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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

OPEN WINDOWS by T. Austin-Sparks-The Meaning of Divine Life



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OPEN WINDOWS

March 11




...That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You. (John 17:21)


What, then, is union with Christ? It is union with Him as the new creation, as the new creation Man; union with Him in the Life which is the life of the new creation by the Spirit of Life. What is the meaning of that union? It is that only by such union can God’s works be done. What governed Him in relation to the Father governs us. Nothing can be done except on the ground of this union. It is not a matter of action, or of undertaking for God, however well intentioned. What we see as seeming necessary to be done for the Lord’s glory is not the criterion of service. Many things are embarked upon by the mere simple, though honest and sincere, judgment of the heart, when confronted by what is judged as something to be done for God, something needing to be done. A tragic situation, for example, calls for action; we have the means to meet that situation, and so we embark upon it for the Lord. A vast variety of undertakings have been embarked upon in that way, from that basis, and the Lord Jesus in this chapter says, “No! Not so!” He is not governed by the apparent demand of a situation. He is not governed by the impact of things upon Himself, as calling for an undertaking.


With Him it is a question of what God is doing, and doing just at the particular time. With one object, God does different things at different times, and has a different emphasis from time to time, and those who are really in union with Christ have to be governed by that which Christ at that particular time is Himself undertaking, is giving Himself to: “…what things soever He doeth these the Son also doeth in like manner.” It is a matter of what God is doing, and life-union with Him in Christ for the accomplishment of that.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Meaning of Divine Life – Chapter 3 


This email is from the Austin-Sparks.Net Daily Open Windows message list. Open Windows messages have been selected from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the website editors and did not always appear within the original message. We encourage you to forward, print and share this message with others. In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks’ wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely – free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statement included.


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