Remarks on the doctrine of the Christ

… Isaiah 6 and verse 8, And I heard the voice of the LORD saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me. And in John's Gospel, chapter 1, John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 18, No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. And in chapter 17, John 17, verse 1, These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. And in verse 4, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. And they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. And in Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews chapter 7, and verse 3, Hebrews 7, Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abides a priest continually, continually. I just wanted to make a few feeble remarks, dearly beloved, on something of the doctrine of the Christ, the blessed one, the Son of God. And I went back to Isaiah chapter 6. Now we know in its immediate bearing, the immediate bearing of the scripture is that it was the call of Isaiah. But I want to apply it, apply it in a different way. There was a dear brother, used to speak about the council chambers, council chambers of eternity, the council chambers of eternity, and the beings, beings, the three beings in the Godhead were there in that past age of eternity. We cannot take it in, dearly beloved, in the beginning, God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. The Word was the same, was in the beginning with God. And in that age of eternity, in these council chambers, there was three beings, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there in that past age of eternity. Think of it, divine beings, Godhead, conjoined together. What was the subject of that council? The subject of the council? You and I, dear saint of God, and every blood-bought saint from Pentecost down, till that blessed man now pierces the heavens, comes into the cloud to call us hence away, to rest in all the brightness of that unclouded day. Every blood-bought saint gathered in, counselling, counselling. Whom shall I send? The unity of the Godhead, the unity of the Godhead, three in one, a distinct triunity, not a troika, a triunity, three in one. Whom shall I send? Then, to show that there were three persons, three beings, who will go for us, us, who will go for us? Council chambers of eternity, behold me, behold me. He who is the Son, he was the one. The result of that council, it was the purpose of God for the blessing of man, the purpose of God for the blessing of man. Proverbs tells us, every purpose is established by council, every purpose is established by council. And in those dim and distant ages, here we were, he knew us. And that council, that purpose of God, to have a bride for his son, with and like him for all eternity, the rest of eternity, to have sons before his face, in that age of eternity, that was the purpose of the Godhead. And they had to give effect to it by council. And how was it going to be given effect to? By the Son in the Godhead coming here. Behold me, I will go. And he came into this scene. And we had blessedly brought before us, I think last Saturday, wasn't it? That the lamb was identified, that blessed one was identified. In Genesis 22, he was prophesied, prophesied. God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And in Exodus 12, he was typified, the lamb was typified, wasn't he? And then in Isaiah 53, it speaks there of the lamb crucified, crucified. John 1, the lamb identified. And, but here, before John gets to that stage, he has this wonderful introduction. And it culminates there, in verse 18, no man has seen God at any time, no man, no man. The only begotten Son, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, the only begotten Son, and the great old divines. They may have been wrong in many things, but they spoke about eternal generation. Yes, some people say, oh well, if you've got a son, he must be inferior to the Father. But no, later on in chapter 5 of John, when he said, the Jews had tackled him, and then the spirits commented, you see, in John 5, and verse 18, they said, they didn't attack him because he'd broken the Sabbath, but said that God was his Father. God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Equality, you see, there was no inferiority in sonship, in that Godhead circle. May imply it in our human circle, but not at all in the Godhead, not implied at all. It's relationship, purely and simply, and that's the most precious way in which it can be brought out, in that relationship, most precious and blessed way of affection, and the Spirit indicts these words, Dear Beloved Saint of God, to bring out that blessed affection obtained in the Godhead, Father and Son. And it says, his Father making himself equal with God. So don't listen to anybody that tries to tell you that sonship means inferiority. It doesn't fall back on the Scripture. And so it then says, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, in the bosom of the Father. They're right, in the bosom, there he is, in the bosom of the Father. That's what it literally says. It doesn't say, as the NIV has mistakenly translated it, beside the Father. That was true, but here it's right in the bosom of the Father. And what does it mean? It's affection. That's when the Scripture speaks of the bosom, it speaks of affection. And did the Father only have a bosom at Jordan's banks? Hmm? Is that when the Father first had a bosom? At the banks of Jordan? Or in Bethlehem's manger? When that blessed one incarnate, God incarnate, was in the manger? Was that when the Father had began to have a bosom? No, dear Saint of God, the Father's bosom is eternal. Oh, and the Son was ever there in all eternity, in the bosom of the Father. Oh, you know, you can hardly feel to say the wrong things that are said. A man that tried to make out that there was no Father and no Son in a past eternity, that one being in the Godhead decided to be the Father, and another one decided to be the Son. And when that Son became incarnate, he was out of the bosom of the Father. And he had to move back into the Father's bosom. Dear friend, dear Saints of God, that's heresy untold. I'm ashamed to put it before you, but these things have been written and said by men. Even in this day and dispensation, terrible to think that the Son of God who came here, that he had to move into the Father's bosom. Could you bear to put up with such a thing? Being said, I hate to be so emotional, dear Saints of God, but have you been plucked as a bran from the burning by that blessed man of Calvary, who is the Father's eternal Son? You cannot bear, you cannot, as we say in Scotland, you cannot hold these things. You cannot put up with them. You can't bear these things. To hear such terrible heresy spoken into the Father, this word into, you know, it means right into his affections. He was always in the Father's affections, deep, deep right in. Oh, dear Saint of God, think of that, the blessed place that he was in the Father's affections. We come to that well-known chapter, chapter 17. Oh, we can only just scratch it, scratch the surface of the depths that are in this blessed chapter. The hour has come, Father, Father, the hour has come, the prayer of that blessed one. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. He had glorified God on the earth, finished the work which was given to do the work of Calvary's cross, the great work of Calvary's cross. Eternity has no beginning, by definition. Eternity has no end, by definition. But there is one measurable point in eternity. There is one measurable point in eternity. I'm not bamboozling with physics or anything. No, there is one measurable point in eternity, and that is the centre of eternity, the centre of eternity. When was that? Calvary's cross, Calvary's cross, that's where it was, centre of eternity, when the Son of God, who had become man, laid down his life. That creature is God, my, you know, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. When the blessed Son of God gave his life, he said, therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life. No man taketh it from me, I have power to lay it down, and I have power to lay it again, to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. And you know, that was in a past eternity, he said that. I know we think it was here in the scene, but in that past age of eternity, in that council chamber, the Father knew that the Son would lay down his life for sinners. Christ died for sinners. So he says, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world. And God, God was supremely blessed and glorified at Calvary's cross in the death of his beloved Son. Supremely. All else reverberates and encircles and is focused on that great focal point, the work of Christ, the love of God shown out at Calvary. That's the focal point of all the love of God. And it will be, dear Saint of God, in all eternity, he will be the focus, the Lord Jesus Christ, that blessed man. You know, there was some talk recently, and Michael will remember a message that was sent to us about, will we see the sufferings of Christ in eternity? And I thought one thing, and then of course, I was reminded of dear brother, I know, excuse me dropping names, but Anthony Docherty, who used to get over here, and he says, the only thing that man ever did that will be in eternity is the marks of our blessed Saviour. It's the only eternal work that man has done. Hands pierced, feet his side. Close to his trusted side and fellowship divine, no cloud, no distance, they are so high. We'll ever be reminded of that blessed man of Calvary, and God was glorified at Calvary. God now is glorified in thee we sing, in thee his only Son, his hand, his house, his heart are free because thy work is done. God glorified supremely there at Calvary's cross. Dear saints, just touching on these things, oh there's depths unfathomed. Eternity will be unravelling this. He wants us, oh he wants us with himself. Those that has given me, think of it, I think it's seven times in this chapter, he speaks of us as the love gift to the Father, the love gift, the Father's love gift to him. Remember Jacob said to Joseph, Jacob said to Joseph, Genesis 46, is it 47? He says, I give you one portion above your brethren that I've taken with my sword. Yes, and dear saints of God, there's much that accrues to God from the death of Christ, but there is that one blessed portion above everything else, and that's the saints of God. Yes, the Father's love gift to the Son. Those whom thou has given me, let me behold my glory. Well, in this chapter, as it's often said, there's a glory, a glory which will neither be seen nor shared, and there's a glory which is seen but not shared, the glory that has given me. What God gives him as a son and as the man and takes up, and then of course there is a glory seen and shared, but here this is the glory which is seen but not shared, that they may behold my glory which thou has given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Right there in that past age of eternity, there was that love ever existing, lovest me before the foundation of the world. Oh, what a blessed circle, and dear saints of God, by the grace of God we are brought into it, as the hymn writer could say, brought to rest within the circle where love's treasures are displayed. There we drink the living waters, taste the joys that never fade. Oh, dear saints of God, it's ours now, it's ours now to enjoy these blessed things in the power of the Spirit, and this is where the other person in the Godhead comes in, the other person in the Godhead, the member of all the blessed spirit comes in and now into our hearts and makes us enjoy the taste of heavenly springs, gives us a foretaste of that blessed portion which is going to be ours in all the age of eternity. How blessed a portion, dear saints of God. Think of it, Father in the Son, the Holy Spirit, now a divine person, a person of the God in dwelling our hearts. This is something beyond any conception, and he's in our hearts to make these things good to us, even now to enjoy them. Precious and wonderful it is. You know, I read that verse in Hebrews because somebody once said to me, oh, I don't find the word eternal, sun in scripture. I said, oh, I see. And so I said to him, do we find substitution in scripture? No, we don't. I said, get your dictionary out, get your concordance out, and see if you can find the word substitution. He said, no, it's not there. So I said, are you telling me then that substitution, because it's not there, it's not true. He said, well, you know, it's not in scripture. I said, but is substitution true? Oh, yes, substitution's true, because you see, we turn to 1 Peter chapter 3 and 18, where it says he suffered the just for the unjust, which is what substitution means. And I said, well, you better not use the word substitution. It's not in scripture. He says, oh, no, I think it is. Yes, it is. It's there. So I said, look, we'll look at this verse in Hebrews. And I turned him to Mr. Darby's translation. You'll be pleased to know, sir. And we looked in Darby's translation, see Mr. James Darby's translation, that dear man of God, guided by God as ever I feel in this, and in chapter 7. And there, dear Mr. Darby renders it thus, you see, that Melchizedek was without father, without mother, without genealogy, semicolon, important, semicolon. He then says, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, beginning of days, neither of these, you see, but assimilated, made like unto the Son of God, comma. And in his footnote, he points out that it was in that character, in that aspect, that this man, we know, of course, he was a natural man, but there's a point, you see, of having neither beginning of days nor end of life. It's in that thing that he's assimilated and made like the Son of God. Now, I said to this friend, you go and look at your chambers or your Oxford dictionary or your Webster's dictionary and see what the definition of eternal is. He says, oh no, I don't need to. I know that's what the definition of eternal is, without beginning of days and without end of days. So I said, are you going to agree with me, then, that the word eternal is there in Scripture, applied to the Son? He says, yes, I suppose you're right. I suppose you're right. So there it is, you see, and they try and tell us that it's not in Scripture, but it's there. It's there, clearly, Mr Darby puts the semicolon in and the quote comment to make sure that he's speaking about the Son of God, not having beginning of days nor end of life as the Son, the Eternal Son. So there it is, that blessed one, the Eternal Son, in that Father's bosom and dear Saint of God, how wonderful it is that that one came for us all the way to Calvary. He went for us. The Father's affections on him and we're going to be with him. He's going to take us into the Father's house, into the Father's house. That same dear brother that I began with, I distinctly remember him. I was only a week converted and he was ministering the word and he says, the assembly, the assembly is the kernel, the assembly is the kernel. There are circles winding out, every family in heaven, but the assembly is the kernel. Close to his pierced sight, we're going to be with him, dear Saint of God. Of all, of all, thy sufferings talk and he'll be there in the Father's house. He's going to be the center. We'll sing to him. Yes, we'll sing to him in praise and worship and we'll sing with him. We'll sing with him to the Father in praise and then we're going to sing of him. We're going to sing of him to the Father. Sing of him to the Father. Joseph said, tell my Father, tell my Father of all my glory. Oh, Saints of God, isn't it wonderful when we get to that position at the breaking of bread, at the supper, at the supper, when we can enter in and tell the Father. The glories we say to the Father, the glories of his work we bring. The glorified we see, his deep perfections, gladly sing and tell them forth to thee and in all eternity we'll sing of him to the Father. What a blessed one, this blessed man, the man now, but he was, he's God, God became man, the Son and the Father. If we have no, he that has the, he has the Son and having the Father and dear friend, that's it, it's who they are, eternal persons, eternal beings of the Godhead, Father and the Son. May we go in for these things more and more as the days are short. I'm 41. In deep eternal counsel, before the world was made, before its deep foundations on nothingness were laid, God purposed us for blessing and chose us in his Son, to him, to be conforming when here our course was run. One for one. …