THE SURETY OF GOD’S PROMISES.
By John Orr
Since God is the maker of all things (Heb. 3:4), all energy has its source in Him. All creation must therefore receive life and activity from the first great cause. In view of this, inspired writers have greatly enlarged upon the thought of God being before and above all. One writer expresses it: “God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” Ps. 62:11 Another writer speaks of the exercise of this infinite energy on this wise: “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in His thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. He holdeth back the face of His throne, and spreadeth His cloud upon it. He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His reproof. He divideth the sea with His power, and by His understanding He smiteth through the proud.” Job 26:7–12. After thus graphically describing the wonderful display of almighty force in regulating the operations of nature, and apparently feeling unable to express the fulness of it, tho having at command inspired language, the patriarch rests the matter by saying: “Lo, these are parts of His ways; but how little a portion is heard of Him? But the thunder of His power who can understand?” With all the wondrous display of what is seen of infinite power in the movements of distant planets, and the changing conditions of our own, only a small part of His ways are known; the thunder of His power is not revealed in these. How utterly impossible, therefore, for a finite mind to grasp the extent of God’s ability to perform whatsoever He will. Yet when the divine Son appeared on earth to represent His Father, He said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18. On the strength of this statement, and what was involved in it, He based the Gospel commission, and all its attending promises. When He further said, “Lo, I am with you alway,” He meant to say that all the power which had been given to Him, was to be freely given to those who accepted the offered commission. As to when this gift of power was bestowed upon Christ we are not able to determine, but we may safely say that it was not a transient endowment, accorded alone as an accompaniment of His earthly mission; for we find Him using it from the very beginning: “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Col. 1:16. True, we are told that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Gen. 1:1. But it has been explained that God did this by His Son, who having had the power bestowed, called the worlds into being. Heb. 1:1, 2. It was this same creative power that the Lord Jesus constantly manifested while here on earth. One reference is sufficient to illustrate this statement: “For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. . . . Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled; and there was taken up of the fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.” Luke 9:14–17. Here, as related by Matthew, were five thousand men, besides women and children, who were all fed from so small an original amount of food. But the striking part of the whole affair is that more was left after they had all eaten than was furnished by the disciples. This was the exercise of creative power indeed. All of Christ’s miracles were performed to attest His oneness with God in creative power, and so prove Him to be the Son of God. Of His wondrous words and works the evangelist says: “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John 20:31. It was a knowledge of these things that caused Nicodemus to testify: “Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest except God be with him.” John 3:2. The moment creative power was recognized in Christ’s miracles, the Jewish ruler no longer hesitated to own His Sonship of God, and commit himself to His teachings. Creative power is the only basis of absolute confidence. When trouble assails which human energy has failed to avert, the next and only thing to which one can commit himself implicitly, is a power that it is known can not possibly be thwarted. The power which is before every other one,—that which can create and uphold worlds in their courses,—is the only one that can bring relief in the face of certain ruin. It is this thought which gives force to the apostolic exhortation: “Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:19. Nothing short of such faith should ever satisfy. God should not only be counted able, but willing to create ways of deliverance, when none appear at hand. Manna was created for Israel when threatened with starvation on the burning sands of Arabia. Ex. 16:15; 1 Cor. 10:3. In time of famine, Elijah was fed with meal and oil, which were created day by day as needed. 1 Kings 17:15. As there is no variableness nor shadow of turning with the Lord, He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and so makes His power available now as fully as then. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered5Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32. The question is not, how shall God give us all things with Christ; but “how shall He not” do it? In other words, how can He be kept from doing so much, after having given Christ? Said the Saviour, “All things are delivered unto Me of my Father.” Matt. 11:21. This being true, the gift of Christ to man includes all that was given Him. So then, with Christ, everything is ours; whatever is His, we may claim as the gift of God to us. “Therefore let no man glory in men; for all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” 1 Cor. 3:21–23. Here is rebuked any spirit of contention over preferred gifts in the ministry, because such glorying robs God of the praise which belongs to Him. As every gift is from God, everything possessed by His servants, whether time, talent, or means, is His; therefore no one should glory in the man, but in God, whose He is; for as every gift in the world is ours, what they have is ours also, because we belong to Christ, who in turn belongs to God. So all things are God’s which He expects us to render to Him in our service. The design has ever been for all creation to honor its Creator. Man was given dominion over all the earth that he might render homage to God for every inanimate thing placed under his control, and thus through man,—God’s representative on the earth,—all creation would, directly or indirectly, give glory to the Creator. This thought is brought out in the statement of the apostle: “All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” 2 Cor. 4:15. For man’s sake, everything was made for him from the first, that he might have cause to constantly pour out gratitude of heart to God, and thus be saved from wandering into wrong. But through sin, the use of many of these “all things” has been perverted, and made the means of leading away from God. Yet for all this, a loving Father grants us still “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3. The only question is as to how we may appropriate them. When a distressed father brought his afflicted son to Christ for His healing touch, he pleaded in anguish of spirit, “If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” The quick reply of Jesus was, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:22, 23. In these words Christ threw back upon the man the responsibility of his implied doubt, requiring of him implicit faith in infinite power, as the condition of help being given. Christ’s promises are sure because they are those of an infinite Creator through Him. “For the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Cor. 1:20. God holds His glory above everything, as that which must be maintained. This could not be done were one of His promises to fail; hence, not a single one has been put upon a sliding scale, that it may be varied according to circumstances, but every one is a positive yea, fortified by the great Amen, which is Christ the Lord. This makes them all as sure as the throne of heaven, and just as abiding. JOHN ORR.