"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full
of grace and truth."—John 1:14.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ."—John 1: 17.
THERE WAS A TIME when God freely communed with men. The voice of the
Lord God was heard walking in the garden in the cool of the day. With unfallen
Adam the great God dwelt in sweet and intimate fellowship; but sin came
and not only destroyed the garden, but destroyed the intercourse of God
with His creature man. A great gulf opened between man as evil, and God
as infinitely pure; and had it not been for the amazing goodness of the
most High, we must all of us forever have been banished from His presence,
and from the glory of His power. The Lord God in infinite love resolved
that He Himself would bridge the distance, and would again dwell with man;
and in token of this He made Himself manifest to His chosen nation Israel
when they were in the wilderness. He was pleased to dwell in type and symbol
among His people, in the very center and heart of their camp. Do you see
yonder tent with its curtains of goats' hair in the center of the canvas
city? You cannot see within it; but it was all glorious within with precious
wood, and pure gold, and tapestry of many colors. Within its most sacred
shrine shone forth a bright light between the wings of cherubim, which
light was the symbol of the presence of the Lord. But if you cannot see
within, yet you can see above the sacred tent a cloud, which arises from
the top of the Holy of Holies, and then expands like a vast tree so as
to cover all the host, and protect the chosen of God from the intense heat
of the sun, so apt to make the traveler faint when passing over the burning
sand. If you will wait till the sun is down, that same cloud will become
Alimonies, and light up the whole camp. Thus it was both shade and light;
and by its means was enjoyed that safety which was afterwards set forth
in the promise, "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."
Over all the glory was a defense and a comfort. The Lord dealt not so with
any nation, save only His people Israel, of whom He said, "I will dwell
in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people."
The day of the type is over; we see no more a nation secluded from all
others and made to be as "the church in the wilderness." God doth not now
confine His abode to one people; for "The God of the whole earth shall
he be called." There is now no spot on earth where God dwells in preference
to another. Did not our Lord say, at the well of Sychar, "Woman, believe
me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem, worship the Father." "But . . . the true worshipers shall worship
the Father it spirit and in truth"? Wherever true hearts seek the Lord,
He is found of them. He is as much present on the lone mountain's side
as in the aisles of yonder above, or in the galleries of this tabernacle.
"Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith
the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool; what house
will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?"
Yet there is a true house of, a real temple of the infinite, a living
abode of the Godhead. The epistle to the Hebrews speaks of "the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man." There is still a trysting-place where
God doth still meet with man, and hold fellowship with him. That place
is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, "in whom dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. "The manhood of Christ is become to us the anti-type
of that tent in the center of the camp. God is in Christ Jesus; Christ
Jesus is God; and in His blessed person God dwells in the midst of us as
in a tent; for such is the force of the original in our text. "The Word
was made flesh, and tabernacled, or tented, among us." That is to say,
in Christ Jesus the Lord dwelt among men, as God of old dwelt in His sanctuary
in the midst of the tribes of Israel. This is very delightful and hopeful
for us: the Lord God doth dwell among us through the incarnation of His
Son.
But the substance far excels the shadow; for in the wilderness the Lord
only dwelt in the abode of man, but now His approach to us is closer, for
He dwells in the flesh of man. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us." Note that word "flesh." It doth not say, "The Word was made man":
it means that, but the use of the word "flesh brings the Lord Jesus still
closer to us, and shows that He took on Him the very nature and substance
of manhood: He did not merely assume the name and notion, and appearance,
of manhood, but the reality: the weakness, the suffering, the mortality
of our manhood He actually took into union with Himself. He was no phantom,
or apparition, but He had a human body and a human soul. "The Word was
made flesh." When the Lord became bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh,
His incarnation in a human body brought Him far nearer to man than when
He only abode within curtains, and occupied a tent in the midst of Israel.
Moreover, it is to be noted that God does in the person of Jesus not
merely dwell among men; but He hath joined Himself unto men—the Word not
only dwelt in flesh, but "was made flesh." It is impossible to use words
which are exactly accurate to describe the wonderful incarnation of the
Son of God in human flesh; but these words are used to show that our Lord
is as truly and as really man as He is God. Not only does God dwell in
the body of man; but our Lord Jesus is God and man in one person. He is
not ashamed to speak of men as His brethren. "Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of
the same with us. This approach to us is exceeding close. God was never
one with the tabernacle, but in Christ Jesus He is one with us. This union
hath in it a sweetness of sympathy, a tenderness of relationship, and a
condensation of fellowship greatly to be admired. Now we listen to the
music of that blessed name Emmanuel, "God with its." In the person of the
only begotten, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we see God reconciling
the world unto Himself. Let us rejoice and be glad that we have in Jesus
more than Israel had in the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
The ancient believer gazed upon the sacred tent, he thought of the holy
place of sacrifice, and the Holy of Holies, the inner shrine of the Lord's
indwelling; but we have unfeignedly more, we have God in our nature, and
in Him "truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus
Christ."
In and around the tent wherein the Lord dwelt in the center of the camp
there was a manifestation of the presence of God. This was the glory of
that house: but how scanty was the revelation! A bright light which I have
already mentioned, the Shekinah, is said to have shone over the mercy-seat;
but the high priest only could see it, and he only saw it once in the year
when he entered with blood within the veil. Outside, above the holy place,
there was the manifest glory of the pillar of cloud by day, and of fire
by night. This sufficed to bear witness that God was there; but still,
cloud and fire are but physical appearances, and cannot convey a true appearance
of God, who is a spirit. God cannot be perceived by the senses; and yet
the fiery, cloudy pillar could appeal to the eyes only. The excellence
of the indwelling of God in Christ is this—that there is in Him a glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, the moral and spiritual glory of
Godhead. This is to be seen, but not with the eyes; this is to be perceived,
but not by the carnal senses: this is seen, and heard, and known, by spiritual
men, whose mental perceptions are keener than those of sight and hearing.
In the person of the Lord there is a glory which is seen by our faith,
which is discerned of our renewed spirits, and is made to operate upon
our hearts. The glory of God in the sanctuary was seen only by the priest
of the house of Aaron; the glory of God in the face of Christ is seen by
all believers, who are all priests unto God. That glory the priest beheld
but once in the year; but we steadily behold that glory at all times, and
are transformed by the sight. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
is not a thing of outward appearance, to be beheld with the eyes, like
the pillar of cloud and fire; but there is an abiding, steady luster of
holy, gracious, truthful character about our Lord Jesus Christ, which is
best seen by those who by reason of sanctification are made fit to discern
it. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; yea, they do
see Him in Christ Jesus. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Many of
us besides the apostles can say, "We beheld his glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." We have not
seen Jesus raise the dead; we have not seen I Jim cast out devils; we have
not seen Him hush the winds and calm the waves, but we do see, with our
mind's eye, His spotless holiness, His boundless love, His superlative
love and truth, His wondrous heavenliness; in a word, we have seen, and
do see, His fullness of grace and truth; and we rejoice in the fact that
the tabernacling of God among, men in Christ Jesus is attended with a more
real glory than the mere brilliance of light and the glow of flame. The
condescension of Christ's love is to us more glorious than the pillar of
cloud, and the zeal of our Lord's self-sacrifice is more excellent than
the pillar of fire. As we think of the divine mysteries which meet in the
person of the Lord, we do not envy Israel the gracious manifestation vouchsafed
her when "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of
the Lord covered the tabernacle"; for we have all this and more in our
incarnate God, who is with us always, even to the end of the world.
As the Holy Spirit shall help me, I shall at this time say, first of
all, Let us behold this tabernacling of God; and secondly, Let us avail
ourselves of this tabernacling of God in all the ways for which it was
intended.
1. First, then, LET US BEHOLD THIS 'TABERNACLING OF GOD WITH US. "We
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. "In Jesus Christ all the attributes of God are to be
seen; veiled, but yet verily there. You have only to read the gospels,
to look with willing eyes, and you shall behold in Christ all that can
possibly be seen of God. It is veiled in human flesh, as it must be; for
the glory of God is not to be seen by us absolutely; it is toned down to
these dim eyes of ours; but the Godhead is there, the perfect Godhead in
union with the perfect manhood of Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory
forever and ever.
Two divine things are more clearly seen in Jesus than aught else. Upon
these I would speak at this time, considering the two together, and then
each one separately—"Full of grace and truth."
Observe the two glorious qualities, joined inseparably—grace and truth—and
observe that they are spoken of in the concrete. The apostle says that
the only begotten is "full of grace and truth." He did not come to tell
us about grace, but actually to bring us grace. He is not full of the news
of grace and truth, but of grace and truth themselves. Others had been
messengers of gracious tidings, but He came to bring grace. Others teach
us truth, but Jesus is the truth. He is that grace and truth whereof others
spoke. Jesus is not merely a teacher, an exhorter, a worker of grace and
truth; but these heavenly things are in Him: He is full of them. I want
you to note this. It raises such a difference between Christ and others:
you go to others to hear of grace and truth, but you must go to Christ
to see them. There may be, there is, grace in other men; but not as it
is in Christ: they have take it as water flowing through a pipe, but He
has it as water in its fountain and source. He has grace to communicate
to the sons of men, grace without measure, grace essential and abiding.
There is truth in others where God has wrought it, by His Spirit; but it
is not in them as it is in Christ. In Him dwell the depth, the substance,
the essence of the fact. Grace and truth come to us by Him, and yet they
evermore abide in Him. I say again, our Lord did not merely come to teach
grace and truth, or to impress them upon us; but He came to exhibit in
His own person, life, and work, all the grace and truth which we need.
He has brought us grace in rivers and truth in streams: of these He has
an infinite fullness; of that fullness all His saints receive.
This grace and truth are blended. The "and" between the two words I
would treat as more than a common conjunction. The two rivers unite in
one fullness—"Full of grace and truth": that is to say. The grace is truthful
grace, grace not in fiction nor in fancy, grace not to be hoped for and
to be dreamed of, but grace every atom of which is fact; redemption which
does redeem, pardon which does blot out sin, renewal which actually regenerates,
salvation which completely saves. We have not here blessings which charm
the ear and cheat the soul; but real, substantial favors from God that
cannot lie. Then blend these things the other way. "Grace and truth": the
Lord has come to bring us truth, but it is not the kind of truth which
censures, condemns, and punishes; it is gracious truth, truth steeped in
love, truth saturated with mercy. The truth which Jesus brings to His people
comes not from the judgment-seat, but from the mercy-seat; it hath a gracious
drift and aim about it, and ever tends unto salvation. His light is the
life of men. If thou art overshadowed with a dark truth which seems to
deepen thy despair, look thou to it again and thou wilt perceive within
it a hidden light which is sown for the righteous. The darkness of convincing
and humbling truth maketh for light: by engendering despair of self, heart-searching
truth is meant to drive thee to the true hope. There is grace to God's
people in everything that falls from the lips of'.Jesus Christ. His lips
are like lilies dropping sweet smelling myrrh; myrrh in itself is bitter,
but such is the grace of our Lord Jesus that His lips impart sweetness
to it. See how grace and truth thus blend, and qualify each other! The
grace all true, and the truth is all gracious, This is a wondrous compound
made according to the art of the divine Apothecary. Where else is grace
so true, or truth so gracious?
Furthermore, it is grace and truth balanced. I wish I were able to communicate
my thoughts this morning as they came to me when I was meditating upon
this passage; but this thought almost speaks for itself. The Lord Jesus
Christ is full of grace; but then He has not neglected the other quality
which is somewhat sterner, namely, that of truth. I have known many in
this world very loving and affectionate, but they have not been faithful:
on the other hand, I have known men to be sternly honest and truthful,
but they have not been gentle and kind: but in the Lord Jesus Christ there
is no defect either way. He is full of grace which doth invite the publican
and the sinner to Himself; but He is full of truth which doth repel the
hypocrite and Pharisee. He does not hide from man a truth however terrible
it may be, but He plainly declares the wrath of God against all unrighteousness.
But when He has spoken terrible truth, He has uttered it in such a gracious
and tender manner, with so many tears of compassion for the ignorant and
those that are out of the way, that you are much won by His grace as convinced
by His truth. Our Lord's ministry is not truth alone, nor grace alone;
but it is a balanced, well-ordered system of grace and truth. The Lord
Himself is in His character "just and having salvation." He is both King
of righteousness and King of peace. He does not even save unjustly, nor
does He proclaim truth unlovingly. Grace and truth are equally conspicuous
in Him.
Beloved, notice here that these qualities in our Lord are at the full.
He is "full of grace." Who could be more so? In the person of Jesus Christ
the immeasurable grace of God is treasured up. God has done for us by Christ
Jesus exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, or even think. It is
not possible even for imagination to conceive of any person more gracious
than God in Christ Jesus. You cannot desire, certainly you cannot require,
anything that should exceed what is found of grace in the person, offices,
work, and death of the only begotten. Come, ye that have large minds, and
intellects that are creative, and see if ye can devise anything that should
be mentioned in the same day with what God, in the infinite glory of His
grace, has given us in the person of His Son. And there is an equal fullness
of truth about our Lord. He Himself, as He comes to us as the revelation
and manifestation of God, declares to us, not some truth, but all truth.
All of God is in Christ; and all of God means all that is true, and all
that is right, and all that is faithful, and all that is just, all that
is according to righteousness arid holiness. Christ Jesus has brought to
us the justice, truth, and righteousness of God to the full: He is the
Lord our righteousness. There are no reserves of disagreeable faith in
Christ. There is nothing hidden from us of truth that might alarm us, nor
anything that might have shaken our confidence; nor, on the other hand,
is any truth kept back which might have increased our steadfastness. He
says, "If it were not so I would have told you." Admire the full-robed
splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. Ask not with Pilate, "What is truth?"
but behold it in God's dear Son. Oh, I know not how to speak to you upon
themes so full and deep! How shall 1, that am but as a twinkling dewdrop
on a blade of grass, reflect the full glory of this Sun of Righteousness?
But all truth and all grace dwell in Christ in all their fullness beyond
conception, and the two lie in each other's bosoms forever, to bless us
with boundless, endless joy and glory.
Thus have I taken the two together. Now I want to dwell briefly on each
one by itself.
Grace is put first. "We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace." Jesus Christ is the Son of God; He is His
only begotten Son. Others are begotten of God, but no other was ever begotten
of God as Christ was; consequently, when He came into this world the glory
that was about Him was a glory as of the only begotten. A very singular,
and very special, and incommunicable glory abides in the person of our
Lord. Part of this was the glory of His grace. Now, in the Old Testament,
in that thirty-fourth chapter of Exodus, which we read in part this morning,
you notice that the glory of God lay in His being "the Lord God, merciful
and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." The glory
of the only begotten of the Father must lie in the same things as the glory
of the Father, namely, in longsuffering and truth. In Christ there is a
wonderful gentleness,.patience, pity, mercy, and love of God. Not merely
did He teach the grace of God, and invite us to the grace of God, but in
Himself He displayed the grace of God.
This is seen, first, in His incarnation, It is a wonderful instance
of divine grace that the word should be made flesh and dwell among us,
and reveal His glory to us. Apart from anything that springs out of the
incarnation of Christ, that incarnation itself is a wondrous act of grace.
There must be hope for men now that man is next akin to God through Jesus
Christ. The angels were not mistaken when they not only sang, "Glory to
God in the highest," but also, "on earth peace, goodwill towards men,"
because in Bethlehem the Son of God was born of a virgin. God in our nature
must mean God with gracious thoughts towards us. If the Lord had meant
to destroy the race, He never would have espoused it and taken it into
union with Himself. There is fullness of grace in the fact of the Word
made flesh tabernacling among us.
More than this, there is fullness of grace in the life of Christ when
we consider that He lived in order to perfect Himself as our High Priest.
Was He not made perfect through His sufferings, that He might sympathize
with us in all our woes? He was compassed with infirmities, and bore our
sorrows, and endured those crosses of the human life which press so heavily
on our own shoulders; and all this to make Himself able to deal graciously
with us in a tender and brotherly way. Apart from that which comes wonderful
brotherhood, there is a bottomless depth of grace about the fellowship
itself. The Lord Jesus cannot curse me, for He has borne my curse: He cannot
be unkind to me, for He has shared my sorrows. If every pang that tends
my heart has also rent His heart, and if into all my woes He has descended
even deeper than I have gone, it must mean love to me, it cannot mean anything
else; and it must mean truth, for Jesus did not play at fellowship, His
griefs were real. I say then that this manifestation of God in the person
of Christ Jesus is seen in His sorrowing life to be full of grace and truth.
Then think for a minute of what He did. He was so full of grace that
when He spoke His words dropped a fatness of grace, the dew of His own
love was upon all His discourses; and when He moved about and touched men
here and there, virtue went out of Him, because He was so full of it. At
one time He spoke and pardoned a sinner, saying, "Thy sins be forgiven
thee"; at another moment He battled with the consequences of sin, raising
men from sickness and from death: He again He turned Himself and fought
with the prince of darkness himself, and cast him out from those whom he
tormented. He went about like a cloud which is big with rain, and therefore
plentifully waters waste places. His life was boundless compassion. There
was a power of grace about His garments, His voice, His look; and in all
He was so true that none ever thought Him capable of subterfuge. Everywhere
He went He scattered grace among the children of men; and He is just the
same now; fullness of grace abides in Him still.
When it came to His death, which was the pouring out of His soul, then
His fullness of grace was seen. He was full of grace indeed, forasmuch
as He emptied Himself to save men. He was Himself not only man's Saviour,
but his salvation. He gave Himself for us. He was indeed full of grace
when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. His was love at its
height, since He died on the cross, "the just for the unjust, to bring
us to God," pronounce the word "Substitution, " and you cannot help feeling
that the Substitute fori guilty man was full of grace; or use that other
word, " representative," and remember that whatever Jesus did, He did as
the covenant Head of His people. If He died, they died in Him; if He rose
again, they rose in Him; if He ascended up on high, they ascended in Him;
and if He sits at the right hand of God, they also sit in the heavenly
places in Him. When He shall come a second time it shall be to claim the
kingdom for His chosen as well as for Himself; and all the glory of the
future ages is for them, and not for Himself alone. He saith, "Because
I live, ye shall live also." Oh, the richness of the grace and truth that
dwell in our Lord as the representative of His people! He will enjoy nothing
unless His people enjoy it with Him. "Where I am, there also shall my servant
be." "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in Thy throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
There is yet another word higher than "substitution," higher than "representation,"
and that is "union." We are one with Christ, joined to Him by a union that
never can be broken. Not only does He do what He does, representing us,
but we are joined unto Him in one spirit, members of His body, and partakers
of His glory. Is it not a miracle of love that worms of earth should ever
be one with incarnate Deity, and so one that they never can be separated
throughout the ages?
Thus I have shown you that there is in our Lord a fullness of grace.
Your own thoughts will dig deeper than mine.
But then it is said there is in Him also a fullness of truth, by which
I understand that in Christ Himself, not merely in what He said, and did,
and promised, there is a fullness of truth. And this is true, first, in
the fact that He is the fulfillment of all the promises that went before
concerning Him. God had promised great things by His prophets concerning
the coming Messiah, but all those predictions are absolutely matters of
fact in the person of the Well-beloved. "All the promises of God are yea
and Amen in Christ Jesus." Verily He hath bruised the serpent's head. Verily
He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. Verily He hath proclaimed
liberty to the captives. Verily He hath proved Himself a prophet like unto
Moses.
According to my second text, in verse seventeen, I understand our Lord
Jesus to be "truth" in the sense of being the substance of all the types.
The law that was given by Moses was but symbolical and emblematical; but
Jesus is the truth. He is really that blood of sprinkling which speaketh
better things than that of Abel; He is in very deed the Paschal lamb of
God's Passover: He is the burnt-offering, the sin-offering, and the peace-offering—all
in one! He is the true scapegoat, the true morning and evening Lamb; in
fact, He is in truth what all the types and figures were in pattern. Blessed
by God, brethren, whenever you see great things in the Old Testament in
the type, you see the real truth of those things it the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Jew had nothing that we have not; he had nothing even
in outline and shadow which we have not obtained in substance. The covenant
in its fullness is in Christ: the prophecy is in Moses, the fulfillment
is in Jesus: the foreshadowing is in the law, the truth is in the Word
made flesh.
Further than that, our Lord Jesus Christ is said to be grace and truth
in this sense, that He truthfully deals with matters of fact in the case
of our salvation. I know the notion of the world is that the salvation
of Christ is a pretty dream, a handsome piece of sentiment. But there is
nothing dreamy, about it: it is no fiction; it is fact upon fact. The Lord
Jesus Christ does not gloss over or conceal the condition of man in his
salvation; He finds man condemned, and takes him as condemned in the very
worst sense, condemned of a capital offense; and as man's substitute He
endures the capital penalty, and dies in the sinner's stead. The Lord Jesus
views the sinner as depraved, yea, as dead in trespasses and sins, and
He quickens him by His resurrection life. He does not wink at the result
of the fall and of actual sin; but He comes to the dead sinner and quickens
him; He comes to the diseased heart and heals it. To me the gospel is a
wonderful embodiment of omnipotent wisdom and truth. If the gospel had
said to men, "The law of God is certainly righteous, but it is too stern,
too, exacting, and therefore God will wink it at many sins, and make provision
for salvation by omitting to punish much of human guilt," why, my brethren,
we should always have been in jeopardy. If God could be unjust to save
us, He could also be changeable, and cast us away. If there was anything
rotten in the state of our salvation, we should fear that it would fail
its at last. But our foundation is sure, for the Lord has excavated down
to the rock; He has taken away every bit of mere sentiment and sham, and
His salvation is real throughout. It is a glorious salvation of grace and
truth, in which God takes the sinner as God is, on the principles of true
righteousness; and yet saves him.
But it means more than that. The Lord deals with us in the way of grace,
and that grace encourages a great many hopes, but those hopes are all realized,
for He deals with us in truth. Our necessities demands great things, and
grace actually supplies those great things. The old law could never make
the comers thereunto perfect as pertaining to the conscience, but the grace
of God makes believers perfect as pertaining to the conscience. If I were
to sit down and try to imagine a flaw in the ground of my salvation by
Christ, I could not do it. Believing as I do in Him who bore my sins in
His own body on the tree, I feet that by no possibility can His atonement
fail me. I have not imagination strong enough to feign a reason for distrust:
I do not see hole or corner in which any charge could lurk against the
man that believes in Jesus Christ. My conscience is satisfied, and more
than satisfied. Sometimes it even seems to me that my sins could not have
deserved that the Son of God should die. The atonement is greater than
the sin. Speak of the vindication of the law!—not the vindication even
greater than the dishonor? Does not the law of God shine out more lustrous
in its indescribable glory through the sacrifice of Christ as the penalty
for sin, than it would have done had it never been broken, or had all the
race of law-breakers been swept into endless destruction? O brothers in
the salvation of Jesus there is a truth of grace unrivaled! There is a
deep verity, a substantiality, an inward soul-satisfaction in the sacrifice
of Christ, which makes us feel it is a full atonement—a fountain of "grace
and truth."
Nor have I yet quite brought out all the meaning, even if I have succeeded
so far. Christ has brought to us "grace and truth"; that is to say, He
works in believers both grace and truth. We want grace to rescue us from
sin; He has brought it: we need truth in the inward parts; He has wrought
it. The system of salvation by atonement is calculated to produce truthful
men. The habit of looking for salvation through the great sacrifice fosters
the spirit of justice, begets in us a deep abhorrence of evil, and a love
for that which is right and true. By nature we are all liars, and either
love or make a lie: for this cause we are content t with refuges of ties,
and we compass ourselves with deceit. In our carnal state we are as full
of guile as an egg is full of meat; but when the Lord comes to us it Christ,
no longer imputing our trespasses to us, then He takes out of our heart
that deceit and desperate wickedness which had else remained there. I say
it, and dare avow it, that the system of salvation by the indwelling of
God in Christ and the atonement offered by Him for men has a tendency in
it to infuse grace into the soul and to produce truth in the life. The
Holy Ghost employs it to that end. I pray that you and I may prove it so
by the grace which causes us to love both God and man, Santa and the truthfulness
with which we deal in all the affairs of life.
Thus has our Lord displayed the glory of God in the grace and truth
with which He is filled. I am sorry have spoken so feebly on a theme so
grand. May the Spirit bless you even through the infirmities of my speech!
II. Now I want a few minutes to say to you, Come brothers and sisters,
LET US AVAIL OURSELVES OF THIS TABERNACLING OF GOD AMONG US.
First, then, if God has come to dwell among men by the Word made flesh
let us pitch our tent around this central tabernacle; do not let us live
as if God were a long way off. To the Israelites God was equally near from
every near from every quarter of the camp. The tabernacle was in the center,
and the center is equally near to every point of the circumference. No
true Israelite could say, "I must go across the sea, or soar up into the
air, or dive into the depths to find my God." Every Israelite could say
"He dwelleth between the cherubim: I have but to go to His tabernacle to
be in His presence and speak with Him." Our God is not far from any one
of His people this day. We are made nigh by the blood of Christ. God is
everywhere present, but there is a higher presence of effectual grace in
the person of the only begotten. Do not let us feel as if we worshiped
a far-off God. Let us not repine as if we were deserted. Let us not feel
alone, for the Father is with us.
God is near thee, therefore cheer the sad soul.
Open thy window towards Jerusalem, as Daniel did; pray, with thine eye
upon Christ, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead bodily the greatest
nearness to us. God is never far away since Christ has come to dwell among
men.
Next, let us resort to this central tabernacle to obtain grace tto
help in time of need. Let us come to Christ without fear, for He hath grace
to give, and He will give it to us abundantly whenever we need it. I like
to think of the wording if my text. Leave out the parentheses, and it runs,
"He dwelt among us full of grace." He could not have dwelt among such provoking
ones if he had not been full of grace." But if He dwells among us full
of grace, we need not fear that He will cast us away because of our sins
and failings. I invite you, therefore to come boldly to Him who is full
of forgiving love. I beg you to come and receive of His fullness, for grace
is truly grace when it is communicated: grace which is not distributed
is grace in name only. "Alas!" you say, "I want so much grace." Brother,
it is treasured up in Christ for you without measure. It is placed in Him
that you may have it. Do we not try to persuade the sinner that there is
life in a look? Shall I need to persuade saints that grace is equally free
to them? Do we tell the sinner that God is not be sought for as far away,
but that He is waiting to be gracious? Must I tell the believer the same?
You may at this moment obtain all the grace you need. The door is open;
enter and take what you will. Do not stop till you reach home and go through
a set of religious exercises; but here, and now, believe in Jesus to the
full. In the center of the camp is the incarnate God; Israel had but to
go the central tent to find present help in time of trouble. In the person
of Christ, who hath said, "I am with you always, even to the end of the
world," there is, in truth, all the grace you can possibly need. Come to
this well and drink. Receive of His fullness, and go on your way rejoicing.
What next shall we do? Brethren, since God in Christ is in the midst
of us, let us abide in joyful, peaceful confidence in Him who is grace
and truth to us. Do not let us wander to other sources. To whom should
we go? Shall we leave our God? Shall we leave His grace, His truth? Do
not let us dream that He has changed, for He is God. Do not imagine that
He has removed, for He hath said. "This my rest forever; here will I dwell,
for I have desired it." Do not let us conceive that His grace and truth
are exhausted; for His fullness is eternal. Let us receive strong consolation,
and remain steadfast, unmovable. Let us quietly rest in the firm belief
that all we can want between here and heaven, all that we need this moment
and in all moments yet to come, is treasured up in Christ Jesus, who is
abidingly the center of His church and the manifestation of God.
Once more: if this be so, and God really in Christ dwell in the midst
of His people "full of grace and truth," let us tell everybody of it. I
am sure if I had been an Israelite in the wilderness, and had met an Amalekite
or an Edomite, I should have gloried in the privileges which His presence
secured me. We know that Amalekites and Edomites could not have come into
the house of the Lord: but nowadays, if we meet with one who is a stranger,
we can tell him of our privilege, with sweet persuasion that the stranger
can be brought nigh through the blood of the Lamb. Therefore let us abundantly
speak of the dwelling of God with men. Let us tell to all that the Lord
has come to man, not in wrath, not in judgment, but "full of grace and
truth." O my unconverted hearer, come to Jesus! He is able to save to the
uttermost those that come unto God by Him. Draw night to the meek and lowly
Jesus, and you draw night to God. He saith, "He that hath seen me hath
seen the Father." Publish the invitation of grace to the four winds. Ring
out your silver trumpets, or if you have them not, sound your ram's horns;
but somehow let all people know that the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He doth dwell among them. Tell out his news in the far country, that
the wandering prodigal son may hear it, and cry, "I will arise, and go
to my Father." God has come to men' will not come to receive grace and
truth?
One more lesson remains, And that is—what manner of people ought we
to be among whom Jehovah dwells? It must have been a very solemn thing
to be a member of that great camp of two million in the wilderness of Sinai.
God's presence in the midst of the camp must have made every tent sacred.
As we walked through the streets of that canvas city, if we had been Israelites,
and in our right minds, we should have said, "These tents are none other
than the house the house of God and the very gate of heaven; for see, Jehovah
is in the midst of us. Mark you not the bright light that shines about
His sanctuary?" We should have felt that in such in such a camp all should
be holy. The pollution of sin should be unknown there. In such a camp constant
prayer and praise should be presented to Him whose presence was its glory
and defense. Today let our congregation be a holy convocation; and as for
ourselves, let us be holiness unto the Lord. We are consecrated men and
women, seeing the Lord has come so very near to us. I spoke of solemnity;
I meant not dread and sorrow, but a solemnity full of joy. It is a solemn
thing to have God so near, but the joy is equal to the solemnity. Glory
be unto God most high, for He is here! Let us spend our days and nights
in gladness and delight. God is reconciled to us in the person of His dear
Son, and we have fellowship with God in Christ Jesus; Wherefore let us
rejoice evermore. Amen and amen.
