Yesterday we saw that “neither angels, nor principalities” could “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We mentioned that Jesus was imprisoned in the system of Roman Catholicism and that you couldn’t get to Him except through that system. In more subtle ways this system of intermediaries is found within Protestantism too. When we stop at the church and give our loyalty and love to that and never get to the living Christ, then an angel and a principality are separating us “from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” A good thing—an angel—is separating us from the Best. When we make the holding of orthodoxy the criterion of being a Christian, and make that the standard, we are stopping this side of being in Christ and have substituted for that being in orthodoxy. An “angel” has separated us. When we substitute faithfulness in churchgoing and church support and recognize these things as the sign and standard of being a Christian, and thereby making irrelevant being in Christ, we are being separated from the love of Christ by an angel.
If we love husband, wife, or children more than we love Christ, an angel—a good thing—is separating us from the love of Christ. If a social set, a lodge, or a service club, has our loyalty above Christ, then a good thing—an angel—is separating us from the love of Christ.
If, however, we remain in Christ, the ultimate best and the ultimate power, then all these angels and principalities are in their place—on the margin, held under the supreme loyalty to Christ. They cannot separate us from that love “for the love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14)—and them. If sin cannot separate us, neither can the good things (which are often more dangerous than the bad) separate us. We are safe from the worst and from the half-goods when we are wholly and finally in Him.
THE PRAYER
O blessed Refuge, O blessed Security, I am safe and secure in the only security this universe knows—I am in Thee. Therefore all Thy security is in me. I inherit all that Thou, “the heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2), hast inherited. I am rich in Thee. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY
No half-good not any good shall separate me from Him—the Best!
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4 Responses
It’s time to set the living Jesus free from the prison of church!
“We mentioned that Jesus was imprisoned in the system of Roman Catholicism and that you couldn’t get to Him except through that system. In more subtle ways this system of intermediaries is found within Protestantism too . . . we stop at the church and give our loyalty and love to that and never get to the living Christ.” –E. Stanley Jones
I woke up this morning with this thought in my spirit. “Keeping Christians silent about Jesus quenches the Holy Spirit. Let people testify in church!” Let’s set Jesus free to be the literal Head of His body and the direct Leader of His people when they gather in His name!
Taking ownership of roles in Church can separate us. Institutionalism can separate us. E. Stanley Jones is so correct when he writes that substituting orthodoxy can separate us. By the way, I have been guilty of all of these.
This posting is a powerful reminder that Jesus Christ must have supremacy over all creation. He, alone, holds all things together. It is so tempting for us humans to be drawn to the shiny things of this life which we can see, rather than to the one and only divine Trinity, who alone is worthy of all worship and praise.
I agree completely with Jones’ assessment of the church. What’s interesting is that he recognizes Protestants go down the same path of “Angels” as the Catholics. In the same way we see Protestant excesses and still find grace, we (I) should do the same for Catholics. And in the same way we condemn the excesses in Catholics we should be just as harsh on Protestants.
I’m learning to believe that a Catholic who worships a Saint as part of their cultural heritage could still be focused primarily on Christ. And a Protestant who worships a political party for the same reasons could also be learning and growing in Christ. And perhaps neither will outgrow their cultural trappings in this life, but they are still my brother/sister.