T. Austin-Sparks · 1 of 3

Faith in Christ in Relation to Divine Purpose

"...that I might live unto God... that which I now live in the flesh, I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me". Galatians 2:19-20.

Let us for a moment reflect upon that well-known statement: "...that I might live unto God... I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and that which I now live... I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God..."

I think it is a matter of very great importance indeed that we should recognize the objective aspect of the Apostle's faith, and of the faith which is to be likewise in us. I mean that the Lord Jesus is the object of faith as presented here, and that makes faith objective, and if we grasped that as we should, clearly and strongly, it would make us very safe, and it would deliver many of the Lord's people from those perils which so often beset them.

Now note: the Apostle says, "I have been crucified with Christ..."; not, I am being crucified with Christ; not, I am going to be crucified with Christ; not, I once started being crucified with Christ and am going on being crucified with Christ to the end. That is not what is said, but, "I have been crucified with Christ". What he means is that the thing was done in totality when Christ was crucified; not that a part of me was crucified, and a good deal more left to be crucified, but the whole was crucified in Him. Now says he, in effect, I have definitely accepted that as a full and complete thing, an actuality: in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me, I have been crucified. That is where the life of faith begins. It was done.

Faith in the Indwelling Christ

It is not therefore, my business to be seeking every day to be crucified, to be taking myself into account and keeping myself in all that I am by nature in view, in order that it may be crucified: all that rests entirely with Him, as I repose faith in Him. That is not my business, it is His. I have been crucified, I am alive; and yet it is no longer I, but Christ who liveth in me. Now my position is one of faith in Him, who in Himself took me to the Cross, in whom I was crucified, who gave Himself up for me; faith in Him, that He will perfect all that which concerns me. I repose faith in Him objectively as one who, while in me, linked with me, is nevertheless apart from me in Himself. Faith in Him to make everything good was bound up with that Cross. It is not a case of my worry, my care, my fret, my anxiety, my strain, but of faith in the Son of God.

Now if you have any question as to whether that is the meaning of the word here, and the value of it, you have just to look at the context. In what connection did Paul say this? "I through the law died unto the law... I have been crucified with Christ." The connection is with the law. What was the purpose and object of the law? The law is good, and the law is perfect, and the law is intended to make us God-like, to reproduce godliness or God-likeness, or godly features in us. The law is an expression of God's mind, what God's thought and attitude is toward life, both against many things and for many things. Thus the law was intended to make men holy, to make men perfect, and the Apostle applied himself to the law in order to be holy, to be according to God's mind. He found that the law could not effect this, because of what he himself was. Paul makes this clear in the letter to the Romans, where he shows that the failure of the law was "because of the weakness of the flesh". Nevertheless, that was the object of the law.

The law, then, has failed because of weak man; but there is a strong Son of God. I have been crucified unto the law, in order to live unto the strong Son of God. The law is exchanged for the Son of God. The Son of God takes the place of the law. The law cannot make God-like, but the strong Son of God can, and that because He lives in me. The law found nothing in me of strength, of capacity, of ability to satisfy God. That is where the law failed, because there was nothing in me. But now Christ lives in me; and I live; "yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me". Not then by straining to keep the law, which ever means failure, but by trusting in the Son of God, I reach God's end, and come to the place where the law was intended to bring me, but failed so to do because of there being no strength, no good in me. But now I get to that end because Christ is in me and able to bring me to it, and all that is required is that I repose implicit faith in Him, not continually worrying about my crucifixion. That is done in Christ, and I leave all the outworking of that with Him. Oh, the infinite peril, the multitudes of perils in that self-consciousness which is born of a wrong kind of subjectivity, a subjectivity which is occupied with what we are and what we are not, instead of the right kind of subjectivity. Christ is the subject within, and I am occupied with Him - "faith which is in the Son of God"; occupied, not with my imperfection, but with His perfection; not with my weakness, but with His strength; not with my inability, but with His power; not with myself at all in any way, but with Him. The occupation of the man of faith is with the Son of God, "who loved me, and gave himself up for me".

So we must never be found occupied with how we happen to be at the moment, or at any time. It is just possible to be occupied with ourselves when we are feeling fine, and saying, We are better today. That may be as fatal a ground for the enemy to catch us upon as our being occupied with the miserable side of our beings. No, not good, bad, or indifferent; none of the phases or features of our selves and our own condition must hold us at any time, but we must ever be "looking off unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith".