| The Christian Life | June 1940 |
Singleness of Purpose
“I am determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”—I Corinthians 2:2
THE APOSTLE JAMES informs us that “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8) Both human and Christian experience has demonstrated that this is true. Singleness of purpose and determination are necessary to success along any line of endeavor. Especially is this true of the Christian life. The Apostle Paul realized the necessity of giving undivided attention to his doing of the divine will if he were to be successful in the ministry. His singleness of purpose helped to carry him through all of the difficulties of the narrow way, varied as were those obstacles. In Philippians 3:13 the apostle states, “This one thing I do.” Here again we have the thought of giving undivided attention to the doing of the divine will. In his letter to the Philippians, as well as to the Corinthians, the one thing to which the apostle eludes, and to which he declares that he gave his undivided attention, is that of knowing Christ and doing His will.
Knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified is to know the great plan of God of which He is the center and His redemptive sacrifice the basis. Furthermore, it implies a knowledge of the Christian’s privilege of suffering with Christ, being crucified together with Him. This means also a knowledge of why we are invited to suffer and die with the Master. In short, to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and to have this knowledge worked out in a practical way in our Christian experience, means zeal in connection with every phase of Christian endeavor.
It means that we will be faithful in the study of the Word and in the application of its principles in our daily lives. It means that we will endeavor to become better acquainted with Jesus, and to note more carefully the example He set before us, and to follow that example. It means that we will endeavor more strenuously as the days go by to keep our body under, to put away all selfishness and to be more fully possessed of the spirit and mind of Christ, that through its blessed influence in our lives we may be conformed more and more to His image.
To know Jesus Christ and Him crucified implies also that we will zealously lay down our lives in performing whatever service the divine will indicates for us. It means, in short, that we will be like Christ in all things—in study, in prayer, in meditation, in love for the brethren, in proclaiming the truth, in bearing persecution, in loving our enemies, and in the full surrender of our will to do the will of God in all things.
“Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life.”—Luke 21:34
Recognizing that singleness of purpose in serving the Lord is a prerequisite to success in the spiritual life, we should then take heed to ourselves that nothing be permitted to turn us aside from the way in which we are endeavoring to walk. We will find that at almost every turn of the road something will present itself which is calculated to divert our attention from “this one thing” which we have undertaken to do.
hi the field of study, for example, we may be tempted to explore realms of thought, which, while in themselves quite proper, nevertheless tend to take our minds and affections away from the truth as it is centered in Christ Jesus our Lord. While study along these other lines may increase our fund of worldly wisdom, our knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified is thereby proportionately reduced. Unless we take daily heed, there is also danger of our hearts becoming overcharged with the material cares of this life; with business or household duties, or jobs, etc. Not that we should neglect whatever responsibilities properly devolve upon us, but rather that we should not use these legitimate duties as excuses for diverting time and attention away from “this one thing” of knowing Christ and Him crucified.
God is not displeased to see His people happy and light-hearted. Having a world so filled with sadness and distress, the natural reaction for everybody is to seek relief in avenues of unrestrained revelry and frivolity. The Christian, therefore, will need to be on guard against this particular spirit of the world else he, too, will find that his affections are being divorced from the real issue in hand, which is that of doing the divine will as that will is expressed through Christ Jesus. In the Daily Manna comment for June 6th, Brother Russell says:
“If we become in any measure intoxicated with the spirit of the world—if we give way to self-gratification, love of ease, pleasure, a little indulgence of any of the old dispositions of envy, malice, pride, vain-glory, vaunting of self, headiness, high-mindedness, wrath, strife or any such thing—even a little, oh, how great is the peril to which we are exposed!”
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”—I John 2:15
To have our affections set wholly on things above—the things of God—means that, at the same time, we cannot love the world nor the things of the world. As long as we are in the world, however, we will be subjected to its selfish and unholy influences and will need to be continually on guard lest this influence succeed in dividing our affections, causing us to be double-minded, thus interfering with our determination to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
The world which we are not to love is, evidently, that world over which Satan is the prince. To love this world would mean disloyalty to God and to our hope of joint-heirship with Christ in the Kingdom which is to establish a new and righteous world. This “present evil world” with its lusts is now rapidly passing away. If we love it, we will find ourselves regretful of what the Lord is now doing in the earth. But if our hearts are centered upon Jesus Christ and the Kingdom which He is establishing, we will be wholly reconciled to the passing away of all the kingdoms of this world, yea, we will lift up our heads and rejoice as we see these disintegrating influences evidencing the near establishment of the new world.
As children of God we have been called to a position of joint-heirship with Christ in His Kingdom. Our Heavenly Father has revealed to us His plans and purposes, has taken us into His fellowship and active co-operation. This glorious vision of truth gives us an extensive and comprehensive outlook for the future, enabling us to view the present life and the present world conditions in a very different light from that in which the worldly-minded view them.
To the extent that the vision of truth has become a reality in our lives we will find ourselves out of harmony with all the selfish ways of the world. The Scriptures sum up the world’s treasures as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” (I John 2:16) The lust of the flesh includes all the fleshly appetites and passions, those natural and sometimes legitimate desires of the flesh which are contrary to the best interests of the New Creature. To these, thousands in the world sacrifice all the higher interests in order that their desires may be satisfied. The lust of the eyes demands luxury in. dress and home appointments, and the gathering for self-gratification of all that is admired and desired. The pride of life glories in the shame of that selfishness which has ignored the wants and woes of the needy and suffering, and complacently says to self, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”—Luke 12:19
Such is the spirit of the world. It is the very opposite of the spirit of God and of Christ; hence those who are endeavoring to know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified should keep as far away as possible from it.
“Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us.”—II Corinthians 1:21,22
Singleness of purpose leads to that blessed condition of being established in the faith. But we should not lose sight of the fact that apart from divine grace we cannot attain and maintain our position in Christ and in the favor of God. The promises of God, however, give us full assurance that so long as our hearts are fixed upon Him, He will continue to help in every time of need. The apostle says that he was confident that God who began the good work in us is able and willing to complete it. In this reassuring thought our hearts may rest secure.—Phil. 1:6
By the many and diversified promises of God, He seals us; that is to say, He guarantees our standing with Him and ultimate victory and glory in the Kingdom. These promises cover every phase of the Christian life. They are promises of guidance, of strength to endure, of protection from enemies, etc. The total significance of all God’s promises is that so long as we walk by faith with Him, no evil can befall us.
The poet has expressed the thought that he would rather walk in the dark with God than go alone in the light. To walk in the dark with God means that one is blind to every other consideration except the will of God. To successfully lead a blind person the leader must be just a little in advance of the one being lead. In this way the blind person realizes in advance the steps that are being taken by the leader, whether up or downstairs, whether he turns to the right or turns to the left; and knowing this in advance by realizing the direction in which the leader moves, he is able to follow along successfully. It is even so with us as we walk with God. If we attempt to walk ahead of God we are sure to get into trouble. But if we permit God to lead us, the while keeping, so close to Him that we will realize instantly the direction in which He is going, and will realize, therefore, the direction He desires us to go, we can walk along safely with Him with the full assurance of faith that He will lead us successfully to the very end of the narrow way.
Fundamentally the Christian’s singleness of purpose, and the condition of heart and mind in which he should become firmly established, is first a love supreme for God and for the truth which is centered in Christ Jesus our Redeemer and Head, and joyful loyalty to His cause even at the cost of sacrifice. Second, love of the brethren—an unselfish, noble, pure love, a love which desires their welfare; a love which is always on the alert to do them good. Third, a love sympathetic for the people of the world, prompting to good works as opportunity affords. Thus love will be the dominating influence in our lives and this wondrous love will daily bring us nearer to the Lord and more and more separate us from the desires of the flesh and the spirit of the world.