WE WOULD ask the reader to open his Bible at the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. He will see there, on studying the first eleven verses, what forms the subject of this article, namely, the Christian’s standing and walk.
It is clearly stated in our passage, that the Christian is in Christ, and that his walk is according to the Spirit. The former is the position where God has set him by His own sovereign grace; the latter is the practical and natural outcome of what he is in that position. To grasp these great facts is of fundamental importance. Indeed, they are the very foundation of true Christianity.
The same general truth might be expressed in another way. The Christian is in Christ before God, and that in perfect righteousness. This is his standing. Christ is in the Christian before the world, and that in the power of the Spirit. That is his walk.
As to his standing, he is clear from every possible charge. Nothing therefore, can be brought against him. Whatever he may have been, as a child of Adam; whatever guilt he may have accumulated, as a willful and rebellious sinner; however deep he may have sunk in the pit of sin, as a fallen creature — from all this he is cleared, when he accepts Christ as his Saviour. It may seem incredible. The statement may seem staggering. Unbelief may come with doubtful questions —Is it so? Can it be? Yet the fact remains, like an immovable rock, on which faith calmly rests, unperturbed by the reasonings of the human mind, and unaffected by the subtle questions of unbelief.
And why this restful attitude of faith? Because it has the sure word of God. Here it is: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Could there be a clearer statement made? Then, apart from the clearness of the statement, there is the unchallenged authority of the One who makes it. God, who cannot lie, has spoken. His word is addressed to faith, and by faith it is received. The Christian owns it to be God’s Word; bows to its authority, without hesitation or reserve; rests upon it with implicit and unquestioning trust. And in doing this he does no more than he should. God and His Word are one; as we treat it, so we treat Him.
Now that the Christian has this standing in Christ, exempt from all charge, it is well for us to know what it is to be in Christ. Some of God’s children have queer notions about their standing; indeed, they reason about it in such an unscriptural way, being occupied almost entirely with themselves, that they end by doubting if they have a standing. In other words, they doubt if they are saved. This, needless to say, seriously hinders them in their progress as Christians. And if we inquire why it is they get in such doubt, we can soon see the source of their difficulties. They read statements in God’s word, in the light of their own experience. A fatal thing to do!
For instance they read the statement before us, namely, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” They turn immediately upon themselves, to see if experience in them verifies the statement. Needless to say, they find no verification of it, but much that would flatly contradict it. They see a great deal in themselves that must be condemned; consequently they conclude that the statement cannot refer to them. Now God’s word does not say. “There is no condemnation to them that feel they are good, or to them that think they are good, or to them that try to be good.” No such thing! Scripture does not take account of the Christian’s goodness (supposing he has it), but of Christ. It is, then, entirely a question of what Christ is. When this is clearly understood, faith keeps the eye on Christ, and never allows it to turn upon oneself. “Not I, but Christ” are words that well express the language of faith.
Any Christian might say, In me there is much that righteousness would condemn. But, turning to Christ, he is bound to say, There is nothing in Him that can be condemned. Impossible! Then the question arises, In whom does he stand? Is he in himself, or is he in Christ? Certainly not in himself. Then he need not think, or speak, about himself. Only in Christ has he standing before God. And when this is accepted, as the very foundation of his faith, never can a single question arise as to his standing before God.
What comes next, as a natural result of his high standing in Christ, is his walk according to the Spirit. He has a new life in Christ, and this life expresses itself in him in this very practical and natural way. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:66He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. (1 John 2:6)). The abiding in Christ, and the walking as Christ walked, are things we cannot separate. But, with this new life in Christ, there is power by which it is expressed. We give expression to life in us, not by effort, but by natural and spontaneous power, quite apart from ourselves.
For instance, if we tried to express Christ in our walk, we would soon get into difficulties. Life is not expressed by effort, it is natural, and gives expression to itself, by a power all its own. So it is with the Christian; he does not try to walk as Christ walked. Christ in him is expressed in the power of the Spirit. This is all natural and without effort. We say “natural,” because it is spontaneous, and not artificial. The life of Christ produced in us, in the power of the Spirit, is not the result of effort on our part. It is the exclusive work of the Spirit. We would not say a plant, or an animal, gives expression to life in it by its own effort. On the contrary, the life in it expresses itself, and that by a power all its own. Why should we try to express life, when life expresses itself, and that in a perfectly natural way?
Now the reader will have noticed if he has carefully read the portion to which we have drawn his attention, that from verse four to eleven, the Spirit is much in evidence. He is contrasted with the flesh. For example, we have the phrases: “after the flesh,” “after the Spirit:” “the things of the flesh,” the things of the Spirit;” “the mind of the flesh,” “the mind of the Spirit;” “in the flesh,” “in the Spirit.” A very clear line of demarcation is here drawn between these contrary principles of life. In like manner, the result of each is presented in vivid contrast. The mind of the flesh is death; the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Now the question arises, Is the Christian as to his walk, actuated by the flesh, that is, as a principle of life? The answer is emphatically. NO. He is in the Spirit, and walks after the Spirit, as the normal rule of his life.
It was in the power of the Spirit that Christ Himself walked. It was in that power He performed His miracles, and in it He offered Himself on the Cross, a sacrifice for our sins. It was by that power He was raised from the dead. And now it is said, “If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Here it is clearly shown, that the same power that was in Christ, by which He walked, worked and was raised from the dead, is that which dwells in us. In Him, of course, there was perfection. In us there is a great deal of imperfection. But the power is the same, and what an incentive this should be for a walk “after the Spirit,” the only walk, we venture to say, that is pleasing to God! Then, at last, to have our mortal bodies quickened, and transformed to the likeness of His body of glory, at His coming again, to receive us to Himself! And, marvelous as it is, the power that will effect the transformation to His likeness, is that which is now indwelling us, to work out in us now, in our practical daily walk, the good pleasure of God. Does this not set the Christian’s walk at a very high standard?
Naturally, everything in Christianity is on a high standard, because Christ is everything. A Christianity that does not make Christ everything is no Christianity at all. If it is a question of our standing as Christians before God, all is in Christ. If it is a question of a life that is pleasing to God in this world, all is of Christ (nothing of ourselves) and that in the power of the Spirit.
In conclusion, we would say in the apt words of a hymn, with reference to our standing: — We stand accepted in the place That none but Christ can claim.
And no less apt words are these, with reference to our walk: —
O teach us so the power to know
Of risen life with Thee;
Not we may live while here below,
But Christ our life may be.
J. Houston.