect work of God in

salvation, perfect whether with regard to redemption or to

the presence of God by the Spirit in the midst of His own.

Nothing remained but judgment.

e result of contempt of God’s grace and of what He

has done

ey who despised the law of Moses died without

mercy. What then would not those deserve at the hand

of God who trod under foot the Son of God, counted the

blood of the covenant, by which they had been sanctied,

as a common thing, and did despite to the Spirit of grace?

It was not simple disobedience, however evil that might

be; it was contempt of the grace of God, and of that which

He had done, in the Person of Jesus, in order to deliver us

from the consequences of disobedience. On the one hand,

what was there left, if with the knowledge of what it was,

they renounced this? On the other hand, how could they

escape judgment? For they know a God who had said that

vengeance<P291> belonged unto Him, and that He would

recompense; and, again, the Lord would judge His people.

Darby Synopsis

408

Sanctication attributed to the blood

Observe here the way in which sanctication is

attributed to the blood; and, also, that professors are

treated as belonging to the people. e blood, received by

faith, consecrates the soul to God; but it is here viewed

also as an outward means for setting apart the people as

a people. Every individual who had owned Jesus to be the

Messiah, and the blood to be the seal and foundation of

an everlasting covenant available for eternal cleansing and

redemption on the part of God, acknowledging himself to

be set apart for God, by this means, as one of the people-

every such individual would, if he renounced it, renounce it

as such; and there was no other way of sanctifying him. e

former system had evidently lost its power for him, and

the true one he had abandoned. is is the reason why it is

said, “Having received the knowledge of the truth.”

Better things hoped for in the Hebrew Christians; a

life of patience and perseverance characterized by faith,

the strength of it

Nevertheless, he hopes better things, for fruit, the sign

of life, was there. He reminds them how much they had

suered for the truth, and that they had even received

joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had

a better and an abiding portion in heaven. ey were not

to cast away this condence, the reward of which would be

great. For in truth they needed patience, in order that, after

having done the will of God, they might receive the eect of

the promise. And He who is to come will come soon.

It is to this life of patience and perseverance that

the chapter applies. But there is a principle which is the

strength of this life and which characterizes it. In the

midst of the diculties of the Christian walk, the just shall

Hebrews 10

409

live by faith; and if anyone draws back, God will have no

pleasure in him. “But,” says the author, placing himself as

ever in the midst of the believers, “we are not of them who

draw back, but of them that believe unto the saving of

the soul.” ereupon he describes the action of this faith,

encouraging believers by the example of the elders who

had acquired<P292> their renown by walking according to

the same principle as that by which the faithful were now

called to walk.

Darby Synopsis

410

73301

Hebrews 11

Faith: its powers and action; the order of its examples

It is not a denition of this principle that the epistle gives

us at the commencement of chapter 11, but a declaration

of its powers and action. Faith realizes (gives substance to)

that which we hope for and is a demonstration to the soul

of that which we do not see.

ere is much more order than is generally thought

in the series given here of examples of the action of faith,

although this order is not the principal object. I will point

out its leading features.

Faith with regard to creation by the word of God

First with regard to creation. Lost in reasonings and not

knowing God, the human mind sought out endless solutions

of existence. ose who have read the cosmogonies of the

ancients know how many dierent systems, each more

absurd than the other, have been invented for that which

the introduction of God, by faith, renders perfectly simple.

Modern science, with a less active and more practical

mind, stops at second causes; and it is but little occupied

with God. Geology has taken the place of the cosmogony

of the Hindus, Egyptians, Orientals and philosophers. To

the believer the thought is clear and simple; his mind is

assured and intelligent by faith. God, by His word, called

all things into existence. e universe is not a producing

cause; it is itself a creature acting by a law imposed upon it.

It is One having authority who has spoken; His word has

divine ecacy. He speaks, and the thing is. We feel that

this is worthy of God; for, when once God is brought in,

Hebrews 11

411

all is simple. Shut Him out, and man is lost in the eorts

of his own imagination, which can neither create nor arrive

at the knowledge of a Creator, because it only works with

the power of a creature. Before, therefore, the details of the

present form of creation are entered upon, the Word simply

says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the

earth.” Whatever may have taken place between that and

chaos forms no part of revelation. It is distinct from the

special action of the deluge, which is made known to us.

e beginning of Genesis does not give a his<P293>tory of

the details of creation itself, nor the history of the universe.

It gives the fact that in the beginning God created; and

afterwards, the things that regard man on the earth. e

angels even are not there. Of the stars it is only said, “He

made the stars also”; when, we are not told.

By faith, then, we believe that the worlds were created

by the word of God.

Sin and the sacrice; Abel drawing near by faith;

testimony made to his oering

But sin has come in, and righteousness has to be found

for fallen man, in order that he may stand before God. God

has given a Lamb for the sacrice. But here we have set

before us, not the gift on God’s part, but the soul drawing

near to Him by faith.

By faith, then, Abel oers to God a more excellent

sacrice than Cain-a sacrice which (founded on the

revelation already made by God) was oered in the

intelligence which a conscience taught of God possessed,

with regard to the position in which he who oered was

standing. Death and judgment had come in by sin, to man

insupportable, although he must undergo them. He must

go, therefore, to God, confessing this; but he must go with

Darby Synopsis

412

a substitute which grace has given. He must go with blood,

the witness at the same time both of the judgment and of

the perfect grace of God. Doing this, he was in the truth,

and this truth was righteousness and grace. He approaches

God and puts the sacrice between himself and God.

He receives the testimony that he is righteous- righteous

according to the righteous judgment of God. For the

sacrice was in connection with the righteousness that had

condemned man, and owned too the perfect value of that

which was done in it. e testimony is to his oering; but

Abel is righteous before God. Nothing can be more clear,

more precious on this point. It is not only the sacrice

which is accepted, but Abel who comes with the sacrice.

He receives from God this testimony, that he is righteous.

Sweet and blessed consolation! But the testimony is

made to his gifts, so that he possessed all the certainty of

acceptance according to the value of the sacrice oered.

In going to God by the sacrice of Jesus, not only am I

righteous (I receive the testimony that I am righteous),

but this testimony is made to my oering; and therefore

my righteousness has the value and the perfection of the

oering, that is, of Christ oering Himself to<P294> God.

e fact that we receive testimony on God’s part that we

are righteous, and at the same time that the testimony is

made to the gift which we oer (not to the condition in

which we are), is of innite value to us. We are now before

God according to the perfection of Christ’s work. We walk

with God thus.

e power and rights of death destroyed shown by

Enoch’s exemption from the common lot of humanity

By faith, death having been the means of my acceptance

before God, all that belongs to the old man is abolished

Hebrews 11

413

for faith; the power and the rights of death are entirely

destroyed-Christ has undergone them. us, if it please

God, we go to heaven without even passing through death

(compare 2Corinthians 5:1-4). God did this for Enoch,

for Elijah, as a testimony. Not only are sins put away and

righteousness established by the work of Christ, but the

rights and power of him who has the power of death are

entirely destroyed. Death may happen to us-we are by

nature liable to it; but we possess a life which is outside

its jurisdiction. Death, if it come, is but gain to us; and

although nothing but the power of God Himself can raise

or transform the body, this power has been manifested

in Jesus, and has already wrought in us by quickening us

(compare Ephesians 1:19); and it works in us now in the

power of deliverance from sin, from the law and from the

esh. Death, as a power of the enemy, is conquered; it is

become a “gain” to faith, instead of being a judgment on

nature. Life, the power of God in life, works in holiness

and in obedience here below and declares itself in the

resurrection or in the transformation of the body. It is a

witness of power with regard to Christ in Romans 1:4.

e testimony that Enoch received of pleasing God

and that which he bore to the world’s judgment; his

translation a gure of the position of the assembly

But there is another very sweet consideration to be

noticed here. Enoch received testimony that he pleased

God, before he was translated. is is very important and

very precious. If we walk with God, we have the testimony

that we please Him; we have the sweetness of communion

with God, the testimony of His Spirit, His fellowship with

us in the sense of His presence, the conscious<P295>ness

of walking according to His Word, which we know to

Darby Synopsis

414

be approved by Him-in a word, a life which, spent with

Him and before Him by faith, is spent in the light of His

countenance and in the enjoyment of the communications

of His grace and of a sure testimony, coming from Himself,

that we are pleasing to Him. A child who walks with a kind

father and converses with him, his conscience reproaching

him with nothing-does he not enjoy the sense of his

parent’s favor?

In gure Enoch here represents the position of the

saints who compose the assembly. He is taken up to heaven

by virtue of a complete victory over death. By the exercise

of sovereign grace he is outside the government and the

ordinary deliverance of God. He bears testimony by the

Spirit to the judgment of the world, but he does not go

through it (Jude 14-15). A walk like that of Enoch has

God for its object; His existence is realized-the great

business of life, which in the world is spent as if man did

everything-and the fact that He is interested in the walk of

men, that He takes account of it, in order to reward those

who diligently seek Him.

Accepting God’s testimony as to coming judgment

and His means of escape, Noah preserved for a future

world

Noah is found in the scene of the government of this

world. He does not warn others of the coming judgments

as one who is outside them, although he is a preacher of

righteousness. He is warned himself and for himself; he

is in the circumstances to which the warning relates. It is

the spirit of prophecy. He is moved by fear, and he builds

an ark to the saving of his house. He thus condemned the

world. Enoch had not to build an ark in order to pass safely

through the ood. He was not in it: God translated him-

Hebrews 11

415

exceptionally. Noah is preserved (heir of the righteousness

which is by faith) for a future world. ere is a general

principle which accepts the testimony of God respecting

the judgment that will fall upon men, and the means

provided by God for escaping it: this belongs to every

believer.

e world condemned by Noah’s ark; passing through

judgment, Noah represents the Jewish remnant

But there is something more precise. Abel has the

testimony that he is righteous; Enoch walks with God,

pleases God, and is<P296> exempted from the common

lot of humanity, proclaiming as from above the fate that

awaits men, and the coming of Him who will execute the

judgment. He goes forward to the accomplishment of

the counsels of God. But neither Abel nor Enoch, thus

viewed, condemned the world as that in the midst of which

they were journeying, receiving themselves the warning

addressed to those who were dwellers therein. is was

Noah’s case: the prophet, although delivered, is in the

midst of the judged people. e assembly is outside them.

Noah’s ark condemned the world; the testimony of God

was enough for faith, and he inherits a world that had been

destroyed, and (what belongs to all believers) righteousness

by faith, on which the new world too is founded. is is

the case of the Jewish remnant in the last days. ey pass

through the judgments, out of which we, as not belonging

to the world, have been taken. Warned themselves of God’s

way of government in the earth, they will be witnesses to

the world of the coming judgments, and will be heirs of

the righteousness which is by faith, and witnesses to it in

a new world, wherein righteousness will be accomplished

in judgment by Him who is come, and whose throne

Darby Synopsis

416

will uphold the world in which Noah himself failed. e

words, “heir of the righteousness which is by faith” point

out, I think, that this faith which had governed a few was

summed up in his person, and that the whole unbelieving

world was condemned. e witness of this faith before

judgment, Noah passes through it: and when the world

is renewed, he is a public witness to the blessing of God

that rests on faith, although outwardly all is changed. us

Enoch represents the saints of the present time; Noah, the

Jewish remnant.1

(1. Indeed all that are spared for the world to come.

eir state is expressed in the end of Revelation 7, as that

of the Jews in the rst verses of chapter 14.)

Examples of the divine life in detail; the patience of

hope which trusts God and waits, taking the place of

strangership here because something better is desired;

its eect

e Spirit, after establishing the great fundamental

principles of faith in action, goes on (vs. 8) to produce

examples of the divine life in detail, always in connection

with Jewish knowledge, with that which the heart of a

Hebrew could not fail to own; and, at the<P297> same

time, in connection with the object of the epistle and with

the wants of Christians among the Hebrews.

In the previous case we have seen a faith which, after

owning a Creator-God, recognizes the great principles of

the relations of man with God, and that onwards to the

end upon earth.

In that which follows, we have rst the patience of faith

when it does not possess, but trusts God and waits, assured

of fulllment. is is in verses 8-22. We may subdivide it

thus-rst, the faith which takes the place of strangership

Hebrews 11

417

on earth, and maintains it, because something better is

desired; and which, in spite of weakness, nds the strength

that is requisite in order to the fulllment of the promises.

is is in verses 8-16. Its eect is entrance into the joy of

a heavenly hope. Strangers in the land of promise, and not

enjoying the fulllment of promises here below, they wait

for more excellent things-things which God prepares on

high for those who love Him. For such He has prepared a

city. In unison with God in His own thoughts, their desires

(through grace) answering to the things in which He

takes delight, they are the objects of His peculiar regard.

He is not ashamed to be called their God. Abraham not

only followed God into a land that He showed him, but,

a stranger there, and not possessing the land of promise,

he is, by the mighty grace of God, exalted to the sphere of

His thoughts; and, enjoying communion with God and the

communications of His grace, he rests upon God for the

time present, accepts his position of strangership on earth,

and, as the portion of his faith, waits for the heavenly city

of which God is the builder and the founder. ere was

not, so to speak, an open revelation of what was the subject

of this hope, as was the case with that by which Abraham

was called of God; but walking closely enough with God

to know that which was enjoyed in His presence, and being

conscious that he had not received the fulllment of the

promise, he lays hold of the better things, and waits for

them, although only seeing them afar o, and remains a

stranger upon earth, unmindful of the country whence he

came out.

e special application of these rst principles of faith

to the case of the Christian Hebrews is evident. ey are

the normal life of faith for all.<P298>

Darby Synopsis

418

Entire condence in the fulllment of the promises

in spite of weakness

e second character of faith presented in this part

is entire condence in the fulllment of the promises-a

condence maintained in spite of all that might tend to

destroy it. is is in verses 17-22.

Faith making its way through all diculties; reposing

on God as to the use of the means He sets before us;

faith’s energy; the suerings which characterize its walk

We next nd, the second great division, that faith makes

its way through all the diculties that oppose its progress

(vss. 23-27). And in verses 28-31 faith displays itself in a

trust that reposes on God with regard to the use of the

means which He sets before us, and of which nature cannot

avail itself. Finally, there is the energy in general, of which

faith is the source, and the suerings that characterize the

walk of faith.1

(1. In general we may say that verses 8-22 are faith

resting assured on the promise, the patience of faith: verse

23 to the end, faith resting on God for the activities and

diculties faith leads to, the energy of faith.)

e general character of the examples of faith

is general character belongs to all the examples

mentioned, namely, that they who have exercised faith have

not received the fulllment of the promise; the application

of which to the state of the Hebrew Christians is evident.

Further, these illustrious heroes of faith, however honored

they might be among the Jews, did not enjoy the privileges

that Christians possessed. God in His counsels had

reserved something better for us.

Abraham’s faith; his renunciation, a type of Christ in

death and resurrection

Hebrews 11

419

Let us notice some details. Abraham’s faith shows itself

by a thorough trust in God. Called to leave his own people,

breaking the ties of nature, he obeys. He knows not whither

he is going: enough for him that God would show him the

place. God, having brought him thither, gives him nothing.

He dwells there content, in perfect reliance on God. He was

a gainer by it. He waited for a city that had foundations. He

openly confesses that he is a<P299> stranger and a pilgrim

on earth (Gen. 23:4). us, in spirit, he draws nearer to

God. Although he possesses nothing, his aections are

engaged. He desires a better country and attaches himself

to God more immediately and entirely. He has no desire

to return into his own country; he seeks a country. Such is

the Christian. In oering up Isaac there was that absolute

condence in God which, at His command, can renounce

even God’s own promises as possessed after the esh, sure

that God would restore them through the exercise of His

power, overcoming death and every obstacle.

It is thus that Christ renounced His rights as Messiah,

and went even into death, committing Himself to the will

of God and trusting in Him; and received everything in

resurrection. And this the Hebrew Christians had to do,

with respect to the Messiah and the promises made to

Israel. But, if there is simplicity of faith, for us the Jordan

is dry, nor could we indeed have passed it if the Lord had

not passed on before.

Observe here that, when trusting in God and giving up

all for Him, we always gain, and we learn something more

of the ways of His power: for in renouncing according to

His will anything already received, we ought to expect from

the power of God that He will bestow something else.

Abraham renounces the promise after the esh. He sees

Darby Synopsis

420

the city which has foundations; he can desire a heavenly

country. He gives up Isaac, in whom were the promises:

he learns resurrection, for God is infallibly faithful. e

promises were in Isaac: therefore, God must restore him to

Abraham, and by resurrection, if he oered him in sacrice.

Expressions of faith in the future fulllment of God’s

promise; Israel’s future return to their own land shown

in Isaac, Jacob and Joseph

In Isaac faith distinguishes between the portion of God’s

people according to His election and that of man having

birthrights according to nature. is is the knowledge of

the ways of God in blessing and in judgment.

By faith Jacob, a stranger and feeble, having nothing but

the sta with which he had crossed the Jordan, worships

God and announces the double portion of the heir of

Israel, of the one whom his brethren rejected-a type of

the Lord, the heir of all things. is lays the ground of

worship.<P300>

By faith Joseph, a stranger, the representative here of

Israel far from his own country, reckons on the fulllment

of the earthly promises.1

(1. Observe that in these cases we nd the rights of

Christ in resurrection; the judgment of nature, and the

blessing of faith, through grace; the inheritance of all

things heavenly and earthly by Christ; and Israel’s future

return to their own land.)

Faith which surmounts every diculty shown in

Moses

ese are the expressions of faith in the faithfulness

of God, in the future fulllment of His promise. In that

which follows we have the faith which surmounts every

diculty that arises in the path of the man of God, in the

Hebrews 11

421

way that God marks out for him as he journeys on towards

the enjoyment of the promises.

e faith of the parents of Moses makes them

disregard the king’s cruel command, and they conceal their

infant; whom God, in answer to their faith, preserved by

extraordinary means when there was no other way to save

it. Faith does not reason; it acts from its own point of view,

and leaves the result to God.

But the means which God used for the preservation of

Moses placed him within a little of the highest position

in the kingdom. He there came to be possessed of all the

acquirements which that period could bestow on a man

distinguished alike by his energy and his character. But

faith does its work and inspires divine aections which

do not look to surrounding circumstances for a guide of

action, even when those circumstances may have owned

their origin to the most remarkable providences.

Faith and not providence as a rule and motive

Faith has its own objects, supplied by God Himself, and

governs the heart with a view to those objects. It gives us

a place and relationships which rule the whole life, and

leave no room for other motives and other spheres of

aection which would divide the heart; for the motives and

aections which govern faith are given by God, and given

by Him in order to form and govern the heart.

Verses 24-26 develop this point. It is a very important

principle; for we often hear providence alleged as a

reason for not walking by faith. Never was there a more

remarkable providence than that which placed Moses in

the court of Pharaoh; and it gained its object. It would

not have done so if Moses had not abandoned the<P301>

position into which that providence had brought him. But

Darby Synopsis

422

it was faith (that is to say, the divine aections which God

had created in his heart), and not providence as a rule and

motive, which produced the eect for which providence

had preserved and prepared him. Providence (thanks be to

God!) governs circumstances; faith governs the heart and

the conduct.

God’s promised reward sustaining and encouraging

the heart, but not the motive power

e reward which God has promised comes in here as

an avowed object in the sphere of faith. It is not the motive

power; but it sustains and encourages the heart that is acting

by faith, in view of the object which God presents to our

aections. It thus takes the heart away from the present,

from the inuence of the things that surround us (whether

they are things that attract or that tend to intimidate us),

and elevates the heart and character of him who walks by

faith, and conrms him in a path of devotedness which will

lead him to the end at which he aims.

A motive outside that which is present to us is the secret

of stability and of true greatness. We may have an object

with regard to which we act; but we need a motive outside

that object-a divine motive-to enable us to act in a godly

way respecting it.

God’s intervention realized; the provided means of

safety;

the ecacy of the blood trusted; acknowledgment of

guilt

Faith realizes also (vs. 27) the intervention of God

without seeing Him; and thus delivers from all fear of the

power of man-the enemy of His people. But the thought of

God’s intervention brings the heart into a greater diculty

than even the fear of man. If His people are to be delivered,

Hebrews 11

423

God must intervene, and that in judgment. But they, as

well as their enemies, are sinners; and the consciousness

of sin and of deserving judgment necessarily destroys

condence in Him who is the Judge. Dare they see Him

come to manifest His power in judgment (for this it is,

in fact, which must take place for the deliverance of His

people)? Is God for us-the heart asks-this God who is

coming in judgment? But God has provided the means

of securing safety in the presence of judgment (vs. 28); a

means apparently contemptible and useless, yet which in

reality is the only one that, by glorifying Him with regard

to the<P302> evil of which we are guilty, has power to

aord shelter from the judgment which He executes.

Faith recognized the testimony of God by trusting to

the ecacy of the blood sprinkled on the door, and could,

in all security, let God come in judgment-God who, seeing

the blood, would pass over His believing people. By faith

Moses kept the Passover. Observe here that, by the act of

putting the blood on the door, the people acknowledged

that they were as much the objects of the just judgment

of God as the Egyptians. God had given them that which

preserved them from it; but it was because they were guilty

and deserved it. No one can stand before God.

God’s judgment and deliverance: its earthly antitype

Verse 29. But the power of God is manifested, and

manifested in judgment. Nature, the enemies of God’s

people, think to pass through this judgment dry-shod,

like those who are sheltered by redeeming power from the

righteous vengeance of God. But the judgment swallows

them up in the very same place in which the people nd

deliverance-a principle of marvelous import. ere, where

the judgment of God is, even there is the deliverance.

Darby Synopsis

424

Believers have truly experienced this in Christ. e cross

is death and judgment, the two terrible consequences of

sin, the lot of sinful man. To us they are the deliverance

provided of God. By and in them we are delivered, and (in

Christ) we pass through and are out of their reach. Christ

died and is risen; and faith brings us, by means of that which

should have been our eternal ruin, into a place where death

and judgment are left behind, and where our enemies can

no longer reach us. We go through without their touching

us. Death and judgment shield us from the enemy. ey are

our security. But we enter into a new sphere, we live by the

eect not only of Christ’s death, but of His resurrection.

ose who, in the mere power of nature, think to pass

through (they who speak of death and judgment and

Christ, taking the Christian position, and thinking to pass

through, although the power of God in redemption is not

with them) are swallowed up.

With respect to the Jews, this event will have an earthly

anti-type; for, in fact, the day of God’s judgment on earth

will be the deliverance of Israel, who will have been brought

to repentance.<P303>

e Red Sea deliverance and what it spoke of: God

for the people

is deliverance at the Red Sea goes beyond the

protection of the blood in Egypt. ere God coming in the

expression of His holiness, executing judgment upon evil,

what they needed was to be sheltered from that judgment-

to be protected from the righteous judgment of God

Himself. And, by the blood, God, thus coming to execute

judgment, was shut out, and the people were placed in

safety before the Judge. is judgment had the character

Hebrews 11

425

of the eternal judgment. And God had the character of a

Judge.

At the Red Sea it was not merely deliverance from

judgment hanging over them; God was for the people,

active in love and in power for them.1e deliverance was

an actual deliverance: they came out of that condition in

which they had been enslaved, God’s own power bringing

them unhurt through that which otherwise must have

been their destruction. us, in our case, it is Christ’s death

and resurrection, in which we participate, the redemption

which He therein accomplished,2 which introduces us into

an entirely new condition altogether outside that of nature.

We are no longer in the esh.

(1. Stand still, says Moses, and see the salvation of

Jehovah.)

(2. Crossing the Jordan represents the believer being

set at liberty, and intelligently entering by faith into the

heavenlies; it is conscious death and resurrection with

Christ. e Red Sea is the power of redemption by Christ.)

In principle the earthly deliverance of the Jewish nation

(the Jewish remnant) will be the same. Founded on the

power of the risen Christ, and on the propitiation wrought

out by His death, that deliverance will be accomplished by

God, who will intervene on behalf of those that turn to

Him by faith: at the same time that His adversaries (who

are those also of His people) shall be destroyed by the very

judgment which is the safeguard of the people whom they

have oppressed.

Diculties disappearing before God: the walls of

Jericho

Verse 30. Yet all diculties were not overcome because

redemption was accomplished, deliverance eected.

Darby Synopsis

426

But the God of deliverance was with them; diculties

disappear before Him. at which is a diculty to man is

none to Him. Faith trusts in Him, and uses means which

only serve to express that trust. e walls<P304> of Jericho

fall down at the sound of trumpets made of rams’ horns,

after Israel had compassed the city seven days, sounding

these trumpets seven times.

Rahab’s escape from judgment

Rahab, in presence of all the as yet unimpaired strength

of the enemies of God and His people, identies herself

with the latter before they had gained one victory, because

she felt that God was with them. A stranger to them (as to

the esh), she by faith escaped the judgment which God

executed upon her people.

Faith under various characters and energy of patience,

sustaining under all kinds of suerings

Verse 32. Details are now no longer entered into. Israel

(although individuals had still to act by faith), being

established in the land of promise, furnished less occasion

to develop examples of the principles on which faith acted.

e Spirit speaks in a general way of these examples in

which faith reappeared under various characters and

energy of patience, and sustained souls under all kinds of

suering. eir glory was with God, the world was not

worthy of them. Nevertheless, they had received nothing

of the fulllment of the promises; they had to live by

faith, as well as the Hebrews, to whom the epistle was

addressed. e latter, however, had privileges which were

in nowise possessed by believers of former days. Neither

the one nor the other was brought to perfection, that is, to

the heavenly glory, unto which God has called us, and in

which they are to participate. Abraham and others waited

Hebrews 11

427

for this glory; they never possessed it: God would not give

it them without us. But He has not called us by the same

revelations only as those which He made to them. For the

days of the rejected Messiah He had reserved some better

thing. Heavenly things have become things of the present

time, things fully revealed and actually possessed in spirit,

by the union of the saints with Christ, and present access

into the holiest through the blood of Christ.

e Christian’s present portion: the better thing

reserved

We have not to do with a promise and a distinct view

of a place approached from without, entrance to which

was not yet granted,<P305> so that relationship with God

would not be founded on entrance within the veil-entrance

into His own presence. We now go in with boldness. We

belong to heaven; our citizenship is there; we are at home

there. Heavenly glory is our present portion, Christ having

gone in as our forerunner. We have in heaven a Christ

who is man gloried. is Abraham had not. He walked

on earth with a heavenly mind, waiting for a city, feeling

that nothing else would satisfy the desires which God

had awakened in his heart; but he could not be connected

with heaven by means of a Christ actually sitting there in

glory. is is our present portion. We can even say that we

are united to Him there. e Christian’s position is quite

dierent from that of Abraham. God had reserved some

better thing for us.

e Spirit does not here develop the whole extent

of this “better thing,” because the assembly is not His

subject. He presents the general thought to the Hebrews

to encourage them, that believers of the present day have

Darby Synopsis

428

special privileges, which they enjoy by faith, but which did

not belong even to the faith of believers in former days.

We shall be perfected, that is to say, gloried together

in resurrection; but there is a special portion which

belongs to the saints now, and which did not belong to

the patriarchs. e fact that Christ, as man, is in heaven

after having accomplished redemption, and that the Holy

Spirit, by whom we are united to Christ, is on earth, made

this superiority granted to Christians easily understood.

Accordingly, even the least in the kingdom of heaven is

greater than the greatest of those who preceded it.

Hebrews 12

429

73302

Hebrews 12

Practical exhortations owing from doctrinal

instruction as to dangers; running the race set before us

e epistle now enters on the practical exhortations

that ow from its doctrinal instruction, with reference to

the dangers peculiar to the Hebrew Christians-instruction

suited throughout to inspire them with courage. Surrounded

with a cloud of witnesses like these of chapter 11, who all

declared the advantages of a life of faith in promises still

unfullled, they ought to feel themselves impelled to follow

their steps, running with patience the race set<P306> before

them, and above all looking away from every diculty1 to

Jesus, who had run the whole career of faith, sustained by

the joy that was set before Him, and, having reached the

goal, had taken His seat in glory at the right hand of God.

(1. It is not insensibility to them, but, when they are

felt to be there, looking from them to Christ. is is the

secret of faith. “Be careful for nothing” need not have been

said, if nothing had been there calculated to awaken care.

Abraham considered not his body now dead.)

e Lord’s example as having run the whole career of

faith

is passage presents the Lord, not as He who bestows

faith, but as He who has Himself run the whole career

of faith. Others had traveled a part of the road, had

surmounted some diculties; the obedience and the

perseverance of the Lord had been subjected to every trial

of which human nature is susceptible. Men, the adversary,

the being forsaken of God, everything was against Him.

Darby Synopsis

430

His disciples ee when He is in danger, His intimate friend

betrays Him; He looks for someone to have compassion on

Him and nds no one. e fathers (of whom we read in the

previous chapter) trusted in God and were delivered, but as

for Jesus, He was a worm, and no man; His throat was dry

with crying. His love for us, His obedience to His Father,

surmounted all. He carries o the victory by submission,

and takes His seat in a glory exalted in proportion to the

greatness of His abasement and obedience, the only just

reward for having perfectly gloried God where He had

been dishonored by sin. e joy and the rewards that are

set before us are never the motives of the walk of faith-we

know this well with regard to Christ, but it is not the less

true in our own case-they are the encouragement of those

who walk in it.

Jesus, then, who has attained the glory due to Him,

becomes an example to us in the suerings through which

He passed in attaining it; therefore, we are neither to lose

courage nor to grow weary. We have not yet, like Him, lost

our lives in order to glorify God and to serve Him. e

way in which the Apostle engages them to disentangle

themselves from every hindrance, whether sin or diculty,

is remarkable; as though they had nothing to do but to cast

them o as useless weights. And, in fact, when we look at

Jesus, nothing is easier; when we are not looking at Him,

nothing more impossible.<P307>

What is to be cast o: the way and power to do it

ere are two things to be cast o: every weight, and

the sin that would entangle our feet (for he speaks of one

who is running in the race). e esh, the human heart, is

occupied with cares and diculties; and the more we think

of them, the more we are burdened by them. It is enticed

Hebrews 12

431

by the object of its desires, it does not free itself from them.

e conict is with a heart that loves the thing against

which we strive; we do not separate ourselves from it in

thought. When looking at Jesus, the new man is active;

there is a new object, which unburdens and detaches us

from every other by means of a new aection which has its

place in a new nature: and in Jesus Himself, to whom we

look, there is a positive power which sets us free.

It is by casting it all o in an absolute way that the thing

is easy-by looking at that which lls the heart with other

things, and occupies it in a dierent sphere, where a new

object and a new nature act upon each other; and in that

object there is a positive power which absorbs the heart

and shuts out all objects that act merely on the old nature.

What is felt to be a weight is easily cast o. Everything is

judged of by its bearing on the object we aim at. If I run

in a race and all my thought is the prize, a bag of gold is

readily cast away. It is a weight. But we must look to Jesus.

Only in Him can we cast o every hindrance easily and

without reservation. We cannot combat sin by the esh.

Trials that must be borne; God’s chastisement neither

to be despised nor to be discouraged by it; its purpose

But there is another class of trials that come from

without: they are not to be cast o, they must be borne.

Christ, as we have seen, went through them. We have not

like Him resisted even to the shedding of our blood rather

than fail in faithfulness and obedience. Now God acts in

these trials as a father. He chastises us. ey come perhaps,

as in the case of Job, from the enemy, but the hand and the

wisdom of God are in them. He chastises those whom He

loves. We must, therefore, neither despise the chastisement

nor be discouraged by it. We must not despise it, for He

Darby Synopsis

432

does not chastise without a motive or a cause (moreover,

it is God who does it); nor must we be discouraged, for He

does it in love.

If we lose our life for the testimony of the Lord and

in resisting<P308> sin, the warfare is ended; and this is

not chastisement, but the glory of suering with Christ.

Death in this case is the negation of sin. He who has died

is free from sin; he who has suered in the esh has done

with sin. But up to that point, the esh in practice (for we

have a right to reckon ourselves dead) is not yet destroyed;

and God knows how to unite the manifestation of the

faithfulness of the new man who suers for the Lord, with

the discipline by which the esh is mortied. For example,

Paul’s thorn in the esh united these two things. It was

painful to him in the exercise of his ministry, for it was

something that tended to make him contemptible when

preaching (and this he endured for the Lord’s sake), but at

the same time it kept his esh in check.

God’s purposes of holiness: the fruits of soul exercise

Verse 9. Now we are subject to our natural parents, who

discipline us after their own will: how much more then to

the Father of spirits,1 who makes us partakers of His own

holiness! Observe here the grace that is appealed to. We

have seen how much the Hebrews needed warning-their

tendency was to fail in the career of faith. e means of

preventing this is doubtless not to spare warning, but yet to

bring the soul fully into connection with grace. is alone

can give strength and courage through condence in God.

(1. “Father of spirits” is simply in contrast with “fathers

of our esh.”)

We are not come to Mount Sinai, to the law which

makes demands on us, but to Sion, where God manifested

Hebrews 12

433

His power in reestablishing Israel by His grace in the

person of the elect king, when, as to the responsibility of

the people, all was entirely lost, all relationship with God

impossible on that footing, for the ark was lost; there was

no longer a mercy-seat, no longer a throne of God among

the people. Ichabod was written on Israel.

erefore in speaking of holiness he says, God is active

in love towards you, even in your very suerings. It is He

who has not only given free access to Himself, by the blood

and by the presence of Christ in heaven for us, but who

is continually occupied with all the details of your life;

whose hand is in all your trials, who thinks unceasingly

about you, in order to make you partakers of His holiness.

is is not to require holiness on our part-necessary as it

must ever be-it is in order to make us partakers of His own

<P309>holiness. What immense and perfect grace! What

a means! It is the means by which to enjoy God Himself

perfectly.

Verse 11. God does not expect us to nd these exercises

of soul pleasant at the moment (they would not produce

their eect if they were so): but afterwards, the will being

broken, they produce the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

e pride of man is brought down when he is obliged to

submit to that which is contrary to his will. God also takes

a larger (ever precious) place in his thoughts and in his life.

Grace the motive for the path of faith and godliness

Verse 12. On the principle then of grace, the Hebrews

are exhorted to encourage themselves in the path of faith,

and to watch against the buddings of sin among them,

whether in yielding to the desires of the esh, or in giving

up Christian privileges for something of the world. ey

were to walk so courageously that their evident joy and

Darby Synopsis

434

blessing (which is always a distinct testimony and one that

triumphs over the enemy) should make the weak feel that

it was their own assured portion also; and thus strength

and healing would be administered to them instead of

discouragement. e path of godliness as to circumstances

was to be made easy, a beaten path to weak and lame souls;

and they would feel more than stronger souls the comfort

and value of such a path.

Grace, we have already said, is the motive given for this

walk; but grace is here presented in a form that requires to

be considered a little in detail.

Mount Sinai contrasted with Mount Sion

We are not come, it says, to Mount Sinai. ere the

terrors of the majesty of God kept man at a distance.

No one was to approach Him. Even Moses feared and

trembled at the presence of Jehovah. is is not where

the Christian is brought. But, in contrast with such

relationships as these with God, the whole millennial

state in all its parts is developed; according, however, to

the way in which these dierent parts are now known as

things hoped for. We belong to it all; but evidently these

things are not yet established. Let us name them: Sion;

the heavenly Jerusalem; the angels and general assembly;

the church of the rstborn, whose names are inscribed in

heaven; God the Judge of all; the spirits of<P310> the just

made perfect; Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant; and,

nally, the blood of sprinkling which speaks better things

than that of Abel.

Sion we have spoken of as a principle. It is the

intervention of sovereign grace (in the king) after the ruin,

and in the midst of the ruin, of Israel, reestablishing the

people according to the counsels of God in glory, and their

Hebrews 12

435

relationships with God Himself. It is the rest of God on

the earth, the seat of the Messiah’s royal power. But, as we

know, the extent of the earth is far from being the limits

of the Lord’s inheritance. Sion on earth is Jehovah’s rest;

it is not the city of the living God-the heavenly Jerusalem

is that, the heavenly capital, so to speak, of His kingdom,

the city that has foundations, whose founder and builder is

God Himself.

e assembly of the rstborn in heaven: their portion;

God the Judge of all and those owned as His before the

heavenly assembly was revealed

Having named Sion below, the author turns naturally to

Jerusalem above; but this carries him into heaven, and he

nds himself with all the people of God, in the midst of a

multitude of angels, the great, universal assembly1 of the

invisible world. ere is, however, one peculiar object on

which his eye rests in this marvelous and heavenly scene. It

is the assembly of the rstborn whose names are inscribed

in heaven. ey were not born there, not indigenous like

the angels, whom God preserved from falling. ey are

the objects of the counsels of God. It is not merely that

they reach heaven: they are the glorious heirs and rstborn

of God, according to His eternal counsels, in accordance

with which they are registered in heaven. e assembly

composed of the objects of grace, now called in Christ,

belongs to heaven by grace. ey are not the objects of the

promises, who, not having received the fulllment of the

promises on earth, do not fail to enjoy them in heaven. ey

have the anticipation of no other country or citizenship

than heaven. e promises were not addressed to them.

ey have no place on earth. Heaven is prepared for them

by God Himself. eir names are inscribed there by Him.

Darby Synopsis

436

It is the highest place in heaven above the dealings of God

in govern<P311>ment, promise and law on the earth. is

leads the picture of glory on to God Himself. But (having

reached the highest point, that which is most excellent in

grace) He is seen under another character, namely, as the

Judge of all, as looking down from on high to judge all

that is below. is introduces another class of these blessed

inhabitants of the heavenly glory: those whom the righteous

Judge owned as His before the heavenly assembly was

revealed, the spirits of the just arrived at perfection. ey

had nished their course, they had overcome in conict,

they were waiting only for glory. ey had been connected

with the dealings of God on the earth, but-faithful before

the time for its blessing was come-they had their rest and

their portion in heaven.

(1. e word here translated “assembly” was that of all

the states of Greece; that of the “rstborn” is the word for

the assembly of citizens of any particular state.)

e new covenant and its mediator; the shed blood of

Christ crying for pardon and peace

It was the purpose of God, nevertheless, to bless the

earth. He could not do so according to man’s responsibility:

His people even were but as grass. He would therefore

establish a new covenant with Israel, a covenant of pardon,

and according to which He would write the law in the

hearts of His people. e mediator of this covenant had

already appeared and had done all that was required for its

establishment. e saints among the Hebrews were come

to the mediator of the new covenant: blessing was thus

prepared for the earth and secured to it.

Finally, the blood of Christ had been shed on earth,

as that of Abel by Cain; but, instead of crying from the

Hebrews 12

437

earth for vengeance, so that Cain became a fugitive and a

vagabond in the earth (a striking type of the Jew, guilty of

the death of Christ), it is grace that speaks; and the shed

blood cries to obtain pardon and peace for those who shed

it.

e present condition before earthly blessing comes;

the shaking of all things announced; Christ’s kingdom

immovable; the character of our God; consequent tting

service

It will be observed that, although speaking of the

dierent parts of millennial blessing, with its foundations,

all is given according to the present condition of things,

before the coming of that time of blessing from God. We

are in it as to our relationships; but the<P312> spirits of

the just men of the Old Testament only are here spoken of,

and only the mediator of this new covenant: the covenant

itself is not established. e blood cries, but the answer in

earthly blessing has not yet come. is is easily understood.

It is exactly according to the existing state of things, and

even throws considerable light on the position of the

Hebrew Christians and on the doctrine of the epistle. e

important thing for them was that they should not turn

away from Him who spoke from heaven. It was with Him

they had to do. We have seen them connected with all that

went before, with the Lord’s testimony on earth; but, in

fact, they had to do at that time with the Lord Himself

as speaking from heaven. His voice then shook the earth;

but now, speaking with the authority of grace and from

heaven, He announced the dissolution of everything which

the esh could lean upon, or on which the creature could

rest its hopes.

Darby Synopsis

438

All that could be shaken should be dissolved. How

much more fatal to turn away from Him that speaks now,

than from the commandments even of Sinai! is shaking

of all things (whether here or in the analogous passage in

2Peter) evidently goes beyond Judaism, but has a peculiar

application to it. Judaism was the system and the frame of

the relationships of God with men on earth according to

the principle of responsibility on their part. All this was

of the rst creation, but its springs were poisoned; heaven,

the seat of the enemy’s power, perverted and corrupted;

the heart of man on earth was corrupt and rebellious. God

will shake and change all things. e result will be a new

creation in which righteousness shall dwell.

Meanwhile, the rstfruits of this new creation were

being formed; and in Christianity God was forming the

heavenly part of the kingdom that cannot be moved; and

Judaism-the center of the earthly system and of human

responsibility-was passing away. e Apostle therefore

announces the shaking of all things- that everything which

exists as the present creation shall be set aside. With regard

to the present fact he says only, “We receive a kingdom

that cannot be moved”; and calls us to serve God with true

piety, because our God is a consuming re; not-as people

say-God out of Christ, but our God. is is His character

in holy majesty and in righteous judgment of evil.<P313>

Hebrews 13

439

73303

Hebrews 13

Exhortations relating to the Christian’s path here and

with the Hebrews in connection with the approaching

demolition and judgment of Judaism

In this next chapter there is more than one truth

important to notice. e exhortations are as simple as

they are weighty, and require but few remarks. ey rest

in the sphere in which the whole of the epistle does:

what relates to the Christian’s path as walking here, not

what ows from union with Christ in heavenly places.

Brotherly love, hospitality, care for those in bonds, the

strict maintenance of the marriage tie and personal purity,

the avoiding of covetousness: such are the subjects of

exhortation, all important and connected with the gracious

walk of a Christian, but not drawn from the higher and

more heavenly sources and principles of the Christian life

as we see in Ephesians and Colossians. Nor, even though

there be more analogy-for the Epistle to the Romans

rests, in general, in life in Christ in this world, presenting

Christ’s resurrection, without going on to His ascension1-

are the exhortations such as in this latter epistle. ose

which follow connect themselves with the circumstances

in which the Hebrews found themselves, and rest on the

approaching abolition and judgment of Judaism, from

which they had now denitely to separate themselves.

(1. It is only spoken of in chapter 8:34, and an allusion

in chapter 10:6.)

In exhorting them (vs. 7) to remember those who have

guided the ock, he speaks of those already departed in

Darby Synopsis

440

contrast with those still living (vs. 17). e issue of their

faith might well encourage others to follow their steps, to

walk by those principles of faith which had led them to so

noble a result.

e unchanging Christ

Moreover, Christ never changed; He was the same

yesterday, today and forever. Let them abide in the

simplicity and integrity of faith. Nothing is a plainer proof

that the heart is not practically in possession of that which

gives rest in Christ, that it does not realize what Christ is,

than the restless search after something new-“divers and

strange doctrines.” To grow in the knowledge of Christ is

our life and our privilege. e search after novelties<P314>

which are foreign to Him is a proof of not being satised

with Him. But he who is not satised with Jesus does not

know Him, or, at least, has forgotten Him. It is impossible

to enjoy Him, and not to feel that He is everything, that is

to say, that He satises us, and that by the nature of what

He is, He shuts out everything else.

Jewish earthly worship ended; Christ’s portion- in

heaven, accepted; on earth, cast out and despised

Now with regard to Judaism, in which the Hebrews

were naturally inclined to seek satisfaction for the esh,

the Apostle goes further. ey were no longer Jews in

the possession of the true worship of God, a privileged

worship in which others had no right to participate. e

altar of God belonged now to the Christians. Christians

only had a right to it. An earthly worship, in which there

was no entering within the veil, into God’s own presence

in the sanctuary, could no longer subsist-a worship that

had its worldly glory, that belonged to the elements of this

world and had its place there. Now, it is either heaven, or

Hebrews 13

441

the cross and shame. e great sacrice for sin has been

oered; but by its ecacy, it brings us into the sanctuary,

into heaven itself, where the blood has been carried in; and,

on the other hand, it takes us outside the camp, a religious

people connected with the world down here, into shame

and rejection on earth. is is the portion of Christ. In

heaven He is accepted, He has gone in with His own

blood-on earth cast out and despised.

A worldly religion, which forms a system in which

the world can walk, and in which the religious element is

adapted to man on the earth, is the denial of Christianity.

Walking on earth as belonging to a heavenly city and

seeking only to please the Lord

Here we have no continuing city, we seek the one which

is to come. By Christ we oer our sacrices of praise and

thanksgiving. By sharing also our goods with others, by

doing good in every way, we oer sacrices with which

God is well pleased (vs. 16).

He then exhorts them to obey those who, as responsible

to God, watch over souls, and who go before the saints in

order to lead them on. It is a proof of that humble spirit of

grace which seeks only to please the Lord.<P315>

e Apostle asking for the prayers of the saints

e sense of this responsibility makes Paul ask the

saints to pray for him, but with the declaration that he had

assuredly a good conscience. We serve God, we act for Him,

when He is not obliged to be acting on us. at is to say,

the Spirit of God acts by our means when He has not to

occupy us with ourselves. When the latter is the case, one

could not ask for the prayers of saints as a laborer. While

the Spirit is exercising us in our conscience, we cannot call

ourselves laborers of God. When the conscience is good,

Darby Synopsis

442

we can ask unreservedly for the prayers of the saints. e

Apostle so much the more asked for them because he

hoped thus the sooner to see them again.

Blessing invoked from the God of peace

Finally, he invokes blessing upon them, giving God the

title he so often ascribes to Him-“the God of peace.” In the

midst of exercise of heart with regard to the Hebrews, of

arguments to preserve their love from growing cold, in the

midst of the moral unsteadiness that enfeebled the walk

of these Christians, and their trials in the breaking down

of what they considered stable and holy, this title has a

peculiarly precious character.

In the presence of a risen Christ; an unshakable hope,

an unchangeable blessing and an everlasting covenant;

the Apostle’s desire

e Spirit sets them also in the presence of a risen

Christ, of a God who had founded and secured peace by

the death of Christ, and had given a proof of it in His

resurrection. He had brought Christ again from the dead

according to the power of the blood of the everlasting1

covenant. On this blood the believing people might build

a hope that nothing could shake. For it was not, as at

Sinai, promises founded on the condition of the people’s

obedience, but on the ransom which had been paid, and the

perfect expiation of their disobedience. e blessing was,

therefore, unchangeable, the covenant (as the inheritance

and the redemption) was everlasting. He prays that the

God who had wrought it would<P316> work in them to

grant them full power and energy for the accomplishment

of His will, working Himself in them that which was well-

pleasing in His sight.

Hebrews 13

443

(1. e word “everlasting” is specic, in the Epistle to

the Hebrews, in contrast with a system which was passing

away. It speaks of eternal redemption, eternal inheritance,

the eternal Spirit even.)

He urges them to give heed to exhortation; he had only

sent them a few words.

Circumstances conrming the idea that Paul wrote

this letter; its authority that of the Spirit of God

He who wrote the letter desires they should know that

Timothy had been set at liberty; he himself was so already;

he was in Italy; circumstances which tend to conrm the

idea that it was Paul who wrote this letter-a very interesting

point, although in nowise aecting its authority.

It is the Spirit of God who everywhere gives His own

authority to the Word.<P317>

Darby Synopsis

444

73304

James

ose to whom the epistle is sent and its subject

e Epistle of James is not addressed to the assembly

and does not take the ground of apostolic authority over

the persons to whom it is sent. It is a practical exhortation

which still recognizes the twelve tribes and the connection

of the Christian Jews with them, as Jonah addressed the

Gentiles, although the Jewish people had their place

before God. us the Spirit of God still acknowledges

here the relationship with Israel, as in the other case the

relationship with Gentiles, and the rights of God which

are unchangeable, whatever may be the special privileges

granted to the assembly or to Israel respectively. We know

that historically the Christian Jews remained Jews to the

end of the New Testament history and were even zealous

for the law-to us a strange thing, but which God endured

for a time.

e doctrine of Christianity is not the subject of this

epistle. It gives God His place in the conscience and with

regard to all that surrounds us. It thus girds up the loins of

the Christian, presenting also the near coming of the Lord

and His present discipline-a discipline with respect to

which the assembly of God ought to possess intelligence,

and activity founded thereon. e world also, and all that

makes an appearance in it, is judged from God’s point of

view.

e position of Christians viewed with respect to

Israel

James

445

A few remarks on the position of Christians (that is,

on the way in which this position is viewed with respect to

Israel) will help us to understand this portion of the Word.

Israel is still regarded as the people of God. To the faith

of James, the nation has still the relationship which God had

given it towards Himself. e Christians in it are addressed

as still forming part of a people whose links with God were

not yet judicially broken; but it was only the Christians

among them who <P318>possessed the faith which the

Spirit gave in the true Messiah. ese only among the

people, with the writer, acknowledged Jesus as the Lord

of glory. With the exception of verses 14-15 in chapter 5,

this epistle contains no exhortation which, in its spiritual

height, goes beyond that which might be addressed to a

godly Jew. It supposes indeed that the persons to whom

it speaks have faith in the Lord Jesus; but it does not call

them to that which is exclusively proper to Christianity and

depends on its privileges. e exhortations ow from that

higher source and breathe the more heavenly atmosphere,

but the eect they aim at producing consists in real proofs

of religion here below; they are such as might be heard in

the professing church-a vast body like Israel, in the midst

of which some Christians existed.

e epistle not founded on Christian relationships,

but acknowledging them among other rights

e epistle is not founded on Christian relationships

here below. It acknowledges them; but only as one fact in

the midst of others, which have rights over the conscience

of the writer. It supposes those whom it addresses to be

in a relationship with God, which is known, unquestioned

and of ancient date; in the midst of which Christianity has

been introduced.

Darby Synopsis

446

e moral measure of the life presented by the epistle

It is important to notice the moral measure of the life

which this epistle presents. As soon as we apprehend the

position in which it views believers, the discernment of

the truth on this point is not dicult. It is the same as

that which Christ presented when walking in the midst

of Israel and setting before His disciples the light and

the relationships with God which resulted to them from

His presence. Now indeed He was absent; but that light

and those relationships are retained as the measure of

responsibility. And this the Lord’s return would vindicate

by judgment on those who refused to accept and walk in it.

Until that day the faithful were to be patient in the midst

of the oppression they were suering from on the part of

the Jews, who still blasphemed the holy name by which

they were called.

It is the converse of the Epistle to the Hebrews with

regard to their relationship with the Jewish nation;

not morally, but <P319>because of the nearness of the

judgment when the Epistle to the Hebrews was written.

e fundamental principles of James; the life of

Christ, the model for walk while patiently waiting His

return

e fundamental principles of the position that we have

been speaking of are as follows: the law in its spirituality

and perfection, as stated and summed up by Christ; a life

imparted, which has the moral principles of the law, itself

a divine life; the revelation of the Father’s name. All this

was true when the Lord was on the earth and was the

ground on which (however poorly they understood it) He

then placed His disciples. He told them that they were to

James

447

be witnesses of it, as of all He had said, after His death,

distinguishing this testimony from that of the Holy Spirit.

It is this which James teaches here, with the addition

of that which the Lord had also said-that He would come

again. It is the doctrine of Christ with regard to walk in

the midst of Israel, according to the light and the truths

which He had introduced; and-seeing that He was still

absent-an exhortation to perseverance and patience in that

walk, waiting for the moment when, by judgment on those

who oppressed them, He would vindicate the principles on

which they walked.

Although the judgment executed on Jerusalem changed

the position of the remnant of Israel in this respect, yet the

life of Christ remains ever our model: and we have to wait

with patience until the Lord come.

We have not in this epistle the association of the

Christian with Christ exalted on high, nor consequently

the thought of going to meet Him in the air, as Paul taught.

But that which it contains ever remains true; and he who

says that he abides in Him (Christ) ought also to walk even

as He walked.

e coming judgment in connection with the

world, the rich and the believing remnant; tribulations;

insistence on practical evidences of faith

e judgment that was coming makes us understand

the way in which James speaks of the world, of the rich

who rejoice in their portion in the world, and the position

of the believing remnant oppressed and suering in the

midst of the unbelieving nation; why he begins with the

subject of the tribulations and so often recurs<P320> to it:

why also he insists on practical evidences of faith. He still

sees all Israel together; but some had received faith in the

Darby Synopsis

448

Lord of glory, and these were tempted to value the rich

and the great in Israel. All being still Jews, we can easily

understand that, while some truly believed and confessed

their belief that Jesus was the Christ, yet, as these Christians

followed the Jewish ordinances, mere professors might do

as much without the least vital change being proved by

their works. It is evident that a faith like this has no value

whatever. It is precisely the faith of those who clamor for

works in the present day-a mere dead profession of the

truth of Christianity. To be begotten by the Word of truth

is as foreign and strange to them as to the Jews of whom

James is speaking.

Warning to the mass who called themselves believers

and to the individual conscience

Believers being thus placed in the midst of Israel with

some who merely professed faith, we can readily understand

the Apostle’s address to the mass as those who might share

in the privileges that existed in their midst; his address to

Christians as having a special place in their own; and his

warning to those who called themselves believers in Christ.

Most easy and perfectly clear is the practical application to

all times, and in particular when a mass of persons assume

a right by inheritance to the privileges of the people of

God. Besides this, the epistle has peculiar force for the

individual conscience; it judges the position one is in, and

the thoughts and intents of the heart.

James 1

449

73305

James 1

Exhortation to rejoice in trial

e epistle then begins with an exhortation to rejoice in

trial, as a means of producing patience. is subject in the

main continues to the end of verse 20, where the idea turns

towards the necessity of curbing everything that opposes

itself to patience and towards the true character of one who

stands in the presence of God. is address, as a whole,

ends with the chapter. e connection of the reasoning is

not always easy to nd; the key to it is the moral condition

with which the Apostle’s mind is occupied. I will endeavor

to make the connection more apparent.<P321>

Practical religion: the walk before God to show reality

e subject in the main is that we ought to walk before

God to show the reality of our profession in contrast with

union with the world-practical religion. Patience then

must have its perfect work; thus self-will is subdued, and

the whole of God’s will is accepted; consequently, nothing

is wanting to the practical life of the soul. e believer may

suer; but he patiently waits on the Lord. is Christ did;

it was His perfection. He waited for the will of God and

never did His own will; thus obedience was perfect, man

thoroughly tested. But, in fact, we often lack wisdom to

know what we ought to do. Here it says the resource is

evident: we are to ask wisdom from God. He gives to all

liberally; only we must count upon His faithfulness and

upon an answer to our prayers. Otherwise, the heart is

double; there is dependence elsewhere than on God; our

desires have another object. If we only seek that which

Darby Synopsis

450

God wills and that which God does, we depend securely

on Him to accomplish it; and as to the circumstances

of this world, which might make one believe that it was

useless to depend on God, they vanish away as the ower

of the eld. We ought to have the consciousness that our

place according to God is not that which is of this world.

He who is in a low station should rejoice that Christianity

exalts him; the rich, that it humbles him. It is not in riches

that we are to rejoice (they pass away), but in the exercises

of heart of which the Apostle had been speaking; for after

having been tried we shall receive the crown of life.

e life of one who is thus tried, and in whom this life

develops itself in obedience to the entire will of God, is

well worth that of a man who indulges all the desires of his

heart in luxury.

e source of the lusts of the heart

Now with regard to temptations of this last character,

into which the lusts of the heart cause men to fall, it must

not be said that these lusts come from God: the heart of

man is their source- its lusts which lead through sin to

death. Let no one deceive himself on this point. at which

inwardly tempts the heart comes from oneself. All good

and perfect gifts come from God, and He never changes,

He does nothing but good. Accordingly, He has given us

a new nature, the fruit of His own will working in us by

the Word of truth, in order that we should be, as it were,

rstfruits<P322> of His creatures. e Father of lights,

that which is darkness does not come from Him.

What the Word of truth is and does

By the Word of truth He has begotten us to be the rst

and most excellent witnesses of that power of good which

will shine forth hereafter in the new creation, of which we

James 1

451

are the rstfruits. is is the opposite of being the source

of corrupt desires. e Word of truth is the good seed of

life; self-will is the cradle of our lusts- its energy can never

produce the fruits of divine nature; nor the wrath of man

the righteousness of God. erefore, we are called to be

docile, to be ready to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,

to lay aside all lthiness of the esh, all energy of iniquity,

and to receive the Word with meekness-a Word which,

while it is the Word of God, identies itself with the new

nature that is in us (it is planted in us) while forming and

developing it according to its own perfection; because this

nature itself has its origin from God through the Word.

It is not as a law which is outside us, and which, being

opposed to our sinful nature, condemns us. is Word

saves the soul; it is living and quickening, and it works

livingly in a nature that ows from it, and which it forms

and enlightens.

Doers of the Word, not hearers only

But it is necessary to be doers of the Word, not merely

to hear it with the ear, but that it should produce the

practical fruits which are the proof that it works really and

vitally in the heart. Otherwise, the Word is only as a mirror

in which we may, perhaps, see ourselves for a moment, and

then forget what we have seen. He who looks into the

perfect law, which is that of liberty, and continues in it,

doing the work which it presents, shall be blessed in the

real and obedient activity developed in him.

e Word of God as the expression of what God is

and what He wills

is law is perfect; for the Word of God, all that the

Spirit of God has expressed, is the expression of the nature

and the character of God, of that which He is and of that

Darby Synopsis

452

which He wills: for, when fully revealed (and till then man

cannot fully know Him), He wills that which He is, and

this necessarily.<P323>

e law of liberty for the new nature

is law is the law of liberty, because the same Word

which reveals what God is and what He wills has made us

partakers by grace of the divine nature; so that not to walk

according to that Word would be not to walk according to

our own new nature. Now to walk according to our own

new nature, and that the nature of God, and guided by His

Word, is true liberty.

e law given on Sinai; man’s will and God’s will

e law given on Sinai was the expression in man,

written not on the heart but outside man, of what man’s

conduct and heart ought to be according to the will of God.

It represses and condemns all the motions of the natural

man, and cannot allow him to have a will, for he ought to

do the will of God. But he has another will, and therefore

the law is bondage to him, a law of condemnation and

death. Now, God having begotten us by the Word of truth,

the nature that we have, as thus born of God, possesses

tastes and desires according to that Word; it is of that very

Word. e Word in its own perfection develops this nature,

forms it, enlightens it, as we have said; but the nature itself

has its liberty in following it. us it was with Christ; if

His liberty could have been taken away (which spiritually

was impossible), it would have been by preventing Him

from doing the will of God the Father.

e liberty of the new man: the new nature

begotten through and molded by the Word

It is the same with the new man in us (which is Christ

as life in us) which is created in us according to God in

James 1

453

righteousness and true holiness, produced in us by the

Word, which is the perfect revelation of God-of the whole

divine nature in man; of which Christ, the living Word,

the image of the invisible God, is the manifestation and

the pattern. e liberty of the new man is liberty to do the

will of God, to imitate God in character, as being His dear

child, according as that character was presented in Christ.

e law of liberty is this character, as it is revealed in the

Word, in which the new nature nds its joy and satisfaction;

even as it drew its existence from the Word which reveals

Him, and from the God who is therein revealed.

Such is the “law of liberty”-the character of God

Himself in us<P324> formed by the operation of a nature,

begotten through the Word which reveals Him, molding

itself upon the Word.

e tongue as the index of the inner man

e rst and most sifting index of the inner man is

the tongue. A man who appears to be in relationship with

God and to honor Him, yet who cannot bridle his tongue,

deceives himself, and his religion is vain.

Pure religion and undeled

Pure religion before God and the Father is to care for

those who, reached in the tenderest relationships by the

wages of sin, are deprived of their natural supports; and to

keep oneself untainted by the world. Instead of striving to

exalt oneself and gain reputation in a world of vanity, afar

from God, our activities turn, as God does, to the sorrowful,

who in their aiction need succor; and we keep ourselves

from a world in which everything is deling, and contrary

to the new nature which is our life, and to the character of

God as we know it by the Word.

Darby Synopsis

454

73306

James 2

Profession of faith in Christ tested by the reality of

its fruits

e Apostle now enters on the subject of those who

professed to believe that Jesus was Christ the Lord. Before,

in chapter 1, he had spoken of the new nature in connection

with God: here the profession of faith in Christ is brought

to the same touchstone-the reality of the fruits produced

by it in contrast with this world. All these principles-the

value of the name of Jesus, the essence of the law as Christ

presented it, and the law of liberty-are brought forward

to test the reality of their professed faith, or to convince

the professor that he did not possess it. Two things are

reprobated: having respect to the outward appearance of

persons and the absence of good works as a proof of the

sincerity of the profession.<P325>

Respect for the outward appearance of persons;

breaking the law in despising the poor; responsibility

measured by the law of liberty

First, then, he blames respect for outward appearance

of persons. ey profess faith in the Lord Jesus, and yet

hold with the spirit of the world! He replies that God has

chosen the poor, making them rich in faith and heirs of

the kingdom. ese professors had despised them; these

rich men blasphemed the name of Christ and persecuted

Christians.

In the second place, he appeals to the practical summary

of the law, of which Jesus had spoken-the royal law. ey

broke the law itself in favoring the rich. Now the law did

James 2

455

not allow of any infraction whatsoever of its commands,

because the authority of the legislator was concerned. In

despising the poor, they were assuredly not loving their

neighbor as themselves.

In the third place, they ought to walk as those whose

responsibility was measured by the law of liberty, in which-

possessing a nature which tasted and loved that which

was of God-they were set free from all that was contrary

to Him; so that they could not excuse themselves if they

admitted principles which were not those of God Himself.

is introduction of the divine nature leads the Apostle on

to speak of the mercy by which God glories Himself. e

man who shows no mercy will nd himself the object of

the judgment which he has loved.

Good works as evidence of faith; proving its existence

to men

e second part of the chapter is connected with this;

for he begins his discourse on works, as proofs of faith,

by speaking of this mercy which answers to the nature

and character of God, of which, as born of Him, the true

Christian is made a partaker. e profession of having faith

without this life-the existence of which is proved by works-

can prot no one. is is plain enough. I say the profession

of having faith, because the epistle says it: “If a man say he

hath faith.” is is the key to this part of the epistle. He

says it: where is the proof of it? Works are the proof; and

it is in this way that the Apostle uses them. A man says he

has faith. It is not a thing that we can see. I say, therefore,

with reason, “Show it me.” is is the evidence of faith

which is <P326>required for man-it is only by its fruits

that we make it evident to men; for the faith itself cannot

be seen. But if I produce these fruits, then assuredly I have

Darby Synopsis

456

the root, without which there could not be the fruits. us

faith does not show itself to others, nor can I recognize

it, without works; but works, the fruit of faith, prove the

existence of faith.

e dead faith of demons and of men

at which follows shows that he is speaking of the

profession of a doctrine, true perhaps in itself-of certain

truths being confessed; for it is a real faith looked at-

certainty of knowledge and conviction-which devils have

in the unity of the Godhead. ey do not doubt it; but

there is no link at all between their heart and God by

means of a new nature-far indeed from it.

But the Apostle conrms this, by the case of men

in whom the opposition to the divine nature is not so

apparent. Faith, the recognition of the truth with respect

to Christ, is dead without works; that is, such a faith as

produces none is dead.

A profession devoid of reality distinct from living

faith which acts by works

We see (vs. 16) that the faith of which the Apostle

speaks is a profession devoid of reality; verse 19 shows

that it may be an unfeigned certainty that the thing is true:

but the life begotten by the Word, so that a relationship

is formed between the soul and God, is entirely wanting.

Because this takes place through the Word, it is faith;

being begotten of God we have a new life. is life acts,

that is to say, faith acts, according to the relationship with

God, by works which ow naturally from it and which bear

testimony to the faith that produced them.

Fruits bearing testimony by their character to the

faith that produced them, evidenced by Abraham and

Rahab; works the seal of faith

James 2

457

From verse 20 to the end he presents a fresh proof of his

thesis, founded on the last principle that I have mentioned.

Now these proofs have nothing at all to do with the fruits

of a kindly nature (for there are such), appertaining to us

as creatures-but not to that life which has for its source

the Word of God, by which He <P327>begets us. e

fruits of which the Apostle speaks bear testimony by their

very character to the faith that produced them. Abraham

oered up his son; Rahab received the messengers of

Israel, associating herself with the people of God when

everything was against them and separating herself from

her own people by faith. All sacriced for God, all given

up for His people before they had gained one victory, and

while the world was in full power, such were the fruits

of faith. One referred to God; and believed Him in the

most absolute way, against all that is in nature or on which

nature can count; the other owned God’s people, when all

was against them; but neither was the fruit of an amiable

nature or natural good, such as men call good works. One

was a father going to put his son to death, the other a bad

woman betraying her country. Certainly the scripture was

fullled which said that Abraham believed God. How

could he have acted as he did, if he had not believed Him?

Works put a seal on his faith: and faith without works is

but like the body without the soul, an outward form devoid

of the life that animates it. Faith acts in the works (without

it the works are a nullity, they are not those of the new life),

and the works complete the faith which acts in them; for

in spite of trial, and in the trial, faith is in activity. Works of

law have no part in it. e outward law which exacts, is not

a life which produces (apart from this divine nature) these

Darby Synopsis

458

holy and loving dispositions which, having God and His

people for their object, value nothing else.

Justied by faith before God; justied by works before

men

James, remark, never says that works justify us before God;

for God can see the faith without its works. He knows that

life is there. It is in exercise with regard to Him, towards

Him, by trust in His Word, in Himself, by receiving His

testimony in spite of everything within and without. is

God sees and knows. But when our fellow-creatures are in

question, when it must be said, “Show me,” then faith, life,

shows itself in works.

James 3

459

73307

James 3

e tongue as the proof whether the new man is in

action

In chapter 3 the Apostle recurs to the tongue, the most

ready index to the heart, the proof whether the new man

is in action,<P328> whether nature and self-will are under

restraint. But there is hardly anything here which needs

remark, although much that demands the hearing ear.

Where there is the divine life, knowledge does not display

itself in mere words, but in the walk and by works in which

the meekness of true wisdom will be seen. Bitterness and

contention are not the fruits of a wisdom that comes from

above, but are earthly, of the nature of a man, and of the

enemy.

e three characteristics of the wisdom that comes

from above

e wisdom that comes from above, having its place in

the life, in the heart, has three characteristics. First of all,

the character of purity, for the heart is in communion with

God-has fellowship with Him; therefore, there must needs

be this purity. Next, it is peaceable, gentle, ready to yield

to the will of another. en, full of good works, acting by a

principle which, as its origin and motives are from above,

does good without partiality; that is to say, its action is not

guided by the circumstances which inuence the esh and

the passions of men. For the same reason it is sincere and

unfeigned. Purity, absence of will and self, activity in good,

such are the characteristics of heavenly wisdom.

Darby Synopsis

460

Teaching others distinct from having the life

quickened by the power of truth

ese directions to bridle the tongue, as the rst

movement and expression of the will of the natural man,

extend to believers. ere are not to be (as to the inward

disposition of the man) many teachers. We all fail; and

to teach others and fail ourselves only increases our

condemnation. For vanity can easily be fed in teaching

others; and that is a very dierent thing from having the

life quickened by the power of truth. e Holy Spirit

bestows His gifts as He pleases. e Apostle speaks here

of the propensity in anyone to teach, not of the gift he may

have received for teaching.

James 4

461

73308

James 4

e judgment of unbridled nature, of will

In all that follows (ch. 4) we have still the judgment of

unbridled nature, of will in its dierent forms: contentions

that arise from<P329> the lusts of the natural heart;

requests made to God proceeding from the same source;

the desires of the esh and of the mind developing

themselves and nding their sphere in the friendship of

the world, which is thus enmity against God. e nature of

man covets enviously, is full of envy with regard to others.

But God gives more grace: there is counteracting power, if

one is content to be little and humble, to be as nothing in

the world. e grace and favor of God are with such a one;

for He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

Upon this, the Apostle unfolds the action of a soul directed

by the Spirit of God, in the midst of the unbelieving and

selsh multitude with whom it was associated (vss. 6-10).

For he still supposes the believers whom he addressed to

be in connection with the law. If they spoke evil of their

brother, to whom the law gave a place before God, they

spoke evil of the law,1 according to which his value was

so great. Judgment belonged to God, who had given the

law and who would vindicate His own authority as well as

grant deliverance and salvation.

(1. Compare 1essalonians 4:8, where the Spirit takes

the place of the law here.)

Verses 13-16. e same self-will and forgetfulness

of God are blamed, the false condence that ows from

reckoning upon being able to do as one pleases-the absence

Darby Synopsis

462

of dependence on God. Verse 17 is a general conclusion,

founded on the principle already suggested (ch. 3:1), and

on that which is said with regard to faith. e knowledge

of good, without its practice, causes even the absence of

the work which one could have performed to be a positive

sin. e action of the new man is absent, that of the old

man is present; for the good is before our eyes-we know

what we ought to do and do not choose to do it; there is no

inclination to do it- we will not do it.

James 5

463

73309

James 5

e Lord’s coming in relation to the two classes in

Israel and to the Christian’s walk

e two classes in Israel are distinctly marked here in

contrast with one another, with the addition of the walk

which the Christian ought to pursue when chastised by

the Lord.

e Apostle gives the coming of the Lord as the term

of their<P330> condition, both to the unbelieving, rich

oppressors in Israel and to the poor, believing remnant.

e rich have heaped up treasures for the last days; the

oppressed poor are to be patient until the Lord Himself

shall come to deliver them. Moreover, he says, deliverance

would not be delayed. e husbandman waits for the rain

and the time of harvest; the Christian for his Master’s

coming. is patience characterizes, as we have seen, the

walk of faith. It had been witnessed in the prophets; and

in the case of others we count them happy which endure

aictions for the Lord’s sake. Job shows us the ways of the

Lord: he needed to have patience, but the end of the Lord

was blessing and tender mercy towards him.

is expectation of the coming of the Lord was a solemn

warning, and at the same time the strongest encouragement,

but one which maintained the true character of the

Christian’s practical life. It showed also what the selshness

of man’s will would end in, and it restrained all action of

that will in believers. e feelings of brethren towards each

other were placed under the safeguard of this same truth.

ey were not to have a spirit of discontent, or to murmur

Darby Synopsis

464

against others who were perhaps more favored in their

outward circumstances: “the judge stood before the door.”

What oaths display

Oaths displayed still more the forgetfulness of God and

the actings, consequently, of the self-will of nature. “Yea”

ought to be yea, and “Nay,” nay. e actings of the divine

nature in the consciousness of the presence of God, and

the repression of all human will and of sinful nature, is

what the writer of this epistle desires.

e Christian’s resources for joy and sorrow

Now there were resources in Christianity both for joy

and sorrow. If any were aicted, let them pray (God was

ready to hear); if happy, let them sing; if sick, send for the

elders of the assembly, who would pray for the suerer

and anoint him, and the chastisement would be removed,

and the sins for which, according to God’s government,

he was thus chastised would be forgiven as regards that

government; for it is that only which is here spoken

of.<P331>

e prayer of faith; the chastisement of the Lord;

healing and sins governmentally forgiven

e imputation of sin for condemnation has no place

here. e ecacy of the prayer of faith is set before us; but it

is in connection with the maintenance of sincerity of heart.

e government of God is exercised with regard to His

people. He chastises them by sickness; and it is important

that truth in the inner man should be maintained. Men

hide their faults; they desire to walk as if all were going on

well; but God judges His people. He tries the heart and the

reins. ey are held in bonds of aiction. God shows them

their faults, or their unbroken self-will. Man “is chastened

also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones

James 5

465

with strong pain” (Job 33:19). And now the church of

God intervenes in charity, and according to its own order,

by means of the elders; the sick man commits himself

to God, confessing his state of need; the charity of the

church acts and brings him who is chastised, according to

this relationship, before God-for that is where the church

is. Faith pleads this relationship of grace; the sick man is

healed. If sins-and not merely the need of discipline-were

the cause of his chastisement, those sins will not hinder his

being healed, they shall be forgiven him.

Confession and prayer for one another; love reigning

in the church

e Apostle then presents the principle in general as

the course for all, namely, to open their hearts to each other,

in order to maintain truth in the inner man as to oneself;

and to pray for each other in order that charity should be

in full exercise with regard to the faults of others; grace

and truth being thus spiritually formed in the church, and

a perfect union of heart among Christians, so that even

their faults are an occasion for the exercise of charity (as

in God towards us), and entire condence in each other,

according to that charity, such as is felt towards a restoring

and pardoning God. What a beautiful picture is presented

of divine principles animating men and causing them to act

according to the nature of God Himself, and the inuence

of His love upon the heart.

We may remark that it is not confession to the elders

that is spoken of. at would have been condence in

men-ocial condence. God desires the operation of

divine charity in all.<P332> Confession to one another

shows the condition of the church, and God would have

the church to be in such a state, that love should so reign

Darby Synopsis

466

in it, that they should be so near to God, as to be able to

treat the transgressor according to the grace they know in

Him: and that this love should be so realized that perfect

inward sincerity should be produced by the condence

and operation of grace. Ocial confession destroys all

this-is contrary to it. How divine the wisdom which

omitted confession when speaking of the elders, but which

commands it as the living and voluntary impression of the

heart!

e value of the energetic prayers of the righteous

man: the work of the Spirit

is leads us also to the value of the energetic prayers

of the righteous man. It is his nearness to God, the sense

that he has, consequently, of that which God is, which

(through grace and the operation of the Spirit) gives him

this power. God takes account of men, and that according

to the innitude of His love. He takes account of the trust

in Himself, the faith in His Word, shown by one who

thinks and acts according to a just appreciation of what

He is. at is always faith, which makes sensible to us that

which we do not see-God Himself, who acts in accordance

with the revelation that He has given of Himself. Now the

man who, in the practical sense, is righteous through grace

is near to God; as being righteous, he has not to do with

God for himself with regard to sin, which would keep his

heart at a distance; his heart is thus free to draw nigh to

God, according to His holy nature on behalf of others; and,

moved by the divine nature, which animates him and which

enables him to appreciate God, he seeks, according to the

activity of that nature, that his prayers may prevail with

God, whether for the good of others or for the glory of

God Himself in his service. And God answers, according

James 5

467

to that same nature, by blessing this trust and responding

to it, in order to manifest what He is for faith, to encourage

it by sanctioning its activity, putting His seal on the man

who walks by faith.1<P333>

e Spirit of God acts, we know, in all this; but the

Apostle does not here speak of Him, being occupied with

the practical eect, and presenting the man as he is seen,

acting under the inuence of this nature in its positive

energy with regard to God, and near to Him, so that it acts

in all its intensity, moved by the power of that nearness.

But if we consider the action of the Spirit, these thoughts

are conrmed. e righteous man does not grieve the

Holy Spirit, and the Spirit works in him according to His

own power, not having to set his conscience right with

God, but acting in the man according to the power of his

communion.

(1. It is well to remember that this is carried out in

respect of the governing ways of God, and thus under the

title of Lord-a place which Christ specially holds, though

here the term is used generally. Compare verse 11, and the

general Jewish reference of the passage. To us we have one

God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ. He is become

Lord and Christ, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus

Christ is Lord.)

e ecacy of the prayer of faith illustrated by Elijah

Finally, we have the assurance that the ardent and

energetic prayer of the righteous man has great ecacy: it

is the prayer of faith, which knows God and counts upon

Him and draws near Him.

e case of Elijah is interesting, as showing us (and

there are other examples of the same kind) how the Holy

Spirit acts inwardly in a man where we see the outward

Darby Synopsis

468

manifestation of power. In the history we have Elijah’s

declaration: “Jehovah liveth, there shall not be dew nor

rain these years, but according to my word.” is is the

authority, the power, exercised in the name of Jehovah. In

our epistle the secret operation, that which passes between

the soul and God, is set forth. He prayed, and God heard

him. We have the same testimony on the part of Jesus at

the tomb of Lazarus. Only that in the latter case we have

the two together, except that the prayer itself is not given-

unless in the unutterable groan of Christ’s spirit.

e living, acting God revealed as interested in His

people through Paul, Elijah, and the Lord at Lazarus’

tomb

Comparing Galatians 2 with the history in Acts 15,

we nd a revelation from God which determined Paul’s

conduct, whatever outward motives there may have been

which were known to all. By such cases as those which

the Apostle proposes to the church, and those of Elijah

and the Lord Jesus, a God, living, acting and interesting

Himself in all that happens among His people, is revealed

to us.<P334>

e activity of love towards those who err

ere is also the activity of love towards those who err.

If anyone departs from the truth, and they bring him back

by grace, let it be known that to bring back a sinner from

the error of his ways is the exercise-simple as our action

in it may be-of the power that delivers a soul from death;

accordingly, all those sins which spread themselves in their

odious nature before the eyes of God, and oended His

glory and His heart by their presence in His universe, are

covered. e soul being brought to God by grace, all its

sins are pardoned, appear no more, are blotted out from

James 5

469

before the face of God. e Apostle (as throughout) does

not speak of the power that acts in this work of love, but of

the fact. He applies it to cases that had happened among

them; but he establishes a universal principle with regard

to the activity of grace in the heart that is animated by it.

e erring soul is saved; the sin is put away from before

God.

Sin vanquished and swallowed up by the love which

dealt with it

Charity in the assembly suppresses, so to speak, the sins

which otherwise would destroy union and overcome that

charity in the assembly, and appear in all their deformity

and all their malignancy before God. Whereas, being met

by love in the assembly, they go no further, are, as it were

(as regards the state of things before God in this world),

dissolved and put away by the charity which they could

not vanquish. e sin is vanquished by the love which dealt

with it, disappears, is swallowed up by it. us love covers a

multitude of sins. Here it is its action in the conversion of

a sinner.<P335>

Darby Synopsis

470

73310

1Peter

ose to whom Peter’s epistles are addressed

e First Epistle of Peter is addressed to believers

among the dispersed of Israel found in those provinces of

Asia Minor which are named in the rst verse; the second

epistle declares itself to be a second addressed to the same

persons: so that the one and the other were destined for the

Jews of Asia Minor (that is, to those among them who had

the same precious faith as the Apostle).

1Peter 1

471

73311

1Peter 1

e subjects of the two epistles

e rst epistle is founded on the doctrine of the

heavenly calling (I do not say of the assembly on earth,1

which is not brought before us here) in contrast with the

portion of the Jews on the earth. It presents Christians,

and in particular Christians among the Jews, as pilgrims

and strangers on earth. e conduct suited to such is more

largely developed than the doctrine. e Lord Jesus, who

was Himself a pilgrim and a stranger here, is presented as

a pattern in more than one aspect. Both epistles pursue the

righteous government of God from the beginning to the

consummation of all things, in which the elements melt

with fervent heat, and there are new heavens and a new

earth, in which righteousness dwells. e rst gives the

government of God in favor of believers, the second in the

judgment of the wicked.

(1. I add “on earth” here, because the assembly, as built by

Jesus Himself and not yet nished, is spoken of in chapter

2, where the living stones come to Christ.)

Nevertheless, in presenting the heavenly calling, the

Apostle necessarily presents salvation-the deliverance of

the soul in contrast with the temporal deliverance of the

Jews.<P336>

e Spirit’s description of the believers addressed

e following is the description which the Spirit gives

of these believers. ey are elect, and that according to

the foreknowledge of God the Father. Israel was a nation

elected on the earth by Jehovah. Here, it is those who

Darby Synopsis

472

were foreknown of the Father. e means by which their

election is carried out is sanctication of the Holy Spirit.

ey are really set apart by the power of the Spirit. Israel

was set apart by ordinances; but these are sanctied unto

the obedience of Jesus Christ and for the sprinkling of His

blood, that is to say, on the one hand to obey as He obeyed,

and on the other to be sprinkled with His blood and thus

to be perfectly clear before God. Israel had been set apart

for the obedience of the law, and for that blood which,

while it announced death as the sanction of its authority,

could never cleanse the soul from sin.

e Christian’s portion as a pilgrim and a stranger

with a heavenly inheritance

Such was the Christian’s position. e Apostle wishes

them grace and peace-the known portion of believers. He

reminds them of the blessings with which God had blessed

them, blessing God who had bestowed them. Believing

Israelites knew Him now, not in the character of Jehovah,

but as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

at which the Apostle presents as the fruit of His

grace is a hope beyond this world; not the inheritance of

Canaan, appropriate to man living on the earth, which

was the hope of Israel and is still that of the unbelieving

nation. e mercy of God had begotten them again for a

living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from out

of the dead. is resurrection showed them a portion in

another world, and the power which brought man into

it, although he had been subjected to death: he would

enter it by resurrection, through the glorious triumph of

the Saviour, to share an inheritance that is incorruptible,

undeled and that fades not away. e Apostle is not

speaking of our resurrection with Christ; he views the

1Peter 1

473

Christian as a pilgrim here, encouraged by the triumph

of Christ Himself in resurrection, which animated him

by the consciousness that there was a world of light and

happiness before him, and a power which would bring him

into this world. Consequently, the inheritance is spoken

of as “reserved in<P337> heaven.” In the Epistle to the

Ephesians we are seated in the heavens in Christ, and the

inheritance is that of all things of which Christ Himself

is heir. But the Christian is also, in fact, a pilgrim and a

stranger on the earth; and it is a strong consolation to us, in

our pilgrimage, to see this heavenly inheritance before us,

as a certain pledge of our own entrance into it.

e inheritance preserved in heaven and the Christian

kept here by the power of God

Another inestimable consolation is added. If the

inheritance is preserved in heaven for us, we are kept by

the power of God all through our pilgrimage that we may

enjoy it at the end. Sweet thought! We are kept here below

through all our dangers and diculties; and, on the other

hand, the inheritance there, where there is no delement

or possibility of decay.

e power of God acting by sustaining faith in the

heart

But it is by moral means that this power preserves us (and

it is in this way that Peter always speaks), by the operation

in us of grace, which xes the heart on objects that keep it

in connection with God and with His promise (compare

2Peter 1:4). We are kept by the power of God through

faith. It is, God be praised, the power of God Himself;

but it acts by sustaining faith in the heart, maintaining

it in spite of all temptations above all the delement of

the world, and lling the aection with heavenly things.

Darby Synopsis

474

Peter, however, always occupied with the ways of God

respecting this world, only looks at the share that believers

will have in this salvation, this heavenly glory, when it shall

be manifested; when God will, by this glory, establish His

authority in blessing on the earth. It is indeed the heavenly

glory, but the heavenly glory manifested as the means of

the establishment of the supreme government of God on

earth, for His own glory and for the blessing of the whole

world.

e salvation ready to be revealed; the saints’

manifestation in glory

It is salvation ready to be revealed in the last times.

is word “ready” is important. Our Apostle says also that

the judgment is ready to be revealed. Christ is gloried

personally, has conquered all His enemies, has accomplished

redemption. He only waits for<P338> one thing, namely,

that God should make His enemies His footstool. He has

taken His seat at the right hand of the majesty on high,

because He has accomplished everything as to glorifying

God where sin was. It is the actual salvation of souls-the

gathering together of His own, which is not yet nished

(2Peter 3:9,15); but when once all they who are to share

it are brought in, there is nothing to wait for as regards the

salvation, that is to say, the glory in which the redeemed

will appear;1 nor, consequently, as regards the judgment

of the wicked on earth, which will be consummated by

the manifestation of Christ.2 All is ready. is thought is

sweet for us in our days of patience, but full of solemnity

when we reect upon the judgment.

(1. e doctrine of the gathering together of the saints

to Jesus in the air, when they go to meet Him, forms no

part of Peter’s teaching, any more than does that of the

1Peter 1

475

assembly on earth with which it is connected. He speaks

of the manifestation of the saints in glory, because he is

occupied with the ways of God towards the earth, although

he is so in connection with Christianity.)

(2. See 2essalonians 1:9-10.)

Yes, as the Apostle says, we rejoice greatly in this

salvation, which is ready to be revealed in the last times. We

are waiting for it. It is a time of rest, of the earth’s blessing,

of the full manifestation of His glory who is worthy of it,

who was humbled and who suered for us; the time when

the light and the glory of God in Christ will illumine the

world, and rst bind and then chase away all its evil.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory with passing sorrows

and trials: their future end

is is our portion: abundant joy in the salvation

about to be revealed, and in which we may always rejoice;

although, if it be needed for our good, we may be in

sorrow through divers temptations. But it is only for a very

little while-only a light aiction, which passes away, and

which only comes upon us if it be needful, in order that

the precious trial of faith may have its result in praise and

honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, for whom

we are waiting. at is the end of all our sorrows and trials;

transitory and light as they are, in comparison with the

vast result of the excellent and eternal glory towards which

they are leading us, according to the wisdom of God and

the need of our souls. e heart attaches itself to Jesus: He

will appear.<P339>

We love Him, although we have never seen Him. In

Him, though now we see Him not, we rejoice with joy

unspeakable and full of glory. It is this which decides and

forms the heart, which xes it and lls it with joy, however

Darby Synopsis

476

it may be with us in this life. To our hearts it is He who

lls all the glory. By grace I shall be gloried, I shall have

the glory; but I love Jesus, my heart pants for His presence-

desires to see Him. Moreover, we shall be like Him, and He

perfectly gloried. e Apostle may well say, “Unspeakable

and full of glory.” e heart can desire nothing else: and if

some light aictions are needful for us, we endure them

gladly, since they are a means of forming us for the glory.

And we can rejoice at the thought of Christ’s appearing;

for in receiving Him, unseen, into our heart, we receive

the salvation of our soul. is is the object and the end

of faith; far more precious than the temporal deliverances

that Israel enjoyed, although the latter were tokens of the

favor of God.

e three successive steps of the revelation of the

grace of salvation

e Apostle goes on to develop the three successive

steps of the revelation of this grace of salvation-the full

and entire deliverance from the consequences, the fruits

and the misery of sin: the prophecies; the testimony of the

Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; the manifestation of

Jesus Christ Himself, when the deliverance that had been

already announced should be fully accomplished.

e prediction of the events relating to Christ which

went altogether beyond Jewish blessings; His rejection

also making way for the salvation of the soul

It is interesting to see here how the rejection of the

Messiah, according to Jewish hopes, already anticipated

and announced in the prophets, necessarily made way for

a salvation which brought with it that of the soul likewise.

Jesus was no more seen; the earthly portion was not realized

by His rst coming; salvation was to be revealed in the

1Peter 1

477

last times. But thus a salvation of the soul was unfolded,

the whole extent of which would be realized in the glory

about to be revealed; for it was the spiritual joy of the soul

in a heavenly Jesus who was not seen, and who in His

death<P340> had accomplished expiation for sin, and in

His resurrection, according to the power of the life of the

Son of God, had begotten again to a living hope. By faith

then this salvation was received-this true deliverance. It was

not yet the glory and the outward rest; that salvation would

indeed take place when Jesus appeared, but meantime the

soul already enjoyed by faith this perfect rest, and in hope

even the glory itself.

e testimony of the Holy Spirit sent down from

heaven: the accomplishment of the things promised

when Christ is revealed

Now the prophets had announced the grace of God

which was to be accomplished for believers, and which even

now imparts to the soul the enjoyment of that salvation;

and they had searched into their own prophecies, which

they had received by inspiration from God, seeking to

understand what time, and what manner of time, the Spirit

indicated, when He testied beforehand of the suerings

of Christ, and the glories that should follow. For the

Spirit spoke of them both by the prophets, and signied,

consequently, more than a temporal deliverance in Israel;

for the Messiah was to suer. And they discovered that it

was not for themselves nor for their own times, that the

Spirit of Christ announced these truths with regard to the

Messiah, but for Christians. But Christians, while receiving

the salvation of the soul by the revelation of a Christ seated

in heaven after His suerings and coming again in glory,

have not received those glories which were revealed to the

Darby Synopsis

478

prophets. ese things have been reported with great and

divine plainness by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven

after the death of Jesus: but the Spirit does not bestow the

glory itself in which the Lord will appear; He has only

declared it. Christians have, therefore, to gird up the loins

of their mind, to be sober, and hope to the end for the grace

that (in eect) will be brought to them at the revelation of

Jesus Christ. Such are the three successive steps in God’s

dealings: the prediction of the events relating to Christ,

which went altogether beyond Jewish blessings; the things

reported by the Spirit; the accomplishment of the things

promised when Christ is revealed.<P341>

e spiritual character of the salvation “ready to be

revealed”

at, then, which the Apostle presents is a participation

in the glory of Christ when He shall be revealed; that

salvation, of which the prophets had spoken, which was

to be revealed in the last days. But meantime God had

begotten again the believing Jews to a living hope by the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead; and by

means of His suerings had made them comprehend that

even now, while waiting for the revelation of the glory,

realizing it in the Person of Jesus, they enjoyed a salvation

of the soul before which the deliverances of Israel faded

away and might be forgotten. It was indeed the salvation

“ready to be revealed” in all its fullness; but as yet they only

possessed it in respect of the soul. But, being detached

from the manifestation of the earthly glory, this salvation

had a yet more spiritual character. erefore they were

to gird up their loins, while waiting for the revelation of

Jesus, and to acknowledge with thanksgiving that they

1Peter 1

479

were in possession of the end of their faith. ey were in

relationship with God.

e right to enjoy the eect of the promise founded

on obedience, holiness and the fear of God

When announcing these things by the ministry of

the prophets, God had Christians in view, and not the

prophets themselves. is grace was in due time to be

communicated to believers; but meantime, for faith and

for the soul, the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven bore

testimony to it. It was to be brought at the revelation of

Jesus Christ. e resurrection of Jesus Christ, which was

the guarantee of the accomplishment of all the promises

and the power of life for their enjoyment, had begotten

them again unto a living hope; but the right to enjoy the

eect of the promise was founded on another truth. To this

the exhortations conduct us. ey were to walk as obedient

children, no longer following the lusts that had led them

in the days of their ignorance. Called by Him who is holy,

they were to be holy in all their conversation, as it is written.

Moreover, if they called on the Father, who, regardless of

man’s pretension to respect, judged according to everyone’s

work, they were to pass the time of their sojourn here in

fear.<P342>

Daily judgment applied to Christian life; the immense

price for our deliverance demanding a suitable walk

Observe, here, that he is not speaking of the nal

judgment of the soul. In that sense “the Father judgeth

no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son.”

e thing spoken of here is the daily judgment of God’s

government in this world, exercised with regard to His

children. Accordingly it says, “e time of your sojourn

here.” It is a judgment applied to Christian life. e

Darby Synopsis

480

fear spoken of is not an uncertainty as to salvation and

redemption. It is a fear founded on the certainty that one

is redeemed; and the immense price, the innite value of

the means employed for our redemption-namely, the blood

of the Lamb, without blemish and without spot-is the

motive for fearing God during our pilgrimage. We have

been redeemed at the cost of the blood of Jesus from our

vain conversation: can we then still walk according to the

principles from which we have been thus delivered? Such

a price for our deliverance demands that we should walk

with circumspection and gravity before the Father, with

whom we desire to have communion both as privilege and

spiritual relationship.

Believing in God by Jesus: faith and hope in God

Himself

e Apostle then applies this truth to the Christians

whom he was addressing. e Lamb had been ordained

in the counsels of God before the world was made; but

He was manifested in the last days for believers: and these

are presented in their true character, they believe in God

by Jesus-by this Lamb. It is not by means of the creation

that they believe: although creation is a testimony to His

glory, it gives no rest to the conscience and does not tell of

a place in heaven. It is not by means of Providence, which,

even while directing all things, yet leaves the government

of God in such profound darkness. Nor is it by means of

the revelation of God on Mount Sinai under the name of

Jehovah and the terror connected with a broken law. It is by

means of Jesus, the Lamb of God, that we believe; observe

that it is not said, “In Him,” but by Him in God. We know

God as the One who, when we were sinners and dead in our

trespasses and sins, loved us, and gave this precious Saviour

1Peter 1

481

to come down even into the death in which we were, to

take part in our position as lying under this judgment, and

die as the Lamb of God. We believe in God who by His

power, when<P343> Jesus was there for us-in our stead-

raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory. It is in a

Saviour-God, therefore, a God who exercises His power in

our behalf, that we believe by Jesus, so that our faith and our

hope are in God. It does not say in something before God,

but in God Himself. Where, then, shall any cause for fear

or distrust arise as regards God, if our faith and hope are

in Himself ? is changes everything. e aspect in which

we view God Himself is entirely changed; and this change

is founded on that which establishes the righteousness of

God in accepting us as cleansed from all sin, the love of

God in blessing us perfectly in Jesus, whom His power has

raised from the dead and gloried-the power according to

which He blesses us. Our faith and our hope are in God

Himself.

e new nature: born again of the incorruptible seed

of the Word of God

is places us in the most intimate of relationships

with the rest of the redeemed: objects of the same love,

washed by the same precious blood, redeemed by the same

Lamb, they become-to those whose hearts are puried by

the reception of the truth through the Spirit-the objects

of a tender brotherly love, a love unfeigned. ey are our

brethren. Let us then love one another fervently with a

pure heart. But this is based on another essentially vital

principle. It is a new nature which acts in this aection.

If we are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb

without spot, we are born of the incorruptible seed of the

Word of God, which lives and abides forever. For the esh

Darby Synopsis

482

is but grass, the glory of man as the ower of grass. e

grass withers, its ower falls, but the Word of the Lord

abides forever. is is the word of the gospel which has

been preached unto us. It is an eternal principle of blessing.

e believer is not born after the esh to enjoy temporary

rights and blessings, as was the case with a Jew, but of an

incorruptible seed, a principle of life as unchangeable as

the Word of God Himself. e prophet had told them so,

when comforting the people of God; all esh, the nation

itself, was but withered grass. God was unchangeable, and

the Word, which by its immutable certainty secured divine

blessings to the objects of God’s favor, wrought in the heart

to beget a life as immortal and incorruptible as the Word

which is its source.<P344>

1Peter 2

483

73312

1Peter 2

e milk of the Word

us cleansed, therefore, and born of the Word, they

were to put o all fraud, hypocrisy, envy, slander; and, as

newborn babes, to seek for this milk of the understanding,

in order to grow thereby (for the Word is the milk of the

child, as it was the seed of its life); and we are to receive it as

babes in all simplicity, if in truth we have felt that the Lord

is good and full of grace. It is not Sinai (where the Lord

God declared His law from the midst of the re, so that

they entreated not to hear His voice anymore), to which

I am come, or from which the Lord is speaking. If I have

tasted and understood that the Lord acts in grace, that He

is love towards me, and that His Word is the expression

of that grace, even as it communicates life, I shall desire

to feed on this milk of the understanding, which the

believer enjoys in proportion to his simplicity; that good

Word which announces to me nothing but grace, and the

God who I need as all grace, full of grace, acting in grace,

as revealing Himself to me in this character-a character

which He can never cease to maintain towards me, making

me a partaker of His holiness.

e house of living stones built upon the Living Stone

I now know the Lord Himself: I have tasted that

which He is. Moreover, this is still in contrast with the

legal condition of the Jew, although it is the fulllment of

that which the Psalms and the prophets had declared (the

resurrection having plainly revealed, in addition, a heavenly

hope). It was they themselves who were now the spiritual

Darby Synopsis

484

house, the holy priesthood. ey came to the Living Stone,

rejected indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious,

and they were built up on Him as living stones. e Apostle

delights in this word “living.” It was to him the Father had

revealed that Jesus was the Son of the living God. No one

else had then confessed Him as such, and the Lord told

him that on this rock (that is, on the Person of the Son of

God in power of life, manifested in the resurrection, which

declared Him to be such) He would build His assembly.

Peter, by his faith, participated in the nature of this living

rock. Here then (ch. 2:5) he extends this character to all

believers, and exhibits<P345> the holy house built on the

Living Stone, which God Himself had laid as the chief

cornerstone, elect and precious. Whosoever believed in

Him should not be confounded.1

(1. In this passage, so to speak (as in this alone), Peter

meets the doctrine of the assembly, and that under the

character of a building, not of a body or a bride; that which

Christ built, not what was united to Him. So Paul also

presents it to us in Ephesians 2:20-21. In this view, though

going on on earth, it is Christ’s work and a continuing

process; no human instrumentality is referred to: I will

build, says Christ; it grows, says Paul; living stones come,

says Peter. is must not be confounded with the building

into which men may build wood and hay and stubble, as

the same thing; though the outward thing which God

set up good, left to man’s responsibility, as ever, was soon

corrupted. Individuals are built up by grace, and it grows

into a holy temple. All this refers to Matthew 16. e

responsibility of human service in this respect is found in

1Corinthians 3, and the assembly is there given in another

point of view. e body is another thing altogether; the

1Peter 2

485

doctrine is taught in Ephesians 1-4, 1Corinthians 12 and

other passages.)

e preciousness of Christ to believers; the destiny of

unbelief

Now, it was not only in the eyes of God that this stone

was precious, but in the eyes of faith which-feeble as the

possessors of it may be-sees as God sees. To unbelievers

this stone was a stone of stumbling and of oense. ey

stumbled at the Word, being disobedient, to which also they

were appointed. It does not say that they were appointed

to sin nor to condemnation, but these unbelieving and

disobedient sinners, the Jewish race-long rebellious and

continually exalting themselves against God-were destined

to nd in the Lord of grace Himself a rock of oense;

and to stumble and fall upon that which was to faith the

precious stone of salvation. It was to this particular fall that

their unbelief was destined.

Individual Jewish believers entering into heavenly

blessing, though the nation’s rejection of Christ had lost

the earthly promises

Believers, on the contrary, entered into the enjoyment of

the promises made to Israel, and that in the most excellent

way. Grace-and the very faithfulness of God-had brought

the fulllment of the promise in the Person of Jesus, the

minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to fulll

the promises made to the fathers. And, although the nation

had rejected Him, God would not deprive of the blessings

those who-in spite of all this <P346>diculty to faith and

to the heart-had submitted to the obedience of faith and

attached themselves to Him who was the despised of the

nation. ey could not have the blessing of Israel with the

nation on earth, because the nation had rejected Him; but

Darby Synopsis

486

they were brought fully into the relationship with God of

a people accepted of Him. e heavenly character which

the blessing now assumed did not destroy their acceptance

according to the promise; only they entered into it according

to grace. For the nation, as a nation, had lost it; not only

long ago by disobedience, but now by rejecting Him who

came in grace to impart to them the eect of the promise.

e titles and privileges bestowed on the believing

remnant; Messiah’s obedience the foundation of their

blessing

e Apostle, therefore, applies the character of “holy

nation” to the elect remnant, investing them in the main

with the titles bestowed in Exodus 19 on condition of

obedience, but here in connection with the Messiah, their

enjoyment of these titles being founded on His obedience

and rights acquired by their faith in Him.

But, the privileges of the believing remnant being

founded on the Messiah, the Apostle goes further, and

applies to them the declarations of Hosea, which relate

to Israel and Judah when reestablished in the fullness of

blessing in the last days, enjoying those relationships with

God into which grace will bring them at that time.

“Ye are,” he says, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,

a purchased people.” ese are almost the words of Exodus

19. He goes on: “Which in time past were not a people, but

are now the people of God; who formerly had not obtained

mercy, but have now obtained it.” ese are the words of

Hosea 2. is sets before us, in the most interesting way,

the principle on which the blessing is founded. In Exodus

the people were to have this blessing if they exactly obeyed

the voice of God. But Israel had not obeyed, had been

rebellious and sti-necked, had gone after strange gods,

1Peter 2

487

and rejected the testimony of the Spirit; yet, after their

unfaithfulness, God Himself has laid in Zion a Stone, a

chief cornerstone, and whosoever believed in Him should

not be confounded. It is grace that, when Israel had failed

in every respect, and on the ground of obedience had lost

everything, God should bestow on them by Jesus, through

grace, that which was<P347> promised them at rst on

condition of obedience. In this way all was secured to them.

Judgment executed, God returns to His irrevocable

purposes of grace

e question of obedience was settled-on Israel’s

disobedience-by grace, and by the obedience of Christ,

the foundation laid by God in Zion. But this principle of

grace abounding over sin-by which is shown the inability

of disobedience to frustrate the purposes of God, for this

grace came after the completion of disobedience-this

principle, so glorious and so comforting to the convinced

sinner, is conrmed in a striking way by the quotation from

Hosea. In this passage from the prophet, Israel is presented,

not merely as guilty, but as having already undergone

judgment. God had declared that He would no more have

mercy (with regard to His patience toward the ten tribes);

and that Israel was no longer His people (in His judgment

on unfaithful Judah). But afterwards, when the judgment

had been executed, He returns to His irrevocable purposes

of grace, and allures Israel as a forsaken wife, and gives her

the valley of Achor-the valley of trouble, in which Achan

was stoned, the rst judgment on unfaithful Israel after

their entrance into the promised land-for a door of hope.

For judgment is changed into grace, and God begins all

afresh upon a new principle. It was as though Israel had

again come up out of Egypt, but upon an entirely new

Darby Synopsis

488

principle. He betroths her to Him forever, in righteousness,

in judgment, in grace, in mercy, and all is blessing. en He

calls her “Ruhamah,” “the object of mercy”; and “Ammi,”

“my people.”

ese, then, are the expressions which the Apostle uses,

applying them to the remnant who believed in Jesus, the

stumbling-stone to the nation, but the chief cornerstone

from God to the believer. us the condition is taken

away, and instead of a condition we have blessing after

disobedience, and after judgment the full and assured grace

of God, founded (in its application to believers) on the

Person, the obedience and the work of Christ.

e valley of trouble becoming the door of hope

It is aecting to see the expression of this grace in the

term “Achor.” It was the rst judgment on Israel in the

land of promise<P348> for having profaned themselves

with the forbidden thing. And there it is that hope is given;

so entirely true is it that grace triumphs over justice. And

it is this which has taken place in the most excellent way

in Christ. e very judgment of God becomes in Him

the door of hope, the guilt and the judgment having alike

passed away forever.

e double priesthood: (1) the “holy priesthood” of

Aaron

Two parts of the Christian life-so far as it is the

manifestation of spiritual power-result from this, in the

double priesthood; of which the one answers to the present

position of Christ on high, and the other anticipatively to

the manifestation of His glory on earth-the priesthoods

of Aaron and of Melchisedec. For He is now within the

veil according to the type of Aaron; hereafter He will be

a priest on His throne-it will be the public manifestation

1Peter 2

489

of His glory on earth. us, the saints exercise “a holy

priesthood” (vs. 5) to oer up spiritual sacrices of praise

and thanksgiving. Sweet privilege of the Christian, thus

brought as near as possible to God! He oers-sure of being

accepted, for it is by Jesus that he oers them-his sacrices

to God.

is part of the Christian life is the rst, the most

excellent, the most vital, the source of the other (which

is its expression here below); the most excellent, because,

in its exercise, we are in immediate connection with the

divine object of our aections. ese spiritual sacrices are

the reex, by the action of the Holy Spirit, of the grace

which we enjoy; that which the heart returns to God,

moved by the excellent gifts of which we are the object,

and by the love which has given them. e heart (by the

power of the Holy Spirit) reects all that has been revealed

to it in grace, worshipping the Author and Giver of all

according to the knowledge we have of Himself through

this means; the fruits of the heavenly Canaan in which we

participate presented as an oering to God; the entrance of

the soul into the presence of God to praise and adore Him.

is is the holy priesthood, according to the analogy of

the priesthood of Aaron, and of the temple at Jerusalem

which God inhabited as His house.<P349>

e double priesthood: (2) the “royal priesthood” of

Melchisedec

e second priesthood of which the Apostle speaks is

to show forth the virtues of Him who has called us out

of darkness into His marvelous light. Its description is

taken, as we have seen, from Exodus 19. It is a chosen

generation, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. I only allude

to the Melchisedec priesthood to show the character of

Darby Synopsis

490

a royal priesthood. Priests, among the Jews, drew near to

God. God had formed the people for Himself: they were to

show forth all His virtues, His praises. Christ will do this

perfectly in the day of His glory. e Christian is called to

do it now in this world. He is to reproduce Christ in this

world. It is the second part of his life.

It will be noticed that the rst chapter of this epistle

presents the Christian as animated by hope, but under

trial-the precious trial of faith. e second chapter presents

him in his privileges, as of a holy and royal priesthood, by

means of faith.

Exhortations to the Christian as a pilgrim on earth to

follow the path of faithfulness to God

After this (ch. 2:11), the Apostle begins his exhortations.

Whatever may be the privileges of the Christian, in his

position as such, he is always viewed as a pilgrim on the

earth; and, as we have seen, the constant government of

God is the object which presents itself to the mind of the

Apostle. But he warns them rst, with regard to that which

is inward, against those sources from which the corruptions

spring, that (in the scene of this government) would

dishonor the name of God and even bring in judgment.

eir conversation was to be honest among the

Gentiles. Christians bore the name of God. e mind of

men, hostile to His name, sought to bring disgrace upon

it, by attributing to Christians the evil conduct which they

themselves followed without remorse, while at the same

time complaining (ch. 4:4) that they would not go with

them in the same excesses and disorder. e Christian had

only to follow the path of faithfulness to God. In the day

when God would visit men, these calumniators, with their

will broken and their pride subdued by the visitation of

1Peter 2

491

God, should be brought to confess-by means of the good

works which, in spite of their calumnies, had always<P350>

reached their consciences-that God had acted in these

Christians, that He had been present among them.

e Christian’s path in a world where God permits

His own to suer for righteousness’ sake or for Christ’s

name

After this general exhortation, brief but important

to believers, the Apostle takes up the relative walk of

Christians in a world where, on the one hand, God watches

over all, yet where He permits His own to suer, whether

for righteousness’ sake or for the name of Christ, but where

they ought never to suer for having done wrong. e

path, then, of the Christian is marked out. He is subject

for the Lord’s sake to human ordinances or institutions.

He gives honor to all men, and to each in his place, so that

no one shall have any reproach to bring against him. He

is submissive to his masters, even if they are bad men, and

yields to their ill-treatment. Were he subject only to the

good and gentle, a worldly slave would do as much; but

if, having done well, he suers and bears it patiently, this

is acceptable to God, this is grace. It was thus that Christ

acted, and to this we are called. Christ suered in this way

and never replied by reproaches or threats to those who

molested Him, but committed Himself to Him that judges

righteously. To Him we belong. He has suered for our

sins, in order that, having been delivered from them, we

should live to God. ese Christians from among the Jews

had been as sheep going astray;1 they were now brought

back to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. But how

entirely these exhortations show that the Christian is one

Darby Synopsis

492

who is not of this world, but has his own path through it:

yet this path was the way of peace in it!

(1. An allusion, I suppose, to the last verse of Psalm

119. e Apostle constantly puts the Christian Jews on

the ground of the blessed remnant, only making it a soul

salvation.)

1Peter 3

493

73313

1Peter 3

Exhortations to wives and husbands

Likewise, wives were to be subject to their husbands

in all modesty and purity, in order that this testimony to

the eect of the Word by its fruits might take the place

of the Word itself, if their husbands would not listen to

it. ey were to rest, in patience and<P351> meekness, on

the faithfulness of God, and not be alarmed at seeing the

power of the adversaries (compare Philippians 1:28).

Husbands were, in like manner, to dwell with the

wife, their aections and relationships being governed

by Christian knowledge, and not by any human passion;

honoring the wife, and walking with her as being heirs

together of the grace of life.

e walk of all believers under God’s eye

Finally, all were to walk in the spirit of peace and

gentleness, carrying with them, in their dealings with

others, the blessing of which they were themselves the

heirs, the spirit of which they ought, consequently, to

bear ever with them. By following that which is good, by

having the tongue governed by the fear of the Lord, by

avoiding evil and seeking peace, they would in quietness

enjoy the present life under the eye of God. For the eyes

of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open

to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them

that do evil. And who, moreover, would harm them, if they

followed only that which is good?

e consciousness of God’s presence: the secret of

boldness and peace; the necessity of a good conscience

Darby Synopsis

494

is, then, is the government of God, the principle

on which He superintends the course of this world.

Nevertheless, it is not now a direct and immediate

government preventing all wrong. e power of evil still

acts upon the earth; those who are animated by it show

themselves hostile to the righteous, and act by means of

that fear which Satan is able to produce. But by giving the

Lord His place in the soul, this fear which the enemy excites

has no longer a place there. If the heart is conscious of the

presence of God, can that heart tremble at the presence

of the enemy? is is the secret of boldness and peace in

confessing Christ. en the instruments of the enemy seek

to turn us aside, and to overwhelm us by their pretensions;

but the consciousness of God’s presence dissipates those

pretensions and destroys all their power. Resting on the

strength of His presence, we are ready to answer those

who ask the reason of our hope, with meekness and holy

reverence remote from all levity. For all this it is necessary

to have a good conscience. We may carry a bad conscience

to God, that He may<P352> pardon and have mercy on

us; but if we have a bad conscience, we cannot resist the

enemy-we are afraid of him. On the one hand, we fear

his malice; on the other, we have lost the consciousness

of the presence and the strength of God. When walking

before God, we fear nothing; the heart is free: we have not

to think of self, we think of God; and the adversaries are

ashamed of having falsely accused those whose conduct is

unblamable, and against whom nothing can be brought

except the calumny of their enemies, which calumnies turn

to their own shame.

Suering for well doing or for evil doing

1Peter 3

495

It may be that God may see it good that we should

suer. If so, it is better that we should suer for well doing

than for evil doing. e Apostle gives a touching motive

for this: Christ has suered for sins once for all; let that

suce; let us suer only for righteousness. To suer for sin

was His task; He accomplished it, and that forever; put to

death, as to His life in the esh, but quickened according

to the power of the divine Spirit.

Christ preaching to the disobedient (whose spirits are

now in prison) by His Spirit in Noah

e passage that follows has occasioned diculties to

the readers of Scripture; but it appears to me simple, if we

perceive the object of the Spirit of God. e Jews expected

a Messiah corporeally present, who should deliver the

nation and exalt the Jews to the summit of earthly glory.

But He was not present, we know, in that manner, and the

believing Jews had to endure the scos and the hatred of

the unbelieving, on account of their trust in a Messiah

who was not present, and who had wrought no deliverance

for the people. Believers possessed the salvation of their

soul, and they knew Jesus in heaven; but unbelieving

men did not care for that. e Apostle therefore cites the

case of Noah’s testimony. e believing Jews were few in

number, and Christ was theirs only according to the Spirit.

By the power of that Spirit He had been raised up from

the dead. It was by the power of the same Spirit that He

had gone-without being corporeally present-to preach in

Noah. e world was disobedient (like the Jews in the

Apostle’s days), and eight souls only were saved; even as

the believers were now but a little ock. But the spirits of

the <P353>disobedient were now in prison, because they

did not obey Christ present among them by His Spirit in

Darby Synopsis

496

Noah. e long-suering of God waited then, as now, with

the Jewish nation; the result would be the same. It has been

so.

is interpretation is conrmed (in preference to that

which supposes that the Spirit of Christ preached in

hades to souls which had been conned there ever since

the ood) by the consideration that in Genesis it is said,

“My Spirit shall not always strive with men, but their days

shall be a hundred and twenty years.” at is to say, His

Spirit should strive, in the testimony of Noah, during a

hundred and twenty years and no longer. Now it would be

an extraordinary thing that with those persons only (for he

speaks only of them) the Lord should strive in testimony

after their death. Moreover, we may observe that, in

considering this expression to mean the Spirit of Christ in

Noah, we only use a well-known phrase of Peter’s; for he it

is, as we have seen, who said, “e Spirit of Christ which

was in the prophets.”

Baptism compared to the ark of Noah in the deluge;

Christ’s resurrection and ascension giving a good

conscience and a heavenly Christ

ese spirits then are in prison, because they did

not hearken to the Spirit of Christ in Noah (compare

2Peter 2:5-9). To this the Apostle adds the comparison

of baptism to the ark of Noah in the deluge. Noah was

saved through the water; we also; for the water of baptism

typies death, as the deluge, so to speak, was the death of

the world. Now Christ has passed through death and is

risen. We enter into death in baptism; but it is like the ark,

because Christ suered in death for us and has come out

of it in resurrection, as Noah came out of the deluge, to

begin, as it were, a new life in a resurrection world. Now

1Peter 3

497

Christ, having passed through death, has atoned for sins;

and we, by passing through it in spirit, leave all our sins

in it, as Christ did in reality for us; for He was raised up

without the sins which He expiated on the cross. And they

were our sins; and thus, through the resurrection, we have

a good conscience. We pass through death in spirit and

in gure by baptism. e peace-giving force of the thing

is the resurrection of Christ, after He had accomplished

expiation; by which resurrection, therefore, we have a good

conscience.

Now this is what the Jews had to learn. e Christ was

gone up<P354> to heaven, all powers and principalities

being made subject to Him. He is at the right hand of

God. We have, therefore, not a Messiah on earth, but a

good conscience and a heavenly Christ.

Darby Synopsis

498

73314

1Peter 4

e general principles of God’s government;

suering for righteousness’ sake in connection with

God’s government and judgment

From the beginning of this chapter to the end of verse

7, the Apostle continues to speak of the general principles

of God’s government, exhorting the Christian to act on

the principles of Christ Himself, which would cause him

to avoid the walk condemned by that government, while

waiting for the judgment of the world by the Christ

whom he served. Christ gloried, as we saw at the close

of the previous chapter, was ready to judge; and they who

were exasperated against the Christians, and who were

led by their own passions, without caring for the coming

judgment, would have to give account to that Judge whom

they refused to own as Saviour.

Here, it will be observed, it is suering for righteousness’

sake (ch. 2:19; 3:17) in connection with the government

and judgment of God. e principle was this: they accepted,

they followed the Saviour whom the world and the nation

rejected; they walked in His holy footsteps in righteousness,

as pilgrims and strangers, abandoning the corruption that

reigned in the world. Walking in peace and following

after good, they avoided, to a certain extent, the attacks of

others; and the eyes of Him, who watches from on high

over all things, rested upon the righteous. Nevertheless,

in the relations of ordinary life (ch. 2:18), and in their

dealings with men, they might have to suer, and to bear

agrant injustice. Now the time of God’s judgment was

1Peter 4

499

not yet come. Christ was in heaven; He had been rejected

on the earth, and the Christian’s part was to follow Him.

e time of the manifestation of the government of God

would be at the judgment which Christ should execute.

Meanwhile, His walk on earth had furnished the pattern

of that which the God of judgment approved (ch. 2:21-23;

4:1 and following verses).

ey were to do good, to suer for it, and to be patient.

is is well-pleasing to God; this is what Christ did. It

was better that<P355> they should suer for doing well,

if God saw t, than for doing ill. Christ (ch. 2:24) had

borne our sins, had suered for our sins, the Just for the

unjust, in order that we, being dead to sins, should live for

righteousness, and in order to bring us unto God Himself.

Christ is now on high; He is ready to judge. When the

judgment shall come, the principles of God’s government

will be manifested and shall prevail.

Christ’s death applied to practical death unto sins, in

contrast with the life of the Gentiles

e beginning of chapter 4 requires some rather more

detailed remarks. e death of Christ is there applied to

practical death unto sins; a state presented in contrast with

the life of the Gentiles.

Christ on the cross (the Apostle alludes to verse 18 of

the preceding chapter) suered in the esh for us. He died

in fact as regards His human life. We must arm ourselves

with the same mind and allow of no activity of life or

passions according to the will of the old man, but suer as

to the esh, never yielding to its will. Sin is the action in us

of the will of the esh, the will of the man as alive in this

world. When this will acts, the principle of sin is there; for

we ought to obey. e will of God ought to be the spring

Darby Synopsis

500

of our moral life; and so much the more, because now that

we have the knowledge of good and evil-now that the will

of the esh, unsubject to God, is in us-we must either take

the will of God as our only motive, or act according to the

will of the esh, for the latter is always present in us.

Death preferred by Christ rather than disobedience

Christ came to obey, He chose to die, to suer all things

rather than not obey. He thus died to sin, which never for

a moment found an entrance into His heart. With Him,

tempted to the uttermost, death was preferred rather than

disobedience, even when death had the character of wrath

against sin and judgment. Bitter as the cup was, He drank

it rather than not fulll to the uttermost His Father’s will,

and glorify Him. Tried to the uttermost and perfect in it,

the temptation which ever assailed Him from without and

sought entrance (for He had none within) was always kept

outside; was never entered into, nor found a movement

of His will<P356> towards it; drew out obedience, or the

perfection of the divine thoughts in man; and by dying, by

suering in the esh, He had done with it all, done with

sin forever, and entered forever into rest, after having been

tried to the uttermost, and tempted to all things similarly

to us,1 as regards the trial of faith, the conict of the

spiritual life.

(1. It is not, as in the Authorized Version, “yet without

sin,” true as that may be, but χωρΙσ αμαρτΙασ (choris

hamartias), “sin apart.” We are tempted, being led away

by our own lusts. Christ had all our diculties, all our

temptations, on the way, but had nothing in Himself which

could lead Him wrong-far, surely, from it-nothing which

answered to the temptation.)

1Peter 4

501

e will of the esh not in action when the Christian

is content to suer

Now it is the same thing with respect to ourselves in

daily life. If I suer in the esh, the will of the esh is

assuredly not in action; and the esh, in that I suer, is

practically dead-I have nothing more to do with sins.1 We

then are freed from it, have done with it, and are at rest.

If we are content to suer, the will does not act; sin is not

there, as to fact; for to suer is not will, it is grace acting in

accordance with the image and the mind of Christ in the

new man; and we are freed from the action of the old man.

It does not act; we rest from it; we have done with it, no

longer to live, for the remainder of our life here below in

the esh, according to the lusts of man, but according to

the will of God, which the new man follows.

(1. Peter rests on the eect; Paul, as ever, goes to the

root, Romans 6.)

It is enough to have spent the past time of our lives in

doing the will of the Gentiles (he still speaks to Christians

of the circumcision), and in committing the excesses to

which they addicted themselves, while they wondered at

Christians for refusing to do the same; speaking evil of

them for this reason. But they would have to give account

to Him, who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

e judgment of the living and that of the dead

e Jews were accustomed to the judgment of the living,

for they were the center of God’s government on the earth.

e judgment of the dead, with which we are more familiar,

had not been denitely revealed to them. ey were liable,

nevertheless, to this<P357> judgment; for it was with this

object that the promises of God were presented to them

while living, in order that they might either live according

Darby Synopsis

502

to God in the spirit, or be judged as men responsible for

what they had done in the esh. For the one or other of

these results would be produced in everyone who heard

the promises. us, in regard to the Jews, the judgment of

the dead would take place in connection with the promises

that had been set before them. For this testimony from

God placed all who heard it under responsibility, so that

they would be judged as men who had to give account to

God of their conduct in the esh, unless they came out of

this position of life in the esh by being quickened through

the power of the Word addressed to them, applied by the

energy of the Spirit; so that they escaped from the esh

through the spiritual life which they received.

e end of all things at hand

Now the end of all things was at hand. e Apostle,

while speaking of the great principle of responsibility in

connection with the testimony of God, draws the attention

of believers to the solemn thought of the end of all these

things on which the esh rested. is end drew near.

Here, observe, Peter presents, not the coming of the

Lord to receive His own, nor His manifestation with them,

but that moment of the solemn sanction of the ways of

God, when every refuge of the esh shall disappear, and all

the thoughts of man perish forever.

e destruction of Jerusalem: its consequences and

lessons

As regards the relations of God with the world in

government, the destruction of Jerusalem, although it

was not “the end,” was of immense importance, because

it destroyed the very seat of that government on the earth

in which the Messiah ought to have reigned, and shall yet

reign.

1Peter 4

503

God watches over all things, takes care of His own,

counts the hairs of their heads, makes everything contribute

to their highest good; but this is in the midst of a world

which He no longer owns.

For not only is the earthly and direct government of God

set aside, which took place in the days of Nebuchadnezzar,

and, in a certain<P358> sense, in those of Saul; but the

Messiah, who ought to reign in it, has been rejected, and

has taken the heavenly place in resurrection, which forms

the subject of this epistle.

e destruction of Jerusalem (which was to take place

in those days) was the nal abolition of even the traces of

that government, until the Lord shall return. e relations

of an earthly people with God, on the ground of man’s

responsibility, were ended. e general government of

God took the place of the former; a government always

the same in principle, but which, Jesus having suered on

the earth, still allowed His members to suer here below.

And, until the time of judgment, the wicked will persecute

the righteous, and the righteous must have patience. With

regard to the nation, those relations only subsisted till the

destruction of Jerusalem; the unbelieving hopes of the

Jews, as a nation, were judicially overthrown. e Apostle

speaks here in a general way, and in view of the eect of

the solemn truth of the end of all things, for Christ is still

“ready to judge”; and if there is delay, it is because God

wills not the death of the sinner, and that He prolongs the

time of grace.

In view of this end of all that we see, we ought to be

sober, and watch in order to pray. We ought to have the

heart thus exercised towards God, who changes not, who

will never pass away, and who preserves us through all the

Darby Synopsis

504

diculties and temptations of this passing scene until the

day of deliverance which is coming. Instead of allowing

ourselves to be carried away by present and visible things,

we must bridle self and will, and commune with God.

e inner position of Christians; following Christ

Himself; fervent charity and its eects

is leads the Apostle to the inner position of Christians,

their relations among themselves, not with God’s general

government of the world. ey follow, because they are

Christians, Christ Himself. e rst thing that he enforces

on them is fervent charity; not merely long-suering, which

would prevent any outbreak of the anger of the esh, but an

energy of love, which by stamping its character on all the

ways of Christians towards each other, would practically

set aside the action of the esh and make manifest the

divine presence and action.

Now this love covered a multitude of sins. He is not

speaking here with a view to ultimate pardon, but of

the present notice<P359> which God takes-His present

relations of government with His people; for we have

present relationships with God. If the assembly is at

variance, if there is little love, if the fellowship among

Christians is with straitened hearts and dicult, the

existing evil, the mutual wrongs, subsist before God: but

if there is love, which neither commits nor resents any

wrongs, but pardons such things, and only nds in them

occasion for its own exercise, it is then the love which the

eye of God rests upon, and not the evil. Even if there are

misdeeds-sins-love occupies itself about them, the oender

is brought back, is restored, by the charity of the assembly;

the sins are removed from the eye of God, they are covered.

It is a quotation from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 10:12:

1Peter 4

505

“Hatred stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins.” We

have a right to forgive them-to wash the feet of our brother

(compare James 5:15 and 1John 5:16). We not only forgive,

but love maintains the assembly before God according to

His own nature so that He can bless it.

Christian hospitality

Christians ought to exercise hospitality towards each

other with all liberality. It is the expression of love, and

tends much to maintain it: we are no longer strangers to

each other.

e responsibility of gifts

Gifts come next after the exercise of grace. All comes

from God. As everyone had received the gift, he was to

serve in the gift, as a steward of the varied grace of God.

It is God who gives; the Christian is a servant, and under

responsibility as a steward, on God’s part. He is to ascribe

all to God, in a direct way to God. If he speaks, he is to

speak as an oracle of God, that is, as speaking on God’s part,

and not from himself. If anyone serves in things temporal,

let him do it as in a power and an ability that come from

God, so that, whether one speaks or serves, God may be

gloried in all things through Jesus Christ. To Him, the

Apostle adds, be praise and dominion. Amen.

Suering for the name of Christ

After these exhortations, he comes to suering for the

name of Christ. ey were not to view the ery persecutions

that came to<P360> try them as some strange thing that

had befallen them. On the contrary, they were connected

with a suering and rejected Christ; they partook, therefore,

in His suerings, and were to rejoice in it. He would soon

appear, and these suerings for His sake should turn to

their exceeding joy at the revelation of His glory. ey

Darby Synopsis

506

were, therefore, to rejoice at sharing His suerings, in order

to be lled with abounding joy when His glory should be

revealed. If they were reproached for the name of Christ,

it was happy for them. e Spirit of God rested on them.

It was the name of Christ that brought reproach on them.

He was in the glory with God; the Spirit, who came from

that glory and that God, lled them with joy in bearing the

reproach. It was Christ who was reproached-Christ who

was gloried-reproached by the enemies of the gospel,

while Christians had the joy of glorifying Him. It will be

observed that in this passage, it is for Christ Himself (as it

has been said) that the believer suers; and, therefore, the

Apostle speaks of glory and joy at the appearing of Jesus

Christ, which he does not mention in chapter 2:20 and

chapter 3:17 (compare Matthew 5:10 and verses 11-12 of

the same chapter).

e need of God’s people to be exercised with suering

on their own account: God’s discipline

As an evildoer, then, the Christian ought never to

suer; but if he suered as a Christian, he was not to

be ashamed, but to glorify God for it. e Apostle then

returns to the government of God; for these suerings of

believers had also another character. To the individual who

suered, it was a glory: he shared the suerings of Christ,

and the Spirit of glory and of God rested on him; and

all this should turn to abounding joy when the glory was

revealed. But God had no pleasure in allowing His people

to suer. He permitted it; and if Christ had to suer for

us when He who knew no sin did not need it for Himself,

the people of God have often need on their own account

to be exercised with suering. God uses the wicked, the

enemies of the name of Christ, for this purpose. Job is the

1Peter 4

507

book that explains this, independently of all dispensations.

But in every form of God’s dealings, He exercises His

judgments according to the order He has established. He

did so with Israel; He does so with the assembly. e latter

has a heavenly portion; and if she attaches herself to the

earth, God allows the enemy to trouble her. Perhaps the

individual who suers is full of faith and<P361> devoted

love to the Lord; but, under persecution, the heart feels

that the world is not its rest, that it must have its portion

elsewhere, its strength elsewhere. We are not of the world

which persecutes us. If the faithful servant of God is cut

o from this world by persecution, it strengthens faith, for

God is in it; but they from the midst of whom he is cut o

suer and feel that the hand of God was in it: His dealings

take the form of judgment, always in perfect love, but in

discipline.

Judgment beginning at the house of God

God judges everything according to His own nature.

He desires that all should be in accordance with His

nature. No upright and honorable man would like to have

the wicked near him, and always before him; God assuredly

would not. And in that which is nearest to Him, He must

above all desire that everything should correspond to His

nature and His holiness-to all that He is. I would have

everything around me clean enough not to disgrace me;

but in my own house I must have such cleanness as I

personally desire. us judgment must begin at the house

of God: the Apostle alludes to Ezekiel 9:6. It is a solemn

principle. No grace, no privilege, changes the nature of

God; and everything must be conformed to that nature,

or, in the end, must be banished from His presence. Grace

can conform us, and it does. It bestows the divine nature,

Darby Synopsis

508

so that there is a principle of absolute conformity to God.

But as to practical conformity in thought and deed, the

heart and the conscience must be exercised, in order that

the understanding of the heart, and the habitual desires

and aspirations of the will, should be formed upon the

revelation of God, and continually directed towards Him.

What is meant in Peter’s epistle by “salvation”

Now if this conformity should so fail that the testimony

of God is injured by its absence, God, who judges His

people, and who will judge evil everywhere, does so by

means of the chastisements which He inicts. Judgment

begins at the house of God. e righteous are saved with

diculty. It is evidently not redemption or justication

that is here intended, nor the communication of life:

those whom the Apostle addresses were in possession of

them. To our Apostle “salvation” is not only the present

enjoyment of the<P362> salvation of the soul, but the

full deliverance of the faithful, which will take place at

the coming of Christ in glory. All the temptations are

contemplated, all the trials, all the dangers, through which

the Christian will pass in reaching the end of his career. All

the power of God is requisite, directed by divine wisdom,

guiding and sustaining faith, to carry the Christian safely

through the wilderness, where Satan employs all the

resources of his subtlety to make him perish. e power

of God will accomplish it; but, from the human point of

view, the diculties are almost insurmountable. Now, if

the righteous-according to the ways of God, who must

maintain His judgment conformable to the principles of

good and evil in His government; and who will in nowise

deny Himself in dealing with the enemy of our souls-if the

righteous were saved with diculty, what would become of

1Peter 4

509

the sinner and the ungodly? To join them would not be the

way to escape these diculties. In suering as a Christian,

there was but one thing to do-to commit oneself to Him

who watched over the judgment that He was executing.

For, as it was His hand, one suered according to His will.

It was this that Christ did.

God known in His ways with this world and with His

people in their pilgrimage here

Observe here that it is not only the government of God,

but there is the expression, “As unto a faithful Creator.”

e Spirit of God moves here in this sphere. It is the

relationship of God with this world, and the soul knows

Him as the One who created it, and who does not forsake

the work of His hands. is is Jewish ground-God known

in His connection with the rst creation. Trust in Him is

founded on Christ; but God is known in His ways with

this world, and with us in our pilgrimage here below, where

He governs, and where He judges Christians, as He will

judge all others.

Darby Synopsis

510

73315

1Peter 5

Exhortation to fellow-elders; Peter’s place as a witness

to Christ’s suerings and future partaker of glory

e Apostle returns to Christian details. He exhorts

the elders, himself an elder; for it appears that among the

Jews this<P363> title was rather characteristic than ocial

(compare verse 5). He exhorts them to feed the ock of

God. e Apostle designates himself as one who had been

a witness of the suerings of Christ, and who was to be

a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. It was the

function of the twelve to be witnesses of the life of Christ

(John 15), as it was that of the Holy Spirit to testify of

His heavenly glory. Peter places himself at the two ends

of the Lord’s history and leaves the interval devoid of all

except hope and the pilgrimage towards an end. He had

seen the suerings of Christ; he was to share His glory

when He should be revealed. It is a Christ who puts Himself

in relation with the Jews, now known only by faith. During

His life on earth, He was in the midst of the Jews although

suering there and rejected. When He shall appear, He will

again be in relation with the earth and with that nation.

e standpoint of Paul

Paul speaks dierently, while at the same time

conrming these truths. He only knew the Lord after His

exaltation; he is not a witness of His suerings; but he seeks

for the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His

suerings. Paul’s heart is bound to Christ while He is in

heaven, as united to Him above; and, although he desires

the Lord’s appearing, for the restitution of all things of

1Peter 5

511

which the prophets had spoken, he rejoices to know that

he shall go with joy to meet Him, and shall return with

Him when He is revealed from heaven.

e care of the ock of God for the sake of the Chief

Shepherd

e elders were to feed the ock of God with a ready

mind, and not as by constraint, nor for gain, nor as

governing an inheritance of their own, but as ensamples

to the ock. Loving care was to be lavished upon it, for

the sake of Christ, the Chief Shepherd, with a view to the

good of souls. Moreover, it was the ock of God which they

were to feed. What a solemn as well as sweet thought!

How impossible for anyone to entertain the notion of its

being his ock, if he has laid hold of the thought that it is

the ock of God, and that God allows us to feed it!<P364>

e Lord’s perfect grace to Peter; his heart’s desire;

his reward

We may observe that the heart of the blessed Apostle

is where the Lord had placed it. “Feed my sheep” was

the expression of the Lord’s perfect grace towards Peter,

when He was leading him to the humiliating but salutary

confession that it needed the eye of God to see that His weak

disciple loved Him. At the moment that He convinced him

of his utter nothingness, He entrusted to him that which

was dearest to Himself.

us we see, here, that it is the Apostle’s care, the desire

of the heart, that they should feed the ock. Here, as

elsewhere, he does not go beyond the Lord’s appearing.

It is at that period that the ways of God in government-

of which the Jews were the earthly center-shall be fully

manifested. en shall the crown of glory be presented

Darby Synopsis

512

to him that has been faithful, that has satised the Chief

Shepherd’s heart.

Exhortations and encouragements to obey the

principles of God’s government

e young were to submit themselves to those who were

older, and all to one another. All were to be clothed with

humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the

humble. ese are still the principles of His government.

Under His hand they were, therefore, to humble themselves;

they should be exalted in due time. is was to commit

themselves to God. He knew what was needful. He who

loved them would exalt them at the right time. He cared

for them; they were to rest on Him, commit all their cares

to Him.

Exhortations to soberness and vigilance against their

adversary; the God of grace calling His people to share

His eternal glory and establishing and strengthening

them here

On the other hand, they were to be sober and vigilant,

because the adversary sought to devour them. Here-

whatever may be his wiles, however he may lie in wait for

Christians-it is in the character of a roaring lion, one who

excites open persecution, that the Apostle presents him.

ey were to resist him, steadfast in the faith. Everywhere

the same aictions were found. Nevertheless, the God

of grace is the Christian’s condence. He has called us

to<P365> participate in His eternal glory. e Apostle’s

desire for them is that, after they had suered for a time,

the God of grace should make them perfect, complete-

should establish and strengthen them, building up their

hearts on the foundation of an assurance that cannot be

shaken. To Him, he adds, be glory and dominion.

1Peter 5

513

e circumstances of the Christians to whom Peter

wrote; the Christian’s hope and patience

We see that the Christians to whom he wrote were

suering, and that the Apostle explained these suerings

on the principles of the divine government, with regard

especially to the relation of Christians with God, as being

His house, whether those suerings were for righteousness’

sake or for the name of the Lord. It was but for a time. e

Christian’s hope was elsewhere; Christian patience was

well-pleasing to God. It was their glory, if it was for the

name of Christ. Besides which, God judged His house and

watched over His people.<P366>

Darby Synopsis

514

73316

2Peter

e character and scope of Peter’s second epistle

e Second Epistle of Peter is even more simple than

the rst. Like those of Jude and John, it is written essentially

with a view to the seducers, who, with large promises of

liberty, beguiled souls into sin and licentiousness, denying

the coming of Christ, and, in fact, disowning all His rights

over them. e epistle admonishes the same Christians to

whom the rst was written, pointing out the characteristic

features of these false teachers; denouncing them with the

utmost energy; explaining the long-suerance of God, and

announcing a judgment which, like His patience, would

bet the majesty of Him who was to execute it.

Exhortations and warnings: the foundation of both

But before giving these warnings, which begin with

chapter 2, the Apostle exhorts Christians to make their

own calling and election sure-not evidently in the heart

of God, but as a fact in their own hearts, and in practical

life, by walking in such a manner as not to stumble; so

that testimony to their portion in Christ should be always

evident, and an abundant entrance be ministered to them.

ese exhortations are founded, rst, on that which

is already given to Christians; second, on that which

is future-namely, the manifestation of the glory of the

kingdom. In touching upon this last subject, he indicates

a still more excellent portion-the bright Morning Star, the

heavenly Christ Himself and our association with Him

before He appears as the Sun of Righteousness. ird, we

shall see that the warnings are founded also on another

2Peter

515

basis-namely, the dissolution of the heavens and the earth,

proving the instability of all that unbelief rested upon, and

furnishing for the same reason a solemn warning to the

saints to induce them to walk in holiness.<P367>

Darby Synopsis

516

73317

2Peter 1

Precious faith received through God’s faithfulness

e Apostle describes his brethren as having obtained

the same precious faith as himself through the faithfulness

of God1 to the promises made to the fathers, for that

surely is the force of the word “righteousness” in this place.

e faithfulness of the God of Israel had bestowed on His

people this faith (that is to say, Christianity), which was so

precious to them.

(1. is passage may be translated “of our God and

Saviour Jesus Christ,” and perhaps ought to be so rendered

since it speaks of the faithfulness of God to His promise.

e Epistle to the Hebrews dwells also on the fact that

Jesus is Jehovah.)

Faith here is the portion we have now in the things that

God gives, which in Christianity are revealed as truths,

while the things promised are not yet come. It was in this

way that the believing Jews were to possess the Messiah,

and all that God gave in Him, as the Lord had said, “Let

not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also

in me. ere are many mansions in my Father’s house; I

go to prepare a place for you.” at is to say, “You do not

visibly possess God; you enjoy Him by believing in Him.

It is the same with respect to Me: you will not possess

Me corporeally, but you shall enjoy all that is in Me-

righteousness and all the promises of God-by believing.”

It was thus that these believing Jews, to whom Peter wrote,

possessed the Lord: they had received this precious faith.

2Peter 1

517

e knowledge of God and of Jesus accompanied by

living, divine power

He wishes them, as is the custom, “grace and peace,”

adding, “through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our

Lord.” It is the knowledge of God and of Jesus, which is

the center and the support of faith, that which nourishes

it, and in which it is developed and divinely enlarged, and

which guards it from the vain imaginings of seducers. But

there is a living power with this knowledge-a divine power

in that which God is to believers-as He is revealed in this

knowledge to faith; and this divine power has given to

us all that pertains to life and godliness. By the realizing

knowledge which we possess of Him who has called us, this

divine power becomes available and ecacious for all that

appertains to<P368> life and godliness-“the knowledge of

him who hath called us by glory and by virtue.”

God’s call to pursue glory; gaining the victory through

spiritual courage

us we have here the call of God to pursue glory as our

object, gaining the victory by virtue-spiritual courage-over

all the enemies that we nd in our path. It is not a law given

to a people already gathered together, but glory proposed

in order to be reached by spiritual energy. Moreover, we

have divine power acting according to its own ecacy, for

the life of God in us, and for godliness.

How precious it is to know that faith can use this divine

power, realized in the life of the soul, directing it towards

glory as its end! What a safeguard from the eorts of the

enemy, if we are really established in the consciousness of

this divine power acting on our behalf in grace! e heart

is led to make glory its object; and virtue, the strength of

Darby Synopsis

518

spiritual life, is developed on the way to it. Divine power

has given us all needed.

Partakers of the divine nature through great and

precious promises divinely revealed

Now, in connection with these two things-namely, with

glory and with the energy of life-very great and precious

promises are given us; for all the promises in Christ are

developed either in the glory or in the life which leads to it.

By means of these promises, we are made partakers of the

divine nature; for this divine power, which is realized in life

and godliness, is connected with these great and precious

promises that relate either to the glory, or to virtue in the

life that leads to it-that is to say, it is divine power which

develops itself, in realizing the glory and heavenly walk

which characterize it in its own nature. We are thus made

morally partakers of the divine nature, by divine power

acting in us and xing the soul on what is divinely revealed.

Precious truth! Privilege so exalted! and which renders us

capable of enjoying God Himself, as well as all good.

Deliverance from the corruption that is in the world

By the same action of this divine power, we escape the

corruption that is in the world through lust; for the divine

power delivers<P369> us from it. Not only do we not yield

to it, but we are occupied elsewhere, and the action of the

enemy upon the esh is kept o; the desires from which

one could not cleanse oneself are removed; the corrupt

relationship of the heart with its object ceases. It is a real

deliverance; we have the mastery over ourselves in this

respect; we are set free from sin.

e necessity of adding to faith, virtue- the moral

courage of self-government; the true knowledge of God

can then be added to guide our walk

2Peter 1

519

But it is not enough to have escaped by faith from even

the inward dominion of the desires of the esh; we must

add to faith- to that faith which realizes divine power, and

the glory of Christ that shall be revealed-we must add to

faith, virtue. is is the rst thing. It is, as we have said, the

moral courage which overcomes diculties and governs the

heart by curbing all action of the old nature. It is an energy

by which the heart is master of itself and is able to choose

the good and to cast aside the evil, as a thing conquered

and unworthy of oneself. is indeed is grace; but the

Apostle is here speaking of the thing itself, as it is realized

in the heart, and not of its source. I have said that this is

the rst thing; because, practically, this self-government-

this virtue, this moral energy-is deliverance from evil and

renders communion with God possible. It is the one thing

which gives reality to all the rest, for without virtue we

are not really with God. Can divine power develop itself

in the laxity of the esh? And if we are not really with

God-if the new nature is not acting- knowledge is but the

pung up of the esh; patience but a natural quality, or

else hypocrisy; and so on with the rest. But where there

is this virtue, it is very precious to add knowledge to it.

We have then divine wisdom and intelligence to guide our

walk: the heart is enlarged, sanctied, spiritually developed,

by a more complete and profound acquaintance with

God, who acts in the heart and is reected in the walk.

We are guarded from more errors-we are more humble,

more sober-minded: we know better where our treasure is,

and what it is, and that everything else is but vanity and a

hindrance. It is, therefore, a true knowledge of God that is

here meant.<P370>

Other principles to be added and developed

Darby Synopsis

520

us walking in the knowledge of God, the esh,

the will, the desires, are bridled; all their practical power

diminishes, and they disappear as habits of the soul; they

are not fed. We are moderate; there is self-restraint; we

do not give way to our desires; temperance is added to

knowledge. e Apostle is not speaking of the walk, but of

the state of the heart in the walk. Still, being thus governed,

and the will bridled, one bears patiently with others; and

the circumstances that must be passed through are, in all

respects, borne according to the will of God, be they what

they may. We add patience to temperance. e heart, the

spiritual life, is then free to enjoy its true objects-a principle

of deep importance in the Christian life. When the esh is

at work in one way or another (even if its action is purely

inward), if there is anything whatever that the conscience

ought to be exercised about, the soul cannot be in the

enjoyment of communion with God in the light, because

the eect of the light is then to bring the conscience into

exercise. But when the conscience has nothing that is not

already judged in the light, the new man is in action with

regard to God, whether in realizing the joy of His presence

or in glorifying Him in a life characterized by godliness.

We enjoy communion with God; we walk with God; we

add to patience godliness.

e heart being thus in communion with God, aection

ows out freely towards those who are dear to Him, and

who, sharing the same nature, necessarily draw out the

aections of the spiritual heart: brotherly love is developed.

Charity, divine love, distinguished from brotherly

love

ere is another principle, which crowns and governs

and gives character to all others: it is charity, love properly

2Peter 1

521

so called. is, in its root, is the nature of God Himself, the

source and perfection of every other quality that adorns

Christian life. e distinction between love and brotherly

love is of deep importance; the former is indeed, as we

have just said, the source whence the latter ows; but as

this brotherly love exists in mortal men, it may be mingled

in its exercise with sentiments that are merely human,

with individual aection, with the eect of personal

attractions, or that of habit, of suitability in natural

character. Nothing is sweeter than brotherly aections;

their maintenance<P371> is of the highest importance in

the assembly; but they may degenerate, as they may grow

cool; and if love, if God, does not hold the chief place, they

may displace Him-set Him aside-shut Him out. Divine

love, which is the very nature of God, directs, rules and

gives character to brotherly love; otherwise, it is that which

pleases us-that is, our own heart-that governs us. If divine

love governs me, I love all my brethren; I love them because

they belong to Christ; there is no partiality. I shall have

greater enjoyment in a spiritual brother; but I shall occupy

myself about my weak brother with a love that rises above

his weakness and has tender consideration for it. I shall

concern myself with my brother’s sin, from love to God,

in order to restore my brother, rebuking him, if needful;

nor, if divine love be in exercise, can brotherly love, or its

name, be associated with disobedience. In a word, God will

have His place in all my relationships. To exact brotherly

love in such a manner as to shut out the requirements of

that which God is, and of His claims upon us, is to shut

out God in the most plausible way, in order to gratify our

own hearts. Divine love, then, which acts according to the

nature, character and will of God, is that which ought to

Darby Synopsis

522

direct and characterize our whole Christian walk and have

authority over every movement of our hearts. Without this,

all that brotherly love can do is to substitute man for God.

Divine love is the bond of perfectness, for it is God, who

is love, working in us and making Himself the governing

object of all that passes in the heart.

e consequences of having or lacking these things

Now, if these things are in us, the knowledge of Jesus will

not be barren in our hearts. But if, on the contrary, they are

wanting, we are blind; we cannot see far into the things of

God: our view is contracted; it is limited by the narrowness

of a heart governed by its own will and turned aside by

its own lusts. We forget that we have been cleansed from

our old sins; we lose sight of the position Christianity has

given us. is state of things is not the loss of assurance,

but the forgetfulness of the true Christian profession into

which we are brought-purity in contrast with the ways of

the world.<P372>

An abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom

dependent on the believer’s conduct

erefore we ought to use diligence, in order to have

the consciousness of our election fresh and strong, so as to

walk in spiritual liberty. us doing, we shall not stumble;

and thus an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom

will be our portion. Here, as throughout, we see that the

Apostle’s mind is occupied with the government of God,

applying it to His dealing with believers, in reference to

their conduct and its practical consequences. He is not

speaking in an absolute way of pardon and salvation, but of

the kingdom-of the manifestation of His power who judges

righteously-whose scepter is a scepter of righteousness.

Walking in the ways of God, we have part in that kingdom,

2Peter 1

523

entering into it with assurance, without diculty, without

that hesitation of soul which is experienced by those who

grieve the Holy Spirit, and get a bad conscience, and allow

themselves in things that do not accord with the character

of the kingdom, or who show by their negligence that their

heart is not in it. If, on the contrary, the heart cleaves to the

kingdom, and our ways are suitable to it, our conscience

is in unison with its glory. e way is open before us:

we see into the distance, and we go forward, having no

impediments in our way. Nothing turns us aside as we walk

in the path that leads to the kingdom, occupied with things

suitable to it. God has no controversy with one who walks

thus. e entrance into the kingdom is widely opened to

him according to the ways of God in government.

e purpose of the Apostle’s letter

e Apostle desires, therefore, to remind them of these

things, although they knew them, purposing, so long as he

was in his earthly tabernacle, to stir up their pure hearts to

keep them in remembrance; for soon would he have laid

aside his earthly vessel, as the Lord had told him, and by

thus writing to them, he took care that they should always

bear them in mind.

It is very plain that he was not expecting other apostles

to be raised up, nor an ecclesiastical succession to take their

place as guardians of the faith, or as possessing sucient

authority to be a foundation for the faith of believers. He

was to provide for this himself, in order that, on his removal,

they might nd something<P373> on his part that would

remind the faithful of the instructions he had given them.

For this purpose he wrote his epistle.

Peter’s testimony to the Lord’s glory as an eyewitness

of His majesty; the Father’s testimony

Darby Synopsis

524

e divine importance and certainty of that which he

taught were worthy of this labor. We have not, says the

Apostle, followed cunningly devised fables when we made

known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus

Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

e Apostle is speaking, as his words plainly show, of

the transguration. I notice it here, in order to mark more

evidently that in his thoughts of the Lord’s coming he does

not go beyond His appearing in glory. For the moment

He was hidden from those who trusted in Him: this was

a great trial of their faith, for the Jews were accustomed,

as we know, to look for a visible and glorious Messiah. To

believe without seeing was the lesson they had to learn;

and it was a magnicent support to their faith, this fact,

that the Apostle, who taught them, had, with his two

companions, seen, with their own eyes, the glory of Christ

manifested-had seen it displayed before them, together

with that of former saints who share His kingdom. At that

time Jesus received, in testimony from God the Father,

honor and glory; a voice addressing Him from the excellent

glory-from the cloud, which was to a Jew the well-known

dwelling-place of Jehovah, the Most High God-owning

Him as His well-beloved Son; a voice which the three

apostles also heard (even as they saw His glory), when they

were with Him on the holy mount.1

(1. In Luke 9 the higher part of the blessing is brought

before us. ey feared when they entered into the cloud.

God had talked with Moses from the cloud face to face, but

here they enter into it. e heavenly and eternal character,

what is perpetual as moral, is much more brought out in

Luke.)

2Peter 1

525

e transguration: showing the heavenly glory of the

kingdom to be manifested to the world and conrming

the words of the prophets

We see that it is here the glory of the kingdom, and

not the dwelling in the Father’s house forever with the

Lord, which occupies the Apostle. It is a manifestation to

men living on the earth; it is the power of the Lord, the

glory which He receives from God<P374> the Father as

the Messiah, acknowledged to be His Son, and crowned

with glory and honor before the eyes of the world. It is into

the everlasting kingdom that the Apostle wishes them to

have an enlarged entrance. It is the power and glory that

Christ received from God, which the Apostle saw, and

to which he bears testimony. We shall indeed have this

glory, but it is not our portion, properly so called: for this

is within the house, to be the bride of the Lamb, and it

does not display itself to the world. With regard, however,

to the assembly the two things cannot be separated; if we

are the bride, we shall assuredly participate in the glory of

the kingdom.1 To the Jew, who was accustomed to look

for this glory (whatever might be his idea respecting it),

the fact of the Apostle’s having seen it was of inestimable

importance. It was the heavenly glory of the kingdom, as it

shall be manifested to the world; a glory that shall be seen

when the Lord returns in power (compare Mark 9:1). It

is a communicated glory which comes from the excellent

glory. Moreover, the testimony of the prophets relates to

the manifested glory; they spoke of the kingdom and glory,

and the brightness of the transguration was a splendid

conrmation of their words. We have, says the Apostle, the

words of the prophets conrmed. ose words proclaimed,

indeed, the glory of the kingdom which was to come, and

Darby Synopsis

526

the judgment of the world, which was to make way for

its establishment on earth. is announcement was a light

in the darkness of our world, truly a dark place, that had

no other light than the testimony which God had given,

through the prophets, of that which shall happen to it, and

of the future kingdom whose light shall nally dispel the

darkness of separation from God in which the world lies.

Prophecy was a light that shone during the darkness of the

night; but there was another light for those that watched.

(1. Compare Luke 12, where the joy within the house

is connected with watching; the inheritance with service.)

e prophetic Word as a light in the night; the Sun of

Righteousness; the dawn of day and the Morning Star

For the remnant of the Jews, the Sun of Righteousness

should rise with healing in His wings; the wicked should

be trodden as ashes under the feet of the righteous. e

Christian, instructed in<P375> his own privileges, knows

the Lord in a dierent way from this, although he believes

in those solemn truths. He watches during the night,

which is already far spent. He sees in his heart, by faith,1

the dawn of day, and the rising of the bright star of the

morning. He knows the Lord as they know Him who

believe in Him before He is manifested, as coming for

the pure heavenly joy of His own before the brightness

of the day shines forth. ey who watch see the dawn of

day; they see the morning star. us we have our portion

in Christ not only in the day, and as the prophets spoke of

Him, which all relates to the earth, although the blessing

comes from on high; we have the secret of Christ and of

our union with Him, and of His coming to receive us to

Himself as the morning star, before the day comes. We are

His during the night; we shall be with Him in the truth

2Peter 1

527

of that heavenly bond which unites us to Him, as set apart

for Himself while the world does not see Him. We shall be

gathered to Him, before the world sees Him, that we may

enjoy Himself, and in order that the world may see us with

Him when He appears.

(1. is is the construction of the sentence: “We have

also the prophetic word conrmed, in giving heed to which

ye do well (as to a light shining in a dark place), until the

day shall dawn, and the morning star arise, in your hearts.”)

e bright Morning Star: the assembly’s proper

portion

e joy of our portion is that we shall be with Himself,

“forever with the Lord.” Prophecy enlightens the Christian

and separates him from the world, by testimony to its

judgment, and the glory of the coming kingdom. e

testimony of the Spirit to the assembly does this, by the

attraction of Christ Himself, the bright Morning Star-our

portion while the world is still buried in sleep.

e bright Morning Star is Christ Himself, when

(before the day, which will be produced by His appearing)

He is ready to receive the assembly, that she may enter

into His own peculiar joy. us it is said, “I am the bright

and morning star” (Rev. 22:16). is is what He is for the

assembly, as He is the root and ospring of David for

Israel. Consequently, as soon as He says, “e morning

star,” the Spirit, who dwells in the assembly and inspires

her thoughts, and the bride, the assembly itself which waits

for her Lord, say, “Come!” us, in Revelation 2:28, the

faithful in yatira are promised by the Lord that He will

give<P376> them the morning star; that is to say, joy with

Himself in heaven. e kingdom and the power had been

already promised them according to Christ’s own rights

Darby Synopsis

528

(vss. 26-27); but the assembly’s proper portion is Christ

Himself. In addition to the declaration of the prophets,

with regard to the kingdom, it is thus that the assembly

expects Him.

e prophecies of Scripture as parts of one whole,

directed by the Holy Spirit who moved holy men to write

them

e Apostle goes on to warn the faithful that the

prophecies of Scripture were not like the utterances of

human will, and were not to be interpreted as though each

had a separate solution-as though every prophecy were

sucient to itself for the explanation of its full meaning.

ey were all parts of one whole, having one and the

same object, even the kingdom of God; and each event

was a preliminary step towards this object, and a link in

the chain of God’s government which led to it, impossible

to be explained, unless the aim of the whole were

apprehended-the revealed aim of the counsels of God in

the glory of His Christ. For holy men, moved by the Holy

Spirit, pronounced these oracles, one and the same Spirit

directing and co-ordaining the whole for the development

of the ways of God to the eye of faith, ways which would

terminate in the establishment of that kingdom, the glory

of which had appeared at the transguration.

Summary of chapter 1

us we have here (ch. 1) these three things: First,

divine power for all that appertains to life and godliness, a

declaration of innite value, the pledge of our true liberty.

Divine power acts in us, it gives to us all needed to enable

us to walk in the Christian life.

Second, there is the government of God, in connection

with the faithfulness of the believer, in order that a wide

2Peter 1

529

and abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom may

be granted us, and that we may not stumble. e great result

of this government will be manifested in the establishment

of the kingdom, the glory of which was seen on the holy

mount by the three apostles.

But, third, for the Christian there was something

better than the kingdom, something to which the Apostle

merely alludes, for it was not the special subject of the

communications of the Holy<P377> Spirit to him as it was

to the Apostle Paul, namely, Christ taking the assembly to

Himself, a point not found either in the promises or the

prophecies, but which forms the precious and inestimable

joy and hope of the Christian taught of God.

Darby Synopsis

530

73318

2Peter 2

e two forms of evil characterizing the last days:

false and corrupt teaching of bad men and unbelief

is rst chapter has thus taught us the divine aspect

of the Christian position, given to the Apostle for the

instruction, in the last days, of believers from among the

circumcision. e next two chapters set before us, on the

other hand, the two forms of evil that characterize the last

days-the false and corrupt teaching of bad men, and the

unbelief which denies the return of the Lord on the ground

of the stability of the visible creation. e former really

denies the Master who bought them. It is no question here

as to the title of the Lord, nor of redemption. e simile is of

a master who has purchased slaves at the market, and they

disown and refuse to obey him. us among the converted

Jews there would be false teachers, who disowned the

authority of Christ-His rights over them. Many would be

led away by them; and as they bore the name of Christians,

the way of truth would be brought into disrepute by their

means; while, in fact, by their covetousness and hypocritical

words, they would make merchandise of Christians for

their private gain, count them as mere instruments of it.

But the resource of faith is always in God. Judgment would

overtake them. e examples of the fallen angels, of Noah

and the deluge, of Lot and Sodom, proved that the Lord

knew how to deliver the righteous out of their trials and to

reserve the unrighteous for the day of judgment.

Corrupt evildoers, nominal Christians, among God’s

people; their judgment

2Peter 2

531

at which would characterize this class of evildoers

would be the unbridled license of their conduct. ey

would indulge their carnal lusts and despise all authority

in a way that angels would not dare to do. Still they would

call themselves Christians and associate with Christians

in their love-feasts, deceiving their own<P378> hearts,

addicting themselves continually to evil, promising liberty

to others, but themselves the slaves of corruption.

Now, to be thus reentangled in evil, after having escaped

it through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, was

worse than if they had never known anything of the way

of truth. But it was according to the true proverb-the dog

had returned to his own vomit, and the sow that had been

washed to her wallowing in the mire. ey were apostates,

therefore; but here the Spirit of God does not so much

point out the apostasy as the evil, because the government

of God is still in view. In Jude the apostasy is the prominent

thing. Peter tells us that the angels sinned; Jude, that they

kept not their rst estate. But God will judge the wicked.

Darby Synopsis

532

73319

2Peter 3

Trust in the stability of what is seen and unbelief in

God’s Word; willful ignorance of the past; warning of

the sure future

In the last chapter, as we have said, it is materialism:

trust in the stability of that which can be seen, in contrast

with trust in the Word of God which teaches us to look

for the coming of Jesus, the return of the Lord. ey

judge by their senses. ere is, say they, no appearance of

change. is is not the case. To the eye of man it is indeed

true that there is none. But these unbelievers are willfully

ignorant of the fact that the world has been already judged

once; that the waters, out of which by the mighty word of

God the earth came, had for the moment swallowed it up

again, all perishing except those whom God preserved in

the ark. And by the same word the present heavens and

earth are reserved for the day of judgment and perdition

of ungodly men. It is not that the Lord is slack concerning

the promise of His return, but that He is still exercising

grace, not wishing any to perish, but that all should come to

repentance. And a thousand years are to Him but as a day,

and a day as a thousand years. But the day of the Lord shall

come, in which all things will pass away, and the elements

shall melt with fervent heat, and all that is on the earth

will be consumed. Solemn consideration for the children

of God, to maintain them in complete separation from evil,

and from all that is seen, looking for and hastening the

day in which the heavens<P379> shall be dissolved, and

the elements shall melt with fervent heat! Everything on

2Peter 3

533

which the hopes of the esh are founded shall disappear

forever.

e eternal state: new heavens and a new earth;

dissolution of the elements necessary for the renewal of

all things

Nevertheless, there shall be new heavens and a new

earth, in which righteousness shall dwell. It is not here

said, “Shall reign,” which would be the thousand years of

the Lord’s dominion; here it is the eternal state, in which

the government, that has brought all things into order, will

terminate, and unhindered blessing will ow from God,

the kingdom being given up to God the Father.

It is in following out the ways of God in government that

the Apostle carries them on to the eternal state, in which

the promise will be nally accomplished. e millennium

itself was the restitution, of which the prophets had spoken;

and, morally, the heavens and the earth had been changed

by the imprisonment of Satan and the reign of Christ (see

Isaiah 65:17-18, Jerusalem having been made a rejoicing);

and the heavens indeed entirely cleared by power, never

to be deled by Satan again, the saints on high, too, in

their eternal state, the earth delivered, but not yet nally

freed. But, materially, the dissolution of the elements was

necessary for the renewal of all things.

e day of God in contrast with the trust of unbelievers

It will be observed that the Spirit does not speak here

of the coming of Christ, except to say that it will be scoed

at in the last days. He speaks of the day of God, in contrast

with the trust of unbelievers in the stability of the material

things of creation, which depends, as the Apostle shows,

on the Word of God. And in that day everything on which

unbelievers rested and will rest shall be dissolved and pass

Darby Synopsis

534

away. is will not be at the commencement of the day,

but at its close; and here we are free to reckon this day,

according to the Apostle’s word, as a thousand years, or

whatever length of period the Lord shall see t.

e reason for God’s apparent delay

So solemn a dissolution of all that the esh rests upon

should lead us so to walk as to be found of the Lord, when

He comes to<P380> introduce that day, in peace and

blameless; accounting that the apparent delay is only the

Lord’s grace, exercised for the salvation of souls. We may

well wait, if God makes use of this time to rescue souls

from judgment, by bringing them to the knowledge of

Himself and saving them with an everlasting salvation.

is, the Apostle says, had been taught by Paul, who wrote

to them (the Hebrew believers) of these things, as he did

also in his other epistles.

Peter’s testimony to Paul’s epistles

It is interesting to see that Peter, who had been openly

rebuked before all by Paul, introduces him here with

entire aection. He notices that Paul’s epistles contained

an exalted doctrine, which they who were unstable, and

not taught of God, perverted. For Peter, in fact, does not

follow Paul in the eld on which the latter had entered.

is, however, does not prevent his speaking of Paul’s

writings as forming a part of the Scriptures; “as also the

other scriptures,” he says. is is an important testimony;

which, moreover, gives the same character to the writings

of one who is able to bestow this title on the writings of

another.

Peter’s nal exhortation

Let Christians, then, be watchful and not allow

themselves to be seduced by the errors of the wicked, but

2Peter 3

535

strive to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord

and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and

forever. Amen!<P381>

Darby Synopsis

536

73320

1John

e peculiar character of John’s rst epistle

e First Epistle of John has a peculiar character. It is

eternal life manifested in Jesus and imparted to us-the life

which was with the Father and which is in the Son. It is in

this life that believers enjoy the communion of the Father,

that they are in relationship with the Father by the Spirit

of adoption, and that they have fellowship with the Father

and the Son. God’s own character is that which tests it;

because it proceeds from Himself.

e rst chapter establishes these two latter points:

namely, communion with the Father and the Son, and

that this communion must be according to the essential

character of God. e name of Father is that which gives

character to the second chapter. Afterwards, it is that which

God is, which tests the reality of imparted life.

What characterizes Paul’s epistles and this of John

e epistles of Paul, although speaking of this life are in

general, occupied with setting before Christians the truth

respecting the means of standing in the presence of God

justied and accepted. e epistle of John, that is to say,

his rst, shows us the life that comes from God by Jesus

Christ. John sets God before us, the Father revealed in

the Son, and eternal life in Him. Paul sets us before God

accepted in Christ. I speak of what characterizes them.

Each respectively touches on the other point.

Eternal life manifested in the Person of Jesus that of

the Christian

1John

537

Now, this life is so precious, manifested as it is in the

Person of Jesus, that the epistle now before us has, in this

respect, quite a peculiar charm. When I, too, turn my

eyes to Jesus, when I contemplate all His obedience, His

purity, His grace, His tenderness,<P382> His patience, His

devotedness, His holiness, His love, His entire freedom

from all self-seeking, I can say, at is my life.

is is immeasurable grace. It may be that it is obscured

in me; but it is nonetheless true that that is my life. Oh

how do I enjoy it thus seen! How I bless God for it! What

rest to the soul! What pure joy to the heart! At the same

time Jesus Himself is the object of my aections; and all

my aections are formed on that holy object.1

(1. And this is morally very important; while it is in

Him, not in myself, that I rejoice and delight.)

Darby Synopsis

538

73321

1John 1

e Person of the Son, the eternal life manifested in

the esh

But we must turn to our epistle. ere were many

pretensions to new light, to clearer views. It was said that

Christianity was very good as an elementary thing; but

that it was grown old, and that there was a new light which

went far beyond that twilight truth.

e Person of our Lord, the true manifestation of the

divine life itself, dissipated all those proud pretensions,

those exaltations of the human mind under the inuence

of the enemy, which did but obscure the truth and lead

the mind of men back into the darkness whence they

themselves proceeded.

at which was from the beginning (of Christianity, that

is, in the Person of Christ), that which they had heard, had

seen with their own eyes, had contemplated, had touched

with their own hands, of the Word of life-that was it

which the Apostle declared. For the life itself had been

manifested. at life which was with the Father had been

manifested to the disciples. Could there be anything more

perfect, more excellent, any development more admirable

in the eyes of God, than Christ Himself, than that Life

which was with the Father, manifested in all its perfection

in the Person of the Son? As soon as the Person of the Son

is the object of our faith, we feel that perfection must have

been at the beginning.

e Person, then, of the Son, the eternal life manifested

in the esh, is our subject in this epistle.<P383>

1John 1

539

e conditional promise of the law and life coming in

grace; the Saviour presented rst before God’s character

is revealed

Grace is, consequently, to be remarked here in that

which regards life; while Paul presents it in connection with

justication. e law promised life upon obedience; but life

came in the Person of Jesus, in all its own divine perfection,

in its human manifestations. Oh how precious is the truth

that this life, such as it was with the Father, such as it was

in Jesus, is given to us! In what relationships it sets us, by

the power of the Holy Spirit, with the Father and with the

Son Himself! And this is what the Spirit here rst sets

before us. And observe how it is all grace here. Further

on, indeed, He tests all pretensions to the possession of

fellowship with God by displaying God’s own character;

a character from which He can never deviate. But, before

entering on this, He presents the Saviour Himself, and

communion with the Father and the Son by this means,

without question and without modication. is is our

position and our eternal joy.

Life not known without knowing the Son; communion

with Him

e Apostle had seen that life, had touched it with his

own hands; and he wrote to others, proclaiming this, in

order that they also should have communion with him in

the knowledge of the life which had been thus manifested.1

Now, inasmuch as that life was the Son, it could not be

known without knowing the Son; that is, that which He

was, entering into His thoughts, His feelings: otherwise,

He is not really known. It was thus they had communion

with Him-with the Son. Precious fact! To enter into the

thoughts (all the thoughts), and into the feelings, of the

Darby Synopsis

540

Son of God come down in grace: to do this in fellowship

with Him; that is to say, not only knowing them, but

sharing these thoughts and feelings with Him. In eect, it

is the life.<P384>

(1. e life has been manifested. erefore we have no

longer to seek for it, to grope after it in the darkness, to

explore at random the indenite, or the obscurity of our

own hearts, in order to nd it, to labor fruitlessly under the

law, in order to obtain it. We behold it: it is revealed, it is

here, in Jesus Christ. He who possesses Christ possesses

that life.)

Communion with the Son entailing communion and

fellowship with the Father

But we cannot have the Son without having the

Father. He who had seen Him had seen the Father; and,

consequently, he who had communion with the Son

had communion with the Father; for their thoughts and

feelings were all one. He is in the Father, and the Father in

Him. We have fellowship, therefore, with the Father. And

this is true also when we look at it in another aspect. We

know that the Father has entire delight in the Son. Now

He has given us, by revealing the Son, to take our delight

in Him also, feeble as we are. I know, when I am delighting

in Jesus-in His obedience, His love to His Father, to us,

His single eye and purely devoted heart-I have the same

feelings, the same thoughts, as the Father Himself. In that

the Father delights, cannot but delight, in Him in whom I

now delight, I have communion with the Father. So with

the Son in the knowledge of the Father. All this ows,

whether in the one or the other point of view, from the

Person of the Son. Herein our joy is full. What can we have

more than the Father and the Son? What more perfect

1John 1

541

happiness than community of thoughts, feelings, joys and

communion with the Father and the Son, deriving all our

joy from themselves? And if it seems dicult to believe,

let us remember that, in truth, it cannot be otherwise:

for, in the life of Christ, the Holy Spirit is the source of

my thoughts, feelings, communion, and He cannot give

thoughts dierent from those of the Father and the Son.

ey must be in their nature the same. To say that they are

adoring thoughts is in the very nature of things, and only

makes them more precious. To say that they are feeble and

often hindered, while the Father and the Son are divine

and perfect, is, if true, to say the Father and the Son are

God, are divine, and we feeble creatures. at surely none

will deny. But if the blessed Spirit be the source, they must

be the same as to nature and fact.

is is our Christian position, then, here below in time,

through the knowledge of the Son of God; as the Apostle

says, “ese things write we unto you, that your joy may be

full.”<P385>

e only begotten making God known; the revelation

of His nature as light, excluding all that is not itself

But He who was the life which came from the Father

has brought us the knowledge of God.1e Apostle had

heard from His lips that which God was-knowledge of

priceless value, but which searches the heart. And this also

the Apostle, on the Lord’s part, announces to believers.

is then is the message which they had heard from Him,

namely, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness. With

regard to Christ, He spoke that which He knew, and bore

testimony to that which He had seen. No one had been

in heaven, save He who came down from thence. No one

had seen God. e only begotten, who is in the bosom of

Darby Synopsis

542

the Father, He had declared Him. No one had seen the

Father, save He who was of God; He had seen the Father.

us He could, of His own and perfect knowledge, reveal

Him.2 Now God was light, perfect purity, which makes

manifest at the same time all that is pure, and all that is

not so. To have communion with light, one must oneself be

light, be of its nature, and t to be seen in the perfect light.

It can only be linked with that which is of itself. If there is

anything else that mingles with it, light is no longer light.

It is absolute in its nature, so as to exclude all that is not

itself.

(1. It will be found that, when grace to us is spoken of

in John’s writings, he speaks of the Father and the Son;

when the nature of God or our responsibility, he says God.

John 3 and 1John 4 may seem exceptions, but are not. It is

what God is as such, not personal action and relationship

in grace.)

(2. He who had seen Him had seen the Father; but here

the Apostle speaks of a message and the revelation of His

nature.)

erefore, if we say that we have fellowship with Him

and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice truth: our

life is a perpetual lie.

Walking in the light

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we

(believers) have communion with one another, and the

blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. ese are the

great principles, the great features of Christian position.

We are in the presence of God without a veil. It is a real

thing, a matter of life and of walk. It is not the same thing

as walking according to the light; but it is in the light.

at is to say, that this walk is before the eyes of God,

1John 1

543

<P386>enlightened by the full revelation of what He is. It

is not that there is no sin in us; but, walking in the light,

the will and the conscience being in the light as God is in

it, everything is judged that does not answer to it. We live

and walk morally in the sense that God is present, and as

knowing Him. We walk thus in the light. e moral rule

of our will is God Himself, God known. e thoughts that

sway the heart come from Himself and are formed upon

the revelation of Himself. e Apostle puts these things

always in an abstract way: thus he says, “He cannot sin,

because he is born of God”; and that maintains the moral

rule of this life; it is its nature; it is the truth, inasmuch as

the man is born of God. We cannot have any other measure

of it: any other would be false. It does not follow, alas! that

we are always consistent; but we are inconsistent if we are

not in this state; we are not walking according to the nature

that we possess; we are out of our true condition according

to that nature.

Believers having communion with one another in the

light

Moreover, walking in the light, as God is in the light,

believers have communion with each other. e world is

selsh. e esh, the passions, seek their own gratication;

but, if I walk in the light, self has no place there. I can enjoy

the light, and all I seek in it, with another, and there is no

jealousy. If another possesses a carnal thing, I am deprived

of it. In the light we have fellow-possession of that which

He gives us, and we enjoy it the more by sharing it together.

is is a touchstone to all that is of the esh. As much as

one is in the light, so much will we have fellow-enjoyment

with another who is in it. e Apostle, as we have said,

states this in an abstract and absolute way. is is the truest

Darby Synopsis

544

way to know the thing itself. e rest is only a question of

realization.

Cleansed from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ; the

Christian’s need of it; its ecacy and value

In the third place, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son

cleanses us from all sin.

To walk in the light as God is in it, to have fellowship

with one another, to be cleansed from all sin by the blood;

these are the three parts of Christian position. We feel the

need there is of the last; for, while walking in the light as

God is in the light, with<P387> (blessed be God) a perfect

revelation to us of Himself, with a nature that knows Him,

that is capable of seeing Him spiritually, as the eye is made

to appreciate light (for we participate in the divine nature),

we cannot say that we have no sin. e light itself would

contradict us. But we can say that the blood of Jesus Christ

cleanses us perfectly from all sin.1rough the Spirit we

enjoy the light together: it is the common joy of our hearts

before God, and well-pleasing to Him; a testimony to our

common participation in the divine nature which is love

also. And our conscience is no hindrance, because we know

the value of the blood. We have no conscience of sin upon

us before God, though we know it is in us; but we have

the conscience of being clean from it by the blood. But

the same light which shows us this prevents our saying (if

we are in it) that we have no sin in us; we should deceive

ourselves if we said so; and the truth would not be in us;

for if the truth were in us, if that revelation of the divine

nature, which is light, Christ our life, were in us, the sin

that is in us would be judged by the light itself. If it be not

judged, this light-the truth which speaks of things as they

are-is not in us.

1John 1

545

(1. It is not said “has” nor “will.” It does not refer to

time, but to its ecacy. As I might say such a medicine

cures the ague. It is its ecacy.)

Sin judged, confessed, forgiven and cleansed; the

three things opposed to the truth, to communion

If, on the other hand, we have even committed sin and

all, being judged according to the light, is confessed (so

that the will no longer takes part in it, the pride of that

will being broken down), He is faithful and just to forgive

us and to cleanse us from all iniquity. If we say that we

have not sinned1 (as a general truth), it shows not only

that the truth is not in us, but we make God a liar; His

Word is not in us, for He says that all have sinned. ere

are the three things: we lie; the truth is not in us; we make

God a liar.<P388> It is this fellowship with God in the

light which, in practical, daily Christian life, inseparably

connects forgiveness, and the present sense of it by faith,

and purity of heart.

(1. When speaking of sin, the Apostle speaks in the

present tense, “we have”: when speaking of sinning, he

speaks in the past. He does not take for granted we are

going on doing it. It has been a question whether the

Apostle speaks of rst coming to the Lord, or subsequent

failures. I answer, he speaks in an abstract and absolute

way: confession brings, through grace, forgiveness. If it

is our rst coming to God, it is forgiveness, it is in the

full and absolute sense. I am forgiven with God: He

remembers my sins no more. If it is subsequent failure,

honesty of heart always confesses, then it is forgiveness as

regards the government of God, and the present condition

and relationship of my soul with Him. But the Apostle, as

everywhere, speaks absolutely and of the principle.)

Darby Synopsis

546

us we see the Christian position (vs. 7); and then the

things which, in three dierent ways, are opposed to the

truth-to communion with God in life.

e Apostle wrote that which relates to the communion

with the Father and the Son, in order that their joy might

be full.

1John 2

547

73322

1John 2

e supposition that Christians may sin; the provision

of grace-the Advocate to restore communion

at which he wrote according to the revelation of the

nature of God, which he had received from Him who was

the life from heaven, was in order that they should not sin.

But to say this is to suppose that they might sin. Not that it

is necessary they should do so; for the presence of sin in the

esh by no means obliges us to walk after the esh. But if it

should take place, there is provision made by grace, in order

that grace may act, and that we may be neither condemned

nor brought again under the law.

We have an Advocate with the Father, One who carries

on our cause for us on high. Now this is not in order to

obtain righteousness, nor again to wash our sins away. All

that has been done. Divine righteousness has placed us in the

light, even as God Himself is in the light. But communion

is interrupted, if even levity of thought nds place in our

heart; for it is of the esh, and the esh has no communion

with God. When communion is interrupted, when we

have sinned (not when we have repented; for it is His

intercession that leads to repentance), Christ intercedes

for us. Righteousness is always present - our righteousness

- “Jesus Christ the righteous.” erefore, neither the

righteousness nor the value of the propitiation for sin

being changed, grace acts (one may say, acts necessarily)

in virtue of that righteousness, and of that blood which is

before God-acts, on the intercession of Christ who never

forgets us, in order to bring us back to communion by

Darby Synopsis

548

means of repentance. us, while yet on earth, before Peter

had committed the sin, He prayed for him; at the given

moment He looks on him, and Peter repents and weeps

bitterly for his oense.<P389> Afterwards the Lord does

all that is necessary to make Peter judge the root itself of

the sin; but all is grace.

It is the same in our case. Divine righteousness abides-

the immutable foundation of our relationships with God,

established on the blood of Christ. When communion,

which exists only in the light, is interrupted, the intercession

of Christ, available by virtue of His blood (for propitiation

for the sin has also been made), restores the soul that it

may still again enjoy communion with God according to

the light, into which righteousness has introduced it.1is

propitiation is made for the whole world, not for the Jews

only, nor to the exclusion of anyone at all; but for the whole

world, God in His moral nature having been fully gloried

by the death of Christ.

(1. Here the subject is communion, and hence actual

failure is spoken of; in the Hebrews, we have seen, it is

access to God and we are “perfected forever,” and priesthood

is for mercy and help, not for sins, save the great act of

atonement.)

e doctrine of the epistle and its experimental

application

ese three capital points-or, if you will, two capital

points, and the third, namely, advocacy, which is

supplementary-form the introduction, the doctrine of the

epistle. All the rest is an experimental application of that

which this part contains: namely, rst (life being given),

communion with the Father and the Son; second, the

nature of God, light, which manifests the falsehood of

1John 2

549

all pretension to communion with the light, if the walk

be in darkness; and third, seeing that sin is in us and that

we may fail although we are cleansed before God so as

to enjoy the light, the advocacy which Jesus Christ the

righteous can always exercise before God, on the ground

of the righteousness which is ever in His presence, and the

blood which is shed for our sins, in order to restore our

communion, when we have lost it by our guilty negligence.

Sanctied unto the obedience of Jesus Christ; the two

forms of practical life: to obey and walk as He walked

e Spirit now proceeds to develop the characteristics

of this divine life.

Now we are sanctied unto the obedience of Jesus

Christ, that is to say, to obey on the same principles as those

on which He<P390> obeyed; where His Father’s will was

the motive as well as the rule of action. It is the obedience

of a life to which it was meat and drink to do the will of

God: not as under the law, in order to obtain life. e life of

Jesus Christ was a life of obedience, in which He enjoyed

the love of His Father perfectly, tested in all things and

so proved perfect. His words, His commandments, were

the expression of that life; they direct that life in us, and

ought to exercise all the authority over us of Him who

pronounced them.

e law promised life to those who obeyed it. Christ

is the life. is life has been imparted to us-to believers.

erefore, the words which were the expression of that life,

in its perfection in Jesus, direct and guide it in us according

to that perfection. Besides this, it has authority over us. His

commandments are its expression. We have, therefore, to

obey, and to walk as He walked- the two forms of practical

life. It is not enough to walk well: we must obey, for there

Darby Synopsis

550

is authority. is is the essential principle of a right walk.

On the other hand, the obedience of the Christian- as is

evident by that of Christ Himself-is not that which we

often think. We call a child obedient, who, having a will

of his own, submits himself at once when the authority of

the parent intervenes to prevent his accomplishing it. But

Christ never obeyed in this way. He came to do the will of

God. Obedience was His mode of being. His Father’s will

was the motive, and, with the love that was never separate

from it, the only motive of His every act and every impulse.

is is obedience properly called Christian. It is a new life

which delights in doing the will of Christ, acknowledging

His entire authority over it. We reckon ourselves to be

dead to everything else; we are alive unto God, we are not

our own. We only know Christ inasmuch as we are living

by His life; for the esh does not know Him and cannot

understand His life.

True obedience

Now, that life is obedience: therefore, he who says, “I

know him,” and does not observe His commandments is

a liar, and the truth is not in him. It does not say here,

“He deceives himself,” for it is very possible that he is not

self-deceived, as in the other case of fancied communion;

for here the will is in action, and a man knows it, if he will

confess it. But the reality is not there; he is a liar, and the

truth in the knowledge of Jesus, which he professes, is not

in him.<P391>

e Apostle’s statement of things in an abstract way,

reasoning from a great inward principle

ere are two remarks to be made here. First, that the

Apostle takes things always as they are in themselves in an

abstract way, without the modications that are occasioned

1John 2

551

by other things, in the midst of which, or in relation with

which, the former are found. Second, that the chain of

consequences which the Apostle deduces is not that of

outward reasoning, the force of which is consequently on

the surface of the argument itself. He reasons from a great

inward principle, so that one does not see the force of the

argument unless one knows the fact, and even the scope,

of that principle; and, in particular, that which the life of

God is in its nature, in its character and in its action. But,

without possessing it, we do not and cannot understand

anything about it. ere is, indeed, the authority of the

Apostle and of the Word to tell us that the thing is so,

and that is sucient. But the links of his discourse will

not be understood without the possession of the life which

interprets what he says, and which is itself interpreted by

that which he says.

“His word” and “His commandments”: the love of

God realized

I return to the text. “Whoso keepeth his word, in him

verily is the love of God perfected.” It is in this way that

we are conscious that we know Him. His “word” has

rather a wider sense than His “commandments.” at is

to say, while it equally implies obedience, the Word is less

outward. “Commandments” are here details of the divine

life. His “word” contains its whole expression-the spirit

of that life.1 It is universal and absolute. Now this life is

the<P392> divine life manifested in Jesus, and which is

imparted to us. Have we seen it in Christ? Do we doubt

that this is love; that the love of God has been manifested

in it? If then I keep His Word; if the scope and meaning

of the life which that Word expresses is thus understood

and realized, the love of God is perfect in me. e Apostle,

Darby Synopsis

552

as we have seen, always speaks abstractedly. If, in fact, at

any given moment I do not observe the Word, in that

point I do not realize His love; happy communion with

God is interrupted. But so far as I am moved and governed

absolutely by His Word, His love is completely realized in

me; for His Word expresses what He is, and I am keeping

it. is is the intelligent communion with His nature in

its fullness, a nature in which I participate; so that I know

that He is perfect love, I am lled with it, and this shows

itself in my ways: for that Word is the perfect expression

of Himself.1

(1. Fundamentally they are not dierent. is is

armed in verse 7: “e old commandment is the word

which ye have heard from the beginning.” One might say

with perfect truth that the commandment is the Word of

Christ; but I question if it could be said that the Word is

the commandment. And this makes one conscious of the

dierence. e contrast of verses 4 and 5 is remarkable,

and has its source in the possession, and the intelligent and

complete consciousness of the possession, of the divine life,

according to the Word, or its non-possession. He who says,

I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar,

and the truth is not in him; for this truth is only that which

the Word reveals. And if we live of the nature of which the

Word of Christ is the expression, and thus by the Word

know Him, we obey that Word. In another aspect, if we are

in possession of this life, partakers of the divine nature, the

love of God is in us; we have the commandments of Christ,

His Word, the perfect love of God, a walk according to the

walk of Christ, the communication of the life of Christ

so that the commandment is true in Him and in us, the

walk in the light, the love of our brother. How rich a chain

1John 2

553

of blessings! e pretensions here spoken of are-to know

Christ, to abide in Him, to be in the light. e proof that

the rst pretension is justied is obedience. en, if we

abide in Christ (which we know by keeping His Word), we

ought to walk as He walked. at the last pretension is a

true one is proved by love to our brother. In the second, the

walk is maintained at all the height of the walk of Christ, as

our duty: this walk is not presented as a proof that we abide

in Him, that we keep His Word. Observe that it is not said,

“We know that we believe”-this is not the question here;

but, “We know that we are in him.”

Let me add here that the Apostle never uses these

proofs, as they are so commonly used, to say, “Hereby we

doubt.” It is quite certain from verses 12-13 that he treats

them as all forgiven or he would not have written, and

as having the Spirit of adoption-even the youngest and

feeblest. Others sought to make them doubt; and he writes

that their hearts might be assured before God, that they

might not be seduced into doubting, as if they had not a full

Christ and a full Christianity-eternal life. It was the means

of keeping and holding fast assurance when they had it,

when they might have been shaken, not of obtaining it.

ey were forgiven, they were sons. When others would

make them doubt, he writes that they may be fully assured

that they have no reason to doubt.)

(1. is, I doubt not, is the true meaning of John 8:25.

“In the principle of my nature, in my being, that which I

am saying to you.” at which He said was essentially and

completely that which He was. at which He was is that

which He said. Now it is this life which is imparted to us;

but it was the love of God among men and in man. And

this life being our life, and the Word of Christ giving us

Darby Synopsis

554

the knowledge of it, and this Word being kept, His love is

realized in us in all its extent.)

Our walk the practical expression of our life- Christ

known in His Word, the expression of His life

Consequently, we know thus that we are in Him, for we

realize that which He is in the communion of His nature.

Now if we say<P393> that we abide in Him, it is evident,

from what we have now seen in the instruction the Apostle

gives us, that we ought to walk as He walked. Our walk is

the practical expression of our life; and this life is Christ

known in His Word. And since it is by His Word, we who

possess this life are under an intelligent responsibility to

follow it; that is to say, to walk as He walked. For that

Word is the expression of His life.

Obedience the proof that we are in Him; knowing

and enjoying the fact

Obedience, then, as obedience, is thus far the moral

characteristic of the life of Christ in us. But it is proof of

that which, in Christianity, is inseparable from the life of

Christ in us: we are in Him (compare John 14:29). We

know, not merely that we know Him, but that we are in

Him. e enjoyment of the perfect love of God in the path

of obedience gives us by the Holy Spirit the consciousness

that we are in Him. But if I am in Him, I cannot indeed

be what He was, for He was without sin; but I ought to

walk as He walked. us I know I am in Him. But if I

make profession to abide in Him, my heart and spirit to be

wholly there, I ought to walk as He walked. Obedience as

a principle, and through keeping His Word, and so the love

of God perfected in me, knowing that I am in Him, are the

formative principles and character of our life.

1John 2

555

e old commandment, the Word of Christ from the

beginning

In verses 7-8 the two forms of the rule of this life

are presented-forms which, moreover, answer to the two

principles which we have just announced. It is not a new

commandment which the Apostle writes unto them but

an old one; it is the Word of Christ from the beginning.

Were it not so, were it in this sense new, so much the

worse for him who set it forth, for it would no longer be

the expression of the perfect life of Christ Himself, but

some other thing, or a falsication of that which Christ

had set forth. is corresponds with the rst principle, that

is, obedience to commandments, to the commandments of

Christ. What He said was the expression of what He was.

He could command that they should love one another as

He had loved them. Compare the beatitudes.<P394>

e new commandment; the true light shining

In another sense, it was a new commandment; for (by

the power of the Spirit of Christ, being united to Him and

drawing our life from Him) the Spirit of God manifested

the eect of this life by revealing a gloried Christ in a

new way. And now it was not only a commandment, but as

the thing itself was true in Christ, it was so in His own as

partakers of His nature and in Him; He also in them.

By this revelation, and by the presence of the Holy

Spirit, the darkness disappeared,1 passed away, and, in

fact, the true light shone. ere will be no dierent light

in heaven: only then the light will be publicly displayed in

glory without a cloud.

(1. e force of the word is not “has disappeared, passed

away.” ere is much darkness yet in the world. As to the

light, it has actually shone.)

Darby Synopsis

556

e life as the light of men; love as one of the proofs of

the possession of the divine nature; abiding and walking

in the light

Verse 9. e life, as in John 1:4, is now found to be the

light of men, only the brighter for faith that Christ is gone,

for it is through the rent veil it shines most brightly. We

have had the pretension to know Him discussed-to be in

Him; now that of being in the light, and this before the

Spirit of God applies in detail the qualities of this life, as

a proof of its existence to the heart, in answer to seducers

who sought to terrify them by new notions, as though

Christians were not really in possession of life, and, with

life, of the Father and the Son. e true light now shines.

And this light is God; it is the divine nature; and, as that

which was a means of judging the seducers themselves, he

brings out another quality connected with our being in the

light, that is with God fully revealed. Christ was it in the

world. We are set to be it, in that we are born of God.

And one who has this nature loves his brother; for is not

God love? Has not Christ loved us, not being ashamed

to call us brethren? Can I have His life and His nature,

if I do not love the brethren? No. I am then walking in

darkness; I have no light on my path. He who loves his

brother dwells in the light; the nature of God acts in him;

and he dwells in the bright spiritual intelligence of that life,

in the presence and in the communion of God. If anyone

hates, it is evident that he has not <P395>divine light.

With feelings according to a nature opposed to God, how

can it be pretended that he is in the light?

Moreover, there is no occasion of stumbling in one

who loves, for he walks according to divine light. ere is

nothing in him which causes another to stumble, for the

1John 2

557

revelation of the nature of God in grace will assuredly not

do so: and it is this which is manifested in him who loves

his brother.1

(1. e reader may compare here, with much instruction,

what is said in Ephesians 4:17-5:12, where these two

names of God, the only ones used to reveal His nature, are

also used to show our path and the true character of the

Christian; only according to that which the Holy Spirit

gives by Paul-the counsels and work of God in Christ. In

John it is more the nature.)

Summary of chapters 1:1-2:11

is closes as an introductory statement the rst part

of the epistle. It contains in the former half, the privileged

place of Christians, the message giving us the truth of our

state here, and the provision for failure: that ends with

chapter 2:2; in the second half, the proofs the Christian

has of the true possession of the privilege according to the

message: obedience, and love of the brethren, knowing

Christ, being in Christ, enjoying the perfect love of God,

abiding in Him, being in the light, forming the condition

which is thus proved.

Christians personally addressed; the Apostle’s

aectionate name for all of them

Having established the two great principles, obedience

and love, as proofs of the possession of the divine nature,

of Christ known as life, and of our abiding in Him, the

Apostle goes on to address Christians personally and to

show us the position, on the ground of grace, in three

dierent degrees of ripeness. is parenthetical but most

important address we will now consider.

He begins by calling all the Christians to whom he was

writing “children,” a term of aection in the loving and aged

Darby Synopsis

558

Apostle. And as he writes to them (ch. 2:1) in order that

they should not sin, so he writes also because all their sins

were forgiven for Jesus’ name’s sake. is was the assured

condition of all Christians: that which God had granted

them in giving them faith, that they might glorify Him.

He allows no doubt as to the fact of their being pardoned.

He writes to them because they are so.<P396>

ree classes of Christians

We next nd three classes of Christians: fathers, young

men, and babes. He addresses them each twice, fathers,

young men, babes (vs. 13): fathers, in the rst half of verse

14; young men from the second half to the end of verse 17;

and babes from verse 18 to the end of verse 27. In verse 28

he returns to all Christians under the name of “children.”

e character of “fathers” in Christ

at which characterizes fathers in Christ is that they

have known Him who is from the beginning, that is, Christ.

is is all that he has to say about them. All had resulted in

that. He only repeats the same thing again, when, changing

his form of expression, he begins anew with these three

classes. e fathers have known Christ. is is the result

of all Christian experience. e esh is judged, discerned,

wherever it has mixed itself with Christ in our feelings: it is

recognized, experimentally, as having no value; and, as the

result of experience, Christ stands alone, free from all alloy.

ey have learned to distinguish that which has only the

appearance of good. ey are not occupied with experience

- that would be being occupied with self, with one’s own

heart. All that has passed away; and Christ alone remains as

our portion, unmingled with aught besides, even as He gave

Himself to us. Moreover, He is much better known; they

have experienced what He is in so many details, whether

1John 2

559

of joy in communion with Him, or in the consciousness

of weakness, or in the realization of His faithfulness, of

the riches of His grace, of His adaptation to our need, of

His love, and in the revelation of His own fullness; so that

they are able now to say, “I know whom I have believed.”

Attachment to Himself characterizes them. Such is the

character of “fathers” in Christ.

e distinguishing mark of “young men”

“Young men” are the second class. ey are distinguished

by spiritual strength in conict: the energy of faith. ey

have overcome the wicked one. For he speaks of what their

character is as in Christ. Conict they have as such, but the

strength of Christ manifested in them.<P397>

e distinguishing mark of “babes,” of beginners

e third class is “babes.” ese know the Father. We see

here that the Spirit of adoption and of liberty characterizes

the youngest child in the faith of Christ, that it is not the

result of progress. It is the commencement. We possess it

because we are Christians; and it is ever the distinguishing

mark of beginners. e others do not lose it, but other

things distinguish them.

e repetition of what was rst said to the fathers,

for all Christian experience had resulted in that: Christ

stands alone

In again addressing these three classes of Christians,

the Apostle, as we have seen, has only to repeat that which

he at rst said with regard to the fathers. It is the result of

Christian life.

Added exhortations for the young men: the sword of

the Spirit to overcome the wicked one and his weapon,

the world; the world in opposition with the Father

Darby Synopsis

560

In the case of the young men he develops his idea and

adds some exhortations. “Ye are strong,” he says, “and the

word of God abideth in you”-an important characteristic.

e Word is the revelation of God, and the application

of Christ, to the heart, so that we have thus the motives

which form and govern it, and a testimony founded on the

state of the heart, and on convictions which have a divine

power in us. It is the sword of the Spirit in our relations

with the world. We have been ourselves formed by those

things to which we bear testimony in our relations with the

world, and those things are in us according to the power of

the Word of God. e wicked one is thus overcome; for he

has only the world to present to our lusts: and the Word

abiding in us keeps us in an altogether dierent sphere

of thought in which a dierent nature is enlightened and

strengthened by divine communications. e tendency of

the young man is toward the world: the ardor of his nature,

and the vigor of his age, tend to draw him away on that side.

He has to guard against this by separating himself entirely

from the world and the things that are in it; because, if

anyone love the world, the love of the Father is not in him,

for those things do not come from the Father. He has a

world of His<P398> own, of which Christ is the center

and glory. e lust of the esh, the lust of the eyes, and

the pride of life-these are the things that are in the world

and that characterize it. ere are really no other motives

besides these in the world. Now these things are not of the

Father.

e Father is the source of all that is according to His

own heart-every grace, every spiritual gift, the glory, the

heavenly holiness of all that was manifested in Christ

Jesus, and that will be-all the world of glory to come, of

1John 2

561

which Christ is the center. And all this had only the cross

for its portion here below. But the Apostle is speaking here

of the source; and assuredly the Father is not the source of

those other things.

e world’s transitory character; the everlasting

character of the nature and will of God and of him who

has followed after it

Now the world passes away; but he who does the will

of God, he who, in going through this world, takes for his

guide, not the desires of nature, but the will of God-a will

which is according to His nature and which expresses it-

such a one shall abide forever according to the nature and

the will that he has followed after.

Good and evil in opposition without any uncertainty

as to the issue of the conict

We shall nd that the world and the Father with all

that is of Him, the esh and the Spirit, the Son and the

devil, are put respectively in opposition. ings are spoken

of in their source and moral nature, the principles that act

in us and that characterize our existence and our position,

and the two agents in good and evil that are opposed to

each other, without (thanks be to God!) any uncertainty

as to the issue of the conict; for the weakness of Christ,

in death, is stronger than the strength of Satan. He has no

power against that which is perfect. Christ came that He

might destroy the works of the devil.

“Babes” warned of dangers from seducers and

reminded of their sources of intelligence and strength;

“the last time”; the true character of Antichrist

To the babes the Apostle speaks principally of the dangers

to which they were exposed from seducers. He warns them

with <P399>tender aection, reminding them at the same

Darby Synopsis

562

time that all the sources of intelligence and strength were

open to them and belonged to them. “It is the last time”;

not exactly the last days, but the season which had the

nal character that belonged to the dealings of God with

this world. e Antichrist was to come, and already there

were many antichrists: by this it might be known it was

the last time. It was not merely sin, nor the transgression

of the law; but, Christ having already been manifested,

and being now absent and hidden from the world, there

was a formal opposition to the special revelation that had

been made. It was not a vague and ignorant unbelief; it

took a denite shape as having a will directed against Jesus.

ey might, for instance, believe all that a Jew believed,

as it was revealed in the Word; but as to the testimony of

God by Jesus Christ they opposed it. ey would not own

Him to be the Christ; they denied the Father and the Son.

is, as to religious profession, is the true character of the

Antichrist. He may indeed believe or pretend to believe

that there shall be a Christ; yea, set himself up to be it.

But the two aspects of Christianity (that which, on the one

hand, regards the accomplishment in the Person of Jesus of

the promises made to the Jew; and, on the other hand, the

heavenly and eternal blessings presented in the revelation

of the Father by the Son), this the Antichrist does not

accept. at which characterizes him as Antichrist is that

he denies the Father and the Son. To deny that Jesus is the

Christ is indeed the Jewish disbelief that forms part of his

character. at which gives him the character of Antichrist

is that he denies the foundation of Christianity. He is a liar

in that he denies Jesus to be the Christ; consequently, it is

the work of the father of lies. But all the unbelieving Jews

1John 2

563

had done as much without being Antichrist. To deny the

Father and the Son characterizes him.

Apostasy among Christians; the two means of

conrming the faith of “babes” in Christ: the indwelling

of the Holy Spirit and the truth received

But there is something more. ese antichrists came out

from among the Christians. ere was apostasy. Not that

they were really Christians, but they had been among the

Christians and had come out from them. (How instructive

for our days also is this epistle!) It was thus made manifest

that they were not truly of the ock of Christ. All this had

a tendency to shake the faith<P400> of babes in Christ.

e Apostle endeavors to strengthen them. ere were two

means of conrming their faith, which also inspired the

Apostle with condence. First, they had the unction of

the Holy One; second, that which was from the beginning

was the touchstone for all new doctrine, and they already

possessed that which was from the beginning.

e indwelling of the Holy Spirit as an unction and

spiritual intelligence in them, and the truth which they had

received at the beginning-the perfect revelation of Christ-

these were the safeguards against seducers and seductions.

All heresy and all error and corruption will be found to

strike at the rst and divine revelation of the truth, if the

unction of the Holy One is in us to judge them. Now this

unction is the portion of even the youngest babes in Christ,

and they ought to be encouraged to realize it, however

tenderly they may be cared for as they were here by the

Apostle.

What important truths we discover here for ourselves!

e last time already manifested, so that we have to be on

Darby Synopsis

564

our guard against seducers-persons, moreover, issuing from

the bosom of Christianity.

e character of this Antichrist; the Christian’s

security against seductions; no so-called development of

the truth which has been heard from the beginning

e character of this Antichrist is that he denies the

Father and the Son. Unbelief in its Jewish form is also again

manifested- owning that there is a Christ, but denying that

Jesus is He. Our security against these seductions is the

unction from the Holy One-the Holy Spirit, but in special

connection with the holiness of God, which enables us

to see clearly into the truth (another characteristic of the

Spirit); and, second, that that abide in us which we have

heard from the beginning. It is this evidently which we have

in the written Word. “Development,” note it well, is not that

which we have from the beginning. By its very name it sins

radically against the safeguard pointed out by the Apostle.

at which the church has taught, as development of the

truth, whencesoever she may have received it, is not that

which has been heard from the beginning.<P401>

e Father not possessed without the Son

ere is another point indicated here by the Apostle

that ought to be noticed. People might pretend, by giving

God in a vague way the name of Father, that they possessed

Him without the true possession of the Son, Jesus Christ.

is cannot be. He who has not the Son has not the Father.

It is by Him that the Father is revealed, in Him that the

Father is known.

e truth is the revelation of the Son and by Him:

possessing it, we possess the Son and the Father

If the truth that we have received from the beginning

abides in us, we abide in the Son and in the Father; for this

1John 2

565

truth is the revelation of the Son, and is revealed by the

Son, who is the truth. It is living truth if it abides in us;

thus, by possessing it, we possess the Son, and in the Son,

the Father also. We abide in it, and thereby we have eternal

life (compare John 17:3).

e Holy Spirit acting in the Word; the truth abiding

in them and they in Him

Now the Apostle had happy condence that the unction

which they had received of Him abode in them, so that they

needed not to be taught of others, for this same unction

taught them with respect to all things. It was the truth, for

it was the Holy Spirit Himself acting in the Word, which

was the revelation of the truth of Jesus Himself, and there

was no lie in it. us should they abide in Him according

to that which it had taught them.

e twofold eect of the teaching by the unction from

on high as to discernment of the truth

Observe also, here, that the eect of this teaching by

the unction from on high is twofold with regard to the

discernment of the truth. ey knew that no lie was of the

truth; possessing this truth from God, that which was not

it was a lie. ey knew that this unction which taught them

of all things was the truth, and that there was no lie in it.

e unction taught them all things, that is to say, all the

truth, as truth of God. erefore, that which was not it was

a lie, and there was no lie in the unction. us the sheep

hear the voice of the Good Shepherd; if another calls them,

it is not His voice, and that is enough. ey fear it and y

from it, because they do not know it.<P402>

e whole body of Christians again addressed; the

test of those who claim to be Christians for the rejection

of what is false; three proofs of divine life

Darby Synopsis

566

With verse 27 ends the second series of exhortations to

the three classes. e Apostle begins again with the whole

body of Christians (vs. 28). is verse appears to me to

correspond with verse 8 of the second epistle, and with

chapter 3 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

e Apostle, having ended his address to those

who were all in the communion of the Father, applies

the essential principles of the divine life, of the divine

nature as manifested in Christ, to test those who claimed

participation in it; not in order to make the believer

doubt, but for the rejection of that which was false. I say

“not to make the believer doubt,” for the Apostle speaks

of his position, and of the position of those to whom he

was writing, with the most perfect assurance (ch. 3:1-2).1

He had spoken, in recommencement at verse 28, of the

appearing of Jesus. is introduces the Lord in the full

revelation of His character and gives rise to the scrutiny

of the pretensions of those who called themselves by His

name. ere are two proofs which belong essentially to

the divine life, and a third which is accessory as privilege:

righteousness or obedience, and love, and the presence of

the Holy Spirit.

(1. I have noticed, farther on, the striking way in which

God and Christ are spoken of as one being or Person, not

as doctrine as to the two natures, but Christ is before the

Apostle’s mind, and He is spoken of in the same sentence,

now as God, now as appearing as man. us in chapter

2:28 He comes. In verse 29 the righteous man is born of

Him, and we are children of God. But the world did not

know Him. Now it is Christ on earth. Chapter 3:2, we are

children of God, but in the same verse He appears and we

are like Him. But what makes this yet more wonderful is

1John 2

567

that we are identied with Him too. We are called children

because that is His title and relationship. e world does

not know us, for it did not know Him. We know we shall

be like Him when He appears. We are given the same place

here and there. (Compare chapter 5:20.))

Righteousness the rst proof of life

Righteousness is not in the esh. If, therefore, it is

really found in anyone, he is born of Him, he derives his

nature from God in Christ. We may remark that it is

righteousness as it was manifested in Jesus; for it is because

we know that He is righteous that we know that “he who

doeth righteousness is born of him.” It is the same nature

demonstrated by the same fruits.<P403>

Darby Synopsis

568

73323

1John 3

Children of God; the Father’s love; the Lord’s

appearing and its eect on the children

Now to say that we are born of Him is to say that

we are children of God.1 What a love is that which the

Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called

children!2erefore, the world knows us not, because it

knew Him not. e Apostle returns here to His appearing

and its eect on us. We are children of God: this is our

present, sure and known position; we are born of God. at

which we shall be is not yet manifested; but we know that-

associated with Jesus as we are in the same relationship

with the Father, Himself being our life-we shall be like

Him when He appears. For it is to this we are predestined,

to see Him as He now is with the Father, from which the

life came which was manifested in Him and imparted to

us, and to appear in the same glory.

(1. See previous note.)

(2. John uses habitually the word “children,” not “sons,”

as the more distinctly expressing that we are of the same

family. We are as Christ before God and in the world, and

so will be when He appears.)

Practical purication: the true measure of purity

Having, then, the hope of seeing Him as He is, and

knowing that I shall be perfectly like Him when He

appears, I seek to be as like Him now as possible, since I

already possess this life-He being in me, my life.

is is the measure of our practical purication. We are

not pure as He is pure; but we take Christ, as He is in

1John 3

569

heaven, for the pattern and measure of our purication, we

purify ourselves according to His purity, knowing that we

shall be perfectly like Him when He is manifested. Before

marking the contrast between the principles of the divine

life and of the enemy, he sets before us the true measure

of purity (he will give that of love in a moment) for the

children, inasmuch as they are partakers of His nature and

have the same relationship with God.

Hope that has Christ for its object; the key to the

epistle: Christ is the life, God Himself manifested, the

source of life

ere are two remarks to be made here. First, “hope in

him” does not mean in the believer; but a hope that has

Christ for its<P404> object. Second, it is striking to see the

way in which the Apostle appears to confound God and

Christ together in this epistle; and uses the word “Him”

to signify Christ, when he had just been speaking of God,

and vice versa. We may see the principle of this at the end

of chapter 5: “We are in him that is true, [that is to say] in

his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

In these few words we have the key to the epistle: Christ

is the life. It is evidently the Son; but it is God Himself

who is manifested, and the perfection of His nature, which

is the source of life to us also, as that life was found in

Christ as man. us I can speak of God and say, “Born of

him”; but it is in Jesus that God was manifested, and from

Him that I derive life; so that “Jesus Christ” and “God” are

interchanged with each other. us, “He shall appear” (ch.

2:28) is Christ, He is righteous; the righteous one “is born

of him.” But in chapter 3:1 it is “born of God,” “children of

God”; but the world did not know Him: here it is Christ

on earth; and “when he shall appear,” it is again Christ and

Darby Synopsis

570

we purify ourselves “even as He is pure.” ere are many

other examples.

e believer purifying himself

It is said of the believer, “He puries himself”: this

shows that he is not pure, as Christ is. He needed not to

purify Himself. Accordingly, it is not said, He is pure as

Christ is pure (for in that case there would be no sin in us);

but he puries himself according to the purity of Christ as

He is in heaven, having the same life as the life of Christ

Himself.

What sin is; he who abides in Christ does not practice

sin in opposition to the life and nature of Christ

Having set forth the positive aspect of Christian purity,

he goes on to speak of it in other points of view, as one of

the characteristic proofs of the life of God in the soul.

He who commits sin (not transgresses the law,1 but)

acts lawlessly. His conduct is without the restraint, without

the rule of law. He acts without curb; for sin is the acting

without the curb<P405> of law or restraint of another’s

authority, acting from our own will. Christ came to do His

Father’s will, not His own. But Christ was manifested that

He might take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin;

so that he who commits sin acts against the object of the

manifestation of Christ, and in opposition to the nature of

which, if Christ is our life, we are partakers. erefore, he

who abides in Christ does not practice sin; he who sins has

neither seen Him nor known Him. All depends, we see, on

participation in the life and nature of Christ. Let us not,

then, deceive ourselves. He who practices righteousness is

righteous, as He is righteous: for, by partaking in the life

of Christ, one is before God according to the perfection

of Him who is there, the head and source of that life. But

1John 3

571

we are thus as Christ before God, because He Himself is

really our life. Our actual life is not the measure of our

acceptance; it is Christ who is so. But Christ is our life,

if we are accepted according to His excellence; for it is as

living of His life that we participate in this.

(1. In Romans 2:12, the word is used in contrast with

lawbreaking, or sinning under law. at is, the Greek word

here used for what is translated “transgression of the law” is

that used for sinning without law, in contrast with sinning

under law, and being judged by it. I do not dissemble that

this changing what is a denition of sin is a very serious

thing.)

e family of the devil: he who practices sin has

morally the same nature as the devil

But the judgment is more than negative. He who

practices sin is of the devil, has morally the same nature as

the devil; for he sins from the beginning: it is his original

character as the devil. Now Christ was manifested that He

might destroy the works of the devil; how then can one

who shares the character of this enemy of souls be with

Christ?

e family of God: he who is born of God and made a

partaker of His nature does not practice sin

On the other hand, he who is born of God does not

practice sin. e reason is evident; he is made a partaker

of the nature of God; he derives his life from Him. is

principle of divine life is in him. e seed of God remains

in him; he cannot sin, because he is born of God. is new

nature had not in it the principle of sin, so as to commit it.

How could it be that the divine nature should sin?

Love the second proof of divine life; Christ as its

measure; condence in God’s presence

Darby Synopsis

572

Having thus designated the two families, the family of

God and that of the devil, the Apostle adds the second

mark, the absence<P406> of which is a proof that one is

not of God. He had already spoken of righteousness; he

adds the love of the brethren. For this is the message that

they had received from Christ Himself, that they should

love one another. In verse 12 he shows the connection

between the two things: that hatred of a brother is fed by

the sense one has that his works are good, and one’s own

evil. Moreover, we are not to wonder that the world hates

us: for we know that we have passed from death unto life

because we love the brethren. If this love is an essential

proof of being renewed, it is quite natural that it should

not be found in the men of the world. But, this being the

case, he who does not love his brother (solemn thought!)

abides in death. In addition to this, he who does not love

his brother is a murderer, and a murderer has not eternal

life. ere is the absence of the divine nature, death; but

more, the activity of the old man in the opposite nature

is there, he hates, and is in spirit the activity of death-a

murderer.

Further, as in the case of righteousness and of purity,

we have Christ as the measure of this love. We know love

by this, that He laid down His life for us; we ought to lay

down ours for the brethren. Now, if our brother has need,

and we possess this world’s good, but do not provide for

his necessity, is that the divine love which made Christ lay

down His life for us? It is by this real and practical love

that we know we are in the truth, and that our heart is

conrmed and assured before God. For if there is nothing

on the conscience, we have condence in His presence; but

if our own heart condemns us, God knows yet more.

1John 3

573

It is not here the means of being assured of our

salvation, but of having condence in the presence of God.

We cannot have it with a bad conscience in the practical

sense of the word, for God is always light and always holy.

Our requests and their answer

We also receive all that we ask for, when we walk thus

in love before Him, doing that which is pleasing in His

sight; for thus walking in His presence with condence,

the heart and its desires respond to this blessed inuence,

being formed by the enjoyment of communion with Him

in the light of His countenance. It is God who animates

the heart; this life, and this divine nature, of which the

epistle speaks, being in full activity and enlightened and

moved by the divine presence in which it delights. us our

<P407>requests are only for the accomplishment of desires

that arise when this life, when our thoughts are lled with

the presence of God and with the communication of His

nature. And He lends His power to the fulllment of these

desires, of which He is the source, and which are formed

in the heart by the revelation of Himself (compare John

15:7).

is is indeed the position of Christ Himself when here

below: only that He was perfect in it (compare John 8:29;

11:42).

e commandment of God to be kept and obeyed;

dwelling in God, and God in the obedient man

And here it is the commandment of God which He

desires us to obey; namely, to believe on the name of

His Son Jesus; and to love one another, as He gave us

commandment.

Now he who keeps His commandments dwells in Him;

and He dwells also in this obedient man. It will be asked

Darby Synopsis

574

whether God or Christ is here meant? e Apostle, as we

have seen, confounds them together in his thought. at is

to say, the Holy Spirit unites them in our minds. We are

in Him who is true, that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. It is

Christ, who is the presentation of God to men in life in

man; and to the believer He is the communication of that

life, so that God too dwells in him, in the revelation, in its

divine excellence and perfection, of the nature which the

believer shares in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells

in him, so that love is alike enjoyed and exercised.

Enjoyment of relationship with God

But what marvelous grace to have received a life, a

nature, by which we are enabled to enjoy God Himself,

who dwells in us, and by which, since it is in Christ, we

are, in fact, in the enjoyment of this communion, this

relationship with God! He who has the Son has life; but

God then dwells in him as the portion as well as the source

of this life; and he who has the Son has the Father.

What marvelous links of vital and living enjoyment

through the communication of the divine nature of Him

who is its source; and that according to its perfection in

Christ! Such is the Christian according to grace. erefore

also he is obedient, because this life in the man Christ (and

it is thus that it becomes ours) was obedience itself, the

true relationship of man to God.<P408>

e proofs of the new nature and the results

Practical righteousness, then, is a proof that we are born

of Him who, in His nature, is its source. In presence also

of the world’s hatred, we know that we have passed from

death unto life because we love the brethren. us, having

a good conscience, we have condence in God, and we

receive from Him whatsoever we ask, walking in obedience

1John 3

575

and in a way that is pleasing to Him. us walking, we

dwell in Him1 and He in us.

(1. Here dwelling in Him comes rst, because it is

practical realization in an obedient heart. His dwelling in

us is then pursued apart as known by the Spirit given to

us, to guard against being misled by evil spirits. In chapter

4:7, he resumes the indwelling in connection with the love

of God.)

A third proof of Christian privileges: the presence of

the Holy Spirit

A third proof of our Christian privileges arises here. e

Spirit whom He has given us is the proof that He Himself

dwells in us, the manifestation of the presence of God in

us. He does not here add that we abide in Him, because the

subject here is the manifestation of the presence of God.

e presence of the Spirit demonstrates it. But in abiding

in Him there is, as we shall see farther on, the enjoyment

of that which He is, and, consequently, moral communion

with His nature. He who obeys enjoys this also, as we have

seen. Here the presence of the Holy Spirit in us is spoken

of as demonstration of one part only of this truth, namely,

that God is in us. But the presence of God in us according

to grace, and according to the power of the Spirit, involves

also communion with that nature; we dwell also in Him

from whom we derive this grace, and all the spiritual forms

of that nature, in communion and practical life. It is in

verses 12 and 16 of chapter 4 that our Apostle speaks of

this.

Practical righteousness or obedience, the love of the

brethren, the manifestation of the Spirit of God, are the

proofs of our relationship to God. He who obeys the Lord’s

commandments in practical righteousness dwells in Him,

Darby Synopsis

576

and He in him. e Spirit given is the proof that He dwells

in us.<P409>

1John 4

577

73324

1John 4

False prophets tested; the sure mark of the Spirit of

God; the writings of the apostles

Now, to make use of this last proof, caution was required,

for many false prophets would assume, and even in the

time of the Apostle had already assumed, the semblance of

having received communications from the Spirit of God,

and insinuated themselves among the Christians (ch. 4).

It was necessary, therefore, to put them on their guard, by

giving them the sure mark of the real Spirit of God. e

rst of these was the confession of Jesus come in the esh.

It is not merely to confess that He is come, but to confess

Him thus come. e second was that He who really knew

God hearkened to the apostles. In this way the writings of

the apostles become a touchstone for those who pretend

to teach the assembly. All the Word is so, doubtless; but

I conne myself here to that which is said in this place.

e teaching of the apostles is formally a touchstone for all

other teaching-I mean that which they themselves taught

immediately. If anyone tells me that others must explain or

develop it to have the truth and certainty of faith, I reply,

“You are not of God, for he who is of God hearkens to

them; and you would have me not to hearken to them;

and whatever may be your pretext, you prevent my doing

so.” e denial of Jesus come in the esh is the spirit of

Antichrist. Not to hear the apostles is the provisional and

preparatory form of the evil. True Christians had overcome

the spirit of error by the Spirit of God who dwelt in them.

Darby Synopsis

578

Partakers of the divine nature of the God who is love;

its actings prove that He dwells in us

e three tests of true Christianity are now distinctly

laid down, and the Apostle pursues his exhortations,

developing the fullness and intimacy of our relationships

with a God of love, maintaining that participation of

nature in which love is of God, and he who loves is born

of God-partakes, therefore, of His nature, and knows Him

(for it is by faith that he received it) as partaking of His

nature. He who loves not does not know God. We must

possess the nature that loves in order to know what love

is. He then who does not love does not know God, for

God is love. Such a person<P410> has not one sentiment

in connection with the nature of God; how then can he

know Him? No more than an animal can know what a

man’s mind or understanding is when he has not got it.

Give special heed, reader, to this immense prerogative,

which ows from the whole doctrine of the epistle. e

eternal life which was with the Father has been manifested

and has been imparted to us: thus we are partakers of the

divine nature. e aections of that nature acting in us

rest, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the enjoyment of

communion with God who is its source; we dwell in Him

and He in us. e rst thing is the statement of the truth

in us. e actings of this nature prove that He dwells-that,

if we thus love, God Himself dwells in us. He who works

this love is there. But He is innite and the heart rests in

Him; we know at the same time that we dwell in Him and

He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. But this

passage, so rich in blessing, demands that we should follow

it with order.

1John 4

579

Love as God’s nature, its source; participation in it;

possession of the nature necessary to its understanding

and the knowledge of God

He begins with the fact that love is of God. It is His

nature: He is its source. erefore, he who loves is born

of God, is a partaker of His nature. Also he knows God,

for he knows what love is, and God is its fullness. is

is the doctrine which makes everything depend on our

participation in the divine nature.

Now this might be transformed, on the one hand, into

mysticism, by leading us to x our attention on our love

for God, and love in us, that being God’s nature, as if it

was said, Love is God, not God is love, and by seeking

to fathom the divine nature in ourselves; or to doubt, on

the other, because we do not nd the eects of the divine

nature in us as we would. In eect, he who does not love

(for the thing, as ever in John, is expressed in an abstract

way) does not know God, for God is love. e possession

of the nature is necessary to the understanding of what

that nature is, and for the knowledge of Him who is its

perfection.

e manifestation of God’s love: its exercise and proof

But, if I seek to know it and have or give the proof of

it, it is not to the existence of the nature in us that the

Spirit of God directs<P411> the thoughts of the believers

as their object. God, he has said, is love; and this love has

been manifested towards us in that He has given His only

Son, that we might live through Him. e proof is not the

life in us, but that God has given His Son in order that we

might live, and further to make propitiation for our sins.

God be praised! We know this love, not by the poor results

of its action in ourselves, but in its perfection in God,

Darby Synopsis

580

and that even in a manifestation of it towards us, which

is wholly outside ourselves. It is a fact outside ourselves

which is the manifestation of this perfect love. We enjoy

it by participating in the divine nature; we know it by the

innite gift of God’s Son. e exercise and proof of it are

there.

God’s love, from our sinful state till we stand before

the judgment seat

e full scope of this principle and all the force of its

truth are stated and demonstrated in that which follows.

It is striking to see how the Holy Spirit, in an epistle

which is essentially occupied with the life of Christ and

its fruits in us, gives the proof and full character of love in

that which is wholly without ourselves. Nor can anything

be more perfect than the way in which the love of God

is here set forth, from the time it is occupied with our

sinful state till we stand before the judgment seat. God

has thought of all: love towards us as sinners, verses 9-10;

in us as saints, verse 12; with us as perfect in our condition

in view of the day of judgment, verse 17. In the rst verses,

the love of God is manifested in the gift of Christ; rst, to

give us life-we were dead; second, to make propitiation-

we were guilty. Our whole case is taken up. In the second

of these verses the great principle of grace, what love is,

where and how known, is clearly stated in words of innite

importance as to the very nature of Christianity. Herein is

love, not that we have loved God (that was the principle

of the law), but in that He has loved us and has given His

Son to make propitiation for our sins. Here, then, it is that

we have learned that which love is. It was perfect in Him

when we had no love for Him; perfect in Him in that

He exercised it towards us when we were in our sins, and

1John 4

581

sent His Son to be the propitiation for them. e Apostle

then arms, no doubt, that he who loves not knows not

God. e pretension to possess this love is judged by this

means; but in order to know love we must not seek for it in

<P412>ourselves, but seek it manifested in God when we

had none. He gives the life which loves, and He has made

propitiation for our sins.

e enjoyment and privileges of God’s love; loving

one another

And now with regard to the enjoyment and the

privileges of this love-if God has so loved us (this is the

ground that He takes), we ought to love one another.

No one has ever seen God: if we love one another, God

dwells in us. His presence, Himself dwelling in us, rises

in the excellency of His nature above all the barriers of

circumstances and attaches us to those who are His. It is God

in the power of His nature which is the source of thought

and feeling, and diuses itself among them in whom it is.

One can understand this. How is it that I love strangers

from another land, persons of dierent habits whom I have

never known, more intimately than members of my own

family after the esh? How is it that I have thoughts in

common, objects innitely loved in common, aections

powerfully engaged, a stronger bond with persons whom I

have never seen, than with the otherwise dear companions

of my childhood? It is because there is in them and in me

a source of thoughts and aections which is not human.

God is in it. God dwells in us. What happiness! What a

bond! Does He not communicate Himself to the soul?

Does He not render it conscious of His presence in love?

Assuredly, yes. And if He is thus in us, the blessed source of

our thoughts, can there be fear or distance or uncertainty

Darby Synopsis

582

with regard to what He is? None at all. His love is perfect

in us. We know Him as love in our souls: the second great

point in this remarkable passage, the enjoyment of divine

love in our souls.

Enjoyment of God’s love in our souls: the Spirit

giving us the consciousness of dwelling in God and that

He dwells in us

e Apostle has not yet said, “We know that we dwell

in him.” He will say it now. But, if the love of the brethren

is in us, God dwells in us. When it is in exercise, we are

conscious of the presence of God, as perfect love in us.

It lls the heart, and thus is exercised in us. Now this

consciousness is the eect of the presence of His Spirit, as

the source and power of life and nature, in<P413> us. He

has given us, not here “his Spirit”-the proof that He dwells

in us, but “of his Spirit”; we participate by His presence

in us in divine aection through the Spirit, and thus we

not only know that He dwells in us, but the presence of

the Spirit, acting in a nature which is that of God in us,

makes us conscious that we dwell in Him. For He is the

inniteness and perfection of that which is now in us.

e heart rests in this, and enjoys Him, and is hidden

from all that is outside Him, in the consciousness of the

perfect love in which (thus dwelling in Him) one nds

oneself. e Spirit makes us dwell in God and gives us

thus the consciousness that He dwells in us. us we, in

the savor and consciousness of the love that was in it, can

testify of that in which it was manifested beyond all Jewish

limits, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the

world. We shall see further another character of it.

e unseen God manifested and declared unto men

by His only Son, and inwardly enjoyed

1John 4

583

If we compare verse 12 of our chapter 4 with chapter

1:18 of the Gospel by John, we shall better apprehend the

scope of the Apostle’s teaching here. e same diculty,

or if you will, the same truth is presented in both cases.

No one has ever seen God. How is this met? In John 1:18

the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father,

He has declared Him. He who is1 in the most perfect

intimacy, in the most absolute proximity and enjoyment

of the Father’s love, the one eternal, sucient object that

knew the love of the Father as His only Son, has revealed

Him unto men as He has Himself known Him. What is

the answer in our epistle to this same diculty? “If we love

one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected

in us.” By the communication of the divine nature, and by

the dwelling of God in us, we inwardly enjoy Him as He

has been manifested and declared by His only Son. His

love is perfect in us, known to the heart, as it has been

declared in Jesus. e God who has been declared by Him

dwells in us. What a thought! that this answer to the fact

that no one has ever seen God is equally that the only Son

has declared Him, and that He<P414> dwells in us. What

light this throws upon the words, “Which thing is true in

him and in you!”2 For it is in that Christ has become our

life that we can thus enjoy God and His presence in us by

the power of the Holy Spirit. And from this we have seen

that the testimony of verse 14 ows.

(1. Note, it is not “was.” It is never said in Scripture, as

often, He left the Father’s bosom; but “the only begotten

Son who is in the bosom of the Father.” As so knowing

God, He reveals Him on earth.)

(2. is gives us too, in their highest character and

subject, the dierence between the Gospel and the Epistle.)

Darby Synopsis

584

e distinction between God dwelling in us and we in

God; the proof of God’s love and joy in the heart

We see, also, the distinction between God dwelling

in us and we in God, even in that which Christ says of

Himself. He abode always in the Father, and the Father

in Him; but He says, “e Father who dwelleth in me, he

doeth the works.” rough His word the disciples ought

to have believed in them both; but in that which they had

seen-in His works-they had rather seen the proof that the

Father dwelt in Him. ey who had seen Him had seen

the Father. But when the Comforter was come, at that day

they should know that Jesus was in His Father-divinely

one with the Father.

He does not say that we are in God, nor in the Father,1

but that we dwell in Him, and we know it, because He has

given us of His Spirit. We have already noticed that He says

(ch. 3:24), “Hereby we know that he [God] abideth in us,

because he has given us his Spirit.” Here he adds, We know

that we dwell in God, because it is-not the manifestation,

as a proof, but-communion with God Himself. We know

that we dwell in Him, always as a precious truth-an

unchangeable fact; sensibly, when His love is active in the

heart. Consequently, it is to this activity that the Apostle

immediately turns by adding, “And we have seen and do

testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the

world.” is was the proof for everyone, of that love which

the Apostle enjoyed-as all believers do-in his own heart. It

is important to notice how the passage thus rst presents

the fact of God’s dwelling in us, then the eect (as He is

innite), our dwelling in Him, and then the realization of

the rst truth in conscious reality of life.<P415>

1John 4

585

(1. e only expression in the Word that has some

resemblance to it is, “e church of the essalonians,

which is in God the Father.” is is addressed to a numerous

corporation in quite another sense.)

God dwelling in us a doctrinal fact, true of every real

Christian; our dwelling in Him connected with our state;

God’s personal being carefully insisted on

We may remark here that, while God’s dwelling in us is a

doctrinal fact and true of every real Christian, our dwelling

in Him, though involved in it, is connected with our state.

us chapter 3:24, “He that keepeth his commandments

dwelleth in him, and he in him.” Chapter 4:16, “He that

dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.”

Love one to another is indeed taken as the proof that

God is there, and His love is perfected in us-this to contrast

the manner of His presence with that of Christ (John

1:18). But what we thus know is dwelling in Him and He

in us. In each case this knowledge is by the Spirit. Verse 15

is the universal fact; verse 16 brings it fully up to its source.

We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.

His nature is there declared in itself (for we joy in God);

God is love, and he who dwells in love dwells in God and

God in him. ere is none anywhere else: if we partake of

His nature, we partake of it, and he who abides in it abides

in God who is the fullness of it. But then remark that while

what He is is insisted on, His personal being is carefully

insisted on. He dwells in us.

e portion of every Christian; its intelligent

realization a matter of spirituality

And here comes in a principle of deep importance. It

might, perhaps, be said that this dwelling of God in us

and our dwelling in Him depended on a large measure

Darby Synopsis

586

of spirituality, the Apostle having, in fact, spoken of the

highest possible joy. But although the degree in which we

intelligently realize it is, in eect, a matter of spirituality,

yet the thing in itself is the portion of every Christian.

It is our position, because Christ is our life, and because

the Holy Spirit is given us. “Whosoever shall confess that

Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in

God.” How great the grace of the gospel! How admirable

our position because it is in Jesus that we possess it! It is

important to hold fast this, that it is the portion of every

Christian, the joy of the humble, the strongest reproach to

the conscience of the careless.<P416>

e denition of a Christian; God’s own love the

source of our knowledge and enjoyment of our position

e Apostle explains this high position by the possession

of the divine nature-the essential condition of Christianity.

A Christian is one who is a partaker of the divine nature,

and in whom the Spirit dwells. But the knowledge of our

position does not ow from the consideration of this truth,

though it depends on its being true, but of that of God’s

own love, as we have already seen. And the Apostle goes on

to say, “We have known and believed the love that God hath

to us.” is is the source of our knowledge and enjoyment

of these privileges, so sweet and so marvelously exalted, but

so simple and so real to the heart when they are known.

God Himself is love; dwelling in love; love dwelling

in us

We have known love, the love that God has for us, and

we have believed it. Precious knowledge! By possessing

it we know God; for it is thus that He has manifested

Himself. erefore can we say, “God is love.” ere is

none beside. Himself is love. He is love in all its fullness.

1John 4

587

He is not holiness, He is holy; but He is love. He is not

righteousness; He is righteous.1

(1. Righteousness and holiness suppose reference to

other things; thus, evil to be known, rejection of evil, and

judgment. Love, though exercised towards others, is what

He is in Himself. e other essential name that God bears

is “light.” We are said to be “light in the Lord” as partakers

of the divine nature; not love, which is, though the divine

nature, sovereign in grace. We cannot, therefore, be said to

be love. (See Ephesians 4-5.))

By dwelling, then, in love, I dwell in Him, which I could

not do unless He dwelt in me, and this He does. Here he

puts it rst, that we dwell in Him, because it is God Himself

who is before our eyes, as the love in which we dwell.

erefore, when thinking of this love, I say that I dwell in

Him, because I have in my heart the consciousness of it by

the Spirit. At the same time, this love is an active, energetic

principle in us; it is God Himself who is there. is is the

joy of our position-the position of every Christian.

e twofold eect of the manifestation of God’s love

Verses 14 and 16 present the twofold eect of the

manifestation of this love.

First, the testimony that the Father has sent the Son to

be the Saviour of the world. Quite outside the promises

made to the Jews<P417> (as everywhere in John), this work

is the fruit of that which God Himself is. Accordingly,

whosoever confesses Jesus to be that Son enjoys all the

fullness of its blessed consequences.

Second, the Christian has believed for himself in this

love, and he enjoys it according to its fullness. ere is

only this modication of the expression of the glorious

fact of our portion-that the confession of Jesus as the Son

Darby Synopsis

588

of God is primarily here the proof that God dwells in us,

although the other part of the truth equally says that he

who confesses Him dwells also in God.

Communion and the consciousness of it

When speaking of our portion in communion, as

believing in this love, it is said that he who dwells in love

dwells in God; for in eect that is where the heart is. Here

also the other part of the truth is equally true; God dwells

in him likewise.

I have spoken of the consciousness of this dwelling

in God, for it is thus only that it is known. But it is

important to remember that the Apostle teaches it as a

truth that applies to every believer. ese might have

excused themselves for not appropriating these statements

as too high for them; but this fact judges the excuse. is

communion is neglected. But God dwells in everyone who

confesses that Jesus is Son of God, and he in God. What

an encouragement for a timid believer! What a rebuke for

a careless one!

Our relative position to God; boldness for the day of

judgment; like the judge Himself now in this world

e Apostle returns to our relative position, viewing

God as outside ourselves, as Him before whom we are

to appear and with whom we have always to do. is is

the third great proof and character of love in which it is

complete, testifying, as I have already said, that God has

thought on all as to us from our sinful state to the day of

judgment.

Herein is love perfect with us (in order that we may

have boldness for the day of judgment), namely, that as

He is, such are we in this world. In truth, what could

give us a more complete assurance for that day than to

1John 4

589

be as Jesus Himself-like the judge? He who will judge

in righteousness is our righteousness. We are in Him the

righteousness according to which He will judge. We are in

respect of judgment as He is. Truly this can give<P418> us

perfect peace. But observe that it is not only in the day of

judgment that this is so (it gives us boldness for it), but we

are it in this world. Not as He was, but in this world we are

as He is, and have our known place already, as needed, and

according to the nature and counsels of God, for that day.

It is ours as being livingly identied with Him.

Perfect love banishing fear; God’s grace; “He rst

loved us”

Now in love there is no fear; there is condence. If I

am sure that a person loves me, I do not fear him. If I am

only desiring to be the object of his aection, I may fear

that I am not so, and may even fear himself. Nevertheless,

this fear would always tend to destroy my love for him

and my desire to be loved by him. ere is incompatibility

between the two aections-there is no fear in love. Perfect

love then banishes fear; for fear torments us, and torment

is not the enjoyment of love. He therefore who fears does

not know perfect love. And now what does he mean by

“perfect love”? It is that which God is, and which He

has fully displayed in Christ, and given us to know and

to enjoy by His presence in us, so that we dwell in Him.

e positive proof of its complete perfectness is that we are

such as Christ is. It is manifested towards us, perfected in

us, and made perfect with us. But that which we enjoy is

God, who is love, and we enjoy Him by His being in us, so

that love and condence are in our hearts, and we have rest.

at which I know of God is that He is love, and love to

Darby Synopsis

590

me, and nothing else but love to me, because it is Himself

who is so. erefore, there is no fear.1

(1. It is striking to see that he does not say, We ought to

love Him because He rst loved us; but we love Him. We

cannot know and enjoy love to us without loving. e sense

of love to us is always love. It is not known and valued

without its being there. My sense of love in another is love

to him. We ought to love the brethren, because it is not

their love to us which is the spring of it, though it may

nourish it in this way. But we love God because He rst

loved us.)

If we inquire practically into the history, so to speak,

of these aections; if we seek to separate that which in

the enjoyment is united, because the divine nature in us,

which is love, enjoys love in its perfection in God (His

love shed abroad in the heart by His presence therefore);

if we wish to specify the relationship in which our hearts

nd themselves with God in regard to this, here it is: “We

love him because he rst loved us.” It is grace and it must

be grace, because it is God who is to be gloried.<P419>

e order and summary of verses 7-19

Here it will be worth our while to notice the order

of this remarkable passage. Verses 7-10: We possess the

nature of God; consequently, we love; we are born of Him,

and we know Him. But the manifestation of love towards

us in Christ Jesus is the proof of that love; it is thus that we

know it. Verses 11-16: We enjoy it by dwelling in it. It is

present life in the love of God by the presence of His Spirit

in us; the enjoyment of that love by communion, in that

God dwells in us, and we thus dwell in Him. Verse 17: His

love is perfected with us; the perfection of that love, viewed

in the place that it has given us in view of judgment-we are,

1John 4

591

in this world, such as Christ is. Verses 18-19: It is thus fully

perfected with us. Love to sinners, communion, perfection

before God, give us the moral and characteristic elements

of that love-what it is in our relationship with God.

In the rst passage, where the Apostle speaks of the

manifestation of this love, he does not go beyond the fact

that one who loves is born of God. e nature of God

(which is love) being in us, he who loves knows Him, for

he is born of Him-has His nature and realizes what it is.

It is that which God has been with regard to the sinner

which demonstrates His nature of love. Afterwards, that

which we learned as sinners we enjoy as saints. e perfect

love of God is shed abroad in the heart, and we dwell in

Him. As already with Jesus in this world, and as He is, fear

has no place in one to whom the love of God is a dwelling-

place and rest.

Reality of love to God tested: its proof and

counterproof

Verse 20: the reality of our love to God, fruit of His

love to us, is now tested. If we say that we love God and do

not love the brethren, we are liars; for if the divine nature,

so near us (in the brethren near us), and Christ’s value for

them, does not awaken our spiritual aections, how then

can He who is afar o do so? is also is His commandment,

that he who loves God love his brother also. Obedience is

found here also (compare John 14:31).<P420>

Darby Synopsis

592

73325

1John 5

Love for the brethren must be universal; signicance

of God’s true place in the heart

Love for the brethren proves the reality of our love for

God. And this love must be universal, must be in exercise

towards all Christians, for whoever believes that Jesus is

the Christ is born of God; and he who loves a person will

love one who is born of Him. And if the being born of

Him is the motive, we shall love all that are born of Him

(ch. 5:1).

But a danger exists on the other side. It may be that

we love the brethren because they are pleasant to us; they

furnish us with agreeable society, in which our conscience is

not wounded. A counterproof is therefore given us. “Hereby

we know that we love the children of God, if we love God

and keep his commandments.” It is not as children of God

that I love the brethren, unless I love God of whom they

are born. I may love them individually as companions, or

I may love some among them, but not as the children of

God, if I do not love God Himself. If God Himself has

not His true place in my heart, that which bears the name

of love to the brethren shuts out God; and that in so much

the more complete and subtle manner, because our link

with them bears the sacred name of brotherly love.

Obedience to His commands the touchstone for the

love of God; the marks of true brotherly love

Now there is a touchstone even for this love of God,

namely, obedience to His commands. If I walk with the

brethren themselves in disobedience to their Father, it

1John 5

593

is certainly not because they are His children that I love

them. If it were because I loved the Father and because

they were His children, I should assuredly like them to

obey Him. To walk then in disobedience with the children

of God, under the pretext of brotherly love, is not to love

them as the children of God. If I loved them as such, I

should love their Father and my Father, and I could not

walk in disobedience to Him and call it a proof that I loved

them because they were His.

If I also loved them because they were His children,

I should love all who are such, because the same motive

engages me to love them all.<P421>

e universality of this love with regard to all the

children of God; its exercise in practical obedience to

His will: these are the marks of true brotherly love. at

which has not these marks is a mere carnal party spirit,

clothing itself with the name and the forms of brotherly

love. Most certainly I do not love the Father if I encourage

His children in disobedience to Him.

e world and its enmity; its opposition to God’s

commandments

Now there is an obstacle to this obedience, and that

is the world. e world has its forms, which are very far

from obedience to God. When we are occupied only

with Him and His will, the world’s enmity soon breaks

out. It also acts, by its comforts and its delights, on the

heart of man as walking after the esh. In short, the world

and the commandments of God are in opposition to each

other; but the commandments of God are not grievous to

those who are born of Him, for he who is born of God

overcomes the world. He possesses a nature and a principle

that surmount the diculties that the world opposes to his

Darby Synopsis

594

walk. His nature is the divine nature, for he is born of God;

his principle is that of faith. His nature is insensible to the

attractions which this world oers to the esh, and that

because it has, altogether apart from this world, a spirit

independent of it, and an object of its own which governs

it. Faith directs its steps, but faith does not see the world,

nor that which is present. Faith believes that Jesus, whom

the world rejected, is the Son of God. e world, therefore,

has lost its power over it. Its aections and its trust are

xed on Jesus, who was crucied, owning Him as the Son

of God. us the believer, detached from the world, has

the boldness of obedience, and does the will of God which

abides forever.

God’s testimony to life eternal as His gift: its source

e Apostle sums up, in a few words, the testimony of

God respecting the life eternal which He has given us.

is life is not in the rst Adam, it is in the last-in the

Son of God. Man, as born of Adam, does not possess it,

does not acquire it. He ought indeed to have gained life

under the law. is characterized it, “Do this and live.” But

man did not and could not.<P422>

God gives him eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

He who has the Son has life, and he who has not the Son

has not life.

e three witnesses to God’s gift of life eternal; God’s

sentence of death on the rst Adam

Now what is the testimony rendered to this gift of life

eternal? e witnesses are three: the Spirit, the water and

the blood. is Jesus, the Son of God, is He who came by

water and by blood; not by water only, but by water and by

blood. e Spirit also bears witness because He is truth.

at to which they bear witness is that God has given us

1John 5

595

eternal life, and that this life is in His Son. But whence

did this water and the blood ow? It was from the pierced

side of Jesus. It is the judgment of death pronounced and

executed (compare Romans 8:3) on the esh, on all that is

of the old man, on the rst Adam. Not that the sin of the

rst Adam was in the esh of Christ, but that Jesus died

in it as a sacrice for sin. “In that he died he died unto

sin once.” Sin in the esh was condemned in the death of

Christ in the esh. ere was no other remedy. e esh

could not be modied nor subjected to the law. e life of

the rst Adam was nothing but sin in the principle of its

will; it could not be subject to the law. Our purication as

to the old man is its death. He who is dead is justied from

sin. We are therefore baptized to have part in the death of

Jesus. We are crucied with Christ; nevertheless, we live,

but not we, it is Christ who lives in us. Participating in the

life of Christ risen, we reckon ourselves as dead with Him;

for why live of this new life, this life of the last Adam, if we

could live before God in the life of the rst Adam? No; by

living in Christ we have accepted by faith the sentence of

death, passed by God on the rst Adam. is is Christian

purication: even the death of the old man, because we

are made partakers of life in Christ Jesus. “We are dead”-

crucied with Him. We need a perfect purication before

God; we have it, for that which was impure no longer

exists: what exists, as born of God, is perfectly pure.

e testimony of the water owing from the side of a

dead Christ; purication is by death

He came by water-a powerful testimony, as owing

from the side of a dead Christ, that life is not to be sought

for in the rst Adam; for Christ, as coming for man, taking

up his cause, the<P423> Christ come in the esh, had to

Darby Synopsis

596

die: else He had remained alone in His own purity. Life is

to be sought for in the Son of God risen from among the

dead. Purication is by death.

e blood of a slain Christ showing that expiation is

by death

But it was not by water only that He came; it was also

by blood. e expiation of our sins was as necessary as the

moral purication of our souls. We possess it in the blood

of a slain Christ. Death alone could expiate them and blot

them out, and Jesus died for us. e guilt of the believer

no longer exists before God; Christ has put Himself in his

place. e life is on high, and we are raised up together with

Him, God having forgiven us all our trespasses. Expiation

is by death.

e Spirit’s testimony enabling us to appreciate the

value of the water and the blood

e third witness is the Spirit: put rst in the order

of their testimony on earth, as He alone gives witness in

power so that we know the other two; last, in their historic

order, for such, in fact, was that order, death rst and only

thereafter the Holy Spirit.1 In eect it is the testimony of

the Spirit, His presence in us, which enables us to appreciate

the value of the water and the blood. We should never have

understood the practical bearing of the death of Christ, if

the Holy Spirit were not to the new man a revealing power

of its import and its ecacy. Now the Holy Spirit came

down from a risen and ascended Christ; and thus we know

that eternal life is given us in the Son of God.

(1. Even the orderly reception of the Holy Spirit was so.

(See Acts 2:38.))

e grace, the gift and the testimony of God that the

life He gives is in His Son

1John 5

597

e testimony of these three witnesses meets together

in this same truth, namely, that grace-that God Himself-

has given us eternal life; and that this life is in the Son.

Man had nothing to do in it, except by his sins. It is the

gift of God. And the life that He gives is in the Son. e

testimony is the testimony of God. How blessed to have

such a testimony, and that from God Himself, and in

perfect grace!<P424>

We have then the three things: the cleansing, the

expiation and the presence of the Holy Spirit as the witness

that eternal life is given us in the Son, who was slain for man

when in relationship with man here below. He could but

die for man as he is. Life is elsewhere, namely, in Himself.

e reason the Apostle wrote the epistle-that they

who believed in the Son might know they had eternal life

Here the doctrine of the epistle ends. e Apostle

wrote these things in order that they who believed in the

Son might know that they had eternal life. He does not

give means of examination to make the faithful doubt

whether they had eternal life; but - seeing that there were

seducers who endeavored to turn them aside as decient

in something important, and who presented themselves

as possessing some superior light-he points out to them

the marks of life, in order to reassure them; developing the

excellence of that life, and of their position as enjoying it;

and in order that they might understand that God had

given it to them, and that they might be in nowise shaken

in mind.

Practical condence in God as to our wants here

below

He then speaks of the practical condence in God

which ows from all this-condence exercised with a view

Darby Synopsis

598

to all our wants here below, all that our hearts desire to ask

of God.

God’s ear is ever open; therefore He grants our

requests

We know that He always listens to everything that we

ask in accordance with His will. Precious privilege! e

Christian himself would not desire anything to be granted

him that was contrary to the will of God. But for everything

that is according to His will, His ear is ever open to us, ever

attentive. He always hearkens; He is not like man, often

occupied so that he cannot listen, or careless so that he

will not. God always hears us, and assuredly He does not

fail in power: the attention He pays us is a proof of His

goodwill. We receive, therefore, the things that we ask of

Him. He grants our requests. What a sweet relationship!

What a high privilege! And it is one also of which we may

avail ourselves in charity for others.<P425>

Sin and its chastisement; the sin unto death

If a brother sins and God chastises him, we may

petition for that brother, and life shall be restored him.

Chastisement tends to the death of the body (compare

Job 33-36; James 5:14-15); we pray for the oender and

he is healed. Otherwise, the sickness takes its course. All

unrighteousness is sin, and there is such sin as is unto death.

is does not seem to me to be some particular sin, but all

sin which has such a character that, instead of awakening

Christian charity, it awakens Christian indignation. us

Ananias and Sapphira committed a sin unto death. It was a

lie, but a lie under such circumstances that it excited horror

rather than compassion. We can easily understand this in

other cases.

1John 5

599

e new man, born of God, is to be occupied with the

things of God and of the Spirit

us far as to sin and its chastisement. But the positive

side is also brought before us. As born of God, we do not

commit sin at all, we keep ourselves, and “the wicked one

toucheth us not.” He has nothing wherewith to entice the

new man. e enemy has no objects of attraction to the

divine nature in us, which is occupied, by the action of the

Holy Spirit, with divine and heavenly things, or with the

will of God. Our part, therefore, is so to live-the new man

occupied with the things of God and of the Spirit.

Our nature, our mode of being, as Christians

e Apostle ends his epistle by specifying these two

things: our nature, our mode of being, as Christians; and

the object that has been communicated to us in order to

produce and nourish faith.

We know that we are of God; and that not in a vague

way, but in contrast with all that is not us-a principle of

immense importance, which makes Christian position

exclusive by its very nature. It is not merely good, or bad, or

better; but it is of God. And nothing which is not of God

(that is to say, which has not its origin in Him) could have

this character and this place. e whole world lies in the

wicked one.

e Christian has the certainty of these two things by

virtue of his nature, which discerns and knows that which

is of God, and thereby judges all that is opposed to it. e

two are not merely good and bad, but of God and of the

enemy. is as to the nature.<P426>

e object communicated to us to produce and

nourish faith

Darby Synopsis

600

With regard to the object of this nature, we know that

the Son of God is come-a truth of immense importance

also. It is not merely that there is good and that there is

evil; but the Son of God has Himself come into this scene

of misery to present an object to our hearts. But there is

more than this. He has given us an understanding that

in the midst of all the falsehood of this world, of which

Satan is the prince, we may know Him that is true-the true

One. Immense privilege which alters our whole position!

e power of the world by which Satan blinded us is

completely broken, and we are brought into the true light;

and in that light we see and know Him who is true, who

is in Himself perfection; that by which all things can be

perfectly discerned and judged according to truth. But this

is not all. We are in this true One, partakers of His nature,

and abiding in Him, and in order that we may enjoy the

source of truth.1 Now it is in Jesus that we are. It is thus, it

is in Him, that we are in connection with the perfections

of God.

(1. I have already noticed this passage as being a kind of

key to the way we really know God and dwell in Him. It

speaks of God as Him we know, in whom we are, explaining

it by saying that it is in His Son Jesus Christ our Lord; only

here, as follows in the text, it is truth and not love. )

God and Christ united in the Apostle’s mind: the

divine links of our position

We may again remark here-that which gives a character

to the whole epistle-the manner in which God and Christ

are united in the Apostle’s mind. It is on account of this

that he so frequently says, “He,” when we must understand

“Christ,” although he had previously spoken of God: for

instance, chapter 5:20. And here, “We are in him that is

1John 5

601

true [that is to say], in his Son Jesus Christ. is is the true

God and eternal life.”

Behold then the divine links of our position! We are in

Him who is true; this is the nature of Him in whom we

are. Now, in reality as to the nature, it is God Himself; as to

the Person, and as to the manner of being in Him, it is His

Son Jesus Christ. It is in the Son, in the Son as man, that

we are in fact as to His Person; but He is the true God, the

veritable God.<P427>

Nor is this all; but we have life in Him. He is also the

eternal life, so that we possess it in Him. We know the true

God, we have eternal life.

All outside God’s purposes and nature is an idol;

preservation from it; the connection between John’s

epistles

All that is outside this is an idol. May God preserve

us from it, and teach us by His grace to preserve ourselves

from it! is gives occasion to the Spirit of God to speak

of “the truth” in the two short epistles that follow.<P428>

Darby Synopsis

602

73326

2John

e subject matter of John’s second and third epistles

e second and third epistles of John insist on the

truth. e second warns the faithful against the reception

of those who do not teach the doctrine of Christ, especially

the truth respecting the Person of Christ. e third

encourages believers to receive and help those who teach

it. Accordingly, they both (and the second especially) lay

stress on “the truth.”

Summary of the second epistle

e Apostle loved this elect lady “in the truth”; as did

also all those who had known the truth, and that for the

truth’s sake. He wished her blessing in truth and in love.

He rejoiced that he had found some who were her children

walking in the truth. He desired that there should be

mutual love among Christians, but this was love, that they

should keep the commandments; for many deceivers were

come into the world. Now whosoever transgressed and did

not abide in the doctrine of Christ, had not God. He ends

his epistle, of which we have given an almost complete

summary, by exhorting this lady, in case anyone should

come and not bring this doctrine, not to receive him into

our house, nor say to him, “God bless you, or be with you,”

or, “I salute you.” For to do so would be to make herself a

partaker in the evil he was doing.

False doctrine, the denial of the truth of Christ come

in the esh

e false doctrine which was abroad at that moment was

the denial of the truth of Christ come in the esh; but the

2John

603

Apostle says in a general way that, if anyone transgressed

and did not abide in the doctrine of Christ, he had not

God.<P429>

A man’s mission not in question, but the doctrine he

brought

We learn several important things in this little epistle.

e mission of a man who went about preaching was never

brought into question, but the doctrine which he brought;

if he brought sound doctrine he was welcome.

Anyone having the Word was capable and responsible

to judge the doctrine; their course prescribed and dened

A woman having the Word-as this epistle, for example-

was capable of judging his doctrine, and responsible to do

so. Inexorable rigor was to be maintained, if the doctrine

as to the Person of Christ was touched. e door was to be

shut against whoever falsied it. ey were not even to say

to him, “I salute you”; for they who did so became partakers

of his evil work. It would be to help on the deceits of Satan.

e maintenance of the truth the test of true love

Moreover, the semblance of love which does not

maintain the truth, but accommodates itself to that which

is not the truth, is not love according to God. It is the

taking advantage of the name of love in order to help on

the seductions of Satan. In the last days the test of true

love is the maintenance of the truth. God would have us

love one another; but the Holy Spirit, by whose power we

receive this divine nature, and who pours the love of God

into our hearts, is the Spirit of truth; and His oce is to

glorify Christ. erefore, it is impossible that a love which

can put up with a doctrine that falsies Christ, and which

is indierent to it, can be of the Holy Spirit-still less so, if

such indierence be set up as the proof of that love.

Darby Synopsis

604

e laborer’s reward; Christians put on guard against

all that is equivocal as to Christ’s Person and exhorted to

unwavering rmness as to it

e doctrine of the reward and crown of glory, which the

laborer possesses in the fruits of his ministry, is presented

in a very strong light in verse 8. is second epistle puts

Christians on their guard against all that is equivocal

with respect to the Person of Christ; and exhorts to an

unwavering rmness on this point.<P430>

3John

605

73327

3John

Believers encouraged to receive and help those who

teach the truth

e third epistle encourages the believer to the exercise

of hospitality, whether towards the known brethren or

strangers, and to all benevolent care in furthering their

journey when departing, provided that they come with the

truth and for the truth’s sake without salary or provision.

Gaius received them, as it appears, and was helpful to them

both in his own house and on their journey. Diotrephes, on

the contrary, did not love these strangers, who went about,

it is said, without a formal mission and without any visible

means of subsistence. ey had gone forth for the Lord’s

sake and had received nothing from the Gentiles. If they

in reality came out of love to that name, one did well to

receive them.

e truth characterizing real love; Gaius’ walk in the

truth; Diotrephes’ evil course

Again the Apostle insists on the truth, as characterizing

real love: “Whom I love in the truth,” he says to Gaius. He

rejoiced when the brethren (those, I imagine, whom Gaius

had received into his house and helped on their journey)

testied of the truth that was in him, as in eect he walked

in the truth. e Apostle had no greater joy than that of

hearing that his children walked in the truth. In receiving

those who went forth to preach the truth, they helped the

truth itself; they were coworkers with it. Diotrephes would

have nothing to do with this; he not only refused to receive

these itinerant preachers, but excommunicated those who

Darby Synopsis

606

did so. He claimed authority for himself. e Apostle

would remember it. It was their duty to do good. “He that

doeth good is of God.”<P431>

e truth itself bearing witness to Demetrius

He goes so far, with regard to the truth, as to say that

the truth itself bore witness to Demetrius. I suppose that

the latter had propagated it, and that the establishment

and conrmation of the truth everywhere-at least where

he had labored-was a testimony with regard to himself.

e truth as the test for the last days; Jewish itinerant

preachers and their passport; the assembly addressed

is insistence on the truth, as the test for the last days,

is very remarkable; and so is this preaching itinerancy by

persons who took nothing of the Gentiles when they came

forth, leaving it to God to cause them to be received of

those who had the truth at heart, the truth being their only

passport among Christians, and the only means by which

the Apostle could guard the faithful. It appears that they

were of the Jewish race, for he says, “Receiving nothing of

the Gentiles,” the Apostle thus making the distinction. I

notice this, because, if it be so, the force of the expression

“and not for ours only” (1John 2:2) becomes simple and

evident, which it is not to everyone. e Apostle, as Paul

does, makes the dierence of us, Jews, though one in

Christ. We may also remark that the Apostle addressed

the assembly, and not Diotrephes, its head; and that it was

this leader who, loving preeminence, resisted the Apostle’s

words, which the assembly, as it appears, was not inclined

to do.

e dierence between Gaius’ course and Diotrephes’

assumed authority

3John

607

Gaius persevered in his godly course, in spite of the

ecclesiastical authority (whatever may have been its right

or pretended right) which Diotrephes evidently exercised:

for he cast persons out of the assembly.

e authority and reception of a preacher

is in the doctrine-the truth-he brought

When the Apostle came, he would (like Paul) manifest

his real power. He did not own in himself an ecclesiastical

authority to remedy these things by a command. ese

epistles are very re<P432>markable in this respect. With

regard to those who went about preaching, the only

means he had, even in the case of a woman, was to call

her attention to the truth. e authority of the preacher

lay altogether in that. His competency was another matter.

e Apostle knew no authority which sanctioned their

mission, the absence of which would prove it to be false

or unauthorized. e whole question of their reception lay

in the doctrine which they brought. e Apostle had no

other way to judge of the authority of their mission: there

was then no other; for, had there been any, that authority

would have owed from him. He would have been able

to say, “Where are the proofs of their mission?” He knew

none but this-do they bring the truth? If not, do not salute

them. If they bring the truth, you do well to receive them,

in spite of all the Diotrephes in the world.<P433>

Darby Synopsis

608

73328

Jude

e scope of Jude’s short epistle as to the apostasy of

Christendom

e Epistle of Jude develops the history of the apostasy

of Christendom, from the earliest elements that crept into

the assembly to corrupt it, down to its judgment at the

appearing of our Lord, but as moral apostasy by turning

the grace of God into lasciviousness. In John they are gone

out; here they have crept in, corrupting. It is a very short

epistle, and containing instruction presented with much

brevity, and with the energetic rapidity of the prophetic

style, but of immense weight and extensive bearing.

e evil which had stolen in among Christians would

not cease until destroyed by judgment.

Apostates, who once formed a part of the company of

professing Christians; the taking up of the saints has left

them behind for judgment as enemies

We have already noticed this dierence between the

Epistle of Jude and the second of Peter, that Peter speaks

of sin, Jude of apostasy, the departure of the assembly from

its primitive state before God. Departure from the holiness

of faith is the subject that Jude treats. He does not speak

of outward separation. He views Christians as a number of

persons professing a religion on the earth, and originally

true to that which they professed. Certain persons had

crept in among them unawares. ey fed themselves

without fear at the love-feasts of the Christians; and

although the Lord would come attended by all His saints

(so that the faithful will have been already caught up), yet

Jude

609

in the judgment these persons are still accounted to be in

the same class- “to convince,” he says, “all that are ungodly

among them.” ey may indeed be in open rebellion at

the moment of judgment, but they were individuals who

had once formed a part of the company of Christians; they

were really apostates, enemies left behind.<P434>

When it is said, “ese be they who separate themselves,”

it does not mean openly from the visible assembly, for he

speaks of them as in the midst of it; but they set themselves

apart, being in it, as more excellent than others, like the

Pharisees among the Jews. Jude points them out as being

in the midst of the Christians and presenting themselves

as such. e judgment falls upon this class of persons; the

taking up of the saints has left them behind for judgment.

God’s faithfulness and care for His saints; Jude

addresses those who are kept

Jude begins by declaring the faithfulness of God and

the character of His care for the saints, which answers

to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. ey were called ones,

sanctied by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus

Christ. Happy testimony! which magnies the grace of

God. “Holy Father,” our Lord said, “keep them”: and these

were sanctied by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus

Christ. e Apostle speaks with a view to the forsaking by

many of the holy faith; he addresses those who were kept.

Necessary exhortation to contend for the faith already

being corrupted; the two elements of the evil introduced:

rejection of Christ’s authority and abuse of grace

He had purposed writing to them of the salvation

common to all Christians; but he found it needful to exhort

them to stand fast, to contend for the faith once given to

the saints. For already was that faith being corrupted by

Darby Synopsis

610

the denial of the rights of Christ to be Lord and Master;

and thus also, by giving the reins to self-will, they abused

grace, and turned it into a principle of dissoluteness. ese

are the two elements of the evil which the instruments of

Satan introduced, the rejection of the authority of Christ

(not His name): and the abuse of grace, in order to indulge

their own lusts. In both cases it was the will of man, which

they set free from everything that bridled it. e expression

“Lord God” points out this character of God. “Lord” here

is not the word generally used; it is δΕσΠΟτησ (despotes),

that is, “master.”<P435>

God’s judgment on those who do not walk where He

has placed them

Having pointed out the evil which had secretly crept in,

the epistle goes on to show them that the judgment of God

is executed upon those who do not walk according to the

position in which God had originally placed them.

Evil men creeping in; corruption following

e evil was not only that certain men had crept in

among them-in itself an immense evil, because the action

of the Holy Spirit is thereby hindered among Christians-

but that, denitely, the entire testimony before God, the

vessel which held this testimony, would become (as had

been already the case with the Jews) corrupt to such a

degree that it would bring down upon itself the judgment

of God. And it has become thus corrupt.

Two examples of moral corruption and its judgment:

Israel and the angels who kept not their rst estate

is is the great principle of the downfall of the

testimony established by God in the world, by means of

the corruption of the vessel which contains it and which

bears its name. In pointing out moral corruption as

Jude

611

characterizing the state of professors, Jude cites, as examples

of this downfall and of its judgment, the case of Israel, who

fell in the wilderness (with the exception of two, Joshua

and Caleb), and that of the angels who, not having kept

their rst estate, are reserved in chains of darkness unto the

judgment of the great day.

Sodom and Gomorrha as perpetual testimony on

earth to their judgment

is last example suggests to him another case, that of

Sodom and Gomorrha, which presents immorality and

corruption as the cause of judgment. eir condition is a

perpetual testimony here on earth to their judgment.

Filthiness of the esh and contempt for authority

developed; Michael’s restraint and appeal to God

ese ungodly men, with the name of Christians, are but

dreamers; for the truth is not in them. e two principles

which<P436> we have noticed are developed in them:

lthiness of the esh and contempt for authority. e latter

manifests itself in a second form, namely, the license of the

tongue, the self-will that manifests itself by speaking evil

of dignities. Whereas, the text says, the archangel Michael

durst not rail even against the devil, but with the gravity of

one who acts according to God, appealed to the judgment

of God Himself.

ree kinds of evil and estrangement from God

Jude then sums up the three kinds or characters of the

evil and of estrangement from God; rst, that of nature,

the opposition of the esh to the testimony of God and

His true people, the impetus which this enmity gives to

the will of the esh; in the second place, ecclesiastical evil,

teaching error for reward, knowing all the while that it is

contrary to the truth and against the people of God; third,

Darby Synopsis

612

open opposition, rebellion, against the authority of God in

His true King and Priest.

e character of the apostates; their prophesied end; a

continuous system of evil from the apostles’ time till the

Lord shall come

At the time when Jude wrote his epistle, those persons

whom Satan introduced into the church in order to stie

its spiritual life and to bring on the result which the

Spirit views prophetically were dwelling in the midst of

the saints, took part in those pious feasts at which they

gathered together in token of their brotherly love. ey

were “spots” in those “feasts of charity,” feeding without fear

in the pastures of the faithful. e Holy Spirit denounces

them energetically. ey were doubly dead, by nature and

by their apostasy; without fruit, bearing fruit that perished,

as out of season; plucked up by the roots; foaming out

everywhere their own shame; wandering stars, reserved for

darkness. Of old the Spirit had announced by the mouth of

Enoch the judgment that should be executed upon them.

is presents a very important aspect of the instruction

here given; namely, that this evil which had crept in among

the Christians would continue and still be found when the

Lord should return for judgment. He would come with

the myriads of His saints to execute judgment upon all the

ungodly among them for their acts of iniquity and their

ungodly words<P437> which they had spoken against

Him. ere would be a continuous system of evil from

those in the apostles’ time till the Lord came. is is a

solemn witness to what would go on among Christians.

e favorers of licentiousness identied with the

rebels who will be judged; warning already given as to

them

Jude

613

It is quite remarkable to see the inspired writer

identifying the favorers of licentiousness with the rebels

who will be the object of judgment in the last day. It is the

same spirit, the same work of the enemy, although restrained

for the moment, which will ripen for the judgment of God.

Alas for the assembly! It is, however, but the universal

progression of man. Only that, grace having fully revealed

God and delivered from the law, there must now be either

holiness of heart and soul, and the delights of obedience

under the perfect law of liberty, or else licence and open

rebellion. In this the proverb is true that the corruption of

that which is the most excellent is the worst of corruptions.

We must add here that the admiration of men, in order to

gain advantage by them, is another characteristic feature of

these apostates. It is not to God that they look.

Now the apostles had already warned the saints that

these mockers would come, walking after their own lusts,

exalting themselves, not having the Spirit, but being in the

state of nature.

Practical exhortation for those preserved to build

themselves up in their holy faith and keep in the

communion of God and in prayer

Practical exhortation follows for those who were

preserved. According to the energy of spiritual life and the

power of the Spirit of God, they were by grace to build

themselves up and to keep themselves in the communion

of God. e faith is, to the believer, a most holy faith; he

loves it, because it is so; it puts him into relationship and

communion with God Himself. at which he has to do

in the painful circumstances of which the Apostle speaks

(whatever may be the measure of their development) is

to build himself up in this most holy faith. He cultivates

Darby Synopsis

614

communion with God and prots through grace by the

revelations of His love. e Christian has his own proper

sphere of thought, in which he hides himself from the evil

that surrounds him and grows in the <P438>knowledge

of God from whom nothing can separate him. His own

portion is always the more evident to him, the more the evil

increases. His communion with God is in the Holy Spirit,

in whose power he prays, and who is the link between God

and his soul; and his prayers are according to the intimacy

of this relationship, and animated by the intelligence and

energy of the Spirit of God.

e end of the Christian: mercy in the presence of so

much evil; those drawn aside to be distinguished from

those who are evil and corrupt

us they kept themselves in the consciousness, the

communion, and the enjoyment of the love of God. ey

abode in His love while sojourning here below, but, as their

end, they were waiting for the mercy of the Lord Jesus

Christ unto eternal life. In eect when one sees what are

the fruits of the heart of man, one feels that it must be His

mercy which presents us without spot before His face in

that day for eternal life with a God of holiness. No doubt it

is His unchangeable faithfulness, but, in the presence of so

much evil, one thinks rather of the mercy. Compare, in the

same circumstances, what Paul says in 2Timothy 1:16. It

is mercy which has made the dierence between those that

fall and those that stand (compare Exodus 33:19). We must

also distinguish between those who are led away. ere are

some who are only drawn aside by others, others in whom

the lusts of a corrupt heart are working; and where we

see the latter we must manifest hatred to everything that

testies this corruption, as a thing that is unbearable.

Jude

615

Satan’s devices; condence in God who is able to

keep us from falling and present us unspotted before the

presence of His glory

e Spirit of God in this epistle does not bring forward

the ecacy of this redemption. He is occupied with the

crafty devices of the enemy, with his eorts to connect

the actings of the human will with the profession of the

grace of God, and thus to bring about the corruption of

the assembly, and the downfall of Christians, by putting

them on the road to apostasy and judgment. Condence

is in God; to Him the sacred writer addresses himself in

closing his epistle, as he thinks of the faithful to<P439>

whom he was writing. Unto Him, he says, who is able to

keep us from falling, and to present us unspotted before the

presence of His glory with exceeding joy.

e power that can keep us; sin never excusable

It is important to observe the way in which the Spirit

of God speaks in the epistles of a power that can keep us

from every fall, and unblamable; so that a thought only of

sin is never excusable. It is not that the esh is not in us,

but that, with the Holy Spirit acting in the new man, it is

never necessary that the esh should act or inuence our

life (compare 1essalonians 5:22). We are united to Jesus:

He represents us before God, He is our righteousness.

But at the same time He who in His perfection is our

righteousness is also our life; so that the Spirit aims at the

manifestation of this same perfection, practical perfection,

in the daily life. He who says, “I abide in Him,” ought to

walk as He walked. e Lord also says, “Be ye therefore

perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Christian progress: Christ risen the end and aim

Darby Synopsis

616

ere is progress in this. It is Christ risen who is the

source of this life in us, which ascends again towards its

source, and which views the risen and gloried Christ, to

whom we shall be conformed in glory, as its end and aim

(see Philippians 3). But the eect of this is that we have

no other aim: “is one thing I do.” us, whatever may be

the degree of realization, the motive is always perfect. e

esh does not come in at all as a motive, and in this sense

we are blameless.

Our life linked to the nal result of an unblamable

condition before God; all glory and dominion ascribed

to the One who can accomplish this

e Spirit then-since Christ who is our righteousness

is our life-links our life to the nal result of an unblamable

condition before God. e conscience knows by grace

that absolute perfection is ours, because Christ is our

righteousness; but the soul which rejoices in this before

God is conscious of union with Him and seeks the

realization of that perfection according to the power of the

Spirit, by whom we are thus united to the Head.<P440>

To Him who can accomplish this, preserving us from

every kind of fall, our epistle ascribes all glory and dominion

throughout all ages.

What is peculiarly striking in the epistle

at which is peculiarly striking in the Epistle of Jude

is that he pursues the corruption of the assembly from the

creeping in of some unawares on to its nal judgment,

showing withal that it is not arrested but passes through its

various phases to that day.<P441>

e Revelation

617

73329

e Revelation

e dierent ministries of Peter, Paul and John

As regards Peter and Paul, we have Scriptural authority

for regarding them as the apostles respectively of the

circumcision and of the uncircumcision. Peter and the twelve

remained at Jerusalem when the disciples were scattered,

and, continuing (though God was careful to maintain

unity) the work of Christ in the remnant of Israel, gathered

into an assembly on earth the lost sheep of the house of

Israel. Paul, having received the ministry of the assembly,

as of the gospel to every creature under heaven (Col. 1), as

a wise master-builder, lays the foundation. Peter sets us o

as pilgrims on our journey to follow Christ risen towards

the inheritance above. Paul, in the full development of his

doctrine (though owning this, as in Philippians 3), shows

us the saints sitting in heavenly places in Christ, heirs of

all which He is heir of. All this was dispensational, and

it is full of instruction. But John holds a dierent place.

He does not enter on dispensation; nor, though once or

twice stating the fact (as John 13:1; 14:1; 17:24; 20:17),

does he take the saint, nor even the Lord Himself, up to

heaven. Jesus, for him, is a divine Person, the Word made

esh manifesting God and His Father, eternal life come

down to earth. e First Epistle of John treats the question

of our partaking of this life, and its character.

e continuation of God’s dealings with the earth

stated at the close of John’s Gospel; in dispensational

corruption and outward disorder, eternal life was the

same

Darby Synopsis

618

But at the close of the Gospel, after stating the sending

of the Comforter on His going away, Christ opens to the

disciples (though in a mysterious way) the continuation of

God’s dealings with the earth, of which John ministerially

is the representative, linking the manifestation of Christ

on earth at His rst coming with His manifestation at His

second; Christ’s Person, and <P442>eternal life in Him,

being the abiding security and living seed of God, when

dispensationally all was corrupted, and in confusion and

decay. If all were in disorder outwardly, eternal life was still

the same.

e destruction of Jerusalem; the Jewish assembly

ceased; apostasy begun

e destruction of Jerusalem formed a momentous epoch

as to these things, because the Jewish assembly, formed as

such at Pentecost, had ceased (nay, it had even before); only

the judicial act was then accomplished. Christians had been

warned to leave the camp. e breach of Christianity with

Judaism was consummated. Christ could no longer take up

the assembly, established in the remnant of the Jews, as His

own seat of earthly authority.1 But alas! the assembly, as

Paul had established it too, had already fallen from its rst

estate-could in no sense take up the fallen inheritance of

Israel. All seek their own, says Paul, not the things of Jesus

Christ. All they of Asia-Ephesus, the beloved scene where

all Asia had heard the Word of God-had forsaken him.

ey who had been specially brought with full intelligence

into the assembly’s place could not hold it in the power of

faith. Indeed, the mystery of iniquity was at work before

this and was to go on and grow until the hindrance to the

nal apostasy was removed.

e Revelation

619

(1. is was morally true from Acts 3, where the Jewish

leaders refuse the testimony to a gloried Christ who

would return, as they had rejected a humbled One. Acts

7, by the mouth of Stephen, closes God’s dealings with

them in testimony, and the heavenly gathering begins, his

spirit being received on high. e destruction of Jerusalem

closed Jewish history judicially. )

John’s ministry in universal declension and ruin

Here, in this state of universal declension and ruin, John’s

ministry comes in. Stability was in the Person of Christ,

for eternal life rst, but for the ways of God upon earth

too. If the assembly was spued out of His mouth, He was

the faithful witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

Let us trace the links of this in his Gospel. In John 20, as

elsewhere noticed in detail, we have a picture of God’s ways

from the resurrection of Christ till we come to the remnant

of Israel in the latter days, represented by omas’s look

on the pierced One and believing by seeing. In chapter 21

we have, besides the remnant, the full millennial gathering.

en at<P443> the close of the chapter, the special ministry

of Peter and John is pointed out, though mysteriously. e

sheep of Jesus of the circumcision are conded to Peter;

but this ministry was to close like Christ’s. e assembly

would not be established on this ground, any more than

Israel. ere was no tarrying here till Christ came.1Peter’s

ministry, in fact, was closed, and the circumcision assembly

left shepherdless, before the destruction of Jerusalem put

an end to all such connection forever. Peter then asks as

to John. e Lord answers, confessedly mysteriously, but

putting o, as that which did not concern Peter who was to

follow Him, the closing of John’s ministry, prolonging it in

possibility till Christ came. Now, in fact, the Bridegroom

Darby Synopsis

620

tarried; but the service and ministry of John by the Word

(which was all that was to remain, and no apostle in

personal care) did go on to the return of Christ.

(1. Paul, of course, is no way noticed. For him the

assembly belonged to heaven-was the body of Christ, the

house of God. He was a builder. )

John’s special place in connection with the assembly

John was no master-builder like Paul-had no

dispensation committed to him. He was connected with

the assembly in its earthly structure like Peter, not in the

Ephesus or heavenly one; he was not the minister of the

circumcision, but carried on the earthly system among the

Gentiles, only holding fast the Person of Christ. His special

place was testimony to the Person of Christ come to earth

with divine title over it-power over all esh. is did not

break the links with Israel, as Paul’s ministry did, but raised

the power which held all together in the Person of Christ

to a height which carried it through any hidden time, or

hidden power, on to its establishment over the world at

the end; it did not exclude Israel as such, but enlarged the

scene of the exercise of Christ’s power so as to set it over

the world, and did not establish it in Israel as its source,

though it might establish Israel itself in its own place from

a heavenly source of power.

e outward assembly on earth viewed in decay and

consequent judgment, and the true assembly in glory

and grace

What place does the assembly then hold in this ministry

of John, found as it is in the Book of Revelation? None in

its Pauline char<P444>acter, save in one phrase, coming

in after the Revelation is closed, where its true place in

Christ’s absence is indicated (ch. 22:17). We have the saints

e Revelation

621

at the time, in their own conscious relationship to Christ,

in reference, too, to the royal and priestly place to His God

and Father, in which they are associated with Himself. But

John’s ministerial testimony, as to the assembly, views it as

the outward assembly on earth1 in its state of decay- Christ

judging this-and the true assembly, the capital city and seat

of God’s government over the world, at the end, but in

glory and grace. It is an abode, and where God dwells and

the Lamb. All this facilitates our intelligence of the objects

and bearing of the book. e assembly has failed; the

Gentiles, grafted in by faith, have not continued in God’s

goodness. e Ephesian assembly, the intelligent vessel,

and expression of what the assembly of God was, had left

its rst estate, and unless it repented, the candlestick was to

be removed. e Ephesus of Paul becomes the witness on

earth of decay and of removal out of God’s sight, even as

Israel had been removed. God’s patience would be shown

towards the assembly as it had been towards Israel; but

the assembly would not maintain God’s testimony in the

world any more than Israel had. John does maintain this

testimony, ministerially judging the assemblies by Christ’s

Word,2 and then the world from the throne, till Christ

comes and takes to Himself His great power and reigns.

During this transition dealing of the throne the heavenly

saints are seen on high. When Christ comes, they come

with Him.

(1. And hence in particular assemblies, which, of course,

could be judged and removed. ere is another point of

divine wisdom here. ough we have, I doubt not, the

whole history of the assembly to its end in this world, it

is given in facts then present, so that there should be no

putting o the coming of the Lord. So, in the parables,

Darby Synopsis

622

the virgins who go to sleep are the same that wake up; the

servants that receive the talents are the same found on the

Lord’s return, though we know ages have passed and death

come in.)

(2. Note this immensely important principle: the

church judged by the Word, not the church a judge; and

the individual Christian called to heed to this judgment.

e church (I use the word designedly here as used to

claim this authority) cannot be an authority when the

Lord calls me, if I have ears to hear, to hear and receive

the judgment pronounced by Him on it. I judge its state by

the words of the Spirit, am bound to do so: it cannot be an

authority, therefore, on the Lord’s behalf over me in that

state. Discipline is not in question here, but the church as

wielding authority.)

e connection between the writings of John

e rst part, then, of the epistles of John is the

continuation,<P445> so to speak, of the Gospel before

the last two dispensational chapters; the Revelation, that

of these last two chapters (ch. 20-21), where, Christ being

risen and no ascension given, the dispensational dealings

of God are largely intimated in the circumstances which

occur; while it is shown at the same time that He could

not personally set up the kingdom then. He must ascend

rst. e two short epistles show us that truth (truth as to

His Person) was the test of true love, and to be held fast

when what was anti-Christian came in; and the free liberty

of the ministration of the truth to be held fast against

assumed ecclesiastical or clerical authority, as contrasted

with the assembly. e Apostle had written to the assembly.

Diotrephes rejected free ministry.

I now turn to the book itself.

Revelation 1

623

73330

Revelation 1

e revelation conded to Jesus Christ and signied

to John: its prophetic character

e Revelation is one belonging to Jesus Christ, which

God gave Him, and He signies it to John. ough God

over all, blessed forever, He is here seen as Son of Man, the

rejected Messiah or Lamb, and so Head over all things.

is fact, that the revelation is one conded to Him, is

important, because it at once makes it the testimony of

Jesus and the word of God, being communicated by Jesus,

and given to Him by God. is testimony of Jesus and

word of God comes as a vision to John, who bare record

of all he saw. All of it is prophetic in character, not the

Spirit of God the messenger of the Father and of the Son’s

grace to the assembly in its own place-a direct, inspired

communication to the assembly itself for itself as in its own

right place-but a prophetic revelation to John about it as in

the world, and about the world itself.

e rejection and removal of the assembly on earth;

another system to be set up; seven contemporary

churches representing the history of Christendom in

successive phases

e assembly being already in decay and to be removed,

whatever the delay of grace, the time was at hand, and the

rejection of the assembly on earth to be taken as a starting

point. Another <P446>system was to be set up. e Apostle

had not his face turned towards the assemblies at all, but

his back. e mind of the Spirit is towards Christ’s taking

the kingdom. Still Christ was yet among them, but as Son

Darby Synopsis

624

of Man, the character in which He judges and inherits the

world. e Apostle turns and sees Him. Still it behoved,

if he was recounting the coming dealing with the world

in judgment, to notice by the bye “the things that are.”

By giving them in seven contemporary churches, no time

was necessary; it left the nal results as at the door, for

they were in the last days, yet it gave, if there was delay,

opportunity for a full moral picture of the whole of the

assembly’s history. I see in this only the wisdom of the

Spirit, and exactly the character of John’s ministry. “If I will

that he tarry till I come.”

I cannot doubt then for a moment that (while professedly

of universal application for everyone that had an ear, not

an address to the general conscience of the assembly) the

seven assemblies represent the history of Christendom,

the assembly as under man’s responsibility, the fact of the

judgment of the world coming afterwards on its close (the

assemblies being “the things that are”) and the character

of events, beginning with the assembly leaving its rst love

and ending with holding fast till He comes and with being

spued out of Christ’s mouth. e adoption of the number

seven, which cannot mean completeness at the same time

because the states are dierent; the reference to Christ’s

coming; the reference to the great tribulation to come on

all the earth in the letter to Philadelphia; the clear object

of warning the assembly till Christ came, the world being

then in scene for judgment: all leave no cloud upon the

conclusion that the seven churches are successive phases

of the professing assembly’s history, though not exactly

consecutive (the fourth going on to the end; new phases

then commencing and going on to the end collaterally

also).1

Revelation 1

625

(1. ere are moral reasons from the contents. We shall

see, farther on, that the structure of the book fully conrms

this.)

God Himself appears as the administrator of the

world; His present, absolute existence, His past and

future goodness; Jesus Christ the Man, His present,

faithful witness, His past resurrection and future

preeminence

But though the assembly be thus spoken of, God

Himself <P447>appears here as the administrator of the

world, even when addressing the assembly; and Christ as

man coming under Him to this purpose, the Holy Spirit

being noticed as the direct agent of power in the sevenfold

perfection in which it is exercised. It is not the Father

and the Son, but God who is, yet who embraces past and

future in His being, and is never inconsistent with Himself,

making good in time all in which He has announced

Himself in the past. e form of this, however, is peculiar

here. It is not merely the abstract idea of Jehovah, who

was and is and is to come. He is rst announced by His

present, absolute existence, “from him who is,” the “I am,”

God Himself; and then to connect Himself with previous

dealings (not present relationships) declares that He is the

One who was (had revealed Himself in previous ages to

the earth or to men, to the Abrahams and Moseses of old

time), and at the same time was the coming One1 who

would make good everything revealed of and by Himself.

Jesus Christ (who comes last as the Man in immediate

connection with God’s witness to and government of

the earth) is presented as the faithful witness-as He was

personally on earth-of God; as risen from the dead (but no

ascension or headship of the assembly), taking all in this

Darby Synopsis

626

character, not after the esh; and lastly, in government not

yet made good, the Prince of the kings of the earth.

(1. ΕρχΟμΕνΟσ (erchomenos), not Ο ΕσΟμΕνΟσ (ho

esomenos).)

e saints’ expression of their consciousness of what

Christ has done for them

e saints then express their own consciousness of what

He has done for them, yet still in reference to the kingdom,

not as the body or bride, or their own heavenly joys, but

the highest possible as regards the given glory and place.

is is the necessary consequence of the consciousness of

a near and blessed relationship. Whatever the glory of the

One we are in relationship with, it is what He is for oneself,

one’s own nearness to Him, that comes to the mind when

the glory is declared. Were a general to march in triumph

into a town, the feeling of a child or wife would be, “at is

my father”; “that is my husband.” Here the feeling, though

of this character, is more unselsh. “To him that loved us,

and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” It is His

love to us which is celebrated, still with the personal feeling

“us.” e

saints<P448> know what He has done for them, and

further what He has made them. His love is perfect. King

and priest are His highest characters here: nearest to God

in power downwards, and in approaching Him upwards.

He has made us kings and priests to God and His Father:

to Him be glory! Such is the saints’ thought when He is

spoken of. He loved us, has cleansed us, and given us a

place with Himself. is ows out the instant He is named.

It is the answer of heart when He is announced, before any

communication takes place. His having done this is not

announced; it is the saints’ own consciousness.1

Revelation 1

627

(1. We shall nd the same thing at the close when the

prophecy is ended. Here what He has been to the saints

and has done: there what He is for the future. See chapter

22:17.)

Christ appearing to the world in judgment

As to others, all must be told. e next point, the rst

announced, is His appearing to the world. No direct

communication to the assembly for its own sake-the

book is not that. Here the assembly has that in its own

consciousness only, as we have seen. Behold! He comes with

clouds; every eye shall see Him, the Jews too who pierced

Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of

Him. His appearing is in judgment.

God and Christ characteristically united in the

Apostle’s mind

We then nd, what is so remarkable in John, the mixing

up in expression of God and Christ. Verse 8 cannot be said

to be one or the other. It is Christ; but it is Christ Jehovah,

Almighty, the Lord; who is and who was and who is to

come; the rst and the last (compare chapter 22:12-13).

e complete circle of position from John’s day to the

end; John’s practical position, waiting in the kingdom;

the generic name applied to all his ministry

us, we have the saints of these days; Christ’s

appearing to judgment; He is God, the rst and the last,

Alpha and Omega; the complete circle of position from

John’s day to the end. e practical position which John

takes with all the saints is “the kingdom and patience of

Jesus Christ.” He belongs to the kingdom, but must wait

while Christ waits, expecting till His <P449>enemies be

made His footstool. e generic name given to testimony

applies to all his ministry as well as to the prophecy-the

Darby Synopsis

628

Word of God and the testimony of Jesus: only one might

have thought that prophecy was not this last, as it was not

to the assembly about itself from its Head; but the Spirit of

prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.

God’s ways behind the scenes, but moving all the

scenes He is behind

Such is the introduction to this book. We now enter

on its contents. John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.

It is his place and privilege, however, then, as a Christian,

which is spoken of, not the prophetic period into which

he entered. In the day of resurrection-his own place-the

day on which Christians meet, the Apostle, removed from

the society of Christians, still enjoyed the special elevating

power of the Holy Spirit, though alone; and is thus used

of God, allowed to be banished for the purpose, for what

He could not, in an ordinary way, have communicated to

the assembly for its edication. e persecuting emperor

little thought what he was giving to us when he banished

the Apostle; no more than Augustus, in his political plans

as to the census of the empire, knew he was sending a poor

carpenter to Bethlehem, with his espoused wife, that Christ

might be born there; or the Jews and Pilate’s soldiers, that

they were sending the thief to heaven, when they broke

his legs in heartless respect for their own superstitions

or ordinances. God’s ways are behind the scenes; but He

moves all the scenes which He is behind. We have to learn

this, and let Him work, and not think much of man’s busy

movements: they will accomplish God’s. e rest of them

all perish and disappear. We have only peacefully to do His

will.

Revelation 1

629

e Son of Man in the midst of the vessels of God’s

light on the earth; the assembly’s moral progress from its

rst decline to its entire rejection

e same voice that afterwards called John up to heaven

he now hears behind him on earth-the voice of the Son of

Man. It summons his attention with power; and turning to

see the voice, as Moses towards the bush, he sees, not the

image of God’s presence in Israel, but the vessels of God’s

light in the earth, and a<P450> complete summary of it

all, and, in the midst of them, Christ as Son of Man. We

nd, thus, in the Revelation, God’s whole history of the

world, or of what is of Him in it, from the rst decay of

the assembly to the new heavens and new earth. But it was

impossible for God to set aside the present expectation of

Christ, or to justify the assembly in its careless but sinful

thought, “My Lord delayeth his coming.” Hence, as always,

this history, and especially that of the assembly, is given in a

way which leaves time out altogether. e moral progress of

the assembly is given in pictures of the state of the existing

assemblies selected for that purpose, beginning with its rst

decline and ending with its entire rejection. Being taken up

as assemblies, the general principle of responsibility is in

view, and the assembly viewed, not as the infallibly blessed

body of Christ, but such as that it may be rejected and set

aside on earth; for a local assembly and the external, visible

assembly clearly can.

e seven assemblies seen as distinct light-bearers in

their witness in the world

ese assemblies are seen as distinct light-bearers; that

is, in their place of service, or rather position of witness in

the world. ey are viewed in their own proper character

as of God; as set by Him in the world, they are of gold. He

Darby Synopsis

630

may take them away because they give a dim, or no true

light or witness for God; but the thing taken away was

founded in divine righteousness, and founded originally by

a divine hand.

e position and character of the One who stood

among the light-bearers

But the Spirit rst occupies itself with the character

of Him who stood among them. First, we get His actual

position, before stating what He was. He stood as Son of

Man. We have not Him here as Head of the one body, nor

even as heavenly Intercessor; nor have we the Christ, of

course (that is, the Jewish character of the Lord). It will be

found that these are just the characters of Christ omitted

also in the rst chapter of John’s Gospel. John sees Him in

the wide character in which He is set over all the works of

God’s hand, and Heir of all promises and purposes of God

to man according to divine righteousness. He is not the

Son of Man in service.<P451> His garment is down to His

feet, and He has the girdle of divine righteousness about

His loins. is is His character.

e qualities of the Son of Man as divine Judge

We have, then, His qualities or attributes. First, He is

the Ancient of Days. In Daniel the same truth comes out.

e Son of Man is brought to the Ancient of Days; but,

farther on in the chapter, it is the Ancient of Days who

comes. e Son of Man is Jehovah. is characterizes all

the testimony. e King of kings and Lord of lords shows

Him:1 but, when He comes, we nd that He is King of

kings and Lord of lords. But in this glory He has the

attributes of judgment-eyes of re-that which pierces into

everything, and re is ever the sign of judgment. is was

its piercing, searching character: His feet, the rmness with

Revelation 1

631

which sin was met; for brass is righteousness, viewed, not

as intrinsically in God to be approached, but as dealing

with man, in his responsibility as man. e mercy-seat was

gold, the altar and laver brass; but there it was as an altar,

that is, dealing with sin for man, a sacrice, though re was

there, but here the burning furnace of judgment. e voice

was the sign of power and majesty.

(1. 1Timothy 6:15.)

e Lord’s ocial supremacy

Next, we have ocial supremacy. He held all that was

subordinate authority in light and order, here spoken of

as regards the assembly, in His right hand, in His power.

He had the power of judgment by the Word, and supreme

authority-the sun-in the fullness of its highest character.

We have His personal glory as Jehovah; His qualities as

divine Judge; and His supreme, ocial position.

e Redeemer sustaining the saint, declaring Himself

the rst and the last, Jehovah Himself, the deliverer

But, He was not less the Redeemer, the gracious securer

in blessing of them that were His. John (as ever in prophetic

vision of Jehovah, for it is not the Spirit of adoption here)

falls at His feet as one dead. So Daniel; so in spirit Isaiah

(ch. 6); but His power sustains the saint, does not destroy

him. He lays His right hand on John himself, declares

Himself the rst and the last, Jehovah<P452> Himself,

but withal the same that died in love and has complete

power over death and hades; the deliverer from it, not the

subjecter to it. He has risen out of death and hades, and has

the keys-full power over them-divine power or support;

and He who died and rose again, and lives forever even as

man, does so, not simply in the power of divine life in man,

Darby Synopsis

632

but of victory over all that man was subject to by sin and

inrmity.

e things that John had seen and was to write: “the

things that are,” the present, of the assembly’s state,

and “the things that should be after” them when the

assembly’s history had closed

is is the position He here takes with John His servant,

and with the assemblies respectively. We shall see that the

state of the latter assemblies brings out other characters

known only to the opened eye of faith. ese were what

John had seen, and which he was to write. en as regards

prophetic facts, he was to write the things that were,

the state of these various assemblies as the setting forth

historically of the assembly’s various state-a history; and

the things which should be after them (that is, when the

assembly’s history has closed on earth). e whole assembly,

therefore, is thus, to the Spirit, present time-the “things

that are.” e future was what came after it, God’s dealings

with the world. is, while it left the coming of the Lord,

or preparatory prophetic events in immediate expectation,

left, if there was delay (and there was to be), the period

undened, and the expectation, though prolonged, still a

present one.

Christ’s personal glory; the relative character or place

He subsequently takes

We may remark that we have the personal glory of

Christ here, the position as to the assemblies accompanying

it. He is not personally revealed as Son of Man, that is, as

taking the Son of Man’s place: only He who is Ancient of

Days is so seen as to make us understand that it was one

who had that place-was Son of Man. Subsequently, in the

Apocalypse, it is not His intrinsic personal character, but

Revelation 1

633

some relative character or place He takes. Only we have

something analogous to this, when the account of future

things comes in. As regards the world, He is seen as the

Lamb, one<P453> whom the world has rejected, but who

has redemption right over it. ere He is seen with the

seven horns and seven eyes-His power over the world, as

with the seven stars here as Son of Man. ese are the

things John had seen.

“e things that are”: the stars in Christ’s right hand

We now pass to “the things that are.” e stars are in

Christ’s hand; He speaks of them rst; He walks in the

midst of the assemblies. e latter are light-bearers, the

assemblies or assembly as set in a given position, and

viewed as such before God; not what the people became,

but what the assembly is in His sight; just as Israel was His

people whatever the Israelites became. e stars are that

which is held by Christ to give light and have authority,

what He holds responsible to this end before Him. It is, in

a certain sense, all composing the assembly, therefore, and

so it is often said in the addresses to the assemblies; but

more especially those who stand in responsibility through

their connection with Himself, the stars in His hand. ey

should shine and inuence and represent Him, each in its

place during the night. at the clergy gradually took this

place, and in this sense are responsible in it, is quite true;

but that is their aair to answer for themselves before the

Lord. e Spirit does not so take it here. ey assume it as

honor; they have it as responsibility. If ever they were called

“angels,” it was evidently just this assumption, and taken

from this place. Again, it cannot be doubted that leaders,

elders or others were in a special place of responsibility,

supposing them to be rightly such. In Acts 20 they are so

Darby Synopsis

634

treated; but the Spirit does not so own them here. Christ

does not address Himself to elders, nor to the modern

notion of a bishop, which did not indeed exist then. Nor is

a diocese1 thought of in these addresses. You have not the

authorities (elders) spoken of in Scripture, of which there

were always several; and this passage of Scripture cannot

be applied to human arrangements as now existing.<P454>

(1. Except in the new world, those called bishops are

always bishops of a city, showing historically that dioceses

are a subsequent arrangement. Angels were not chief

ocers of the synagogue.)

e angel as the mystical representative of one

not actually seen, representing the general and moral

responsibility of the assembly

What, then, is the angel? It is not a symbol, properly

speaking. e star is the symbol, and it is here seen in Christ’s

hand. It is (as angel is always used where it is not actually a

heavenly or earthly messenger) the mystical representative

of one not actually seen. It is so used of Jehovah, so used

of a child, so spoken of Peter. Elders may have practically

been specially responsible from their position; but the

angel represents the assembly, and especially those to

whom, from nearness to Christ and communion with

Him, or responsibility for it through the operation of His

Spirit in them for His service, He looks for the state of

His assembly in His sight. No doubt the whole assembly

is responsible, and therefore the candlestick is removed

when unfaithfulness is brought home to it; but Christ is

in immediate communication with these in respect of it-a

solemn thought for all who have the good of the assembly

at heart.

Revelation 1

635

e way in which the angels and assemblies are

identied

e way in which the angels and the assemblies are

identied, and any distinction in the degree or manner

of it, requires a little more detailed attention. at the

assemblies are addressed in their general responsibility,

in the addresses to the angels, is evident. For it is said,

“What the Spirit saith to the churches.” It is not a private

communication to an authority for his direction, as to a

Titus or a Timothy, but said to the assemblies; that is, the

angel represents their responsibility. So we nd distinct

parts of them noticed. “e devil shall cast some of you

into prison”; “fear none of those things which thou shalt

suer”; “but I have a few things against thee, that thou hast

there”; “my faithful martyr who was slain among you”; “but

unto you I say, the rest in yatira” (so it is to be read). Yet

the angel and assembly or candlestick are distinguished: “I

will remove thy candlestick out of its place.” “ou suerest

that woman Jezebel.”

But this separation between the angel and the assembly

does not take place in the last three assemblies. e angel

is addressed throughout. As to them too it is only said,

Christ has the seven stars, not that He holds them in His

right hand. In Smyrna and<P455> Philadelphia there is

no judgment; they were tried, as faithful, and encouraged.

As to judgments, or rather warning threats-in the case of

Ephesus, which presents the general fact of the assembly’s

rst decline, the warning is given that the candlestick would

be taken away unless they repented: that the assembly did

not, we know from Scripture and fact, and these assemblies

looked at as a successive history. In Pergamos and yatira

the oenders are those specically judged; in the case of

Darby Synopsis

636

yatira fearful judgments on Jezebel and those connected

with her: she had had time to repent and had not; but

here the change of everything is looked for at the Lord’s

coming. All this shows the angels to be the representatives

of the assemblies, but morally such; Christ’s warning to be

addressed to them (as we can easily understand to be the

case in any who had the interest of the assembly at heart),

whom Christ trusted with this; but to be so far identied

with the assemblies that it concerned all who composed

them, while particular judgments were denounced on

guilty parties.

Revelation 2

637

73331

Revelation 2

e series of the seven assemblies; the assembly in

this world subject to judgment; God will judge and set it

aside if it departs from its spiritual energy: Ephesus

We may now enter on the series of particular assemblies;

but briey, in connection with the whole structure of the

book, rather than entering into the instructive details,

which I have done elsewhere in a series of lectures.

e rst great fact is that the assembly in this world

is subject to judgment, and to have its whole existence

and place before God as light-bearer in the world set

aside; second, that God will do this if it departs from its

rst spiritual energy. is is an immense principle. He

has set the assembly to be a true witness of what He has

manifested in Jesus; of what He is when Jesus is gone on

high. If it be not this, it is a false witness, and it will be set

aside. God may have patience, and has blessedly so. He

may propose to her to return to her rst love, and does; but,

if this does not take place, the candlestick is removed, the

assembly ceases to be God’s light-bearer in the world. e

rst estate must be maintained, or<P456> God’s glory and

the truth are falsied; and the creature must be set aside.

But no mere unsustained creature does this, none as such.

Hence, all fails and is judged, save as in, or upheld by, the

Son of God, the second Man. Ephesus had gone on well in

maintaining consistency, but that forgetfulness of self and

thinking only of Christ, which are the rstfruits of grace,

were gone. As heretofore remarked, there were works of

labor and patience; but the faith, hope and love had in their

Darby Synopsis

638

true energy disappeared. ey had rejected the pretension

of false teachers, and labored and not fainted. All that can

be said of them is said to show Christ’s love, and that He is

not forgetful of them, or of the good manifested in them.

Still they had left their rst love; and this unless repented

of and the rst works done, involved the taking away of the

candlestick.

When faithfulness is departed from, God throws

individuals back on His Word for themselves; warning

of taking away the candlestick

Another important principle is found here, that when the

assembly had departed from faithfulness, when collectively

it had ceased to be the expression of the love in which

God has visited the world, God throws back individuals

on the Word of God for themselves: “He that hath an

ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”

e assembly is judged, and thus cannot be the security

for faith; the individual is called to hear what the Spirit

says. e warning of taking away the candlestick here is

specially worthy of notice, because there was a great deal

the Lord highly approved of-encouraged them by showing

He did; but, for all that, if rst love was departed from, the

candlestick would be removed.

e promise given to the individual overcomer

e character of Christ and promises are general, as the

assembly is characteristic of the whole principle on which

the assembly stands. Christ has the stars in His right hand

and walks amid the candlesticks. It is not a special character

applicable to a special state, but the whole bearing of His

position in the midst of the assemblies. e assembly,

viewed as having left its rst love, is never promised

anything. It cannot direct a believer<P457> when it comes

Revelation 2

639

under reproof and judgment itself. e promise is then to

the individual overcomer: a very important principle. e

promise given to him that overcomes is the general one-is

the contrast to Adam’s ruin, but in a higher and better way

than that in which he enjoyed the good which he lost. He

that overcomes shall eat of the tree of life. But this is not the

tree of life in man’s paradise in this world, but the paradise

of God Himself. We must remark, too, that it is not as the

rst Adam now, individually keeping one’s rst estate, but

overcoming. And what is before us to overcome in is, not

only the world and its hostilities (though that may be), but

within the sphere of the assembly itself. It is the call to hear

what the Spirit says to the assemblies which gives occasion

to the speaking of overcoming. is, in respect of the claim

of the assembly to be heard, is an immensely important

truth. e message is addressed to the assembly, not by it to

individuals, and she is warned of her delinquency, and the

individual saint is called to overcome.

Smyrna: tribulation and poverty the portion of the

assembly; God permitting it in mercy; the second death

e word to Smyrna is short. Whatever the malice and

power of Satan, at the utmost, if permitted, he has but

the power of death. Christ is First and Last, beyond as

before death, God Himself; but more than that, has met

and gone through its power. e saints were not to fear.

Satan would work, be allowed to sift, to imprison. Let the

saints only be faithful to the extreme point of his power;

all beyond was beyond him, was Christ’s; and the faithful

one would receive from Him the crown of life. Tribulation,

poverty, the contempt of those who pretended to have the

legitimate hereditary claim to be God’s people-always the

persecutors, be they Jews or Christians-was the portion

Darby Synopsis

640

of the assembly here; and God suered it. It was really

mercy to the declining assembly. eir hope was beyond

it all when Christ gave the crown of life. is made the

assembly, sliding into the world, or about to do it insensibly

through decline of its rst love, sensible that the world

was in Satan’s hands-was not the rest of saints. But, if the

Lord permitted, He limited, the tribulation. All was in His

hands. Not only was there the crown for the suerers, but

whoever overcame, his portion was secure: the death of

judgment, the second death, would not hurt him.<P458>

Pergamos: Christ revealed in a special character for a

special state; faithfulness in persecution, but seduction

by evil teaching within

We now need a closer judgment. Christ appears as the

One having the two-edged sword of the Word proceeding

out of His mouth. It will be remarked here that, in Smyrna

and Pergamos, a special character of Christ applies to a

special state. ere is no general result for the assembly. In

Ephesus we have Christ’s position as Judge in the midst

of the candlesticks, and the assembly threatened with

removal from its place of witness upon earth. In yatira

He takes His place as Son of God, Son over His own

house, and, as things are (as to the assembly) got to the

worst, is revealed in all-piercing and immutable judgment,

and the whole blessing of the new state is promised to the

overcomer. In Pergamos we have faithfulness found in its

previous path, Christ’s name and faith held fast in spite of

persecution. It diers from Philadelphia, that His Word is

not said to be held fast as that of Christ’s patience (that the

assembly, in its Pergamos state, did not do), but it did hold

fast the confession of Christ in the midst of persecution.

But another kind of evil came in-seduction to fall in with

Revelation 2

641

the world’s ways by evil teaching within. e doctrine of

Balaam was there. Idolatry owed in. ere were also sects

within, which taught pretended sanctity but evil practice.

ese the Lord would judge.

e promise to the overcomer in Pergamos when

corruption was advancing

e general truth of removing the candlestick had no

place here, neither as a general truth, when the assembly

could be called on to keep its rst love, nor as ery judgment,

because it was gone wholly astray; but there were corrupters,

and Christ’s servants led into idolatry and evil. Individual

approbation by Christ, communion with Himself in future

blessing (in spirit then), as the once humbled and rejected

One (which the assembly was ceasing to be), a name given

by Christ, and so of tenderness on His part, a link known

only to him who had it. In a word, individual association

and individual blessing of secret delight-this was the

promise to the overcomer when corruption was advancing,

not yet dominant and unhindered in the assembly.<P459>

yatira: idolatry and Jezebel allowed; judgment

applied in unchangeable righteousness; the Lord’s

coming; popery; while going on to the end, yatira does

not characterize the witness of God to the end

In yatira the assembly reaches to the close. ere

was found, in what Christ owned in this state of things,

increasing devotedness. But Jezebel was allowed; and

both connection with the world, idolatry, and children

begotten to it in the assembly itself. All would be judged,

great tribulation fall on Jezebel, and her children be killed.

Christ searched the heart and reins, and applied judgment

in unchangeable righteousness. e faithful ones of this

epoch, the “you” that Christ specially addresses, are but a

Darby Synopsis

642

“rest,” a remnant, but specially and growingly devoted. It

is, we may remark here, what the assemblies are towards

Christ, which is especially in view. What Jezebel did

towards the faithful ones is not noted. e Lord’s coming

is the time looked to; and the whole millennial blessing is

promised to him that overcomes; both to reign with Christ,

and Christ the Morning Star Himself. “He that hath an

ear” is now put after the overcoming; not said in connection

with the assembly, but with those who overcome in it. e

state is the state characterized by this. yatira may go on

to the end, but does not characterize the witness of God

to the end; other states must be brought in to do that. It

is, I have no doubt, the popery of the Middle Ages, say

to the Reformation; Romanism itself goes on to the end.

e judgment on Jezebel is nal. e Lord had given her

space to repent, and she had not repented. It would be a

forced association with those whom she had once seduced

to the ruin of them all. e whole character here is piercing

judgment according to God’s own nature and requirements;

special trial and judgment, yet the blessing not special, but

the portion of the saints at large in that which they have

with Christ; as the departure and judgment were complete-

adultery, not merely failure in rst love.<P460>

Revelation 3

643

73332

Revelation 3

Sardis: a new collateral phase of the assembly’s history;

a name to live, but practically death; lack of spiritual

energy; to be treated as the world; Protestantism

We have seen the close at the Lord’s coming

contemplated in yatira. Sardis begins a new collateral

phase of the assembly’s history. Save the having the seven

stars, none of the ecclesiastical characters of Christ, none

of those noticed in Him as walking in the midst of the

assemblies, are noticed. Still the assembly is noticed as

such. It is still the history of the assembly. But, the Lord’s

coming having been noticed, all characteristics of Christ

refer to what He will have in the kingdom. Still He has

yet the seven stars-supreme authority over the assembly. It

is nothing peculiar to this assembly. He has it over, and as

to, all. It is in this character He has to do with Sardis. He

has the seven spirits, the fullness of the perfection in which

He will govern the earth. us He is competent to bless

in the assembly, though there is no regular ecclesiastical

connection. He has power over all, and the fullness of the

Spirit; both in perfection. Whatever the assembly is, He is

all this. is is a great comfort. e assembly cannot fail in

the place of witness through want of fullness of grace in

Him. Nor can He fail him who has ears to hear.

But the state of the assembly showed that it was far

from availing itself of it. It had indeed a name to live; it was

superior in its pretensions to the evil of yatira; nor were

there Jezebels and corruption. But there was practically

death. ere was no completeness in her works before God.

Darby Synopsis

644

It was not evil here, but lack of spiritual energy. But this

did leave individuals to dele their garments in the world.

She was called to remember, not her rst works, but what

she had received and heard, the truth committed to her, the

gospel and Word of God; if not, she would be treated as

the world. e Lord would come as a thief; for the Lord’s

coming is now always in view.

ere is no threat of removing the candlestick: that was

settled. Judgment, setting aside the assembly, was xed. But

this body would be treated as the world, not ecclesiastically

as a corrupt assembly (compare 1 essalonians 5).

However, some had preserved their integrity and would

be owned; and they would<P461> walk with Christ as

those that had done righteousness. is was the promise

too. ey had confessed His name practically before men,

before the world, and theirs would be confessed before God

when the nominal assembly was treated as the world. ey

were real Christians in the midst of a worldly profession,

and their names would not be struck out of the register,

then ill-kept on earth, but infallibly rectied by heavenly

judgment. It has been remarked that, simultaneously with

bringing in the Lord’s coming, the ear to hear comes after

the distinguishing of the overcomers. Such a remnant only

is looked for. I cannot doubt that we have Protestantism

here.

Philadelphia as peculiarly associated with Christ

Himself; Christ’s personal character as holy and true;

His name openly confessed, the Word kept, the name

not denied

e assembly of Philadelphia has a peculiarly interesting

character. Nothing is said of its works, but that Christ knows

them. But what is interesting in it is that it is peculiarly

Revelation 3

645

associated with Christ Himself. Christ, as in all these

last assemblies, is not seen in the characters in which He

walked in the midst of the assemblies, but in such as faith

peculiarly recognizes when ecclesiastical organization has

become the hotbed of corruption. Here it is His personal

character, what He is intrinsically, holy and true, what the

Word displays and requires, and what the Word of God is

in itself-moral character and faithfulness. Indeed, this last

word includes all: faithfulness to God within and without,

according to what is revealed, and faithful to make good all

He has declared.

Christ is known as the holy One. en outward

ecclesiastical associations or pretensions will not do. ere

must be what suits His nature, and faithful consistency

with that word which He will certainly make good. With

this He has the administration; and opens and no man

shuts, and shuts and no man opens. See what His path

was on earth: only then graciously dependent, as we are.

He was holy and true, to man’s view had a little strength,

kept the Word, lived by every word that proceeded out of

God’s lips, waited patiently for the Lord, and to Him the

porter opened. He lived in the last days of a dispensation,

the holy and true One, rejected, and, to human eye, failing

in success with those who said they were Jews, but were the

synagogue of Satan. So the saints here: they walk in a place

like His; they keep His Word, have a little<P462> strength,

are not marked by a Pauline energy of the Spirit, but do

not deny His name. is is the character and motive of all

their conduct. It is openly confessed, the Word kept, the

name not denied. It seems little; but in universal decline,

much pretension and ecclesiastical claim, and many falling

Darby Synopsis

646

away to man’s reasonings, keeping the Word of Him that

is holy and true and not denying His name is everything.

e character of perfect faith; the open door; the

Lord’s approbation

And this element is noticed. Christ, the holy and true

One, is waiting. Here on earth He waited patiently for

Jehovah. It is the character of perfect faith. Faith has a

double character-energy which overcomes, and patience

which waits for God and trusts Him (see the rst in

Hebrews 11:23-34; the latter in verses 8-22). It is the latter

which is found here; the word of patience kept.

But as regards the former substantive qualities, keeping

the Word and not denying Christ’s name (though with a

little strength) in presence of ecclesiastical pretension to

a successional God-established religion, promises were

given. Christ would force these pretentious claimants to

divine succession to come and own that He had loved those

who kept His Word. An open door was given at present,

and no man could shut it; just as the porter had opened to

Him, so that scribes and Pharisees and priests could not

hinder it. In the future they would have to own themselves

humbled, and that those who followed the word of the holy

and true One were those He had loved. Meanwhile, His

approbation was sucient. is was the test of faith-to be

satised with His approbation, content with the authority

of His Word.

Waiting in patience

But there was a promise also as to the Lord’s judgments

in the earth. Christ is waiting till His enemies be made His

footstool. We must wait for it to see the world set right.

We have to go on where the god of this world has his way,

though under divine limitation. e thought that good is

Revelation 3

647

to have its rights in this world is to forget the cross and

Christ. We cannot have our rights till He has, for we have

none but His. Judgment (since Pilate had it, and Christ

was the righteous One before him) has not yet returned to

<P463>righteousness. Till then Christ waits, though at the

right hand of God; and we wait. It is not persecution and

martyrdom, as in Smyrna. It is as hard a task, perhaps, or,

at any rate, our task now-patience and contentedness with

Christ’s approbation, keeping His Word not denying His

name.

e hour of temptation coming on all the world; those

who kept the word of Christ’s patience kept from it; the

Lord’s coming our hope

But then there were other and blessed encouragements.

ere was an hour of temptation coming upon all the

world to try those who belonged to earth, who dwelt there

as belonging to it. Some might be spared, victorious in

the trial; but those who kept the word of Christ’s patience

would be kept from it. On the whole world it would come;

and where were they? Out of the world. ey had not

belonged to it when in it. ey had been waiting for Christ

to take His power-waiting His time to have the world.

ey belonged to heaven, to Him who was there; and they

would be taken to be with Him when the world was to be

in the time of terrible trial. ere was a special time before

He took His power; and not only would they reign with

Him in result, but they would be kept from that hour, and

had the assurance of it in the time of their trial. And hence

the Lord points them to His coming as their hope; not

as warning that the unrepentant would be treated as the

world when He appeared. He came quickly, and they were

to look for the crown then, holding fast what they had,

Darby Synopsis

648

feeble but spiritually associated with Him as they were, lest

any should take it.

Waiting for Christ; publicly owned in what and where

they seemed to have nothing

We have now the general promise in heavenly places

marked by special association with Christ; and they are

publicly owned in that in which they seemed on earth to

have nothing. Others had the pretension to be the people

of God, the city of God-to have divine religious title; these

were only consistent with His Word, and they waited for

Christ. Now, when Christ takes His power, when things

are real, according to Him in power, they have this place

according to God. It was the cross and contempt below; it is

the display of God’s name and heavenly city above.<P464>

A pillar in the temple of God: association with Christ

in His own blessing with God

Let us examine the promise to the overcomers here. He

who had but a little strength is a pillar in the temple of

the God in whom and with whom he is blessed. He was

held, perhaps, as outside the ecclesiastical unity and order;

he is a pillar in it in heaven, and will go no more out. On

him who was hardly owned to have a part in grace has the

name of his rejected Saviour’s God been stamped publicly

in glory. He who was hardly accounted to belong to the

holy city has its heavenly name written on him too, and

Christ’s new name-the name not known to prophets and

Jews according to the esh, but which He has taken as

dead to this world (where the false assembly settles down)

and risen into heavenly glory. e careful association with

Christ is striking here, and gives its character to the promise.

“e temple of my God,” says Christ; “the name of my

God”; “of the city of my God,” “my new name.” Associated

Revelation 3

649

in Christ’s own patience, Christ confers upon him what

fully associates him in His own blessing with God. is is

of peculiar blessing, and full of encouragement for us.

Laodicea: the last state of profession in the assembly;

judgment of pretended acquisitions; irremediable

rejection; grace to the individual

Laodicea follows. Lukewarmness characterizes the last

state of profession in the assembly. It is nauseous to Christ;

He will spew it out of His mouth. It was not mere want of

power, it was want of heart-the worst of all ills. is threat

is peremptory, not conditional. It brought irremediable

rejection. With this want of heart for Christ and His

service, there was much pretension to the possession

of resources and competency in themselves; “I am rich,”

whereas they had nothing of Christ. It is the professing

assembly accounting itself rich without having Christ as

the riches of the soul by faith. erefore, He counsels them

to buy of Him true and approved righteousness, clothing

for their moral nakedness, and what gave spiritual sight; for

they were, as respects what Christ is and gives before God,

poor, naked and miserable, and specially so. is is Christ’s

judgment of their pretended acquisitions according to

man. However, as long as the assembly subsists, Christ

continues to deal in grace, stands at the door<P465> and

knocks, presses reception of Himself in the closest way on

the conscience. If anyone, still in what He was going to

spew out, heard His voice and opened, He would give him

admission to be with Him, and a part in the kingdom.

e Lord’s coming in relation to the various

assemblies; their repentance

ere is no coming here; nor was there for the judgment

of Jezebel. at was practically Babylon; and she is judged

Darby Synopsis

650

before Christ comes. is is spewed out of Christ’s mouth,

cast o as worthless to Him; but the general body is judged

as the world. e Lord’s coming is in yatira for the

saints, and in Philadelphia too. at is its aspect as to the

assembly, and that only. Sardis is reduced, if unrepentant,

to the condition of the world, and judged as such. When

the state of Laodicea arrives, the assembly is disowned

and rejected of Christ in that character: but for that His

coming is not to be spoken of. Although yatira goes

down to the end and closes ecclesiastically the assembly’s

history, yet only in the rst three is the assembly at large

treated as the subject of repentance. In yatira space had

been given Jezebel to repent, and she did not: and the scene

is to close and be replaced by the kingdom. In this respect

the last four assemblies go together. ere is no prospect of

repentance of the whole assembly, or restoration. Sardis is

called to hold fast and repent, and remember what she had

received; but, if she does not watch, is to be treated as the

world. Hence, as we have seen, the call to hear is addressed

to overcomers after the promise.

Christ’s character in connection with Laodicea

e character of Christ in connection with this assembly

must not be passed over. It brings out the passage from the

various conditions of the assembly to His authority above

and beyond it over the world. Christ personally takes up

what the assembly has ceased to be. He is the Amen, the

fulllment and verier of all the promises, the real witness

and revealer of God and of truth, when the assembly is not;

and the beginning of the creation of God- Head over all

things, and the glory and witness of what it is as from God-

as the new creation. e assembly ought to have displayed

the power of the new creation by the Holy Spirit; as if

Revelation 3

651

any<P466> man is in Christ, it is a new creation, where all

things are of God. We, as its rstfruits, are created again

in Him. e assembly has thus the things which remain

(2Cor. 3). But she has been an unfaithful witness of it.

Does she possess a part in it? It is because Christ does,

and He is the true beginning of it as really displayed. e

responsible witness of it by the Holy Spirit having failed,

Christ now takes it up, coming in for its eectual display.

John’s ministry in connection with the Lord’s coming:

no mention of the rapture, yet the saints belonging to the

assembly are always seen above after the seven assemblies

are addressed

But the series of preparatory events in the world must

rst be gone into. And it is to be remarked that there is no

mention here of the fact of the Lord’s coming in reference

to the assembly. It is promised that He will come quickly;

and the assembly is threatened with being spewed out of

His mouth. But the fact of His coming for His own, or the

assembly’s rapture at any time, is not stated. is falls in

fully with what we have seen of John’s ministry1-his being

occupied with the manifestation of the Lord on earth, and

scarce touching (and only when needed on leaving the

disciples) on heavenly promises. In John 14 and 17 he does

it exceptionally. Here it is left out. Even in Revelation 12,

which remarkably conrms what I say, the rapture is only

seen as identied with the catching up of the man-child,

Christ Himself. Hence we have no specic relative epoch

noted for the taking away the saints here, save that they

are taken before the war in heaven which leads to the last

three years and a half. But, on the other hand, the saints

belonging to the assembly, or before, are always seen above

when the epistles to the assemblies are ended. ey are

Darby Synopsis

652

waiting for judgment to be given to them for the avenging

of their blood; but they are never seen on earth.<P467>

(1. His character, too, was for judgment among the

assemblies and the assembly on earth; not His own bride,

but the outward body here on earth.)

Revelation 4

653

73333

Revelation 4

“e things after these”: Christ’s dealings with the

world begin; the Lamb in the midst of the throne; the

saints having their own place in heaven

But we have to consider where the fourth chapter

commences God’s ways. It does not follow necessarily that

the assembly has been spewed out of Christ’s mouth. It had

been threatened; but the judgment on Sardis, or even on

yatira, was not yet come. But it is after Christ has ceased

to deal with the professing assembly as such, looking to it

as His light-bearer before the world. What it may call itself

still is not stated; He is not dealing with it. An open apostasy

will come. Its date is not revealed; nor is it revealed as to

the rapture. But I gather from 2essalonians 2 that the

rapture will be before the apostasy. What we have stated,

then, is that it is after all dealing with the assemblies by

Christ is closed that the subsequent dealings with the world

in the Revelation begin. e assemblies are “the things that

are”; what follows, “the things after these.” Christ is not

now seen walking in their midst; He is the Lamb in the

midst of the throne. John is not occupied with seeing Him

there, or sending messages to the assemblies, but is called

up to heaven where all the ways of God are now carried

on, and that towards the world, not the assembly. We have

the throne too, not the long-robed priest. e kings and

priests we read of in chapter 1 are now on high. Others

may follow them; but they are in heavenly places, seated on

thrones, or worshipping, or presenting their censers full of

incense. On the other hand, the Lord is not come to judge

Darby Synopsis

654

the world, but about to receive the inheritance. e saints,

then, who will be caught up to meet Christ, are seen only

on high here; they belong to heaven and are no longer dealt

with on earth, but have their own place in heaven.

e two parts of the Apocalypse; Christ, who was

judging in the midst of the professing church, now on

high opening the book of the world’s judgment; the

scene in heaven

e connection between the two parts of the

Apocalypse is this: Christ, who was judging in the midst

of the professing church, is now seen on high, opening the

book of this world’s judgment, of which He is about to

take the inheritance publicly. From this scene<P468> of

judgment the saints are far. e Apostle’s occupation with

the assembly now ceases-an important point, for the Holy

Spirit must be occupied with it as long as the saints are in

it on earth-and he is taken up to heaven, and there he sees

God in covenant with creation, on a throne of government,

with a rainbow round about it. e living creatures celebrate

Him as the Creator, the One for whom all things were

created. e throne was not a throne of grace, but the signs

of power and judgment broke forth from it; but around it

those who represent the saints received at Christ’s coming,

the kings and priests, are sitting on thrones in a circle

around the throne. No altar of sacrice is in view, as if it

were a time of approach; the brazen laver has glass instead

of water. It is a xed, accomplished holiness, not cleansing

of feet. e elders are crowned, the number twenty-four

recalling the courses of the priests. e seven Spirits of

God are there in the temple, not Christ’s to wield for the

assembly, or sent out into the world, but the perfections

Revelation 4

655

in attributes which characterize the actions of God in the

world. is it is bears light now into the world.

e four living creatures

Besides these, four living creatures are there in the

circle of the throne itself and around the throne. ey

may be viewed as forming the throne, or apart from it,

though connected with it as a center. ey have some of

the characters of the cherubim, some of the seraphim, but

somewhat dierent from both. ey were full of eyes, before

and behind, to see all things according to God, and within;

having also six wings; perfect in inward perception, but

given perception, and in the celerity of their motions. ey

embraced also the four species of creation in the ordered

earth: man, cattle, beast of the eld, fowl of the air: these

symbolizing the powers or attributes of God, themselves

worshipped by the heathen, here only the instruments of

the throne. Him who sat on it the heathen knew not. e

intelligence, rmness, power, rapidity of execution which

belong to God were typied as elsewhere by them. ey

are symbols. Divers agents may be the instruments of their

activity. But though there was the general analogy of the

cherubim, judicial and governmental power, these had a

peculiar character.<P469>

e cherubim and seraphim

e cherubim in the temple had two wings, which

formed the throne; they looked on the covenant, and at the

same time, as of pure gold, were characterized by the divine

righteousness of the throne to be approached. In Ezekiel

they were the support of the rmament above which the

God of Israel was: it was a throne of executive judgment.

ey were like burnished brass, and like re-a symbol we

have considered already. ey had four wings: two to y

Darby Synopsis

656

with, two to cover themselves. From Ezekiel 10 it appears

they were full of eyes (“it is not said within”). It was to

govern what was outside, according to God, not divine

intelligence within. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim (or burners)

have six wings as here; they are above the throne, and cry as

here, Holy, holy, holy! ey, with a burning coal, cleansed

the prophet’s lips; they were above the throne.

e throne of executory judgment, the government of

all the earth

e symbols used here become clearer through these

cases. e living creatures are in and around the throne;

for it is a throne of executory judgment, with the attributes

of cherubim united to it. But it is not, as in Israel, mere

earthly, providential judgment, a whirlwind out of the

north. ere is before us the government of all the earth,

and executory judgment according to the holiness of God’s

nature.1ere is not only full perception of all, but intrinsic

perception morally. It is no seat of gold to be approached, as

in the tabernacle. e intrinsic holiness of God is applied

to judgment. He is making good His nature and character

in all creation. Providence would be no longer a riddle. It

was not complex attributes unsolved, so to speak, though

applied in special circumstances; each act would have its

character.

(1. For the judgment at the end, though governmental,

closing earth’s history, was not merely so (cherubic),

but according to God’s holiness and nature (seraphic),

particularly as in Isaiah 6, a known God in Israel.)

e God of the ages whose attributes now celebrate

His full name

Here too remark, it is not, as in the rst chapter, the

God who is, though embracing past and future, God in

Revelation 4

657

Himself; but the<P470> God of ages, “who was, and is,

and is to come.” Still He has all Old Testament names:

Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai. His attributes now celebrate

His full name, as the Holy One who lives forever and ever-

has no passing power or being, like man at his best estate,

vanity. And the saints here fall down before the throne,

bow themselves before His place in glory, and worship

Him in His endless being, and lay down their given glory

before His supreme and proper glory, ascribing all glory to

Him alone, as alone worthy of it; but here, according to the

nature of the celebration of it, the Creator for whom all

things are. In all changes these remained true.

e declaration of the living creatures; the

understanding worship of the throned elders; their place

before the throne of judgment

It will be remarked here that the living creatures

only celebrate and declare; the elders worship with

understanding. All through the Revelation the elders give

their reason for worshipping. ere is spiritual intelligence

in them.

Further, remark that when thunderings and lightnings

and voices, the signs of terror in judgment, go forth from

the throne, the throned elders remain unmoved; they

are on thrones around when the throne of judgment is

introduced. is is their place before God in respect of

judgment. Whenever He takes judgment in hand, this is

their position. ey are part of the glory-assessors of the

throne from which its terror goes forth. When He that

sits on it is celebrated, they are all activity, own all glory to

be His, are prostrate on their faces, and cast their crowns

before Him, more blessed in owning His glory, than in

possessing their own.

Darby Synopsis

658

God here displayed as Jehovah

We do not nd the Father here; it is Jehovah. And

indeed should we ask in whom He is personally displayed,

it would be, as always, in the Son; but it is in itself simply

the Jehovah of the Old Testament here.<P471>

Revelation 5

659

73334

Revelation 5

e book of God’s counsels, wielded by His power,

which could be opened only by the Lamb, the rejected

Messiah

In the next chapter we nd the Lamb. A book was in the

right hand of Him who sat on the throne. It was counsels,

wielded by His power. Who could open them and bring

them forth to execution? Who had the title to do so? None

in heaven or earth but One. e elders explained to the

prophet who mourned that the ways of God should be

shut up, that the mighty One of Judah, the true source of

all promises to David, had prevailed to open it and loose

the seals. is was the Lamb, the rejected Messiah. He

was more than this, as the chapter goes on to show; but

He is this. e rejected Messiah was in the midst of the

divine throne; and within all the displays of providence

and grace-the living creatures and elders-stood a Lamb as

it had been slain. He had the fullness of power over the

earth-seven horns-as of God, and the seven Spirits of God

for government, according to God’s perfection, of all the

earth. When He has taken the book, the living creatures

and elders fall down before Him with golden censers full

of the prayers of the saints. ey are priests here.

e ground of the worthiness of the Lamb to open the

book; resultant praise

Now a new song is sung to celebrate the Lamb. What

seemed His dishonor and rejection on earth was the ground

of His worthiness to take the book. He who at all suering

and cost to Himself had gloried all that God was, was

Darby Synopsis

660

able and worthy to unfold what made it good in the way

of government. It was not the government of Israel, but of

all the earth; not merely earthly chastisements according

to God’s revelation of Himself in Israel, but the display

in power of all God was in the whole earth. He who had

gloried all He was, and redeemed, by the gospel of what

He was through His death, out of all the earth, was the t

One to bring it forth in power. He does not yet come forth;

but His work is the worthy instrument, the divine motive,

for the display of it all. He can unlock the seals of God’s

ways and mysteries. I read the passage thus: “ou wast

slain, and hast redeemed to God, by thy blood, out of every

kindred, . . . and hast made them unto our God<P472>

kings and priests, and they shall reign over the earth.” us,

it is not any particular class, but the value of the act which

is the motive of praise, and all being conded to Him.

e praise of the angels: universal and eternal praise

to God and to the Lamb

Here the angels come in to praise, not in the fourth

chapter. I can hardly doubt that a change in administrative

order takes place here. Until the Lamb took the book, they

were the administrative power; they were the instruments

through which what the four living creatures symbolized

was exercised in the earth. “But unto the angels hath he not

put into subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.”

Hence, as soon as the Lamb appears and takes the book,

as soon as the idea of redemption is brought in, the living

creatures and elders are brought together, and the angels

take their own place apart. Like the living creatures before,

they give no reason for their praise. As the heads of creation

as to their nature, they celebrate with all creatures the title

to glory of the Lamb and His own worthiness, ascribing

Revelation 5

661

praise to Him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb

forever and ever. e four living creatures, that is, all the

exercise of God’s power in creation and providence, join

their amen, and the elders worship God in the excellency of

His being. But the living creatures and elders are joined (vs.

8) in falling down before the Lamb. I do not think they are

meant to be distinguished in the latter part of the verse,1

but merge in the elders, symbolizing dierent service but

not now two classes. Verse 9 is the general fact; not “they

sung,” but “they sing.” is takes place in heaven; but those

named are in the mind in a general way. us the source

of what follows, the throne, and the persons engaged in

heaven before God in all that passes, are displayed: whence

the judgment ows, who surround the throne of God

above, and who is in it, have been brought before us; the

heavenly scene, and choir, and assistants.<P473>

(1. at is, ΕχΟντΕσ (echontes) does not apply to elders

only.)

Darby Synopsis

662

73335

Revelation 6

Scenes on earth when the seals of the book are opened:

John’s prophetical foreview from the church’s ruin till

Christ comes

What is to follow on earth now begins, when the seals

are opened. It will be remarked here that John, standing in

the ruin of the assembly, gives prophetically all that passes

from that failure till Christ comes in chapter 19. ere is

no ascension, no rapture, save so far as chapter 12:5 gives

both together.

Providential and limited plagues, preparatory to

God’s direct judgments

e rst seals are simple; nor have I anything to oer

very new upon them: rst, imperial conquests, then wars,

then famine, then pestilence, carrying with it what Ezekiel

calls God’s four sore plagues (sword, famine, pestilence

and the beasts of the earth). ey speak of the providential

course of God’s dealings, and hence the four beasts call

attention to it; but they have God’s voice in them, the voice

of the Almighty: that, the ear of him who has the Spirit

hears. ese complete providential plagues, as spoken of

in Scripture. en direct judgments follow; but these are

what we may call preparatory measures.

I have to notice that in the full plagues of verse 8 the

whole Roman earth is not included. It is a fourth, not a

third. e plagues too, note, are limited in extent of sphere,

not universal.

Martyred saints: their white robes the recognition of

their righteousness, owning their service

Revelation 6

663

e saints are those whom God is really thinking of,

and they come in remembrance before other scenes are

brought out. ose who had been martyred for the Word

of God and their testimony demand how long before they

were avenged; for we have ever to do here with a God

of judgment. eir being under the altar means simply

that they had oered their bodies, as sacrices for the

truth, to God. e white robes are the witness of their

righteousness-God’s declared approval of them; but the

time for their being avenged was not yet. I do not think

giving white robes is resurrection. e rst resurrection

is sovereign grace, giving us<P474> the same place with

Christ (“forever with the Lord”), consequent on His work

and His being our righteousness, which is alike to all of

us. White robes thus conferred are the recognition of the

righteousness (δΙκαΙωματα; dikaiomata)1 of the saints-

hence, are seen in chapter 19 at His appearing. “ey

shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” I am not

denying that we are made clean, and our robes white in the

blood of the Lamb. But, even where this is said in chapter

7, I think it refers especially to the way they have been

associated by faith with the suering position of Christ.

Here white robes are given them-their service owned; but,

for avenging, they must wait till a new scene of persecution

had brought them companions who had to be honored and

avenged like them. Still this marks progress and nds its

cause in the dealing of God to bring about this new state

of things, which issues in nal judgment and setting aside

of evil. Here the judgments are providential.

(1. It is very possible that the plural “righteousness” is a

Hebraism for righteousness. It is a common case in moral

things. At any rate, it is of the saints.)

Darby Synopsis

664

e breaking up of the whole system of earthly

government; the terror of all on earth; the God of

judgment

e next thing to the claim for avenging is the breaking

up of the whole system of earthly government, and the

terror of all on earth. How clearly we see here that we are

in a scene of judgment, and that God is a God of judgment!

e desires of the saints are like the desires of the Psalms.

We are not with children before the Father, with grace, with

the gospel, and the assembly; but with Jehovah, where God

is a God of judgment, and by Him actions are weighed. We

are on Old Testament ground, that is, prophecy, not grace

to the wicked, though judgment brings in blessing.

e opening of the sixth seal brings an earthquake, that

is, a violent convulsion of the whole structure of society.

All the governing powers are therein visited; and, seeing all

subverted, small and great think (with bad consciences as

they have) that the day of the Lamb’s wrath is come. But

it is not, though preparatory judgments with a view to His

kingdom are there.<P475>

Revelation 7

665

73336

Revelation 7

God’s thoughts of His saints on earth; the remnant

of Israel sealed, secured and set apart for blessing before

God’s judgments; a multitude of Gentiles before the

throne ascribing salvation to God and the Lamb

But God thinks too of His saints on earth (where, we

must remember, the assembly is never now seen) before

the scenes which follow, whether judgments on the Roman

earth or the special workings of evil, to secure and seal

them for that day.

First, the perfect number of the remnant of Israel

is sealed, before the providential instruments of God’s

judgments are allowed to act; 144,000 = 12 x 12 x 1000.

ey are secured for blessing according to God’s purposes

and set apart by Him; not yet seen in their blessings, but

secured for them. Afterwards the vast multitude from

among the Gentiles is seen. We must remark here, there

is no previous prophetic announcement of the blessing

of the spared ones in the great tribulation (not the three

years and a half of Matthew 24-this refers to Jews-but that

mentioned in the epistle to the church at Philadelphia).

Hence, this is fully given to us here, and we are distinctly

told who they are. A multitude of Gentiles is seen

standing, not as around the throne, but before it and before

the Lamb, their righteousness owned and themselves

victorious. ey ascribe salvation to God thus revealed, that

is, to God on the throne, and to the Lamb. ey belong to

these earthly scenes, not to the assembly. is is answered

by the angels who are around the throne, the elders, and

Darby Synopsis

666

the living creatures-all together composing the heavenly

part of the scene already connected with the throne; the

angels surrounding the others, which form the center and

immediate circle of the throne, the white-robed multitude

before it. e angels give their amen, and pronounce the

praise of their God too.

e dierence between the praises of the various

classes of worshippers

All this belonged to the white-robed multitude and

the angels; only the former speaks of the Lamb, who was

also their salvation. e angels add their amen to this; but

praise their God. ey had ascribed glory and blessing to

the Lamb before; but, naturally, <P476>salvation to the

Lamb was not their own part of the song. But the four

living creatures and the elders do not worship here, because

their own relationships were dierent, and these are not

what are spoken of here. ey are found, as far as the book

goes, in chapters 4-5, where they are on thrones around,

and cast their crowns before the throne, and worship Him

that lives forever and ever. ey give the motives of worship

according to the relationships they are in: that of the angels

is with their God; of the white-robed multitude, with the

God of the throne and the Lamb as having the title to the

government and deliverance of the earth as a present thing.

at the Lamb was the Son, yea, the God who created the

angels, is not the question here, but of each speaking in his

own relationship, so as to bring these relationships out.

e white-robed multitude out of the great

tribulation: a class apart, distinct from the heavenly and

the millennial saints and the Jewish remnant

We have thus the heavenly hosts, the gloried saints,

and the white-robed multitude, each in a dierent

Revelation 7

667

relationship, but the rst and the last thrown in the main

together-the gloried saints forming a class apart. ey do

not worship here. But one of the elders, who have always

the intelligence of God, explains to the prophet who

the white-robed multitude are. It formed no part of the

prophetic revelation as yet, and it was not the assembly’s

own place. “Sir, thou knowest,” says the prophet. ey had

come out of the great tribulation, faithful in it, their robes

white in the blood of the Lamb. ey were not millennial

saints, that is, born in that time, and subject by birth to

the responsibility of that condition (which grace had to

meet). ey were cleansed and owned to be so, having the

consciousness of it and victory when the others began; so

that they, as already cleansed and owned, are always before

the throne a special class, and serve Him day and night in

His temple.

is at once distinguishes them from the heavenly

worshippers; there is no temple there; the Lord God

Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. He that sits on the

throne tabernacles over these, as once over the tabernacle.

ey are not only as Israel in the courts, or the nations in

the world: they have a priest’s place in the world’s temple.

e millennial multitudes are worshippers; these, priests.

As Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, ever in the temple

it<P477>self, they have always access to the throne. But

they had blessings under the Lamb also, to whom they alike

ascribe their salvation-the Good Shepherd cast out, and

who had passed through tribulation Himself, also so great,

would feed them; they would not hunger anymore or thirst

anymore, as they had often done; nor should persecution

or tribulation reach them. e Lamb, as known in this

transitional time, but exalted in the throne, would feed

Darby Synopsis

668

them and lead them to living fountains of water. It is not,

as to us, the promise of a well of water, springing up into

everlasting life, and owing out as a river; but they would

be fed, refreshed and perfectly cared for by the Lamb’s grace

whom they had followed; and God Himself would wipe

all tears from their eyes. ey would have the consolations

of God, worth all the sorrows they had passed through.

But their blessings are consolations, not proper heavenly

joy. ey are thus a class apart, distinct from the elders or

heavenly saints, and distinct from millennial saints who

will never see tribulation, having a known position xed in

grace before God. It is a new revelation as to those passing

through the great tribulation. e 144,000 of chapter 14

are a similar class from among the Jews, coming out of

their special tribulation.

Revelation 8

669

73337

Revelation 8

e intercession of the great High Priest for saints on

earth turned into judgments

Again, divine interest in the saints, brought out into

action by the eectual intercession of the great High Priest,

brings down judgments on the world. For those under the

altar there was no intercession; they were perfected, having

been rejected and slain like Christ. ere are saints upon

the earth who yet need this intercession, so that their cry in

their inrmity should be heard and answered. e smoke

of the incense came up with the prayers of the saints. e

great mediator took of the re o the altar, put it into the

censer, and cast it on the earth. e intercession turned into

judgments in the answer, and the signs of God’s power were

manifested, and subversion of order on earth followed-

voices, thunderings, lightnings (as when the throne was

set) and an earthquake.<P478>

Specic judgments on the Roman earth: four plagues

en follow specic judgments, on the signal being

given from above. ey fell on the Roman earth, the third

part of the earth (see chapter 12:4). First, judgment from

heaven, hail and re; and violence or destruction of men;

on earth, blood: the eect was the destruction of the great

ones in the Roman earth, and of all general prosperity.

Next, a great power, as the judgment of God, was cast

into the mass of peoples-still, I apprehend, in the Roman

earth; for destruction of men, and all that belonged to their

subsistence and commerce followed in those limits. Next,

one that should have been a special source of light and order

Darby Synopsis

670

in government fell from his place and corrupted the moral

sources of popular motives and feelings-what governs and

sways the people so as to characterize them. ey became

bitter, and men died of it. e last of these four plagues falls

on the governing powers and puts them out in their order,

as from God: all in the limits of the Roman earth. is

closed the general judgments, subverting and producing

disaster and confusion in the Roman earth, where the

power of evil, as against the saints, was.

A threefold woe announced on the perversely

unbelieving class, unawakened and unmoved by God’s

judgments

Woe (specially on those who had their settled place

on earth, in contrast with the heavenly calling, and who

were unawakened and unmoved by the judgments on the

earth, but clung to it in spite of all as their home) is then

announced. reefold woe! e term “dwellers on,” or

“inhabiters of,” the earth, has not yet been used, save in

the promise to Philadelphia, and the claims of the souls

under the altar: for both of these were in contrast with

such. After all these dealings of God, they are a distinct

and manifested class, and spoken of, in what passes on the

earth, as such. Against this perversely unbelieving class

the earthly judgments of God are now directed: the rst,

against the Jews; the second, against the inhabitants of the

Roman earth; the last, universal.<P479>

Revelation 9

671

73338

Revelation 9

e bottomless pit opened where evil is chained:

Satanic power let loose to torment the ungodly Jews

e fth angel sounds; and one who should have been

by position the instrument of light and governmental

order over the earth was seen as having lost his place; and

the power to let loose the full darkening inuence of Satan

was given him. He opened the bottomless pit-the place

where evil is shut up and chained; not where it is punished,

that is, the lake of re. Supreme authority, and all heavenly

light over the earth, and healthful inuence of order, were

darkened and made to cease by the evil, Satanic inuence

which was let loose. Nor was this all: direct instruments of

Satanic power came out of this evil inuence in numbers;

crowds of moral locusts with the sting of false doctrine in

their tail. But it was not to destroy temporal prosperity on

the earth, but to torment the ungodly Jews; not to kill, but

to harass and vex them. is was to continue ve months;

for it is not the nal judgment. e torment was worse

than death-pain and anguish of heart. But they had the

semblance of military imperial power, crowned, and with

masculine energy, to those that met them; but they were,

if seen behind and the secret disclosed, subject and weak:

their faces were as the faces of men, their hair as the hair

of women. But they were armed in a steeled conscience.

ey were the direct instruments of the power of Satan,

and under his orders. e angel of the bottomless pit-he

who rules the depths of Satan’s wiles, as the ruler of the

power of darkness-led them. We are too unbelieving as

Darby Synopsis

672

to the direct inuence of Satan in darkening men’s minds

when permitted, when men are given up to his darkening

inuence. Cruel, harassing torments, worse than death,

with darkening of their minds, become the portion of the

once beloved people. One woe was past.

God’s judgments against the inhabitants of the Latin

Empire by instruments from beyond Euphrates with

Satanic doctrine

e sixth angel sounds. e woe which follows is much

more human and providential. It is directed against the

inhabitants of the Latin Empire. e instruments of it

are let loose from beyond<P480> Euphrates-a countless

crowd of horsemen. But they were not simply such. eir

consciences and their words, both were in the power of

Satan, but in judgment from God. But it now killed men.

eir mouths belched forth the power of Satan, and their

inuence in doctrine was Satanic: with both they did hurt.

I do not believe this death here is mere temporal death

(there may be such), but, I suspect, making apostates. e

rest, who did not thus fall, did not repent of their idolatry

and misdeeds.

Revelation 10

673

73339

Revelation 10

e little, open book as a part of well-known prophecy;

Christ arms His right to all below; the announcement

of a nal issue; the prophecy recommenced to nations,

tongues and languages

ese were preliminary woes on the body of Jews and

Christianized Gentiles, not the direct antagonism of the

power of evil with God. is is now unfolded, but rst, in

the little, open book, put in its place in the general history.

e book is open as part of well-known prophecy, and

now brought to a direct issue on known ground; not the

unrevealed and more unmanifest ways of God introducing

the nal issue. Christ comes down and arms His right

to all below; puts His right foot on the sea, the left on

the earth, and utters the voice of His might, to which the

voice of the Almighty in power answers. But its revelations

were sealed up; but Christ swears by Him who lives forever

and ever that there should be no more delay. All things are

drawing to a nal issue. In the sounding of the seventh

trumpet, the mystery of God would be closed-His direct

power come. e prophet is to recommence his prophecy

as to nations and tongues, and languages.

Darby Synopsis

674

73340

Revelation 11

e half-week of sorrow in Jerusalem; real worshippers

owned, the general profession of Judaism rejected; the

two witnesses to God’s title to the earth slain

We are here at once in the center of prophetic subjects-

Jerusalem, the temple, the altar, and worshippers. e

worshippers and the altar are recognized and accepted of

God-those <P481>worshipping in the secret of God within.

e general profession of Judaism is rejected and disowned.

It is given up to be trodden down under the Gentiles,

and that for the half-week of sorrow. ose who held the

place of priests were owned. Real worshippers, according

to God’s mind, were there and owned; and God gave also

an adequate testimony-two witnesses-what was required

under the law; and they continue day by day constantly to

give witness the whole period, or half-week. e witnesses

were in sorrow and reproach, but with power; as Elias and

Moses were when the people were in apostasy and captivity.

It was not the reestablishment of Israel with royalty and

priesthood, as it would be afterwards-the candlestick

of Zechariah with the two olive trees-but the sucient

witness to it. Nor could they be touched while the half-

week of their prophecy lasted; their word brought death

on their adversaries. We have priesthood and prophecy in

the remnant, not, of course, royalty, but a testimony to it

practically: suering marked its absence, yet none could

touch them till their time were come. In this they were

like Christ in His humiliation in the midst of Israel; only

He did not slay His enemies. In the Psalms He marks it

Revelation 11

675

out as the remnant’s portion. Complete humiliation and

the full answer of God to their prophetic word marked

their state. But when they had nished their testimony, the

case is dierent. ey had to do with the beast out of the

bottomless pit. ey stood before the God of the earth-not

preachers of heavenly gospel, but witnesses of God’s title

to the earth- of His love to His people in connection with

it. ey bore witness to God’s claim when hostile Gentiles

were in possession. e beast, now their hour is come,

slays them, and their bodies are cast into the highways of

the city. ose of the nations rejoice over them and make

merry. e dwellers upon earth, who would have the earth

theirs and ease upon it, were delighted: for the witnesses

of the God of the earth tormented them; but in three days

and a half, quickened by the power of the Spirit of God,

they ascended to heaven in a cloud, not as Christ did, apart,

but in the sight of their enemies. A tenth of the great city

of the world fell at the same time in the convulsion that

took place on the earth; and the remnant are arighted,

and give glory to the God of heaven. But God was dealing

already as the God of the earth. e second woe was now

past.<P482>

e mystery of God nished; God’s woe and His

wrath; man’s wrath and God’s judgment; full reckoning

and nal deliverance

us we get the close of the half-week indicated; the

seventh trumpet was quickly to sound, which was to nish

the mystery of God. It sounds; and there were great voices

in heaven declaring that the worldly kingdom of their

Lord (Jehovah) and of His anointed (Christ) was come-

the greatest woe and terror of all to the inhabitants of

the earth. Satan’s woe had been specially on Jews; man’s

Darby Synopsis

676

woe, specially on the men of the Latin Empire; this is

God’s woe when the nations are angry, and God’s wrath

is come, and full reckoning and nal deliverance come.

We have again the elders here announcing the reason of

praise and thanksgiving. Voices in heaven announce the

fact of the reign of Jehovah and of His Christ according to

Psalm 2, and that He (for, as ever, John unites both in one

thought) should reign forever and ever; and so it will be.

But both the earthly and eternal kingdom are celebrated.

Only in the eternal kingdom the distinction of the worldly

kingdom and of Christ’s subordination is omitted. In the

thanksgiving of the elders, Jehovah Elohim Shaddai is also

celebrated; as the great King who takes to Him His power

and reigns; for it is God’s kingdom. We have two parts in

their statement: the nations angry-this brings in the time

of God’s wrath; and the time of the dead to be judged. is

is the rst half: man’s wrath, and God’s judgment. en

He gives reward to prophets, saints, and all that fear His

name, and sets aside from the earth those who corrupted it.

is is blessing. e rst part is general, the time of wrath

and judgment; the second is reward and deliverance of

the saints on earth. is closes entirely the main symbolic

history. e last trumpet has sounded, and the mystery of

God is closed.

Details of God’s mystery: earthly, prophetic dealing

with

special reference to the Jews, characterized by

judgment

In what follows we have details: the beast, and the

connection of the assembly and Jews with it; Babylon; and

then the marriage of the Lamb; judgments of beast and

false prophet; binding of Satan; two resurrections, and nal

Revelation 11

677

judgment; and the description of the heavenly city. But this

new prophecy begins (ch. 11:19), as to earthly, prophetic

dealing, with special reference to the Jews.

e<P483> temple of God is opened in heaven, the

ark of His covenant, which refers to Israel, is seen there.

But judgment characterizes it now; judgments of all

kinds, those coming down from above, and subversion and

disaster below.1

(1. Where the throne is set for judgment, it is

characterized only by what proceeds directly from God.

ere are no earthquakes and hail; here there are.)

Darby Synopsis

678

73341

Revelation 12

Summary of the whole course of events; the subjects

and result of God’s ways symbolized by a woman; Israel

and the man-child-Christ

Chapter 12 gives us a brief but all-important summary of

the whole course of events, viewed, not in their instruments

on earth or the judgment of these, but the divine view of

all the principles at work, the state of things as revealed of

God. e rst symbolical person, subject of the prophecy

and result of all God’s ways in it, is a woman clothed with

the sun, having a crown of twelve stars, and the moon

under her feet. It is Israel, or Jerusalem as its center, as in

the purpose of God (compare Isaiah 9:6 and Psalm 87:6).

She is clothed with supreme authority, invested with the

glory of perfect administration in man, and all the original,

reected glory of this under the old covenant, under her

feet. She was travailing in childbirth, distressed, and in pain

to be delivered: on the other hand, Satan’s power in the

form of the Roman Empire, complete in forms of power,

seven heads, but incomplete in administrative supremacy-

ten, not twelve horns. But Satan, as the open, indel enemy

of God and God’s power in Christ, sought to devour the

child as soon as born, who was to have the rule of the earth

from God. But the child, Christ, and the assembly with

Christ, is caught away to God and His throne-does not

receive the power yet, but is placed in the very source of

it from which it ows. It is not the rapture as regards joy;

for it goes back to Christ Himself, but the placing Him

and the assembly in and with Him, in the seat from which

Revelation 12

679

power ows for the establishment of the kingdom. ere

is no time for this: Christ and the assembly are all one.

But the woman-the Jews, after this y into the wilderness,

where God has prepared a place for them, for the half-

week.<P484>

e respective places of the heavenly saints, the

earthly ones (the Jews), and the child that is to have

power

e assembly, or heavenly saints (as Christ, note), go up

to heaven to be out of the way. e Jews, or earthly ones,

are protected by providential care upon earth. is gives

the whole state of things, and those in view in this scene,

and their respective places. She that is to have glory and

hold power in the earth is cast out. e child that is to have

power, in and from heaven, is previously taken up there.

is makes the position very clear.

War in heaven; the source of victory; the heavenly

saints and the Jewish remnant

e historical course of events is now pursued, the child

being supposed to be already caught up. ere is war in

heaven; and the devil and his angels are cast out, and have

no more place there. is brings out yet more clearly the

distinction of the heavenly saints and the Jewish remnant.

e heavenly ones had overcome the accuser by the blood

of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; the woman’s

seed have the commandments of God and the testimony of

Jesus Christ, that is, the Spirit of prophecy. What they have

of God in the Word is according to the Old Testament.

e kingdom of God proclaimed from heaven whence

Satan was cast out; woe to the inhabitants of the earth

But, to follow up the latter part of the chapter, a loud

voice proclaims in heaven that the kingdom of our God

Darby Synopsis

680

and the power of His Christ is come-the testimony still of

the second psalm; only as yet it was only proclaimed from

heaven, where the power of the kingdom was already made

good by the casting down of Satan. Satan’s anti-priestly

power was over forever. King and prophet he might yet

put on; but his heavenly place was past. e saints of the

heavenlies had overcome him by that which made their

conscience and their title to heaven good-the blood of the

Lamb, and the word of their mouth, God’s sword by the

Spirit-and gave up their lives to the death. e heavens

and the dwellers there could now rejoice; but it was woe

to the inhabiters of earth and sea; for the devil had come

down, knowing he had but a little time left. I think verse 11

implies that there are saints killed after the rap<P485>ture,

who yet belong to heaven. If there were such killed because

of their faithfulness, were they not taken up, they would

lose earth and heaven, though more devoted than those

who had earth. We see them, moreover, in chapter 20 in

the rst resurrection. e souls under the altar also had

to wait for others-their brethren who had to be killed, as

they were; and we are to note here that those celebrated as

happy are the slain ones, none others. Yet it is before the

last three years and a half.

e three parties in view when Satan seeks to destroy

the testimony of the Jews on earth in the faithful remnant

So that we have these three parties in view: the voice of

those in heaven; (our) their brethren who had overcome;

and those who would be in the three years and a half of

Satan’s rage, which had not yet begun. Now, if the man-

child in heaven be, as we have considered it, Christ and the

raptured saints, the voice would be that of those already

there,1 and all self-evident: the raptured saints associated

Revelation 12

681

with Him celebrate the casting down of the accuser and

the deliverance of those who belonged to heaven, calling

them “our brethren”-the brethren whose conict with the

accuser was over, as he was now cast down, but who had

had to resist him as a heavenly potentate, an anti-priest, all

which part is mystery for John-and those who now would

be in trial, when he would act with rage on earth, as king

and prophet. For the dragon, cast to the earth and unable to

accuse in heaven or oppose saints having a heavenly calling

(and the priesthood refers to such, not to union), persecutes

the Jews, and seeks to destroy their testimony; but God gave,

not power of resistance-the Lord must come to deliver-but

power to ee and escape and nd refuge where she was

nourished the whole half-week out of the serpent’s reach.

He seeks to pursue; wings he has none: but he uses a river,

the movements of people under the inuence of special

motive and guidance, to overwhelm the woman. But the

earth, this organized system in which men live, swallowed

the waters up. is inuence was in vain-was not met by

an army, a counterpower, but was nullied. ere was such

a disposition or course of the earth as neutralized the eort

wholly. So God ordered in His providence;<P486> and

the dragon turned to persecute individually the faithful

remnant of the seed-the Jews who held fast by the Word.

(1. I do not continue to put the voice as Christ’s. e

application to Him is too questionable.)

Darby Synopsis

682

73342

Revelation 13

Satan’s instruments of evil: the two beasts

In chapter 13 we have the clear and full development

of Satan’s instruments of evil. ey are two-the ten-horned

and the two-horned beasts. To the rst the dragon, who

swept with his tail a third part of the stars to earth, Satan

under the form of the Roman Empire, gave his throne

and much authority.1e second not only wielded the

rst power administratively before him, but was the active

power of evil to lead men to recognize the rst, and therein

the dragon. e beast is the original Roman Empire, but

largely modied and in a new character. It has perfect

completeness in its forms of government or heads, but is

composed of ten kingdoms, indicating also, I doubt not,

imperfect administrative completeness. It has not twelve

horns; it is incomplete. Seven would be completeness of

a higher kind. e Lamb had seven horns; the woman,

twelve stars on her head. One is perfectness in itself; the

other administratively in man. Seven is the highest prime

number (you cannot make it); twelve, the most perfectly

divisible, composed of the same elements, but multiplied,

not added as a simple number. So four is nite perfection,

as is a square and still more a cube, perfectly the same all

ways but nite. But the beast had names of blasphemy. It

was the open enemy of God and His Christ. It absorbed

the previous empires and represented them. e dragon,

Satan’s direct power in the form of the heathen Roman

Empire, gave his throne and power to this new beast. It

was not of God. God owned no power on the earth now

Revelation 13

683

the assembly was gone, till He took His own. e earth was

at war with Him.

(1. We are not to be surprised, therefore, if the beast at

the end had only local empire, though originally God had

given universal empire to the beasts: how widely exercised

we know.)

An imperial head of the rst beast wounded and

restored; the dragon worshipped; the beast’s blasphemy

One of the beast’s heads (I doubt not the imperial) was

seen as wounded to death, but healed. e imperial head

was restored<P487> and the world was in admiration; and

they worship the dragon as giving the beast his power.

Nothing in their eyes equals the beast; but God is wholly

thrown o in the earth. e beast is given to have the

greatest pretensions in his language and outrage against

God. He blasphemed God, His name and dwelling-place,

and the heavenly saints-all Christianity, and the God of it.

e dragon had been cast out from heaven; the raptured

saints had been received there. He blasphemed, but could

only blaspheme them.

e beast worshipped by all who dwelt on earth except

the elect

As regards those who dwelt on earth (for the division

was not merely a spiritual one now), all worshipped the

beast, save the elect-those who had been written from

the foundation of the world in the Lamb’s book of life.

Human resistance by force was not the path of obedience.

Here the patience and faith of the saints were shown. He

who took the sword would perish by it; it is never Christ’s

way, but unresisting patience; but the beast who did would

perish. is then was the imperial power, a blasphemous

power set up by Satan, with the place of the old Roman

Darby Synopsis

684

Empire, which represented all four, modied in form, but

the imperial head restored.

e second beast making all the earth worship the

rst beast; Antichrist, Satan’s false Christ, working

deceiving miracles

But there was a second beast; it rose not out of the

mass of peoples (the sea) to be an empire, but out of the

already formed organization with which God had to say

as such. It had the form of Messiah’s kingdom on earth,

two horns like a lamb; but it was the direct power of Satan.

He who with a divinely taught ear heard it speak heard

the voice of Satan at once. All the power of the rst beast

it exercises before it; is, with its power, its minister, and

makes the earth and the dwellers on it worship it (that is,

the Roman Empire restored to its head). It is Antichrist,

the false Christ of Satan, who subjects the earth to the

Satanic Roman Empire. He does great wonders, so as to

give men as good proof of the beast’s title before men as

Elijah did of Jehovah’s. Compare 2essalonians 2, where

the man of sin gives the same<P488> proofs, if lying ones,

that Jesus did of being the Christ. He deceives the dwellers

on earth by his miracles, making them set up an image

to him. is image he gives breath to; so that it speaks

and causes those to be killed who do not worship it. All

likewise were obliged to take the stamp and the mark of

the beast’s service in their work, or open profession, and no

man was allowed to trac who had not the name of the

beast as a mark.

e power which recognizes Satan’s public power and

will have everyone bow to it; Satan assuming Christ’s

place of royalty and prophecy; advancing Gentile

Revelation 13

685

power by deceit; subjecting the Jews to idolatry, and the

Gentiles to the rst beast

Such is the power which has the character of Messiah’s

kingdom in its form, is animated with the fullest energy of

Satan, and, recognizing the public power which Satan had

set up in the world, will have everyone bow to it, none to

trac without acknowledging it. And all will, save the elect.

e anti-priestly power of Satan in the heavens is over;

royalty and prophecy as yet remain to him, in opposition to

Christ who has not yet appeared. ese he assumes; but he

does not and cannot set aside the power of the Gentiles-

that remains for Christ to do-but sets it up as his delegate;

and, as the apostate Jews of old, so now that people, save the

elect remnant, as his instruments bow to it and minister to

it. us you have all Satan’s power exercised. But, in setting

up his Messiah, he is obliged to deceive; and advances

by his miracles of deceit what he cannot set aside-the

Gentile power; and subjects the Jews to idolatry and to the

Gentiles; and all the Gentiles themselves dwelling on the

earth to the depository of Satan’s authority-the rst beast.

is is a singular state of things, far from Jewish

feelings and modern Gentile hopes; but the unclean spirit

of idolatry is to return to his house. Signs, not truth, will

govern the superstitious mind of man; they will be given

up to believe a lie. Here, though he takes the character

of Christ in his kingdom, it is chiey his action on the

Gentiles which is spoken of; the Jews are mixed up with

them, as we see in Isaiah 66 and Daniel. It is a liberal time,

but one of most complete tyranny as regards all who do

not bow to Satan’s power and the ordinances established by

him. What characterizes it is the absence of truth.<P489>

e number of the beast

Darby Synopsis

686

As regards the number of the beast, I have no doubt

that it will be very simple to the godly, when the beast is

there, and the time of spiritually judging it comes, and that

name will practically guide those who have to do with him.

Till then, the speculations of men are not of much value;

Irenæus’s old one of ΛατΕΙνΟσ (Lateinos) is as good as any.

Revelation 14

687

73343

Revelation 14

God’s dealings with the evil; the remnant owned and

set apart; a new song of redemption in connection with

earthly blessings

In chapter 14 we have the dealings of God with the

evil, only rst owning and setting apart the remnant. e

remnant belongs entirely to the renewed earth: they are

seen on that which is the center of dominion and glory

in it-Mount Zion, where the Lamb shall reign. ey had

His and His Father’s name on their foreheads; that is, by

their open confession of God and the Lamb they had been

witnesses of it, and suered as Christ had suered in His

life in owning God His Father: only they had not suered

death. It was a new beginning, not the assembly, not

heavenly, but the blessing of a delivered earth in its rstfruits

in those who had suered for the testimony to it. Heaven

celebrates it with a voice of many waters, and as of thunder,

but with joy. is voice was the voice of harps. A new song

is sung before the throne and beasts and elders. Here the

fact is the important thing. ere had been a song in and

of heaven, in chapter 5, in connection with redemption;

but those who were redeemed there were made kings and

priests. Here it was redemption in connection with earthly

blessings, not with the kingdom and priesthood on high;

and it is sung before the heavenly company and throne.

Heaven, however, is directly connected with the song. It

was connected with triumph over the power of evil by

patient endurance of suering.

Darby Synopsis

688

e remnant of the Psalms characterized by purity

from surrounding contamination

What specially characterized them was purity from

the contamination that surrounded them. is passing

through sorrow and<P490> overcoming connects them

directly with the heavenly conquerors. It was not the new

song of heavenly redemption; still it was victory when

down at the gates of death, though not actually in it. It was

“as it were a new song.” is none could learn but those

who had shared the earthly suerings of the Lamb, and

would now be His companions in His earthly royalty; they

had followed Him, they would follow Him whithersoever

He went. ey are the rstfruits of the new scene. ey

had not corrupted themselves where all did. ey were

not of those who loved or made a lie, or gave in to it.

Corruption and falsehood they had been kept free from,

openly confessing the truth. ey had not the heavenly

place, but they are without fault, and they share the Lamb’s

earthly place and glory, accompanying Him whithersoever

He goes, in the manifestation of that glory. All that led to

these privileges had no place when once the kingdom was

set up. It was then too late to show faithfulness in this way.

ere is a connection with the heavenly saints which is not

in chapter 7. e white-robed multitude stood before the

throne and the Lamb. ey are before the throne of God,

they worship in His temple, and the Lamb comforts them.

Here there is special association with the Lamb on earth, in

their path and in their consequent place. It is the remnant

of the Psalms (especially Psalms 1-41). But, though on

earth with the King, they are redeemed from among men

before Christ comes to earth; and the song they learn to

sing is sung before the elders and living creatures. ey

Revelation 14

689

are not with them, but they sing the song sung before

them; that is, the Gentile multitude are admitted to special

privileges before God and the Lamb; the Jewish remnant

are associated with the Lamb on earth, and, in a certain

sense, with heaven.

e everlasting gospel; warning to the earth to leave

idolatry, for the hour of God’s judgment was come; the

fall of Babylon

e progress of God’s ways follows-warning to the

earth to leave idolatry; for the hour of God’s judgment was

come. e everlasting gospel is the testimony of Christ’s

power, from paradise onward, as in contrast with the special

announcement of the assembly, and glad tidings connected

with it. Babylon is announced to be fallen; threats and

warnings to any that should own the beast; but the time

is now come when dying in the Lord was to<P491> cease;

only their blessedness remained henceforth. Dying and

tribulation were over. ey are looked at as one whole

body; and while any remained yet to die, they were diers in

the Lord, not rested and blessed. Now their rest is come,

and their reward.

e reaping of the earth and treading the winepress in

full, divine judgment

Christ then reaps the earth-separating, gathering, and

judgment; and treads the winepress, exercises unmingled

vengeance on the wicked. Hence, in this last judgment it

is the angel who had the power over re who calls for it;

it was full, divine judgment. is judgment was not within

the limits of Babylon-was not in the sphere in which man

had formed and ordered his organization in opposition to

God. is closes the whole scene of that which the history

Darby Synopsis

690

had begun by the catching up of the man-child to heaven.

He has returned in vengeance.

e vine of the earth

An interesting question here arises: What is the vine of

the earth? It is that which is the fruit-bearing organization,

or what should be so (that is the idea of it), in professed

connection with God, as His planting in the earth. Israel

was the vine brought out of Egypt. Christ on earth was

the true vine. It is not connection with Him in heaven.

ere we are looked at as perfect, not to bear fruit and be

pruned. But analogously it went on after He had ascended

on high, and professing Christians are the branches. But

here it is the vine of the earth, that which has its character

and growth therein, but with the pretension to take the

religious place by succession on the earth. e true saints

are gone on high, or are a persecuted, individual remnant.

I have no doubt the Jews will be the center of that system

then, but they will be mixed up with Gentiles, have turned

to idolatry, and have seven spirits worse than that; and the

apostate Gentiles will be fully associated with it all (see

Isaiah 34; 63; 65-66).<P492>

Revelation 15

691

73344

Revelation 15

God’s last judgments before Christ comes; the seven

angels having the seven last plagues; the saints seen in

security and real victory before His coming

Chapter 15 is a new vision. It unrolls before the prophet

another scene, the last plagues or judgments of God, and

specially that of Babylon, before Christ comes. e main

object of the vision was the seven angels, having the seven

last plagues; but, as ever, the saints who have to do with

this scene are seen in security before the judgments begin.

ey have been puried, but have come through the re of

tribulation too. ey stand on a sea mingled with re. ey

have belonged to the time when the beast and his image

were in power, but they had got the victory over it. ey

seemed, perhaps, to have succumbed-it was real victory.

e song of Moses and the song of the Lamb sung

by the slain remnant, victorious suerers who belong to

heaven; God’s works and ways and glories celebrated

eir song is very peculiar. e song of Moses is triumph

over the power of evil by God’s judgments. e song of

the Lamb is the exaltation of the rejected Messiah, of the

suering One, like whom they had suered; for it is the

slain remnant amid unfaithful and apostate Israel whom

we nd here. e song celebrates God and the Lamb, but

by victorious suerers who belong to heaven. What they

celebrate are the works of Jehovah Elohim Shaddai (the

God of the Old Testament), but who now has manifested

Himself in judgment, known by His works that are public

for the people. He showed His ways unto Moses, His

Darby Synopsis

692

works unto the children of Israel. His works are celebrated

now. ey are the works of Jehovah Elohim Shaddai, the

Judge of all the earth. But His ways are celebrated too.

ere was intelligence of them, as far at least as righteous

judgment went. ese ways in judgment were just and true.

Israel would understand deliverance, and how it came; but

Moses knew God’s ways. But this is all. It is not merely

celebration of qualities and attributes, as the angels do, nor

the full knowledge of God’s work in salvation by the blood

of the Lamb. It is not the heart going up in the sense of its

own relationship, but a celebration of the glory of the Lord,

who would now<P493> be worshipped by the nations, for

His judgments were manifested. It was intelligence when

judgments were manifested, not when all was yet to be

learned within the veil.

e temple of the tabernacle of the testimony opened;

the seven angels; the full display of God in judgment

is celebration of what was just bursting forth being

made, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in

heaven was opened, not merely the temple with the ark

of the covenant seen. at secured the result for faith,

when evil was raging in power on earth; the ark of God’s

covenant secured Israel. It was a testimony opened out,

not a covenant which secured in the hour of evil, but a

testimony which made good what the ark of the covenant

secured; for the temple was opened, and the messengers of

judgment came forth-God’s judgment for the restoration

and blessing of Israel, by the judgment of the Gentiles

and all who corrupted the earth. Cleanness in God’s sight,

and divine righteousness, characterized and animated this

judgment-clean linen pure and white, and golden girdles:

I apprehend the former, in answer to corruption in what

Revelation 15

693

should have had this-Babylon (compare chapter 19:8). at

is, it was a judgment which required it, and was according to

it, and also to divine righteousness. It is not brass burning

in the re-simply execution of judgment in dealing with

men, though that took place-but God making good His

own nature and character against corruption, the essential

character of the eternal God, which the assembly ought to

have displayed; whereas Babylon was entirely the contrary,

and the beast too. e seven angels judge all according to

these characters of God, because it was really the avenging

of what God was, as fully revealed to the assembly; but the

white linen refers, I doubt not, specially to Babylon, though

the men with the mark of the beast would come under the

judgment. One of the four living creatures gives the vials;

for it is the judicial power of God in creation, not yet the

Lamb. God’s glory in judgment lled the temple; and no

man could have to say to Him in worship, or approaching

Him, while these plagues were executing. It was the full

display of God in judgment.<P494>

Darby Synopsis

694

73345

Revelation 16

e rst four judgments: the whole circle of symbolic

nature, the prophetic sphere of God’s dealings, people in

general, moral principles and sovereign authority

e rst four plagues have the same objects as the

judgments of the rst four trumpets-the whole circle

of symbolic nature, but here directly as regards men-

earth, sea, rivers and sun; the ordered prophetic sphere of

God’s dealings, the masses of peoples as such viewed as

unorganized, the moral principles which give an impulse

to their movements, and sovereign authority. But it is not a

third here (that is, the Roman earth), but in general.

Judgment on all who had the mark of the beast

e rst vial of wrath brought the utmost distress and

shameful misery on all who had taken the mark of the

beast.

Moral death on the mass of peoples

e second brought the power of moral death on the

mass of peoples; all who were among them within the

limits of the prophetic earth died-I apprehend, gave up

mere outward profession. We have here an example of the

use of symbols which it is well to note. All the vials are

poured out on the earth, that is, are applied to the sphere

of already formed relationship with God. But in this there

might be a special relationship in which men had to do

with God in this world-were inhabiters of earth, or the

mass of people within that sphere.

e sources of popular action and feeling in alienation

from God become deathful

Revelation 16

695

e third vial was poured out on all the sources of popular

inuence and action; and they became positively deathful.

It seems to me that the deadly inuence in alienation from

God, within the sphere of prophecy, is strongly marked

here. Death is used generally as the expression of the power

of Satan.

Supreme authority made frightfully oppressive

en the supreme authority is made frightfully

oppressive. is gave the rst four of direct judgment

according to the usual division.<P495>

Satan’s kingdom full of darkness

e fth vial strikes the throne of the beast, the seat and

stability of his authority, which Satan had given him; and

his kingdom became full of darkness. All was confusion

and wretchedness, and no resource: they gnawed their

tongues with anguish and blasphemed God.

Bringing in Asiatic powers into the conict; the sum

of all evil inuences and the kings of the world gathered

together to the battle of God’s great day

e sixth angel pours out his vial on Euphrates-

destroys, I apprehend, the securing boundary of the

Western prophetic powers-not the seat of its power, but

broke its frontier, that the way of the kings of the East

might be prepared. I look at this simply as the bringing

in of the powers of Asia into the conict for the universal

conagration of powers. e sixth vial sends forth three

unclean spirits, the sum of all evil inuences: that of Satan’s

direct power as antagonistic of Christ; that of the power of

the last empire, the beast; and that of the second beast of

chapter 13, henceforth known as the false prophet, Satan’s

inuence as the Antichrist, an idolatrous wonder-working

power; and the kings of the world were gathered together

Darby Synopsis

696

to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. e allusion

is to Judges 5:19-20.

Revelation 17

697

73346

Revelation 17

General breakup; Babylon comes into judgment

At the seventh vial there is a general breakup and

subversion, and Babylon comes into judgment. And the

hail of God, the judgment of God, came on men from

heaven (compare Isaiah 32-33). All separate independent

interests and established powers disappeared. is was over

the earth-God’s judgment by providence and instruments-

but the Lamb was not come yet. e details of Babylon’s

judgments are reserved for the following chapters.

e characters of Babylon

e characters of Babylon are rst portrayed. Like the

beast, she is only one thing in the judgment, but morally she

is more important than all the rest. e general character is

the great, ac<P496>tive idolatress that has gained inuence

over the mass of the nations; next, that the kings of the

earth have lived in guilty intimacy with her, seeking her

favors, while those that dwell on the earth have lost their

senses through her pernicious and inebriating inuence.

is is the general idea rst given, a character plain enough

to mark the Roman or papal system.

Babylon as a corrupt, persecuting religious system-

what the church had come to

But more details follow. ere was a woman, a religious

system, sitting on an imperial beast full of names of

blasphemy, having the form which marked it Roman.

e woman was gorgeously and imperially arrayed, had

every human glory and ornament on her, and a rich cup of

prostituting yet gross idolatries in her hand. “Abominations”

Darby Synopsis

698

are simply idols; “lthiness of her fornication,” all the

horrible corruption that accompanies it. Her cup was full of

them. She was in the desert; no springs of God were there.

It was not, so to speak, God’s land, no heavenly country.

To spiritual understanding she bore on her forehead her

character (yet one known only when spiritually known)

of the great city of corruption, source of all seduction to

men and of all idolatry in the earth: such was popery. But

this was not all. All the blood of the saints was found

in her: she was the persecuting murderess of those God

delighted in and who bore witness to Jesus.1e prophet

was astonished-for it was what the church had come to.

(1. It is important to remark that formal religion, which

rests on ancient claims as established, and which is left

behind as to the truth by others who have received it, is the

regular, habitual instigator of persecution, though others

may be the persecutors. So it was with the Jews, so in the

universal history of the world. It always becomes false as

regards truth, though it may retain some and important

truths. e truths which test the heart and its obedience

are not there.)

e beast on which the woman rode: the renewed

Roman Empire, blasphemous and diabolical, to appear

in an eighth and last form and be destroyed

e angel then describes the beast on which she rode.

It had been, ceased to exist, and then it comes up again

from direct diabolical sources-comes up out of the abyss.

e renewed Roman Empire, which had disappeared, is

blasphemous and diabolical in nature, and in this character

goes to destruction: yet all but the<P497> elect on the earth

will be in admiration of it when they see the beast that

was, is not, and shall be present. Of itself this marks the

Revelation 17

699

Roman or Latin Empire, only that it will reappear more

formally. But Rome is more distinctly marked. It is the city

of the seven hills. Nor was this even all. It was the existing

authority in the time of the prophecy: ve of its governing

powers had fallen; one was there; there was then one yet to

come for a short space, and then the beast out of the abyss,

the last diabolical state of the empire, would appear, and it

would be destroyed. e last, however, is not a new form;

it is one of the seven, though an eighth. My impression is

that the rst Napoleon and his brief empire is the seventh,

and we have now to wait for the development of the last.

e beast, though imperial, has ten horns, ten distinct

kingdoms. ey have their power, and for the same period,

with the beast. But they all give their power to the beast,

and make war against Christ, the rejected One on earth;

but He shall overcome them. For, despised as He may be,

supreme authority is His, and there are others coming with

Him, not merely angels but called ones, His saints.

Details and explanations of the symbols employed and

the means of Babylon’s judgment; the woman identied

Details are then added. e waters are explained

as peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues-masses of

populations in their diverse divisions. Next, the ten horns,

the kingdoms which are associated with the beast, and the

beast (for so it is to be read) hate the whore and eat her

esh and burn her with re (rst, take all her substance

and fatness, and then destroy her); for they are to give

their kingdom to the blasphemous beast until God’s

words are fullled. And then we are expressly told that the

woman (not “the whore”-the last is her corrupt, idolatrous

character-but the “woman”), who as riding the beast was to

be such, is Rome. All this chapter 17 is description.

Darby Synopsis

700

73347

Revelation 18

A warning from heaven announcing Babylon’s

judgment: the call to come out from her

Chapter 18 announces the judgment. e one diculty

here is verse 4, coming where it is; but, as every diculty in

Scripture, it<P498> leads into further light. e destruction

of Babylon is simple enough. She falls by God’s judgment

just before Christ comes to judge the earth; and, rst

perhaps losing her power and inuence, is destroyed by

the horns and beast. e comparison of chapter 14:8, and

the place it holds, chapter 16:19, chapter 18:8, and the

beginning of chapter 19 make this plain. Chapter 18 is a

warning from heaven, not the angel of judgment of the

earth. It is not consequent on events, but supposes spiritual

apprehension of heaven’s mind. is is the case when it is

simply a voice from heaven. is call, then, was a spiritual

call, not a manifest judgment. It may be more urgent and

direct just before judgment, and I doubt not will be: as

the call is in Hebrews to come out of the camp because

Jerusalem’s day was at hand. Hence, I believe this applies

whenever we see the system to be Babylon, and the sense

of her iniquities is pressed upon the conscience.

e actual execution of Babylon’s judgment

e chapter then goes on to the actual execution

of judgment according to chapter 17:16. e horns, or

kingdoms connected with the beast, have destroyed her.

e kings mourn over her; so do those that have sought

prot and ease and commerce in the earth. e royal and

commercial system is shattered to pieces by the upset of

Revelation 18

701

the system. What characterizes her, that for which she is

judged, is idolatry, corruption, worldliness and persecution.

She is judged and destroyed, and the prosperity of the

worldly is smitten by her fall, and the hopes of the kings

who had commerce with her. e blood of all saints was

found in her, as in Jerusalem in her day. Persecution comes

from religion connected with worldly advantage. But what

a picture we have here of the world, the relations of the

kings and of the saints to Babylon!

Darby Synopsis

702

73348

Revelation 19

e judgment of Rome the great joy of heaven

Chapter 19:2 clearly shows the aspect in which she is

judged- the great whore who corrupted; and God avenges

the blood of His servants. is judgment of Rome is the

great joy of heaven. Hallelujah and salvation are sung. e

elders and four living creatures fall down and worship, and

the voice of the multitude<P499> proclaims the bringing

in of the marriage of the Lamb, when the false woman is

set aside. Till then, though espoused, the assembly was not

thus actually united in the heavenly marriage of the Lamb.

Still, there was no greater event could be than a judgment

of Rome. No doubt, the beast had to be destroyed. Power,

when God gave it scope, would soon do that. But here

the old corruptress and persecutor was set aside forever.

Heaven is full of joy. ere is no celebration of joy like this

in the Revelation.

e mystery of God closed; God come in power to set

up His reign

e rest of the book is simple and clear enough, for

the mystery of God is closed. I do not myself attach any

importance to the distinction, as a class, of those called to

partake of the joy of that day. It means, I believe, just that,

according to the parable of the marriage of the king’s son,

the guests are those who have share in the marriage joy.

But several points have to be noticed: God in power has

come in to set up His reign.

e mystery of iniquity, characterized by falsehood

and violence, judged and destroyed by divine power

Revelation 19

703

e true though not yet the open seat of the power of

evil has been judged and destroyed. Two characters of evil,

falsehood or deceitful corruption and violence, have existed

since Satan himself began his career; false in himself,

he was a murderer to others. e mystery of iniquity

contained both, though hiding the latter and using others

for it. Still she was characterized by corruption and what

was false. Direct violence was in the hands of the beast.

e destruction of that would, no doubt, relieve the earth

of oppression; but for heaven and all that was heavenly-

minded, the destruction of this Christ-dishonoring,

soul-enslaving, and soul-debasing corruption was joy and

gladness, and the witness that divine power had come in.

It had set aside the worst evil, the corrupting what was

God’s, under pretense of being what Christ had purchased

for Himself, the one precious object of His special love.

ey sing, “Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent

reigneth!”<P500>

e introduction of the manifest power of Christ;

the evil woman set aside; the marriage of the Lamb; the

assembly presented to Christ cleansed and white; the

eect upon the Apostle

is was to make way for the introduction of what was

His own-the manifest power of His Christ. But, before

that, the assembly must have her place of association with

Him in that- must have Himself: the marriage of the Lamb

is come. Till the evil woman had been set aside, this could

not be. is is the character of heavenly joy and redemption

by which we are brought into it. Man on earth is rst good,

then yielding to temptation. Redemption supposes rst

evil, and even slavery to it, but then deliverance from it

and our being set beyond it, God having taken to Him His

Darby Synopsis

704

power. e assembly is presented to Christ without spot

or wrinkle or any such thing, cleansed and white, suited

to Christ. e Apostle was disposed, in sight of all this

blessedness, to fall down and worship him who had revealed

it. His mind was thrown into devotion by these scenes. Its

immediate object was the heavenly messenger, and he turns

to bow to him, but is forbidden. He was a fellow-servant,

and the same to all who had the testimony of Jesus; for the

spirit of prophecy, we are told, is the testimony of Jesus.

e testimony not to worship intermediate beings is the

last warning left to a declining assembly, as, so to speak,

one of the rst (in Colossians).

e coming of Christ in power as King of kings and

Lord of lords; the all-important characters in which He

appears

We now arrive at the great announcement of the coming

of Christ in power. Heaven, which had been opened on

Jesus and to Stephen, now opens for Jesus as King of kings

and Lord of lords. Holy and true He had been known by

faith, and the faithful and true Witness. e last He is now;

not as witness, but in judgment, save as judgment itself is

the witness of His faithfulness and truth. e characters in

which He appears are plain but all-important. It is rst in

general judgment but in the form of war, not what we may

call sessional judgment, but overcoming power. Sessional

judgment is in chapter 20 from verse 4. His eyes have the

piercingness of divine judgment. He had many crowns,

witness of<P501> His various and universal dominion. But,

though thus revealed as man, He had a glory none could

penetrate into;1 of which He had the conscious power, but

which was not revealed. He was the avenger-His garment

was dipped in blood. All characterized Him, we may note

Revelation 19

705

here, according to that in which He is manifested by the

judgment itself. It was the Revealer, the Word of God-

His eternal character-what He was before creation; now

making it good in judgment.

(1. So it was as to His Person and service. No one knew

the Son but the Father. It was the secret of His rejection.

He was that, and so necessarily such in the world. But

the world under Satan’s inuence would not have that. In

His humiliation His divine glory was maintained in the

unsounded depths of His Person. Now He is revealed in

glory; but there ever remained what none could search or

penetrate into-His own Person and nature. His revealed

name was the Word of God. As revealing God in grace or

power so as to make Him known, we know Him. But His

Person as Son always remains unsearchable. His name is

written, so that we know it is unknowable-not unknown

but unknowable. But He made good now the character and

requirements of God in respect of men-what they ought to

be with God, and what God was to them in their natural

relationship, revealed in respect of their responsibility.

Judgment refers to these, and to ourselves.)

e triumph of Christ; His present, nal judgment

of the beast and false prophet; Satan cast into the

bottomless pit

e armies in heaven had not garments dipped in blood.

ey were triumphant; they followed Him in His triumph,

pure and perfect, His chosen, called, and faithful ones.

e vengeance of Idumea was not their part, though they

share His victory over the beast. e vengeance in Edom

had a more earthly character and is connected more with

Judah. e Assyrian is there (see Psalm 83), not the beast.

e beast and the false prophet are destroyed by Him as

Darby Synopsis

706

coming from heaven. He smites the nations with the rod of

His mouth, He rules them with a rod of iron: this the saints

will have with Him (ch. 2:26-27). He treads the winepress

too.1is is the part that is more earthly, as Isaiah 63

shows. So He that sits on the cloud thrusts in His sickle

on the earth. It was an angel who cast the grapes into the

winepress, and the winepress was trodden2-it is not said,

as by one sitting on<P502> the cloud. e character of the

judgment of the beast and the false prophet is heavenly-it

is the Word of God, the Lord from heaven; the winepress

is earthly. He is publicly, ocially and intrinsically King of

kings and Lord of lords. e beast and the false prophet

are cast alive into the lake of re: this was a present, nal

judgment-the rest were judicially slain. e nal judgment

of these deceived ones is not said to take place here. Satan

is not yet cast into the lake of re, but into the bottomless

pit, where the legion of devils besought the Lord they

might not be sent. He is bound there so as not to deceive

the nations for a thousand years. ere will be no seduction

by Satan during the thousand years.

(1. is too He does alone; not that the saints may not

be with Him as His cortège, so to speak, but the execution

of judgment is His. In Isaiah it is only said that of the people

none were with Him. In sessional judgment, judgment is

given to them.)

(2. I have already stated that the harvest is discriminative

judgment: there is wheat for the garner. e winepress is

vengeance, righteous vengeance.)

Revelation 20

707

73349

Revelation 20

Judicial authority exercised in peace and conferred

on the saints; living and reigning with Christ a thousand

years; the rst and the second death; the fate of the saints

and of their enemies

We now come, evil power having been set aside, to the

exercise of judicial authority in peace; and this is conferred

on the saints. e prophet does not merely see the thrones

as set in Daniel 7, but sitters on them too. Besides all to

whom judgment is given in general, two special classes are

mentioned, because they might seem to be too late, or to

have lost their part: those beheaded (after the assembly was

gone, for it is the Revelation period we have to do with) for

the witness of Jesus, and those who had not worshipped

the beast (compare chapter 6:9-11; 13:15). ese, as well

as previously departed saints, had their part in living and

reigning with Christ a thousand years. But those who were

not Christ’s, the rest of the dead, did not live again till

the thousand years were over.1ese were nally delivered

from the second death. e rst death they had undergone,

the natural wages of sin, but in faithfulness; in the second

death, the nal judgment against sin, they would have no

part. It could have no power over them. On the contrary,

they had special relationship with God and Christ, they

were priests of God and of Christ, and would reign<P503>

with Him a thousand years. ey also are priests and kings.

Note how God and Christ are here united in one thought,

as continually in the writings of John. us the beast and

the false prophet are in the lake of re, their armies slain,

Darby Synopsis

708

and Satan bound in the abyss, and the risen saints are

priests to God and Christ, reigning with Christ a thousand

years. e details and eects, mark, are not given here. e

object is to give the place of the saints, and especially of the

suerers, during the time of this book. e rest come in as a

general fact, there were sitters on thrones of judgment; but

the faithful of the prophecy are specially mentioned.

(1. It may be noted here that, according to the true

reading, the living and reigning is certainly resurrection.

“e rest of the dead lived not until”; so that it is clearly

used here for resurrection, as the following words conrm:

“is is the rst resurrection.”)

Satan let loose again; man’s last and needed trial;

God’s judgment from heaven; Satan’s end; the exercise of

God’s wrath closed

When the thousand years are nished, Satan is let loose

again. He comes up on the earth, but he never gets up to

heaven again. But the nations are tested by his temptation.

Not even having seen Christ and enjoyed the fruits of His

glory-no mere means can secure the heart of man, if it is

to be depended upon; and men fall, in number as the sand

of the sea, into Satan’s hands as soon as tempted; enjoying

blessing, where unfaithfulness would have been present

loss (perhaps cutting o) and there was nothing to tempt

them, but unfaithful as soon as they are tempted, as soon

as the heart is tried. It was the last and needed trial of man;

needed because they could not have nally enjoyed God

with natural hearts, and the natural heart had not been

tested where present blessing was on the side of owning

a present, visible, glorious Christ. e deceived multitude,

not limited now to a third of the earth or a special

prophetic district but taking in the breadth of the earth,

Revelation 20

709

went up against the camp of the saints, and surrounded it

and the beloved city, Jerusalem. It is remarkable here, there

is no special presence of Christ among them. ey are left

apparently to be surrounded by their enemies. e Lord has

allowed all this testing separation of personal faithfulness.

Had He appeared, of course these hostile crowds could not

have come up, nor would the thorough trial of the heart

have proved the faithfulness of the saints, who would not

follow the seductions of Satan. ey are pressed upon and

surrounded by the enemy, but faithful. Once this separation

and full testing had been accomplished, God’s judgment

fell on them<P504> from heaven and destroyed them. e

devil was then cast into the lake of re, where the beast and

the false prophet were already, where they are tormented

forever and ever.

is closed the exercise of wrath, of the destruction of

hostile power-a wondrous scene-that God should have

enemies in this world! Now judicial power, as such, seated

in its own right, comes in. It may be remarked that the

exercise of this on the quick forms no part of the contents

of this book. e hostile power of the beast was destroyed

by Him who judges and makes war, the heavenly saints

having been taken to glory. e crowds of apostates at

the end of the thousand years are destroyed by re from

heaven. But the judgment of Matthew 25 is not found here,

unless there be a possible connection with the judgment of

chapter 20:4.

e judgment of the dead before the great white

throne; God’s dealing with souls; the book of life; the

lake of re, the second death

ere now comes the judgment of the dead. ere is

no coming here. A great white throne is set; judgment is

Darby Synopsis

710

carried on according to the purity of God’s nature. It was no

dealing with the earth, or the power of evil, but with souls.

Heaven and earth-all mere scenes of judgment-disappear.

e secrets of men’s hearts are judged by Him who knows

them all. Heaven and earth ee away before the face of Him

that sat on the throne, and the dead, small and great, stand

before the throne. Judgment was according to works, as it

was written in the books of record. Still another element

was brought into view. Sovereign grace alone had saved

according to the purpose of God.1ere was a book of life.

Whosoever was not written there was cast into the lake

of re. But it was the nally closing and separating scene

for the whole race of men and this world. And though

they were judged every man according to his works, yet

sovereign grace only had delivered any; and whoever was

not found in grace’s book was cast into the lake of<P505>

re. e sea gave up the dead in it; death and hades, the

dead in them. And death and hades were put an end to

forever by the divine judgment. e heaven and earth

passed away, but they were to be revived; but death and

hades never. ere was for them only divine destruction

and judgment. ey are looked at as the power of Satan.

He has the power of death and the gates of hades; and

hence these are forever destroyed judicially. ey will never

have power again. ey are personied; but, of course, there

is no question of tormenting them or of punishment: when

the devil himself is cast in, there is. But death was not then

destroyed; for the wicked dead had not been raised for

judgment. Now they had; and the last enemy is destroyed.

e force of the image, I doubt not, is that all the dead now

judged (the whole contents of hades, in whom the power

of death had been) were cast into the lake of re, so that

Revelation 20

711

death and hades, which had no existence but in their state,

were entirely and judicially ended by their being cast in.

e saints had long before passed out of them; but they

subsisted in the wicked. Now these were, consequent on

the judgment of the white throne, cast into the lake of re-

the second death. e limit and measure of escape was the

book of life.

(1. us purpose and man’s responsibility are never

confounded, but, from the two trees of the garden on,

are in juxtaposition; life brought into connection with

responsibility in the law, responsibility being put rst, and

thus proof given that man cannot stand before God; but

the question is solved only in Christ, who bore our sins,

died for us to sin, and is life. Counsels and promise of life

in Christ come rst, then responsibility in the creature on

earth, then grace making good counsels, in righteousness,

through the cross.)

Darby Synopsis

712

73350

Revelation 21

A new heaven and a new earth; God all in all; the holy

city, the new Jerusalem; the history of God’s ways closed

But there was a new heaven and a new earth; but no

more sea- no separation, nor part of the world not brought

into an ordered earth before God. Here we do not nd any

mediatorial kingdom. e Lamb is not in the scene. God

is all in all. No sorrow or crying more, no earthly people

of God distinct from the inhabiters of the earth. ese are

God’s people, and God is with them Himself, but withal

His tabernacle is with them. is is the holy city, the new

Jerusalem. e assembly has her own character, is the

habitation of God in a special way, when the unchanging

state comes, and all is made new. God is the end, as the

beginning. Him that is athirst now God will refresh with

the fountain of the water of life-the overcomer shall

inherit all things. e world for the Christian is now a

great Rephidim. is is the twofold portion of the nal

blessedness: he shall have God for his God, and be His son.

ose<P506> who feared this path-did not overcome the

world and Satan but had walked in iniquity-would have

their part in the lake of re. is closes the history of God’s

ways.

e heavenly city: its millennial connection with the

earth; the organized seat of heavenly power; the new and

now heavenly capital of God’s government

What follows is the description of the heavenly city,

as before we had that of Babylon. Its heavenly character

and millennial connection with the earth is revealed. One

Revelation 21

713

of the seven angels, as in the case of Babylon, comes to

show the prophet the bride, the Lamb’s wife. e result

of judgment on the earth is the introduction of better and

higher blessings. e prophet is taken, like Moses, to see

the scene of promise, and sees new Jerusalem descending

out of heaven from God. is was its double character

from God, divine in its origin, and also heavenly (compare

2 Corinthians 5:1). It might be of God and earthly.

It might be heavenly and angelic. It was neither: it was

divine in origin and heavenly in nature and character. It

was clothed with divine glory: it must be as founded on

Christ’s work. It was transparent jasper, jasper being used as

a symbol of divine glory (ch. 4:3). It is secure, having a wall

great and high. It has twelve gates. Angels are become the

willing doorkeepers of the great city, the fruit of Christ’s

redemption work in glory. is marked the possession, too,

by man thus brought in the assembly to glory, of the highest

place in the creation, and providential order of God, of

which angels had previously been the administrators. e

twelve gates are full of human perfectness of governmental

administrative power. e gate was the place of judgment.

Twelve, we have often seen, denotes perfection and

governmental power. e character of it is noted by the

names of the twelve tribes. God had so governed these.

ey were not the foundation; but this character of power

was found there. ere were twelve foundations, but these

were the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ey were, in their

work, the foundation of the heavenly city. us the creative

and providential display of power, the governmental

(Jehovah), and the assembly once founded at Jerusalem,

are all brought together in the heavenly city, the organized

seat of heavenly power. It is not presented as the bride,

Darby Synopsis

714

though it be the bride, the Lamb’s wife. It is not in the

Pauline character of nearness of blessing to Christ. It

is<P507> the assembly as founded at Jerusalem under

the twelve-the organized seat of heavenly power, the new

and now heavenly capital of God’s government. ey had

suered and served the Lamb in the earthly, and under

Him founded the heavenly. It is alike vast and perfect, and

all measured and owned of God. It is not now a remnant

measured; it is the city. It has not divine perfectness (that

could not be), but it has divinely given perfectness. It is

a cube, equal on every side, nite perfection. So the wall

(they are merely symbols) was perfect, 12 x 12. e wall

which secured it was the divine glory. As it is written of

the earthly Jerusalem, “Salvation hath God appointed for

walls and bulwarks.”

e nature of the city shown

e city was formed, in its nature, in divine righteousness

and holiness-gold transparent as glass. at which was now

by the Word wrought in and applied to men below was the

very nature of the whole place (compare Ephesians 4:24).

e precious stones, or varied display of God’s nature, who

is light, in connection with the creature (seen in creation,

Ezekiel 28; in grace in the high priest’s breastplate), now

shone in permanent glory and adorned the foundations of

the city. e gates had the moral beauty, which attracted

Christ in the assembly and in a glorious way. at on which

men walked, instead of bringing danger of delement, was

itself righteous and holy; the streets, all that men came

in contact with, were righteousness and holiness- gold

transparent as glass.

e temple of the city where men may approach; its

light

Revelation 21

715

ere was no concealment of God’s glory in that which

awed by its display-no temple where men approached but

where they could not draw nigh, where God was hidden.

e Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were its temple.

ey were approached in their own nature and glory,

surrounded only by that fully displayed.

Nor was there need of created light here; the glory of

the divine nature lighted all, and the Lamb was the light-

bearer in it.<P508>

e character of the city

Note here, we have not the Father as the temple. It is the

revealed dispensational Ruler, the true God, and the Lamb

who has made good His glory. is was the character of

the city.

e relationship of the city to those on the earth; its

inhabitants; the impossibility of the entrance of evil;

those only who found place there

e vision goes on to show its relationship to those on

the earth, and its inhabitants: a seeming inconsistency, but

no real one; for the city is viewed as the estate of the bride.

Where the inhabitants are spoken of, it is the individual

blessing. e nations, spared in the judgments on earth,

walk in the light of it; the world does, in a measure, in that

of the assembly now. en the glory will be perfect. e city

enjoys the direct light within; the world, transmitted light

of glory. To it the kings of the earth bring their honor and

glory. ey own the heavens and the heavenly kingdom to

be the source of all, and bring there the homage of their

power. Night, there is not there, and its gates are ever open;

no defense against evil is needed, though divine security

leaves no approach to evil. e kings themselves bring

their willing homage to it. But the glory and honor of the

Darby Synopsis

716

Gentiles is brought to it too. Heaven is seen as the source of

all the glory and honor of this world. Hence these are now

true. Nothing deling enters there, nor what introduces

idols and falsehood. Neither man’s evil nor Satan’s deceit

can exist or produce any corruption there. How often,

when anything good is set up now, the considerate heart

knows that evil will enter, and Satan deceive and corrupt!

ere we have the certainty that this can never be. It was

not merely the absence of evil, but the impossibility of its

entrance, which characterized the holy city. ere was that

which, having its source in perfect grace, involves all blessed

aections in connection with the Lamb in those within the

city. ose only whose names were in the Lamb’s book of

life found place in the city.<P509>

Revelation 22

717

73351

Revelation 22

The connecon of the holy city with the earth; the river

of God and the tree of life; the source of blessing in God’s

constant presence; His servants reigning forever and ever

The connecon of the holy city with the earth, though not

on it, is everywhere seen. The river of God refreshed the

city, and the tree of life, whose fruits ever ripe were food for

the celesal inhabitants of it, bore in its leaves healing for

the naons. Only the gloried ever ate the fruit of constant

growth; but what was manifested and displayed without, as

the leaves of a tree, was blessing to those on earth. We see

grace characterizing the assembly in glory. The naon and

kingdom that will not serve the earthly Jerusalem shall uerly

perish-it preserves its earthly, royal character; the assembly its

own: the leaves of the tree it feeds on are for healing. There

is no more curse. The throne of God and the Lamb is in it.

This is the source of blessing, not of curse; and His servants

serve Him; oen they cannot as they would here. Note, too,

again here how God and the Lamb are spoken of as one, as

constantly in John’s wrings. His servants shall have the fullest

privilege of His constant presence, shall see His face, and their

belonging to Him as His own be evident to all. There is no

night there, nor need of light, for the Lord God gives it; and, as

to their state, they reign, not for the thousand years, as they

do over the earth, but forever and ever.

This closes the descripon of the heavenly city and the whole

prophec volume. What follows consists of warning, or the

nal expression of the thoughts of and relaonship with Christ

of the assembly.

Those concerned are warned to keep the sayings of the book

Darby Synopsis

718

because of Christ’s near return; John’s worship of the angel

refused; when the book closed its tesmony, men would

remain in the same state for judgment or blessing; Christ

would quickly come

The angel declares the truth of these things, and that the

Lord God of the prophets-not as the God and Father of the

Lord Jesus Christ, nor as directly teaching the assembly

as dwelling<P510> in it by the Spirit-the Lord God of the

prophets has sent His angel to inform His servants of these

events. “Behold,” says Christ, speaking as of old, in the

prophec spirit, rising up to His own personal tesmony,

“behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keepeth the sayings

of the prophecy of this book.” The assembly is viewed, not as

the subject of prophecy, but as “the things that are,” me not

being counted, especially me to come. Those that keep it are

those concerned in the book, who are warned that Christ will

soon be there. No doubt we all can prot by it, but we are not

in the scenes it speaks of. John, impressed with the dignity of

the messenger, fell down and would have worshipped him.

But the saints of the assembly, even if made prophets of, were

not to return into the uncertainty of ancient days. The angel

was a simple angel, John’s fellow-servant, and fellow-servant

of his brethren the prophets: he was to worship God. Nor

were the sayings to be sealed, as with Daniel: the me was at

hand. When it closed its tesmony, men would remain in the

same state for judgment or blessing. And Christ would quickly

come, and every man receive as his work was. Verse 7 was

a warning, in form of blessing, to those in the circumstances

referred to, to keep the sayings of the book, but this verse 12

is the record of Christ’s coming to the general judgment of the

quick.

Christ announces Himself as God before and aer all; the

blessing of the redeemed, cleansed ones; the bright and

Morning Star

Revelation 22

719

Finally, Christ announces Himself, having taken up the word

in Person in verse 12, as Alpha and Omega, the beginning

and the end-God before and aer all; and lling duraon. I

suppose we are to take as the true reading: “Blessed are they

that wash their robes, that they may have a right to the tree

of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” The

redeemed, cleansed ones can enter there and feed on the

tree of life; for I suppose it is the fruit here. Without are the

unclean and violent, and those who love Satanic falsehood

and idolatry, sin against purity, against their neighbor, against

God, and follow Satan.

This closes the summing up. The Lord Jesus now reveals

Himself in His own Person, speaking to John and the saints,

and declares who He is, in what character He appears to say it

to them. “I am the root and ospring of David”-the origin and

heir of the<P511> temporal promises of Israel; but much more

than that-He is the bright and Morning Star. It is what He is

before He appears, in both respects; only the former regards

Israel born of the seed of David according to the esh. But the

Lord has taken another character. He has not yet arisen as the

Sun of Righteousness on this benighted globe; but, to faith,

the dawn is there, and the assembly sees Him in the now far-

spent night as the Morning Star, knows Him, while watching

according to His own word, in His bright, heavenly character-a

character which does not wake a sleeping world, but is the

delight and joy of those who watch. When the sun arises, He

will not be thus known: the earth will never so know Him,

bright as the day may be. When Christ is in this place, the

Spirit dwells in the assembly below, and the assembly has its

own relaonship. It is the bride of Christ, and her desire is

toward Him.

The cry of the Spirit and the bride; our common hope and

desire; the invitaon to “whosoever will” to come

Darby Synopsis

720

Thus, “the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” It is not a warning

from one coming as a judge and a rewarder, but the revelaon

of Himself which awakens the desire of the bride according

to the relaonship in which grace has set her. Nor is it a mere

senment or wish: the Spirit who dwells in the assembly leads

and suggests her thought. But the Spirit turns also, and the

heart of him who enjoys the relaonship, to others. “Let him

that hear-eth”-let him who hears the voice of the Spirit in the

assembly- join in the cry, and say, Come. It is one common

hope, it should be our common desire; and the sense of what

is coming on the earth, and the sense of failure in things that

are, ought only, though it be in truth an inferior move, to

urge the cry in all. But while sll here, the saint has another

place also. Not only do his desires go aer God upwards

and the heavenly Bridegroom, but he reects God’s known

character, by having His nature and Spirit as manifested also

in Christ’s love, and in possession of the living water, though

not of the Bridegroom. He turns around and invites others,

“Let him that is athirst come,” and proclaims it forth then to

the world, “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life

freely.” Thus, the whole place of the heavenly saint, conscious

of the assembly’s place, is brought out<P512> in this verse,

from his desire of Christ’s coming to his call to whosoever will

to come.

Warning to preserve the integrity of the book; Christ’s

cheering assurance; the saint’s response; the promise and

the desire as the last words of Jesus on the heart

The integrity of the book is preserved by a solemn warning

of the danger of losing a part in the tree of life1 and the holy

city. Christ then cheers the saint’s heart, by assuring that He

would quickly come; and the heart of the true saint responds

with unfeigned and earnest desire, “Even so, come, Lord

Jesus.” And then, with the salutaon of grace, the book closes,

leaving the promise and the desire as the last words of Jesus

Revelation 22

721

on the heart.

(1. The true reading here is “tree,” not “book”; but the book

of life is not life, nor our being wrien there nal though

prima facie register, unless indeed wrien there before the

foundaon of the world: but, even so, it is not the same thing

as the possession of life.)

The conscious posion of the saints given at the beginning

and end of the book

Let the reader note here that, in the beginning and end of the

book, before and aer the prophec statements, we have in a

beauful way the conscious posion of the saints.

The rst, at the opening of the whole book, gives the

individual, conscious blessing through what Christ has

done; the laer, the whole posion of the assembly, thus

disnguishing clearly the saints under the gospel from those

whose circumstances are prophecally made known to them

in this book. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our

sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests to God

and his Father.” As soon as Christ is named (and it is so in both

cases), it awakens in the saints the consciousness of Christ’s

love and their own place in relaonship with Him. They are

already washed from their sins in His own blood, and made

kings and priests to God and His Father-have their place and

state xed, before any of the prophec part is developed,

and in the coming kingdom will enjoy that place, not of being

blessed under Christ, but of being associated with Him. Here

they have their place simply in the kingdom and priesthood; it

is individual tle resulng from His rst <P513>coming. They

are loved, washed in His own blood, and associated with Him

in the kingdom.

Christ as the Morning Star; the assembly drawn out in acve

love; the desire of the Spirit and the bride for Christ’s second

Darby Synopsis

722

coming; the Spirit’s call

At the end of the book, Christ is revealed as the Morning Star,

a place forming no part of the prophecy, but that in which

the assembly, who has waited for Him, is associated with Him

for herself, and the kingdom (compare the promise to the

overcomers in Thyara).1 This draws out in acve love (not

as before, simply being loved and what we are made)-love

rst directed towards Christ in the assembly’s known relaon

to Himself, then to the saints who hear, then to the thirsty,

then to all the world. The desire of the assembly, as the

bride with whom the Spirit is, is directed to Christ’s second

coming for herself-to the possessing the Morning Star; then

the Spirit turns to the saints, calling on them to say to Jesus,

Come-to join in this desire. But we have the Spirit though

not the Bridegroom; hence, whoever is athirst is called on

to come and drink, and thus the gospel proclaimed abroad,

“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” It is

love acng in the saint all around from Christ to sinners in the

world.<P514>

(1. Compare the place of the bright cloud in Luke 9. There it is

the Father’s voice.)

Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Any suggestions for

spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please

email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.