A Job Experience # 12

Job and His Friends

We have said before that in Revelation, chapters two and three, the Holy Spirit has summed up five of the most subtle evil strategies that satan uses against the churches. And they are: 1. the synagogue of satan (2:9); 2. where satan's seat (throne) is (2:13); 3. where satan dwelleth (2:13); 4. the depths of satan (2:24); and 5. the synagogue of satan (3:9). And it is vital that we understand why this evil list begins and ends with "the synagogue of satan," for this means that the other three cannot gain the ground needed to be effective if this and last strategy is triumphed over. "The synagogue of satan" begins and sums up this evil list; and in both instances, the Word explains what this evil is - it is those "which say they are Jews and are not." In Romans 2:28 and 29, the Holy Spirit through Paul explains what this means:

"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."

Then Paul tells us n Philippians 3:3:

"For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God, and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearance."

No wonder at the end of Paul's life, we find this brother crying that he "may [actually] be found and known as in Him (in Christ), not having any (self-achieved) righteousness that can be called my own ..." (Phil. 3:9). Paul understood the great threat of "the synagogue of satan," - those which say they are Jews, and are not. He understood that the religious nature of the old man could be used by the enemy to stop Christ from becoming a living reality in the lives of God's people. Paul understood that only that which is the actual reality of Christ in our lives can be of eternal value unto God.

In Ephesians 4:22 and Colossians 3:9, we are told that there is only one way to deal with the old man, which, as we know, includes the religious nature; the old man must be "put off." Now, we all agree that the old man, the adamic nature, must be "put off," but how do we "put off the old man?"

First of all, in order to put off the old man, we need to discern just what the old man is; and in the measure that there is an increase of the reality of Christ in our innermost being, in that measure we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to discern that which is of the "old man." And in the measure that there is an increase of Christ's reality in our lives, in that measure we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to "put off the old man."

And how do we have an increase of the reality of Christ in our innermost being? Well, if we willingly yield to the purgings and chastenings of the Lord, if we willingly yield to God's Way of dealing with us - which is always the way of the Cross, and its principle of self-denial - then, the Word of God makes it clear that there will be an increase of the reality of Christ in our innermost being (Luke 9:23; Romans 5 through 8; Hebrews 12; etc.)

Consequently, let us say again, the more we yield to the way of the Lord's purgings and chastenings, the greater the increase of the reality of Christ in our innermost being; and the greater the increase of Christ's reality, in and through our lives, the more we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to discern that which is of the old man, and, thereby, "put off the old man." Therefore, it is the increase of the reality of Christ in our innermost being, through the means of purging and chastening, that enables us to discern that which is of the religious nature, both in our own life, and in the lives of others.

Remember, in a Christian, the religious nature of the old man is that which takes hold of the Holy things of God when there is not enough of the reality of Christ in our lives. Therefore in the Book of Job, we find satan, "the leviathan," coming against one man in order to stop Christ's reality from being expressed in Job's life; and in Revelation, we find satan, that "twisted serpent," bringing to bear all of his consummate power against the churches of every age and generation in order to stop the Church from becoming the living reality of Christ.

In the Book of Job, the Lord tells us that "the leviathan" is "king over all of the sons of pride"; and in a Christian, pride is self-righteousness - it is a religious self-achieved-righteousness. And, beloved, if any of us think we are past this,that we are more mature than this, let us remember Paul who is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of one who endured until God had His End. Let us remember that at the end of his life, this one who had said, "... for me to live is Christ (is the reality, is the living expressing of Christ)," this one also cried: " ... that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any (self-achieved) righteousness that can be called my own" (Phil. 3:9). Self-achieved righteousness must have been a problem for Paul (as it is for all of us) or he would not have prayed in such a way. But, at the same time, we also find Paul praying the answer to the problem of any self-achieved righteousness when he prays for a greater measure of the reality of Christ to be experienced in and through his life.

He prays: "... that I might come to know Him in an experiential way, and to come to know experientially the power of His resurrection and a joint-participation in His sufferings, being brought to the place where my life will radiate a likeness to His death ..." (Phil. 3:10).

Now, with this in mind, let us return to Job and his friends and discover how God brought about the reality of Christ in their lives; and this will help us to see how the Lord is working in our lives to bring about a greater expression of Christ. When the Lord is leading us into a deeper realm of purging, because there is not enough of the reality of Christ in our lives, we have found that the faithful respond to this in different ways. Remember, the faithful of God are those who have chosen to endure until God has His End through His Way. So, let us examine some of the ways that the faithful respond to God's dealings.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 13)