The Divine Guarantee

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     It is a manifestation of divine grace that God always accomodates his revelation to man's nature and need. And man, being a creature inclined to doubts and fears, requires assurance in spiritual, as well as in other matters. It was upon this basis that men, in executing contracts and making promises to each other, demanded an oath witnessed by some person or thing greater than themselves. Accordingly, although it was not necessary, God confirmed his promises by an oath. "Among men it is customary to swear by something greater than themselves. And if a statement is confirmed by an oath, that is the end of all quibbling. So in this matter, God, wishing to show beyond doubt that his plan was unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath."

     Our eternal hope is conditioned upon our sustaining a proper relationship to God. Surely here, if in any field, for our happiness and peace of mind, we must have a guarantee. We must know that God dwells in us and we in God. This assurance is given by the indwelling Spirit, as John twice affirms in his first epistle. "The man who does obey God's commands lives in God and God lives in him, and the guarantee of his presence within us is the Spirit he has given us" (I John 3:24). "And as I wrote above, the guarantee of our living in him and his living in us is the share of his own Spirit which he gives us" (1 John 4: 13).

     It is lack of recognition of the power of the indwelling Spirit which causes so much distress and disillusionment among members of the community of saints today. Those who regard revelation of God in Christ Jesus as a legalistic arrangement, and who seek to be justified by law can never be certain of their spiritual standing. When asked if they are saved they reply that they hope so, or they are trying to be. There is ever the fear that they do not know as much as they should at the time, or that they are not as good as they ought to be, so they are tormented because of their own frailties and shortcomings. They do not really trust in God but must rely on their own knowledge and strength. They seek to be saved by exercise of their own will power, and not by the power of God's will. Actually, they are trying to earn salvation, and have no way of knowing whether they are paid up to date.

     Such a philosophy breeds envy, hatred and strife. Those who embrace it become jealous of each other and when they cannot attain the heights reached by others, they seek to pull them down to their own level. One of the prevalent symptoms of the legalistic heart is an attempt to explain away the indwelling Spirit. Every passage referring to this gracious promise must be glossed over, or made to conform to the cold ritual of "do and don't." It is unthinkable that those who have reduced the hope of salvation to a long, arduous, toilsome climb up a ladder, with the frightened

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climber holding on by sheer force of will, could ever concede that a Helper has been provided to soothe and sustain from within. Jesus comforted the sorrowing, fearful disciples by promising, "I shall ask the Father to give you someone else to stand by you, to be with you always" (John 14: 16 --J. B. Phillips Translation). We can only conclude that those who are still sad and frightened do not recognize the "someone else," standing by. So the church is filled with the bickering, backbiting, contention, and strife created by the shriveled spirits of the scared and lonely.

     The only way to counteract the sordid condition now existing among the scattered people of God is to recapture the consciousness of the nearness of the Spirit. The unity we are told to guard and maintain in the bond of peace is "the unity of the Spirit." Until we regain and employ this vital concept, whatever we achieve will be merely superficial, and the festering wounds healed over will burst forth again in other areas of the body. The appeals to partisan pride and external influence to manifest a semblance of agreement avail nothing except to postpone the day of division. The works of the flesh can only be killed by the Spirit. "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live," or, as Phillips translates it, "you are on the way to real living." What are some of the ways in which the Helper assists us to enjoy real living? Let us consider a few of them.

1. Encourages Our Hope

     It is neither incidental nor accidental that we have in the midst of the most profound treatise on the indwelling Spirit (Romans 8), an insertion of the topic of hope. The apostle mentions the universal travail of created life, and points out that even those who possess the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly, while awaiting that great event when we shall come into the fulness of sonship, and the culmination of the divine adoptive purpose. He says, "We were saved by this hope, but in our moments of impatience let us remember that hope always means waiting for something we haven't yet got. But if we hope for something we cannot see, then we must settle down to wait for it in patience" (verses 24, 25).

     It is a sad commentary upon the quality of our faith that we no longer grow impatient for the culmination of God's purpose in ourselves. This is not because we have learned patience but because we have become content with our present state. We look upon death as a tragedy. We talk about it in frightened tones. It is regarded as the end, not the means to an end. We think of those who die, not as going home, but as leaving home. Hope is devitalized and weak. We have substituted stolid endurance for patient waiting.

     We have cut the nerve that responds to the call of the beyond. We do not desire to depart and be with Christ. We prefer to remain where we are. The glad expectancy, the vibrant hope, these are no longer characteristic of the Christian, because the Christian character has been altered, affected and amended by contact with the world. "Character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom. 5: 5, 6). The love-filled heart is a product of the Spirit, and the hope which cheers and sustains without disappointment is the result of outpoured love. The Holy Spirit is the funnel through which empty hearts become abundantly enriched, the channel through which hope is kept supplied.

     It was, however, to the vacillating Galatians, that Paul wrote a memorable statement in which he connected faith, hope, and the Spirit, and pointed out the significance of each and the relationship of the three. That statement came as the culmination of one of his most poignant arguments, in which he used the two sons of Abraham and their respective mothers, in an allegorical

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presentation, reaching the conclusion, "So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman." He admonishes them to remain free, having been thus born. "Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let your feet be caught again in the shackles of slavery."

     He then reasons that those who consent to be circumcised are bound to obey all the rest of the law, and says, "If you try to be justified by the law you automatically cut yourself off from the power of Christ; you put yourself outside the range of his grace." It is at this juncture, the statement occurs, "For through the Spirit by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness" (Gal. 5:5). Our hope of righteousness, or justification, is based upon faith which works through love. It is accomplished through the Spirit. So the apostle asks the question, "Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?" (Gal. 2: 3) This proves it is possible for man to start with the Spirit and then lapse into dependence upon the flesh. The Galatians did so by reverting to works of the law, and their hope died within them. The same tragedy is being reenacted in our times, and the Holy Spirit is our only hope of renewing our hope!

2. Acts as Intercessor

     In the art of communication man is woefully weak. He finds it difficult to transmute abstract ideas into such oral or manual signs as will convey the real significance of his innermost feelings. Many of the gravest problems of our society stem from this inadequacy. We constantly misunderstand each other. Frequently the one who is not understood, only complicates matters when he tries to explain or simplify them. Our literature is rife with accounts of ludicrous, and even tragic situations, which have risen because of such shortcomings.

     It is no surprise, then, to realize that there are grave problems in transmission of our inner yearnings to God. We cannot dismiss the matter by glibly quoting, "For your Father knows what you need before you ask him." It is true that Jesus said this, but he did so in condemnation of the practice of "heaping up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words." And, in contrast he told the apostles how to pray. It is evident that God wants us to pray, it is just as plain that he does not want our petitions to consist of empty phrases and a meaningless jumble of words. This very fact makes prayer a serious matter, for there is a right and a wrong way for the creature to approach the majestic Creator of the universe.

     We do not know the language by which communication is carried on in heaven, a purely spiritual realm. We do know there is such a language, and that it is not the same as the language spoken by mortals, for Paul conjectures about speaking "in the tongues of men and of angels." We may be certain in the domain of the infinite there will be no barriers to expression such as we find among finite beings. With all of our growth and development, in communication, there are still deep feelings which are inexpressible. Frequently, it is just such feelings about which we must talk to God.

     Man's extremity is God's opportunity. The Father not only knows what we need before we ask, but also how difficult it is for us to ask for what we need. It is here that the Holy Spirit proves to be our real Helper, by actually becoming an intercessor in our behalf. A word of caution is necessary. We must not confuse an intercessor with a mediator. There is only one mediator, and to become such, he gave himself as a ransom for all. "For there is one God, ' and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). In this same context, however, Paul urges all of us to be intercessors for all men, especially mentioning "kings and all who are in high positions."

     Jesus is both a mediator and an intercessor. "It is Christ that died, yea

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rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8: 34). We have two divine intercessors -- one at the right hand of God in heaven, the other at our own right hand on earth. "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8: 26, 27). A study of this pregnant passage will be especially rewarding to the eager analyst. We suggest the following points.

1. It is admitted that we ought to pray, but we do not know how to do so in acceptable fashion and this is to be regarded as a human weakness.
2. To offset this weakness created by our limited and finite knowledge, a divine Helper has been provided who is not weak or helpless.
3. The human spirit is capable of longings, desires and aspirations, for which social intercourse has not developed adequate vehicles of expression, and thus man is rendered incapable of transmitting these in words. However, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs to deep for words."
4. God searches the hearts of men. His word is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. "And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:12, 13). The Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts and sustains an intimate personal relationship to the will, reason and conscience of man. God knows the mind of the Spirit, just as the Spirit knows the mind of God. As the Spirit comprehends the thoughts of God and reveals them to men (I Cor. 2: 11), so he also comprehends the thoughts of men and relays (not reveals) them to God.
5. This intercession of the Spirit is only for the saints, the sons of God, since the Spirit dwells only in the hearts of those who are sons (Gal. 4: 6).
6. The intercession in behalf of the saints is in conformity with the will of God. There are two phrases in this context which should humble us and make us rejoice. "For we do not know how" and "the Spirit intercedes according to the will of God."

     We do not know it all. We are weak and helpless. We cannot even express our own deep longings. We need help to approach God as we ought. The Holy Spirit is the invisible living link between the heart of man and the mind of God. "We do not know." "He knows what is the mind of the Spirit." If any consideration on earth would motivate one to be a saint, surely this would do so. How pitiable and poverty-stricken are the hearts in which the Spirit has not made his home.

3. Guarantee of Inheritance

     Our present status is that of heirs. As children of God, we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. An heir must live in hope. His is an attitude of expectancy. Since we cannot realize our heritage in its fulness so long as we dwell in clay tabernacles, God has given us a guarantee that He will eventually fulfill all of His promises respecting sonship in its fulness. This is evident in a thrilling passage filled with a wealth of meditative material, contained in Ephesians 1: 13, 14. After speaking of those who first trusted in Christ, he continues.

     "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel

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of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

1. The sequence of events cited is interesting. First, the gospel of salvation was proclaimed, for it is stated that they heard it. The gospel is identified as the word of truth. The gospel is the good news concerning a person, Jesus Christ, and it is affirmed that after hearing this good news they trusted in Christ.
2. The holy Spirit was not given to make believers of them. The good news was proclaimed to achieve that result. After they believed they were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise.
3. The holy Spirit was given as an earnest, or guarantee, of the inheritance. An earnest is not a down payment. When one engaged in a real estate transaction puts up earnest money, that is not of itself a down payment, although it may be so applied when the contract is fully executed. But an earnest is a pledge or guarantee of good faith or sincerity of intention. The holy Spirit is not a down payment on eternal life. He is given as a guarantee that God will fulfill His promise or covenant.
4. We cannot receive the inheritance ,.until the redemption of the purchased possession." There is something which God has purchased, and now possesses, but it has not yet been redeemed, and the inheritance cannot be realized until it is redeemed. By the death of Jesus, our spirits were redeemed and our bodies were purchased. That these latter were not redeemed is proved by the fact that we must all die. It is still appointed unto men once to die. Because our spirits have been redeemed we need not experience the second death. "He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death" (Rev. 2: 11). But because our bodies have not been redeemed we must experience physical death.
        That our bodies have been bought and are now possessed as a dwelling place of Deity is established by I Corinthians 6: 19, 20. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are his."
   
5. The redemption of the purchased possession will be "unto the praise of his glory." This expression occurs three times in the chapter, in verses 6, 12, 14. In the last instance it indicates the result when the work of God is consummated by our arrival at the fulness of sonship. God's purpose as it relates to us will have been realized in its ultimate degree.
6. How do we know that the redemption of the purchased possession is the redemption of the body by its arrival at a state of incorruption and immortality? The answer is found in Romans 8: 22, 23, which we here quote from J. B. Phillips' translation. "It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail. And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realized our sonship in him."

     The body, while unredeemed, is flesh and blood. Such a body is not adapted to an eternal state, therefore, is incapable of receiving the inheritance until it is changed, or redeemed from death. "For I assure you, my brothers, it is utterly impossible for flesh and blood to possess the kingdom of God. The transitory could never possess the everlasting" (I Cor. 15:50). The redemption of the body will result in a great change or transformation. "For this perishable nature of ours must be wrapped in imperishability; these bodies which are mortal must be wrapped in immortality. So when the perishable is lost in the imperishable, the mortal lost in the immortal, this saying will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory."

     After we demonstrate our belief and trust in Jesus, through response to the

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gospel, the Spirit is given us as a guarantee that eternal life will be inherited when our bodies are redeemed from the clutch of death. "He has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Cor. 1:22). "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2 Cor. 5: 5). "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4: 30).

4. Produces Fruit of Holiness

     In the wonderful Galatian letter which contains a gripping description of the conflict which rages between the flesh and Spirit, the apostle presents in one brief compass a catalogue of the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. He asserts in positive language that the works of the flesh debar from kingdom inheritance. As he had previously warned, he continues to warn against indulgence in immorality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like."

     When he turns to the fruits of the Spirit, he asserts that no law exists against these. Neither God nor man ever had to enact legislation to curb them. It is noteworthy, that these things are products of the Holy Spirit. They are not merely the result of our own resolution, determination or will power. They come about, not so much because of what is in us, as they do because of who is in us. These fruits are produced in and through us, rather than by us. Our responsibility requires full commitment unto God, that is, an unreserved surrender of our personality. The Spirit is then able through such an agent to produce the fruits of righteousness.

     "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Study this list carefully. It contains all of those qualities so essential to the congregation of saints, and yet so frequently lacking. Many groups of believers have compiled an unenviable history of continued bickering and contention. Each new generation has been bequeathed a heritage of animosity, and peace never reigns. Is this not indicative of a quenching of the Spirit? Where hate, anger and strife have taken the place of love, joy, and peace, is it not evident that flesh has triumphed over the aggrieved Spirit? Does not the existence in many areas of two or more congregations, each professing to be the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, and each assailing the others in open combat, bear eloquent testimony that the Holy Spirit is not in control of the hearts of men?

     We should realize now that we are not going to be saved eternally by having the "right name" over the door of a meetinghouse, but by making our hearts the dwelling place of the Spirit. What good will it do us on earth to add to the heavy freight of division and strife under which the burdened world groans, if we lose our right to heaven? Ask yourself what the congregation of which you are a member has ever contributed to alleviation of universal misery? What has really been accomplished towards a transformation of the sin-cursed earth? Many congregations, proud and arrogant in their own self-righteousness, and mistaking their narrow exclusivism for loyalty to God, are not even known outside their own environs, and even there have earned the disrespect of those who know them best because of their attitude toward others. This is the result of the legalistic philosophy which has been palmed off on the ignorant and indifferent as "the faith once delivered to the saints." It is the fruition of the party spirit which chokes out like tares the effect of the Holy Spirit.

     More than anything else, the members of the church of God today need to repent. They need to view with remorse the wreckage with which they have bestrewn the path of their existence; they need to humble themselves, and upon bended knee confess their sin of division and that of their fathers. They need to implore the Holy Spirit to once again fill

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chastened and trembling hearts, and in this new attitude to go forth conquering, and to conquer. Perhaps we need once more to hold such a prayer gathering as characterized the young church in Jerusalem. "When they had prayed their meeting-place was shaken; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God fearlessly." The Spirit is the key to our problems.