"UNION IN CHRIST"
(PREFACE)
In the booklet entitled “If Thou Believest...” we dealt with the heavenly mystery of our Union with Christ, iii His death, burial and resurrection - of which baptism by immersion is a God - appointed testimony. The understanding of this mystery through revelation by the Holy Spirit will help us as believers to understand the great salvation, which God has prepared for us through His beloved Son. This will constrain our hearts to praise God for His great wisdom and His great love towards us. It will also help us to appropriate by faith the value of that union with Christ when temptations assail us in so many ways. Again and again in fresh ways and aspects through the varied and intricate paths of a pilgrim to the Heavenly City, the implications of this union will be learnt in the school of experience. Although each trial may bring its doubts, fears and sorrows for a time, after we have crossed this Jordan we find that our trial was only the death, which leads on to resurrection. So each new trial reveals to us in a new way the power of His resurrection, as it is out-worked in our own life. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Rom. 6:5).
Now in these articles, also meant chiefly for those who have just begun their Christian life, we pass on to speak concerning, we feel we can safely say, an even more wonderful mystery - OUR UNION IN CHRIST with all those who are united to Him. Our hearts are full of praise and thanksgiving to God, firstly for giving us the privilege to know this mystery, and secondly, for the privilege of telling others concerning it. “Unto mp, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God (Eph. 3:8,9).
As we begin we pray that the Lord may be in charge of this undertaking as it is His and not ours. May our Blessed Lord grant that it may be with us as it was with the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself... And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:27, 31, 32).
It is encouraging for us to know that although this mystery we are referring to is one which has been hid in God from the beginning of the world, God yet desires every child of His to know this mystery in some measure from the very beginning of his spiritual life. That is why God has included it in the “first principles of the oracles of God” or the “principles of the doctrine of Christ” or the “foundation” (Heb. 5:12; 6:1).
In Arithmetic the first principles are Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. We learnt them in childhood and have used them ever since. There can be no Arithmetic without these.
Again in building a house we first lay the foundation. The strength of the whole house depends very much upon the foundation. So it is very important that the foundation should be properly laid. If it is well and strongly done, a beautiful and strong building upon it will be seen and appreciated by the human eye. The foundation itself remains unseen and unadmired; yet the whole structure depends upon it. God wishes that we should go on to perfection. But see first that you allow the Holy Spirit of God to lay the foundation strongly and well in your inner life. The understanding of this mystery will be like such first principles and like such a foundation to your spiritual life.
This mystery is not, however, a doctrinal teaching only, having an importance in itself. But it points to and reveals the Christ, the Son of God, Who alone is worthy ofpre-eminence over all things. That is why it is included in what are called “the principles of the doctrine of Christ”. Except any doctrine exalts Christ or reveals His glory it has no value whatever. For it is the purpose of God that “in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).
The spiritual understanding of this doctrine of which we are speaking will help to lay in your life the true foundation, which is none other than Christ. “For other foundation can no lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).
May the Lord grant you heavenly revelation concerning this mystery.
LETTER FOR PRAISE AND PRAYER
Hebron
Golconda Crossroads
Hyderabad -500 020
A.P., India
Telephone No:27613066
January 25, 2006
Dear Fellow-Believers in Christ,
Greetings in the precious and prayer- answering Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Priest of the order of Melchisedec, Who ever Liveth to make intercession for us. May the Holy Spirit turn our eyes and heart upon Him to see Him Who ever Liveth, in a new and living way. Thus we may be drawn closer to Him, devoted to Him and delight in His ways, which He would make known to us. May He set us in the way of His steps, even in His ways which are everlasting, as we read in Habakkuk 3:6. The everlasting God our Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth may give us power lest we faint, and increase our strength as we wait upon Him (Heb. 7:17,24,25; Rev. 1:10,12,17; Psa. 85:8,12,13; Isa. 40:28-31).
We take this opportunity to thank all our friends, regular readers and subscribers for their prayers and contributions for the maintenance of this small written ministry of the Word of God. We would covet your continued prayers for the Publisher and Editor and those who contribute the articles. And let us thank the Lord for all who are engaged in the work of translation into Telugu and Hindi, editing, printing, dispatch and maintenance of accounts etc. Pray that the Lord may inspire and encourage all such to continue in their good work. Kindly make sure that your addresses are correctly given and that your subscriptions are paid up to date.
We have the first Motto Text taken from the words of assurance and power from the glorified, enthroned Lord to Apostle John in his old age, banished to the isle of Patmos. It was “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:9). It seemed that his work for the Master had ended, being in that lonely isle, cut off from all intercourse with other children of God and the churches, and the ministry he was hitherto fulfilling to the joy and blessing of many. But God was choosing him to be a channel to convey to His people the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him. He must show unto His servants the things which must shortly come to pass (Rev. 1:1). The plan of the Omnipotent Lord turned out to be greater and wider service than he had ever dreamed of. It was to be more far reaching in its effects than any previous part of his life.
The Apostle addresses himself to us in lowly and humble terms, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Chhst” (Rev. 1:9). His words have a message to us all who are willing to be the “bond servants” of the Lord for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ and its furtherance in our land. No doubt we are in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, but how far are we prepared to be companions in tribulation in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, should be a matter of personal exercise and endurance, “seeing him who is invisible” as it is spoken about Moses, in his service for God's chosen people.
This has a personal and practical application for us all, as labourers together with God, in the sphere and area of our stay and work. We are reluctant and hesitant to move on to a new place, leaving the present place and Prayer House, where we might have been used of the Lord for the ministry of the Gospel and the upbuilding of the saints and the church. Whatever be the lacks and limitations we may have to face in the new place to which the Lord would have us to go, with burdens of family and education of the children and such, the Lord should grant us the spirit of the “bond servant”. In the path of discipleship and devotion to the Lord, we have to deny ourselves to be available for Him and His people in the new place. So in the light of this, we would remind our fellow-servants who have been continuing in the ministry in an assembly for more than five years, to please pray about your being transferred to a new place, by the time the academic year closes, i.e. by April or May. Except some of those of our senior servants who in virtue of their responsibility and ministry over a wide area have to continue where they are, others should be ready for being posted to a new place in the interest of the Lord and His Church. You have two months at least to get ready. The Lord grant you grace and willingness of mind and heart to co-operate with us in the furtherance of the Testimony of the Lord in the land. Obedience would be for the enrichment and enlargement of your life and walk, family wise, as well as fellowship wise, among His saints.
Apostle Paul in his second letter to Timothy exhorts and encourages him, stating that “...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,... but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:7,8). He adds that He has ‘ saved us according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (v.9). In 2 Tim. 4:5, Paul exhorts him to “endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry”. Endurance is a very important aspect of a life devoted to the service of the Lord. In Matthew 24, the Lord Himself spoke of the characteristics of the end times (24:5, 10-13) — Satanic deception, self-assertion and exaltation, as een in the revelation of the ‘man of sin” ‘(2 Thess. 2:3, 4,7), with the spirit of accusation and betrayal of brethren. Even so Paul writes to Timothy, “I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2Tim. 2:10) - a challenging and inspiring exhortation in his parting words to a son in the faith, to follow on. The Lord grant us such heavenly vision, blended with self —renunciation and sincere subjection to serve His elect, and be partakers of His eternal glory
We thank the Lord for enabling Bro Paul Sudhakar to go to Botswana, South Africa, for the year - ending ministry. The following few lines are taken from his brief write up of the ministry the Lord accomplished through him for our further prayer.
“By God's grace the assembly established in Phikwe, a few years ago through Bro. Eddy Williams and others and later visited by Bros. G.T. Benjamin and John Victor has grown in strength to about 130. Half of them are from the local population. Besides that place we now have the Lord's Table instituted at Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. God gave us the opportunity to minister in two main prisons, besides going to the neighbouring country Zimbabwe, just for a day, where we had three meetings. Kindly pray for the many who responded to the Gospel invitation both in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Let us uphold Bro. John Paul sent from Hebron in full time ministry labourir with other Elders, Bros. John Samuel, Raj and Kumar”.
Also pray for the Youth camp held at Kalimpong, where our brother Paul Sudhakar shared the Word of God. More than a thousand young people gathered for the Camp and many recommitted their lives besides others who made decision concerning their acceptance of the Lord.
Though belated we would mention the Home going of Bro. Koteswara Rao of ongole. He laboured for several years in Tenali and also at Nellore and Nidubrolu for shorter periods. His last four years he served in Addanki, until he was promoted to Glory on 9th January. Faithfully he served the Lord and it may said of him that he rests from his labour and his works do follow him (Rev. 14:13).
Praying that we all may be renewed in our vision of faith of our Lord, Who hath said, “I am alive for evermore” and hence walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we have been called, in building up the Church which is His Body,
Prov. 29:18 I remain,
Jer. 46: 27,28 ; Yours in His grace,
19 Eph. 4:15,16 K. PHILLIP
GIVE YE THEM TO EAT
BAKHT SINGH
Scripture Portion : Matt. 14:13-21
They need not depart; give ye them to eat” (Matt. 14:16). Our Lord revealed a great mystery in this simple statement. The disciples were some — what puzzled at that time. They saw a great multitude, which had been with the Lord Jesus for three days. They had come to see His miracles and hear Him speak, but now the disciples were feeling very sorry for them, because they were so many and were in a desert place. “And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals” (Matt. 14:15). This shows that the disciples were helpless to meet the needs of the multitude. First, it was evening time; and second, it was a desert place. The disciples could not see any possibility of the multitude receiving food. Naturally they were feeling truly sorry for them, and that is why they came to the Lord Jesus Christ with a suggestion. Perhaps they consulted one another as to what they should suggest to the Lord Jesus Christ. They might have thought that the Lord had no concern for the hunger of the multitude, so they were hoping He would send them away while it was still day, for these people were far from home and could get no food in the desert. So out of sympathy for the people, they brought what they thought was a practical suggestion or proposal to the Lord Jesus Christ. They said in effect, “Will You please stop preaching, and performing miracles, and ask the people to go home, or to nearby villages to buy food? Let them come tomorrow for more teaching and miracles”. Our Lord answered clearly, “They need not depart; give ye them to eat”. What was the Lord saying? He asked them to do two difficult things; “They need not depart, give ye them to eat”. The disciples were looking at the circumstances and asking the Lord to let them go. But our Lord wanted them to provide food forthe multitude. They were still more puzzled as to how they, who were few in number, and with no resources, could give such a vast multitude to eat - they were about 5,000 people, besides women and children.
Those who are born again, and can truthfully and honestly say that the Lord Jesus Christ has become their personal Saviour, are expected to give bread to the hungry people around them. Wherever we may live, whether in a village or in a city, we meet many spiritually hungry people. We see them doing deeds of shame and living in darkness and defeat. We naturally feel sorry for them and like these disciples we try to suggest that they go somewhere in order to be fed spiritually. But human advice will not satisfy such hunger. It is a human tendency to send such needy ones somewhere else; but our Lord's command to all of us is, “Give ye them to eat”. We who have received the bread of life from the Lord Jesus Christ, have with us plenty of bread to offer those who are hungry and thirsty. They may not accept our offer, but we have the privilege to offer what we have, and the Lord can use us to satisfy the hunger of others. In verse 17 the disciples said, “...We have here but five loaves, and two fishes”. On the one hand they saw the multitude and its need, and on the other hand they realized that they had nothing to meet that need. It is only when we confess our poverty, when we know exactly what our true inward spiritual condition is, that the hunger of others can be satisfied. But when we think we have plenty to give, we cannot satisfy the hungry and helpless, and we cannot be of use to the Lord.
Then the Lord commanded, “Bring them hither to me”. They had acknowledged their poverty. Now whatever little they had they brought to Lord Jesus Christ, even though there were only five loaves and two fishes. Unless He blesses these things they cannot be multiplied. We have got to learn the lesson, that whatsoever we have, and howsoever little it may be, it must be brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in simple faith. “Lord, even though I am feeling weak and empty, I bring everything to Thee. I do not know what to say or how to say. Lord, please use me entirely for Thyself”. In the same way, whatever money you have, do not hesitate to give itto the Lord. That is God's way of using us. But whenever we try to use what we have for ourselves, we find that no matter how much we get, it does not satisfy. If we try to use our wisdom, knowledge and strength, we fail. By faith we have to bring to the Lord all that we possess, and allow Him to bless and use it.
Once the bread and fish were brought to the Lord, He commanded the multitude to sit down by companies. In Mark 6:40 we read, “And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties”. Here we see divine order. It was not an easy job to control that vast crowd and serve them food. So, before they began to distribute the loaves, the Lord commanded the multitude to sit down in order. We cannot do the work of God without order. Generally, whenever we want to help others, people donot like divine order. They rebel against God's Word. But we have got to see that divine order is maintained whenever we seek to serve God. It was a large, hungry and mixed multitude, but the Lord commanded them to sit down on the grass. We must always follow divine order, if we want hungry people to be fed and to be satisfied. Our God is the God of order, and we must learn to work in divine order, and to see that it is maintained.
There is a simple secret for maintaining order in the House of God, and that is, to show reverence and respect. If you have learned how to behave yourself in the House of God, how to kneel and show reverence to God, you will learn divine order. God's servants must learn how to come into God's order, for it is only then that you will find God's blessings. The Lord commanded the multitude to sit down, and it appears that men sat on one side, and women and children on the other, because men were about 5,000. God has an order for family life, for church life, and even for ordinary Sunday gatherings. In every ministry divine order has to be maintained.
When divine order is maintained, God adds His blessing. The Lord looked up to heaven and blessed the bread and brake it. Unless food is blessed by God it cannot satisfy. However you must believe that God blesses whenever you claim that blessing. Most Christians have the habit of saying grace before they have food, but they do not believe that God has heard their prayer and blessed the food, because they seem to get much more joy in mutton than in dal. If you believe that the Lord has blessed your food, you will get equal joy in any kind of food. Most husbands pray solemnly, God bless the food”, but then they scold their wives if there is no mutton or fish, or if something is not cooked according to their taste. I can say that from the time the Lord saved me, I do not worry about my food.
(To be contd.)
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