| The Christian Life | August 1948 |
Beheaded for the Witness of Jesus
“I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”—Revelation 20:4
THE precision with which our text describes the characteristics of those found worthy to live and reign with Christ furnishes food for serious thought. On the one hand is the fact that they had remained aloof from all association with the “beasts” and the “image of the beast.” They had not served the cause of these counterfeit systems of Christianity, hence had not been set apart, or “marked” as their servants. Instead, and like the great Apostle Paul who is one of them, they had borne the “marks” of the Lord Jesus, had been his bond slaves. So completely had this been true that the text states of them that they were “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God.” And these are they, and no others, who live and reign with Christ a thousand years.
The beheading referred to is of course symbolic. Every follower of the Master is called upon to lay down his life, to he planted together in the likeness of his death, but very few in the entire age have been literally beheaded. So far as we know the Apostle Paul finished his course in this manner, and doubtless there were others, but the majority of those who have died violent deaths because of their faithfulness have been crucified, thrown to the lions, or burned at the stake. Nevertheless, all who have actually followed in the footsteps of Jesus have been symbolically beheaded.
This beheading simply means the giving up of our own wills and the acceptance of Christ as our Head, and allowing his will to dictate in all the affairs of life. If we are truly beheaded we will look to him for guidance in all that we think and say and do. Unlike others, it will no longer be our privilege to make plans which suit our natural desires, for his will must be given first consideration; and oftentimes we will find that the will of our new Head runs counter to our best interests according to the flesh. Beheading, then, is a most heart-searching symbol of full consecration to the Lord.
What does consecration to the Lord mean to us individually? Do we think of it merely as a desire to live uprightly, to love the Lord and his Word, and to appreciate the friendship of his people? All this is of course good. It is far better to be thus on the side of right and of righteousness, and to be a friend of the Lord and of his people, than to be in open rebellion against him and his purposes. But this is not real consecration. Such a turning to righteousness does not indicate the surrender of our wills to do his will. It does not mean that we have been beheaded.
Just as in a physical body all its members function only as directed by the head, so it is in the body of Christ into which we are baptized by one spirit of full devotion to the Head. If we are truly beheaded, we will act only as our new Head indicates his will for us. As members of his body we have no rights of our own and should make no independent plans of our own. Full consecration means that we are to be ever, only, all for him and for the doing of his will. It is more, much more, than going through life pursuing our own preferences and attempting to surround our own ways with a halo of sanctity with the claim that all we do is being done in his name. In other words, consecration is not the doing of our own wills and asking God to bless us in it. It is the seeking and doing of his will irrespective of how favorably or adversely we may be affected by such a course of obedience to our new Head. Are we thus “beheaded”?
What the Lord Does for Us
It is important to see the difference between the blessings which the Lord bestows upon us as his consecrated people and the course of obedience which he expects of us. As children in the divine family and members of the body of Christ we enjoy many privileges, and these should be highly esteemed. He has given us of his Holy Spirit. By it, through the Word of truth, we are begotten to a new hope of life. He has sealed us by the “Holy Spirit of promise” and thereby given us an “earnest” of our future inheritance.—Eph. 1:13,14
By his Holy Spirit the Lord also bears witness with our spirits that we are his children. With this assurance of being his children and having the privilege of calling him our Father, we can go boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and strength in our every time of need. Jesus gives us the assurance that our Heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him than is an earthly parent to give good gifts to his children. Truly the blessings of the Lord toward us are rich and abundant!
And it is his will that under the hallowed influence of these blessings we should grow more and more into maturity as new creatures in Christ Jesus, reflecting more and more the image of his dear Son. Day by day as the Spirit of God fills our hearts and lives in ever increasing measure we should have more faith; more of the true knowledge of God; more patience; more brotherly kindness; more love. And besides all this, the Lord expects that daily our appreciation of the commission he has given us will increase, and that our obedience to that commission will impel us to make ever greater sacrifices as we lay down our lives in his service.
What Is the Divine Commission?
The divine commission for service, that which inspires and empowers a Christian to be a co-worker with God, is spoken of in the Scriptures as the anointing of the Spirit. A very comprehensive statement of this anointing is found in Isaiah 61:1-3, which reads: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
In a synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read a part of this commission and applied it to himself, and it also applies to each member of his body, we receiving it from him, our Head. The Apostle John speaks of this, saying, “The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you.” (I John 2:27) What does this anointing mean in terms of everyday Christian living? What does it mean to us, for example, that is different from the “begetting” of the Spirit, or the “witness” of the Spirit? Briefly, the difference is in that which God does for us and what we do for him. He begets us by his Spirit and we become his sons. His Spirit witnesses with our spirits to assure us that we are his children. In these operations of the Holy Spirit we are the receivers of divine grace.
True, it is also a marvelous display of God’s favor that we should have the privilege of serving God, as we are authorized to do by the anointing of the Spirit. Nevertheless, the particular significance of the anointing of the Spirit is that God thereby authorizes, and lays upon us the responsibility of doing something for him, of laboring together with him in the carrying out of his plan. Paul explains the matter in slightly different language, saying that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and, as ambassadors for Christ, has made us ministers of reconciliation.—II Cor. 5:18-20
We can best understand what the anointing of the Spirit should mean to us by noting how it affected Jesus’ life. It made of him a full time servant of his Heavenly Father. It is basic to an understanding of our responsibilities as Christians to realize this. One of the fundamental differences between the nominal church conception of the Christian life and the viewpoint set forth in the Scriptures centers around this point. The nominal church viewpoint is that becoming a Christian is merely a matter of being saved. It is supposed to reform the life morally, and the more devotionally inclined make the “sacrifice” of attending prayer meeting during the week in addition to going to church on Sunday. And of course there are church dues to be paid. The clergy are about the only ones who think of themselves particularly as servants of God, and with them it is a profession for which they usually get paid.
But this is not the viewpoint set forth in the Scriptures concerning the true followers of the Master. In the true church of Christ there is no division of clergy and laity, for all are ministers—servants—and the degree of service each one renders is limited only by the circumstances over which the individual has no control, or at least cannot change. Besides, every member of the true church—that is, every fully consecrated follower of the Master—is a full time servant, even as Jesus was. There is no other way to follow in his footsteps, no other way to be beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God.
In addition to the pattern of Jesus’ life which we have to guide us in this and in other matters, we have many other examples set before us in the experiences of the early church. When Jesus said to Andrew and Peter, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men,” they gave up their fishing business and put their whole time and energy into the new work which he assigned to them. (Mark 1:17) This was what he expected them to do. With the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the waiting disciples at Pentecost, every indication is that the anointing power of the Spirit energized them to the point which caused them to think of little else but telling the good news of Christ and the kingdom. They all began with one accord to speak, to proclaim the message, to be witnesses for Jesus and the Word of God.
At Jesus’ last visit with his disciples, just before his ascension he told them that when the Holy Spirit came it would empower them to be his witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth, beginning with Jerusalem, and this was one of the purposes for which the Holy Spirit was given. (Acts 1:8) It is true of every consecrated follower of Jesus even as it was true of him, that the Spirit of the Lord God is upon him, anointing him to preach the glad tidings.
This is the work of the church, and in saying this we wish to emphasize the difference between the work of the church and the result of that work. The result of the work of the church is the making ready of the “bride.” The result of the work of each individual member of the church is his character preparation to be a part of the bride class. But the work by which this is accomplished is that which results from an enthusiastic response to the anointing, the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way to become Christlike except to lay down our lives as he laid down his life, and that was in the service of God, that service which was involved in reconciling a lost world to God.
True, there is much involved in the Christian life besides witnessing for Jesus and for the Word of God. We must study the Word of God, for example, in order that we might be properly qualified as God’s workmen. It is also essential to bring our lives into conformity with God’s righteous standards, else our service for him would be unacceptable. The life-giving promises of his Word must fill our minds and hearts more and more so that, as new creatures, we may grow up into Christ and daily become stronger in the Lord and in the power of his might. We are to be instant in prayer. We are to be strong in faith. We are to be patient and loving and kind. We are to put on the whole armor of God. But all of these essential things are not the work of the Christian, but result from faithfulness in his service.
The work of the Christian is that of being an ambassador for Christ. It is this for which he is anointed. It is a spiritual work, and the most spiritual among the Lord’s people are those in whom the anointing influence of the Holy Spirit is most manifest by zeal in witnessing for Jesus and for the Word of God.
Bearing witness to the truth is one of the means by which the body members are built up into Christ and prepared for glory with him. It includes not only the testimony which we give generally—that is to the world—but also our service for one another. When we testify to the truths of God’s Word, whether to those who have never heard, or among the brethren, and that testimony is the overflowing of a heart filled with the love of God, the very telling of the message increases its power in our own lives in addition to edifying those who hear.
When we keep the truth to ourselves, it not only loses its power to transform our own lives into the image of Christ, but we fail to be “beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God,” and those who fail to use their opportunities in this will not be among those who live and reign with Christ a thousand years. It is this fact that is made so clear, so definite, so unanswerable, in our text.
Mortgages on the Christian’s Time
We have emphasized, and scripturally so, that being a footstep follower of Jesus is a full time occupation. This means that when we present ourselves in consecration to the Lord we give him all our time, all our strength, all our talents, and all our means. It is a complete surrender of all that we have, but it does not mean a sacrifice of that which belongs to others. Prior to consecration many of those who are called by God into his service have contracted obligations of one sort or another, usually in the form of family ties and home responsibilities. The Lord knows about these and accepts all that we have subject to these mortgages, which he wants us to respect and honor.
And the very wonderful thing about this is that the Lord accepts the necessary service we render in the discharge of our earthly obligations as though it were directly for him, hence we are to reckon that everything we do is unto him, and for his glory. This is a marvelous provision of divine grace, but a provision nevertheless which should not be presumed upon by the attitude that it is not important that we do anything directly in the service of God. Nor should we reason that because God accepts the service we render in discharging our earthly obligations as though it were directly for him that we can increase those obligations and he will accept them just the same. The sincerity of our consecration may sometimes be tested along this very line.
Many of the Lord’s consecrated people have earnestly wished that they could have known about the truth and have seen the privilege of consecrating themselves to God and to his service before their lives became so heavily mortgaged. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they cannot still be beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God. But those who are free and largely unmortgaged at the time of consecration should think well and soberly when taking on obligations, or plotting a course in life which in all probability may mean that only incidentally will they have time and strength to devote directly to the service of the Lord.
If consecration meant merely a resolution to live a righteous life it would be different, but when we realize that consecration means a covenant to do God’s will and that the will of God for his people is that they should lay down their lives in his service, all who make such a consecration should consider every plan they make with the view of determining whether that plan is prompted by self-interest or by a desire to fulfill their covenant to give all in the service of God. True consecration is indeed a serious matter.
What Can We Do?
It is probably true that throughout the entire age the vast majority of the Lord’s consecrated people have been those whose time and strength have been heavily mortgaged with earthly obligations, and these have found it necessary to “redeem” time for direct service in the Lord’s vineyard. Few indeed have been those so fortunate as to be able to devote all or a large part of their time directly in serving the truth. This was true even in the early church. But some noble examples of faithfulness by part time workers are brought to our attention in the New Testament. Lydia was one of these, Gaius was another. Simon the tanner was also one. And of course there were many who are not even mentioned in the Scriptures.
The general average of full and part time workers is probably about the same today. Now, however, there are more opportunities for those to serve who have only a little time—a few fleeting moments now and then, as it were. The question of how these occasional moments or hours may be used in bearing witness to the truth is one of concern to many of the Lord’s people. Indeed, it is often just as great a problem for those who have much or nearly all of their time to serve. Some have found ways of solving this problem, others have not. But none of us should consider it a matter of little importance and be content to let the days and weeks go by without doing anything directly in the service of the Lord.
The committee which arranged the program of the 1948 General Convention, to be held in Chautauqua, Ohio, August 1-8, took this matter into consideration and scheduled an entire session of the convention to give the brethren an opportunity for the exchange of views along this line. Undoubtedly many helpful suggestions will be made at that session of the convention as to how those who have little time as well as those who have more time may use what time they have of moments or days as witnesses for Jesus and for the Word of God. The September issue of the Dawn will report those suggestions for the benefit of all.
We would like now to make one suggestion along this line, particularly for those who have only a little time. It is the use of “kingdom cards”—not in large quantities, but a few each week. The distribution of an average of three cards a day will mean the putting into circulation of one thousand in a year. The distribution can be made in various ways. They can be given to those who come to our door, handed to the neighbors, distributed from house to house, enclosed with letters sent to those not in the truth, left in street cars, buses, and trains, and station waiting rooms. They can also be sent through the mails to names obtained from telephone directories or other sources. It is difficult to imagine circumstances in life which would prevent one from putting out as few as twenty a week in any or all of these various ways. True, some of the Lord’s dear people are bedridden, but these are the exceptions; and these, even as all of us, have the blessed privilege of praying for those who can be active in the service, and thus they also have a share in the witness work.
To encourage those who would like to serve in this small way, either in addition to what they are doing, or as the only means of service they may have, The Dawn will furnish kingdom cards free in lots of one thousand specially printed with a code number so that each card which comes in requesting literature will be sent to the brother or sister who put out that card. And what a blessing it is to receive these responses and thus to realize that our little efforts have given some the opportunity they desired to find the answers to their questions!
This simple plan of service has already been suggested at several conventions and is being used by many brethren. Why should we not all have a part in it? If you would like to share in these blessings simply send a card or letter to The Dawn, East Rutherford, N.J., saying that you would like to have a thousand of the special kingdom cards mentioned in this article and they will be sent to you with joy and with a prayer that the dear Lord will richly bless you in their distribution. Remember that three a day will distribute the entire thousand in one year. You may want to put them out faster than this, and if so we will be glad to furnish an additional thousand whenever you are ready for them.
Jesus said, “He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” (John 4:36) Some of these wages are received on this side of the veil, wages of joy in realizing that some little service of ours has brought a measure of blessing to another heart, has perhaps helped someone to know our God a little better. It is not the great things we would like to do that are important in the sight of the Lord, for actually none of us can do great things. But the little things we can do should be done, and our faithfulness in doing them will prove that we would use all our time and all our strength and all our means directly in the service of God if we were in a position to do so. This is the important consideration.
It is not what we can accomplish that counts with the Lord, but our viewpoint of the privileges of service. Do we feel that our whole life belongs to the Lord even though we can devote very little of it directly in his service? If we do, then we will use every minute we can to serve in whatever way we find opportunities, and we will do this joyfully, wishing only that we had more time and more strength to devote in exalting the name of our God by making known the glories of his plan.
Thus our consecration, the surrender of our will, our “beheading,” will result as God has outlined for us, that is, in a witness for Jesus and for the Word of God. And while thus laying down our lives in his service we will be inspired with the hope, that blessed hope, that if faithful even unto death we will have the privilege of living and reigning with Christ a thousand years. We will know, too, that in that future glorious privilege of service we will be able to accomplish what we would like to do now but are not able; namely, the enlightening of the whole world, the filling of the earth with a knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. What a prospect!