Jesus has issued to us the most appealing of all invitations:
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Would anyone refuse this invitation if he really believed it possible to “find rest unto his soul”? Isn’t that what the whole world is searching for?
Even we Christians who have accepted this invitation too often find ourselves still “laboring” and feeling weighed down or “heavy laden.”
And there is but one explanation: we are still “under the law” and therefore “cursed.” We are still “laboring” to get what has has already been freely given:
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Paul tells us what was accomplished when Jesus “hang on that tree,” “being made a curse for us”:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
When Jesus was hanging on that tree, just before dying, He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). This tells us that God took upon Himself full responsibility for our “salvation.” Paul could therefore say:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The Greek work for “saved” is 4982. σώζω sozo, sode´-zo; from a primary σῶς sos (contraction for obsolete σάος saos, “safe”); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): — heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
Notice that it is not talking about going to heaven when you die, but rather about what we all need from God on a daily basis—deliverance, protection, health, well-being, wholeness. All of these things come to us as a GIFT, not as a result of anything that we do (“not of works”). Yet we are bombarded all day every day by the media, the insurance industry, the health care industry, the social and economic systems and, most of all, by the religious community—telling us what we must do to protect, heal, make ourselves whole and assure our future, both in this realm and the next.
We pay no attention whatsoever to the words of Jesus:
Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
No, we spend most of our time and energy attempting to “preserve” this physical body and make life on this physical plane more enjoyable while at the same time doing whatever we feel is necessary to guarantee a life of bliss when we leave this realm. We have only to listen to the words coming out of our mouths (and of those around us) to see that this is true. We do this because we fear death and do not understand that God
2 Timothy 1:9 . . . hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Notice that we were both “saved” and “called” “before the world began”—before we believed that we were separated from our Father and from one another and created for ourselves “this world” of evil that God had to descend into in the form of Jesus
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
in order to make this “salvation” “manifest.” He had to “rend” the “veil” (see The Veil) of mortality “(the world of “matter” that had become our reality) to reveal to us our “immortality”—that, like Jesus, we are Spirit being, not subject to death or any of the limitations of “this world” that Jesus “overcame”—not the world created by God that was “very good”:
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Therefore, Paul could say that
Romans 10:13 . . . whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
We have thought this to mean that we must “pray the sinner’s prayer” to obtain salvation, thinking that “salvation” is getting a “ticket” for heaven when we leave this realm. No, we are saved (on any level) by grace alone, not by anything we do, not even praying the sinner’s prayer. Calling upon the name of the Lord represents our recognition of our complete helplessness and hopelessness. The weaker I know I am, the stronger the Lord can show Himself to be in my life. The more I recognize what I can’t do, the more God can do. Although everything for my salvation has already been done, and though all that God has is mine already, I don’t “see” that salvation operating in my experience as long as I am attempting to get what has already been given.
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Although the kingdom of heaven is already within me (for God has taken up His abode within me—John 14:23) and though God takes pleasure in my walking in the righteousness, peace and joy of which that kingdom consists (Romans 14:17), I cannot enter into that rest unless I am willing to “become as a little child” (Matthew 18:3), unless I can just receive what is given me without attempting to earn it by something that I do.
Since “it is finished,” there is nothing left to be done. We can cease our labors and begin to enjoy this “so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). We can know that God in the form of Jesus gave Himself to be us, to live His life as us so that this can be our actual experience, as it was Paul’s:
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The entire Bible is a record of God’s attempt to show us that He has already done it all—that IT IS FINISHED and that all our attempts to do are entirely futile—for in our humanity we are incapable of doing anything that isn’t just “wood, hay and stubble,” fit only to be burned (1Corinthians 3:10-15). “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Even the man Jesus acknowledged that in His humanity He could do NOTHING (John 5:30) and that in that humanity even He was not “good” (Mark 10:18). He said that it was the Father in Him that was doing what we would call “good works” (John 14:10) and reiterated this when He said that whatever “good works” we would do would glorify only God, not ourselves (Matthew 5:16). Jesus was just giving voice to what Isaiah had said:
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another.
When God chose Gideon to defeat the Midianites (representing our “enemies” of false beliefs about ourselves and our relationship to God) who were “without number” “as grasshoppers for multitude,” Gideon was allowed to take only 300 men to fight and they with no real “weapons,” just “a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers”—so that they would know that it was God and not their own ability that “saved” them (Judges 6-7).
Paul puts it this way:
1 Corinthians 1:27 . . . God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Paul knew this because Jesus had said to him personally, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness,” to which Paul responded, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Corinthians 12:9).
And that is precisely how we must respond if we are to experience “rest unto our souls.” In today’s vernacular, I would say, “Get over yourself! It is not about what you can do but about what God has already done. Get out of the way and let that “old man” stay dead (Romans 6:6). Just observe God living His life as you.” Quit attempting to “work for God” and allow God to “work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
The Father is no more impressed with your “works” than He was with those of the elder brother of the prodigal son who had never “at any time” “transgressed” his father’s “commandments,” who was, like Paul “blameless, touching the righteousness which is in the law”—Philippians 3:6). We all have to realize, as Paul did, that attempting to be righteous by keeping the rules is just “confidence in the flesh” that must be “counted as loss.”
The elder brother had to hear his Father say, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31)—just as it is your brother’s who transgressed every commandment. Hear God say that to you also, along with His invitation to join the party and “make merry,” not complain because those who didn’t work for it as you did are enjoying God’s abundance. Realize that it is your working for it that is keeping you from receiving and enjoying the righteousness, peace and joy (the kingdom of heaven) that is your Father’s good pleasure to give you. Do as Paul did: “glory in your infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon you” and enable you to “cease from your own works” and “enter into the rest” of God (Hebrews 4:10).
Remember, God’s “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” That needs to be our measuring rod. If what I am doing is burdensome and causing me to feel weighed down, I can be sure that it is not God living His life through me. It is rather I, myself, laboring in my humanity to do something to earn God’s favor, glorify God, satisfy my conscience or please man. I am the elder brother to the prodigal son, unable to enjoy the “life abundant” Jesus came to give me. God gives me both the desire and the energy to accomplish that which He has given me to do. More accurately, His desires and energy operate through this temple body as He does the works through me.
This principle is operative on every level—from the seemingly insignificant to the most notable task. It is laborious or it is easy, depending upon whether I am attempting to accomplish what I want in my humanity or allowing God to do what He wants through me.
I know I have written on this subject a multitude of times already; but, insofar as I am able, I have moved to one side and allowed God to say once more what He has already said so many times before:
IT IS FINISHED! in the realm of Spirit. Allow God to bring it into visibility through your temple body (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven—Matthew 6:10) by grace, not by your working to make it happen.