Christian Life

God Dwells Among Us

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father Leave a comment

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… – John 1:14

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, 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 holds 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. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1862.cfm

The Amazing Goodness of the Most High

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… – Genesis 3:8 

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

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 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.” Overall, 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.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1862.cfm

Whose Body We Belong

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Father Leave a comment

“As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.” -1 Corinthians 15:48

The head and members are of one nature, and not like that monstrous image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. The head was of fine gold, but the belly and thighs were of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet, part of iron and part of clay. Christ’s mystical body is no absurd combination of opposites; the members were mortal, and therefore Jesus died; the glorified head is immortal, and therefore the body is immortal too, for thus the record stands, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” As is our loving Head, such is the body, and every member in particular. A chosen Head and chosen members; an accepted Head, and accepted members; a living Head, and living members. If the head be pure gold, all the parts of the body are of pure gold also. Thus is there a double union of nature as a basis for the closest communion. Pause here, devout reader, and see if thou canst without ecstatic amazement, contemplate the infinite condescension of the Son of God in thus exalting thy wretchedness into blessed union with His glory. Thou art so mean that in remembrance of thy mortality, thou mayest say to corruption, “Thou art my father,” and to the worm, “Thou art my sister”; and yet in Christ thou art so honoured that thou canst say to the Almighty, “Abba, Father,” and to the Incarnate God, “Thou art my brother and my husband.” Surely if relationships to ancient and noble families make men think highly of themselves, we have whereof to glory over the heads of them all. Let the poorest and most despised believer lay hold upon this privilege; let not a senseless indolence make him negligent to trace his pedigree, and let him suffer no foolish attachment to present vanities to occupy his thoughts to the exclusion of this glorious, this heavenly honour of union with Christ. ~ C.H, Spurgeon

https://www.vcyamerica.org/charles-spurgeons-daily-devotional/

Oh, He is a Wonderful Saviour!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. – Mark 10:45

He is One who lays Himself out tenderly to help such as come to Him. He did so when He was here in body, and He is the same now; all His life was given in tenderness… And the Lord Jesus Christ has a very loving way now of helping His people. So tenderly does He do it, that the doing of it is almost as great a wonder as the thing that is done. He abounds towards us in all wisdom and prudence, and we may each one say, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Oh, He is a wonderful Saviour! There is none like Him for sympathizing with us, and dealing tenderly with us.

I have to say of Him that never can be said of anybody else:, He is One who never repelled a single person. Not even the most ignorant, the most out of the way, was ever turned back from Him. It was always true: “This man receiveth sinners.” And for ever this word is settled in heaven, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” All who have read the life of Christ know what a gentle and tender High Priest He was towards men.

His heart is on earth, though He has ascended into the heavens. If anyone here groans after Him, He will hear that groan; if your heart only aches after Him, He will feel that ache of your heart, and know what it means; and if you do not know how to pray, the very desire to pray He will interpret… But, oh, you must have Him; you must have Him, you cannot get to God without Him! I pray that you will feel such confidence in His tenderness that you may come and take Him as your own High Priest; if you do, He will be yours at the moment of acceptance. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2251.cfm

Our Sympathetic and Gentle High Priest

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises Leave a comment

Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way… – Hebrews 5:2

The pattern high priest was a fatherly-looking man, with love in his eyes, a smile on his face, one who had often sorrowed himself, one to whom all the people could go naturally. I think that some of those high priests must have seen a great deal of sin, and a great deal of mercy and divine love. When the poor people went up to the temple, one would say, “I must go in and see the high priest. I have such a burden and he will be able to help me.” Another would say, “No, I shall not go in; I do not need to take up his time myself. Did not you hear him speak? What, what he said was just the very thing that I wanted. God gave him the very word that my distress required, and so I can go in peace.” But here and there one would say, “Ah! I must tell him. It does me good to unburden my heart.” Now that is the kind of high priest that we should all have wished for had we been living in those days; but our Lord Jesus is something incomparably better than that. There was never such a meek, and gentle, and quiet spirit as our divine Lord and Master possessed. Not only has our Lord compassion on the ignorant by being gentle towards them, but He sympathizes with them by having a fellow-feeling with them. They got out of the way, and into the thorns; they wandered, and fell into a maze; they were lost in the dark mountains, but He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” “In all their afflictions He was afflicted.” Because of that fellow-feeling He is always very tender and pitiful; and if He finds any of His children sorrowing, He has abundant compassion upon them. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2251.cfm

Come, Trust in Him

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Father 4 Comments

Who can have compassion…on them that are out of the way… – Hebrews 5:2

Many are out of the way because of their backsliding after grace has come to them. To such we may say, “Ye did run well, who did hinder you, that ye should not obey the truth?” “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you.” Why will ye wander from the only source of good? “Take with you words and turn to the Lord.” “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The Lord calls you in infinite tenderness; for He can have compassion upon backsliders, and stop them from becoming apostates, bringing them back unto Himself, according to His divine purpose.

Is there a crimson spot upon your hand, which you have tried to wash out, but cannot; some act of your life which you would fain undo, and remove? There it is, still there, always there…Be comforted by this gracious text. Hear your High Priest pray, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” He pleads your ignorance. You “did it ignorantly in unbelief”; and while this does not excuse you, it puts you into the list of those who are both ignorant and out of the way. Come to this compassionate High Priest, and trust your case in His dear hands; they were pieced because of your sin. Trust your iniquity with Him; His heart was opened and set abroach because of your transgression. Come, trust in Him. He died because of your sin. “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2251.cfm

Them That Are Out of the Way

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises Leave a comment

Who can have compassion… on them that are out of the way… – Hebrews 5:2

I remember that, when I felt myself to be a very great sinner, and verily thought I was more of a sinner than anybody else, these words were very, very much blessed to me. I read them, “and on them that are out of the way”; and I knew that I was an out-of-the-way sinner. I was then, and I am afraid that I am now, somewhat like a lot out of the catalogue, an odd person who must go by himself. Very well; our High Priest can have compassion on those that are odd, on those that are out-of-the-way, on those who do not seem to be in the common run of people, and do not go with the multitude, but who must be dealt with individually, and by themselves. He can have compassion upon such.

To be out of the way is, in the case of all men, their natural state. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” That is where we are all by nature, and our own way is out of the way. Therefore, Christ can have compassion upon all of us who come to Him; for He has learnt to deal with those who are out of the way, and such, literally, are we all.

“Like sheep we went astray,
And broke the fold of God
Each wandering in a different way;
But all the downward road.”

There are some who wander most foolishly. You wonder why they sin in the particular way that they do. There seems to be no reason for it, no motive for it, no special temptation in that direction, and yet, they will do it. They wander out of the way by themselves. Have you done so, dear friend? The Lord can have compassion on those that are out of the way. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2251.cfm