| Christian Life and Doctrine | October 1955 |
Obedience
“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” —Hebrews 5:8,9
IT WILL help us to divide this text of Scripture into its three great issues. (1) Jesus learned or acquired obedience, not previously enjoyed. (2) By means of adverse conditions he was made perfect. (3) He became the Author of eternal salvation to all rendering obedience to him.
Let us consider for a moment this word obedience: what kind of obedience is required, and what does it entail? It implies submission to an authority, and we of course accept God as that authority. We read, “Without faith it is impossible to please him [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”—Hebrews 11:6
This establishes God as the supreme authority either to command obedience or to invite obedience of one’s own choice or volition. The Scriptures are pronounced in the definition of this divine prerogative, and reveal two kinds of obedience which God has desired; namely, dutiful and voluntary.
Voluntary obedience is an expression of loving confidence. Obedience in relation to faith is an expression of confidence, even by loss to the one submitting. For example, Adam was not requested to render obedience which entailed loss. Every possible blessing of the needs of life and life itself would be maintained.—Gen. 2:16,17; 1:28
The Israelites were commanded to obey, and prosperity and blessing followed their obedience. Their disobedience meant loss. (Exod. 19:4-6; Lev. 26:14-39) Abraham was invited of his own volition or choice to render obedience. His obedience resulted in loss of legitimate earthly blessings. (Gen. 12:1) Jesus acquired an obedience by the experiences he endured and suffered.—Heb. 5:8
Suffering is repugnant to man, distasteful, but God has chosen this means to test the fidelity of those who accept his invitation to joint-heirship with Christ. Through suffering comes perfection. Jesus being made perfect, he became the Author of eternal salvation for others.
Obedience, in a general way, or as we generally use it, is first dutifulness, which does not always imply confidence, as, for instance, with a king and his subjects; an employer and his employees. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:1 and 5 admonishes children to obey their parents, and servants to obey their masters. Confidence in all these instances would be good, but not necessarily expressed.
Disobedience means a violation of a command and usually an exposure to some penalty. Then we have involuntary obedience. “The Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: … he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.”—Exodus 11:1
Luke reports: “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”—Luke 4:36
Let us then have in mind that obedience is first an expression of duty, whereas obedience in relation to faith is on a higher plane, so to speak, goes deeper, and is more impressive. Let us not cast away our confidence which hath great recompense of reward. (Heb. 10:35) Confidence is boldness, assurance, fidelity, trust, with no thought of a penalty existing, as between parent and child. The child has perfect confidence in the good parent; the parent perfect confidence in the child.
The spirit of confidence is always ready to serve in true submission. It is usually expressed in the disposition of humility and meekness. Humility is a receptive virtue, easy to approach and teachable as shown in the lives and expressions of Job, David, and Solomon. “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Here is humility and submission.—Job 23:10,12
Solomon said, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or to come in. … Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”—I Kings 3:7,9,10
Confidence should embrace meekness. Meekness is expressive, such as one manifests in a disposition to serve zealously, faithfully, loyally, and liberally as did Moses. “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men on the face of the earth).” (Num. 12:3) Men of faith have expressed these two qualities, or virtues, to a marked degree. Let us, brethren, emulate them.
So obedience in relation to faith possesses full confidence in the one requesting obedience as so beautifully shown in Exodus 21:5,6: “If a servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free. Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.”
This takes our thoughts directly to Psalm 40:6-8, speaking of our Lord: “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou digged. … Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will.”
Shall we ask ourselves: Am I a bond servant forever? Has mine ear been pierced or digged? If not, we are missing the richest blessings of rest, of faith, of full assurance, of settled conviction, of peace and joy which come only to such as have made a full surrender of their will, their all to God our Father. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse … and prove me now herewith … if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”—Mal. 3:10
Obedience without confidence in the one obeyed is often feigned or pretended. The Scriptures reveal this in Psalm 18:43-45. When the Lord’s kingdom is established in the earth, and the world of mankind, living and dead, come under the iron rule of justice and judgment, the people will render feigned obedience, but the assurance is also given that it shall fade away. “When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness [acquire righteousness gradually].”—Isaiah 26:9
Ezekiel’s vision of the man with the measuring line is a beautiful illustration of the progress that will be made when all men everywhere are commanded to obedience, to the rule of the King of kings. In measuring the depth of the waters it was first ankle deep—duty. Then to the knee—appreciation, duty love; loins—deep brotherly love; and covering waters to swim in, representing love in confidence. That which God requires from all whose trust and faith is in him is not merely dutifulness but complete confidence in him, a delight to obey; and in proportion as this is followed, God honors and blesses.—Ezek. 47:1-5
God being the supreme authority, he can command obedience from any of his subjects. Or, he can invite or request obedience at one’s own volition. Being bound by his loving attributes of Wisdom, Justice, Love, and Power, he would in every command or invitation to obedience have a definite object in view, as the Apostle Paul illustrates in Romans 9:21: “Hath not the potter power over the clay; of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor.”
In this we see Jehovah’s prerogative to command even to a subject’s loss. The Scriptures reveal that God has never so commanded, which we will endeavor to show. Whenever God makes a command, immediate profit and blessing result. Wherever an invitation has been given, it is accompanied by loss, with a promise or assurance of reward. Let us illustrate it briefly by God’s dealings with four prominent individuals—Adam, Abraham, Saul, Jesus. We are well acquainted with God’s dealings with Israel, so these we can pass for now.
Genesis 2;15-17: God is commanding of Adam obedience as necessary to life. We read: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt NOT eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam was mentally, morally and physically perfect. Every provision had been made for his comfort and sustenance by God and wide scope for the exercise of brain, heart, and body.
His disobedience would mean loss and death, and as head of the human race to plunge the whole of his posterity into “prison.” Whereas obedience by Adam would have meant life, health, peace, prosperity—for at least until an additional test might have been presented to him.
Now Abraham was a friend of God (Acts 7:2; Jas. 2:23), and was approached by God. “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, … and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from they kindred, and come to the land which I shall show thee.” Hebrews 11:8: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Think of it! No question, no contrary suggestion or requests, no thought of personal comforts or enjoyments, but promptly with submission and loving confidence he obeyed.
Since faith and confidence had made Abraham a friend, to seal this friendship and confidence God gave him a choice, an invitation to obey—not a command to comply with a moral code, but an expression of his confidence and loyalty. That obedience of his own volition was certainly accompanied by loss.
He was called from home and home associates (Gen. 12:1; 17:1): “I am the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou upright.” And later he was invited to give his son—“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, … and offer him there for a burnt offering.”—Gen. 22:2,3
“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3) Abraham’s career was one of trial, suspense, and sacrifice. Think of Abimelech’s servants robbing him of his well. (Gen. 21:25) Think of his trials with Ishmael, and especially with the offering of his son. He was a stranger and a pilgrim—the reward?—“In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”—Gen. 12:3; 22:18
King Saul
I Samuel 15:1: Samuel the prophet is sent by God with a command to Saul, King of Israel. Verse 3: “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” Saul went forth to fulfill the command. Verses 9-11: “But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, … he [Saul] is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.”
“Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, “Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What meaneth then the bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, … The people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”—vss. 13-15
“Stay,” says Samuel, “I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night.” (vs. 16) I told you to go to Saul and command him to go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites. “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?” (vs. 19) Fear and self-appointment blurred Saul’s vision, and his delight in the Lord’s purpose and command. Had Saul been obedient, his kingdom would have been secure and retained by him and his family.
How easy it is to wittingly and unwittingly think the Lord will be more pleased with our idea than his word and command! Let us guard against keeping the best of our impression of things to sacrifice unto the Lord. Samuel said, verses 22,23, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” “Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”—I Sam. 2:30
“To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”—Prov. 21:3
The Pharisees were charged with detailed carefulness to exact tithes of mint and cummin but passed over the weightier matters of justice and judgment and the love of God.—Luke 11:42
Others said, Lord, have we not done many things in thy name, even to casting out devils? The Lord replied, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:21-23) You see how alert we should be as to the Lord’s will, rather than our own will or that of others. Sacrifices not appointed of God are an abomination. Saul was commanded, failed, and lost the blessing.
Our Lord Jesus Christ
Always obedient, perfectly obedient, and yet the word states, “He learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” (Heb. 5:8) As the Logos, Jesus always had a disposition to obey with continued fidelity to his father.—Prov. 8:22
Perfect mentally, morally, physically, Jesus “grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”—Luke 2:40
At the age of twelve—the age Jewish lads today are permitted in the priesthood service and the temple—as was the custom, the parents went up to the feast at Jerusalem, Jesus accompanying them. On the return journey, Jesus was found to have stayed behind and later was found in the temple questioning the doctors and listening to their replies. Jesus’ mother on finding him gave a slight reproof to which he replied, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) In other words, had you forgotten that at this age I should have been introduced to the doctors or priests in readiness for my induction to service? Jesus was eager to know from the priests the course he was to take. Alert to obedience, the account states he went home to Nazareth and was subject to his parents—obedience to God and to his parents.—Luke 2:51
We read that when Jesus began to be about 30 years of age—the recorded age of eligibility to the priesthood—he came to John the Baptist at Jordan. The Apostle Paul states that he found himself in fashion as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:8) He discerned the purposes of God his Father for himself as the Son of God. Identifying himself with the children of Israel, Jesus presents himself to John at Jordan to perform a symbol of his immersion unto his Father’s will.
John is calling a nation to repentance, his throbbing words smite the hearts of the people and they come to his stream, the Jordan, for the baptism of repentance. Jesus enters the stream. He with a conscience unstained and a character untarnished, he who needed no repentance, holy, harmless, undefiled, he the sinless one, presents himself to John for baptism.
The publicans and harlots believed John (Matt. 21:32) and Jesus seemingly is baptized into a similar baptism of repentance. However, John quickly recognized his own unworthiness in the presence of the Master, and that he had no sins for which he needed to repent. Nevertheless Jesus urged him to perform the ceremony. God “hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”—II Cor. 5:21
Realizing now the need for redemption of the human family, Jesus perceives the offer of a new position from God—a request, an invitation, a choice, based on entire freedom of his will. By obedience, he could become the second Adam. This was an obedience to be accompanied by loss, instead of circumstances which were congenial. There were adverse conditions, privations, persecutions, and death. He was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isa. 53:3) He said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.” (Matt. 8:20) There was the setting aside of his own will to do his Father’s will, the denial of self. The loss was to be of natural pleasures and comforts, and many associations of life—home, family, friends—and the loss of his good name. Who would declare his generation, asks the Prophet Isaiah? —Isa. 53:8
Jesus emptied himself, made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant—the disposition of the Logos, made manifest in human heart and life. (Phil. 2:7,8) Let us recognize this great truth, brethren. He emptied himself (Rotherham) and as a man became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, dead to the human will and unto the death of the human organism in crucifixion for man—our Exemplar.
It was not a light matter, a mere matter of form, but a real and definite contract between himself and his Father. To John he says, “Suffer it to be so now: … to fulfill all righteousness.”—Matt. 3:15
Psalm 40:7,8—“Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea thy law is written within my heart”—“in the midst of my bowels,” margin.
Jesus’ repeated testimony was: “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38) “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:34) And so from baptism at Jordan, to the cross, Jesus acquired an obedience under conditions hitherto not experienced, an obedience that can only come, or be proved, by adversity. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” (Heb. 5:8) “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”—Heb. 2:10
Let us remember that if a motive for service, however good, is contrary to the revealed purposes of the plan of God it is not acceptable service to him. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest.
At baptism Jesus was the declared Lamb of God. Using the illustration of the tabernacle arrangement, he became as the “bullock” of the Atonement, the experience of which in antitype he endured for us—for you and for me. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was laid upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5) In becoming perfect through suffering, he met two extremes, perfection and weakness. Sin brought death and, through death, sin is to be destroyed; “and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”—Heb. 5:9
How beautifully resigned Jesus was to his Father’s will, and we are invited to become copies at heart of God’s dear Son. (Rom. 8:29) What a privilege is ours, brethren! How loving of our Heavenly Father to give to you and to me this highest, grandest, loftiest privilege ever offered to angel or man! The giving up of ourselves daily in consecration to do the Lord’s bidding is a glorious experience in human life. The outworking of Romans 12:1-3 is one of the greatest honors conferred on man, and the noblest deed that man can perform, with the result that our lives become “hid with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory.”—Col. 3:1-4
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:14,15) “For in that he himself bath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.”—Heb. 2:18
May we, brethren, fulfill our covenant to share with Jesus this great favor, to express our confidence and faith by loss in adversity, affliction, and death of the human will through loving submission, doing the will of God from the heart. “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (I John 2:17) Let us give ourselves to prayer, reading of the Word, meditation, and assembling for interchange of thought. Let us feed the mind with truth, and exercise ourselves in spiritual activities, remembering always that “to obey is better than sacrifice.”
“God placed a duty in my hand,
Before my eyes could see its rightful form
That duty seemed a common thing to me.
The sun of glory rose and shone.
Then duty I forgot, and thought
With what a privilege the Lord has blessed my lot!”