Romans 16:25-27.
(Notes of an address.)
The Apostle Paul sums up his ministry in different ways; In Ephesians and Colossians he speaks of himself as minister of the Gospel and minister of the church; in Acts 20:21-27 he testifies of repentance and faith, and of the Gospel of the grace of God; preaches the kingdom of God, and does not shun to declare all the counsel of God; in Romans 16:25 there are three distinct parts of Paul's ministry, firstly, his Gospel; secondly, the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery; thirdly, the mystery itself. Tonight we shall consider Paul's Gospel, and, if the Lord will, shall take up the other two subjects in subsequent addresses.
How wonderful are these great truths that were specially committed to the Apostle Paul! Elements of Paul's Gospel were recovered in the days of Luther, but the wide outline of it was recovered for us, in the goodness of God, during last century, along with the truth of the mystery, and the great truths that are connected with this special, divine revelation. These great truths are of infinite value, and the enemy is seeking to rob us of them today; we have been endeavouring to maintain them, and I have no doubt that beloved brethren elsewhere have also been seeking to maintain them by walking in the light of them. Why is it that the enemy has made such dreadful onslaughts on the poor brethren? It is because of the valuable truths committed to them: they have a precious legacy of truth to maintain, given by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and the enemy would fain rob them of the truth they enjoy and seek to maintain in the only way in which it can really be maintained, in the affections and translated into practice, both in the individual life, and in relation to the principles of God in the assembly.
Paul's Gospel is essentially the same Gospel as that ministered by Peter and the other Apostles of the Lord Jesus, but it had its own peculiar character, and its special divine revelations, which made it his own. He had not received his Gospel from any human source, nor had the Lord entrusted any individual to deliver it to Paul; he received it directly from the Lord Himself. On the way to Damascus the Lord Jesus met him, and on him, from heaven, shone a light above the brightness of the sun: it was the light of the glory that shone in the face of Jesus. That light gave character to Paul's preaching; it contained in essence the wonderful Gospel given him to declare to the Gentiles. It was the light of the glorified Son of God, the centre of the counsels of God, the Man of His right hand. Soon after this revelation Paul entered into the synagogue and preached that Jesus was the Son of God, and it is as such he presents the Lord Jesus at the introduction of his Gospel, written to the saints in Rome.
The Gospel, Paul tells us in Romans 1:2, was promised by God in the holy Scriptures, and it concerned His Son, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, but is declared the Son of God with power, by resurrection of the dead. As Son of God He is the Resurrection and the Life, Who can rise from the dead in His own right and title, and Who has power to raise from the dead, not only His saints, but all men. We have heard His life-giving voice, and we live in the life He has communicated to us.
The truth of righteousness is brought out by Paul as by no other servant of the Lord; in his Gospel the righteousness of God was proclaimed, God revealed it on the principle of faith, and whoever had faith in God was accounted righteous before Him. No man could stand before God in his own righteousness; the debased heathen did not think good to retain God in their knowledge, so God gave them up to all kinds of excesses, the natural result of their reprobate mind. The Gentile philosophers who condemned others were self-condemned, for they practised what they condemned in others: the Jew, who professed to know God, caused the name of God to be blasphemed among the Gentiles by his life of sin. Thus was all mankind brought in guilty before God, none good, and none righteous; but how wonderful the grace that provided a righteousness in which man could appear suitably attired for the presence of God. Like the prodigal, we can rejoice in the presence of God, arrayed in the best robe of His providing; like the guests called to the wedding, we can be there in the wedding garment worthy of Him Who has bidden us. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the rich grace of God can set us before the face of God, where none can bring a charge against us; faith lays hold of this divine righteousness, which gives us peace with God.
Paul's Gospel not only tells us that we have peace with God regarding our guilty past, but that in the present "we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ stands in the favour of God; we are before God where His face is towards us in blessing; and faith gives us to know the joy of this place. But what of the future? We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! Once, as sinners, we came short of the glory of God — it was a standard that none could reach — but now we have the happy prospect of entering into the scene of the divine glory in the company of Jesus, just as Moses and Elias entered into the cloud with Him on the glory mount. Then we have in Paul's Gospel the truth of the love of God: a love expressed on the cross, when God gave His Son for sinners; a love which we now know in our hearts in the power of an indwelling Spirit. That love, entering into our hearts, has driven out all the enmity towards God that once was there: these two things, the consciousness of the love of God and enmity towards Him could not dwell together in our hearts: thus are we in right relations with God, we have been reconciled to Him through the death of His Son. Is it any wonder that we joy in God, after that He has done so much for us? He has justified us, brought us to stand in His favour, given us the prospect of His glory, given us to know His love in our hearts, given to us His Spirit, removed all our enmity against Him, saved us from wrath, and brought us into right relations with Himself. What a God! What hath God wrought!
Not only has God blessed us through our Lord Jesus Christ, but He has blessed us in Him, and this is taught in the second part of Romans 5. By nature we were in Adam; now, by God's grace, we are in Christ. In Adam we have been constituted sinners, and shared in the judgment, condemnation and death that were the portion of his fallen race; but we are no longer in Adam, God has set us in Christ before His face, and in Him we have the free gift of righteousness in the grace of God, we are constituted righteous, and have the life of Christ in whom we have been justified, a life to which no condemnation could ever be attached.
In Romans 6 we learn that in having been baptized unto Christ Jesus, we have been baptized unto His death: we have died with Christ, and have thus died to sin. Once we were the bondslaves of sin, but now we are to reckon ourselves dead unto sin, our old master, and alive to God for His service. What wonderful liberty is this! We look back to the time when sin controlled all our thoughts and actions, but now rejoice that we have a new master who has claims upon us because of His rich grace towards us, and we delight in His service. Under the dominion of sin, lawlessness and uncleanness constantly marked us; in the service of God we can bring forth fruit for His pleasure, which issues in eternal life. In Romans 7 we learn that we are not under law; we have died from under the yoke of law in Christ's death. The law may be used of God to enable one in whom He has wrought to distinguish between the flesh in him and the work of God, but it is definitely stated in the previous chapter, "Ye are not under law but under grace."
From Romans 8 we gather the blessedness of our part in Christ, for, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." How could there be condemnation for any in Christ? When we think of how Christ has glorified God, and of how God's satisfaction has been expressed in raising Him from the dead, it is not difficult to understand that there could not be condemnation for those who are associated with Christ in the wondrous grace of God. Moreover the life that is in Christ Jesus is my life, received by the Spirit, and in this life I have been delivered from the old life in which once I lived; a life of sin, marked by moral death, and which comes to a close in the article of death. The law could never produce what this divine life produces, for it was not in the flesh to do anything for God's will and pleasure. But God, in the cross, has condemned the evil principle of sin that works in the nature of man, and secures for His pleasure the righteous requirements of the law in those who walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
A great deal about the Holy Spirit is brought before us in Paul's Gospel; there is a great deal in this chapter; there is much in the Epistle to the Ephesians, and there are many other mentions in his other writings. We are viewed here as being "according to the Spirit," and therefore are occupied with the things of the Spirit; we are not in the flesh "but in the Spirit," being indwelt by the Spirit of God. We have the Spirit as bringing us into relationship with God and with Christ, so that we have the nature of God and the character of Christ. The Spirit within us is life to enable us to be for the glory of God in all the details of life down here; and the Spirit is power to quicken our mortal bodies at Christ's coming. As led by the Spirit of God we are the sons of God, being within us a spirit of adoption, giving us the consciousness of the relationship of sons and children, and enabling us to address God as Father when we commune with Him.
Paul's Gospel then leads us in thought to the glory that is to be revealed to us, both within the Father's House, and in the public display of the kingdom. Passing through a groaning creation, we, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, know what it is to groan in sympathy with the groaning creature. Often we know not what to pray for, but by the Spirit within we groan in the presence of God. This groan would not be intelligible to any one who heard, but God can interpret the groan of His saints uttered in the Spirit. Then we have the calling and the purpose of God, and the wonderful prospect that is before us of being conformed to the image of God's Son that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren. While awaiting this glorious consummation, how blessed to realise that "God (is) for us; that Christ makes intercession for us; that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, or from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Passing on to 1 Corinthians 15:51 we read, "Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." This is one of the outstanding secrets of Paul's Gospel. How wonderful it is for us to pass through this world with the thought in our hearts that we may not pass through death, but that if Christ should come today we would be changed. In a moment this glorious transformation will be effected. The sleeping saints of God will be raised with bodies of glory, and our change will then take place, and death will be swallowed up in the triumph of that hour.
Coming to 2 Corinthians 3 we read of the ministry of Paul, and his fellow-labourer, Timothy. The saints at Corinth were the epistle of Christ, the fruit of their labours, but the work of the Spirit of God. Divine impressions of Christ had been written in the hearts of the saints by the Spirit of God as a result of the preaching and teaching of these devoted servants of the Lord. The ministry that wrought so effectually was Paul's Gospel, which is compared or contrasted in this chapter with the law. At Sinai the law was given, but it was a ministration of condemnation and of death. What Paul ministered was a ministration of the Spirit and of righteousness, which brought life to those who received it. The glory of the old covenant, that shone in the face of Moses, was to be done away, and it paled before the excellence of the new covenant glory that shines unveiled in the face of Jesus. This is the glory that we are privileged to behold: all the glory connected with that blessed One in Whom divine grace has been manifested; and occupied with Him, and with the glory that shines in Him, we become morally like Him in this world, while awaiting the time when we shall bear His image in heaven.
In 2 Cor. 4:2 Paul speaks of manifesting the truth. It is the privilege, and responsibility, of every servant of the Lord to manifest in his life the truth that he ministers; and it is the privilege of every saint of God to translate into the details of everyday life the truth that has come to us from God. Twice in the Epistle to the Romans Paul writes "My Gospel;" in verse 3 of this chapter he speaks of "Our Gospel." The explanation is simple: in Romans, Paul writes as Minister of the Gospel, and does not associate any one with him in the address; here, in 2 Corinthians, he associates Timothy with him, and therefore says "Our Gospel." In opening 1 Corinthians, the Apostle had emphasised the truth of the cross of Christ; in 2 Corinthians he dwells on the glory of Christ. Paul's Gospel presents to us the Christ he saw on the way to Damascus, so that he unfolds "The glory of the Lord with unveiled face;" "The Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God;" and "The knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Christ is the image of God as Man, the last Adam; the One Who is Head over all that God has given to Him, and Who shall be the centre of all as Son of Man in the day to come. But He is God's image in another way: in Colossians 1 He is seen as "The image of the invisible God," and this is because of the greatness of His Person as Son of the Father's love. God dwells in light unapproachable, Whom no man hath seen, nor can see; but all that God is in His nature, in His activities of grace, and in the counsels of His love, can be known in the Son, Who came to reveal God, and in Whom all that He is is now seen.
What comes out at the beginning of chapter 5 is closely connected with 1 Corinthians 15. Our bodies are viewed as an earthly tabernacle, the temporary abode of the Christian which may be destroyed by death. Should death come, the Christian becomes unclothed, he puts off the earthly tabernacle, and awaits in Christ's presence his eternal house, the glorified body. The normal desire of the Christian is not to be unclothed by death, but to be clothed at Christ's coming; the mortal body being swallowed up of life, instead of being destroyed by death. The unbeliever has not this hope; he can only look for death, which exposes his nakedness before God.
We then have the judgment-seat of Christ. In Romans 2:16 Paul had written, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my Gospel." He had also spoken of "The judgment-seat of God" in Romans 14:10. This is therefore one of the subjects connected with Paul's Gospel. All of us must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; to receive the things done in the body, good and bad. The unsaved have nothing good to receive; through grace there will be for us as Christians that which the grace of God has wrought through us during our sojourn in this world. I sometimes liken the judgment-seat to the review after an examination, when the pupils receive back their papers with the remarks of the teacher, and the marks that have been awarded. The teacher is then able to show just where the pupils went wrong, and to praise what has been done well. At the judgment-seat of Christ we shall complete our education that is necessary for the kingdom. What has been judged here will not require to be judged there, although we shall no doubt have the Lord's mind on every detail of our lives. Often we have hesitated, not being quite certain which way to take; then we shall have the answer from Christ Himself. Every motive, every desire, every thought, every secret, every action, shall be gone into with Christ. How necessary for us and for the glory of God will that solemn hour be! It is unthinkable that we could enter into the rest and bliss of eternity, or into the glory of the kingdom, without the resolution of every exercise and every difficulty that has been raised in the complexity of earthly circumstances and conflicts. We shall be in our glorified bodies when we appear before Christ at His judgment-seat; and shall gladly say Amen! to all His estimates of our deeds. For the unsaved the judgment-seat will be the Great White Throne; that is why the Apostle speaks of "The terror of the Lord." Down here, for the unregenerate, death is The King of Terrors; but the terror of the Lord follows death. How this should stir us up to plead with men about the eternal destiny of their souls!
Paul was not only affected by the thought of the judgment-seat, but was constrained by the love of Christ to preach the Gospel, to beseech men to get right with God. He saw the end of all that belonged to man in the flesh, and realised that only what belonged to new creation would abide. As being "In Christ" we already belong to the order of things where all is new; and we are privileged to take account of ourselves in this way. The world refused the reconciliation offered in Christ, and cast out the Son of God, but God took the very occasion of the expression of man's enmity to work out on the cross the great thoughts of His heart for the blessing of men, which enabled Him to reconcile rebel sinners to Himself, and to bring them before His face as His righteousness in Christ, while awaiting the day of the display of His righteousness in the world to come.
The rapture of the saints, brought before us in 1 Thessalonians 4, is one of the special revelations of Paul's Gospel, and the wonderful climax to our life in this world. This is the only place in Scripture where the actual catching away of the saints is taught. We have it prefigured in the translation of Enoch and Elijah; it may be involved in the taking up to heaven of the Man Child in Revelation, and it is necessary to the true understanding of John 14:3 and other Scriptures. This is what we are daily looking for! It may be today! The blessed Lord is coming to take us out of the scene of our failure into the presence of His glory, and into the rest of the Father's House. Paul received this blessed revelation directly from the Lord Himself, and it was given to comfort our hearts while waiting to meet the Lord in the air.
These are some of the features of Paul's Gospel. They are given to us to mould our thoughts, and to regulate our lives, so that we might be here for God's glory and pleasure. Wm. C. Reid.