Believers do not wear the yoke of the Law (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 4:18), however they do wear the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:25-28). I refuse to wear the yoke of works religion and law, but I gladly receive and wear the yoke of my Lord. The yoke of the law is impossible to bear (Acts 15:10). But His yoke is easy, delightful and no burden at all. What does it mean to the believer to be yoked, and joined to Jesus Christ? Consider these scriptural truths:<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be at rest in Him (Heb. 4:10-11).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be one with Him (John 6:57).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be found in Him (Phil. 3:7-9).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be justified by His blood (Rom. 5:9).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be led by His Spirit (Rom. 8:14).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be taught by His Word (John 6:44-45).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be translated into His kingdom (Col.<\/p>\n
1:13).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be filled with His love (1 John 3:14).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be called by His gospel (1 Cor. 1:21-24).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be saved by His grace (2 Tim.1:9).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be adopted into His family (Rom. 8:17).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be regenerated by His Spirit (Eph. 2:1).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be forgiven of all your sin (1 John 1:7).<\/p>\n
To be yoked to Jesus Christ is to be accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6).<\/p>\n
\u2014Tom Harding, pastor of Zebulun Baptist Church, Pikeville, KY<\/p>\n
It often happens, in the Psalms, that you can scarcely tell whether it<\/p>\n
is David, or the Lord Jesus, or both of them, to whom the writer is<\/p>\n
referring. Oftentimes you lose sight of David altogether, and are quiet<\/p>\n
certain that he is not there; while, at other times, the words seem equally<\/p>\n
suited either to David as the type, or to Jesus as the antitype. I think<\/p>\n
that this fact is very instructive to us. It is as the Holy Ghost intended,<\/p>\n
even in those ancient times, to let God’s saints know that there is a<\/p>\n
mysterious union between Christ and His people, so that almost all things<\/p>\n
which may be said concerning Him may be said, also, concerning those who are<\/p>\n
in Him. They are so completely one, they are so intimately united in bonds<\/p>\n
of mystic, vital, conjugal, eternal union, that it would not be possible<\/p>\n
always to keep the sayings concerning them apart. — Charles Spurgeon<\/p>\n
The believer\u2019s eternal union with Christ is a subject that few seem to grasp, though it is written as with a sunbeam upon the pages of Holy Scripture. We are \u201cAccepted in the Beloved,\u201d and have been from eternity. That union of our souls with our Savior was made by the triune God himself before the world began, and can never be dissolved or even altered. The Lord God sees us in His Son, as one with His Son, and as His Son, because we really are in His Son, as one with His Son, and as His Son. Therefore it is written, \u201c\u2026as He is so are we.\u201d As no spot, blemish, or any such thing is in Christ, but only perfection, His Father is well pleased in Him, and with all who are in Him. The Book of God declares, \u201cHe hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel\u201d (Numbers 23:21). Therefore, we shall \u201chave boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is so are we in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don Fortner<\/p>\n
Preserving grace before regeneration<\/p>\n
(Joseph Philpot, “Daily Words for Zion’s Wayfarers”)<\/p>\n
“To those who have been called,<\/p>\n
who are loved by God the Father<\/p>\n
and preserved in Jesus Christ.”<\/p>\n
Jude 1<\/p>\n
What a mercy it is for God’s people that before<\/p>\n
they have a ‘vital union’ with Christ, before they<\/p>\n
are grafted into Him experimentally; they have an<\/p>\n
‘eternal, immanent union’ with Him before all worlds.<\/p>\n
It is by virtue of this eternal union that they come<\/p>\n
into the world . . .<\/p>\n
at such a time,<\/p>\n
at such a place,<\/p>\n
from such parents,<\/p>\n
under such circumstances,<\/p>\n
as God has appointed.<\/p>\n
It is by virtue of this eternal union that the circumstances<\/p>\n
of their lives are ordained. By virtue of this eternal union<\/p>\n
they are preserved in Christ before they are effectually<\/p>\n
called.<\/p>\n
They cannot die until God has brought about a vital<\/p>\n
union with Christ.<\/p>\n
Whatever sickness they may pass through, whatever<\/p>\n
injuries they may be exposed to, whatever perils assault<\/p>\n
them on sea or land; die they will not, die they cannot,<\/p>\n
until God’s purposes are executed in bringing them into<\/p>\n
a vital union with the Son of His love.<\/p>\n
Thus, this eternal union watched over every circumstance<\/p>\n
of their birth, watched over their childhood, watched over<\/p>\n
their manhood, watched over them until the appointed<\/p>\n
time and spot, when “the God of all grace,” according to<\/p>\n
His eternal purpose, was pleased to quicken their souls,<\/p>\n
and thus bring about an experimental union with the Lord<\/p>\n
of life and glory.<\/p>\n
Union with Christ<\/strong><\/p>\n The union of a believer with Christ is so intimate, so unalterable, so rich in privilege, so powerful in influence, that it cannot be fully represented by any description or similitude taken from earthly things. The mind, like the sight, is incapable of apprehending a great object, without viewing it on different sides. To help our weakness, the nature of this union is illustrated, in the Scripture, by four comparisons, each throwing additional light on the subject, yet all falling short of the thing signified.<\/p>\n In our natural state, we are driven and tossed about, by the changing winds of opinion, and the waves of trouble, which hourly disturb and threaten us upon the uncertain sea of human life. But faith, uniting us to Christ, fixes us upon a sure foundation, the Rock of Ages, where we stand immovable, though storms and floods unite their force against us.<\/p>\n By nature we are separated from the divine life, as branches broken off, withered and fruitless. But grace, through faith, unites us to Christ the living Vine, from whom, as the root of all fullness, a constant supply of sap and influence is derived into each of his mystical branches, enabling them to bring forth fruit unto God, and to persevere and abound therein.<\/p>\n By nature we are hateful and abominable in the sight of a holy God, and full of enmity and hatred towards each other. By faith, uniting us to Christ, we have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and joint communion among ourselves; even as the members of the same body have each of them union, communion, and sympathy, with the head, and with their fellow-members.<\/p>\n In our natural estate, we were cast out naked and destitute, without pity, and without help, Ezek. 16:1-63; but faith, uniting us to Christ, interests us in his righteousness, his riches, and his honors. Our Redeemer is our husband; our debts are paid, our settlements secured, and our names changed.<\/p>\n Thus the Lord Jesus, in declaring himself the foundation, root, head, and husband, of his people, takes in all the ideas we can frame of an intimate, vital, and inseparable union. Yet all these fall short of truth; and he has given us one further similitude, of which we can by no means form a just conception until we shall be brought to see him as he is in his kingdom. John 17:21: “That they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us.”<\/p>\n Well may we say, What has God wrought! How inviolable is the security, how inestimable the privilege, how inexpressible the happiness, of a believer! How greatly is he indebted to grace! He was once afar off, but he is brought near to God by the blood of Christ: he was once a child of wrath, but is now an heir of everlasting life.<\/p>\n John Newton.<\/p>\n THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD<\/p>\n “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I may be the weakest of the sheep, but I shall not want. I may be the dumbest, I may wander and stray, I may grow old and feeble; but I shall not want. I may not have all that I desire or wish, but I shall not want. I will endure trial, sickness and sorrow, I will walk through this valley of death, and I will one day stand before God’s throne, but I shall not want. My Shepherd is able to save to the uttermost, to do all that He promised, to keep that which I have committed to Him, and to present me faultless before His throne, I shall not want.<\/p>\n I shall not want for rest, for He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leads me by the still waters. I shall not want for redemption, for He restoreth my soul. I shall not want for holiness, for He leads me in paths of righteousness. I shall not want for comfort, for He is with me. I shall not want for provisions, for He prepares my table. I shall not want for anything in this life nor in the life to come; for His goodness and mercy follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!<\/p>\n Pastor Henry Mahan.<\/p>\n “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is towards me.”\u2014Song vii. 10.<\/p>\n Yes, dearest Jesus! I am truly thine, by every tie which can make me<\/p>\n thine. I am thine by the gift of GOD the FATHER; by thine own betrothing<\/p>\n me to thyself; by the HOLY GHOST anointing me in thee, and making me<\/p>\n one with thee, and in thee, before the world. And I am thine in the recovery of<\/p>\n the church from Adam’s fall and transgression by the sacrifice of thyself: for<\/p>\n thou hast bought me with thy blood, and made me thereby the conquest of<\/p>\n thine HOLY SPIRIT. And now through thy divine teaching I can and do<\/p>\n discover, that from everlasting thy desire was towards thy redeemed ones, and<\/p>\n even when dead in trespasses and sins, it was thy desire to quicken them into<\/p>\n life, and bring them to thyself. And even now, notwithstanding all my<\/p>\n backwardness to thee, thou restest in thy love, and thou art calling me by thy<\/p>\n grace, and seeking continual fellowship in ordinances, and by thy word and<\/p>\n providences; all which prove that thy desire is towards me. And as to the<\/p>\n everlasting enjoyment of all thy church above, thy prayer to thy Father<\/p>\n manifested thy desire, when thou saidst, “Father, I will that they whom thou,<\/p>\n hast given me be with me to behold, my glory!” Are these then the desires of<\/p>\n my God and Saviour, my Husband, my Brother, my Friend? And shall my<\/p>\n heart be thus cold towards thee? Oh for the reviving influences of thy Spirit,<\/p>\n that I May cry out with, the church, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his<\/p>\n mouth; for thy love is better than wine.”<\/p>\n Robert Hawker.<\/p>\n “And they shall call his name Emanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with<\/p>\n us.”\u2014Matt. i. 23.<\/p>\n My soul, hast thou never remarked what a peculiar beauty and sweetness<\/p>\n there is in every name by which thy God and Saviour is made known to thee<\/p>\n in his holy word? Surely, if nothing more had been intended by it, than to<\/p>\n identify and prove his sacred person, one name would have answered this<\/p>\n purpose: evidently, therefore, somewhat of great importance is designed from<\/p>\n his many names. And depend upon it, my soul, so much loveliness is there in<\/p>\n every individual name of thy Jesus; and at one time or other, in thy walk of<\/p>\n faith, so very much wilt thou need every one, and find the preciousnes of<\/p>\n every one, that thou wouldest not part with one of thy Redeemer’s names\u2014no,<\/p>\n not for the world. This of Emanuel, by which thou art commanded to call him,<\/p>\n is a sweet one to endear him to thee. Had he not been Emanuel, he could not<\/p>\n have been Jesus, for none but God can save a sinner: and therefore he is called<\/p>\n Emanuel, which signifies, “God with us.” Hence, therefore, he is God. Put this<\/p>\n down as a glorious truth in thy esteem. God in our nature: God tabernacling in<\/p>\n our flesh. God in us; and God in our hearts, the hope of glory. It is the<\/p>\n Godhead of thy Jesus which gives efficacy and value to every act of<\/p>\n redemption. As God, his righteousness is the righteousness of God to justify<\/p>\n thee. Mark that! his sacrifice to atone\u2014his blood to cleanse\u2014his grace to<\/p>\n bless. All these blessed acts of thy Jesus derive efficacy to answer all their<\/p>\n glorious purposes, because they are the acts of God. And remark, my soul, yet<\/p>\n further, that all that yet remains to be fulfilled, in what he hath in now<\/p>\n pleading thy promised concerning salvation, in now pleading thy cause, and<\/p>\n hereafter taking thee to glory; these cannot fail\u2014because he who hath<\/p>\n promised is Emauel. Go on, my soul, one step futher, and remember that He,<\/p>\n whom thou art to call Emanuel, is also God in thy nature. Hense he is so very<\/p>\n near and dear, in all tender alliances, as to be bone of thy bone, and flesh of<\/p>\n thy flesh. My soul, never, never lose sight of this most sweet and precious<\/p>\n name of thy Jesus. Call him as thou art commanded, call his name Emanuel.<\/p>\n Robert Hawker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Believers do not wear the yoke of the Law (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 4:18), however they do wear the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3618,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}