| Christian Life and Doctrine | February 1959 |
Seven Dailies
THESE seven “dailies” have no reference whatever to daily newspapers. However, these “dailies” do apply to “news agents”; to those who are agents, not for secular news, but kingdom news, to those who constitute the kingdom, or ruling class. These agents are referred to in Philippians 2:15,16 as being in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom they shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life.
There never was a generation more crooked or perverse in its attitude towards the Creator than the present one, unless it was the generation in the days of Noah, to whom Jesus likened this present generation. “As it was in the days of Noe [Greek for Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26) Noah was present in the days of Noah. The Son of Man is present in the days of the Son of Man.
The first of these seven “dailies” is “daily bread,” referred to in Matthew 6:11: “Give us this day our daily bread.” As we know, bread is used, in both secular and sacred writings, to cover all the necessities of life. We speak of a man going forth to earn his bread, meaning to provide the necessities of life for himself and for those dependent upon him.
When we come to the Bible, we find the same use made of the word bread. For instance, in Genesis 3:19 we have the words spoken by God to Adam: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” In other words, only by laborious toil could man provide for himself the necessities of life. The word bread is used to cover all the basic needs of this life.
Now let us look at Matthew 6:11 a little closer. It is a special kind of bread that is spoken of here: “Give US this day OUR daily bread.” This is the bread which belongs to us as the children of our Father who is in heaven. This thought is clearly seen by referring to verses 5 and 7. Jesus is teaching God’s children how to pray, and he makes a distinction between them and others. He says: “When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites.” Again, “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen.” We, the children of God, taught by Jesus to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” are contrasted with the hypocrites and the heathen. It is not the bread of all men for which we are taught to pray. It is for OUR bread, the children’s bread. This covers all the needs of the consecrated life, whatever is needful to us as new creatures in Christ Jesus.
And now, we want to emphasize that word “daily”—“Give us this day our daily bread.” In an earthly family the children sit down to the table day after day. They do not ask their parents how they obtained the means to feed and clothe them. They do not fret when they awaken in the morning, wondering whether their parents have made provision for them. So we are taught to recognize God as the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Let us go to the throne of grace day by day, every day, for the supply of our daily bread, laying greater stress upon our spiritual needs, in the full assurance of faith that if we seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, all other things will be added unto us.
Daily Cross
Our second “daily” is the daily “cross” referred to in Luke 9:23. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The first step in following the Lord is properly designated in the Scriptures as a sacrifice. The “cross” symbolizes this sacrifice, a sacrifice which terminates in death.
The desire to give up our will, and to accept God’s will, must be a joy, a pleasure. Our wills must be sacrificed willingly, else the sacrifice will not be acceptable to the Lord. We shall have neither part nor lot with him unless our wills be joyfully resigned to the Lord’s will. All subsequent sacrificing will not be to our advantage. Our Master’s expression respecting the surrender, the sacrifice of his will to do the Father’s will, illustrates this matter very clearly. Hear him: “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”—Ps. 40:8
We, too, must delight to have God’s will done in us—delight to surrender, or sacrifice, our own wills. Let us see this clearly. If there is anything lacking in respect to the sacrifice of our wills, let us give it our first attention. Those who have completely sacrificed their will to the Lord’s will have gained the victory at the start, and will be able to tread faithfully the narrow way, if they continue steadfast unto the very end.
The Master’s crossbearing did not consist in fighting the weaknesses of the flesh, for he had none. It consisted in the day by day doing of his Father’s will under unfavorable conditions. In doing the will of our Father in heaven we, too, will have opposition. In letting the light of truth shine out as our Master directed, we, too, will have persecution.
Our crossbearing comes when we find that the truth, so beautiful and so beneficial to us, is doubted and denied by others. It draws upon us, their ridicule and opposition, just as it did upon the Master. Our faithfulness in bearing the cross daily includes not compromising the truth under any circumstances, and in our willingness to stand up for the truth, meekly but firmly. We must be prepared to do this, whatever the cost.
Crossbearing is made necessary because we are living in this present evil world; because the spirit of Satan and of this world is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord and his righteousness. Having consecrated our all to God, having the sentiments of our hearts finding expression in the words, “I delight to do thy will, O my God,” let us continue to bear the cross faithfully day by day. If we do this we shall, in due time, wear the crown; for it is written, “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”—Rom. 8:17
Daily Searching
Our third “daily” is daily searching the Scriptures, referred to in Acts 17:10,11: “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming went into the synagogue of the Jews. These [the Jews] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
The Greek word here translated “noble” means well-born. True nobility implies reasonableness as opposed to prejudice. Paul and Silas were agreeably surprised to find the Jews in Berea ready to receive the truth. They were prepared to search, to examine, to investigate, to see whether or not the things spoken were in harmony with the prophetic statements respecting Messiah and his work.
Professing to believe all that was written in the law and the prophets, professing to be looking for Messiah, they welcomed the servants of God, who sought to draw their attention particularly to the things written aforetime. With all readiness of mind, they began to search, not merely on the Sabbath but daily to see how well Paul’s presentation was supported by the testimony of the law and the prophets.
All of us are “leaky vessels,” some more, some less. Unless we are imbibing the Word of truth day by day, we leave ourselves open to the attacks of the Adversary. The Christian course is not covered by fits and starts, but by patient continuance in well-doing. So with our study of the truth—this is not done spasmodically, once a week on Sunday, or perhaps less often. Not merely on Sunday, but daily we should search, examine, investigate, and meditate upon the Scriptures.
As we do this, we obtain clearer views and a deeper appreciation of God’s wisdom, justice, love, and power. Let us daily meditate upon these eternal verities, and come more into harmony with them. Let them become an essential part of our existence. As we read in Psalm 119:11, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” But something more is necessary than a readiness of mind to receive the truth.
Jesus referred to a class who received the Word gladly, but who had no depth, no root in themselves. Consequently, when the sun of persecution arose, they withered, they lost their Christian vitality. It is not always those who receive the truth most favorably that hold out the longest and bring forth fruit. Persecution and opposition often cause the line of demarcation to be drawn between those who have depth, and those who have not; those who really love the truth, and those who merely have a perfunctory or head knowledge thereof. Let us day by day search the Scriptures, so that we might have a proper judgment, and a clear conviction respecting the divine Word. By so doing, we shall not be blown about by the many winds of false doctrine so prevalent today.
Daily Dying
Our fourth “daily” is daily “dying,” referred to in I Corinthians 15:31: “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” A companion passage to this, which shows the kind of dying referred to, is II Corinthians 4:10: “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” Yes, it is the dying of the Lord Jesus to which the apostle refers. For three and a half years Jesus was daily dying, pouring out his soul unto death, a sacrificial death.
The whole world is dying, as well as the church, but the world does not die in Christ. What a wide difference there is between being dead in Adam and being dead in Christ! Says the Apostle Paul (Romans 6:3), “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” His death was a sacrificial one.
Henceforth, from the divine standpoint, we are not to count ourselves as human beings. We are moved by God’s Spirit. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. We have new and heavenly hopes and aims. Our lives should be new, distinct and separate from those in the world. We are always, day by day, “bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” The Lord’s people, in proportion as they are faithful in his service, are sharing in the likeness of Jesus’ death.
Our Lord’s experience in the narrow way was three and a half years of daily dying. He is our example as to how we should die daily, how we should lay down our lives. We have made a covenant by sacrifice. We have consecrated our lives to the Lord and his blessed service.
Concerning the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, we read in Acts 10:38: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good.” Jesus laid down his life daily in doing good, in proclaiming the truth then due. The Christian life is a ministry, a life made up of doing good. We, too, are to lay down our lives in the same manner, going about doing good, proclaiming the truth.
We are to do this, whether the time of our ministry be three and a half years, thirty-three and a half years, or whatever it might be. We are to do this until the Father’s good time for our deliverance. Let us, then, continue in this daily dying, knowing that if we be dead with him now, we shall live with him in the future.
Daily Renewing
Our fifth “daily” is daily “renewing.” The reference is to II Corinthians 4:16: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” The Greek word here translated “renewed” means to make new, or “renovate.” We read in Romans 12:2: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” by making your mind new. The reason for this is that we “may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
While it is quite true that our consecration to the will of God was an act of a moment, yet the making new, the bringing of every thought into harmony with the will of God, is a gradual work. It is a life work, going on day by day. It is the daily bending heavenward of that which naturally bends earthward. Says the apostle in II Peter 1:4: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
The daily renewing of the mind from earthly to heavenly, from the human to the spiritual, is the beginning of that change of nature referred to by the Apostle Peter. Either we submit ourselves to be conformed to this world by its influences, its spirit surrounding us; or we submit ourselves to the will of God, to the Holy Spirit, thus to be transformed by the heavenly influences emanating from the Word of God.
We should ask and answer the following question: To which influences am I submitting? We know that the daily renewing of our minds leads to sacrifice, but the end will be glorious. Let the good work go on!
We remind you of a few phrases in the third chapter of Colossians (Verse 1): “Seek those things which are above.” Verse 2: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Verse 5: “Mortify [put to death] therefore your members which are upon earth.” Verse 8: “Put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication.” Verse 9: “Put off the old man.” Verse 10: “Put on the new man.” Verse 12: “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind meekness, long-suffering.” Verse 14: “And above all these things put on love.”
No wonder the apostle wrote in another place, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil. 2:12) It is a life’s work, made up of daily renewing. “Thine arduous task will not be done, till thou hast gained thy crown.” Daily there is to be a renewing of the mind; the setting of our affections on things above; the putting off of the old man; the putting on of the new.
Daily Exhortation
Our sixth “daily” is daily “exhortation,” referred to in Hebrews 3:13, where we read: “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” The Greek word here translated “exhort” is the verb from which comes the word parakletos, meaning a comforter, a strengthener. Daily we are to exhort, comfort, strengthen one another. Here is a form of service in which all the consecrated can be engaged.
This can be done, both by the spoken and the written word. There are some false ideas about exhortation. It is so often divorced from doctrine. If you care to listen, you can hear the moral and devotional truths of the Bible spoken about over the radio, and by members of the various churches and chapels. But would you hear them speak of the Abrahamic Covenant? Would you hear them speak of God’s purpose to bless all the families of the earth through the long-promised “seed” of Abraham, Christ and his church? Would you hear them speak of restitution, based upon the ransom sacrifice of Jesus? Would you hear them speak of the ransomed of the Lord returning, coming to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, there to obtain joy and gladness, sorrow and sighing to flee away?
Many of those who speak and write about the moral and devotional truths of the Bible are believers in those three great masterpieces of Satan, those three God-dishonoring and truth-hindering doctrines—the trinity, the immortality of the soul, and eternal torment. We are reminded here of those words of Jesus, recorded in Mark 7:7: “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
We cannot properly exhort one another as Christians apart from true doctrine. Neither can we speak of the doctrines of the truth without exhorting one another. We cannot divorce exhortation from doctrine. In this, as in all things appertaining to the Christian life, we have Jesus as our example.
We refer you to that wonderful discourse Jesus gave to those two disciples on the way to Emmaus as recorded in Luke 24:25-27: “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself.”
That was a doctrinal exhortation to faith, proving from the Scriptures that Christ must suffer, and then enter into his glory. We know the condition of those two disciples before Jesus spoke to them. Verse 17: “And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” Were these sad and sorrowful disciples exhorted, comforted, strengthened by that doctrinal talk Jesus gave them? Hear them, verse 32: “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Some today say, “Let us have union, and ignore doctrines; for, after all, it does not really matter what we believe.” It does matter what we believe! Let us keep the truth pure, unmixed with error. It is the truth by which we are sanctified. It is the truth by which we can daily exhort, comfort, and strengthen one another as we continue our journey towards our heavenly home.
Daily Paying Vows
Our seventh and last “daily” is daily “paying vows,” referred to in Psalm 61:8: “So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.” The Hebrew word rendered perform is translated “pay” in other passages. Leeser renders the text (only he makes it verse 9), “So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may pay my vows day by day.” It is the same Hebrew word as used in Deuteronomy 23:21: “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee.” Surely, brethren, this seventh and last “daily,” the daily paying of our vows, is of vital importance to us.
“The Morning Resolve”
My earliest thought I desire shall be: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord [for grace to help]. I will pay my vows unto the Most High.”—Ps. 116:12-14
Remembering the divine call, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Ps. 50:5), I resolve that by the Lord’s assisting grace I will today, as a saint of God, fulfil my vows, continuing the work of sacrificing the flesh and its interests, that I may attain unto the heavenly inheritance in joint-heirship with my Redeemer.
I will strive to be simple and sincere toward all.
I will seek not to please and honor self, but the Lord.
I will be careful to honor the Lord with my lips, that my words may be unctuous and blessed to all.
I will seek to be faithful to the Lord, the truth, the brethren, and all with whom I have to do, not only in great matters, but also in the little things of life.
Trusting myself to divine care, and the providential overruling of all my interests for my highest welfare, I will seek not only to be pure in heart, but to repel all anxiety, all discontent, all discouragement.
I will neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord’s providence may permit, because faith can firmly trust him, come what may!
Let us, then, keep these seven “dailies” in mind. Let them find their outward expression in our daily lives. Let us never forget that we are agents for kingdom news; that we have not received the grace of God in vain; that our hearts have responded to the love of God in Christ Jesus. May we daily faithfully maintain our vows of consecration to know and to do the will of God! May the dear Lord bless us all, as we faithfully lay hold upon, and keep in mind, these seven “dailies”!