Blotting out the Handwriting
By T. H. Starbuck
THE INTERRELATION OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL. NO. 12.
Blotting out the Handwriting.
“And you, being dead in your sins and the circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Col. 2: 13-17. The apostle’s theme in this scripture is the same as in those formerly examined. It is the change that takes place in conversion by which the individual is enabled to live free from the traditions of men, and the rudiments of the world. But this condition is not attained without the crucifixion of the carnal nature. The destruction of the flesh by crucifixion removes the disposition to rely upon the works of the flesh for justification. The carnality in man is against us and contrary to us. If this is doubted by any one, let him try to live a righteous life, before the carnal nature is destroyed, and he will soon find the same conditions described in the seventh chapter of Romans. Through the carnal nature the law of God is against us and contrary to us. The only way to disannul its force is by the destruction of the carnal nature. When that nature is crucified, all the works of the flesh are destroyed. It has been shown that the Christian is crucified with Christ, and that the dying process is continual; but where the crucifixion is in progress, the individual lives also together with Christ. This thought is contained in verse 13. By taking away that which was against us and contrary to us, Christ is said to have spoiled principalities and powers. Verses 14 and 15. Christ is not divided against himself. He did not die on the cross to destroy any law which had been given in the plan of God’s grace for the redemption of a lost world. The ceremonial system was a part of the plan of grace; hence, the taking away of that which was contrary to us can not refer directly to the ceremonial law. Up to the time of Christ, the ceremonial system was not against anybody, for none could show their faith in Christ except by obedience to it. It naturally limited itself to the first advent of our Saviour; and since that event none can show their faith in him by obedience to it. It is incorrect to say that Christ abolished the ceremonial system; for it ceased by limitation. If it is spoken of as abolished, it must be understood in an accommodated sense only. The principalities and powers which he spoiled are explained in Eph. 6:12, and it is there clearly shown that reference is made to the organized forces of evil angels. The ceremonial law can not belong to his dominion only as Satan misleads men into the idea that they can be justified by keeping it. That being the case, the abolition of the system could not remove the difficulty. The only remedy is the destruction of the blind, selfish, carnal nature which alone leads to such errors; but the destruction of that is represented by Christ nailed to the cross. The triumph over every misapplication of scripture, and over all evil of every kind, is through the crucifixion of the flesh. In this scripture, as in Eph. 2:15, the ceremonial law is indirectly involved, for being crucified with Christ destroys the body of sin and puts an end to every effort of the flesh to be justified by the deeds of any law, moral or ceremonial. Gal. 5:4. It has been demonstrated that man can not save himself by his own efforts from the abnormal action of the moral law. If it were possible for man to save himself by his own efforts at keeping the law, then salvation by faith in Christ would not have been necessary, and it would be clear that Christ died in vain. Man can not set the law to operating in himself normally, because the carnality stands in the way; but he can believe in Christ’s power to do the work, and then the Author of the law sets that instrument to work in him to slay the carnality, and, the obstacle to its normal action being gone, the righteousness of the law springs right out of the new life which fills the soul; for when the body of sin is destroyed, the individual is made free, and the law will act normally in him to produce a righteous life, just as it did in the life of Christ while he dwelt here in the likeness of sinful flesh. The Ministration of Death.
“But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away; how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.” 2 Cor. 3:7-11. There is no metaphor, or figure of speech, in this language. It is literal truth; for when the living law was engraved in stones at Sinai, there was literally a “ministration of death” written against every human being. It calls for no exegesis, for language could not speak more plainly the exact truth. The two phases of the law’s action are clearly presented here; and were it not for wrong theological impressions in the minds of men, the truth so clearly spoken as it is here would be readily understood. The ministration of death is also called the ministration of condemnation. It is the same thought expressed in Rom. 4:15: “The law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” “The ministration of death” is the abnormal action of divine law. The ministration of the Spirit is also called “the ministration of righteousness.” It is the same as “the law of the Spirit of life,” in Rom. 8:2. Its ministration of righteousness is its normal operation, and was exemplified in the life of Christ. The glory of God is revealed in the ministration of death; for it is the ministration of his righteous indignation. But there is another ministration that excels it in glory—the ministration of the Spirit—which has in it all the glory of Christ’s perfect life on earth, and the power of the righteous life which God would have every Christian live on earth. It is only in the glory of this ministration that the child of God can let his light shine before men so that they may see his good works and glorify their Father in heaven. That which is done away is the ministration of death; and here, as in other scriptures examined before, it can be abolished only by the destruction of the carnal nature. But in this scripture (verses 14-18) that carnal nature is represented by a veil. As long as the blinding influence of that nature is upon the heart of man, he is under the ministration of death. When the carnality is taken away in Christ, then the veil is removed and the individual sees with unveiled face the glory of the ministration of the Spirit, or the glory of the righteousness of that perfect life of our Saviour; and as he sees, he is changed into the same image by the Spirit of God. But the Spirit does its work by a law, called the law of the Spirit of life, which can be nothing more nor less than the moral law in its normal operation. So then this scripture presents the freedom in Christ Jesus brought in by the operation of the law of the Spirit of life, as set forth in Rom. 8:2. That which is represented as done away in Christ is not the law that was engraved upon stone, but its ministration of death; and that is accomplished by the crucifixion of the flesh. It is the same thought found in Eph. 2:15. The principle of the old covenant is the idea of salvation by the works of the law; but there was nothing but bondage in it. Gal. 4:24. The old-covenant principle is founded in nature, for it springs out of the carnal nature. It came in with sin, and will go out with it. It pertains to the abnormal operation of the law, or the ministration of death. The new-covenant principle is also natural, for it is founded in the nature of the converted heart. It pertains to the normal operation of the law, or the ministration of righteousness; and it is eternal in its duration. The old-covenant principle vanishes away in every heart when it yields to the Spirit of God. 2 Cor. 3:16; Heb. 8:13. Sin is very deceptive, for it fills the mind with error and leads it to accept it as truth; then when the truth is presented, it rejects it because it does not correspond with that which is already entertained as truth. That is the reason why the Jews did not accept righteousness by faith, but clung so tenaciously to the works of the law. It is the reason why so many in these days have a lame experience in the things of God, and why the plainest truths of God when presented to the mind are rejected because they collide with that which is already entertained as truth. The crucifixion of the carnal nature was the only remedy in the days of Paul; and nothing else will avail now, for the human heart is the same now as it was then. If questioned in regard to the power of God’s word, almost every one will say that it is a living word; but too many will deny their faith by denying its power to operate as taught in the Scriptures of truth. That which we most need is to have the veil removed from the heart, and be able to see the glory of God’s salvation with unveiled face, that we may be changed into the same image.