Our communion meditation tonight
will be comprised of the fourth message in a very brief series,
which I began to preach on December 31st in the year 2000. We were
snowed out, I believe, on that morning, and when we gathered
for that New Year's Eve service, we began to consider what I have
entitled, Ballast for the Soul. using the analogy of a ship that
must have sufficient ballast in its hull if it is to be a
seaworthy vessel, we've been looking at those particular biblical
truths which act as ballast in the soul of a child of God, enabling
him, by the grace of God, not to capsize or to be dashed on
the rocks of confusion and frustration or despair when the sea of life
becomes turbulent and agitated. And whatever else we know about
this present year, we know from the Scriptures that through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And our Lord
said, in the world you shall have tribulation. And in the
first message, we consider two such truths. The first, that
God is on His throne governing all things in this universe as
an absolute sovereign. Secondly, that the crucified,
risen, and exalted Lord Jesus shares that throne as the administrator
of all things, leading to a glorious consummation. He is the administrator
of all things toward the end of the consummation of the kingdom
of God. And that is the posture of our
Lord Jesus in this very hour. Then in the second message, we
took up a third truth that should act like ballast in the soul
of a child of God, and it was this, that the God who is on
His throne is my loving, all-knowing, kindly disposed, but principled
Father in heaven. And then in the last time we
considered this theme together, we looked at the fourth truth,
and it was this, that the exalted Christ is my advocate and intercessor
at the right hand of God the Father. And in that message,
as we focused upon the meaning of Christ as advocate from 1
John chapter 2, and intercessor primarily from Hebrews 7 and
verse 25 and again in Romans 8, we saw that in response to
that which is the greatest source of grief, perplexity and anxiety
in the heart of a true child of God, the matter of his ongoing
struggle with his sin, he finds consolation and stability in
the believing appropriation of what Christ is to us as advocate
and intercessor. Now tonight I want simply to
point to the blessed biblical reality bound up in the next
couplet of words. A few of you may remember back
to our last meditation when I stated that we would focus upon this
fourth category of truth, that Christ is my advocate and intercessor,
comma, my indwelling life and strength, comma, my guide and
constant companion. Well, having considered what
Christ is to us as advocate and intercessor, now for our communion
meditation I want us to think together on this that constitutes
one of the most blessed realities, one of the great mysteries of
the Christian faith, that the enthroned Christ is if I'm a
true believer, my indwelling life and strength. And in the
time allotted, consider with me, first of all, the biblical
framework for this blessed reality, secondly, the biblical witness
to this blessed reality, and thirdly, the biblical implications
of this blessed reality. First of all, then, the biblical
framework for this blessed reality. That is, the reality that every
child of God is warranted to say that the enthroned Christ,
the very Christ who is administering all things in His kingdom towards
a glorious consummation, that that Christ is not only my advocate
and intercessor at the right hand of the Father, but He is
also, at one and the same time, my indwelling life and strength. And the biblical framework for
this blessed reality is the massive New Testament doctrine of union
with Christ. The phrases in Christ, in whom,
in him, are found approximately 150 times in the epistles of
the New Testament. So that it is no exaggeration
to say that the doctrine of union with Christ is the most foundational
truth, the most central truth with respect to the salvation
of hell-deserving sinners. Professor Murray, in his very
helpful chapter on this subject, Union with Christ, in the book
Redemption Accomplished and Applied, wrote, Union with Christ is really
the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation, not only
in its application, but also in its once-for-all accomplishment
in the finished work of Christ. The whole process of salvation
has its origin in one phase of union with Christ, and salvation
has in view the realization of other phases of salvation in
Christ. From our being chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world, to our being raised at
His second coming, for the dead in Christ shall be raised. They shall be raised. Union with
Christ is that which binds the entirety of God's saving work
into one beautiful fabric. So that's the framework of our
consideration of this, but we are narrowing in and bracketing
only one aspect of that wonderful truth of union with Christ. And
it is that union with Christ that is effected in us when we
are actually brought to repentance and faith. When God sovereignly
regenerates us, takes out the heart of stone, and gives us
a heart of flesh, and the first beatings of that heart of flesh
are the beatings of repentance and faith, a penitence suffused
with faith and a faith suffused with repentance, we are at that
instant united to Christ vitally in our own personal experience. For example, Romans 8 and verse
1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are
in Christ Jesus. We are either in a state of condemnation
for our sins Or, in Christ, the day of judgment has come and
has passed for us. Or the familiar text, 2 Corinthians
5, 17. If any is in Christ, a new creation,
the old has passed, the new has come. If any man is in Christ,
he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. All things have become new, or
1 Corinthians 1.30. But of Him, that is, by God's
working, are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, or perhaps more
accurately rendered, who is made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Or the familiar words of Ephesians
2, 8-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast or glory, for we are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before
ordained that we should walk in them. This is why Paul, in
listing out these various people in the Church of Rome to whom
he wants greetings to be sent, could say in Romans 16, I'm sorry,
in verse 7, First Corinthians, Romans 16
and verse 7, Salute, Andronicus and Junius, my kinsmen and my
fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who
also have been in Christ before me. Well, you see, he can't be
speaking of that union of Christ that goes back to our election.
In Ephesians 1, he speaks of being chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. And these brethren, whose names
were Andronicus and Junius, his kinsmen, they were not in Christ,
in sovereign, free, electing choice, before Paul. No. He is speaking of that experiential
union with Christ that is effected when we are saved by grace through
faith, when we are created anew in union with Christ unto good
works. Well, that's the broad biblical
category of our consideration of this matter of Christ right
now being our indwelling life and strength. So having briefly
considered this broader biblical category, the framework of this
reality, now secondly, the biblical witness to this blessed reality,
where in the Bible does it state in unmistakable terms that the
Christ on the throne actually dwells in his people as the source
of their life and their strength? Well, I want us to look at four
or five texts which state this in unmistakable language. First of all, Romans chapter
8. Romans chapter 8. The apostle, having made the
statement which we quoted a few moments ago, tells us how we
came into this state of no condemnation based upon the work of Christ
being sent by the Father in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemning
sin in His flesh. And then he opens up this subject
that there are now two realms of spiritual reality and existence,
the realm of the flesh, which leads to death, the realm of
the spirit that leads to life. And speaking of every single
Christian at Rome, he can say, verse 9, but you are not in the
flesh. but in the Spirit. You are no
longer in the realm where flesh, that is, human nature, unblessed,
untransformed by the power of God, operates, dictates your
perspectives and your desires, your standards, your goals, etc. He says of these Christians,
you are not in that realm of the flesh as the generic realm
of your spiritual existence, but you are in the Spirit, if
so be. that the Spirit of God dwells
in you. But if any man has not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. Now do you see the two terms
he uses as interchangeable? Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ. Why are we no longer in the realm
of the flesh that leads to death? because the Spirit of God has
come to take up His residence in us. And the Spirit of God
is, here in this text, called the Spirit of Christ. But now
look at verse 10. And if Christ is in you, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ,
Christ Himself. so that when the Spirit of God
comes to indwell us as the Spirit of Christ and of God, it is Christ
who comes to indwell us. It is Christ who now dwells in
us. Christ is in you. He is not in
you in his glorified body. He is there in his glorified
body at the right hand of the Father. But though He is in you
by His Spirit, He is in you. Paul does not scruple to use
the term, and if Christ is in you, and it's not the if of doubt,
It is the if of certainty, since Christ is in you. As true Christians,
if any, has not the Spirit, he is not a true Christian. The
identifying mark of every true Christian, according to this
passage, is that the Spirit of God dwells in him, and the Spirit
of God, which is the Spirit of Christ, means Christ Himself
dwells in us. Galatians chapter 2 and verse
20. In this letter where the Apostle is ringing the changes
on the matter of justification in Christ alone, by faith alone,
apart from the works of the law, emphasizing in some of the most
vigorous terminology possible his substitutionary curse bearing
in chapter 3, note what he says in chapter 2 and verse 19. For I, through the law, died
unto the law, that I might live unto God. The law slew me. It condemned me. And in its condemning
power, I died to its authority in my union with Christ, to the
end that I might live unto God. Now, verse 20, I have been crucified
with Christ. There's an aspect of our union
with Christ that takes us back to the space-time historical
events in the life of Jesus. When Jesus of Nazareth was crucified,
all of His people were with Him and in Him and were crucified
in His death. Romans chapter 6, the whole first
section, the first 14 verses is built upon the reality condensed
in these words, I have been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer
I that live, but Christ lives in me. Language could not be
simpler, plainer, unambiguous. Christ lives in me. But now notice, "...and the life
which I now live in the flesh." Well, wait a minute, Paul. You
said you don't live, it's Christ that lives, and now you say I
live. Are you dead or are you alive? Are you living or is Christ
living? And Paul says, don't give me
either or. It's all true. I, Paul the proud, Saul of Tarsus
the proud, self-righteous, self-dependent, blind, bigoted Pharisee? Where is he? He is dead on Christ's
cross. He was done on the cross. I have been crucified with Christ. With all of my so-called righteousness
rooted in the law, the law slew me. I died to it in the death
of Christ. But I am alive. And I am conscious
of living a life as Paul the Apostle. Nevertheless, I live. Well, are you dead or are you
alive? Well, I am dead, but I am alive. Well, what's the rationale? What's
the explanation for the way you now live? The way you live, pouring
out your life that others may know of Christ, denying yourself
legitimate liberties, willing to spend and be spent for others. Saul, Paul, whoever you are,
how do you explain who and what you are? He says, I'll tell you,
Christ lives in me. He lives in me. Christ who died
and rose lives in me. But not in such a way that I
am no longer conscious of living and the life which I now live
in the flesh. I live in faith, faith which
is in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. There is a beautiful fusion of
the deepest recesses of the mystery of union with Christ in all of
its legitimate, subjective, experiential, biblical mysticism with all of
the vigorous, glorious, objective reality that Christ loved me,
gave Himself for me. There is the objective object
of faith. joined to this consciousness
and conviction that the Christ who died and rose lives in me. Then we come to John 17, in which
our Lord is praying for His own. And in this prayer for His own
that follows all of the instruction about the coming of the Comforter,
language that Obviously puzzled the disciples at first, and it
puzzles us. He said, I'm going away, yet
I'm coming. And when I come, the Father is coming with me.
But I'm going away, and I'm sending the Spirit. When the Spirit comes,
I come. And when I come, the Father comes.
I'm going away, but the Spirit will come. He's with you and
shall be in you. But I shall be in you, in the person of the
Holy Spirit, in where I and the Spirit are. The Father is present.
It all sounds like mumbo-jumbo to the unbelieving mind, but
listen to what Jesus prays in verse 22 of John 17. And the
glory which you have given me I have given unto them, my people,
that they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and thou
in me, that they may be perfected into one, and this is not something
that awaits heaven, that the world here and now may know that
you did send me and loved them even as you loved
me." He said, the validation of your sending me, Father, and
of your love to them that has some parallel with your love
to me will be my indwelling in them. that has some parallel,
not identity. Similarity is not identity. But let the truth of the words
filter upon your heart, as mind-boggling as they are. I in them, thou
in me, that they may be perfected into one. And what is the measure,
the standard, the parallel of that oneness? Verse 22, that
they may be one as we are one. Something of the intimacy of
inner Trinitarian life is mirrored, not replicated, but mirrored
in the union of Christ with his people. You say, explain that
to me. I can't explain. But I can read
what's here. You don't need to know a word
of Greek. Explain. I have given this unto them,
the glory which you gave to me I have given to them, that they
may be one as we are one, I in them, thou in me, they may be
perfected into one." Marvelous statement of Christ's own indwelling. And it's in that context, you
remember, that he gives us the analogy of the branch and the
vine. John 15, verses 1 to 8. I am the vine. My Father is the
caretaker. You are the branches. The same
life that courses through the main stalk of the vine goes out
into the leaf branch. It is a commonality of life. The relationship of vine and
branch is not plastic, wooden. It is organic. It is living. There is life that flows from
the vine into its branches. And the Apostle Paul, in the
summary of his ministry as a minister of the New Covenant in Colossians
chapter 1, notice what he says is the very focal point of that
truth hidden for generations, but now manifest in the Gospel. Here in Colossians 124, we have
one of the grandest statements on the major pivots around which
a biblical ministry will turn and function. He says, I rejoice
in my sufferings for your sake, verse 24, and fill up on my part
that which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh
for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I was made
a minister according to the dispensation of God which was given me to
you were to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery that
has been hid for ages and generations, But now it has been manifested
to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known. Now look
at the language. What is the riches of the glory
of this mystery? It is a mystery, something hidden
for ages and generations, now revealed. And that which is now
revealed, the mystery revealed, has glory. And that glory is
so profuse that it's riches of the glory of the mystery. Now
he's going to identify it. And what is it? Which is Christ
in you? The hope of glory. That's the
riches of the mystery. That in the gospel, God not only
settles all of the legal accounts in the court of heaven, without
which He could not righteously declare us righteous and forgiven,
nor have a basis on which to adopt us into His family as sons. justification and adoption. Those legal declarations of heaven
rest down upon the objective work of Christ in substitutionary
atonement. But that is not the end of our
salvation. The God who justifies and adopts
comes in the Spirit to bring Christ Himself in us, the hope
of glory. And he says, this is the riches
of the glory of the mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory. So it should not surprise us
that when he comes to chapter 3 and speaks of our union with
Christ in a broader way, We've been raised together with Christ. At the end of chapter 2, he speaks
of our having been crucified together with him, raised with
him, seated with him. Notice how he describes that
same Christ in verse 4. When Christ, our life shall be
manifested. When Christ, our life shall be
manifested. That's where I got the language
of my head. that the Christ at the right
hand of the Father is not only our advocate and intercessor,
but He is our life and our strength. That's the heart of the biblical
witness. Other passages could be brought
to bear, but these are some of the most explicit, now briefly,
the biblical implications of this blessed reality. We're anticipating
coming to the Lord's table. Is there any connection between
all of this and what we'll be doing as we take the bread and
the fruit of the vine? Well, let me state negatively,
God never revealed this truth, nor does He make it real to establish
a ground for passivity among His people. You see, there's
no truth. The devil will not prostitute and profane and twist
to his own ends. And there are some who have taken
this truth of Christ dwelling in us, Christ living in us, and
they say, if that's so, then I must be just like a funnel.
I put my mind in neutral. I put my affections in neutral.
I put my will in neutral. And I just sort of get adjusted,
and I let Christ live His life through me. I was under that
kind of teaching in a context that made it very, very attractive.
And I desperately tried to get the funnel shaped right. And
all the people that taught me this were very temperamentally
reserved. They never wiggled a hand when
they preached. They never raised their voice when they preached.
So I figured that's the way Christ must have taught and preached.
And because Christ is living in them and Christ is living
through them, I've got to learn how to preach with my hands at
my side. and talk in a very ordinary tone of voice and never get excited.
And sure enough, once or twice, I thought I had the funnel all
adjusted. But three minutes into preaching, I backslid. And out
came my hands. And then I found my voice roaring.
And then I thought. And you know, we laugh. And the
laughter was innocent and legitimate. But I'd go back to my room and
say, Lord, when, when, when will I get so muted that Christ will
preach through me? Christ will live through me.
I got to the place where I couldn't make rational decisions. If I
have the mind of Christ, I wait for the impulses of His mind
upon my mind. I must not let my mind, the mind
of the flesh, get ahead of me. It brings a sincere soul into
tremendous bondage. This truth is not revealed to
constitute a ground for passivity. For you see, in the texts that
teach it most clearly, there's no passivity. I have been crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless, there's more I
than Christ in Galatians 2.20. Nevertheless, I live. Who's the
I? He has a mind. He has will. He
has affections. He has judgment. He has desires.
He has likes and dislikes. He said, I live. Yet not I. If you ask the secret for the
kind of life that I live, why my mind works the way it works,
why my affections flow the way they flow, why my will chooses
what it wills, the answer is Christ is in there. Christ, by
the Spirit, has transformed me and His life is my life. the
life which I now live in the flesh. Likewise, in this passage
in Colossians, where he identifies the riches of the glory of the
mystery as Christ in you, there's no passivity in the man preaching
it. For he goes on to say in verses 28 and 29, whom we proclaim,
admonishing every man, teaching every man in all wisdom, that
we may present every man mature or perfect in Christ. Now notice,
Whereunto I labor also striving." Agonizomai again. Intense, passionate
engagement of his whole being. He said, I labor striving according
to his working which works in me mightily. Well, is it Christ's
working or Paul's striving? It's not either-or, it's both-and. Christ-working comes to light
and manifestation in Paul's striving. And when you ask him, Paul, what's
the source of your passion? You could say, day and night
with tears, I labor with my own hands to provide. Paul, where
does the passion, the strength, the focus come from? He says,
it's Christ-working in me. Well, how do you know it's Christ
working in you? Because things are done in me
and by me that I would never do, nor have the desire to do,
if Christ did not live in me. So it's no call to passivity.
Nor is it a warrant for an unbiblical mysticism, an unbiblical mysticism,
living by what we would interpret as the impulses of the indwelling
Christ. We wait to feel to be led to
pray. And if the indwelling Christ
isn't leading us to pray, we don't pray. We're waiting for
the indwelling Christ to lead us to seize an opportunity to
speak a word for Christ and to seek aggressively to establish
friendships that we might earn credibility and speak of Christ.
No, that would be the flesh. We want to wait. No, no. This
is no call to passivity. It is no warrant for an unbiblical
mysticism. Rather, rather, it is a call
to three very simple things. Nothing, nothing, nothing magical,
but these are the things that constitute ballast in the soul.
First of all, it is a call to abide in Christ. If Christ is
our life and our strength, And he meant it when he said in John
15, without me, severed from me, cut off from me, you can
do nothing. That's not hyperbole. That's
the truth. We can do nothing of spiritual
good, nothing that is well-pleasing to God. Our works to be good
works must not only be done according to the rule of Christ's Word,
and done presented to God in the virtue of Christ's atoning
and intercessory work, but they must be done in Christ's strength. Christ's Word, Christ's atonement,
and Christ's Spirit, all three combined, if we are to be filled
with the fruits of righteousness that Paul describes in Philippians
1.11 with this language, which are by Jesus Christ unto the
glory and praise of God. This is a call to abide in Christ. And when you ask, how do I abide
in Him, read John 15, 1 to 8. We abide in Him by faith and
obedience in an atmosphere of prayerfulness regulated by the
Scripture. If you abide in Me and My Word
abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done
unto you. Here it is, My Father glorified, that you bear much
fruit. Secondly, it is a call to continually
expect strength from Christ. It is a call to continually expect
and to draw strength from Christ. Philippians 4.13. Remember the
context? Paul said, there are times when
I know what it is to have my tummy play a tune on my backbone.
I know what it is to be in want, not to have the basic necessities
of food and earthly comforts. But he said, I found contentment.
You come by the place where I'm chained to a Roman guard, And
I've gone several days on a very Spartan diet, little or nothing
to eat, and what I had to eat was very, very rough fare. And
you find me singing hymns and psalms of praise. And someone
has come from one of the churches, like Epaphroditus came from Philippi,
and he brings the bounty of the church, and I've had three squares,
and I've got a new coat on, and I've had a new set of razor blades
brought, and I've been able to trim my beard, and he's singing
the same hymns and the same psalms. And you say, what makes you tick?
He said, well, I have learned in whatsoever state I'm in to
be a psalm and hymn singer, to be content. Well, where do you
get that strength, Paul? He says, I'll tell you. Look
at Philippians 4.13. This is the context. I have learned
the secret, both to be filled and hungry, to abound in me and
want. I can do all things in Him that empowers me from within. The Greek verb, to give strength
or power, with a prefix, en, in. I can do all things laid
upon me in the will of God. The all things here is contentment
in whatever state we are in. How? of the indwelling Christ. Ephesians 3, verse 20. Here the
apostle speaks of a measure of power that we often refer to. Verse 20. Unto him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, and we stop. But it is according to the power
that works in us. Power that is at work in us. Whose power is that? It is nothing
other than the power of Christ, that to which He points these
same Ephesian Christians in chapter 6 and verse 10. Finally, be strong
in the Lord, now notice, and in the strength of His might. Strength that comes from union
with Christ and the strength of His might. That's why Paul
could write as he did in Romans 15, 18 in an almost casual way. For I will not dare to speak
of anything save those which Christ wrought through me for
the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed. You want to
find out why my ministry produced this effect? The answer is very
simple. Christ wrought those through
me. Well, he can't effect them through us if he doesn't dwell
in us. And for Paul, the concept, the reality of the indwelling
Christ so filled his own mind that when he describes the fruit
of his ministry, he said, it is the things that Christ wrought
through me. So this is a call to continually
expect and to draw strength from Christ. And thirdly, and this
is what clinches the other two, it is a call to a believing submission
to Christ and to all the circumstances that shut us up to His strength. It's a call to a believing submission
to Christ and to all the circumstances that shut us up to Christ. I want you to look at several
passages in 2 Corinthians. The great theme of 2 Corinthians
is strength in weakness. The super apostles were all the
time strutting about, showing what great guys they were. And
they were despising Paul and trying to demote Paul in the
esteem and affections of the Corinthians by saying, look,
he's this, this, and this, and all of those aspects speak weakness,
contemptible speech, physical presence unimpressive. And he
goes around sick half the time and he's got this thorn in his
flesh. Weakness, weakness, weakness.
We're the strong ones. Look at us. And Paul picks up
on that and says, I want to show you that strength in the midst
of weakness is the genius of God's way with His people. Look
at chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians. Verse 8, For we would not have
you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction that befell us
in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly beyond our power. He said, God got us to the place
where He said, if we ever get out of this, we won't pat ourselves
on the back. Beyond our power insomuch, we
despaired even of life. Yes, we have had the sentence
of death within ourselves. Why? That we should not trust
in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. You mean, Paul,
you are so inclined to trust in yourself that you're telling
us that this great trial that befell you was ordered of God
to knock the stuffing of self-trust out of you? He said, yes. Yes,
exactly. And I don't want you to be ignorant
of it. That's what he said. Notice how he amplifies that
in chapter 4. Verse 7, we have the treasure
in cracked clay pots. We have the treasure in earthen
vessels. Why? That the exceeding greatness
of the power may be of God and not from us. We're pressed on
every side, yet not straightened. Perplexed, yet not unto despair.
Pursued, yet not forsaken. Smitten down, yet not destroyed.
Now notice. Always bearing about in the body
the dying, the putting to death of Jesus. Why? that the life
of Jesus may be manifested in our body. This is something going
on right now. He's not talking about the resurrection
and bodily transformation at the coming of Christ. Notice,
for we who live, this has to do with life right now, are always,
that has to do with life right now, delivered unto death for
Jesus' sake, to what end? That the life also of Jesus may
be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then, death is working in
us, but life in you. Do you see it? He is saying,
my life is one string of circumstances in which God brings me virtually
into my grave, so that if anything good is done by Paul the Apostle,
it will be by the God who raises the dead. And when people see
it done, they'll say, how in the world did that man do what
he did, respond the way he did? And the only answer is the resurrection
life of Jesus is at work in him. The God who raises the dead is
the one who is at work in his servant. And of course, that's
culminated in chapter 12, when he takes us in to the inner circle
of his own struggle with this thorn in the flesh, whatever
it was. And Paul had come to the conclusion, O Lord Jesus,
You have given me strength out of weakness in this, that, and
the other. And I know I have said in the
past that I understand it. But this thing, whatever it is,
it is going to preclude my fulfilling Your will for me. Lord, it must
be taken away. It is either my diminished usefulness
or the removal of this thorn in the flesh. So he says that
he gave himself to three seasons of prayer. Most likely, though
the text does not say it, where you read other passages in Corinthians
where he speaks of fasting often, could well be seasons of prayer
and fasting. He says to the Lord that I must
have this thing removed. Verse 8, concerning this thing,
I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you, now notice,
My power is made perfect in weakness. And he says that he sought the
Lord three times, verse 8. And unless there is compelling
contextual reasons to make this conclusion, when Paul says the
Lord, he's speaking of the Lord Jesus. He is identifying which
member of the Godhead he was dealing with. For this thing
I sought the Lord three times. And He, the Lord, said to me,
My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect, not
replacing weakness. but in the midst of weakness.
There's all the difference in the world. He says, my power
is made perfect in weakness, not replacing weakness, but in
the midst of weakness. Follow on. Most gladly, therefore,
will I glory in my weaknesses. If his power is made perfect
in the context of evident weakness, then come on weakness. The more
weakness, the more power. Most gladly, therefore. Gladly! Not, okay, if that's
the way God's going to do it, I'm going to knuckle under. He
says, come on weakness. Whatever makes me consciously
weak, if His power is made manifest in weakness, then I'll glory
in my weakness that the power of Christ may spread itself like
a tabernacle over me, so that when you see me, you won't see
me, you'll see the power of Christ that has spread itself over me. That's what Paul said. Wherefore,
you think the guy was masochistic. I take pleasure in weaknesses. When I get up in the morning
and look at my duties for the day and say, Lord, they take
me to ten o'clock at night, I don't feel I've got strength for ten
o'clock in the morning. So when you make it to 10 tonight and
you've done something worthwhile in my kingdom, you'll know my
power has spread itself over you like a tent. He said, boy,
you can get hooked on that. Most gladly will I take pleasure
then in my weakness, in injuries, necessities, persecutions, distresses,
for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. It's in the midst of weakness
that is strength. is made manifest. It's a call,
dear people, this truth, and I know I've gone on longer than
I'm supposed to in a communion meditation. It's a call to a
believing submission to Christ and to the circumstances in which
He's going to teach us this truth experimentally. We get pressed
beyond ourselves. I think of some sitting here,
never knew what that was. till the darling of your heart,
that son or daughter, walked away from everything you've prayed
and labored to see them become. And it was like a grave to you.
Yes. A grave in which God wants to
put you. Get out of it. He'll bring that
which has no explanation but resurrection life. The power
of Jesus. And people are looking to say,
how in the world does that man, that woman, keep his or her sanity?
Keep cheerful? And you say, well, the explanation
is really simple. Christ lives in him. My dear
wife is not here tonight. She's out in Michigan with her
grandson and her daughter, my son-in-law. I can rarely say
anything about her publicly, but I have to go home and live
with her. And that sweet, quiet old lady, if I say anything that
embarrasses her, she'll let me know. So I'd rather not get her
frowned. But I want to say seriously,
as I reflected upon this, To put it in concrete terms that
most of you can relate with or relate to, as I would see my
wife during those 10 months of 11 chemotherapy treatments, the
first several days after lying on the floor in her workroom,
curled up in the fetal position with her head on a pillow, and
I would come by and ask how she was. Never was. Never was. did she complain. When I saw
her go through the indignity of losing every stitch of hair
from the top of her head to the sole of her feet, never once,
never once, any evidence of wounded pride in the rape of her womanhood
by that potent stuff that was put in her veins. And as I've looked at my wife,
child of a broken home, reared with no mother, I said, how do
I explain that woman? I've been forced to say there's
no explanation, but Christ lives in her. Christ lives in her. In all of that weakness and necessity,
responses that defied any chuck-yourself-under-the-chin, grin-embarrassed, stiff-upper-lip
approach to life. Eleven doses of chemo will knock
that stuff out of you pretty quick. The second or third will
do it. Now I want to ask you the question.
Can your husband say something parallel about you as a wife? No, you've not gone through chemo.
No. God has his own ways of bringing you to the place where what you're
going to do and be will have no explanation. but that you've
been handed over to death that the life of Jesus might be manifested
in your mortal flesh? Do you respond in such a way
that the only explanation is Christ lives in you? Or does
a lot of old Adam still come out, complaining, grousing, bucking? How about you husbands? Can your wives say this of you?
There's no explanation for that man I live with. but that the
Christ who died and rose and sits at the right hand of the
Father by the Holy Spirit lives in my husband. His patience with
some of my kinks and quirks as a wife defies explanation. It's the patience of Christ,
the wisdom God gives him in areas where he didn't have training
from his own dad and didn't have examples But he lives in his
Bible, and the Spirit of God helps him to apply it. There's
no explanation for my husband, but Christ lives in him. Can
your wife say that? I challenge you to go home and
ask her. You get the principle. If Christ
is going to be glorified in us, then you better settle it. God's
not taking you to heaven on easy street. He's got his own tailor-made
executioners to hand you over to death. That in every situation,
the life of Jesus may be manifested in the mortal flesh. Dear people,
I meet people that come up to me and know a little something
of the history of our life over the last three years, and they're
ready to go into mourning for me. I tell them, save your mourning. It's never been more glorious.
I've never enjoyed more being a Christian. Never enjoyed more serving Christ
when it's cost me the most. Because in it, there have been
new dimensions of knowing His strength made perfect in weakness. And I'm not quite where Paul
was. I can't yet say I take pleasure
in the weaknesses. I think I can say I'm beginning
to feel a little more comfortable with them. But I want to grow
to the place where I can say, Lord, bring them on. If in so
doing Christ will be more glorious, most gladly will we take pleasure
in weakness. So as we continue on our journey
to the celestial city, this is one of the truths you need to
have down in the ballast of your soul. It's got to be in there,
folks. Not only that God's on His throne
governing all things, Christ shares the throne administering
all things to the glorious consummation. Not only that Christ is advocate
and intercessor, but Christ is indwelling life and strength. And what better place to say
afresh, Lord Jesus, if you died, that that might be the fruit
of your death in me. And as I take that symbol of
your body broken, And that symbol of your blood poured forth, O
Lord Jesus, take me beyond sparing myself, protecting myself, piggying
myself. Lord Jesus, take me beyond it
and do in me whatever must be done, that there will be no explanation
for who and what I am to anyone who knows me with any degree
of accuracy, but that you, Lord Jesus, live in me. Are you ready to pray that kind
of prayer? Can we pray less when we take the bread? What did he
spare? Nothing. When we take the cup,
what did he hold back? Nothing. To the end that he might
have here in this world a people in whom his life is manifested. That's evangelism. That's the
church being what she is to be. And the world takes notice and
begins to ask. And we are privileged to give
an answer to everyone who asks the reason of the hope that is
in us. And no weekend seminar on church
growth can give you that. No cute little packaged outline
of the gospel can give you that. That comes out of the crucible
of your dealings with God in Christ, committed that you too
will be handed over to death again and again that the life
of Jesus be manifested in your mortal flesh. Let's pray. Our Father, we confess that when
we seek to speak of these high and marvelous mysteries of the
faith, we feel as clumsy as someone trying to thread a needle with
boxing gloves on. Lord, you know my sense of frustration,
my own felt ignorance of the depth and richness of these realities. Oh God, have mercy upon us all. Expand our hearts. Take us where
we've never been before. And while our flesh would cry
to be spared, what we are as new men and women in Christ cries
out, Lord Jesus, Do whatever must be done that you will be
more evidently manifested in us. We ask you now to seal your
word, to bless us as we come to the table. Lord Jesus, we
want you to see the full reward of your suffering in us. Has
not the Father pledged that you would see the travail of your
soul and be satisfied? Lord Jesus, so work in us that
you will have a fuller satisfaction in the fruit of your suffering
manifested in our lives, being lives that defy any explanation,
but that you live in us. Hear us for your namesake. Amen.