by Arthur W. Pink
by Arthur W. Pink
Philologos Religious Online Books
Philologos.org
by Arthur W. Pink
May, 1935
Christ in Glory.
“And they shall hang upon Him all the glory of His Father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons” (Isa. 22:24). “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:20, 21).
They are called “vessels” because the Lord forms them for Himself, to show forth His praise; sometimes vessels of honour and glory, because He draws a greater revenue of honor and glory to Himself from them than from all the world beside. In a word, they are called “vessels” because the milk, the wine, the honey, and the oil of Divine grace is bestowed and laid up in them; and out of the fulness of Christ they are daily receiving grace for grace. And as the vessels of a house are its ornament, so are fruitful believers the ornament of the Church, and of the great Owner thereof, for He calls them His crown and diadem.
We are here told that these vessels are of different sizes: some are vessels of “cups,” and others are vessels of “flagons”; plainly intimating that in God's family there are saints of different stature—there are babes, young men, and fathers; “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph. 4:7). Some are like the smoking flax, others like a flaming lamp; some are like the bruised reed, others like the tall cedar in Lebanon. And if you ask me why God will have it so, that the vessels of the house shall be of different sizes, I answer, 1. For the manifestation of His own sovereignty. He is the Lord of the house, and He will do all His pleasure; and it is the good will and pleasure of God to give more of His grace to one, and to another less; and who may say unto Him, “What doeth Thou?” He is no man's debtor, but may do with His own what He pleases. 2. Because this is for the beauty and ornament of the house. It serves not a little to adorn a house that there are different vessels in it: some more and some less, for different services. The least vessel, like the least member in the natural body has its proper usefulness in the body, so that the one cannot say to the other, “I have no need of thee.” 3. God will have it so, that there may be room for the edifying exercises of the fellowship of saints. If every saint had the same degree of faith, love, knowledge, and other graces, the one could not be edified by the other; but it is otherwise ordered, that the strong may be useful to the weak in strengthening, and that those who have more knowledge and experience than others may communicate of their gifts, to the benefit and edifying of others, until they all come to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
I come now to show that all the vessels of different sizes, from vessels of “cups” to vessels of “flagons,” do hang upon the great Manager, Jesus Christ, as upon a nail fastened in a sure place. This is what is commonly called the mystical union between Christ and the Church, and is in Scripture set forth to us by a variety of metaphors, sometimes by the union that is between the branches of a tree and the root of it; for as all the branches hang upon the root, and receive their sap and nourishment, growth and fruit from it, so does every believer, whether of a higher or lower stature, receive life, grace, and growth from Christ. “I am like a green fir tree. From Me is thy fruit found” (Hosea 14:8). “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Sometimes this union is represented by the union betwixt the building and the foundation upon which it stands. As the whole building and every stone of it hangs and rests on the foundation and receive their support and stability from it, so doth the whole house of God, and every spiritual, living stone thereof, hang upon Christ by faith of His Spirit's operation: “To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4, 5). Sometimes this union is represented to us by the union betwixt the head and the members of the natural body (Eph. 4:15, 16; Col. 2:19); from which you will perceive that the whole body, and every particular member, greater or lesser, hangs upon Christ as by “joints and bands.” But here arises the main question to our present purpose: What are these “bands” by which all believers, from the least to the greatest, hang upon Christ? Answer: these “bands” are principally two—the Holy Spirit and faith of the Spirit's operation.
First, I say the Spirit is one, and the principal band whereby believers do hang upon Christ: “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17). By the Holy Spirit the union is made up between Christ and His members: “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). Yes, the Spirit Himself is the band: “We know that He (Christ) abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us” (1 John 3:24). The Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus, by the means of the Word, in a day of regeneration, enters into the soul and quickens it; and in the very quickening by the Spirit, it becomes a member of Christ, and so forever after hangs upon Him as a Nail in a sure place.
Second. Another band by which they all hang upon the Nail is faith by the Spirit's operation—not mere historical, temporary, partial, or legal faith, but a living, working, receiving, justifying, and sanctifying faith, which applies and appropriates Christ by the means of the Word of grace and promise; such a faith as eats the flesh and drinks the blood of Christ; and so lives in and upon Him; according as it is written, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20). In a word, faith hangs all its everlasting concerns upon the Nail fastened in a sure place, and there it stays and rests all its cares and concerns; and in this way the soul is kept in perfect peace, knowing that the Nail, being well fastened, will not yield or give way. And thus it is that all the glory, the whole offspring and issue, and the vessels of the house, greater and lesser, hang upon our blessed Eliakim.
The next inquiry is, Why is Christ constituted sole Manager of His Father's house? Why doth He hang all the vessels upon Him, as upon a nail fastened in a sure place? I answer, the management of the house, and of all its concerns, is committed unto Christ because it was the good pleasure of God that it should be so. But although sovereignty is enough to satisfy us upon this head, yet there are some ways of infinite Wisdom to be observed in this constitution of things in the Church, which is the house of the living God; as (1) He only had ability for bearing such a weight: “I have laid help,” saith the Lord, “upon One this is mighty.” (2) Because Christ voluntarily undertook it in the council of peace, saying, “Lo, I come! I delight to do Thy will, O My God” (Psa. 40:7, 8), whereupon Jehovah the Father said and determined, “He shall build the temple and bear all the glory” (Zech. 6:13). (3) Hereby a new revenue of glory is brought in to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, even “glory to God in the highest,” higher glory than what comes in by creation and providence. (4) Because hereby His saints are brought to honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. (5) Because this was for the safety and comfort of the children of God. All their everlasting concerns hang upon Him, that they may warble out that song through eternity: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:12, 13).
Again. See hence why it is that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro, to show Himself strong on behalf of His people in this world; why He rides in the heavens for their help; and makes all things work together for their good. There is good reason for it. They are the offspring and issue of His family; they are the gold and silver vessels of His house; and you know, if a man have power and ability, he will not suffer his offspring to be hurt, or his house to be plundered of his valuable furniture, which he has bought at a dear rate. Hence it is that the Lord watches His house day and night, lest any hurt it. All His saints are in the hand of Christ, and He defies Hell and earth to pluck them out of His hands.
2. See what trust and credit our glorious Kinsman-Redeemer has with His Father. Why, you see how that He puts the whole family under His hand; He hangs the whole glory upon Him: “He hath made Him to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His body”; “All Power in heaven and earth is given unto Me,” says Christ; “The Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” And seeing He has such trust and credit with His Father, what an indignity is done to the Father, and the Son also, when a sinner, through unbelief, declares Him to be unworthy of any credit, and says, practically, that the Nail that God has fastened is loose, weak, or insufficient, and therefore he will not venture the weight of his salvation upon it, but will choose rather to hang upon some nails of his own fastening, such as the nail of an empty profession, the nail of God's general mercy, the nail of legal duties, and obedience, which are all but rusty, weak, broken nails, that will give way and ruin all that depend upon them.
3. See hence one great ground and reason of the perseverance of the saints, and why they cannot fall totally or finally away from a state of grace: because they hang upon the Nail fastened in a sure place. Being the great Manager of His Father's house and family He has them in custody, and is to give an account of every vessel of the house unto His Father; and He will make a good account of every one of them, and say to His Father, that entrusted them with Him, “Of all Thou hast given Me, I have lost none. Here am I, and the children which Thou hast given me.” If a believer can fall totally or finally away, it is because the Nail may break or be loosed, or because the bands by which they hang upon the Nail may be broken or cut. But none of these can fall out. The Nail, as you heard in the first part of this discourse, is so fixed that Heaven and earth will sooner be dissolved than that it should yield or give way in the least; and as for the bands by which they hang upon the Nail, they are so firm, strong, and well-fastened, that the soul, when it has a view of its security in the light of the Lord, is able to exclaim with Paul, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution” etc. (Rom. 8:35).
4. See the great difference between the state of a believer now, under a covenant of grace, and the state of Adam, under a covenant of works. Adam, the first covenant-head and representative, though an innocent, yet was but a fallible creature; and being left to the freedom of his own will, that nail gave way, and he and all his posterity fell into a horrible pit of sin and misery, from which the whole creation could not recover them. But the case of the believer is not so, he hangs on a Nail in a sure place; he stands on the foundation God has laid in Zion, against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail. Many a pull and pluck has the devil and the world given at the vessels that hang upon this Nail; and yet by all their power and policy they never were able to carry off a cup, much less a flagon, that did hang upon the Nail fastened in a sure place. To this purpose are those words of Christ, none shall “pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
5. See hence that the saints have no cause of boasting or glorying in themselves, but only in Christ; for He is the Nail, upon whom all the glory and all the offspring and issue do hang. Where is boasting? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Now the law of faith is to lay the whole weight of our salvation upon Christ; to receive Him and rest upon Him alone for eternal life, and to receive out of His fullness grace for grace. And, therefore, “he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord,” saying, “The Lord is my strength and song, He also is become my salvation.” When the believer finds pride of gifts or grace begin to stir in his heart, he should at once check it by putting these, or the like questions to himself: “What hast thou, O man, that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received it, why dost thou boast as though thou hadst not received it? Let none of the branches that grow upon the true Vine boast, as though they had their stand, strength or righteousness in themselves. “If thou boast, (remember) thou bearest not the root, but the Root (bearest) thee” (Rom. 11:18). All hang upon the Nail.
6. See hence a good reason for that solemn work and duty of covenanting, by “stretching out her hands unto God” as it is said of Ethiopia (Psa. 68:31). This duty is warranted by Scripture example, and Scripture prophecy concerning the days of the New Testament. As God the Father by solemn oath has constituted His own Son the great Manager of His house, hanging all the offspring and issue upon Him; so it is highly reasonable that all the offspring and issue of the family should confess His deed by solemn oath and covenant, before the whole world, because this is for His declarative glory, upon whom all the glory hangs. It is requisite that we not only believe with the heart unto righteousness, but confess Him with the mouth unto salvation (Rom. 10:10). And this is in a peculiar manner necessary in a day like this, when the prophets are become such fools, and the spiritual men so mad, as to derogate from the glory of the great Manager of His Father's house His prophetical, priestly, and kingly offices, by tolerating the erroneous, foisting in moral virtue in the room of His everlasting righteousness.
I say, what more just and reasonable in such a case, than that all who love our Lord Jesus Christ and regard His honour and glory, should, in the most solemn manner imaginable, declare their adherence to Him in the presence of angels and men, saying with Joshua “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” There are a generation of men in our day, who set up only for a private, selfish kind of religion. If they believe with the heart, they think they have done enough; if they enjoy raptures of love to Christ, they are easy what come of Jerusalem, what come of the Ark of God. Let error in doctrine, corruption in worship, tyranny in government prevail as much as they will, it is all a small matter—these are not the essentials: all is well with them if they have what they call “the Spirit.” But what sort of a spirit is that which follows, cleaves to abjured prelacy, a corrupt backsliding ministry, and judges that deny the obligation of solemn covenants? Surely such a spirit must be the spirit of the old serpent transforming himself into an angel of light. A deceived heart and a subtle devil have turned them aside from the truth.—Ralph Erskine, 1743. (Completed in the June issue.)
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