“Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

“As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

“Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit” (Col. 1:6-8).

A DEAR FELLOW SERVANT

Epaphras was evidently the evangelist whom Paul had sent to Colosse to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God, and who had now returned to tell Paul the wonderful results. Actually Paul was not surprised that a church had already been founded there with a group of believers rejoicing in Christ, for the gospel produces “fruit” wherever it goes.

All this brings up a very interesting and a very hotly debated point. Did Paul’s gospel of the grace of God actually get to “all the world,” as he says here?

THE PROFESSING CHURCH

To the apostle Paul was committed the greatest revelation of all time. It is called “the mystery,” or “secret,” and it was made known by “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” It is God’s great “eternal purpose,” and to Paul was entrusted, in connection with this sacred secret, “the dispensation of the grace of God.” His ministry superceded that of Peter and the eleven. Solemn recognition was given to this very fact by the leaders of the Twelve, including Peter himself, as they gave to Paul and Barnabas “the right hands of fellowship,” acknowledging Paul’s divine commission to go to the Gentiles. They agreed that since the favored nation had not yet received their message, they would confine their ministry to their own nation. Read it in Galatians 2:2-9.

Now in connection with this commission, Paul was also the divinely appointed “minister” of the church of this present dispensation, called in Colossians 1:18,24, the Body of Christ. No other Bible writer has a single word to say about the Church which is Christ’s Body. None of the other apostles mention it. Not only would we seek in vain for such phraseology in their writings, but we’d seek in vain for any discussion of the subject, for they do not discuss the Church of which believers today are members. But Paul, who wrote more books of the Bible than any other writer, deals consistently with those truths which concern the Church which is His Body. It is sad to say that this great revelation and the glorious truths associated with it have been largely lost to the professing Church.

The largest segment of this church ignores these facts, though they are clearly set forth in her own Bible. She insists that the true Church of today is the perpetuation of that which was founded by Christ while He was on earth. And consistent with this she holds that she is laboring to fulfill the so-called great commission given to Peter and the eleven, requiring water baptism for the remission of sins, and claiming to possess miraculous powers.

The Protestant Church, while boasting freedom from clerical or religious tyranny, has by no means emerged entirely from the shadows of the dark ages. She also still clings to the traditional teaching that the Church today is the perpetuation of that to which our Lord referred in Matthew 16 when He said, “Upon this Rock I will build My Church” (16:18).

The Protestant Church in general believes that the Church is God’s kingdom on earth. She, too, seeks to carry out the so-called great commission, the commission given to Peter and the eleven—though half-heartedly, for she can’t make up her mind whether water baptism is, or is not, necessary for the remission of sins, and she’s also confused and disagreed as to whether or not she possesses the miraculous powers of the so-called great commission.

EVERY CREATURE UNDER HEAVEN

Rather than recognizing the distinctive character of Paul’s position as our apostle, most Protestants think of him as simply one of the apostles, along with Peter and the eleven. In this the Protestant Church has assumed a very weak position. For if Paul is to be considered one of the twelve, it can easily be proven that Peter, and not Paul, was appointed their chief. Just read Matthew 16:19 and several other passages, especially in the book of Acts. Since Christendom has strayed so far and so long from the great Pauline revelation, she has lost sight almost completely of the vastness of Paul’s ministry, and his influence, and the extent to which she once became known in the world.

An example of this is found in what Bible scholars in general have done with Titus 2:11. It is correctly agreed that “epiphany,” the original word for “appeared” in this verse, means a conspicuous or an illustrious “shining forth.” And that the phrase “all men” doesn’t mean each individual, singly, but all men collectively, all mankind. But few can believe that even under Paul’s ministry the gospel of the grace of God shone forth to all mankind, or that it’s proclamation ever became worldwide. They conclude that Paul couldn’t have meant that. And so they change this verse to read that the grace of God bringing salvation for all has appeared, when that is not actually what it says. It says what the Authorized Version renders it to say:

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).

Now apart from Paul’s statement in Titus 2:11, there is a great deal of Scriptural evidence that this message did shine forth to all the known world.

ALL NATIONS, ALL THE WORLD, AND ALL CREATION

Before we go into that evidence, there are three phrases used in the so-called great commission given to the eleven, later made twelve, that indicate a worldwide scope in ministry.

Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach [make disciples of] all nations….”

Mark 16:15: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature [Greek, all creation].”

Three important phrases: all nations, all the world, all creation. Remember them, because we’re going to come back to them.

The Twelve apostles were sent to all nations with their gospel of the kingdom. The blessing was to go to “all the world” through Israel with Christ as King, and when this was completed, here is what Matthew 24:14 says would happen:

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Now we know that the “end” of that administration has not even yet come. That dispensation was interrupted by God, and because the favored nation rejected the King and His kingdom, God concluded all mankind now in unbelief, to raise up another apostle, Paul, sending him forth with “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

“MADE KNOWN TO ALL NATIONS”

Surely no one even superficially acquainted with the book of Acts, or the epistles of Paul, would question the fact that some time after our Lord’s commission to Peter and the eleven, Paul was sent forth as an apostle of Christ to proclaim the gospel to all mankind.

It is very significant that the three terms—all nations, all the world, all creation_employed in the commission to Peter and the eleven, indicating its worldwide scope; these same terms are also used in Paul’s epistles in connection with his ministry. Only, whereas the twelve never got to all nations, all the world, and all creation with their message, Paul did with his. In closing his epistle to the Romans, he says:

“Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

“But now is made manifest, and by [the prophetic Scriptures], according to the commandment of the everlasting God, MADE KNOWN TO ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:25,26).

There you have it. It is now made manifest and made known to all nations. In Colossians 1:6 Paul speaks, as we have seen, to these Colossians about “the truth of the gospel”:

Verse 6: “Which is come unto you, as it is in ALL THE WORLD; and bringeth forth fruit….”

Verse 23: “…Which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature [ALL CREATION] which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

There you have those three phrases again: all nations, all the world, all creation. Arguments may be advanced to prove that the gospel of the grace of God didn’t actually reach all the world or all creation. We do not deny that to those addressed “all the world” would doubtless mean all the known world, and “all creation” would likewise mean all creation as they knew it. But the point is—now get this carefully—that whatever these terms mean in the so-called great commission to Peter and the eleven, they must also mean in these statements by Paul, for the terms are exactly identical in the original. And as we have seen, Peter and the Twelve did not get their message to all the world, all nations, and all creation, but Paul did.

(From a message preached at Faith Bible Church, Pastor Kurth’s home church in Steger, Illinois)

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

What does it mean to be “sealed” by the Spirit, and how secure does this seal make us? Words mean things, and we are not allowed to ascribe arbitrary meanings to Bible words. But a careful study of the Bible use of this word “seal” will develop it’s meaning for us and fortify our faith.

In Esther 8:8, the king of Persia ordered that a decree be issued, and commanded: “seal it with the king’s ring.” When the king’s ring was pressed against the hot wax that sealed a document in those days, the sealed scroll then bore an imprint that identified it with the king. Similarly, when you and I were baptized into Christ the moment we believed the gospel, we were identified with Christ, and to this day we bear the unseen imprint of the Holy Spirit. And while I like to identify with our Chicago sports teams only until they start losing, how good to know that God remains identified with us even when we grieve Him!

Esther 8:8 also teaches us that a decree sealed with the king’s ring “may no man reverse!” Not even the king himself could overturn an order sealed with his ring. How reassuring to know that no matter how we grieve His Spirit, God Himself cannot reverse the eternal destiny of a believer that bears His seal. When Daniel was tossed into the lion’s den, the king sealed the den with his own signet “that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel” (Dan. 6:17).

Moving on in our study of the seal, we see that Job enjoyed absolute confidence in his security (Job 19:25-27) because he knew that his sin was “sealed up in a bag” (14:17). He knew that no one could break the seal of God and release his sin. But how much more secure should we feel! Christ has done more than seal our sins in a bag, He has “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26) and sealed us with His Spirit!

Next in our study of the seal, Jeremiah 32:9,10 tells us that Jeremiah bought some land and “sealed” the deed, here called “the evidence of the purchase” (v. 11). Well does this writer remember as a young boy sending away for prizes advertised on the back of cereal boxes. The prizes were “free,” but required two or three “proof of purchase” seals found on each box of cereal. That’s what the Spirit is for us, proof that our pardon has been purchased by the blood of Christ, “evidence” that could be presented were we ever to be called to stand before God’s bar of justice.

Just as there were “witnesses” (v. 10) to Jeremiah’s purchase, we know that there were angelic witnesses to the purchase of our redemption, holy ones who watched in wonder as the Son of God purchased our redemption on Calvary, then rejoiced when we believed the gospel (Luke 15:10) and sealed the deal.

The evidence of purchase in Jeremiah’s day came in two parts, “both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open” (v. 11), an open deed left available for examination in the event of land disputes, and a sealed deed kept safe for security purposes. These deeds were identical. We know that criminal embezzlers often keep two different sets of books—one to show the authorities, and one that accurately reflects their wrongdoing! But Jeremiah’s land deeds were the same, “both that which was sealed…and that which was open,” reminding us that, while our Spirit seal is invisible (since “your life is hid with Christ in God”—Col. 3:3), our public lives should read the same as our title deed, for our open seal is “known and read of all men” (II Cor. 3:2,3). The Apostle Paul put it this way:

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this SEAL, The Lord knoweth them that are His. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (II Tim. 2:19).

Jeremiah’s land deeds were placed “in an earthen vessel” for safekeeping (Jer. 32:14). Likewise, God placed the proof of our purchase within us, within these jars of clay that make up our physical bodies (Gen. 2:7; II Cor. 4:7). Wouldn’t Jeremiah’s deeds have been safer in the temple? Well, which lasted longer, Israel’s temple or the Dead Sea Scrolls found recently after nearly two thousand years—in earthen vessels! God knows precisely what He is doing when He leaves your seal in the earthen vessel of your physical body, for it is secured by the power of His almighty arm.

Jeremiah was told to place his deed in an earthen vessel, “that they may continue many days” (Jer. 32:14). How many days? Well, Israel was about to be overrun by Babylon, meaning that even though Jeremiah held the deed to the land, the property would be out of his control for seventy years. When Jeremiah questioned the Lord about the wisdom of His command to buy the land (v. 24,25), the Lord assured him that the captivity would someday end, and the land would no longer be out of his control (v. 44). How this reminds us that when the Lord Jesus redeemed us, He knew that even though He would hold the deed to our hearts, we would be out of His control for about seventy years (Ps. 90:10). Thankfully He, like Jeremiah, went ahead and made the purchase anyway!

We learn more about the Bible meaning of the word “seal” in Ezekiel 28:12, where it is said of Lucifer, “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Here we learn that something that is sealed is perfect and complete. Not a single thing could be added to Lucifer to make him wiser or more beautiful. Similarly, God has not needed to add a single star since the original creation, since in the beginning He “sealeth up the stars” (Job 9:7). And wonder of wonders, not a single thing needs to be added to believers today who are sealed with the Spirit, for we are “complete in Him” (Col. 2:10).

In Jeremiah’s day, both the seller and the buyer of land had to affix their seal to the deed to testify to the transaction. But what about the transaction of our redemption? John 3:33 says:

“He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.”

How does a man “set to his seal” that God is true? Simply by receiving His testimony and believing on Christ (v. 36).

And speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, John 6:27 says, “Him hath God the Father sealed.” To what could John be referring to but our Lord’s experience at His baptism when “the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him” (Luke 3:22). If this be the case, the conclusion we can draw from this is almost too precious to believe. If the “seal” with which God the Father sealed our Savior is the Holy Spirit, then you and I are sealed with the same seal with which the Lord Jesus Christ was sealed. If that doesn’t make you feel secure, I’m not sure what will!

But why would the Lord need such a secure seal? Perhaps in some sense this would enable Him in His humanity to bear the awful load of sin that was placed upon Him at Calvary. If this be so, we have further proof that we need never fear the loss of salvation due to our sin. If all the sins of all the world were not sufficient to break His seal of the Spirit, then surely your comparatively small load of sin will never avail to break your seal of the Spirit.

Romans 4:11 teaches us that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.” Abraham’s seal was a wonderful illustration of our own in two blessed ways. First, circumcision was irreversible, re-inforcing our conviction that our seal is likewise permanent and irrevocable. Second, Abraham’s seal went with him wherever he went. I’d forget my head if it weren’t attached to my shoulders! And just as sure as getting pulled over by a policeman the day you forget your wallet, you know you’d die the day you forgot your seal, if it was something you had to remember. Bless God, it isn’t!

In Revelation 7:1,2, John describes how in the coming Tribulation four angels will be given power “to hurt the earth and the sea.” But before they can act, they are told, “Hurt not the earth….till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (v. 3). Imagine how secure those believers will feel with the visible seal of the Lord “written in their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1). Many believers today refuse to believe in their seal because they cannot see it, but I don’t know of any believer today who refuses to breathe the air because he cannot see it. Believers today can and should enjoy the same assurance as these 144,000 (v. 4), for while our seal is not visible, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). Our spiritual seal is just as real as their visible one, just as our spiritual circumcision and our spiritual baptism (Col. 2:10-12) are just as real as Israel’s visible circumcision and baptism.

These 144,000 sealed ones offer us dynamic proof of the security of our seal. Revelation 12 describes how in the middle of the Tribulation they are “caught up unto God, and to His throne” (v. 5). We see them next standing with the Lamb in the heavenly Mount Sion (Rev. 14:1), “redeemed from the earth” (v. 3), just as we will be someday (Rom. 8:23; 13:11), and they haven’t lost a single sealed one! They still number 144,000! Likewise, at the Rapture, the Lord will not misplace a single sealed member of “the church which is His body.” Talk about “signed, sealed and delivered!”

Sometimes the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer is challenged with the notion that while our seal renders us safe from external dangers such as Satan and his host, God’s seal of the Spirit cannot protect us from within, from ourselves. An alligator’s powerful jaws can exert 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch when closing, but once closed can be held shut with a man’s bare hands. It is argued by some that God’s seal works the same way, protecting us mightily from without, but helpless to keep us sealed should we sin too much from within.

Obviously, our Lord’s seal in John 6:27 was designed to protect Him from external dangers, for there was certainly no danger that He would sin from within and break the seal. So what assurance do we have in Scripture that God’s seal cannot be broken from the inside out? Surely this is powerfully answered in Revelation 20, where we are told that during the millennial kingdom God will take the devil and “shut him up and set a seal upon him” (v. 1-3). Imagine Satan’s frustration when after a lifetime of failing to break the seal of individual believers from without, he finds himself sealed up and helpless to break the seal from within! My dear Christian friend, if even the devil with his awesome power of evil can’t break God’s seal from within, what makes you think you can with your comparatively puny power of evil? In a great type of Christ, Noah was told to seal the ark “within and without with pitch” (Gen. 6:14). Once “the Lord shut him in” (Gen. 7:16), no water was going to get in, and no one was going to get out until it came time for God to break the seal and release the sojourners into the new world.

Will God ever break our seal? Not until it is time to usher us sojourners into our new world! We have a dramatic picture of this in Romans 15:26, where Paul talks about the collection that he had taken among the Gentile churches “for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” Whilst this money was in Paul’s hands, it was sealed and absolutely safe and secure. Even though Paul was “in prisons more frequent” than just about anyone (II Cor. 11:23), and bribing your way out of prison was commonplace in that day (Acts 24:26), you wouldn’t catch Paul missappropriating funds for his own personal use to save his life! Speaking then of his plan to deliver this money personally to Jerusalem, he tells the Romans in Verse 28:

“When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.”

Paul determined to make sure that the transfer of this sizeable collection was sealed air-tight to the possession of the people for whom it was taken. What a lesson for all those who handle the Lord’s money today! And what a picture of the sacred transfer that will take place at the Rapture! We have seen in this study that the seal of the believer in this life goes infinitely beyond what the world calls “hermetic,” but what happens when it comes time for us to be ushered into the new world? Ah remember, Paul says that you and I are “sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30), that is, “the redemption of our body” at the Rapture (Rom. 8:23). There will be no last minute fumble when the Body of Christ is joined to the host of heaven, for the Lord Jesus Himself will have “sealed to them this fruit,” this fruit of the church which is His Body. Just as our nation’s space shuttle remains sealed until it docks with the space station, even so the individual believer today will remain sealed unto our rendezvous with eternity.

The very honor of God is at stake in this matter of the security of our seal. II Corinthians 1:20 says that “all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” What are some of these unconditional promises that we have in Christ? Well, Verse 22 speaks of God….

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

If God’s promise were broken and sealed believers were somehow lost, God would get no glory “by us.” Indeed, the loss of a single Spirit-sealed saint would be a thrust at His integrity, for the soundness of the believer’s seal depends not on his works but on the solemn promise of God. We know this is so because Paul does not make mention of the Spirit’s seal exclusively to the spiritual Ephesians, but here includes the carnal Corinthians when speaking of this precious blessing. Thus we know that the most backslidden believer need never fear that he has sinned too deeply, broken his seal, and endangered his soul.

This is why we must be careful to “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” When God’s Spirit was “grieved” at man before the Flood, God vowed to “destroy” man from the face of the earth (Gen. 6:6,7). When Israel “grieved” the Lord for forty years in the wilderness, God swore in His wrath that that generation would not enter the Promised Land (Ps. 95:10,11). But, when you as a believer grieve Him at His heart, your seal remains intact as the Spirit just stands there and takes it, choosing to respond with grace, not wrath. How it behooves each blood-bought believer to tremble at the thought of presuming upon such grace.

Imagine a Christian Secret Service agent, assigned to protect a president that continually took the Lord’s name in vain. This president knows that his speech grieves the agent, but he could care less! Until one day the agent saves his life! Surely now he will amend his speech! But no, he continues to blaspheme and the agent, though grieved, continues to keep him safe. Before you holler, “What an ingrate!”, remember that when you sin against the Spirit that saved you and keeps you sealed, you have more in common with this ungrateful president than you would care to admit.

What is it specifically that grieves the Lord? Well, if Paul had warned us not to grieve “the Lonely Spirit,” we would know not to ignore Him and make Him to feel left out. If Paul had cautioned us not to grieve “the Shy Spirit,” we might grieve Him by showering Him with the same attention as our Pentecostal friends! But it is “the Holy Spirit” that Paul tells us not to grieve, and His name says it all! It is the ungodly and unholy behavior of the context (Eph. 4:25-31) that grieves Him at His heart. Thus may each of us determine in our hearts to “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9).

GOD’S WILL FOR TODAY

Now beloved, we must have this clearly in mind as we study this passage in the first chapter of the Colossian letter. Every true spiritual believer will heartily desire to know, and do, the will of God. It is my earnest prayer that you may indeed “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

Sad to say, however, the vast majority of believers reading this passage in Colossians One think only in terms of God’s will for their lives in their particular circumstances.

For example, a young Christian asks: “What is God’s will for my life? Should I go into the ministry or become a missionary? And if a missionary, should I go to China, Africa or India? Or would God have me stay in business and help to finance His work?” But while the young man is so concerned about God’s will for the details of his life, he is woefully ignorant of GOD’S WILL, i.e., what it is God wants done. The emphasis is put upon himself, rather than upon God and His great plan for the present dispensation.

So, I beg of you my dear friend, don’t misunderstand this passage, when Paul prays for the Colossians, and he certainly would pray for us, “that [we] might be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

Colossians 1:9 does not refer to God’s will then in a given situation, but to His long hidden purpose and program as revealed in the Pauline Epistles. He rightly holds us responsible to learn what this is:

“Having made known unto us THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself” (Eph. 1:9).

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

“Redeeming [buying up] the time, because the days are evil.

“WHEREFORE BE YE NOT UNWISE, BUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS” (Eph. 5:15-17).

Sadly, the majority of God’s people seem to think that His will should accommodate itself to their fluctuating experiences. When they are in the depths of despair and do not know where to turn, they cry to the Lord to show them His will. When on the mountaintop, maybe called upon to choose between two attractive alternatives, they ask the Lord again to show them His will. And if you draw a line to illustrate it, part of it would be way down and then the graph would go way up, of course. But all the while they neglect to inquire about His objective, or to learn how they may fit into His plan and purpose. This purpose is clearly defined for us in the Epistles of Paul. It runs straight as an arrow and we should conform ourselves to it.

Now God is interested—I don’t want you to misunderstand me—He is very interested in whatever concerns us. And He would have us look to Him for guidance in every detail of our lives. But let us put the emphasis where it belongs. If a man is ignorant of the will and purpose of God, what good is it to inquire whether he should enter the ministry or go to Africa or China? He will do as much harm as good wherever he goes. On the other hand, one who does have an intelligent understanding of the will of God and has been gripped by it will have little danger of remaining unused in the Lord’s service.

If we would be in the center of God’s will, then, we must come to a knowledge and an appreciation of the great secret revealed through Paul for us today. This alone can give us a true sense of our place in God’s program, broadening and balancing our spiritual experience.

Let us then labor fervently in prayer, as Epaphras did for the saints at Colosse, that we might “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12).

Now in seeking to determine God’s will in the particular circumstances of life, the truly spiritual believer will take little heed to the very things that others think are so decisive. He will never depend on “getting the mind of God through prayer”; hoping for “inner promptings”—as one writer put it, “Not a voice, but an impression.” Nor will he go to the “promise box” and flip his Bible open at random to learn God’s will. If for no other reason, simply because he limits God to the particular promises in the box.

No, no, such an one will look for guidance in answer to prayer, to be sure, but he’ll do this by prayerfully using his God-given faculties in the light of the written Word, “rightly divided.”

Beloved, God has given us hands to work with, hearts to love with, and minds to think with, and He expects us to use them all to His glory. Hence, in any given situation we should use the common sense that He’s given us in the light of His Word.

Naturally, this affects our wills, too, and our prayer lives, but here again a knowledge of the Mystery broadens us and establishes us, as we lose our wills in His.

We no longer confuse “this present evil age” with the kingdom which our Lord proclaimed and in connection with which He said: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). Under the present circumstances it is a good thing that we do not receive “whatsoever” we ask, even in faith, for we read in Romans 8:26 that “we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” The same passage, however, goes on to tell us what we do know:

“And we know that all things work [Lit. “are being worked”] together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

When we exercise the deepest, most implicit faith in God, we will not insist that He grant our desires, but will place ourselves unreservedly in His care and keeping, fully assured that he will work all out for our good. Thus the apostle exhorts us:

“Be careful [anxious] for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6).

“And….” And what? “And you will receive what you ask for?” No! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, whatever the circumstances, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God,

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).

It may be necessary for your own good that He withhold what you have asked for, but sustained by a sense of His love and grace you will not crack or go to pieces, for having talked to Him about it and left it with him, His peace—the peace that passes human understanding—will keep, or garrison, your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

There is something more blessed, then, than merely getting what we ask for in prayer. It is spoken of again by the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 3:20,21.

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

“Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”

GOD’S WILL FOR YOU

Now this holds good even with regard to calls to special service for Christ; whether to the pastorate, the mission field, or any other branch of the work. The truly spiritual child of God will not look for, or depend upon, some overwhelming emotional experience as an indication that God has called him to the ministry.

Much less will he expect what so many have called a Macedonian vision, for he will have learned that Paul’s call to Macedonia in Acts 16:9-10 is the last such call recorded in Scripture, and that it belongs with the signs of a past dispensation.

First, all believers are called to make known what Paul calls “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the Mystery” (Rom. 16:25). The written Word of God, together with the appalling need all about us, constitutes an urgent call to this ministry.

Now, all are not meant to minister in the same capacity. Some may accomplish much more for Christ in business than they could as pastors or missionaries. So here the particular qualifications of the individual and the particular ministry to which he is best suited are involved.

There is no room for superstition in such matters, beloved. These matters are too important. It is rather for each individual to ask God for light from the Word and for wisdom to consider the need, the circumstances, and his own talents objectively, praying for an open door to that field of service where he can accomplish most for his Lord.

The infinite importance of understanding God’s will can be better appreciated if we consider that we are now living in the tense moments between man’s declaration of war on God, and God’s counter-declaration of war on man, so that there is no time to lose in winning men to Christ. True, man made his declaration of war long ago, but still these moments are just added one after another. God has given us no promise that He won’t close the day of grace at any time.

So the apostle “begs” the unsaved “not to receive the grace of God in vain.” He says, “Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (II Cor. 6:1,2).

In the light of this, how we should pray for ourselves and for our fellow believers “that [we] may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12).

I hope this has helped you to understand what the apostle means when he says,

“[I] do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9).

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

“The night is far spent; the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:11,12).

DAY AND NIGHT IN SCRIPTURE

Some able Bible expositors have taught that the “day” and the “night” in the above passage must be viewed in a dispensational light. The world’s night, they have suggested, came with the fall of man. Then, when our Lord appeared on earth the day dawned, for He was “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). But the world, including “His own,” rejected Him and night fell again as He left it and ascended to heaven. Nor will the world know the light of day again until He returns to reign.

At first sight this interpretation seems sound enough, but it does not stand the Berean test. As we search the Scriptures, we do indeed find our Lord saying to the people: “I am the Light of the world,” but He adds: “he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). It was only His true followers, then, that did not walk in darkness, and they had “the light of life.” This agrees with the inspired testimony of the Apostle John:

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).

As to the world, which did not partake of this life, John goes on to describe how deep was the darkness of its night:

“And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not” (Ver. 5).

The light shone forth but did not penetrate the dense darkness; the darkness was not diffused by it.

Indeed, so deep was the night when our Lord was on earth that God sent John the Baptist to point men to Christ, the Light.

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

“The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe” (Ver. 6,7).

It is evident, therefore, that our Lord did not dispel the world’s darkness at His first coming and that, dispensationally, it was not day while He was on earth. We believe, rather, that the world’s night began with the fall of man and that the darkness will not be dissipated until the second coming of Christ to judge and reign. Then the wicked will be judged and burned up as “stubble” (Malachi 4:1), but for those who fear His name:

“…the Sun of righteousness [shall] arise with healing in His wings…” (Ver. 2).

This is why He is called “the Morning Star” in those Scriptures which apply primarily to the great tribulation (Rev. 22:16 cf. II Pet. 1:19).

But what, then, does the Apostle Paul mean in Romans 13:12, where he says that “the night is far spent” and “the day is at hand”?

OUR NIGHT AND DAY

We believe that the answer to this question is that the apostle is not speaking dispensationally in Romans 13:11,12. Certainly, if the “night” of this present dispensation followed the supposed “day” of our Lord’s earthly ministry, Paul could not have written that the night was “far spent.” When he wrote, it had barely begun.

Rather, Romans 13:11,12 should be compared with such passages as II Corinthians 4:6:

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Thank God, the day has dawned for the believer in Christ, though the night be dark about him! And because the day has dawned “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

Our salvation as believers in Christ is secure, but it is not yet complete. No matter how we rejoice in Christ, or how we love to testify to His grace, or how we enjoy the study of the Word, there is still more, much more to follow. The dawning of the light which has brought us so much blessing and joy will suddenly burst into full-orbed day when our Beloved comes to catch us away to Himself.

LET US NOT SLEEP

Mark well that it is not the dawn that we are waiting for. For us the day has dawned and it is the full-orbed day¹ that is at hand. Could there be a better argument why we should “awake out of sleep”?

We find the same challenge forcefully presented in I Thessalonians 5. After explaining in I Thessalonians 4:16-18 how “we” shall be caught away to meet the Lord and be forever with Him, the apostle goes on in Chapter 5 to say that “the day of the Lord” will come upon this world as “a thief in the night”:

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (Ver. 3).

But the apostle continues:

“But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (Vers. 4,5).

And this is the sole argument upon which he bases his appeal to be awake and alert. He does not urge us to be awake to defend ourselves against the thief, for before our Lord comes as a thief, we will have been caught away. He rather says: the thief will come in the night, but “Ye are all the children of…the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

“Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober” (Ver. 6).

HIGH TIME TO AWAKE

We should not fail to observe the urgency of the apostle’s inspired appeal in Romans 13:11,12.

“It is high time to awake….The night is far spent [all but dissipated]; the [full-orbed] day is at hand.”

What a disgrace to be sleeping at so late an hour, especially when there are battles to be fought and victories to be won! Thus the vigor of his appeal to “cast off” the night clothes of indolence and to “put on the armor of light.”

This armor of light is nothing less than Christ Himself, as indicated in Verse 14:

“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Believers are already “in Christ” positionally, but we must “put Him on” experientially (See Col. 3:8-14).

In Ephesians 5:8 the apostle says: “For ye were sometime [once] darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” And as we thus “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and “walk in the light,” we find that the light is an armor to protect us from sin and to defend us against Satan, who would overcome us and put us to flight.

AWAKE AND ARISE

Finally, while Romans 13:11 bids us “awake out of sleep,” Ephesians 5:14 bids us “awake…and arise from [among] the dead.” Believers have already been raised from the dead with Christ by grace (Eph. 2:4-6). Too often, however, they are fast asleep—asleep to their responsibilities and opportunities, asleep to the need and the challenge of the hour. Are such Christians of any greater use to God or men than those who are still “dead in trespasses and sins”?

Thus the apostle exhorts:

“Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from [among] the dead, and Christ shall give thee light [or, be to thee a light].

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

“Redeeming [buying up] the time, because the days are evil.

“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:14-17).

Notes:

1. This is the meaning in the Greek.