Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
by C. H. Spurgeon
Monday Morning, November 22
Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
Hosea 12:12
Jacob, while expostulating with Laban, thus describes his own toil, This twenty years have I been with thee. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee: I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Even more toilsome than this was the life of our Saviour here below. He watched over all his sheep till he gave in as his last account, Of all those whom thou hast given me I have lost none. His hair was wet with dew, and his locks with the drops of the night. Sleep departed from his eyes, for all night he was in prayer wrestling for his people. One night Peter must be pleaded for; anon, another claims his tearful intercession. No shepherd sitting beneath the cold skies, looking up to the stars, could ever utter such complaints because of the hardness of his toil as Jesus Christ might have brought, if he had chosen to do so, because of the sternness of his service in order to procure his spouse--
It is sweet to dwell upon the spiritual parallel of Laban having required all the sheep at Jacob's hand. If they were torn of beasts, Jacob must make it good; if any of them died, he must stand as surety for the whole. Was not the toil of Jesus for his Church the toil of one who was under suretiship obligations to bring every believing one safe to the hand of him who had committed them to his charge? Look upon toiling Jacob, and you see a representation of him of whom we read, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.
Evening, November 22
The power of his resurrection.
Philippians 3:10
The doctrine of a risen Saviour is exceedingly precious. The resurrection is the corner-stone of the entire building of Christianity. It is the key-stone of the arch of our salvation. It would take a volume to set forth all the streams of living water which flow from this one sacred source, the resurrection of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but to know that he has risen, and to have fellowship with him as such--communing with the risen Saviour by possessing a risen life--seeing him leave the tomb by leaving the tomb of worldliness ourselves, this is even still more precious. The doctrine is the basis of the experience, but as the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Saviour more lovely than the doctrine itself. I would have you believe that Christ rose from the dead so as to sing of it, and derive all the consolation which it is possible for you to extract from this well-ascertained and well-witnessed fact; but I beseech you, rest not contented even there. Though you cannot, like the disciples, see him visibly, yet I bid you aspire to see Christ Jesus by the eye of faith; and though, like Mary Magdalene, you may not touch him, yet may you be privileged to converse with him, and to know that he is risen, you yourselves being risen in him to newness of life. To know a crucified Saviour as having crucified all my sins, is a high degree of knowledge; but to know a risen Saviour as having justified me, and to realize that he has bestowed upon me new life, having given me to be a new creature through his own newness of life, this is a noble style of experience: short of it, none ought to rest satisfied. May you both know him, and the power of his resurrection. Why should souls who are quickened with Jesus, wear the grave-clothes of worldliness and unbelief? Rise, for the Lord is risen.
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11: The Spirit Leads Us to the Cross
This post is taken from C.J.'s chapter in the new book For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. C.J.'s chapter is titled "The Pastor and the Trinity," and we've posted it in 11 parts.
As we lead our churches to grow in the fellowship of the Spirit, we must remember that the Holy Spirit always glorifies the Son. The primary role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the Savior and to testify to the gospel. Our pneumatology must never take precedence over—and in fact cannot be understood apart from—the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let's avoid adopting the Corinthians' erroneous definition of spirituality. They equated maturity with giftedness, spirituality with the spectacular. They thought of themselves as "people of the Spirit," yet they lacked the primary evidence of the Spirit's work: love. This is why Paul labors to redefine spiritual maturity for them in both of his letters. D. A. Carson summarizes Paul's point:
What it means to be "spiritual" is profoundly tied to the cross, and to nothing else. More precisely, to be spiritual, in this passage [1 Corinthians 2:6–16], is to enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit—and this means understanding and appropriating the message of the cross, "God's secret wisdom." . . . Indeed, those who are most mature are most grateful for the cross and keep coming back to it as the measure of God's love for them and the supreme standard of personal self-denial.[1]
What does it mean for your church to grow spiritually? They must become always more grateful for the cross, always returning to Calvary. Let the glorious truth of Christ and him crucified define maturity for your church. Let us foster an appreciation for the broad work of the Spirit and pursue the Spirit, ever and always with Calvary in view.
The Holy Spirit unfailingly testifies to Christ. Let this be the work of the Spirit that we treasure the most.
Conclusion
The concluding sentence of 2 Corinthians provides a wonderful summation of the pastor's priorities. Here Paul shows us that it is the character and work of the triune God that define and shape the heart of pastoral ministry.
May this definition of pastoral ministry govern us and guide us. May this triune priority be the increasing experience of each of those entrusted to our care. May the Lord equip us to passionately proclaim the grace of Jesus Christ, faithfully teach the love of God the Father, and consistently cultivate the fellowship of the Spirit. What a privilege we share in caring for, serving, and leading those the Savior "obtained with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).
Pastor, take this Trinitarian benediction and pray it for your people, desire it for them, pronounce it over them, and labor to see it take root in their hearts. Do everything you can to position them to experience all of this, and nothing less.
This blog post is part of an 11-part series, The Pastor and the Trinity, a reprint of C.J. Mahaney's chapter "The Pastor and the Trinity" in For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper, edited by Sam Storms and Justin Taylor, ©2010. Used by permission of Crossway. For other posts in this series, see the index here.
[1] D. A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry: An Exposition of Passages from 1 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 62.
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