Sunday, October 19, 2014

"That Which Is Born of the Spirit" # 15

The Rule of the Heavens (continued)

The Meaning of "Heavens" (continued)

What is sonship? It is absolutely universal. If you take up Colossians 1 you will see that sonship is timeless. It is related to resurrection, for resurrection is coming out into the timeless and the coming in of timeless life - life that is the life of the ages. That is resurrection life - life and with it comes sonship which is timeless. You will notice in Ephesians you are taken back before times eternal by way of the Cross and shown that before this world was God had us in view. Romans says the same, and with the revelation of the eternal mind and thought and purpose of God it seems we were there in His thought before the world was. We were chosen of Him ' "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son." We have been raised together with Him, "and you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin." In connection with that the eternity of sonship comes into view - foreknowledge and predestination. Sonship is not merely eternal, it is universal - not merely a thing of this earth but in the heavens. We are now partakers of the spirit of sonship, "Abba Father" (Galatians 1:6).

Notice the universality of the birth of our Lord - every universal element enters into His birth. You have the heavens coming in there.

When you come into sonship you come back into the place where God intended man to be originally at the center of His universe with everything gathered around Him. He was determined in the purpose of God to have dominion over the works of His hands. That will be the end when that one new man - "the church which is His body" is perfected and glorified. All things governed through the church, and everyone who comes into sonship comes into something universally. It is a wonderful thing to be made a son - much more than having sins forgiven and being saved from hell. There should be an adequate background to our preaching vocation. Saving from hell is only the first minor step in the great eternal sweep of God's purposes concerning man. Sonship embraces eternity - all ages. "Heirs of God and join heirs with Lord Christ." Sonship is timeless and universal because sonship is spiritual.

There is nothing merely local in the heavens and the things belong to the heavenly spiritual system. Everything here according to God has a universal connection according to the thought of God and we must see the universality of everything that is of God.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 16)

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