GROWING IN LOVE, ABIDING IN CHRIST

George Müller gave this sermon at the Conference of Christians at Clifton, England, on November 6, 1866.

It is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49, NIV)

What I will speak on this evening will have special reference to the conference’s topic. First, a few words as to the first Adam. It is a weighty thought that it is possible there are some here present who at this moment only belong to the first Adam, and not to the second. If that’s the case, then they are dead in trespasses and sins at this present moment; they are ruined still; they have before them still the blackness and darkness of despair; they have before them still eternal woe and misery. Now, dear friends, as I love your souls, I desire to refer to the fact that those present here who now by the grace of God belong to the Lord Jesus Christ were once as you are now, but it has pleased God in the riches of His grace to bring us out of that state. And what He has done for us, He is willing to do for you. In the riches of His grace, He has given His only begotten Son, punished Him, wounded Him and bruised Him in our place. The punishment due to us, who are guilty, wicked sinners, was laid on Jesus, who shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins. The wrath of God, that ought to have been poured on us for eternity, fell on Him. And all God expects from sinners is that they accept what He so freely and graciously has the heart to give! He looks not for us to do something to assist or help the work of Christ, but that we entirely rest our hope on that which our worthy Lord accomplished on the cross for us. So that the poor sinner who believes in Jesus, who trusts in Jesus for the salvation of his soul, shall obtain full, free, complete forgiveness for all his numberless transgressions, through faith in Him.

Receiving forgiveness AT ONCE, not some day, not after we die, not when Jesus comes again, but INSTANTLY. We receive it when we rest for salvation upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only so, but we become, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the children of God. Through faith, we are united to the heavenly family, of which our worthy Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam, is the Head. By far, I do not doubt that the greater number now present belong to that family. But let me invite those who are conscious that they only belong to the first Adam to look to Jesus, to accept what God so graciously offers in Jesus—and then their sins will be pardoned.

To those who do believe in Jesus, who do trust in Him for salvation, who belong to the Lord Jesus—the second Adam, the Head of God’s heavenly family—how should we live while we are still here on earth? It isn’t the question of how we shall be when the sons of God are revealed, when the second Adam, our Lord from heaven, is made fully known. Then we will be filled with love, perfectly united, together forever, loving one another perfectly, tending to and caring for each other. There will be no weakness, ignorance, or imperfection. But now, while we still live in partial understanding, how should we walk as members of this heavenly family? The thing to recall here is what we have and what we are we have and are by the grace of God! How did we come to believe in the Lord Jesus? That we are at His side? That we look to Jesus as our Head, trusting in Him for salvation? How is it that we have the life of the risen Jesus, that we are raised up and made alive in Him, sitting with Him in heavenly places? Truly, brothers and sisters, none of this is by our own doing. It’s all because of the grace of God! We believe in Jesus and He has been revealed to our hearts by this grace. Not only was He given by the Father through grace, but it’s through grace that He has ever been made known within us.

We see then that these blessings come in the way of grace, and every other spiritual blessing is through the way of grace also. How should we treat one another while we remain on earth for a little while longer in our weakness and limited understanding? Surely we should be patient, gentle and tender with one another, always remembering that if we are stronger than others, it is owed to the grace of God. Or if we see truth a little more clearly, that is only because of His grace that we do—though, in reality, we are weaker and more ignorant than our brothers and sisters, and we only see ourselves to be the stronger or wiser ones. 

Oh, let us bear with each other in love! We are part of the heavenly family. In a little while, Jesus will come again and take us to be with Himself. Yes, we are part of the heavenly family, and in a little while, we shall be together in eternity, where perfect harmony and love abide. Surely, then, while we are yet on earth, we may love one another, bearing with and caring for one another.

If we are well instructed, strong, or rich, why are we these things? For this purpose—that we might share from the abundance of grace God has given us with those who have received less. Just as the clouds pour out rain to bless the earth, so we, if we are better instructed, are to be patient with those are are not, lending them a helping hand. If you are to take away one thing from this meeting, may it be this: that, by the grace of God, you who believe in Jesus, from now on, will seek more earnestly, more consistently, more fully to bear with the weaknesses and failings of our brothers and sisters. Oh, if that is so, then this meeting has been profitable!

We should not rest until we come to this state of heart: that among the disciples of Christ we recognize no lesser bond than that His precious blood has made us clean. That is our bond of unity—belonging to Christ, being one with Christ. This truth we should always keep before us! The more we realize that God’s grace has taken hold of us in Christ, revealing to our hearts the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are all purchased by the same precious blood, filled with the same Holy Spirit, sharing the same risen life of Jesus… oh, then the more we realize we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ! If these truths are present and ever growing in our hearts, how kind and patient would God’s children be!  And once again, even in our own time, people would say, “See how these Christians love one another.”

Oh, let us seek to live in this way, desiring to see one another not in the old nature, but in Christ, the life of the risen Christ! If we seek to view each other this way, then oh, how we shall be drawn together! May God make this so in our lives, and may we pray and work toward this. And let us resist Satan, that he would not have control over our relationships. May God grant this to us!