The Eye of Faith

[WordSword]

At the passage of the Red Sea, the waves fled before Israel; at the passage of the Jordan River, the flood was driven back out of Israel’s sight. The Red Sea was God’s way of power for bringing His people out from their slavery; the Jordan was His way of power for bringing them into the fullness of their blessings. In the one case, death, in figure, was passed through; in the other, death, in figure, was out of sight altogether. In the former case, resurrection power out of death was taught; in the latter, the Lord Jesus’ passing through death, and His entry into heaven, and God’s power in bringing the saints in Him where He is.

Now, when the believer is occupied with the Second Man, the Lord from heaven, power from on high is granted, enabling the eye of faith to see the greatness of His work, His resurrection, His ascension and glories, and the sight of Him prevents all barriers from being seen.  The work of the Lord Jesus for His people—the Cross, the empty tomb, the ascension on high, is one work, the benefits of which are for “all saints,” and recognizing His ascension to heaven, the greatness of His work is apprehended. His position determines that of His people, who are seated in Him where He is. He has borne the judgment upon the Cross; now He is risen, and in Him His people are a new creation.

We look upon our ascended Lord, and exclaim, truly there is no water in the Jordan for us! Christianity arises out of the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. The new creation is for us who are in Him now in heaven. The way into the heavenlies—our Canaan—is through the Lord Jesus risen from the dead and ascended into glory.

Great and small, all the people went over in the strength of the ark. Blessed consideration for ourselves! For it is not by our strength, nor by our degree of faith, but of our Father through Whom in the Son we enter the heavenly places. Every single believer in Him is blessed alike with heavenly privileges. Canaan belongs to each, and all “in Christ” are there, and solely on account of what He has done, and what He is. These things are not too good, or too great to be true for the least and weakest believer; they are the common inheritance of all saints.

The exceeding greatness of God’s power to usward who believe has its measure according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. The measure of the might is divine. By attempting to gauge this work by our faith, or feelings, or intelligence, we never lay hold of it. The measure is outside ourselves.

Our spiritual instructions are to observe the Father’s blessed Ark, the risen Lord Jesus. When the believer is awakened as to his being in a work under wrath, the Spirit makes sin to be felt. In the deliverance of the believer from legal bondage the old self has to be learned; but the heavenly things, new creation, life together with Him risen, and blessings in Him in heaven, are learned only by looking upon Him who is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven.

- H F Witherby

Miles J Stanford devotional: http://www.abideabove.com/hungry-heart/