T. Austin-Sparks · 1 of 4

God's Supreme Interest in Man

"But now put ye away all these: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth: lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of Him That created him: where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is All, and in all" (Colossians 3:8–11; NASB).

May I say, dear friends, as we approach the message that is in these words, my real and very strong concern is that we shall touch reality at this time, that we shall go beyond theory, beyond teaching as such, and meet the Lord at the point of deep reality, where His need in us is really met and our need in Him is met. We are in times when the build­up of Christian truth, teaching, and knowledge is immense; and the corresponding reality in life is by no means commensurate. There is a margin, a gap, between what is known and what is lived. And we want to get into that gap as the Lord may enable us, and close it up, or let Him close it up, so far as we are concerned at this time, that truth and life shall come close together, and indeed become one. And that is the object which is in my heart at this time - not to say so much more, however true it might be, but really to touch very vital issues. Now there may be a lot said, but I have one thought and object that is governing everything that will be said. All will be gathered around just one issue, which I trust will become increasingly clear as we go on.

Having said that, let us look at this fragment of the Word which we have just read in verses nine through eleven in the third chapter of the Letter to the Colossians. We will analyze it, break it up, and note the five very distinct points that are touched upon by the Apostle in these words.

First of all, there is a retrospect to the Creator and the created, "being renewed... after the Image of Him that created him." That is a throwback to creation and the Creator. Just note it, for we are going to take up each of these points separately. But number one is this retrospective touch upon the beginning of everything in the Creator and the created, "The image of Him that created..."

Secondly, the pattern and purpose of the Creator in the creation, "being renewed... after the image of Him that created him." The pattern, the image, the purpose, the renewal of that image.

Thirdly, the real nature and effect of the crisis in the life of Christians. Something has happened in the life of Christians, which marks the beginning of a process, a process indicated by these words, "being renewed," made anew, made over again. The crisis in the life of the believer when something happened: "ye put off... and ye put on." That's the nature and meaning and the effect of the great crisis in the life of the Christian.

Fourthly, the occupation and energy of the Holy Spirit Who is doing this renewing work, "being renewed." Well, we are not doing it, either for ourselves or for other people, and other people are not doing it for us. This is the occupation and the energy of the Creator's Spirit. He, Who brooded over the chaos and brought out of the chaos the Divine Order, is the same Spirit now occupied with His own energy in making anew, according to the image, renewing; the activity of the Holy Spirit.

And in the fifth place, the exclusiveness and the inclusiveness of Christ. That is the last statement, "where there cannot be." That's the right kind of exclusiveness, or exclusivism. A whole realm and system and order and nature is excluded: "There cannot be...." But, the inclusiveness is just Christ, "Christ is All, and in All." That's the analysis of these verses, very simple and to the point, but how very comprehensive and how very important and meaningful. Well, let us begin to take them up, one at a time.

The Creator And The Created

Firstly, then, man and His Creator. The Creator and the created. Perhaps it would be as well if we arranged several other passages alongside of this one, going back to the beginning of this same letter in chapter one and verse sixteen: "For in Him were all things, all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist... that in all things He might have the pre­eminence... through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself." The center and circumference of all things is Christ, the Creator of all things.

Then, familiar words in John's Gospel, in chapter one and verse three: "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that hath been made."

John and Paul are one in perfect agreement on this matter of Who was the Originator of all things.

Then to the Letter to the Romans, chapter eleven. It is always good to have, it is right to have, an adequate scriptural basis for what we are saying. Chapter eleven and verse thirty-six: "For of Him, and through Him, and unto Him, are all things."

And one more in the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter eight and verse six: "...There is One God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we unto Him; and One Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and we through Him." Well, that establishes this: what we have called the throwback to the Creator and the created.

Then, we have of course, in order to come to these words about renewing, or making anew, or starting again, a process of recovery, we have to contemplate that terrible disintegration of the man to whom these scriptures are referring. Yes, the disruption of human life, the disruption of every member of the human race. We need not argue, I think, from Scripture on this, because the argument is finished immediately when we consider ourselves, and mankind as we know mankind.

We are perhaps more aware today than ever of this disruption, this disintegration in human life, that there is a fundamental schism in man, and in mankind. And schism, wherever it is found, always means frustration. Frustration is the evidence of a schism, a divisiveness in human life and in human nature. And we see this of course right from the beginning of history as recorded in the Bible. All the way through, and coming out in our time in a consummate way, there is frustration in human life. Continuous frustration.

Every new step which is thought to be a step of progress, of advancement, of development, brings with it its own frustrations. No matter how far advanced, how fully developed, how phenomenal the enlargement of knowledge and of ability to do and to achieve; no matter how great, how large, how amazing, the frustration goes with it in the same measure until we reach the point in the world's development which we have reached in our own time when discovery, when invention, when the mastery of forces in this universe and bringing them into the service of man, are terrible and completely amazing. We would never never have believed it only a few years ago. There, right alongside of it is its own undoing and those who know most, are most terrified of what they have put their hands upon. The fearful possibilities and potentialities which they wish they'd never discovered, never known. Frustration runs hand in hand through history with every fresh development and movement. It is there in human life, it is in the creation, and it is in the universe as it now is. And God Himself has taken pains to bring this out for man's realisation.

For instance, the Law as we have it in the Old Testament, as we have it vested in the nation, chosen for this very purpose to be God's object lesson to all the nations, to all the world. The Law! The Apostle Paul puts his finger upon that whole system with its long history, its meticulous application, and he says, "The Law was given in order to show how impotent man is." If ever there was a thing employed by Almighty God to demonstrate and expose the weakness of man, it was the Law. That's the Law of Moses, as it is called, the Law of God.

The Apostlem this same apostle who has made such a terrible declaration as to the effect of the Law,that it has only brought to light man's weakness, impotence, helplessness. It hasn't done anything to save man, but rather to condemn him. That man writes a chapter, a whole chapter in these terms: "The good that I would do, and I would do it with all my heart, I do not. And the evil that I would not, with all my heart would not, I struggle and I strive and I labor and I groan not to do these things, the evil that I would not, that I do. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me? How did ever I know that the thing that was right that it should be done? How ever did I discover that the thing was wrong that I should not do it? The Law made me know right and wrong and left me paralyzed, utterly incapable of rising to it, either to say: No! or to say Yes! Oh, wretched man!" Isn't that frustration? And isn't that history up to date? Well, that is the Law of Moses.