He was manifested to take away our Sins
With that clarification we may now return to our subject matter. ‘He was manifested to take away our sins’. ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil’, and this scripture is zeroing in on sins as those works, sins being the strength of his (Satan’s) other works. And anyone who is really desirous of knowing those to be manifested and who is really desirous to know whether himself or herself will be in that number can see a clear opening, a window in this scripture that supplies or gives that knowledge. And it is this: ‘In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil’. In this! In what: Read the verses before it; and then the clause that immediately follows it, which is: ‘whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother’.
In other words, we can know whether we are in the number or not at any given moment. So, the timely and loving counsel: ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And everyman that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’. It is the Word that purifies. The Word purifies only those that reverence it, and the fear of the Lord makes that reverence possible! Or, the Word purifies only those that hearken to the Spirit voice reaching us through the Word, and only those that fear God has this benefit! To become more like Jesus starts with knowing more about Him, and obeying Him. Christianity is actually about knowing more and more about Jesus, in all aspects He relates to us; and knowing them and growing in those various knowledge areas both in heart and action. E. E. Hewitt in “More about Jesus would I know” puts it this way:
More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show,
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.
More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern;
Spirit of God my teacher be,
Showing the things of Christ to me.
Refrain
More about Jesus; in His Word,
Holding communion with my Lord;
Hearing His voice in every line,
Making each faithful saying mine.
Refrain
More about Jesus; on His throne,
Riches in glory all His own;
More of His kingdom’s sure increase;
More of His coming, Prince of Peace.
A close walk with Jesus is the secret of all this. And it is a lifetime walk. In this walk we more and more empty ourselves of self and more and more conform to His image until we shall know Him even as we are known of Him: that is, in Heaven! For now it is more about Jesus: More of His grace, saving fullness, love, holy will, Word, throne, Kingdom, and Coming. That is, to live with eternity in view. Those that will be manifested as God’s eternal sons when Christ comes in the Rapture are those watching out for His coming and looking up steadfastly; those who are more and more being filled with the knowledge of His throne, Kingdom and coming until they are overwhelmed with all three.
Commenting on Psalm 62: 5 or “My expectation is from Him”
Charles Spurgeon says inter alia: “… But we have ‘expectations’ beyond this life. We shall die soon; and then our ‘expectation is from Him.’ Do we not expect that when we lie upon the bed of sickness He will send angels to carry us to His bosom? We believe that when the pulse is faint, and the heart heaves heavily, some angelic messenger shall stand and look with loving eyes upon us, and whisper, ‘Sister spirit, come away!’ As we approach the heavenly gate, we expect to hear the welcome invitation, ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’
“We are expecting harps of gold and crowns of glory; we are hoping soon to be amongst the multitude of shining ones before the throne; we are looking forward and longing for the time when we shall be like our glorious Lord – for ‘We shall see Him as He is.’ Then if these be thine ‘expectations,’ O my soul, live for God; live with the desire and resolve to glorify Him from Whom cometh all thy supplies, and of whose grace in thy election, redemption, and calling, it is that thou hast any ‘expectation’ of coming glory.”
So then, let us live with eternity in view. Making eternity with God is and should be our greatest expectation from God. That is the climax of all His promises to us. Let us be more and more filled with the knowledge of His throne, Kingdom and coming until we are overwhelmed with them. In other words: Let us live and walk as true pilgrims in this side of heaven until we get to the other side. The fear of God or holiness is very key and indispensable.
“Can Two walk together except, they be Agreed”!
“But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” – 1 Peter 1:15-21.
May we draw particular attention to verse 19: ‘But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot’? The person and blood of Jesus is here pictured: A Lamb without blemish and without spot; His blood most precious! And of the Church He is coming to rapture we also read: “That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” – Ephesians 5:26-27. In verse five before it we are told this is the reason He gave His life for it.
Sum: The Lamb without blemish and spot was slain to save, receive or rapture a people (a glorious Church) without blemish, spot, wrinkle or any of such things! That is the good news in a nutshell. And we read in Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” So, who must be right: Jesus and all the faithful saints throughout history who handled this ‘weightier’ matter of becoming more and more like Jesus with the urgency and unequaled importance it deserves, and put it continually on the front burner or those who have dedicated their pulpits and air time to mundane things? Our lives must continually grow in agreement with the life of Jesus Christ or must continually be conforming to His image. This is the path that leads to the rapture.
That is, we must achieve the purpose of His first manifestation (becoming children of the Father, and becoming more and more like that Father without blemish and spot) to be able to be part of His second manifestation when the sons of God shall be manifested. That brings us back again to the fear of God – the link that connects us from Jesus’ first manifestation to His second manifestation. And the word that we must he
re draw attention to that shows our fear of God and so obedience to His command and His will is ‘watch’. Piety is about watching!
The Lord’s Serious Command to “Watch therefore”!
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” – Matthew 25:1-13.
The Lord’s commandment to watch cannot and should not be compromised. The messages in our pulpits must be well directed therefore; and never are they to take us from this commandment of life. It places sound doctrine in our churches, genuine salvation, holy living and unqualified obedience to God’s holy commands among church members above all else.
We must be lights and salts (Matthew 5: 13-16). We must be that written epistle known and read by men to the praise and glory of God (2Corinthians 3: 1-5). We must allow Him to make manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in everyplace (2Corinthians 2: 14). Our lives must be for the pleasure of Him Who made all things for His pleasure. We must earnestly contend for the faith and never allow mundane things, the unrighteous mammon and love of the world to distract us. Our City is not on this side of heaven. Here, we are pilgrims and let us live as such. The Lord is preparing our mansions for us, and that, in a City above. Not too long from now, He comes to take us home. The command is to watch. The command is to ‘look up’ for He comes.
Will He find faith on earth when He comes! Yes! But with a few! Let’s be among that few! We must eschew the way of the multitude out there and the multitude within, for, sadly, there is multitude within. We must not be given to ‘itching ears’ messages or messages targeted at emotions, that tickle our fancies and that only allow multitude to stream in and out of our meetings but with no marked difference with the multitude out there.
May we be among the few, the few that are and will be earnest in our generation and who shall be manifested when the Lord comes! In this wise the next chapter: “Saintly Counsels on making it at last!” may be also rewarding as it draws not only from scriptural counsels but also from godly counsels by post-Bible saints of God on how to stay on the path that leads to Heaven! For there the faithful shall be gathered shortly; and from there they will come with their Savior to govern the earth as kings with the King of Kings for a thousand years!
