In what we are now, by the
Lord's help, essaying to set forth, we are making a bold and
honest attempt to uncover the true nature of New Testament
Christianity. It is in the way of spiritual excavation, to lay
bare the essential foundation and character of that which took
its rise from the ascension and heavenly session of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
It would be an over-bold person
who, at this time of day, thought that anything that he could do
would seriously change or affect the face of Christianity as it
now exists, and no such illusion or delusion prompts these pages.
But, having travelled far and wide over the world for many years,
and having come into contact with Christians of very many
connections and complexions, the writer has found a great amount
of unrest, perplexity, dissatisfaction, and disappointment among
them. Many older Christians are feeling that things are not as
they should be, while the younger generation is in a state
nearing revolt. It is felt - and there are few who will disagree
- that Christianity in general, with some few notable exceptions,
is failing to register any impact upon world-conditions, or is no
longer something to be taken serious account of.
What we are about to offer,
then, is for the troubled and perplexed minority who would be
grateful for any help to understand the meaning of things and
that would point the way to that which the Lord would have if He
were given His ground. We can but hope that we shall be able to
throw some light upon the beclouded way. There is no thought of
instituting a new 'Movement' or forming a new body of Christians.
The probability is that there will be some strong adverse
reactions to some things said, but we can only ask for patient
and open-hearted consideration, taking nothing out of its full
context to give it an exaggerated interpretation.
The New
Deuteronomy
Behind the subject-matter of
the New Testament there is a feature which is not always
recognized. It is that which corresponds to the Book of
Deuteronomy in the Old Testament; the fifth book of the Bible.
That book was written with the object of restating precisely that
which had been covered earlier in several books. The restatement
had two aspects.
One, there had been a history
of the people of God which, while it had been marked by His
wonderful works of power and mercy - signs, wonders, and glories,
had also been darkened with failure and tragedy on their part. A
crisis had been reached and a chapter was closing.
Secondly; the call to
adjustment was sounding out, and a new day was being presented. A
calling to remembrance, a warning against repeating the mistakes,
and an earnest appeal, comprised this new document to govern the
future. The future was going to be one of greater glory or of
deeper tragedy. They must decide.
These are the very two features
which lie behind the New Testament writings. When these documents
were written a point of crisis and departure had been reached.
There had been a period of great glory, power, and progress.
Mighty and wonderful things had been done by God amongst His
people in the midst of the nations, but certain elements were
beginning to show themselves which were threatening the very
vitality of their testimony and world-mission. There was a
growing threat to the purity and reality of the life of the
Church, and there were symptoms of spiritual decline and
retrogression. So we find the Apostles giving themselves to write
the Deuteronomic documents to remind, to warn, to rebuke, to
exhort, to encourage, and to urge God's people to either recover,
maintain, or go on in relation to the full purpose of their high
calling in Christ. We ought to read John, Peter, Paul, and others
in this light. Like Moses, they wrote with an 'after my
departure' concern. It was all reminder and reconsideration with
the future in view. Were we to put into two words that which we
feel to have been the real burden of their writings we should say
it was:
Corporate
Testimony.
When we have said that we have
got within view of the nature of true New Testament Christianity.
But we must first define those terms. After we have done that we
shall proceed to consider some of the privileges, perils, and
problems of corporate testimony.
What does the New Testament
mean when it so often, especially at the end, refers to "The
Testimony". A simple reading of the context will show that
it does not refer to any particular aspect of "The
Truth". It is not particularly the truth of the Cross, the
Church, the Coming Again of the Lord, or any other. It is not a
'line of teaching' or a particular angle of interpretation or
emphasis. It is not the propagation of certain doctrines. Neither
is "the Testimony" related to certain ordinances or
'sacraments' such as 'Baptism', 'the Lord's Table', etc. These
things may have a vital place in the Testimony when it is
truly present, but they are not the Testimony.
The Testimony is the place and
meaning of Jesus Christ, God's Son, in the eternal counsels of
God; His universal fulness as Head of all creation which carries
with it the essential nature of His person as the eternal Son of
God. It is the Person, and particularly the significance
of that Person in God's universe and entire system of things. The
heart of the Testimony is His absolute triumph over, and
destruction of, death by His own 'becoming dead, and being alive
for evermore'. This is but a broad and general statement, for it
does not say what that universal significance is, but what we
have said serves to put the Testimony in its right realm; out of
parts into a whole.
The second term to be defined
is 'corporate'. While this word is not found in our translations
of the Bible, it is inherent therein from beginning to end.
Literally and fundamentally it means 'of the body'; that is, 'an
organic body matter'. It is the organic and vital unity of a
living entity, whether it be in the individual or in the
collective relatedness of many. As differing from a stone or
wooden structure or composition it is constituted by a single
life; it is generic. In that life is an energy. In that life is a
nature. In that life is a pattern. In that life is a destiny. To
share that life is to share all these impulses.
Thus, in every category or
class of animate creatures, God began with a 'seed' in which the
germ of its own life, nature, and design existed. The family was
inherent in the seed, and the family had the race as its horizon.
The first generic person failed in the trust of life and his
horizon became beclouded by death. God moved again in Abraham and
secured through his faith and obedience, first a nation, and then
the far-off 'Seed,' in which and by which the ultimate heavenly
race will be secured. This is the new creation in Christ,
sharing the one life which He came specifically and preeminently
to give. This one unique heavenly life, imparted as a particular
gift to every one who in 'new birth' is generated by the act of
the Spirit of God, binds them together in corporate, organic,
basic oneness. It is a fact, not always understood,
appreciated, or lived up to. The values and meanings of this fact
are only entered into by growth in that life and obedience to its
laws, but the fact is deeper than the understanding, just as the
fact of the organic unity, function, and laws of the human body
are deeper than the knowledge of the uninstructed man or woman.
So far we have only indicated
what is meant by the term 'corporate'. The fuller meaning will
naturally come out in all that we have to say as we go on.
Putting the two terms together
- Corporate Testimony, we can now say that 'the Testimony', which
is God's testimony concerning His Son, now known to us as Jesus
Christ the Lord, with all its vast significance and limitless
values and meanings, is intended by God to be incorporated in,
revealed in, and expressed through, a corporate Body and
spiritual organism known as The Body of Christ. This Body was
foreknown and foreordained by God for its eternal vocation
"before times eternal". It is the supreme object
of the Holy Spirit's activities and energies in this present
dispensation. It is the essential motif of evangelism, and the
purpose of all Christian instruction, discipline, and experience.
Its securing "out of the nations" and preparation is
the governing purpose of this age, and its full vocation,
function, and glory will be through "the ages of the
ages". It is never meant to be an end in itself, but its
ultimate issue is found in the words:
"Unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
unto all generations for ever and ever" (Ephesians 3:20,
21).
Fuller previews of the eternal
position, glory and vocation of this corporate vessel in
testimony are given us in Revelation 5:6-14, and in chapter 21.
First published in "A Witness and A
Testimony" magazine, May-June 1963, Vol 41-3
