Systematic Theology – Work

The Work of Christ

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 7 of 19

Track: #7

Year:

Dictation Name: 7 The Work of Christ.

[Rushdoony] Let us begin with prayer.

All glory be to Thee oh God our Father who in Thine infinite grace and mercy has given us Thine only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank Thee that He became flesh for us, that out of His life, death, and resurrection our salvation is born. Grant oh Lord that the joy of this blessed season may be with us day by day, all the days of our lives, that we may know that in Christ we are more than conquerors, that we have been called to victory, that we are heirs of all creation, that Thy love has been confirmed unto us in the person of Christ our Lord. In His name we pray, amen.

Our scripture is from Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, the first chapter verses 12-19. Colossians 1:12-19 and our subject, the work of Christ.

“12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;”

In this remarkable passage Saint Paul speaks about the coming of Christ and its implications for history and for man. Moreover as he speaks of Christ and His work he describes the part of the entire trinity in that work, the trinity being one in being has an economy that differs with each person. God the Father was most active in creation, God the Son in atonement and regeneration, God the Spirit in regeneration and sanctification, and yet none of these are an exclusive province. We are told by John at the beginning of his gospel concerning Christ “by Him were all things made, and without Him was not anything made that was made.”

The gospel of John however concentrates especially on the work of Christ. It speaks of it repeatedly, it would take several hours to go into every text in which John uses the word “work”, or where Christ Himself uses it. The word which is used and appears in the Greek text is ergon, e-r-g-o-n, which we have in the word “energy”. The word can be translated as work, as task, as deed, as business, but it does have the connotation which our English word gives it, energy. Christ in His incarnation was the work of the triune God entering the world to redeem it and to re-make it, and Christ as He speaks of His work has this in mind. For example in John 4:34 He says “My work is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” Our Lord declares then that part of His work is to send forth His disciples into all the world, and those after them to reap the harvest.

`The harvest is a question of timing, and He told His disciples that the harvest was ripe in Judea. So that even though the opposition was very great in Judea, the time was ripe for the harvest. There is a time, our Lord makes clear, for reaping, a time for nurturing, a time for sewing. The time for reaping had arrived in Judea. After that harvest Judea would be broken up for re-sewing later. Our Lord tells us in the parable concerning the kingdom in Mark 4 verse 28, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. This is a very much neglected verse and a very important one, because our Lord here tells us that everything is in its time; that when we sew we cannot expect more than a sprout at the beginning. We cannot sew and expect the full corn in the ear over night. A great deal of our problems in the modern world are due to men’s failure to recognize this fact, whether it be in ecclesiastical work, or in the business world.

As a matter of fact I can recall when I was a child it was a routine statement that no man could go into business unless he was prepared to finance himself for two years at least, because it would take two years before his business to get off the ground, or his farm could get off the ground. Now of course with inflation very often the time span is greater, and yet you can talk to people who are graduates of business administration courses at universities who are not aware of that simple fact. But our Lord said that first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. And so our Lord, as He speaks of His work, of His coming, of His incarnation, says that He came to finish something which would be the start of something more. Our Lord uses the word work to include all His activities natural and supernatural, all alike are wrought in fulfillment of one plan by one power, God the Father. The works are designed to create wonder, to make us marvel and to admire the power and the grace of God, to be filled with awe and confidence because of Christ’s work. To know that in Him we are more than conquerors. We are thus to work for the food which does not perish, but endures unto everlasting life, our Lord tells us, in John 6:27. We must forsake the Humanistic return on work to work for the Lord and His gift.

The disciples asked “how do we do the work of God?” Jesus answered and said unto them “this is the work of God; that ye believe on Him who he hath sent.” Now this sentence in John 6:29 is very important. Before there is work there is faith, there is a premise for action. Godly work issues from a Godly faith. Bishop Westcott said “this simple formula contains the complete solution of the relation of faith and works. Faith is the life of works; works are the necessity of faith.” The works of the unbelieving are evil because the faith behind their works is evil, God works in Christ a work of redemptive love; He tells us that when the night of judgment comes no man can then work in the same historical sense. Christ’s work is in His Father’s name, and His Father’s person and power. The ungodly were ready to stone Him because He spoke of the identity of Himself with the Father, but our Lord said “a tree is known by its fruits” and what we are reveals itself in what we say and do. There is a unity of life, faith, and works.

The Greek division of man between body and soul which saw each as alien to the other, so that there was no way of knowing the heart of man from his works, is not scriptural. But all this leads us to something which is very important for us to understand, which is basic to the gospel, to Christmas. Our Lord says in John 14 verse 12, “verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto My Father.” Our Lord tells us that the meaning of His coming is that greater works are going to be done by us; greater in that their effect is wider. His work was limited to a corner of the world, to Judea. He commissioned His disciples to go into all nations and to disciple them, to teach them all things that He commanded, to bring everything into captivity to Him as Lord. These are the greater works that the birth of our Lord, His life and ministry, had as their purpose to inaugurate. The world shall be conquered, Christ’s work finished, through us. The work that He did in His life in the incarnation, the atonement, the resurrection, and the ascension, completed His portion of the task.

In John 17 verse 4 at the last supper, our Lord says “I have finished the work which Thou (the Father) gavest me to do.” And on the cross He said “it is finished” using a word which means completed, perfected. The new creation is begun and now that new creation which began with His work, and which He completed His portion of with His atonement, His resurrection and ascension, is for us to further. This is what Paul is talking about in Colossians. He tells us in the second chapter, verse 9 and 10, “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” We are told emphatically here that Christ is the head of all principality and power, there is no authority, no rule, no area of life outside of Him; nothing in this world that He is not to govern. He is its legitimate head, and therefore we are to possess all these things, and to do greater works, and that we extend His sway. At His birth the angels sang “glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth and goodwill towards men.”

That was a commission, it set forth the meaning of His coming, but our Lord said “greater works than I have done shall ye do. The peace that I have brought with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid because the peace I have given to you is a conquering peace. The peace, the glory that was manifest, you must extend to all the world.” All things were made by Him and all things must fulfill His purpose. There must be a reconciliation of heaven and earth.

We are told by one scholar who has studied the subject that the baptismal cry of the newly baptized in the early church was, immediately after baptism, to say “Abba, Father.” They had been adopted into the household of God, they were now children of God an immediately after the baptismal service there first word was to be “Abba, Father”, rejoicing that they were now co-heirs with Christ. Paul refers to this, he says in Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:15 & 16 that this is the cry of the believer, he declares “for ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry “Abba, Father.” The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God.” The birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, with our rebirth, is to lead us to cry “Abba, Father” and to do greater works than He has done.

It is significant that Christ was born into the Roman empire, into an empire that saw only death as the destiny of man. An empire that had pushed its boundaries to an extent greater than any other in antiquity, but was also at that very moment being overwhelmed by cynicism and despair. One of the most common tombstones epigraphs was a joke about death, it read, “I was not, I am not, I care not.” This became so commonplace that finally only the initials of these words were put on the tombstone under a name, in Latin the initials were NFNSNC, everybody knew what that meant, and that became routine on all Roman tombstones. But at the same time the persecuted Christians were putting upon their tombstones the promise of resurrection, the promise of victory in time and in eternity, because that new creation that began with a birth of Jesus Christ was confirmed by His resurrection, they were now part of because they too had come out of baptism crying “Abba, Father.” They were now brother’s of the one born in Bethlehem.

His coming was thus our victory, and the beginning of the world conquest, the greater work, all things brought into captivity to Christ. The Christmas carol by Neale sets this forth beautifully

“Earth today rejoices,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Death can hurt no more;

And celestial voices,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, tell that sin is o’er.

David’s sling destroys the foe:

Samson lays the temple low:

War and strife are done;

God and man are one.

Reconciliation,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

Peace that lasts for aye;

Gladness and salvation,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

Came one Christmas day.

Gideon’s fleece is wet with dew:

Solomon is crown’d anew:

War and strife are done;

God and man are one.

Though the cold grows stronger,

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,

Though the world loves night;

Yet the days grow longer,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,

Christ is born, our Light.

Now the Dial’s type is learnt:

Burns the Bush that is not burnt:

War and strife are done;

God and man are one.”

That carol says the Dials type is learnt, the meaning of types in other words has been unfolded by Christ’s birth, by His life and by His work. At His coming we are told in the book of Revelation, the word goes out “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you having great wrath because he knoweth that his time is but short. The wrath of the enemy is a result of a knowledge of a forthcoming defeat. Christ is come, and Christ sends forth and empowers us to do a greater work; and our work is assured of certain triumph because it is under the power and authority of our God, of Christ our King. He is the Creator and Redeemer, the head of every rule and authority as Paul tells us in Colossians and the Lord whose exultation brings about the reconciliation and recreation of heaven and earth. Therefore indeed the angels sang, because they saw the meaning of Christ’s coming. And our Lord tells us and commissions us, “The works that I shall do, he that believeth on me shall do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father.” God grant that in the years ahead we may see more than ever before those greater works unfold. Let us pray.

Oh Lord our God we rejoice that our Savior is born, that in Him the dials type is learnt, the meaning of time, of life, of work, unfolded. Send us forth therefore in the power and authority of our Savior, that we might do the greater works that He has commissioned us to do. Give us always the continuing joy of His coming, the certainty of His victory, and our joy in Him. Grant us this we beseech Thee, in Jesus name amen.

Are there any questions now concerning our lesson?

Yes?

[Audience member] In verse 19 of our scripture reading this morning speaks of “for it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness dwell”, what was the nature of that fullness, of the extent of it? And also, did it, was it a progressive sort of thing as He grew older from childhood to His ministry?

[Rushdoony] The fullness of deity, He was God the Son, very God of very God, while at the same time being very man of very man. To what extent from the beginning He was aware of us is beyond us to fa… our imagination cannot grasp it but we know that at the age of twelve He told the priests and scribes that He must be about His Father’s business, so very obviously He knew from early years who He was.

In other words there was a full self-consciousness of Himself as both God and man.

Any other questions or comments?

If you have a book of Christmas carols take a little time to read through them, they are the most joyful songs ever written. They are also very, very, clear in their promise of victory. They are in that respect very, very intensely scriptural because they convey the overwhelming sense of triumph, Joy to the World and all the hymns breath that air of victory.

Yes?

[Audience member] {?} But what does the word “noel” mean?

[Rushdoony] Noel is another term for Christmas.

Any other questions or comments, yes?

[Audience member] Did, uh would you tell me who this bishop Westscott was whom you mentioned, did he have anything to do with the Westscott and Hort {situation?

[Rushdoony] Yes.

[Audience member] He did?

[Rushdoony] Hort was the main one who did the work and Westcott’s name was on it. Bishop Hort of the work of England was one of the commentators on the New Testament of the last century.

[Audience member] The reason why I ask is that our pastor is very, very, much against Westcott and Hort.

[Rushdoony] I share his sentiments, the work of Westcott and Hort in new text I think is extremely faulty, but it was the work of Hort really. As bishop Westcott’s name appeared on it, but it was not his work.

[Audience member] Thank you.

[Rushdoony] Any other questions or comments?

If not, let us bow our heads in prayer.

Oh Lord our God how glorious art Thou in all Thy works. We give Thee thanks for Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Savior. For the joy of His coming, the certainty of His triumph, and our glorious place in His purpose and plan. And now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, amen.