THE CROWNING CONTRAST between the glorious gospel of God's grace and the
Circumcision may be expressed in the words buried, ascended, and
seated. God has reached down deeper for us and has raised us higher to a
more glorious and permanent position than even the twelve apostles who
will share Christ's throne in the millennium. Peter will not even be the
porter at heaven's gate, as is usually assumed. He will not ascend to
heaven at all, for he will sit on his throne on earth, judging one of the
tribes of Israel (Matt.19:28) during the thousand years. And his is a very
special privilege which only the twelve apostles will share. In contrast,
we, in spirit, have all been buried and have ascended and are seated
together in Christ among the celestials. Only a few of the Circumcision
attain to a high place in His earthly kingdom, for it is based on reward,
while all who believe now ascend and sit with Him among the celestials,
for it is the gift of grace.
BURIED WITH CHRIST
Those who have been crucified with Christ have also been buried or
entombed with Him (Rom.6:4; Col.2:12,). Figuratively, in spirit and in
truth, their flesh has been consigned to the grave, where sin and the law
can have no further power over them. This is directly opposed to the
evangel of the Circumcision, for it is Israel after the flesh who are to
rule over the nations as kings and priests in the day of Yahweh. They do
not die to the law, for it is written on their hearts of flesh
(Ezek.36:26,27). They do not die to sin, but are sustained by eating the
fruit of the tree of life and drinking the water of life (Rev.22:1,2). God
is not through with His demonstration of the futility of the flesh in
their case. Not only Israel must be further tested under a perfect
government, but the nations also must be put under ideal conditions to
show the weakness of the flesh. Today mankind might say that it has had no
chance. Everything, within and without, is against it. Then this will be
reversed, especially in Israel. It is only as we see that, even under the
best environment, mankind is a failure apart from God, that we realize
that burial is the only fate that fits the race that sprung from Adam.
In the Circumcision evangel the Uncircumcision are given a low place
indeed, altogether subordinate to the favored nation. But this is not
nearly so low as that assigned to them in our gospel of grace. Then we
were aliens, afar off, unclean curs in the eyes of a Jew. Even in the
millennium the nations will continue to rank far below Israel. But now God
deals with us as dead and buried, put beneath the soil lest we pollute the
atmosphere. If a live cur is better than a dead lion, what is our worth as
a dead cur? In ourselves, in God's estimate, we have sunk far below the
Circumcision. If we were to reason about the matter logically, then the
proper place of the believer among the nations today should be far beneath
that of any other era. Let us not miss this or refuse its humiliating
message, for it is the essential foundation for grace. If the evangel Paul
preached were for people so much better than the Jews that they will be
rewarded with heaven for their goodness, then grace is gone. Then there is
no evangel at all. Our burial makes it a superlatively gracious evangel,
just as our ascent to the celestials and seat in Him makes it the most
glorious of all the gospel God has given.
When Christ was entombed it was the first step in His exaltation to the
highest place in the universe. His crucifixion had brought Him to the
deepest depth. As His mediatorial, sacrificial work was finished, nothing
more was needed to justify mankind and reconcile the universe, so far as
His suffering was concerned.
Indeed, in death no suffering was possible. Hence He was not hurried
away into a criminal's grave, to go to corruption among the desecrated
dead. Instead, a rich man gave Him his tomb, and His body was given tender
care by His loving disciples. Is it not a marvel that His descent to the
deepest depth on earth should fit Him for the highest heights of heaven?
The same marvel is seen in our evangel. This tremendous contrast should
enable us to grasp the fullness of God's grace. We miss this overwhelming
favor if we confuse the two evangels. In one, a chosen nation is exalted
to a promised place of supremacy on the earth. In the other, the dregs of
humanity are exalted to supernal glory in the heavens, quite the reverse
of what they expect or deserve.
No stranger, no uncircumcised alien, could be accorded a place in the
tomb of an Israelite. Having been with Him in His crucifixion, we would be
hustled off to the potter's field, and left to go to corruption among the
dishonored dead, unless, indeed, our carcasses were burned in Gehenna,
along with the rubbish and offal of the city. I once wondered why the
priests bought a potter's field as a burial ground with the ill-gotten
gain of Judas' betrayal. After living in Palestine, I have thought it
likely that the field was something like the tombs of that day, or the
catacombs, due to the removal of the clay deposits, and thus would provide
an easy method of disposing of the carcasses of those who had no tomb of
their own, and who did not belong to the favored nation.
The Field of the Potter, the cemetery for strangers, is the only proper
burial place for the Uncircumcision, who could have no share in the tombs
of Israel (Matt. 27:7). When I explored some of the tombs near Jerusalem I
marvelled at the vast amount of toil needed to hew them out of the solid
stone. It was a great disgrace for a man to be denied burial in the tombs
of his fathers (1 Kings 13:22). Some of the kings were not entombed in the
royal sepulchers (2 Chron.21:20; 24:25; 24:27). This is in line with the
future of Israel, whose bodies will not be changed like ours, and fitted
for a new sphere altogether. Like the new birth, in contrast with the new
creation, their's will be more of a renewal than a complete
reconstruction. This is suggested in the mode of burial. Is that why the
figure changes from entombment to planting (Rom.6:4,5)?
ASCENDED WITH CHRIST
Christ ascended to His Father soon after His rousing from the dead
(John 20:17). About forty days later, He again ascended from the midst of
the apostles, on the mount of Olives. The latter event is the one usually
referred to as the ascension. The former has been almost forgotten, and
is usually ignored. Yet this first ascension, before He was touched by
human hands, should be of overwhelming interest to us in this
administration of grace. The one from Olivet is altogether concerned with
the coming kingdom. Is it not strange that our Lord would not allow Miriam
to touch Him at that time? A week or so later He invited doubting Thomas
to thrust his hand into His side. Israel is the nation that knew Him
according to the flesh. He was physically of the same stock. But Paul,
even though he also was related to Him by fleshly ties, repudiates them (2
Cor.5:16). Would not our Lord's refusal to allow anyone to touch Him
indicate that He could not concern himself with Israel until after He had
gone on high and had been crowned with His celestial honors, and invested
with those greater glories which His sacrifice deserved? Among these was
the Headship of the universe and of that figurative body which would be
composed of all who had, in spirit, been crucified with Him, and buried
with Him, and now ascended with Him before His public ascension on
Olivet.
The advent of Christ's presence when He comes to set up His kingdom
will take place where He ascended. As we read in the prophets, His feet
stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is adjoining Jerusalem on
the east (Zech.14:4), the very spot from which He ascended. I have spent
much time on this sacred ridge, meditating on the marvelous scene which it
has already witnessed at His ascension, and the far more glorious
spectacle when He returns in the future. How fitting it is that the great
King should reappear at the very point of His departure! It is a
magnificent location, which can be seen from almost every part of
Jerusalem, and even from beyond the Jordan on the east. Views of the whole
city are usually taken from this site, as it is considerably higher and
gives an unobstructed view of every part.
For many years, before I fully realized that Paul had given us a prior
expectation, I used the words, "this Jesus Who is being taken up from you
into heaven shall come in the same manner as you gaze upon Him going into
heaven," in order to prove that Christ would return personally and
visibly. But I failed to note that His coming to Olivet is to His
earthly people. For us He does not come to the earth at all, but to the
air. The truth for us is found in Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, not
in Peter's address to the Jews. Unless we had Paul's epistles to the
nations, we would never have known the great truths involved in His
crucifixion, His burial, and His ascension. For us Christ did not ascend
publicly from the midst of His followers gathered on Olivet. He ascended
as He will come, quite unknown to the world, unseen and unsuspected. At
His return for us he will come back to within hail of the graves of those
who, in spirit, had been buried with Him, and calls them to ascend to Him
in the air, not to return and rule on earth, but to rise to heights
supernal to reign with Him in realms celestial.
The uppermost thought in the mind of the disciples was the
establishment of the kingdom. They asked Him, "Lord, art Thou at this time
restoring the kingdom to Israel?" And, indeed, why was it not brought in
at that time? The foundation had been laid. The great Sacrifice had been
offered. The time was fulfilled. The King had been raised from the dead.
But God's great demonstration of the infirmity and futility of the flesh
would not be complete until this kingdom has been heralded, both in and
out of the land, and rejected by the nation as a whole, under conditions
such as cannot obtain in the Kingdom itself. The story of the book of
Acts, like the account of the forty years in the wilderness, is a record
of the failure of the flesh. Like the history of the kings of Israel, it
shows how far the flesh is from the goal of God. To have restored the
kingdom at that time would have made the experiment impossible.
Nevertheless they are led out to the actual spot and shown the very manner
in which He will return to set up the Kingdom for which they longed.
The context, the setting, everything connected with the Olivet
ascension, shows that it has to do with Israel and the return of the
Messiah in glory to the earth. Then it is that He will come on the clouds
of heaven (Matt.24:30). True, we shall be caught up in clouds to meet
Him when He comes for us, but He will not come on the clouds at that
time (Thess.4:17). Our meeting will be in the air, not on the mount of
Olives. The greatest difference of all is found in the fact that the
disciples did not ascend. The Circumcision evangel is utterly at variance
with any such action. At this previous ascension from the garden of the
tomb, in spirit, He took us with Him. If we were crucified with Him and
buried with Him, then we also ascended with Him before He made any
physical contact with His Circumcision saints. And, in contrast to the
little group of disciples gazing at Him being taken from them, He left
none of us behind upon the earth, but brought us all into His heavenly
haven above.
SEATED TOGETHER IN CHRIST
The union of Circumcision with Uncircumcision is one of the prime
points of contrast between the two evangels. Proselytes were joined to
Israel by a lengthy physical process. But the Circumcision who believe in
this gracious era were made one with us in Christ when He was vivified,
and are seated together with us in Him among the celestials (Eph.2:5,6).
The great grace shown to the Circumcision under the evangel of the
Uncircumcision is in striking contrast to the rejection, or tardy
acceptance of the Uncircumcision who wished to join Yahweh's fleshly
people.
Union, or incorporation into the nation of Israel, is primarily a
matter of the flesh. Even those born into it are excluded if they have
certain physical defects (Deut.23:1,2). An Ammonite or a Moabite was not
allowed to enter the congregation of Yahweh until the tenth generation,
because they were hostile to Israel at the exodus from Egypt, and tried to
get Balaam to curse God's people. Yet an Edomite or an Egyptian and their
children are shut out only to the third generation (Deut.23:3-8). The
stranger who sojourns among them cannot keep the passover with them unless
he is first circumcised in flesh (Ex.12:48).
Many, seem to think that "gentiles" were not excluded from Israel when
they believed the Kingdom evangel, and that the heralding of the Kingdom
did away with all such barriers. On the contrary, our Lord Himself made it
plain that He was not commissioned except for the lost sheep of the house
of Israel (Matt.15:24). When the Canaanitish woman sought to have the
demons driven out of her daughter, she actually worshiped Him, and pleaded
with Him to help her. Yet He said, "It is not ideal to be taking the
children's bread and be casting it to the puppies." All that He gave her
were the scraps that Israel let fall under the table. Only her great faith
brought the blessing she desired, despite the hindrance of the flesh. Even
then she was not united to Israel, and could not enter the sanctuary in
which Yahweh had his dwelling place.
But was not Cornelius admitted into the sacred circle of the
Circumcision? He was a devout man, who feared God with his entire house,
giving many alms and beseeching God continually. Peter, by means of a
vision, was assured that he was not common or unclean. God Himself had
cleansed him. Let us suppose that such a man were among us today, only,
instead of a gentile, he is a Jew. Would we receive him into fellowship?
Of course we would! But it is very evident that he was not accepted by
the Jews, for they opposed Peter, and even after they knew that the holy
spirit had been poured out upon him and his friends, after they had been
baptized, and after they manifested the gift of tongues, they are not
joined to the nation of Israel. The Jews concluded from his case that God
gives repentance unto life to the other nations also. And why is he
excluded? He was uncircumcised! He had spiritual blessings bestowed upon
him, but these were not the link in the evangel of the Circumcision. He is
an example of the place given to the other nations in the Kingdom. They
are blessed through Israel, but are not joined to the holy nation.
So persistent is the feeling of exclusiveness among the Circumcision
that it is quite prominent even today among Jewish believers. The great
church organizations almost all welcome Israelites to their communion, and
there is no thought of keeping them by themselves. In fact, they are often
accorded an honored place, because of their physical relationship with our
Lord. I have never heard of a "gentile" Christian church. But wherever
numbers of Jews believe there seems to be a tendency to form a distinct
organization, a "Jewish" Christian communion, with a distinct task and
sometimes even with a distinct faith, in anticipation of the time of the
end, after the ecclesia is gone, and the evangel of the Kingdom is once
more in force.
There was considerable sentiment among believers on the continent of
Europe in favor of a separate Jewish Christian organization, to work
principally among their brethren according to the flesh. Later another
similar movement was started in Switzerland, but the work is now centered
in England. Even in the city where this is written there is a "Christian
synagogue," with a radio ministry over the whole United States, especially
devoted, not only to the evangelization of the Jews, but with a separate
Jewish communion. I am quite sure that none of these realize that their
separation is based on the flesh, and does not accord with the spiritual
union which characterizes all saints in this day of transcendent grace.
These modern examples should help us to grasp the vital distinction
between the union of Circumcision and Uncircumcision in spirit in this
era, and that in flesh in the past and in the future.
Much of the grace which characterizes God's present work, in contrast
to that connected with the Kingdom to Israel is conveyed to us by the
connectives TOGETHER and IN. Instead of being related to Messiah by ties
of flesh, we are united to Christ by that which we have in common with
Him, or by being figuratively in Him. Because these are spiritual
realities, they are not hampered by the limitations of time or space. We
had much in Him and with Him long before our birth. Yet the actual
enjoyment of our blessings will be in a sphere for which we are not fitted
as we are. He does not only act for us as our Saviour, but unites us
with Him and counts us in Him in His official place and glory. These
utterly transcend His physical contacts with saints in Israel.
The transcendent riches of God's grace will be displayed in the
on-coming eons in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. This is not yet
apparent except to the eye of faith. Physically, believers among the
nations have not been seated together with believing Israelites among the
celestials. We are all too conscious of our lowly and corruptible
carcasses on the earth. Only by faith can we see ourselves in anticipation
with immortal powerful, glorious, spiritual bodies, like that of Christ,
our Saviour and Lord, seated among the celestials. There will be no real
rest for us down here. Up there it would be ineffable even to stand in
the presence of His majesty. Yet we shall sit at perfect ease, being
conscious that not we alone are immeasurably blessed, but that our
blessing will reveal the depths of God's love to an amazed universe, who
will see through us what His grace can achieve, and so the worship and the
acclaim and the glory will be His.
