Jottings

by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Jun 1952

There can be no doubt that man in Creation was made to be the servant of God' to hear His voice and to do His bidding. All things and creatures on earth were for the service of man. Through the entrance of sin man failed to fulfil the purpose of his being, and apart from the recognition that he is a fallen and sinful creature and repentance for what he has done he cannot become the servant of God.

Salvation has the same object in view as creation, even the service of God. God's word through Moses to Pharaoh was, "Israel is My son, My. firstborn:

and I have said unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me" (Exodus 4.22,28). Earlier, His word to Moses was, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth this people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain" (mount Horeb) (Exodus 3.12).

The Hebrew words for salvation, yeshuch and teshuch, have much the same meaning and signify deliverance, help, welfare, health, victory, with the consequent results of safety and ease. The Greek word for salvation, soteria, means deliverance, health, preservation, salvation. The Greek word has much the same meaning as the Hebrew words, the thought in the words being to deliver and bring to such a state of well-being and wholeness or soundness, that there be freedom from fear of any evil, internal or external, to ourselves. Of old Israel thought of being freed from their enemies, enemies external to themselves, and we in our day think of freedom from sin, from that which is internal.

Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, expressed the former view when he said,

"He hath visited and wrought redemption for His people,

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of His servant David

To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Should serve Him without fear."

And he referred to the latter when he spoke of the work of his son John as the forerunner of the Saviour

"To give knowledge of salvation unto His people

In the remission of their sins.

Because of the great mercy of our God,

Whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us" (Luke 1. 68-79).

A deliverance that had only in view freedom from external enemies would be like Israel's deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt, but even in Israel's deliverance God had some better thing in view, even His house and altar, and at His altar the matter of internal sin was dealt with before Him, at the doer of His house. There could be no service for God apart from the demand of the altar being met and normally nothing short blood-shedding could meet a sinner's need, or give to him the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins.

Though Israel were saved to serve God, they could not serve Him apart from blood-shedding. Only what came to His altar was accepted by Him in His house. The altar sanctified all Israel's gifts. It was by the altar too that all priestly service was rendered to God. The loaves on the golden table reached that table by means of the altar; the daily offering of incense was by means of live coals brought from the copper altar to the golden altar; and the lamps were lighted each evening, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, at which time also the incense was burned, by holy fire from the copper altar. Then on the day of atonement the high priest entered the holy of holies with blood brought from the victims which were slain at the copper altar, so that the altar touched every phase of divine service. That altar ever spoke of God's claims against sin.

We read of no altar in the garden of Eden. Whether the beasts of whose skins God made coats for Adam and Eve were slain within the garden or in the field outside, we cannot tell, but it seems evident that the clothing of the guilty pair took place before they were expelled. In this act of grace in clothing them there is a shadow of what has ever been necessary since, that man must be clothed by God.

"For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment" (Isaiah 64. 6.)

But in contrast to this we have that grand word

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my

God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61. 10).

Thus every justified person is arrayed in garments of glorious beauty.

Thenof the Bride of the Lamb on her marriage day it is said :

"The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself

ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts (righteousnesses) of the saints" (Revelation 19.8).

Note that it says of our own righteousnesses; these righteous acts, supposedly, of sinners are every one of them polluted by sin, which agrees with Romans 3.12, "There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one." But whereas sinners can do no good, saints can, and their righteousnesses are compared to fine linen, bright and pure, and with the work of saints the Bride will array herself on her marriage day. She arrays herself with her own righteousnesses; this must not be confused with what the Lord has done for every believing sinner-"He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness." Following the A.V. reading of Romans 3.22, we read, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe." This righteousness with which the believer is clothed is the result of the one act of righteousness in the offering of Christ once for all: "So then as through one trespass the judgement came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One shall the many be made righteous" (Romans 5.18, 19). Through the obedience of one Man, Christ Jesus, and by His one act when He became obedient unto death, the sinner is provided with the clothing of divine righteousness, and thus and thus only can man hope to fulfil the purpose of his being, which is to become the servant of God. Originally he was created to be God's servant and this is made possible by the work of salvation.

In connexion with the service of God's house of old, the high priest and all the priests had to be washed with water and cleansed by sacrifice and then clothed in order to enter upon the service of God in the tabernacle. The washing and cleansing of the priests have no answer in the Lord's pristhood, but they have their answer in our washing and cleansing. In the Lord there was no defilement. He was ever holy, harmless and separated from sinners.

J. Miller | Jun 1952
Jottings