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Epilogue

The DUTY of HOLINESS

There is a beauty of holiness, and thank God for that (Psalm 96 is most popular in song as well as prose). There is a worship in this beauty, in the presence of the sublime Spirit of God, that Trinity who is the origin of man's spirit, the destiny for the repentant whose hearts are engrossed in Him through the simple fact and act of His Cross and resurrection, planned in heaven, wrought on earth, sought in splendour, achieved in humiliation, bringing spiritual rain, blessing and sanctification by the presence of His Spirit, sent from the Father by the Redeemer, as John 15:26 informs us.

There is however also a duty of holiness. Thus when passions appeal, though they may not name themselves, whether the desire to be like the rest, or to rest without wrestling in the midst of alien and fallen cultures, or not to handle the word of God like a swordsman without fear and with any results this world, the devil and the malign forces which serve him may throw at one, or the adventitious demands of the flesh, or of the mind, or the soaring sillinesses of the spirit that is one's own, when it would move like a spiritual dart into the infinite, like a hat that is blown off for the moment, instead of insisting continually on that sobriety of joy, the wonder of longsuffering which only God can give: there is a stable basis and a sure control.

One is in an environment of spirit who is God. One is not alone, not an orphan, not a wild or tame ingredient of whatever comes; one is, as a Christian,  a child of God and as such, under guard, at times under review (as was Hezekiah, great and good king though he was - II Chronicles 32:31ff.). Thus although in this world, it has its many influences, and some may be tempted to rejoice without restraint (and in heart there is strong reason for this), yet since sin and evil abound on this earth, there is this sound to the call to rejoice. It is this: that one  "rejoice with trembling," an attitude of which Psalm 2 so gloriously speaks, this that is needed. Here lies the duty of holiness.

It is not a barren, far less a cold duty that is in view. It is oneself who is in view before the eye of the Almighty (Psalm 11), who tries the children of men. It is necessary to report for duty, to be observant of flaws, faults, lassitudes, impracticalities which may mar an otherwise sanctified testimony, as well as that luxury, the pride which may come at odd times from unexpected facility or attainment. When Paul speaks of buffeting himself (as in I Corinthians 9:24ff.), he is not becoming literalistic, a fault not incomparable with that of becoming allegorical, either when the context does not call for it.

On the contrary, his vein is spiritual, his métier is spiritual self-discipline in terms of "being all things to all men", seeing where some soul is lying down, what it is trying to do, how it is hung up in some phase or facet of spiritual life without even understanding the gift by grace through faith and the access by His blood which makes of all things, now here and now there,  a site of rest after wrestling. If there  is rest, there is wrestling; and if there is much rest, there are episodes of wresting, as the devil seeks to divest the beauty of holiness in any of his most various debilitations of deviation from what is beautiful.

Paul  does not take a lash to wound his flesh, but receives the impact of the Lord either to encourage (as in Acts 18:9-10, II Timothy 4:17ff.), or to humble (as in II Corinthians 12:7-10).

In that latter case, when the apostle who healed so many, sought healing for himself in what may have been an eye disease (cf. Galatians 6:11ff.), he was rebuffed, but not simply denied. He prayed thrice and was in this denied thrice, and doubtless had to buffet the flesh (that is, that unspiritual  tendency to become independent or autonomous or self-oriented).

An explanation was however pitifully given; and it is this wonderfully intimate, gloriously gracious, kindly comradely compassion which is so vast a rest to the soul, as one sees in that case (II Corinthians 12) in the case of Paul. He saw that with all the powers and prerogatives as an apostle, the visions and the aids, the extraordinary feats which the Lord wrought through him (Galatians 2:8), there was a danger that he might become 'lifted up', that is conceited, working in a little (or rather large in fact!) realm of his own, where things happened with such stunning facility that he might become 'lifted up".

That is, he might become like the work of a puppeteer, a figure of some pomp or circumstance, such as Gilbert and Sullivan loved to parade in comic abasement. It is easy to become proud, for it is of the very nature of the disease that you do not know. Things happen and you take them in a leisurely way, like breathing; and when with some others they do not happen, one can readily become insensitive to the different equations of the psyche in which they are moving, the different trials and come to lack grace and perception, that common kindness that is a fellow's compassion for his like.

Thus the Lord assured the apostle IN REJECTING his request on that occasion, that His grace was sufficient for him, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. David vis-à-vis Goliath, what a comedy?  but not so. It was a victory, for the young heart of a lion was moved by the desire for the honour of the Lord's name, could not at all understand the lassitude in meeting the giant; and youth though he was, not yet well-grown enough to wear the king's armour as offered, he prevailed as he HAD to prevail; for if God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:32ff.).

It is SUCH assurance because of SUCH a Lord with SUCH a Gospel with SUCH simplicity of entrance (in form), and such spirituality of transmutation (in dynamic reality, in being regenerated) who provides SUCH results. "I can," as the apostle Paul declares, "do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13. He can even accept a 'no', as any child must learn to do from a wise parent; and our parent, that is He who is the Creator of mankind and the re-creator of Christians, He is God. If to earthly parents we gave heed, how much heed in how much awe and with what inspiration then, do we give heed in "longsuffering with joyfulness" (as in Colossians 1:11) to the Lord Himself! And as to that, it is in this, that He is the Absolute Creator to be sure; but it is in another feature no less. It is  that He became as one of us, that we might become children of God.

Here is the adoption process paramount and perfect (I John 3), and small wonder the apostle John rejoices in it as in spoil and booty. You see a garden in spectacular site by the sea, and wonder; but this is in the domain of the MAKER of the ingredients, in nature and mankind's imagination, FOR gardens. Here the author of the heavens and the earth who is about to create a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (II Peter 3).

Constraints from such sources, applied personally by the Holy Spirit (as in Isaiah 32:14-20), bring forth fruit, as does an orange tree, planted in a grove, supplied with fertiliser, with water, with pruning, with sunshine, in a good climate; and it does so without ... noise.

There is a naturalness about such growth in and abiding through the Holy Spirit in the Lord's Christ (Acts 2:26), who remains ever the same and is subject to no mutation. Indeed, He remains the same, though often much in disputation as an object of theological enquiry (often about as useful as King Saul's enquiry from the witch, for in the past century there has been a pandemic of inflammation in theologians of many kinds, as they seek supinely to bring others if not intentionally into servitude, then by their follies, assuredly in that direction, as though their whole purpose in life were subversion at the spiritual level - indeed, they have inhabited seminaries like buzzards, and cawed like crows in their mournful and baseless assurances, making fashion changes seem almost sober by comparison with their vexatious vexations, vexing both themselves and those foolish enough to heed them, even a little).

Natural as this growth and abiding is, as a fish in water, a bird in the air, a bee in its hive, a seagull in its steadiness in the midst of a strong wind, a breaker rising ready for its beautiful fall back into the seething depths: it is however NOT fully automatic. Even a most advanced car needs attention. It needs the equivalent of 'buffeting", which in man is at the spiritual level, to be called self-discipline, and self-control, a thing Paul secures to the mind in imagery in  II Timothy 2.

There he considers the self-control of a soldier who does not involve himself in the milieu of normal life, to the detriment of his military mission, or of an athlete, who competes for a crown, not with indolence or lassitude, but with what sincerity demands, and duty imposes: a vast reservoir of energy unleashed with determination and application!

Holiness as a duty, then, is not a cold one, but more a fiery one, with a fire that cleanses; for the fire that consumes evil (Hebrews 12:28-29) is likewise one which sets a more shining surface on the lives on the saints, purifying as it moves, warming as it purifies, insisting on purging what is necessary, refusing any compromise, insisting on holiness: for did not the Christ Himself in His earthly sojourn say this, indeed in His sermon on the mount: BE PERFECT (that is complete, fully worked out like a sum not left half complete in an examination paper, which one has to hand in) as your heavenly Father is perfect. There is an impulsion. For oneself, if one could be about three times better than one is, it would be a most satisfying experience; but meanwhile, one contends with what is adverse, seeks deliverance from what would bog down, seeks understanding instead of mere duty, so that as with Paul, one can realise the wonders of the Lord's dealings; but if the test involves patience, instead, then to have and to show that.

In one's own life there have often been electric deliverances, sudden, short, sure, both in miracles of healing in the body and wonder of mind, when the Lord has simply planted, quite reliably, what has been needed as in all these volumes on the Web, this or that has puzzled. Again there have been sudden wonders in spirit, as the Lord makes clear His will, way, thrust, direction, comfort, consolation or performs His investigations. David most wisely even ASKED Him to do that last work! (Psalm 139:23-24), like someone asking a window-cleaner to be diligent in removing spots in this or that site.

If the objective is to provide glory to His name in this field, then certainly man in himself would be utterly incompetent for it; but God is my sufficiency (as following Paul, in II Corinthians 3:4-5). This no more implies infallibility than a painter in the house implies no flaw; for there may be faults in the plaster which he does not see fit to correct. It does however imply that the vision of God and the illumination of the Spirit (Colossians 1:9ff., Ephesians 1:17ff.) and His most gracious partnership in work, makes of one an apprentice of extreme thankfulness at His presence, power and pity. There is also however another element, which can scarcely be expressed except as comradeship. He is there, able, willing, happily holy and investing the redeemed soul with a sort of rain of refreshing in the midst of labours.

In these ways, the regaling of the soul demands that there be a keen desire to obey Him (John 14:21-23), and if only one could be deeper and better and more mature in spiritual growth: but then that is the part of spiritual life which gives it some diversity. One is not only being sanctified by grace, but being challenged IN faith, so that one is not sitting on a rock admiring the view (though one's feet are assuredly settled well on that Rock which is Christ, so that the waves cannot engulf one, even if the billows blow over somewhat), but seeking to be built into an edifice of spiritual felicity (Philippians 3:12ff.), to learn more grace if one inclines to lack grace, to be more compassionate if this is too light a motif. Yet perhaps above all, it is to be more understanding in heart, so that one can relate wisely to all in their need, as one finds and trusts that His word is true which declares this: He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of His heart shall flow streams of living water (John 7:37-38). He says it; He does it. Only He could!

Let us conclude this aspect in two ways. First, earlier one indicated that the Lord had made in Himself a plain way for man to find Him. This needs a little interpretation perhaps. It is not for one moment suggested that the Lord has changed in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER, who is eternal and perfect, complete altogether in every way. What is indicated rather is this, that in inventing the Cross in history, the advent of His invention being what it was in all honour and love and mystery and clarity, like the sun softened by mist, but all the clearer for that in its outline and scope, there is a provision AMONG MEN, His creation, so that they may the more readily find Him.

Thus, He who has come to provide it, enables man to use it. It is available to faith for faith, and it is severable by NO ONE (I John 2:27, Matthew 23:8-10) who by presumption would imagine that the will and thought and ideas of some person or church group can bind God to do what His word prohibits, as if Elijah could have been judged by the false prophets.

Thus does God discipline the mighty, individuals or groups, and commission humility on the part of all, for there are sins which occasion no fellowship (II Thessalonians 2-3, Romans 16:17), indeed require avoidance of those who persist in them: which comes where the word of God is made by those who name His name, to be a basis for addition or subtraction in word or chronic deed. It is good to put God above man, His word above those who proclaim their ideas, and His glory above those who sully it with pursuits of their own; and it is God who is the judge; so that Paul advises us, Judge nothing before the time (I Corinthians 4:1-5). There is one Judge and it is enough. Trust in His mercy forevermore, and trust Him though He slay thee!

The tender mercies of God are reliable, while those of men can be as the wind, fitful, unpredictable, where though His name be named,  the word of God receives not its place as HIS, inviolable, pure, inveterate in precision, authorised by the Almighty not as one with others, be they called church, sect or government, but its place as the very word of God.

Spiritual presumption can be by one or by many; but spiritual obedience is its own cause.

The other point is just to terminate this brief discourse with attention to those mature words, given by God to the apostle Paul.

"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss
for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in Him,
not having my own righteousness, which is from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which is from God by faith;
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected;
but I press on, that I may lay hold of that
for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

"Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind;
and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained,
let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

"Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk,
as you have us for a pattern.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,
according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

Notice a fact very important in the realm of sanctification: Paul seeks certain things if by any means he might attain to the resurrection, and then a little later speaks with absolute and certain confidence, his citizenship, like theirs, being in heaven, of the fact that his lowly body is to be so worked on by the Lord when He comes, and that He "will transform" it, so that it may be conformed "to His glorious body" and this "according to the working" which is God's, who as God "is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

In this way, there is the invasive thrust upwards into the homeland, with a longing some have patriotically for their native land, or a wife for her soldiering husband, yet far greater than these in kind; but at the same time there is a settled assurance that the house is prepared, and that if it were not so He would have told us (John 14 cf. II Corinthians 5:1ff.), and that He will even perform a miracle after the order of His first creation, in this, that the regeneration now being inward, the resurrection of the body will at its coming time, be outward, so that just as at the first, we, the human race, had both body, mind and spirit created, so then it will be by further consummation of creation, made fit for eternity, without rotting or disease, without pain or suffering, but as befits the case.

And what is the case ? It is that of what being tried is received, and what being redeemed is paid for, and what being loved is kept by the power of God to salvation reserved in heaven for it (I Peter 1:5), an inheritance already being received by faith (Ephesians 1:11). Praise His name for His faithfulness, whose word is no artificial or factitious bond, but the ebullience of His truth, the testimony of His righteousness and the free will in expression.